Swordsman Online brings you a F2P MMO based on the iconic novel (Swordsman) by Louis Cha. The story takes place in ancient China where many different martial art schools plot and fight against each other to seize dominance. Perfect World Entertainment NA are the publishers of the game and have servers on the west and east coast. The game has just entered open beta so you can jump in and try it today!
I started playing Swordsman Online not knowing what to expect but I have been given some positives and negatives. Firstly when I downloaded the game it got to 70% then randomly deleted the progress and restarted from the beginning. Secondly I cannot start the game in full resolution as the game simply wont start. I had to start in a lower resolution then once I had loaded in change the settings. This was not a good start for someone trying out a game and was very frustrating.
Once you enter the game there are 6 servers to select from each show your ping for that server which is an awesome inclusion! I think every MMO should have this option so you know what your ping is going to be like before you even choose a server. Character creation was OK some customisations don't change much but it provides you with some options. If you are not into Asian styled game then you will definitely not like this game and should steer clear!
Races & Classes
Now this MMO is very different from others I've played as it is originally a Chinese game so all the voice acting is Chinese with English subs. There are no races or classes in Swordsman Online instead, it guides the players to join one of the martial art schools. There are 10 different martial art schools and within them are different skill trees you will unlock and customise. As there is not much information on the game I have found it a little confusing when picking classes/levelling abilities but when I typed in global chat everyone seemed to be very very helpful!
Combat & Questing Gameplay
Game flow
The game throws you straight into the story and you are immersed into a rich vibrant china. You will have the choice of choosing how you would like to control your character from three different settings. The games storyline is good it reminds me of Chinese martial arts movies with people leaping into the air and channelling their chi! You will literally be playing the storyline the whole way through levelling actually that's all I've done so far and I'm level 30! (89 levels available) This is the most efficient way of levelling up your character. Swordsman's interface has a lot of options to show you what you should be doing and new features unlock as you level up. You don't even need to travel places you can simply click the quest and your character will go there and even get on their mount automatically! This can be seen as a plus and minus as I'm not really doing anything except clicking on the next quest.
There are so many players online so you wont have trouble finding other players but I have played to 30. So far it has just been go to this area, kill these mobs and then move on. Everything is unlocked via the story line and doesn't really give you an freedom at the lower levels.The game still has its bugs and hopefully they can be ironed out prior to full release.
Features
Features
So far I have only done the story quest and have felt that the game hasn't made me feel like I have to interact with other players much. When you reach higher levels 40+ players can be engaged in more player inter activities, such as guild wars, brotherhood & PVP arenas. Additionally, there is a unique game process called 'Path of the swordsman' which consists of a series of levels. These levels are mainly PvE instances, with some focusing on combat, some focusing on action-adventure, some focusing on storytelling, and the rest on puzzle-solving. This feature adds to the ordinary open-world quest line flow. There is also a 2x exp feature that allows you to enable bonus XP for an amount of time.
Guilds in Swordsman are like those in any game. You join a guild so you have something to work for, and thus gain corresponding rewards. A guild has a hierarchic organization, a guild base where multiple structures provide various functions, some special game play such as exclusive story and instances, and other guild-only events such as territory wars. It is still one of the most engaging features for MMORPG's these days. A Brotherhood is a looser organization than a guild and a closer organization than a party. A brotherhood has fewer members than a guild, and there is no hierarchy. People bond together merely for friendly sentiment. There is not much practical significance for brotherhood, but just a way to feel awesome and strongly socialized. Like in many other games, Swordsman also features a Tutor/Apprentice system. A stronger player can take a weaker player as his apprentice. By helping the apprentice to develop via several means, both the tutor and the apprentice will be rewarded.
Combat
Combat
Swordsman Online raves about action orientated combat so it is not all based on stats but you are able to dodge, block, run on water, create combos & use the famous jumping from Chinese martial art movies. When playing i have felt the combat to be a little clunky and not flow smoothly I am unsure if this is due to me playing from Australia with higher ping or not. When duelling other players I haven't had that much trouble except for blocking.
World/Music
World/Music
The world of Swordsman Online is beautiful it is an open world but split up into regions. As you play you will visit each region and see some of the breathtaking scenery. The music was one of the highlights for me as I love a good soundtrack I think it really does the game justice and make you feel like you are doing something heroic.
Price
The game is based on a free 2 play model. It is heavily influenced on the cash shop and has a lot of extras asking the players to buy them.
Latency
Latency
I receive about 200-230ms from the NA servers which is the usual for Australians connecting to NA servers. When I first started playing the game ran fine but now I am finding that it is rubber banding a lot and really ruins the experience. PVP is very hard for Australian players.
PROS
CONS
Combat not fluid with high ping
Not much freedom at lower levels
High ping for Aussie players
Game bugs (it is beta though)
Cash shop heavy
Closing Thoughts
If you are going to try this game out please ensure you have a good internet connection! The more I played the more noticeable the latency was which annoyed the hell out of me and made the game unplayable. I would love to test this game out in America with low latency I think Swordsman would be much more enjoyable. If you are into Asian martial arts movies or you are looking for a free to play MMO then you should try this game out! However I don't see this game holding players attention for too long when there are so many other MMO's with more to offer.
Score: 70/100
PROS
Class system
Combat can be good when not lagging
Excellent Music Tracks
PVP
Storyline is great
Chinese martial arts!
Combat can be good when not lagging
Excellent Music Tracks
PVP
Storyline is great
Chinese martial arts!
CONS
Combat not fluid with high ping
Not much freedom at lower levels
High ping for Aussie players
Game bugs (it is beta though)
Cash shop heavy
Closing Thoughts
If you are going to try this game out please ensure you have a good internet connection! The more I played the more noticeable the latency was which annoyed the hell out of me and made the game unplayable. I would love to test this game out in America with low latency I think Swordsman would be much more enjoyable. If you are into Asian martial arts movies or you are looking for a free to play MMO then you should try this game out! However I don't see this game holding players attention for too long when there are so many other MMO's with more to offer.
Score: 70/100
No comments:
Post a Comment