What We Liked..
Detailed voice-overs
Player interactions
Comprehensive base building
.. and what we didn't
Influent cash shop
Rigid combat system
Watch the trailer:
Genre: strategy, war, managerial
Setting: fantasy, historical, sea
Graphics: animated artworks
PvP: PvP
Pirates – Tides of Fortune is a complex and charming browser game released by Plarium Games. In this game you are a commander of your own haven (base of operations), where your goal is to expand, conquer and form brotherhoods with other players.
Tides of Fortune allows you to take several approaches on your gameplay; economical, defensive and offensive. The game leaves you enough room to learn how to fend for yourself during the first few levels, so you don’t have to worry about getting raided and pillaged by other players right off the bat.
What We Liked..
Has all the characteristics of a management title
Interesting eras of development to play through
Many different trains
More complex than most browser games
.. and what we didn't
Don't expect great action or surprises
Graphically good but not fantastic
Rail Nation is a managerial browser game by Travian Games that allows the player to create a railroad empire - growing the business while earning money and prestige.
You’re given control of everything and anything – however small – that may have something to do with the growth of a rail empire. Buying and upgrading locomotives and cars is key to this, but the game also includes the construction of new railroad to expand the reach of your control, the search for new technologies and even the administration of your central station.
To make it even more exciting is the subdivision of the game into historical eras, each characterized by specialized trains and infrastructure.
Rail Nation is a title that is not afraid to expect more from the player than just time – and we’re not talking about money either. Unlike many other titles, progression is dictated by more than the hours you spend playing. Overall, the game requires strategy and analysis before it rewards you with satisfactory results.
What We Liked..
Interesting premise for a game
Good use of MMO elements
Nice visuals
.. and what we didn't
Poor performance optimization
Lacks control customization
RAM Pressure is a turn-based tactical squad strategy game in the mold of XCOM. It's free to play and players will pick either the USA, Russia or China to represent. In RAM Pressure players control squads of soldiers which contain up to 4 soldiers, each varying in terms of class and weapon-set. The objective will be to complete PvE missions and PvP battles to eventually grow their squads through experience points and better gear.
What We Liked..
Fast playstyle Quests are short and are rich in variety Action-oriented fighting system
.. and what we didn't
The interface is cluttered at times You can buy a lot of booster which gives the game a "pay2win"-feel The in-game-shop is rather expensive
Revelation Online has been one of the most anticipated MMORPGs of 2017 in the Western World. Despite being available for a year or so in the Asian market, it made its debut in Europe & North America only in March 2017, in the form of Open-Beta.
The game makes itself conspicuous especially through its extra fast playstyle. Additionally you get an action-oriented fighting system whereby the player can fight actively instead of just clicking on skills.
The world is huge and has a ton of quests available. Besides the normal PvE modes and the several quests, you can fight against other players in PvP, enter dungeons or buy your own house.
The devs put a great emphasis on flight: the entire open-world can be explored by flying with several kinds of wings and mounts.
Leveling is as fast as the playstyle. After the tutorial you are already level 15 and you can use a variety of skills and other functions in the game.
Furthermore, you get a Mentor and Demon-slayer system in order to make the game even more diversified and always keep you busy.
The in-game-shop mainly consists of cosmetic items, but also offers various sorts of boosters which give the feeling of "pay2win".
The quests offer variety, thanks to coming after one another quickly and never lasting too long.
If you like MMOs like TERA you should definitely check out this game, because it is similar but also brings its own ideas to the table.
What We Liked..
Great anime style aesthetics
Multiple game servers
Decent amount of match modes
.. and what we didn't
Dated animations
Cash shop sells advantage
Low active player base
Confusing and clunky UI
S4League is a unique looking third person anime style shooter that gives manga fans a platform to express their love for both Neo-Tokyo art syle and shooter games. S4League offers a variety of PvP game modes in addition to PvE Story and challenge modes, but the true superstar are the unorthodox match modes like Chaser and Touchdown, which offers some refreshing objectives that are uncommon in shooters.
