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Posted: 06 May 2012 09:22 AM PDT

[More info] It has been quite some time since anyone heard about X.A.O.C, and it is a pleasant surprise seeing game back in the headlines again. Developed in Taiwan by Winking Entertainment, I was told the name is actually a Russian word meaning “Chaos”. First revealed way back at E3 2010 (link), the game is now confirmed to be shipping to all the major online gaming regions, including North America, Europe, China and Korea, although the developer stopped short of naming the companies involved.

The latest game X.A.O.C below shows a generous duration of combat and one of the instance dungeons. The combat is a non-target one, but personally, that hovering mouse icon is really an eyesore. Noticed the character carrying 3 different weapons in the 2nd part of the video? While some games have weapon swapping, the weapons are mysteriously kept in an alternate dimension until being used. This extra touch of showing all the weapons is really welcoming for me.

Talk about a clash of cultures. Despite having a core team of Taiwanese staff, X.A.O.C’s assistant producer actually hails from the Korean gaming industry and the game is also a joint effort between both the Taiwan and Korean studios. X.A.O.C is not actually not totally Eastern influenced, but there are various elements from the Western cultures as well in outfit and architecture designs. While some folks might see this as a misplaced or confusing sense of game design, it is actually deliberate on the developer’s part to have this fantasy “fusion”.

One of the more interesting features I read about X.A.O.C requires players to be dead. Well, in-game dead, not dead-dead. If you played World of Warcraft, you would have known that players enter a “ghost mode” and will need to run back to their corpse to revive. The same goes for X.A.O.C, but there will be more special ghostly and demonic NPCs to interact with. You might be given crafting materials only available from this realm (for use in the living realm), but I am looking forward to see if there are special “dead” quests as well.

Unfortunately, there is a limited time for players to stay in this mode. Overshot it, and the ghost guards will be after you. These are boss-class monsters, and it will be near impossible to escape their claws. But if you do and manage to revive before being “captured”, the equipments in your living realm will be severely damaged. Think of it as a lesser punishment than “spirited away”.

I ain’t sure if the Western players will like this, but the tea drinking function is actually one of the game’s touted features. Pretty much like a crafting/ life skill, players are able to boil tea in a manner close to reality, sitting down, fanning the cooking teapot etc. Players must control these movements and even observe the weather to boil a good pot of tea. There is a chance for players to consume “bad tea”, which will lead inflict negative status.

Another… hmn, both unique and strange feature is the hot spring spots. A favorite of Asians, especially the Japanese, characters in X.A.O.C are able to locate several hot spring rest areas across the world in towns or out in the wilds. All these hot springs will have different themes and designs. Players will be able to use these spots to get additional buffs and even socialize with others~ And yes, the hot springs in the wilds act as safe havens as well, with the wild mobs not able to get near them.

Jumping back into the game’s combat system, there are 3 different modes within it. For “Attack”, it is the normal mode for continuous fighting. Choosing the right time after normal attacks, “Break” mode will deal more damage. “Speed” mode is used when breaking up enemy’s skill or spell cast. This system sounds a little similar to Age of Wulin’s, but in a non-target environment.

That is all for now, feels like ages since I typed so much stuff =.=”’ The game is in its final stage of development, and will go for the beta phase at the end of this year. Just a note, the development team did mention that some features such as the ghost realm might be localized for different regions due to… well, religious issues. Once again, more information for the game such as the live weather system and character classes can be found in my previous posts (link).

Dungeon Keeper Online (CN)

Posted: 05 May 2012 11:57 PM PDT

Back in May 2010 (link), I first posted about one of the biggest online game developer and publisher in China, NetDragon, working on Dungeon Keeper Online. The game is a joint production between NetDragon and Electronic Arts (EA), and there was quite a skeptical bunch of gamers since the developer is from China. Most didn’t know that the producer is actually a Westerner from EA! Having the chance to play the latest Elite Closed Beta phase, let us take a brief look at how true the game stayed to its predecessor!

For the races (below), there are currently 2 available: Humans and Demons. These 2 are further divided into male and female. The races missing from the roster includes the Loli (yes, that is the name of the race, not Dwarf , female only) and Demi-Demon (male only).

Next, there are the character classes. All races so far share the same 6 classes (all classes end with a “Lord” at the end): Dual Blade, Restoration, Giant Shield, Destruction, Giant Sword and Element. I am sure you guys can figure out what each class does. Character creation is quite limited in terms of editing features, but the choosing of horns and tails for the male Demon is certainly interesting. Cash shop horns and tails is a good idea!

As there is no full screen option to accommodate my monitor, I had to go for a windowed game mode. And surprisingly, the chat box is not within the game itself, but rather an additional panel to the left side of the game. Is this really such a good idea? Hmn… Anyway, I am playing as a Demon Destruction Lord in this first try of the game. Read the text before watching the videos!

Ok, the starting part of the game is actually the tutorial prologue, which is not really told to players adequately in advance. Here, the basic controls are being taught. I know, this looks like World of Warcraft, but as I mentioned in my previous posts about the game, there is both an open world element and dungeon keeping one in the game.

Back to standard combat, you will notice that some mobs can be “tortured” and beaten the crap out of even if their health reaches zero, causing more loots and experience points to gain. Pretty neat eh? An example of a fun quest in the tutorial is when I was asked to find 3 female NPCs and forcefully kiss them. I love being bad!

So, characters learn skills as normal when the appropriate level is reached although there are no stats to be added (Str, Con, Dex etc). Skills can also be upgraded to higher levels when the level requirement is met. For recovery, there are instant pots which takes 1min to cooldown and also food as well, where players have to be uninterrupted while being healed. Pretty a pain in the arse when meeting with aggro mobs.

Before going on to the part about dungeon, one more thing about combat. So, there are a total of 17 world bosses ranging from level 12 to 84 (you can see the level 12 one in the videos) and also instanced dungeons as well, which I never did enter during this brief game test. However, there are random times a portal will just appear and hint players to enter with a party. Well, I entered one alone and died tragically, which can be seen in one of the game videos. Sigh…

Ok, about dungeon now. See the big button at the lower part of the screen, right in the middle? That is where players can click to enter their dungeon. Materials needed to expand your dungeon are gathered from the open world map, where material drops can be clicked and prompting your minions to load them up and send to your dungeon inventory. Players must then deposit them from the inventory to the total material count. Talking about minions, you can attract more minions by building more living quarters. Players may also right click on any minions to “whack” those who have the “zzzz” sign and not making themselves useful

To build and upgrade structures, gold is needed too. Players can deposit gold gained from the open world into the dungeon. It is like a totally different game! Do note that both the open world and dungeon are developed using different game engines, a rarity in the industry now perhaps? Just when you thought the dungeon is just like a demonized The Sims, think again. Other players may attack your dungeon and loot everything away!

Other features not yet experienced or added into the game includes the PvP Arena, Player Vs Player (from the 2 different factions), Guild PvP battles, Castle Siege (with NPCs aiding),3 classes within one character and more! Gosh, are they going to add every element into this game?!

So, here is my verdict through this small preview. The game is an absolute hit for me! I am seen as a strict gamer who trashes almost every online titles nowadays, but Dungeon Keeper Online is just awesome! Note how much content there has been already right off the game’s start. I am in love with it, and seeing that Dungeon Keeper Online is listed on NetDragon’s English portal as an upcoming title (link), I can’t wait!

Similar Article can be found at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2011/09/dungeon-keeper-online-cn-exclusive.html

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