Now, I bet everyone is tired of seeing reviews on every MMORPG. But, since this one was just released in Closed Beta yesterday, and I saw no topic for a review yet, I thought I'd make one. I'll try to go over as many points possible, and give a rating for each thing. I will also try to not be biased in the least. Alright, so here we go...

General Discussion:

First off, if you are any kind of Turn Taker RPG ran, or maybe want to see what Turn Taking Battle Systems are like, this game will definitely appeal to you. This means all Final Fantasy and Chrono Series fans, and most other Turn Taker RPG fans will definitely either like or very quickly adapt to this battle system. I did both, as I myself am a huge fan. Now, this is not part of my review, I'd just like to point that out of everyone. Alright, now let's really get started:

Graphics:

This is very much a matter of opinion. So, let's look at it from both ways. If you like Anime-ish, 2D looking graphics with nice environments, you'll probably love the graphics in this game. If you don't, then you won't feel so hot about them, but you can easily work your way around them. So...

For Those Who Like Anime-ish Graphics: 9/10

Those Who Don't: 6/10

Story:

Now, this seems to be happening more and more in MMO's lately. This game actually has a story, and even a few cut scenes! Now, they aren't cutting edge or state of the art, but this is a Free To Play MMORPG, what do you really expect? Just the fact they have them at all should be a good plus! And not to mention they aren't too long or too short, just right for people's attention spans! Not to mention some even have some humor, and actually revolves around your character from what I've seen. So...

Story: 10/10

Lag:

Now we're getting to a big, big issue for some people. And I will not lie, this game is crowded right now. I mean, almost bursting at the seam crowded. But, there's two good pieces of news about this: One: They are adding a new server on the 11th/12th of April! Two: The lag barely affects people from what I've seen, even with crowded servers! And when you get into places like Dungeons or Mines, I can say I've never had a bit of lag. So for anew game with only 1 server...

Lag: 9.5/10

Battle System:

Okay, this is a big point in any game. And I touched on this briefly at the beginning of the review, so let's take a closer look now. Like I said, this is a turn based fighting system, not a point and click and hope to survive battle system. This means, you choose your attack, you choose your target, watch what happens that turn, they repeat using either the same or different strategies. Now, there are also random encounters, which is really where this game turns into a Final Fantasy or Pokemon type of game. But does that make it good or bad? Matter of opinion of course, and I will not take a side on it, as I'm not trying to use bias. Those who like Final Fantasy like love it, those who don't may not like it, or who knows, maybe you will for some reason. It's innovative, and for turn based it's fast paced, as each turn has a time limit so you can't dawdle. Not to mention in a team it really can get crazy, and you can also pick up NPC's to help battle on your side if you are alone. And you control the NPC's! You just can't give them new items or take their items and give them to someone else, but there is no problem with that, and helps prevent cheating! So, that leads me to my score...

Those Who Like Turn Takers: 10/10!

Those Who Don't: 5 or 6 out of 10.

Item/Equipment:

Although pretty slow at first, the items in this game start to pick up, and the fact you can use them in battle is just great. You can have a main attacker and make the NPC heal your attacker every turn with an item, so that works out well! And the Item Making may be tedious, but is well worth it! Only problem is the gold, which you can only get by selling items from what I've seen. And although you only start out with two pieces of equipment, it won't be long before you can gain some weapons and new items! So overall,

Items: 8/10.

Customization (Character and Equipment wise):

Now, right off the bat you are given may options from different looking characters, both male and female. You also get to choose their element, which plays a big role in which spells they get. You can also choose hair, eye, clothe, and skin color. I'd like to point out by "Clothes" they mean when you have no equip on, the undershirt you are wearing, you get to choose the color of that. Moving on! Every new piece of equipment you put on seems to alter the characters appearance in one way or another, which is great so it isn't repititive! As for weapon customizing, I must admit I haven't gotten the need for making a weapon or upgrading one yet, but I know there is a way too! So overall...

Customization: 8/10

Grind:

Oh boy, I can hear everyone freaking out now! Quite possibly what makes or breaks a game, the grind in this game is nice and steady. It doesn't take too long to level up, but you also can't whip through it like there's no tomorrow. Of course the first few levels go fast, but beyond that it's nice and steady, but not too long. And considering a lot of people have NPC's in their solo party that take 45 to 50% of the EXP away from you, the grind still isn't bad at all!

