1. ja n ua ry 1 0 | W e b z i n e is s u e 1
onlinE MAssivE gAMEs
special preview
world of warcraft:
Cataclysm
Many Men role playing girl
game Reviews:
Interviews: > Age Conan
The SecreT World – chatting with > Aion
F u n c o m P r o d u c e r D i r e c t o r R a g n a r Tø r n q u i s t
> Empire Craft
Star Trek Online – Craig Zinkievich, > Free Realms
game producer tells us about the mixing > Hello Kitty
aspects to create a brilliant game. > Junk Battles
The origins of Sandbox

3. our 1st edition
This is our first encounter with OMG – Online Massi/v/e Luca “Venom” Braj is our specialist in
Games. This is a new kind of experience for both our team Theme Park MMORPGs and strategic or
sport Browser Games. Since his strong
(born on a normal website dedicated to MMOrpGs), and point is that of great altruism, he’s the one
for you as well, I hope, because this is the first WebZine fully that is regularly in charge of reviewing the
focused on massive videogaming. less promising MMORPGs or the more
obvious Browser games. So, if you always
see low ratings in his reviews don’t think
he’s a bad guy, it’s not his fault.
Why did we choose a WebZine? The first plays them anyway, believing that they
real reason is because there are already are quality products, varied products, Alessio “Grig” Zappalorti is our Hardcore
too many MMORPG and Browser Games often perfect products, ignoring the real Specialist. He plays everything, even
websites out there, but also because, capability of MMORPGs and Browser though he prefers sandbox MMORPGs.
as we realized in the making of our first games. The trend is slowly changing, Nevertheless, he plays hard with whatever
issue, with this format it will be much more but we, in our own small way, want to game he plays, like only real men can
simple to highlight the valuable contents, accelerate the changes, also because we do. Forged by years of Ultima Online, he
such as in-depth reviews or exclusive are fed up with giving low ratings. lives for pking, pvp and Drama-Bombs on
interviews, which in other websites would forums.
normally tend to end up in the dark after a Let me present myself and my team, since Niccolo’ Bondi is our Free To Play
short time. this magazine gives me the chance to do it. Specialist. He play most Coags and Grind-
My name is Simone Robutti, Editor in Chief Based MMORPGs, working hard due to
However, we won’t just make a difference of OMG and of Gamesource.it, an Italian the long times they require to be tested
with the form, but we will do so above website of which I control the MMORPG deeply.
all with the quality of the contents. Being and Browser Games section. Together
able to focus our attention on a few with Luca Braj, Alessandro Zappalorti and Simone “Chobeat” Robutti, that’s me,
assignments, we will aim to make them Niccolo’ Bondi we took upon ourselves is an ignorant fanatic who spends whole
the non plus ultra, still trying to be clear to the responsibility and the honor to create days flaming on forums when he should
newcomers, but also achieving works that this magazine of which we have great be writing or playing. Between one flame
are full of opinions and significant ideas, as expectations. Our team will definitely grow and another he dedicates himself to F2P
required by the users that have hung out in during the release of the issues, involving MMORPGs, Browser Games and various
this sector for a long time. new journalists both foreign and Italian. hybrid Mmos. Our advice is to have
nothing to do with him. Besides reviewing,
Above all, ideas are the added value that In every issue you will find a mini-file card he also directs and oversees the works for
we want to bring to the magazine: don’t be for each one of our staff members, and OMG.
shocked if, while reading a review you will possibly the presentation of our new ones.
find a rating that is definitely far from the As I said, ideas are fundamental when We hope that you’ll enjoy the magazine.
common opinion. We evaluate games for discussing videogaming, a concept that for We heartily invite you to send your ideas,
what they are, without distortions, without many of you is not obvious. Therefore, if criticisms and comments to the Email you’ll
being influenced by hype and above all ideas are important, whoever thinks about find on our website, or else, go directly
from the publisher’s money. We appreciate them or writes them is also important. to the forums where you can discuss our
innovation, gameplay deepness, the This is why we will try to keep our team various articles. And now, let’s roll...
originality both in the form and in the the smallest and most compact possible,
contents for games that are orientated to give our readers the chance to know Simone “Chobeat” Robutti,
towards a mature videogaming user base, the various editors well. So, let’s briefly Editor in Chief
and we appreciate the intuitiveness, introduce our members.
immediacy of the fun factor and variety for
kid or casual-oriented games.
