MMORPG.com Staff Writer Adele Caelia has been playing the beta for Sword of the New World. Now that the game has launched, she gives us her quick impressions of the new MMORPG.

Sword of the New World is the latest Asian MMO to hit the market. The game, published by HanbitSoft, has won best graphics and been given the Korean presidential award in 2006. It promises to bring a new and unique experience to the MMO market.

While SotNW is brought to us from Asia, the game itself is set in 17th century Europe. The world of Orpesia is at war. The King of the nation Opoluto realized that he would soon be conquered, so he sent an explorer across the sea to find new land, and took his subjects west across the sea to start a new world. Although this isn't too original and sounds vaguely familiar, it is a nice change of story for this type of game.

Read the whole preview here.

No choice for face, hair, etc... Surprised? Not at all, afterall, it is an Asian game. I just wish they would leave their crap overseas instead of infesting our shores with it.  Our children are dumbed down enough by your idiotic anime (do you anime lovers even listen to the dialogue or just look at the pretty pictures?), now they get a big dose of it from your non-stop plague of games.  Expect more people! Ask for more!

Blah.

- Mal 

so....your whole beef with the game is the toons look the same...wow... how in depth

Originally posted by maledicta777

No choice for face, hair, etc... Surprised? Not at all, afterall, it is an Asian game. I just wish they would leave their crap overseas instead of infesting our shores with it.  Our children are dumbed down enough by your idiotic anime (do you anime lovers even listen to the dialogue or just look at the pretty pictures?), now they get a big dose of it from your non-stop plague of games.  Expect more people! Ask for more!

Blah.

- Mal 

Did you even bother to read the hands on? Ok, I gather you really want character face and hair customization...do you enjoy playing with dolls too? What difference does it make when you see the back of the head most of the time. I see you play Eve, hows the character face customization there? Perhaps Asian devs are more interested in the abilities of the character than thier superficial looks. What does anime have to do with mmo's? As to your gripe about click to move and it being lazy... How would you propose to move three characters at once?   It's my opinion that your probably not very knowlegable of either anime or MMO's... at least this one. Sword has a lot to offer and has innovated in many ways. Being able to play three toons at once is very cool and lends much to combat, both pvp and pve. So take the stick out of your Anoose and relax.

Pyro -

Yes.  I expect more than walking around and seeing me everywhere I look.  Don't like it? Too bad.  I also hate click to move, but I'm too hung up on toons that are the same to even give the game a real try.  Glad you can get past that kind of laziness, but I can't.  It demonstrates a lack of caring that will show through in other parts of the game.  Shrug.

Hey your welcome to your opinion bro, however Im old school... I care more about a game being fun than how it looks.

Often times like hollywood game developers their effort into making the game gorgeous, and what you get is a very attractive piece of crap.

Im not saying SOTNW is an awesome game, however I will say its the best asian mmo I have seen yet, and later on there will be personalization as there are tons of hidden classes. So your party wont look exactly like the next.

The only reason I can think of to make the classes similar, is mainly due to the fact there are so many classes. Its not like say wow where there are 8 classes, there are over 30 in this game. So when you roll up on someone in pvp, one glance and you know what your dealing with.

I understand you want more personal touch, but I think the game is good with out it. Just my two cents.

Did you even bother to read the hands on? Ok, I gather you really want character face and hair customization...do you enjoy playing with dolls too?

Yes, I read it.  I cringed often.  Dolls... HAHA, you so funny... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  Idiot.  People like you are the problem.

I see you play Eve, hows the character face customization there?

I played it for 2 hours on a friends invite.  Are you looking at Pyro's post instead of mine?

Perhaps Asian devs are more interested in the abilities of the character than thier superficial looks.

They're not, that's part of the problem.  It's a game mill system - keep churning and hope a few thousand gullible Americans will bite each time.

As to your gripe about click to move and it being lazy... How would you propose to move three characters at once?

I didn't say click to move is lazy, I said reusing the same graphics for each individual person is.  However, I hate click to move, and there is ALWAYS a better way.  Will they try to find it? No. 

It's my opinion that your probably not very knowlegable of either anime or MMO's... at least this one.

