Game news, reviews, cheats, fun

Plants vs Zombies

2009-06-18T01:18:00.021+03:00

Site: http://www.popcap.com/games/pvz

Plants vs Zombies is a tower defense action-strategy game by PopCap Games. This game occupied all my attention for some time - I played few nights and during the daylight I behave just like a zombie. (Brains, brains, coffee)

Gameplay
Plants vs Zombies develops around some hungry zombies and your anti-zombie plants. There are several types of battles - during the day, during the night, on the pool and on the house-roof. Away from the main game course players can enjoy some puzzle zombie games, mini-games, plant night and day gardens to receive money, grow a tree of wisdom.
Plants vs Zombies player faces a lot of humor - starting from game names like "I, zombie", through dancing zombies, fun face expressions and many more.
The game have 49(I think) different plants, each with its own skills. Players can pick out many different strategies. There are also many different zombie types, my favorite is the newspaper zombie - but I won't ruin your game explaining all the details here. From the plants I especially like the Chomper - zombie eating flower with BIG teeth.

Zen Garden seems boring at first glance but it is the place I spent most time. However, I don't know why. I don't water my real plants often.

Plants vs Zombies sure deserves its high ratings all over the net. It is a cool and entertaining game, with cheerful graphics and fun gameplay. My overall rating is 9.0 from 10, one of the best in this genre.

4Story

2009-05-18T14:46:00.012+03:00

Site: http://global.4story.com

4Story is a free2play, fantasy, 3D MMORPG. My personal opinion is that it looks too much like WOW. If you are fan of WOW feel free to try this MMO.

4Story has three playable races – human, werebeast and fairy. Here is short character creation video with all the races:

There are six available professions – Warrior, Assassin, Archer, Wizard, Priest and Summoner. Every race can select any of these. Every profession has three skill trees.

4Story gameplay is quest driven. Players can carry out quests right from the beginning. There are also some hidden secrets.

PvP
There are several PvP options – from fractions war, war for territory, dueling with friends from the same kingdom and PK players from the enemy kingdom.

GodsWar Online

2009-04-22T19:31:00.015+03:00

Site: http://gw.igg.com/
Free to play and download

This week I start to play new MMO – GodsWar Online. GWO is a cute-looking 3D MMORPG by IGG. It is based on ancient Greek mythology.

Classes
GodsWar Online has four classes – Warrior, Champion, Priest and Mage. Warriors use sword and shield. They are experts in the close fight. Champions use spear. They are attack oriented characters. Priests are the party’s healers. Mages – the standard mage character dealing large amount of damage.

Character creation video

Gameplay
The gameplay of GWO is a lot alike many other 3D mmorpg – it uses standard point and click for movements and fight. GodsWar Online is relatively fast and easy for leveling up.
GodsWar Online has auto attack mode(F12) so players can skip the boring leveling up or long quests. A character becomes a killing machine with the auto attack settings.
GWO has two factions – Sparta and Athens.

Quests
The game has many quests. Right from the beginning, the quests are the best way for earning experience and leveling up.

The beginning

What I don’t like
I don’t like the 45 degree visual angle. I prefer to have more freedom and I don’t like the 2D style that much.

Sho Online

2009-04-08T20:28:00.016+03:00

Site: http://shoonline.neofun.com
Free To Play MMORPG

Sho Online is a cool, 3D MMORPG in traditional Chinese style by Lizard Interactive. This game totally fascinates with its graphics, gameplay and idea. When I first start to play it I spent six hours without even realizing it.

Story and gameplay
In the world of Sho Online two dynasties are fighting each other. Players can choose only one of them for all their characters.
Yin is one of the countries from the conflict. I can’t tell the Chinese story well, all this names are too strange for me. The main part is that Yin is the older dynasty with initial location – Jo-ga Castle.
Zhou is the other country. It became the new power of the continent. Its initial location is the Castle Seo-ki.
All characters, NPC and monsters in Sho Online belong to a fraction. There are seven fractions – Yin, Zhou, Yo-koi, Ark-kui, Ark-soo, Yinbiyin, Ka-kuk. Characters have a relation stats window showing the relation with all the fractions. The relations change according to who you choose to kill. There are bonuses if a character is in good relation with a fraction.

War
The game is based on the war between Yin and Zhou. The war starts with the assassination of the enemy governor general NPC. Players fight in a mass pvp for the glory of their dynasty.