If a game is linear, repetitive, dull, obvious,
old, just don’t let us see it or we won’t have
mercy on it. Hundreds of instances, dozens
of classes, last gen graphics, these are all
useless things if the game comes down to
being only grind and farm. The MMORPG
market is in a crisis period, because of a
twisted mechanism that pushes developers
to create always more dull, repetitive,
obvious games. A part of the user base

4. d here
We are gathere l your beliefs on
wellcome
to destroy Mes. We are the neW
al
ga
Massive We are here to stay.
Wave and
We
are here because the Web Of course, we will talk about everything
is full of people too old that people look like a massive online
to talk about MMOs and game: from the casual sports coags the
we believe that there is need for change, a sandbox level hardcore MMORPG from
big change. We believe that MMOs are not Korean MMORPG theme park based on
just about video games because we feel the PvP grind in MMORPGs and most
that whatever they are something more, Western theme park based on the quest-
something more transcendental than just grind and PvE, the strategic management
a level playing field with which they were of addictive BG Mmorts to complex,
created. There is something beyond the from the extreme repetitiveness
gameplay, as well as the polygons and of the RPG via the browser
textures, the levels and classes. immersive worlds BG. But we will
MMOs, especially MMORPGs Browser not talk to muvee, we are not nerd enough.
Games, and some try to play a portion of MMORPGs in particular have
reality in a manner different from classic deserved, in our opinion, a very
videogames. I'm not just talking about special way of synthesizing these thoughts,
livellaggio, take new skills and grind these features are things that simply can
points in PvP. Only by going beyond not be described in a review. Would take findingS on inTeracTion: This is
these things we can understand what it too long to explain every feeling, every what I mentioned earlier. Summarizes all
really is a Massive is the power of the situation, every interaction had. For this we interactions, gaming experiences, thoughts
Demiurge, the mere fact that you can play have designed a voting system to explain caused in the reviewer, but also the degree
in a parallel world full of real people, their it to you, our readers, what is the value of freedom, the complexity and variety of
thoughts, their emotions, their needs and of a MMORPG being a MMORPG is not a tools the game provides to interact with
their ideals. These are the foundations on traditional video game. other players. This includes PvP, trading,
which rests a Massive game, the gameplay systems of guilds, and social and political
it is only a consequence. And pergiunta Technical raTing: This reassume aspects.
continues to evolve, trying to engage all that is related to the implementation
of the game: graphics, sound, stability findingS of The World: in the end,
people in a better way than before, but
and interface. This includes the support, this is the opinion that we use for the
people are always the same.
cross-media content, events in-game or IRL coherence of the world within the game,
events. how it embeds itself in the background and
logic that govern the context in which the
There are online Findings of Lore: This opinion is related to game is set. If players still have the feeling
gameS Where They the quality of the story (if there was one) that there is something odd every time I
and the background. Prize for originality, turn the corner, the vote will therefore be
forgeT The goal consistency and homogeneity with the less.
game.
and inSTead purSue Obviously there will be an overall
findingS on groWTh: This opinion evaluation, but do not see it as a yardstick
dreamS of eaSy refers to both the quality of growth of the for how the game is good, but because
money, ignoring The character that the depth of detail for its they really deserve to be played. You can
customization. For what concerns the first play more games for consoles at the same
people, . . . offering point, we reward quality livellaggio, the time but you can not do the same for a
variety of ways that you can choose to do MMORPG. Therefore if you purchased a
only levelS, arid so and punish the grind, the farm and all bad game you could just stop playing As
SkillS, many monSTerS that is repetitive, unless there are games soon becomes tedious, but you could not
specifically for lovers the grind. For the do the same for a MMORPG, as it would
and Too many areaS second point, we estimate the number mean to lose weeks or even months. A
of classes, races, skills, equipment, or
To be compleTed To anything that you can use to customize
MMORPG should last for a long period of
time, perhaps even years, so you should
conTinue. Well iT'S your character and the level of overall try to decide what you would spend well
balance. in your time. Our judgments are trying to
STill juST a game and suggest the order in which you should try
We are here To Talk the various games that reviews to find just
what is right for you.
abouT SomeThing very
differenT.

