by Lynn Kraczek
With over one and a half million accounts, Fallen Sword is well on its way to the top of the browser game phenomenon. It's one of those games that you stumble into and then when you look at the clock again you wonder just where the time went. It's also one of those rare games that really doesn't require you to be on for huge chunks of time, which is a big bonus for those trying to stay out of the proverbial doghouse while at work or with the significant other. The icing on the cake though, is the community that is integral to the game. If you do any research at all, you'll hear endless tales of how responsive the developers are and how hard they work to keep the game fresh and fun. These days, that trait is exceedingly rare, which makes it all the more impressive to me.
At first glance, the browser page is crowded with information and not very friendly to a new player. There are a host of ads from various in-game people and guilds, along with any news updates from the game. Along the left hand side are all the navigational buttons for game play, and frankly, there are a ton of them. My saving grace was noticing a small blurb in a corner catering to the ew player?that directed me to both the Fallen Sword forums and the Wiki. Once I spent a few minutes reading over the recommended resources, I felt much better prepared and even a bit excited. My initial frustration continued briefly once I logged in because I didn't readily see where I was supposed to bend I never did stumble across the tutorial I had read about. All that said, once I did figure out where I was going, it was much, much easier and I was able to relax and enjoy the game for what it was (and promptly forgot all concepts of time). I hacked and slashed away at monsters and even an occasional PC until I ran right out of stamina. I finished a few quests and received some new items to help me on my journey ?until I ran out of stamina.
Stamina. The primary ability that allows you to move and engage in combat. You start out with a pool of 500, and while that works for a while, it quickly depletes and only regenerates at a rate of fifty stamina per hour. For a gamer with a lot of time to play, this is a huge drawback. But, for the gamer that really doesn have an unlimited availability of time, this is actually a great feature. This is insurance to the player that even though he may have only an hour to immerse himself in a virtual world, he won fall behind because of his lack of play time. Most games these days will tout friendliness to both casual and power gamers, but in reality, very few actually end up true to that claim. The only other thing that I had issue with was the fact that you lose quite a bit of XP if you die to a monster. If you happen to die to a mob at the beginning of a new level then it quite possible that you lose that new level as well. This setback can be remedied by using some FSP to give you protection against falling below a set number of experience points. This is something I definitely used, since I have a tendency to rush headlong into combat against things that very possibly hurt me badly.
One of the greatest perks is that the currency in Fallen Sword is a combination of gold and FSP. You can buy equipment at the Auction House with gold or FSP and you can purchase upgrades for your character with FSP. Some of the upgrades are very tantalizing, especially when you start out with only 3 back pack slots but can buy yourself a few more. The protection against XP loss, ability to purchase in game gold, and stamina enhancements are just a couple of the many options you have to make things more convenient for playing. Because these two currencies are used interchangeably and can be traded from person to person, it gives both the player who can afford to spend real life money and the player who can invest in the game often the same opportunities. Player trades are another perk that are simple to execute, which is quite helpful when you are recruiting your friends to play and you need to help them out right away. It was very helpful to me when I received 3 shipments from random high level people that had anticipated a new player needs. I mean, really, who would turn down a welcome basket? Another great thing is that I am able to send items and money to anyone without having to meander around to find a mailbox or a physical Auction House.
When I first zoned into the Misty Mountains there were plenty of enemies to kill even before I found my first quest NPC. I never seemed to be left searching for something to kill, which is very refreshing after playing games where everyone and their brother are hunting for the same mob. The quests were easy to complete and gear was abundant both in drops and quest rewards. This ease of game play made it much easier to relax and just have fun without the worry of new equipment upgrades or other typical game concerns.
Guilds are a whole other dynamic to Fallen Sword. In order to create a guild, you need to be level 25, but you can join one much earlier. Guilds are able to build and upgrade special structures in order to give stat increases to all their members, and I think that is a huge incentive to join up with one of these online communities. Those ability score buffs enabled a player two levels lower than me to one shot me; guilds are a huge bonus feature.