From a graphics standpoint, the game is unfortunately dated in several areas, especially with animations and the clunky menu UI. Player populations aren't very high either, and that could be down to the game's age. On a more positive note, for loyal and long term players, there are many things to collect and achieve as progression goes way beyond gear and equipment with the addition of collectible cards, costumes and character avatars. Overall, S4League is a fun and stylish game in small doses if one can overlook its age.
What We Liked..
Well-made backdrops
The anime fans might appreciate it
No one’s making us play it
.. and what we didn't
Practically nonexistent gameplay
Déjà vu exploding from every pore
Dozens and dozens of clones
Taken from a phenomenon popular in the Land of the Rising Sun, SAO's Legend is a free-to-play MMORPG browser game, with no need to download the game client.
The game allows us to choose from one of four classes, composed of classical archetypes which we have become accustomed to, then we dive immediately into the game world without too many narrative frills narrative to slow us down.
What is immediately apparent it is that the development team has opted to offer users a smoother and faster experience, which wastes no time and mainly focuses on expedited progression through the game maps rather than on exploring and deepening the plot.
It’s an experience only suited to more casual players looking for something uncomplicated and can fit in perfectly with the often restricted hours often available to this user group.
What We Liked..
Variety of dragons
action-based combat
.. and what we didn't
dated graphics
repetitive quests
grindy
What We Liked..
Fast paced
Strategic fun
Excellent graphics and presentation
Multi-platform
.. and what we didn't
Native resolution
Clunky controls
Shadowverse is a digital collectible card game that's free to play, and set in a fantasy anime universe. There are multiple game modes available, and all of them offers a satisfying blend of fun and strategy which is crucial for a card game. Shadowverse stands out from its competitors by introducing the evolve mechanic, allowing players to use a trump card to turn any match on its head, making the outcome unpredictable but less reliant on annoying RNGs.
The game also features a well polished but short main story campaign, on top of great graphics. It's also commendable that everything in the cash shop can be bought by in-game currency, awarded for simply playing more matches and ranking up. There are some downsides however, such as clunky controls, but it doesn't deter one from enjoying the solid gameplay.
What We Liked..
Classic RPG Style
Great PVP fighting mechanics
Armor and weapons still look cool
.. and what we didn't
Dated graphics & low res character models
Heavily P2W PVP
Unbalanced economy
Very low player base
Shaiya holds a place in many people’s hearts as the first MMO they’ve ever played. And as such, people looking back on it today might be viewing it through those dark-tinted nostalgia glasses which may obscure their objectivity when talking about it.
Over 11 years since its’ release, does Shaiya hold up? In a way (Private servers), yes, but for the most part, Shaiya is as dead as an MMO can get. The way it works with old-school MMOs is they either need to have a large enough player base to keep them going, or they need to modernize with the times to draw in newer players.
Shaiya does neither. Few veterans of the game are left, and the changes that the developers have made to the game over the years have only pushed old-school players away even more. There’s nothing on offer here that the new generation of gamers won’t find somewhere else. Somewhere better. The uniqueness of Ultimate Mode, is little more than a novelty feature now, and the P2W aspects of the PVP just kill the game, despite its’ potential. Shaiya still has its’ high points, but the official game is long past its’ prime.
What We Liked..
Multi-class system
Beautiful graphics
Story-driven
Vast character customization
.. and what we didn't
Progression cap
Overly animated
Average soundtrack
Imbalanced pvp
Watch the trailer:
When playing Skyforge, you can’t help but feel appreciative of what the creators were doing: the foundation for Skyforge itself is based around really unique concepts.
The multi-class system, the interesting storyline, the beautifully animated environment and vast character customization skills come together for quite the impact.
The flaws in this game (mostly regarding PvP balancing) are not big enough to overwhelm all the great aspects of this new MMORPG, which has a lot to offer both to players looking for something new and for those who are looking for a traditional RPG experience.
Skyforge trapped me in this elaborate world that continues to prove itself worth it.