5. Many Men role playing Girl
eDIToRIAl
Author: Simone “Chobeat” Robutti
l
et’s now talk about MMORPG The “Frustrated Lamer”
cross-dressing, a really common
The unstoppable annoying activity of
practice since the beginning of
Lamers has been strengthened by this
massive videogaming. This phenomenon
subtle weapon since ages ago, and it’s
has developed in a pretty simple way,
something that could easily trick the less
but the reasons behind it could be many
experienced users. It may have occurred
and complex. It’s a matter of fact that lots
to you as well (especially playing a game
of men, for one reason or another, can
that is crowded with many young users),
decide to create a female character, even
to be contacted by fake girls that want to
sometimes acting and pretending to be
play with you, or maybe even give you their
girl in real life. Now let’s see some of the
number. Even though it’s simple to spot
typical stereotypes of this phenomenon.
these guys because they are dressed up
in the most vulgar way, their most typical
approach is via whisper/pm: “Hi, who are
u? My name is Samantah, do u wanna xp
with me? I feel very hot right now, I even
have the cam, do u wanna add me on
msn?” I want to believe that anyone with
the base IQ to start a computer can avoid
The “Lazy-bum frustrated Lamer”
this kind of approach. Remember: “There
are no Women on the internet” (Cit.) This is the Next level of the Lamer, he
uses the same strategies used by his kind
to gain in-game advantages. He often
uses the gallantry of other male players
(maybe we must say arousal) to his benefit
managing to obtain presents, power
leveling and other various favors. This kind
is definitely more subtle because they act
in a very believable way, in fact, they never
rush the time and often succeed in tricking
even the most veteran players. Once, a
long time ago, I also helped a girl in a
The “nice ass”
game by giving her a lot of stuff. The only
This is usually a pretty frustrated kind thing was that her real name was John…
of guy, who chooses to play a female The “role player”
character only for aesthetic purposes. The “Tomboy”
This sinister, rather rare figure, usually
Many times I heard people saying: “Since
creates female characters to increase the As a consequence of what I just said,
I have to play these many ours with my
difficulty of role playing to consequently the inverse phenomenon could also take
character, she should have at least a fine
improve his interpretative ability. To place, but this time with girls pretending
buttocks”. It’s a pretty frequent remark,
investigate the reasons why such people to be boys. They do such a thing because
especially between the most casual and
exist would mean to dig into the deepest they aim to elude the boys with the
less experienced players. The natural
roots of professional nerding, a world impersonation of male characters, with the
tendency is that to find this choice kind
which sincerely speaking is not my field goal being that of evading the sentence
of frivolous, even though it is sometimes
of expertise. Usually, when they are “You’re not a real woman I know it!,
due to a real sexual frustration or maybe
questioned regarding this, they state that you’re only a fake/troll/lamer”. In this
repressed desires at the unconscious level.
they are men in real life. But remember to way they can finally play relaxed without
specify that you are in “RPG mode OFF” discrimination. This phenomenon is
ore they will never understand what you particularly common in more competitive,
mean by “real”. less frequented by girls kind of games: on
Dofus or Hello Kitty Online they will hardly
ever have to resort to such means.
One final consideration: Men pretend to be
women, women pretend to be men, kids
are ill-mannered and parents don’t control
them enough, you can’t figure out anymore
who’s who and ambiguity reigns sovereign.
And just think, some people still say that
virtual worlds don’t have anything to do
with reality…

6. Sandbox
eDIToRIAl
Sandbox, a word that we hear often nowadays, but of which many ingore
its true significance and origins. Therefore, let’s try to clear things up and
define more precisely what a sandbox is in the videogaming scene and
particularly in MMorpgs.
by Chobeat
The Origins The last step was to start developing games
with an open startup, free from plots and
This word was originally used to refer to the
constrictions, already existent in the past,
classic fenced-in area filled with sand where
but that is now becoming little by little
kids play with their mud pies and buckets.
