Okay, well I have been in OB all day trying out different classes etc. Here is my impression...

First, I want to say that the game's artwork is different and unique and it does look like a Chinese comic book. I really like the artwork alot.

However, I am bored already. The combat in this game puts me to sleep. I played several toons up to lvl 10 and I was bored the whole time.

The mobs just sit there waiting to be farmed and there is apparently no aggro whatsoever. Even when you attack a mob with others standing right next to it, they do not aggro you. I even ran my lvl 1 toon thru a lvl 20ish mob area and still did not get any aggro.

The actual combat animations are also boring as hell. And combat is way too easy. I was able to kill a lvl 12 mob relatively easy with a newly created lvl 0 toon using only 1 noobie healing herb.

So, can anyone tell me if the combat gets anymore exciting than this? Or is it just mowing down the mobs that are sitting there waiting for you to farm them?

I would give the artwork in this game a 9 but the mob AI is like something out of a 1980s game. (Ie there appears to be none).

Please tell me that I am wrong because I really want to like this game.

Yes the mobs do start attacking once you get out of the training area levels.

Well I tried to force myself to play another day, but I just couldn't do it. I failed and imo this game does too.

Here's some more info for those interested.

First, so you don't think I am just trying to bash this game, here are the good points:

This game has unique beautiful artwork which looks like a Chinese watercolor painting.

The game has a beautiful soundtrack of Chinese music.

The game plays very smoothly and I did not notice any major bugs.

The click to move on the map and click on names in quest and auto move feature is excellent and unique to this game. (Well Domo has something similiar too, but theirs is buggy as hell)

There seemed to be overall a nice community.

Now for the Bad:

In addition to the non-existent mob AI I listed above this game also suffers from some other flaws that make it unbearable for me to play.

As others have already noted the quests are BORING too. There is almost no attempt to make the story interesting. It is just go here, kill this, hand this to this NPC and bla bla bla.

What makes the quests even more bland is that this game has some of the worst Engrish translation I have ever seen from an asian mmo. I tried to read alot of it, but I couldn't tell what the hell they were trying to say. So I gave up.

Moreover, I have never played a game where the NPCs spam more than the players do. Every time anybody runs past or talks to an NPC they say something. This speech shows up as a chat bubble (which is okay) but it also shows up in the chatbox in the general/say channel.This generates so much spam you cannot even read what the REAL players are saying before the chatbox is filled up.

In additon to this, you have a scrolling message across the top of the screen with non-stop GM messages spamming/advertising stuff.

Finally, there is also a larger blue text spam right IN THE MIDDLE of the screen everytime somebody completes one of the boss(?) quests telling you that so-and-so noob has defeated this brigand dude or that watchamacallit badass and taken his treasure.

This occurs every few minutes and I found it even more annoying than the ads that pop up in your face in 9 Dragons. (For those of you who have tried that game you know what I am talking about). Seriously, I could care less and I don't really see why they think its necessary to have this feature.

This excessive game spam is seriously aggravating and ruins the immersion in the beautiful artwork.

Normally I try to play a game for a few days to try to give it an honest chance, but for some reason with this game there were just too many aggravating things for me to overlook. 

/UNINSTALLED

Totally agree, your comments just about sum up the ZU experience, I felt almost the exact identical feelings about it !

Uninstalled lol

Oh yeah your right about the Artwork in this too,so it is a real shame the game does'nt cut the mustard .

when you get above level 30, mobs will attack you. you will find aggro everywhere.

 i agree,  but i thnk it's a game no bad, even the pvp is very seriously.

Originally posted by zoecool

when you get above level 30, mobs will attack you. you will find aggro everywhere.

If you have to get to level 30 before the game becomes slightly more then a snoozefest then that is a game that many will not play.

I also tried this game and quite frankly it bored me to tears in under a couple hours. I really do NOT see this game making the grade.

If I were to give it a letter grade it would get a B for graphics, C- for UI and character control and F for non existant fun gameplay.

I have played zu untill level 48 so far, and although i agree with the review, i don't agree with your point, that zu is a bad game.

i have played a lot of free games, and except voyage century all were really siple "grind to get to next level" games.

Rappelz wasn't so bad but Gala.net policy was, so i uninstalled it :)

Zu is really bad and boring at low levels:quest are incredibly easy, and it's all run around to the next npc.

Well after level 40 quests become challenging, and everywhere u need to watch out for guys from other factions that want to kill you.

I got a uber elite quest at 40 and so far i died every time i tried to finish it.