Overall, it a great game for a casual player. There are a lot of qualities that make it fun and enjoyable to dabble in but it probably not the best playground for a hardcore, obsessive gamer. I dislike the reliance on buying FSP to make the game more playable, but at later levels you can buy FSP with in-game gold. I like the simplistic style of combat and the ease of leveling. For a relative newcomer to browser games it pretty easy to pick up the basic points of the game. I think there are plenty of different attributes to Fallen Sword that a lot of gamers can find something that draws them into the world of Erildath.
Pros: The relative simplicity, the community, quick advancement
Cons: The restraints that stamina puts on game play, the chance to lose levels by death
Game Play - 7
Stability - 9
Interface ?7
Community - 9
Reviewer's Tilt ?8
Overall Rating ?8
Download Address:http://www.cheatson9.com/google/224.html
Children Day In-Game Promotion on June 1st
SmartCell Technology is celebrating International Children Day on June 1st by offering Shadow of Legend players the chance to receive ten FREE onbons?in the game.
The bonbons are items that you can use to recover your character health and mana up to 60% - something most players need during dire situations in combat.
Here how you can obtain your onbon?
1. Log into Shadow of Legend on June 1st.
2. Find the vent Envoy?NPC at either of these coordinates. Depending on your camp, your coordinates will be:
Union: Sanwennesia (721, 1157)
Chaos: GreyRock Castle (393, 907)
3. Speak to the vent Envoy?and you shall receive your ten FREE bonbons.
4. The bonbons are bound, which means they cannot be traded or sent through your in-game mail.
Don miss out on this one-day only event! In the meantime, SmartCell hopes youe enjoying the new update.
Download Address:http://www.cheatson9.com/google/215.html
ION 2008 - No More Walled Gardens: Communicating With PLAYXPERT
by Jason Van Horn
If you're going to have someone do a lecture on MMOs and how community needs to be properly established in order for a game to grow and thrive, having President/CEO of PLAYXPERT Charles F. Manning as the guest speaker isn't a bad way to start things out. PLAYXPERT is a company that provides in-game community management tools for gamers using a unique overlay technology and an extensible widget architecture. Based on the hour long lecture, there were a number of valid points that were made regarding the best way to establish community in a game, even if the "free for all" idea seems frightening at first.
Manning said that, "Community is business, but unfortunately it's an afterthought." He validated his point by declaring that the community of most MMOs is nothing more than a forum. The forum community, however, seems to be disappearing as we move further along the development of MMOs in general, as there aren't even many official forums for games anymore. For instance, one of the biggest recent MMO releases was Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, a game that didn't start with an official forum and to this date still does not have one. How are gamers supposed to get together? Most Tabula Rasa players have had to flock to secondary forums to find other players, but when you have so many players split across so many sites for info, it can be difficult to make everyone feel like a tight knit bunch.
In Manning's mind an MMO can't truly have a community unless it's completely free and open. The idea of an open community not even kept in line by the developers is a scary endeavor, yet there does seem like the chance for something great to flourish in such an environment. When talking about what a community needs, Manning said that it should follow the four Cs: Connections, Content, Communication, and Commerce. He continued by saying that a well-balanced community needs to have an identity, trust, reputation, history, segmentation, and feedback loops. Manning added that too often even in-game communities are nothing more than a buddy list, showing the player who they've met in the game, rather than exist to show a network of people coming together for a singular purpose.
There seemed to be a slightly audible gasp among the audience of the lecture when Manning declared, "The Game Is The Medium ?The Community Is The Game." Manning had several ideas in regards to bridging the gap between players, including configuring the official site to co-exist with third party fan sites, and hiring third party partners to support middleware. He was also a big supporter behind the idea of allowing people to do non-game activities while still in the game, a key he felt was vitally important in allowing MMOs to become truly immersive. His final note on the topic was that it was critically important to always think as both a producer and consumer to gather all the information possible.