even more aware and predominant. A
Initially, in the computer field, a test sandbox game is one that doesn’t just give
enviroment was defined as a sandbox, you only the opportunity to choose from
where it could be possible to rapidly one or two choices like normal games do,
experiment all the different characteristics instead, it gives you the freedom to create
for an application, without having to pass them from scratch. This is how, with time,
through all of the interfaces and limitations all of the games of this kind started to be
imposed on the final users. identified with the name “sandbox games”
and to develop new ones with this mentality
This working method existed also in the
clear in mind. We must say though that
development of videogames, with free test
they almost always resulted to be titles for Sandbox in MMOrpg games
environments in which the tester could
connoisseurs, with the exception of rare
imaginatively experiment and try different In MMORPG games, the sandbox concept
cases such as the recently released Little Big
interactions of the character with the things is undoubtedly more complex, but at least
Planet or Scribblenauts.
that surround it, so as to check for possible its boundaries and features can be well
problems. It was decided to include these defined, therefore it appears to be quite a
special areas in the final game, just as it vast subject. So, let’s try to underline the
worked for map editors. The objective was most important points and to give you a
to add some more longevity to the game clear idea of what we are talking about.
and to give the player the opportunity
First of all we must say that for many
to experiment things that otherwise
people, including myself, the idea of
would have been complicated to try out
MMORPG is related to the idea of
in a normal game session. The possible
sandbox. This genre is in fact made of
examples are many but let’s remember
pure interaction, and MMORPGs should
the sandbox level of Black and White, the
be created this way. Unfortunately, that’s
Training sessions of many beat ‘em up
not the way it is. To try to understand this
games, or even special circuits for racing
name assignment conflict we must go back
games, snowboard games, skate games
to the beginning of online rpg history and
etc., etc.
try to learn why these two different types of
products were called like this.
Without going too much into details, so as
not to re-awaken nostalgic feelings in the
more elderly ones among you, we can say
that between 1996 and 2000 a circumstance
began to arise in which two types of games
very different from each other claimed the
title of MMORPG, even if they really didn’t
have almost anything in common. Presently,
these two “branches” are called Sandbox
MMORPG and Theme Park MMORPG and
even if in reality their structural differences
are many, in theory their distinction is
traceable to one point only: the Sandbox
ones aim at giving the players the right
tools to interact with each other and with
the world that surrounds them, while the
Theme Park ones, as suggested by their
name, want the game to lead the player
carefully from start to finish, thus letting
him see everything that the developers
prepared for him along the way.

7. Sandbox characteristics
Just in theory, the supreme idea of sandbox
in a MMORPG would be the one of MuVe,
such as Second Life, There, Whirled or
Metaplace, where everyone can simply do
everything and the only restriction is one’s
intellectual capability and knowledge. But
it’s a shame that the many typical aspects
of an online role playing game would be
missing this way, especially those that are
able to give us an immersive and coherent
gaming experience.
In reality though, the few brave developers
that choose the sandbox path have
conceived many schemes to hit their
objective of giving the players a complete
interaction in a continuously better
The sandbox today
way, filled with a good dose of healthy
amusement. Let’s take a look at which are Although before 2004-2005 the games in
the minimal requirements that define a production seemed balanced between
sandbox type of MMORPG. Sandbox and Theme Park, with the release
of WoW the efforts of the developers Today, whoever wants to play a Sandbox
started pointing in a completely different title, what should he choose? Apart from an
direction, and games that could have given essential: “Wait”, our best advice is: Ultima
interaction freedom: There’s no freedom of action, hope in this kind of way, have been greatly Online, evergreen for this category, Eve
if we can’t do what we want. To slay, rob, stun,
kiss, take in your arms or crush other players is a modified for commercial. Online, unique in its own way, Shadowbane,
fundamental thing to give life to the interactive as soon as the legal emulator goes live,
chain reactions that render this MMorpg genre so
loved by players. or Saga of Ryzom if you have already tried
out the former ones. For those who want a
game that is not actually a sandbox one, but
Territory control: it can be put into practice in
many ways, more or less controlled by the game still has got lots of interaction and freedom:
enviroment. It also concerns sieges, management Atlantica Online, Goonzu/Luminary or
mechanics and construction, bonuses and social
structures. Mabinogi, Haven and Hearth if you want
something more “indie”.