My suggestion is that you force yourself to play a little more than level 30, they messed up the game with low levels, but at higher levels the game is good

First of all, a confession: I'm tired of reading the expert reviews of lvl 10 players; if you intend to bash the game, at least spend some time actually playing and testing the game. Being lvl 10 in Zu is nothing: the level cap is 300 and you can get to 25 - 30 in a couple of hours without pushing yourself too hard - jut so you'd understand how much time that dude spent in game... 

Now: IMO Zu has the potential to become one of the most successfu free MMOs on the market but it all depends on what decisions the company will take when going from OB to full release. The situation is like this:

- the graphics are both original and very carefully designed; the maps don't look the same, each having its own type of mobs; characters and mobs look really cool, with a lot of details. They're 3d looking too (from the official photos you get theimpressionthey're 2d, but fortunately it's not the case) - it's just the way Zu is put together (in a cartoonish manner) that makes you see it differently at first.

- the game has a lot of little things that make playing the game a real pleasure and make you relax more than in other MMOs: you have an auto trace for both quests and NPCs (so solving quests or finding a certain NPC is no problem at all), you have teleporting portals and also a flight system (which you'll be using a lot), you also have pets, that are really worth the trouble of leveling up, because they get both stats and skills to buff your character; you get a lot of good drops (many with enhaced attributes that would save you tones of in game money); you also have something worth fighting for when joining a guild: the guild poles which allow the owning guild to afk level its members; last, but not least: various ways to help you level faster - in game events, blessings, double xp items, etc.

- advancement: untill reaching lvl 30, you're safe from pkers. You should take your time and learn the game mechanics and get a general idea, because I'll be honest, the game can get a little confusing at first: there are no stat points (so no super builds or anything like it) - that means your toon's eficiency will depend entirely on the gear you're using and the level (because skills and talents are level based; pets depend on your lvl too - they can't be higher lvl than you, and some of their features are lvl based - you can ride a mount at lvl 40, equip it with items that increase its attributes at 60 and 90, and so on). Xp (at least at lower levels) is achieved entirely from quests (no grinding). You also need to get cooperation points, which can be exchanged for skill books (there are several ways to get them). Like I said, leveling (due to the huge xp from quests) is not a problem (ppl can easily get to 60 or more in the first week of playing). At first the game is super easy, no aggro mobs, easy quests, very good drop rate. As you level and you begin to understand and master the game, it becomes more and more difficult. After reaching lvl 30 you are able to pk/get pked - and tyhat's when you'll discover the 1st "horror" of Zu - it's an all areas pvp game with no safe zones (it's quite shocking, because at first the game has such an enjoyable and peaceful atmosphere, and al of  a sudden, it gets quite brutal) - not even in low maps or starting towns (once you leave the teleporting areas, you're game). Raids are (sadly) a part of the game (some quests even require that you go in other factions' wolds), they're frequent and like I said, pvp is level based, and since there are no "super builds" to compensate the level difference, the higher lvl player always wins. Thus, the 2nd "horror" of Zu: right now, the max allowed level difference is 90 levels! That means someone 90 lvls higher than you can attack you! And after several deaths, you discover the 3rd "horror" of Zu - when you die, there's a chance you'll lose some of the items that you equip (pieces of armor, weapon, etc) - and most annoying, it's random (which means you could lose the most valuable of all). So you're close to discovering the 4th "horror" of Zu: crafting & upgrading costs in Zu are very (VERY) expensive!!! That's why it's not advisable to upgrade gear of lower lvl, you'll end up spending all the money you have for just 2 full upgrades - and money (bones, or silver) are very difficult to obtain in this game (it's the first time I'm having serious cash flow issues and I'm running with just 5 - 10k most of the time). Not to mention everything in this game is quite expensive: pets, gear, pots, you name it; even teleports could drain your account dry (just take several quests in Death World or Miracle Town and you'll waste a lot of money on teleports). So what to do? Well, you have to keep your eyes open for good gear from drops, always keep back up gear in bank, do all the quests - especially the ones that give good gear as reward), spend wisely you talent points and your contribution points to upgrade the skills, etc. It's good to have friends to play with, because you'll get a lot of boss slaying quests that require a party, and it's also good to have someone to watch your back all the time, because there's a a very high chance to run into a pker the minute you step in a training map (especially in Miracle Town and Sky Lake). More to come...

Originally posted by dragulea

First of all, a confession: I'm tired of reading the expert reviews of lvl 10 players; if you intend to bash the game, at least spend some time actually playing and testing the game. Being lvl 10 in Zu is nothing: the level cap is 300 and you can get to 25 - 30 in a couple of hours without pushing yourself too hard - jut so you'd understand how much time that dude spent in game... 

