Game Review - Spiral Knights

Spiral Knights

Genre: MMO/Dungeon Crawler                Price: Free to play (Bundle pack available for purchase)

Notable Features: Joypad Enabled, Available through Steam with achievements

Developer: Three Rings (Sega)                 Game Link: http://www.spiralknights.com/

Gameplay

From the very beginning of Spiral Knights (SK from now on) one thing became very obvious to me. The game is designed for a younger audience. I could tell this without reading it anywhere. How? The gameplay is very simplistic. Even for a hack and slash style game, SK keeps the pace and learning curve of the game simple and steady. Players have to move around a dungeon and fend for themselves against slimey monsters and other beasts. To do this, your knight is equipped with two weapons (by default a melee weapon and a gun) and their trusty attack button. If you feel like going crazy, you can perform a charge attack by holding down the attack button. If you are picking up on my sarcastic tone through my writing, then I'm glad, because that is how it was supposed to read. The majority of the game is learnt in the first two minutes, and later a crafting system is introduced. That is all there is to SK. Even the crafting system is as simple as buying a recipe, finding the materials and clicking a button. Which is how SK is meant to be. This is a game for a younger audience, developed by a studio which is known for games for the younger audience (i.e Puzzle Pirates). Of course as an adult the game is overly simplistic (which some may relish) but for a child or young teenager the game is just right. I'd dare to say that it would be difficult to reach the games simplicity by accident or laziness. The one function I feel was overlooked and poorly implemented is the gamepad functionality. A lot of the menu's do not work as well or at all when using a pad, and often I had to go back to using the mouse when in the haven (safe area).

Gameplay Score: 4/10 I didn't play the game for very long because it was just excruciatingly boring. Never a good start.

Graphics

The graphical aspect of the game was the most enjoyable for me. Like the gameplay, the graphics are simple but they have their charms. Almost comic like in style is the best way of describing what you see without a particular genre, the animations in the game are important since they allow players to block incoming attacks. Backgrounds below the maps are simple though, and I felt like they could have added much more to the appearance. Enemies are mostly identical and I wish there was more variance in their appearance. Maps also begin to all look the same with a similar texture and layout. I believe that the graphic style can be simple without dumbing down the amount of content. Why is their a lack of variety when the game is so straight forward?

Graphics Score: 4/10 The graphics look nice, but everything is the same.

Business Model

Free to play is always a trivial matter for games, and should normally always be followed by an asterisk symbol explaining how 'free' the game is. In the case of SK, the pay part of the game is simple. There is a mission DLC available which the standard price on steam is £3.99. In game, money is used to buy energy. Energy is used to descend into the clockworks, open doors in dungeons and so on. You can purchase energy, and this will allow you to play the game as much as you like. You can craft, dungeon crawl and explore to your hearts content. If you determined to have a free to play experience, you can. Players receive 100 mist energy a day. 

Business Model Score: 7/10 Although the model limits your activity in the game, you can still play a decent amount every day. 

Overall Score: 5/10 The game just wasn't for me. I'm sure I could stick a younger person on this and they could happily play with few complaints. Personally the game lacked character development, excitement and originality.

Game Review - Heroes Of Newerth

Heroes Of Newerth (HoN)

Genre: MOBA/ARTS (Action Real Time Strategy)

Price: Recently made 100% free (all heroes on sign-up)

Gameplay

Heroes of Newerth was the third game to be released by an indie games company called S2. The developer used its established lore from its previous games and the play style of a well known game, Defense of the Ancients, to create an up to date game. DotA was originally a map mod on the Warcraft 3 engine and quickly became incredibly popular, especially in South Eastern Asia. The popularity of DotA is so strong that some still play the original, even with the sequel in closed beta. When HoN was first released, it had a very similar style to DotA and there are still rumours today that legendary devoloper Icefrog (who now works for valve on DotA 2) helped at the games beginnings. However, the game is now distinctly different between its main competition, League of Legends and DotA 2. Unfortunately, between the three games, HoN has the hardest time for beginners. 

The learning curve is steep, with some playing for years and still considered low skill players. This isnt due to a poorly designed game, its just that the game is much more complicated than it seems. There is over 100 heroes in HoN, and each one plays differently. Although these differences can be minor, there is still 4 skills per hero that you have to understand, and then several skill builds to learn as well. Its easy to get the builds wrong as each depends on the situation and there is also items to consider buying. Once you understand the basics of the game and how it works, it truly is addictive. Matches are often long (38 minutes is my average over 400+ games) but maintain a fast pace . Teamwork and communication is key to the game, as well as being a good player yourself. You have to understand what your role in the team is depending on what heroes you are all playing. Your actions could mean victory or defeat. If this goes right, the feeling of success is huge. I advise playing with friends and growing as players together or learning from them if they are better and vice versa.

Gameplay score: 9/10 The game is fun, addictive and recent, consistent updates have brought the game a long way. Be warned, it can easily get frustrating due to the community. OMG NOOB is a common occurrence in the chat. This happens in most MOBA games though.