The crafting: it’s important to create your own
items, but to customize them is even more What about the present and the future?
important. The climax of this can be reached in Actually, the only recent sandbox title
those games in which you can customize items that is Darkfall: I don’t want to waste time
also change in their appearance, by choosing the
right materials to make them and having the need to explaining why you shouldn’t play it, I think
experiment in order to discover new combinations. it’s obvious. You should wait for Love, from
Eskil Steenberg, a really cool game actually
Personal belongings or Housing: The possibility to under Alpha Testing. You can wait also for
occupy a part of the game’s territory with something
that is ours is priceless, it may be a house, a Mortal Online, Earthrise or Black Prophecy:
plantation, a shop or even a skyscraper, it doesn’t these games are surely promising but they
matter, the most important thing is to leave your
mark. are still far from the release date.
Free builds/skill based builds: The chance to
customize our character in every way is vital to
be effective and to differentiate each other. The
structure based on classes usually is not suited to
belong in this category, unless you have a really
vast choice to select from, that will make you forget
about the structural limitations.

9. PrevieW: WoRld oF WARCRAFt
name World of WarcrafT: caTaclySm
developer blizzard
releaSe daTe Q2/Q3/2010
by Niccolo’ Bondi
as accurate as a Swiss watch, the next With regards to this, all the quests will be
expansion of World of Warcraft, called now reworked and some of the areas that
cataclysm, was presented at blizzcon were inaccessible before because of the
2009 (the annual event made in blizzard high level request will now be decreased
that is used by this californian company (for example Azshara will be 10-20), and
to promote their products). let’s find this because the old continent will not
out the interesting new changes that fully utilize the phase system that has been
this expansion will bring. introduced with “Lich King”, in fact it will
be deeply changed, so all the new players
that will start in the post-Cataclysm era will
It’s just the same old story… never be able to see what the continents
looked like in the first place and will live
Stay in the same continent, and the same
their adventure directly in these newly
areas so there are no unpleasant surprises.
revised continents (even though it’s not
Yeah this is because, in contrast with its
other expansions (The Burning Crusade
for the Outlands and Wrath of the Lich
King for Northrend), Cataclysm won’t add
any extra continent to those that already
exist, but there will simply be a complete
re-visitation of Azeroth which will be totally
transformed by this imminent cataclysm.
The plot is simple: Deathwing, real name
Neltharion, has woken up more irate than
ever after that he was harbouring his hate
and anger towards the world for thousands
of years, and his power mixed with all the
rage has a negative repercussion on the
poor inhabitants of Kalimdor and those
of the Eastern Kingdom as well, who can
only watch powerlessly as their homeland
is being overturned by the fury of the
elements of nature.
In this way, Kalimdor will be soon split
in two and our loved Barrens will be
disarrayed, destroyed with cracks in the
ground and lava everywhere, Ashenvale
will undergo deforestation by the
forces of the horde, Ogrimmar will be
destroyed, Darkshore will be ruined and
semi-submerged by the wrath of the sea,
Stonetalon will be invaded by volcanoes
and rivers of magma, and all this will affect
every area of the two continents, with the
consequence that they will be totally re- totally clear yet if they will change for will not be that easy: the Goblins will find
made from scratch. everyone or if it will be enough to stay with themselves in some unknown islands after
Vanilla installed on our pc to enjoy the a shipwreck, these islands being controlled
“old” areas). In this apocalyptic scenario by humans who aren’t very friendly with
though, the horde and the alliance will castaways, with the consequence that
have the opportunity to trust in new allies. the humans will mass murder them. The
only thing that will save them from an
Wolf Is money, my frIend announced annihilation will be the The
Horde, that in this way, will bring a new
This cataclysm created by Deathwing will
precious ally for the struggle against the
not affect only the two continents that
Alliance and against the evils of the world:
we know well, but lots of little islands
more precisely Goblins.
scattered in the Great Ocean as well,
which consequently to the earthquakes In the meanwhile in the Eastern Kingdoms,
and volcanic eruptions forced their Goblin in the human nation of Gilneas, the
inhabitants to flee and try to find shelter Forsaken have announced an attack
beyond the sea to evade certain death. on Graymane Wall, the portal that has
Unfortunately for them though, their trip maintained peace for centuries within

10. the human territories. And if the invasion
of zombies wasn’t enough, the poor
inhabitants of Gilneas are also struggling
against their personal problems. In fact,
when the full moon rises, they have an
awful habit of transforming themselves into
blood thirsty werewolves. The night Elves
though will try to help them, succeding in
bringing the bestial Worgen to the side of
the alliance. The addition of these two new
races will not only bring aesthetic changes,
but will also force the programmers to
create new starting areas, this is why
Gilneas and the Lost Isles are born, which
will be part of the new 7 areas of the game,
including Mount Hijal, Uldum, Isle of
Kezan, The Sunken City of Vashj’ir and the
Twilight Highlands.