I used to be a big fan of Anime, and one day I woke up.  As for this MMO, I keep an eye out for all future MMO's, waiting for the one that will work for me.  I have few hopes because companies like this one know people don't expect much. 

And so, I voice my irritation in hopes that someone creating a game will see that we want all the features, not just some.

- Mal

maledicta777, you are so American (Western) - centric, that it's almost racist.  All the issues you raise are based almost purely on cultural difference, and you assume in a rather harsh fashion that the Western viewpoint is better.

The relative lack of customization is because Koreans (Asians in general) value teamwork over individualism.  They don't care as much if their individual toons look unique.  They care whether the framerate will remain good when a ton of characters are on screen.  They care whether the developers spent the time on gameplay/pvp/teamwork rather than building an indepth customization functionality.

As for this game, it's been heavily funded.  It's not one of the many free2play games that are released all over the world.  This is one of the top games in the Asian market.  There is no churning or lack of effort here.  The developers built a great game that appeals to the Asian market, and they realized that exporting it to other areas of the world might be a good idea.

Point and click is one of the most established control schemes in gaming.  All RTS's are point and click.  Complaining about point and click is almost like saying that you're not a gamer.  Korea is the RTS mecca.  Blizzard chose Korea to reveal their flagship Starcraft 2.  Point and click is the norm in Asia, unlike the US which has been heavily influenced by FPS games.

As for anime, why in the world are you dissing that genre?  It is a HUGE market in Japan and has worldwide appeal.  Anime movies/series have won top awards including Oscars.

In any case, I'm glad you won't be playing games like this because someone as closeminded as you wouldn't contribute much to the community of any game.

Originally posted by maledicta777

No choice for face, hair, etc... Surprised? Not at all, afterall, it is an Asian game. I just wish they would leave their crap overseas instead of infesting our shores with it.  Our children are dumbed down enough by your idiotic anime (do you anime lovers even listen to the dialogue or just look at the pretty pictures?), now they get a big dose of it from your non-stop plague of games.  Expect more people! Ask for more!

Blah.

- Mal 

Ah yes those asian games are bad for our children. I mean, we should teach them that gameplay is of non importance. Nope, its all about how your character looks. Thats what we should teach our children, thats its all about the looks, right?

They will keep comming this way becuse they are succesfull, and your just going to have to live with it. But have fun in City of heroes, you can do the exact same mission in the exact same environment over and over again, but at least it has good customization, and thats all that matters, right?

but just to inform you, Asian mmo developers don't add customization because they are trying to show as many characters on the screen as possible. Games like Lineage 2 feature hundreds of characters on screen in raids and sieges. \They would have to seriously increase the system requirements if they added a lot of customization. But this is ofcourse is a gameplay feature, which is not important because charcter customization is the most important thing of any MMO!

Originally posted by pkim96

maledicta777, you are so American (Western) - centric, that it's almost racist.  All the issues you raise are based almost purely on cultural difference, and you assume in a rather harsh fashion that the Western viewpoint is better.

The relative lack of customization is because Koreans (Asians in general) value teamwork over individualism.  They don't care as much if their individual toons look unique.  They care whether the framerate will remain good when a ton of characters are on screen.  They care whether the developers spent the time on gameplay/pvp/teamwork rather than building an indepth customization functionality.

As for this game, it's been heavily funded.  It's not one of the many free2play games that are released all over the world.  This is one of the top games in the Asian market.  There is no churning or lack of effort here.  The developers built a great game that appeals to the Asian market, and they realized that exporting it to other areas of the world might be a good idea.

Point and click is one of the most established control schemes in gaming.  All RTS's are point and click.  Complaining about point and click is almost like saying that you're not a gamer.  Korea is the RTS mecca.  Blizzard chose Korea to reveal their flagship Starcraft 2.  Point and click is the norm in Asia, unlike the US which has been heavily influenced by FPS games.

As for anime, why in the world are you dissing that genre?  It is a HUGE market in Japan and has worldwide appeal.  Anime movies/series have won top awards including Oscars.

In any case, I'm glad you won't be playing games like this because someone as closeminded as you wouldn't contribute much to the community of any game.