Characters
Sho Online has three starting character types – assassin, warrior and soolsa.
Assassins rely mainly on speed and agility. They use daggers and bows for fighting and they can advance as archers or dagger masters at level ten.
Warriors rely on their physical strength. Their weapons are spears and axes. At level ten they can choose to become Adamantors or Demon Knights.
Soolsa are equivalent of mages in other mmorpgs. They use fans and staffs. At level 10 Soolsa can change its profession to Dark Soolsa or Taoistic Priest. Dark Soolsa are damage dealers with powerful magic attack and curses.Taoistic Priests can also attack enemies with magic but they are also healers and buffers. Both Soolsa professions can create monsters.

Wonderland Online

2009-03-24T16:00:00.002+02:00

Site: http://wl.igg.com/

Wonderland Online (WLO) is a fantasy MMORPG published by IGG. It features cute anime graphics combined with old style RPG battles.

Story
The action starts on the luxury cruise ship Oceanic Star. The ship wrecks and the character is thrown on an isolated island where the adventure begins!

Characters
Character creation is a lot alike any other MMORPG. The characters are customizable, players can allocate 5 stat points between STR, CON, WIS, INT and AGI. For different characters players can choose from different attributes like fire, water, wind and earth.

Battles/PVE
The battles surprised me a lot. They are something that differs Wonderland Online. The battles occur in a separate screen/field and they are turn based. Quite surprising for a MMORPG.

Decoration
Players can obtain a tent after finishing a quest. The tent then becomes the player's home. One can decorate it with furniture, rest and invite friends.

Starcraft 2 Videos

2009-03-16T22:28:00.004+02:00

Disciples 3: Renaissance

2009-03-16T20:06:00.004+02:00

Site: http://www.disciples3.ru/
Strategy First Disciples 3 Site: http://www.strategyfirst.com/en/games/Disciples3/

Disciples 3: Renaissance is a turn-based strategy game with publisher - Strategy First. It is a sequel to the previous title in the Disciples series - Disciples II: Dark Prophecy. The player can live in the role of one of the Lords of Nevendaar.
Disciples 3: Renaissance will have three possible races: The Empire, Legions of the Damned and the Elven Alliance.

Trailer:

Land of Magic

2009-03-07T22:37:00.002+02:00

Site: http://lom.neofun.com/

Land of Magic is the new title announced by Lizard Interactive. It is a free-to-play, 2D MMORPG.

Land of Magic is currently in a beta testing stage.

Land of Magic world has long and interesting story, if you care of these sorts of things in a game. I am not exactly interested in it, so I did not pay attention. The game graphics are in a retro, 2D style and they make association with some big titles from the past, though it is not a bad feeling.

Fiesta Online

2009-03-04T23:37:00.007+02:00

US Site: http://fiesta.outspark.com/
EU Site: http://fiesta-online.gamigo.com/

Fiesta is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role playing game. It features 3D graphics and cool anime-like characters.

Characters

Fiesta Online has four types of characters – fighter, cleric, archer and mage.
Fighter – this is your usual melee character.
Cleric – they are the game healers. Also they can solo well in low levels but don’t have much damage in higher ones.
Archer – they have highest damage against single target and damage over time.
Mage – they have good area damage spells. Unlike many other MMORPGs mages in fiesta don’t have healing spells.

Quests
Fiesta Online has many interesting quests for one or more players.
Kingdom Quests are quests for groups of up to 15 players that include fighting monsters and having fun.

Game Help – I like that part. Fiesta has an easy to understand and follow instructions, and most important - they are short! Beginners won’t have many problems playing.

Angels Online

2008-12-17T21:43:00.011+02:00

Site: http://ao.igg.com/

Angels Online is a free-to-play, 2D MMORPG. The game is available for PC and PlayStation 3.

Character classes:

Protector – best tank, can wear plate armor.

Warrior - tank with axe, can wear plate armor.

Swordman – sword skills, have high damage skills, can wear plate armor.

Spearman – have ranged damage, can wear plate armor.

Archer – have ranged damage, can wear Leather Armor.

Priest – healing spells, defensive spells and assistance spells

Summoner – curse spells, summon spells and have the ability to wear Cloth Armor

Wizard – destructive spells and have the ability to wear Cloth Armor

Magician – earth spells (temptation and transmutability spells), they have somewhat strong melee attack and have the ability to wear Cloth Armor

Weapon Craftsman – can forge metal weapons, dig ore, lumber and control robots.

Armor Craftsman – can forge lightweight and heavy armor, collect, lumber and control robots.

Tailor – can forge mage robes and cloth armor, collect, fist and control robots.

Technician – can develop robot accessories, forge ornaments and staves, collect, lumber and control robots.

Chef – can make food that improve abilities, collect, fist and control robots.

Angel Lyceum
Angel Lyceum is the place where new characters are spawned. It is the place to learn how to play and to obtain some credits by making simple quests.