level Cap, pve and of Shadowfang Keep and Deadmines.
other Changes Deathwing will also appear without a
doubt, as it is his fault if all this uproar
One other substantial change is the
happened and he will pay for it somehow.
increase of the level cap, not consisting
anymore only in the increase of 10 points Another interesting change regarding the
as it already happened, but instead in half progression of our characters is the Path
the points, now bringing the level cap to of the Titans, even though it’s not yet clear
85. From the PvE aspect of the game we on how it works: it should be a sort of
can say that there will not be substantial progression of the char connected to his
changes as seen since now, but maybe just in-game success, with a sort of subordinate
because great news is not yet confirmed: talent tree, but at the time being it’s
one thing that is sure is that there will be something that is not very clear on how
the usual presence of raids connected to it should really work. The Battleground
the lore of the game, an almost certain Rated will finally be implemented thanks
presence of Azshara the Elf queen in the to the many fan requests, levels and
period of time regarding the explosion achievements for the guild, flying mounts
of Kalimdor and the consequent creation in Azeroth and also a new secondary
of the Maelstrom, the great return of profession: Archeology. All in all there are
Ragnaros (this time around he will not many new aspects of the game, the new
be at Molten Core, but instead in a new ideas seem nice, we will just have to wait
instance that takes place in the elemental to see if Blizzard will maintain or not a high
plane of fire), Uldum, the heroic versions standard for all of its products.

11. Review: EMpiRE CRAFt
genre fanTaSy
developer oak pacific inTeracTive
official SiTe http://www.hithere.com/
by Simone “Chobeat” robutti
The chinese market of browser games
is something that is disproportionate
and incomprehensible for us Western
observers. a boundless mass of players
in which dozens of developers and
publishers operate. it is, however, a
closed market and the browser games
that come to us from china are very few.
One of these is Empire Craft, a game of
unparalleled quality and proportions, if
compared with its Western competitors.
Empire Craft (EC hereafter) combines
the mechanics of classic strategic-
management games to the most typical
characteristics of role playing games
(though, still keeping their main flaws). The be able to recruit the usual troops. So far drawbacks that are very well known to all
blending is undoubtedly successful and the nothing new. Let’s start off right from the players of this genre. Both the heroes and
characteristics of the two genres are mixed troops to speak of the many innovations individual units will have levels. If these
together in a homogenous and almost introduced by Empire Craft. The units will unit levels will be decided at the moment
natural way. be many and varied for each race, which of the creation of the troops (by increasing
will have lots of marked differences. The their cost, but also their quality), our hero
races will be: Humans, Dwarves and Orcs, will then progress over time, leveling up
Walclaft thlee each one having its unique units that will through battles, raids, quests and more.
not be simple conversions of the ones Moreover, the hero could be equipped
The setting, the heroes, the races, the from the other races, but totally exclusive with items that will give him bonuses in
units and the story of the in-game world and balanced. The units will be divided battles, or even in duels and arenas. The
will remind us a little too much about the into: Infantry, Cavalry, and siege machines. item pieces will really be numerous, also,
asset of Warcraft 3, in defiance of any law Every unit will have its own personal as will be numerous the potions and other
on copyright and intellectual properties. characteristics and stats, bonus and malus items, which we will be able to obtain and
Even its advertisements, found on many against other types of units and often entrust to our Hero.
sites, don’t even vaguely try to hide the special effects in very specific contexts.
references to Blizzard’s game, which is still The Heroes System is very well studied and
very famous, particularly in the Orient. For It will be possible to send the units to varied: this is undoubtedly the foundation
this reason, this title seems to start off on battle only under the supervision of a Hero, stone on which the quality of EC stands.
the wrong foot and seems to need devious a true fighter general under your control. Each hero will have to be recruited in a
ploys to attract users to the game. It would You will be able to have many heroes, and, Tavern that is to be built in a city, will have
appear therefore natural to approach this consequently, many fleets, but these will an engagement cost and abilities of his
title with serious doubts and little hope, still be in a limited number for each hero, own. In the tavern there could happen
surprisingly, just to find out that this game thus placing a cap limit of total units you to be many types of heroes and a list of
really is not the usual low budget crap can have. This limit is very important for new ones will be updated every day. To
designed to emulate the success of its the gameplay, because it eliminates many randomly choose one of them will hardly
predecessors, but that it’s a true gigantic
work if compared to games of this genre.