 

 

 

 

But I guess the western end of this world hate asian mmo because they have an abundant list after list of games they develope. IMHO grind fests are in almost every game to a certain degree. I think grinding is a good way to level to a certian level, then change the pace a little. Maybe this game will do that, maybe not. But i'm 100% sure that other companies, such as the one funding Aion will change their way.

Asian MMOs will be taking the markets in asian countries and those who love them in the US will flock to them instead of american games, because like what the post i quoted says "They value teamwork over individualism."

Wow... What an extremely in depth article. I feel like I learnt something about it...

Next time put some effort into an article. I could have made a better article in an hour or two.

Originally posted by Tsolless

Wow... What an extremely in depth article. I feel like I learnt something about it...

Next time put some effort into an article. I could have made a better article in an hour or two.

1 - It's a first impression article, not an in-depth review.

2 - You are welcome to go for it. We're still looking for writers.

How about customization AND gameplay? THAT is the point of what I wrote.   Do you really think one must be sacrificed in order to obtain the other, or some half-and-half mix job is necessary?  I'm glad that some of you are okay with hack job games, it is just a shame that you don't ask for more.  If you did we would get both sides of the equation and maybe, just maybe, our money's worth.

As for anime, why in the world are you dissing that genre?  It is a HUGE market in Japan and has worldwide appeal.  Anime movies/series have won top awards including Oscars.

Christianity has a huge market and worldwide appeal as well, but you don't see me buying into that crap.  Next time you watch your favorite anime pay attention to it.  I mean REALLY pay attention to it.   It should turn your stomach to listen to the dialogue alone, nevermind the pathetic story lines.  Shrug. 

But have fun in City of heroes, you can do the exact same mission in the exact same environment over and over again, but at least it has good customization, and thats all that matters, right?

I have played COH/COV, and no, it is not all that matters.  They sacrificed good content and gameplay for great customization.  Once again, the either/or phenomenon.  Wouldn't it have been great if that game had better content and ideas to go with the customization and nice controls?  Oh yeah, that's right... dumb yourselves down to whatever level they provide for you.  You guys make a great audience...  Later tonight I've got a sock puppet show for you, oh and I forgot the sock.  You'll love it.

One last thing, click to move is fine in an RTS, but an RTS != MMO.   It is lighter on bandwidth to use point and click, but these days it just comes off as awkward compared to other MMO's.  Get out more.

- Mal

Mal,

You're an ass.  Please shut up or grow up.  I don't care which.

And yes, I think you play with dolls too. 

Also, the next idiot who thinks that anyone who acts as Mal does is a stereotypical American will have the courtesy of my foot shoved up their ass.  You people are just as racist against us when you know full well that any person from any country can be a self-righteous prick.  You people need to grow up just as much as Mal.

As for the game, it sounds sort of neat.  I think I may give it a shot if there's a trial available.  Reminds me sort of Diablo 2, which had that same kind of god-mode slaughter till you puke mentality.  I love it.  Much better then scheduling five hours a night to raid and wipe over and over with a bunch of immature brats.  Now the real question.  Were they smart enough to not include bind on pickup in this game?  I just won't play any game that has any sort of no-drop, or bind on pickup.  Bind on equip is fine, but bind on pickup completely ruins games imo.

Originally posted by maledicta777

How about customization AND gameplay? THAT is the point of what I wrote.   Do you really think one must be sacrificed in order to obtain the other, or some half-and-half mix job is necessary?  I'm glad that some of you are okay with hack job games, it is just a shame that you don't ask for more.  If you did we would get both sides of the equation and maybe, just maybe, our money's worth.

As for anime, why in the world are you dissing that genre?  It is a HUGE market in Japan and has worldwide appeal.  Anime movies/series have won top awards including Oscars.

Christianity has a huge market and worldwide appeal as well, but you don't see me buying into that crap.  Next time you watch your favorite anime pay attention to it.  I mean REALLY pay attention to it.   It should turn your stomach to listen to the dialogue alone, nevermind the pathetic story lines.  Shrug. 

But have fun in City of heroes, you can do the exact same mission in the exact same environment over and over again, but at least it has good customization, and thats all that matters, right?