Pet System
Pets can assist players in battle, can get experience and level up. Some of the available pets are Wind Elf, Water Elf, Earth Elf, Fire Elf, Wolf.

Mount System
Players can ride different type of mounts – steed, lizard, tusk boar, gerbil, dark wolf, raptor.

PvP & Credit
Angel Credit is the way players are evaluated in Eden. You can obtain credit points by doing quests, crafting or PVP. Players with enough Angel Credit can buy special items and accept certain quests.

Zhu Xian Online

2008-12-09T20:08:00.024+02:00

Site: http://www.zhuxian.com/

Zhu Xian Online is a Chinese MMORPG by Beijing Perfect World Co. currently in closed beta. It features cool graphics and fantasy gameplay. Zhu Xian is based on the popular Chinese internet novel by Xiao Ding.

There is a Philippines Closed Beta on http://zxbeta.e-games.com.ph/

Game features:

Pets - pets evolve - grow, get new skills, and bring special talisman to their owners.

Mounts

Talismans

Quests
some quests are for couples, groups and guilds

3D pathing systems

Battle for Wesnoth

2008-11-28T17:58:00.007+02:00

Site: http://www.wesnoth.org/

Battle for Wesnoth is a free, open-source, turn-based, fantasy, strategy game. Players can build armies recruiting and training warriors from 16 different races. Also the game offers over 200 unit types. My first impression was somewhat confusing but after a while I start to like the strange gameplay.

The Battle for Wesnoth has nice, simple tutorial for the novice players like me. Also the game has localizations for many different languages, not all of them are full but this is a nice surprise for players from different countries to play on their native language. The gameplay is not exactly what people usually expect from this kind of games, but after some time it turns to be rather fascinating. The game offers a vast help for beginners.

There are many different scenarios. Players can download other players’ campaigns or make their own with the available editor.

One of the good parts is the multiplayer game. Players can set up games or join on the existing multiplayer servers.

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel

2008-11-05T14:16:00.026+02:00

Site: http://www.sacred2.com/

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel is a fantasy RPG from the Sacred series. The action takes place in a massive and dynamic 3D world.
Gameplay:
In Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel there are two playable campaigns - the "Light" side and the "Shadow" side.
Players can choose from six different, playable characters:

Seraphim

Shadow Warrior

High Elf

Dryad

Inquisitor

Temple Guardian

More features:
Modifiable combat skills.
Mounts - players can use horses like in Sacred 1. Also all the characters have a special mount for their needs.

Trailers and Movies:

Blade and Soul

2008-10-26T01:26:00.010+03:00

Site: http://bns.plaync.co.kr/

Blade and Soul is a martial-arts MMORPG under development, by the creators of Lineage2 - NCSoft.

Lunia

2008-10-16T01:05:00.021+03:00

Site: http://lunia.ijji.com/

Lunia: Record of Lunia War is a 3D, action arcade MMORPG.

Gameplay
Linia is a little like the old arcade games. It has episodes and stages. You must pass through Stage 1 to 10 at least once before the next episode is unlocked. Completing certain quests can unleash secret stages.

The control over the character is done with the keyboard - the numpad is used for the 8 directional movement control and A, S and Spacebar are used for different attacks.

Characters
Currently there are six available characters:
Sieg - knight, melee character
Eir - healer
Dainn - wizard
Tia - thief
Lime - shape shifter
Dacy - summoner

OpenAnno - open source real time economy simulation game

2008-10-11T14:01:00.011+03:00

Site: http://openanno.org

OpenAnno is an open source project, aiming to create 2D real time economy simulation strategy game. It is using the FIFE game engine(http://www.fifengine.de/).

Runes of Magic

2008-10-06T22:22:00.018+03:00

Site: http://www.runesofmagic.com/en/index.html
Free-To-Play MMORPG

Runes of Magic is a cool fantasy MMORPG. It is currently in closed beta state, the open beta is announced for 9th Dec 2008.

The action of the game takes place in a magical world called Taborea.

Classes
Runes of Magic features dual class system with six primary classes and selectable secondary class. Available classes are Warrior, Scout, Rogue, Mage, Priest and Knight.

PvP
The player versus player combats are activatable, in the form of duels or guild wars.

More interesting features:
- Crafting system
- Reputation System
- Ranking System
- Great number of quests

Aion - Tower of Eternity

2008-09-17T13:38:00.015+03:00

Site: http://www.plaync.com/us/games/aion/

Aion: Tower of Eternity is a fantasy MMORPG under development by NCSoft.
Two playable races are presented till now, the the Elyos and the Asmodians. The Elyos are bright, live in a bright, colorful world and are much like humans. The Asmodians are the opposite, live in a dark world, have dark or blue skin and have long nails. Characters from both races can become Daevas to use wings and fly.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR)

2008-09-12T12:47:00.043+03:00

Site: http://www.warhammeronline.com/
WAR-Europe: http://www.war-europe.com/

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is an upcoming, fantasy MMORPG by Mythic Entertainment, currently in beta testing phase.