To embroider on a cotton cloth
Undoubtedly, Empire Craft has got one
merit: to raise the gameplay of strategic-
management games to a level where they
have never arrived before, not even with
its best representatives such as: FreeSky,
Lords of Evil, nor The Pentacore. So,
starting off from a substrate of components
that are already well known to the average
player, it manages to introduce new
elements to enrich its gameplay and it
does so in order to introduce quality and
not simply by watering down the contents
just to stretch out the game.
We will, therefore, have our classic city
with our classic buildings to construct by
following the classic Build Tree and we will

12. ever be a good choice, while knowing
how to wait will have its benefits. Every
hero will also have a “class”, as in any well
respected Rpg. The classes will correspond
to the various racial ones and our Hero
will then take on the characteristics of
that class in an amplified way. Therefore,
a Human Squire Hero will have much
defense, as it happens for the ordinary
Human Squires which you can recruit in
your buildings.
Ten wolfskins
We’re closing the Empire Craft news review
by talking about the Quest System and
the Event System. There will be a myriad
of quests that you will able to face with
all your troops, only with your hero, by
building in your capital or with your entire
Union. You will start off with a long series
of tutorial quests that will show you basic
functions of the game and of the item
shop. Then, you will have the possibility to
choose which quest to complete first, and
in which field to devote more attention.
The quests will be a great diversion from
the repetitiveness of the game, because
they will give you several ways of earning,
in addition to the classic Accumulate-Build-
Pillage kind of thing that most of these
games fall into after a while.
outside the city Then, there will also be many events of
Obviously, you will also find other players various types that will mark the passing
Another definitely polished aspect of on the world map. The map will always of the week and of the day. Some special
Empire Craft is the in-game world map. be densely populated, in any area you quests, events, bonuses or complementary
Obviously, it will be visual, and with many will begin to play, and it won’t be difficult activities will be available in some
interesting things spread out to find someone that will beat the heck particular days or times; they range from
out of you. Besides the Wild Mines, it will a simple wheel of fortune to very difficult
here and there. First of all, we have cities be possible to attack and occupy other quests for your hero to overcome.
of races controlled by the computer. This player’s cities. By pillaging them you will
will be a good way to practice your hero get bonus resources, while trying to occupy
and test the power of your troops. The them you will be able to gain control of
further from your city, the more they will In conclusion, we have no problems in
them, but only in the case that it isn’t a saying that Empire Craft is one of the
oppose resistance, but at the same time, if player’s capital city. Of course, this will
we win against NPC troops they will grant best titles in its genre, if not the best. It
require several attacks and to occupy an fails to totally eliminate problems such as
us higher earnings. This way, you will find enemy’s city will always be a long and hard
many rare rewards and sometimes even repetitiveness and the need to constantly
job. stay in front of your pc to reach higher
equipment.
You could also make deals with other levels, but it focuses greatly on the
You will also find the Wild Mines, that is, players and form in-game alliances called enhancement of other features. This is a
resources scattered on the in-game map Unions. Through the Unions you could game we would never have bet on, but
that could be occupied and defended coordinate yourself with other players, that has proved to be a real pearl. It’s worth
militarily. Once they are under your control, unlock additional quests or strengthen trying.
you will obtain a large amount of resources the Union itself, that may, in turn, occupy
and could spend your wealth to strengthen the crystal producing Wild Mines. These FiNal raTiNg 8.1
them, but beware: if you’ll lose control mines are essential for some technology prOS:
of the mine, your upgrades will then be and other activities, and without the Union 1. Introduces many new things
under your opponent’s control. However, you could not get them in any other way.
you could control a limited number of 2. Less repetitive than its competitors
Also, by strengthening your Union you will 3. Excellent strategic and management elements
Wild Mines, although it will be difficult to strengthen the Union Shop as well, a store
succeed in controlling many of them at the where you could buy equipment according CONS:
same time, since they are highly desired to the help that you gave to the alliance. 1. Most of the features seem to have
by every player. There will be no limit This store will always have new things to already been seen
level, nor protection to prevent the most sell, little by little, as you upgrade the 2. Copies Warcraft 3 a little too much
powerful players to do what they want with Union.
these mines.