Grind: 9/10

Conclusion: So, here was the major points of the game, and what most people look at in an MMORPG. Like I said, I tried to be as unbiased as possible, and also tried to look at it from many perspectives. So, before I give my overall rating, let's take a quick recap...

For Those Who Like Anime-ish Graphics: 9/10
Those Who Don't: 6/10
Story: 10/10
Lag: 9.5/10
Those Who Like Turn Takers: 10/10!
Those Who Don't: 5 or 6 out of 10
Items: 8/10
Customization: 8/10
Grind: 9/10

Alright, so here it is, my overall score of this game...

OVERALL: 9/10

Yes, this game is very fun, and lives up to it's hype for those who enjoy the graphics and battle system. A well put together MMORPG, and not one that looks like a teenage kid made in his basement in two or three days. This one looks like it took time to make, and IGG made a good move hosting it! Well, there was my review, and whether or not you disagree I am willing to understand. Still, I hoped you enjoyed it, and if you have any questions feel free to post them! Thank you for your time, and have a nice day!

i agree with this review

Are you suppose to be reviewing a game thats in "closed beta"? I thought that was against MMORPG policy and you can be banned?

Just a fair warning!

totally agree. this game is pretty good for a free game.

Originally posted by Citron

Are you suppose to be reviewing a game thats in "closed beta"? I thought that was against MMORPG policy and you can be banned?

 

Just a fair warning!

Oh jeeze! Really? Guess I must have accidentally missed that part of the policy. Thanks for telling me this!

Originally posted by mochokoy

 

Originally posted by Citron

Are you suppose to be reviewing a game thats in "closed beta"? I thought that was against MMORPG policy and you can be banned?

 

Just a fair warning!

 

Oh jeeze! Really? Guess I must have accidentally missed that part of the policy. Thanks for telling me this!

No, you're fine. There is no NDA on this game and they are handing out beta keys like candy. 

Nice review, by the way. I am downloading this game right now and your post made me very excited to try this game out.

I tried the game during the closed beta. I really enjoyed it although i didn't have time to explore much or reach more than lvl 10

I'll Generally agree with this review. I would not give "the Grind" a 9/10.

I have played this game for a short while. My character is LvL 29 and my NPC pet is also LvL 29.

First, you didn't mention the Crafting ability in the game. Second, you didn't mention anything of the other things you can do.

The quests are generally hard to find and not very descriptive. While in the town or village you dont know who has a quest and who doesn't. You have to click on every NPC to find out who has the quests.

Crafting in this game is a huge drag. There are pieces in this game you need that will take you hours to complete. If you dont have the mats to build it, it sends you back to grinding to get mats. Which is more time. Some piece require an abundunce of materials to make. Once you aquire all of them, there is a huge amount of time to put them all together to get the one piece you need. Some pieces take 1 minute, others take betwee 15-45 minutes. Lots of sitting huh?

The experience gain in this game is way slow unless you are in a party and can do "exploded exp" on the baddies. Every player will combo attack on the baddie at once. The more combos the more exp.

Since playing this game I have been watching more TV  in my life than I ever had. I happen to run across a quest that gives you a remote. Yes a remote. Set it up and let the game play. Botting for the win. I have set it up to play while i sleep To gain mats and gain exp. If the remote would work on crafting , you could literaly AFK your way through this game. Not hard. You also get a vacuum that you can setup on a collection spot to get Ore, Clay, flowers, Grasses and Woods and simply walk away from the game and it does it for ya. Once you get a bunch of mats, you get the joy of sitting in your tent building stuff which, Takes more time , then you go back to botting.

This is a good game and it needs tweaked really bad. It's just a huge time sink. Best thing to do is have like 2-4 characters collecting different things and mailing them to your main for building or sale for gold.

Overall I felt really detached from the game. You simply need too many mats to build things and they just take way too long to build.

Now,  I'm not in a hurry to get to LvL 200. I don't want everything you can craft within 1 day. The accomplishments are not rewarding at all for the amount of time,  mats, effort you have to put in to get it.

If you dont believe me, Get the crude oil equipment. Make a note just how much time spent getting mats and building time, to get it.