I have played COH/COV, and no, it is not all that matters.  They sacrificed good content and gameplay for great customization.  Once again, the either/or phenomenon.  Wouldn't it have been great if that game had better content and ideas to go with the customization and nice controls?  Oh yeah, that's right... dumb yourselves down to whatever level they provide for you.  You guys make a great audience...  Later tonight I've got a sock puppet show for you, oh and I forgot the sock.  You'll love it.

One last thing, click to move is fine in an RTS, but an RTS != MMO.   It is lighter on bandwidth to use point and click, but these days it just comes off as awkward compared to other MMO's.  Get out more.

- Mal

There has never been a written law that MMO's shouldn't use Point & click. this game has fast past action that requires you to swap through your different characters quickly, and P&C simply works much better then WASD movement. It has already been pointed out that this game is similar to an RTS in many ways, there is no reason that it should use WASD movement just because it has a massive amount of people connected to the server, thats rediculous.

Originally posted by zaxxon23

Mal,

You're an ass.  Please shut up or grow up.  I don't care which.

And yes, I think you play with dolls too. 

 

Also, the next idiot who thinks that anyone who acts as Mal does is a stereotypical American will have the courtesy of my foot shoved up their ass.  You people are just as racist against us when you know full well that any person from any country can be a self-righteous prick.  You people need to grow up just as much as Mal.

 

As for the game, it sounds sort of neat.  I think I may give it a shot if there's a trial available.  Reminds me sort of Diablo 2, which had that same kind of god-mode slaughter till you puke mentality.  I love it.  Much better then scheduling five hours a night to raid and wipe over and over with a bunch of immature brats.  Now the real question.  Were they smart enough to not include bind on pickup in this game?  I just won't play any game that has any sort of no-drop, or bind on pickup.  Bind on equip is fine, but bind on pickup completely ruins games imo.

There is currently a free trial where you can play up to level 20. And there is no bind on pickup or bind on equip whatsoever.

The game is viciously boring and repetitive. Set up at your spawn -- any spawn will do -- and then one of your three characters runs around picking up loot. That's pretty much it. Once in a while, an AOE if the somewhat random spawn rate gets a little hot.

There's a reason they wanted a five-minute disconnect timer on the auto-defend. People tend to play this game AFK. Even at 30 mins, most people will be running on auto pilot.

I just don't see the point.

With my brief trial on the game, I would like to comment that this game can be fun and charming (I like the character models which are depicted to be of beautiful eurasian breed). I also like the renaissance art style of the various architecuture of the buildings.  However the one turn off about this game is the grindy nature of the game.

Originally posted by maledicta777

No choice for face, hair, etc... Surprised? Not at all, afterall, it is an Asian game. I just wish they would leave their crap overseas instead of infesting our shores with it.  Our children are dumbed down enough by your idiotic anime (do you anime lovers even listen to the dialogue or just look at the pretty pictures?), now they get a big dose of it from your non-stop plague of games.  Expect more people! Ask for more!

Blah.

- Mal 

Wow... You're pretty ignorant.  How much anime have you ever watched to assume its all idiotic and will dumb down children?  You do know there is a lot more deep anime than american cartoons right?  You do know there is Anime/Manga that's on par with the greatest american comics right?  Have you ever watched any in the original language (subtitles)?  How many american kids grew up watching Voltron and Thundercats?  Do you think all those people are dumbed down because it was from japan?  Bashing shit you know nothing about is stupid.  I can agree the majority of asian MMORPG (not games) are horrible.  Hating on all asian games and anime is ridiculous.  Do you think gaming would be where it's at if not for NES?  Don't even tell me the atari or commodore 64 was gonna do it.  I'm really gettin tired of people hating on anything that comes out of asia.  If you hate it so much throw away most of the shit you own.  Go all american for real.

I hate the p&c and i dont play a game to be a cluster of players,

i play the game for my enjoyment - i love grouping and i dont mind soloing but to have a 3 person team and then remove the need for any social interaction other than pvp seems to remove the fun of mmorpgs.  I'm yet to find a p&c style game that has any depth and any that come close to being a full mmo.  I wish some Asian games came out with some decent character structure and game play - i guess as these constant meh games point out, is too much for someone to achieve.

And I love anime and I do not live in America.. but nor do i think there is anything wrong with not liking anime and living in America...

No matter how much you argue about it these games lack the quality of WoW or other style of games.

Mylin