The world of WAR is divided into two - Armies of Order and Armies of Destruction. Armies of Order are Dwarfs, Empire and High Elves. Armies of Destruction are Greenskins(Orcs and Goblins), Chaos and Dark Elves.

WAR presents new generation gameplay - Mythic's Realm vs Realm combat(RvR). This is fight between different realm pairs - Empire vs. Chaos, High Elves vs. Dark Elves and Dwarfs vs. Greenskins. RvR contains both PvP and PvE battles.

Trailers:

Talisman Online

2008-08-13T13:00:00.016+03:00

Site: http://www.talismanonline.com/
Free to Play

Talisman Online is a 3D, free to play, fantasy MMORPG. Players can choose from five character types. They are Wizard, Monk, Assassin, Tamer and Fairy.
Wizard - he feature high attacking ability and weak anti-attacking. His main attribute is Intelligence.
Monk - he have the strongest ability of anti-attacking. His main attribute is Strength.
Assassin - he is a high damage attacker, but with weak defense. His main attribute is Dexterity.
Fairy - she is the healer character.
Tamer - the best solo character. Her main attribute is Intelligence.

Specific game features:
Talisman - the talisman is a special tool for strengthen character's power. It has many different skills. Talismans can be enhanced to obtain higher level skills.

Talisman Online have large number of quests. Also interesting part of the gameplay are the scenarios. A scenario is a specific quest for obtaining rare and valuable talismans and equipment, that takes place in an independent scene, separated from the other areas, unique for each player or party.

What I don't like in Talisman Online is the specific angle of the camera, but it is not so bad. Also some people think that its interface and gameplay are very alike WOW.

Shaiya

2008-07-15T12:36:00.000+03:00

Site: http://shaiya.aeriagames.com/
Status: Free-to-play

Shaiya is cool 3D MMORPG created by Sonov Entertainment. The action is set in a medieval fantasy world where players must choose between light and darkness.

Gameplay
At the beginning new players must choose between Alliance of Light(Human and Elves) or Union of Fury(Nordein and Vail).

In Shaiya players can choose game difficulty from easy, normal, hard and ultimate. Although it is said that in easy mode players need less experience to reach the next level I didn't notice such behavior, and my character in easy mode had less drop than that in normal one.

Races and Classes
Human can choose between Defender(tank), Fighter(melee) and Priest(healer)
Elf - Ranger(damage dealer with high evasion), Archer and Mage
Nordein - Guardian(tank), Warrior(melee) and Hunter(ranged weapons - archer)
Vail - Assassin(like elf Ranger), Pagan(mage with high damage and Area of effect skills) and Oracle(healer)

Quests
There are a lot of interesting quests with good rewards in Shaiya - items with awesome stats bonuses, money and experience.

What I don't like - when player attacks a mob and it attacks back, if the player change its position the mob will run to the first one, stops a while and then run to you. Also mobs can't chase. And PVP with invitation and without PK is a little boring.

Screenshots

The poll – summary

2008-07-06T13:30:00.000+03:00

The results for the poll “What is your favorite MMORPG” were:
Lineage II got the most votes – 25% or 85 people voted.
Perfect World got second place with 15% or 53 votes.
WOW – 12% - 42 votes and DOMO got 10%.
The total votes are 332.

I spent some time thinking on the idea for the next poll.
The latest news that inspired the game world, were about Blizzard.
So the next poll is up! Please vote.

Dungeon Runners

2008-07-04T14:56:00.025+03:00

Site: http://www.dungeonrunners.com/
Free-to-play

Dungeon Runners is a 3D fantasy MMORPG by NCsoft.
It is focused on solo playing, the game world is almost uniquely generated for every player, and the dungeons scale dynamically for parties. Players can gather in public meeting areas.
Gameplay
In Dungeon Runners players can explore dungeons(:D), battle ferocious monsters, discover artifacts, weapons and loot, take hundreds missions and quests.
Available classes are Fighter, Mage and Ranger.

Blizzard announced Diablo3

2008-06-28T22:59:00.003+03:00

Blizzard announced Diablo3.
Here is the official cinematic trailer:

http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/

Fantastic Melody Online (FM Online)

2008-06-25T13:16:00.000+03:00

Site: http://www.fmonline.net/en/main.htm
State: Under development

Fantastic Melody Online (FM Online) is a 3D turn-based action MMORPG by Winking Entertainment.