There seemed to be a slightly audible gasp among the audience of the lecture when Manning declared, "The Game Is The Medium ?The Community Is The Game." Manning had several ideas in regards to what needed to be done in order for games to better bridge the gap between players. Configuring the official site to co-exist with third party fan sites, or hiring third party partners to support middleware, allow users to stay in-game even if they're doing something that isn't pertaining exactly to the game. He also felt that leveraging third party communities for awareness makes the game seem fully immersive at all times. His final note on the topic was that it was critically important to always think as both a producer and consumer to gather all the information possible.
It's intimidating to think of a game world where there are no walls keeping out unwanted programs or elements that the game developers didn't intend to have in the first place, but if Mr. Manning is indeed correct, that's exactly what needs to happen in order for MMOs to truly have a community and not merely a buddy list comparable to that of an instant messaging program.
Download Address:http://www.cheatson9.com/google/197.html
ION 2008 - Redefining Virtual Worlds
by Jason Van Horn
There is a distinct divide that exists between virtual worlds and the worlds of classically labeled MMO games. The line, however, has been propagated and placed between the two by people in the media more than anyone else, and it's a phrase that the developers are quite sick of hearing. "I hate the word virtual. Let's just call them worlds," said Erik Bethke of GoPets Ltd. while on the 2008 ION Game Conference's panel entitled Redefining Virtual Worlds For Mass Market Consumption. Dave Elchoness (Association of Virtual Worlds), John K. Bates (Mindark/Entropia Universe), Craig Sherman (Gaia Online), and Rob Lanphier (Linden Labs) all joined Bethke during the panel, and each of them had some interesting thoughts on the worlds they've created and how they are seen in the eyes of other people.
"Yes, virtual worlds need to be redefined," said Bates. "Language is tremendously important. Is a digital item more important than a virtual item?" The differences between a digital item and a virtual item are in name only, as they are literally the exact same thing. As Bates pointed out, however, labeling something as "virtual" is given less importance in the West than it is in the Far East.
There seemed to be a little animosity between some of the panelists and Rob Lanphier, the Director of Open Source Development at Linden Labs. Whenever a story comes out involving virtual worlds, it seems as if Linden Labs' Second Life is always front and center. This occurs often to the disadvantage of other companies involved in creating virtual worlds that may not share any similarities with that property, and yet are lumped in with it all the same . "If revenue is everything, then fine, but if we are talking about expanding games more than beyond questsecond Life was over hyped this past year to where it is today. It's still looked at as a toy," said Lanphier. Bethke soon followed up Lanphier's statement by adding that he is, "frustrated with Second Life's execution."
The idea of Second Life having no "context" was a huge talking point between all the panelists. For Bates the "context" comes from the gamers themselves, who use Second Life's universe and tools to create their own game world to experience, thus providing the "context" themselves. Other panelists, on the other hand, seemed to think Second Life's lack of overall vision was a hampering system not just for the game, but also for the perception of all virtual worlds currently in existence.
"Who is responsible for providing the narrative?" said Lanphier, seemingly starting off the chain reaction of argument among the panelists, stating that it wasn't always necessary for the virtual world creators to always bring into play more than the world itself. Bethke made an analogy about how LEGO?sells mostly sets you put together rather than just the building blocks to make whatever you want with them. Another panelist thought that developers should at least give players a sense of something to do, as players like being given suggestions when they first start playing, and that "people get satisfaction from getting things done and checked off a list."
It was a spirited debate among the panelists, showing that while game developers may find themselves in the same industry or genre, that doesn't necessarily mean they have to share the same common set of ideas or vision.
Download Address:http://www.cheatson9.com/google/196.html
Fallen Sword Review
by Lynn Kraczek
With over one and a half million accounts, Fallen Sword is well on its way to the top of the browser game phenomenon. It's one of those games that you stumble into and then when you look at the clock again you wonder just where the time went. It's also one of those rare games that really doesn't require you to be on for huge chunks of time, which is a big bonus for those trying to stay out of the proverbial doghouse while at work or with the significant other. The icing on the cake though, is the community that is integral to the game. If you do any research at all, you'll hear endless tales of how responsive the developers are and how hard they work to keep the game fresh and fun. These days, that trait is exceedingly rare, which makes it all the more impressive to me.