Now: IMO Zu has the potential to become one of the most successfu free MMOs on the market but it all depends on what decisions the company will take when going from OB to full release. The situation is like this:

- the graphics are both original and very carefully designed; the maps don't look the same, each having its own type of mobs; characters and mobs look really cool, with a lot of details. They're 3d looking too (from the official photos you get theimpressionthey're 2d, but fortunately it's not the case) - it's just the way Zu is put together (in a cartoonish manner) that makes you see it differently at first.

- the game has a lot of little things that make playing the game a real pleasure and make you relax more than in other MMOs: you have an auto trace for both quests and NPCs (so solving quests or finding a certain NPC is no problem at all), you have teleporting portals and also a flight system (which you'll be using a lot), you also have pets, that are really worth the trouble of leveling up, because they get both stats and skills to buff your character; you get a lot of good drops (many with enhaced attributes that would save you tones of in game money); you also have something worth fighting for when joining a guild: the guild poles which allow the owning guild to afk level its members; last, but not least: various ways to help you level faster - in game events, blessings, double xp items, etc.

- advancement: untill reaching lvl 30, you're safe from pkers. You should take your time and learn the game mechanics and get a general idea, because I'll be honest, the game can get a little confusing at first: there are no stat points (so no super builds or anything like it) - that means your toon's eficiency will depend entirely on the gear you're using and the level (because skills and talents are level based; pets depend on your lvl too - they can't be higher lvl than you, and some of their features are lvl based - you can ride a mount at lvl 40, equip it with items that increase its attributes at 60 and 90, and so on). Xp (at least at lower levels) is achieved entirely from quests (no grinding). You also need to get cooperation points, which can be exchanged for skill books (there are several ways to get them). Like I said, leveling (due to the huge xp from quests) is not a problem (ppl can easily get to 60 or more in the first week of playing). At first the game is super easy, no aggro mobs, easy quests, very good drop rate. As you level and you begin to understand and master the game, it becomes more and more difficult. After reaching lvl 30 you are able to pk/get pked - and tyhat's when you'll discover the 1st "horror" of Zu - it's an all areas pvp game with no safe zones (it's quite shocking, because at first the game has such an enjoyable and peaceful atmosphere, and al of  a sudden, it gets quite brutal) - not even in low maps or starting towns (once you leave the teleporting areas, you're game). Raids are (sadly) a part of the game (some quests even require that you go in other factions' wolds), they're frequent and like I said, pvp is level based, and since there are no "super builds" to compensate the level difference, the higher lvl player always wins. Thus, the 2nd "horror" of Zu: right now, the max allowed level difference is 90 levels! That means someone 90 lvls higher than you can attack you! And after several deaths, you discover the 3rd "horror" of Zu - when you die, there's a chance you'll lose some of the items that you equip (pieces of armor, weapon, etc) - and most annoying, it's random (which means you could lose the most valuable of all). So you're close to discovering the 4th "horror" of Zu: crafting & upgrading costs in Zu are very (VERY) expensive!!! That's why it's not advisable to upgrade gear of lower lvl, you'll end up spending all the money you have for just 2 full upgrades - and money (bones, or silver) are very difficult to obtain in this game (it's the first time I'm having serious cash flow issues and I'm running with just 5 - 10k most of the time). Not to mention everything in this game is quite expensive: pets, gear, pots, you name it; even teleports could drain your account dry (just take several quests in Death World or Miracle Town and you'll waste a lot of money on teleports). So what to do? Well, you have to keep your eyes open for good gear from drops, always keep back up gear in bank, do all the quests - especially the ones that give good gear as reward), spend wisely you talent points and your contribution points to upgrade the skills, etc. It's good to have friends to play with, because you'll get a lot of boss slaying quests that require a party, and it's also good to have someone to watch your back all the time, because there's a a very high chance to run into a pker the minute you step in a training map (especially in Miracle Town and Sky Lake). More to come...

First off, none of us said we were expert reviewers. Secondly, if the game isn't fun at lower levels then why would anyone in their right mind continue on with something that might get interesting in another 20 to 30 levels. You arrogant post just shows that there are a few of you that love boring yourselves till a game gets fun or until you convince yourselves that it is fun.

Good luck to you, I think I will stick with my pay to play, quality mmo's.

I hate mmos with bad english (engrish). Surely a company that has enough money/investment capital to runs mmo have enough money to hire a better translator to localize their content.