  

Graphics

Graphics on the game are great. In comparison to its competition, I certainly prefer HoN to LoL, and between DotA 2 and HoN is a hard choice for me. The game engine runs really well on my shitty laptop, and I can't even remember the last time the game crashed or froze or anything. Admittedly, the graphics are not the most complex around. To me, they capture a feel of the original warcraft engine whilst still being unique. There are a couple of faults, such as animation bugs and other UI glitches. The glitches can be common, and often bugs are fixed with updates on every Friday. Graphics is always a very subjective thing, but I enjoy the style of HoN.

Graphics Score: 8/10 They aren't exactly flashy, but they get the job done and look good to me.

Business Model

Before I start reviewing this section properly, I should explain the history of this games marketing. Once the game was released from beta in 2010, players had to pay $30 for an account to play the game. This was a pretty standard fee which you would expect from quite a few games. However, the game ran into serious competition form LoL which was free to play and so forced HoN to change its system to a similar one or sink. Presently, the game operates on a fully free to play system, with cosmetic changes and early access to new heroes and avatars available for purchase. With the new model also came alot of changes so that the in-game currency is alot easier to earn, and there are lots of alt-avatars you can earn quickly. Speaking as someone who has paid to play the game, not only am I impressed by the bold move, I'm happy it happened. I can easily question its originality, since DotA 2 announces it would be fully free and then HoN makes the change soon after, but the change is right. It allows balance to public games and opens up new players to the highly competitive nature of the game. Competitive scenes and E-Sports keep a game alive. For example, Counter Strike 1.6 is still a well played game despite a 2000 release. I even made a suggestion 5 months before the new model to change hero rotations and game mode restrictions so that free accounts could access them. Regardless of originality, the game is fully free, and who can argue with free fun?

Business Model Score: 10/10 Many have mocked S2 for mistakes they have made before, but the change took guts and I tip my internet hat to a fully free game for all to enjoy. 

Overall

Taking away bias from the choice of which MOBA you play, HoN is a great choice and can only grow from its current position. Sure its competition is strong, but that doesn't stop HoN from being strong too.

Overall Score: 9/10 The game isn't perfect, but with friends and updates supporting the game, its moving in a great direction and is fantastic free game!

Game Review - Maplestory

Maplestory Europe

Genre: 2D MMORPG

Price: Free to play (Buy Nexon cash for comestic changes)

Gameplay

Maplestory is a 2D MMORPG which was originally released in South Korea. The game focuses on a very simple gamplay. Classes vary the combat style, but generally it involves pushing a skill button or the normal attack to kill monsters. The gameplay never really adds any elements from that. It is a very short learning curve. All you need to learn is how the monster hurts you (the majority of non-boss monsters damage on collision, with a few that shoot projectiles). Most of the fun from this game comes from the party quests (PQ) and more are added with every update. Party quests involve you and a team of other players trawling through a dungeon or battling an epic boss. Dungeon bosses are the most challenging enemies since they can increase their defense, attack, and release minions. They can often boost the stats of the minions they spawn as well. There are also frequent updates to the game (the EU version is quite far behind the USA and Korean version) so new character types are being added to keep the game fresh. Questing in this game is unfortunately unoriginal and largely involves a 'go here kill that' mission. Or talk to this person for me, and then that person will tell you to go here and kill that. Questing is a hard thing to make original, but it feels like there is no attempt made in maplestory. There is a crafting system which has been recently released to the EU game, but again there is a lack of creativity in this system. 

Gameplay score: 5/10 Simple and enjoyable at first, the gameplay quickly repeats and can become mind numbingly simple.

Graphics

The graphics are obviously limited to that of a 2D game, so I will judge it based on that and not of the high quality we expect from modern games. Personally, I really enjoy the graphics in the game. They all have this kinda cute cartoon feel to it. The animations are simple but look good, and when using a skill they mostly feel unique and the classes don't end up feeling the same. Monsters pull funny faces when they are hit, and the backgrounds can been interesting as well. Sometimes things can be a bit too simple, but that is part of the charm. 

Graphics Score: 8/10 The graphics don't disappoint, and sometimes make me laugh. There just isn't a point where I'm massively impressed.

Business Model

I've said it before and I'll say it again, free games like this rarely miss out on a way to make money. Maplestory is no exception to this rule. However, unlike some games which are a bit forceful or add an advantage for paying, maplestory avoids this. The cash shop which is easily accessed in game offers a variety of cosmetic products. All these products change is the way your weapons or character looks, allowing for a more personalised appearance. You could easily get hundred of hours out of this game if you enjoyed it that much and not once have to enter the cash shop.

Business Model score: 9/10 Perfect for a free game, it practically feels completely free. However, character customisation feels like its purposely cut down to encourage use of the cash shop.

Overall

Overall, maplestory has it's ups and downs. How long you play it is up to personal taste and how determined you are to play a free to play game. If you have no spare cash and fancy playing something different to 3D MMORPG's, then give maplestory a whirl. Just don't be suprised if you find yourself bored due to the game repetitive nature.

Overall Score: 6/10 The game is a good idea to try if your bored, since if you enjoy it the boredoms cured and if you don't, better luck next time!

EU players: http://www.mapleeurope.com/index-en.html

NA players: http://maplestory.nexon.net/