At first glance, the browser page is crowded with information and not very friendly to a new player. There are a host of ads from various in-game people and guilds, along with any news updates from the game. Along the left hand side are all the navigational buttons for game play, and frankly, there are a ton of them. My saving grace was noticing a small blurb in a corner catering to the ew player?that directed me to both the Fallen Sword forums and the Wiki. Once I spent a few minutes reading over the recommended resources, I felt much better prepared and even a bit excited. My initial frustration continued briefly once I logged in because I didn't readily see where I was supposed to bend I never did stumble across the tutorial I had read about. All that said, once I did figure out where I was going, it was much, much easier and I was able to relax and enjoy the game for what it was (and promptly forgot all concepts of time). I hacked and slashed away at monsters and even an occasional PC until I ran right out of stamina. I finished a few quests and received some new items to help me on my journey ?until I ran out of stamina.
Stamina. The primary ability that allows you to move and engage in combat. You start out with a pool of 500, and while that works for a while, it quickly depletes and only regenerates at a rate of fifty stamina per hour. For a gamer with a lot of time to play, this is a huge drawback. But, for the gamer that really doesn have an unlimited availability of time, this is actually a great feature. This is insurance to the player that even though he may have only an hour to immerse himself in a virtual world, he won fall behind because of his lack of play time. Most games these days will tout friendliness to both casual and power gamers, but in reality, very few actually end up true to that claim. The only other thing that I had issue with was the fact that you lose quite a bit of XP if you die to a monster. If you happen to die to a mob at the beginning of a new level then it quite possible that you lose that new level as well. This setback can be remedied by using some FSP to give you protection against falling below a set number of experience points. This is something I definitely used, since I have a tendency to rush headlong into combat against things that very possibly hurt me badly.
One of the greatest perks is that the currency in Fallen Sword is a combination of gold and FSP. You can buy equipment at the Auction House with gold or FSP and you can purchase upgrades for your character with FSP. Some of the upgrades are very tantalizing, especially when you start out with only 3 back pack slots but can buy yourself a few more. The protection against XP loss, ability to purchase in game gold, and stamina enhancements are just a couple of the many options you have to make things more convenient for playing. Because these two currencies are used interchangeably and can be traded from person to person, it gives both the player who can afford to spend real life money and the player who can invest in the game often the same opportunities. Player trades are another perk that are simple to execute, which is quite helpful when you are recruiting your friends to play and you need to help them out right away. It was very helpful to me when I received 3 shipments from random high level people that had anticipated a new player needs. I mean, really, who would turn down a welcome basket? Another great thing is that I am able to send items and money to anyone without having to meander around to find a mailbox or a physical Auction House.
When I first zoned into the Misty Mountains there were plenty of enemies to kill even before I found my first quest NPC. I never seemed to be left searching for something to kill, which is very refreshing after playing games where everyone and their brother are hunting for the same mob. The quests were easy to complete and gear was abundant both in drops and quest rewards. This ease of game play made it much easier to relax and just have fun without the worry of new equipment upgrades or other typical game concerns.
Guilds are a whole other dynamic to Fallen Sword. In order to create a guild, you need to be level 25, but you can join one much earlier. Guilds are able to build and upgrade special structures in order to give stat increases to all their members, and I think that is a huge incentive to join up with one of these online communities. Those ability score buffs enabled a player two levels lower than me to one shot me; guilds are a huge bonus feature.
Overall, it a great game for a casual player. There are a lot of qualities that make it fun and enjoyable to dabble in but it probably not the best playground for a hardcore, obsessive gamer. I dislike the reliance on buying FSP to make the game more playable, but at later levels you can buy FSP with in-game gold. I like the simplistic style of combat and the ease of leveling. For a relative newcomer to browser games it pretty easy to pick up the basic points of the game. I think there are plenty of different attributes to Fallen Sword that a lot of gamers can find something that draws them into the world of Erildath.
Pros: The relative simplicity, the community, quick advancement
Cons: The restraints that stamina puts on game play, the chance to lose levels by death
Game Play - 7
Stability - 9
Interface ?7
Community - 9
Reviewer's Tilt ?8
Overall Rating ?8
Download Address:http://www.cheatson9.com/google/224.html
Children Day In-Game Promotion on June 1st
SmartCell Technology is celebrating International Children Day on June 1st by offering Shadow of Legend players the chance to receive ten FREE onbons?in the game.
The bonbons are items that you can use to recover your character health and mana up to 60% - something most players need during dire situations in combat.
Here how you can obtain your onbon?
1. Log into Shadow of Legend on June 1st.
2. Find the vent Envoy?NPC at either of these coordinates. Depending on your camp, your coordinates will be:
Union: Sanwennesia (721, 1157)
Chaos: GreyRock Castle (393, 907)
3. Speak to the vent Envoy?and you shall receive your ten FREE bonbons.
4. The bonbons are bound, which means they cannot be traded or sent through your in-game mail.
Don miss out on this one-day only event! In the meantime, SmartCell hopes youe enjoying the new update.
Download Address:http://www.cheatson9.com/google/215.html
ION 2008 - No More Walled Gardens: Communicating With PLAYXPERT
by Jason Van Horn
If you're going to have someone do a lecture on MMOs and how community needs to be properly established in order for a game to grow and thrive, having President/CEO of PLAYXPERT Charles F. Manning as the guest speaker isn't a bad way to start things out. PLAYXPERT is a company that provides in-game community management tools for gamers using a unique overlay technology and an extensible widget architecture. Based on the hour long lecture, there were a number of valid points that were made regarding the best way to establish community in a game, even if the "free for all" idea seems frightening at first.
Manning said that, "Community is business, but unfortunately it's an afterthought." He validated his point by declaring that the community of most MMOs is nothing more than a forum. The forum community, however, seems to be disappearing as we move further along the development of MMOs in general, as there aren't even many official forums for games anymore. For instance, one of the biggest recent MMO releases was Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, a game that didn't start with an official forum and to this date still does not have one. How are gamers supposed to get together? Most Tabula Rasa players have had to flock to secondary forums to find other players, but when you have so many players split across so many sites for info, it can be difficult to make everyone feel like a tight knit bunch.
In Manning's mind an MMO can't truly have a community unless it's completely free and open. The idea of an open community not even kept in line by the developers is a scary endeavor, yet there does seem like the chance for something great to flourish in such an environment. When talking about what a community needs, Manning said that it should follow the four Cs: Connections, Content, Communication, and Commerce. He continued by saying that a well-balanced community needs to have an identity, trust, reputation, history, segmentation, and feedback loops. Manning added that too often even in-game communities are nothing more than a buddy list, showing the player who they've met in the game, rather than exist to show a network of people coming together for a singular purpose.
There seemed to be a slightly audible gasp among the audience of the lecture when Manning declared, "The Game Is The Medium ?The Community Is The Game." Manning had several ideas in regards to bridging the gap between players, including configuring the official site to co-exist with third party fan sites, and hiring third party partners to support middleware. He was also a big supporter behind the idea of allowing people to do non-game activities while still in the game, a key he felt was vitally important in allowing MMOs to become truly immersive. His final note on the topic was that it was critically important to always think as both a producer and consumer to gather all the information possible.
There seemed to be a slightly audible gasp among the audience of the lecture when Manning declared, "The Game Is The Medium ?The Community Is The Game." Manning had several ideas in regards to what needed to be done in order for games to better bridge the gap between players. Configuring the official site to co-exist with third party fan sites, or hiring third party partners to support middleware, allow users to stay in-game even if they're doing something that isn't pertaining exactly to the game. He also felt that leveraging third party communities for awareness makes the game seem fully immersive at all times. His final note on the topic was that it was critically important to always think as both a producer and consumer to gather all the information possible.
It's intimidating to think of a game world where there are no walls keeping out unwanted programs or elements that the game developers didn't intend to have in the first place, but if Mr. Manning is indeed correct, that's exactly what needs to happen in order for MMOs to truly have a community and not merely a buddy list comparable to that of an instant messaging program.
Download Address:http://www.cheatson9.com/google/197.html