14. Review: HEllo Kitty Free to play
genre fanTaSy
developer Typhoon gameS
official SiTe eu: www.hellokittyonline.eu uSa: http://hko.aeriagames.com/
by Simone “Chobeat” robutti
more detail.
Upon entering, we will be catapulted to
the Sanrio Harbor, an area that is almost
like a tutorial, where we can put to good
use the basics that will be taught to us.
Since HKO is a game that aims at a totally
inexperienced and often very young user
base, its tutorials will often result to be too
many and sometimes also redundant. A
series of flash animations will be present on
the website and in the game patcher, which
will allow us to practice the mechanics of
the game while we wait for the download
to be finished. By giving us detailed
explanations, we will have the chance to
practice them, since these flash animations
will reconstruct the game client. So, if your
8 year old daughter want to try out the
game, be sure that she will encounter no
difficulties at all.
Regarding the extreme simplicity of the
game (which doesn’t mean lack of depth),
there will be a series of gimmicks that will
create a totally casual-friendly gaming
experience suited for the youngest players,
since the world of Hello Kitty is not suited
for bloody massacres or any kind of ugly
stuff. For example, we will never be able
o
to kill a monster, but only to temporarily
ften, when reviewing a MMORPG chopping down a tree or by crafting you
stun him in order to obtain items; also,
you can hear talk about WoW- will obtain experience both for the ability
by dying we will be given no penalties,
Killer, about who will snatch you used and also to level up the overall
except for being sent back to the closest
the throne of WoW and other similar level. At the moment the skills are 8:
city available, not forgetting, of course,
nonsense, since 99% of the times they Mining, Woodcutting, Gathering, Planting,
that the Player Versus Player is not present
are erroneous statements and 100% of Cooking, Carpentry, Tailoring and Forging.
and probably will never be, thus reducing
the times they are stated inappropriately. Obviously, every one of these is quite self-
For once though, it is my turn to say it, explanatory; but we’ll discuss them later in
since the title I am going to talk about has
the potential to become one of the most
played MMORPGs in the world, thanks
to an immensely more relevant brand, if
compared to the obvious Warcraft. Most of
all, it has a gameplay which is very different
from other Kawaii games (where “Kawaii”
is an extremely technical terminology used
to refer to those games that drastically
increase the level of glucose in your blood
stream).
ultima kitty online
Basically, HKO is a 2D sandbox MMORPG
with strong casual and social components.
The growth is skill-oriented, that is,
because both levels and skills (crafting
and harvesting) are present, and will
grow together. Let me explain better:
your level could increase by killing
normal monsters such as it happens in all
other MMORPG games, for example, by

15. often require the collaboration of more
than one player to complete it within an
acceptable amount of time.
There will be a fairly simplified guild system
that will allow us to keep in touch with our
buddies and to organize ourselves in order
to cooperate better. A shared farm will be
present and in the future there will be guild
quests as well, but they’re not available at
the moment.
Let’s end by dedicating some words to the
combat, which even if it’s a marginal aspect
of the game, will still occupy a good part
of the gaming sessions. You will not be
able to kill monsters, but only to stun them
temporarily, as expected from a game of
this type, and the same thing will apply to
you if you’ll be defeated, since you will be
sent back to the nearest city without losses
of any kind. You will not fight with violent
weapons such as swords or spears, but with
more kawaii ones, such as umbrellas, magic
wands and lollipops. Instead of armors we
could use definitely outlandish clothes and
various kinds of accessories.
At the moment the PvE aspect is scant,
the interaction among players to pure is present in the crafting of other games, or but there will still be some bosses that are
cooperation. at least not in the beginning. fairly difficult to kill by yourself and thus will
require the cooperation of many players.
What makes HKO really special is, in fact, Let’s talk about farming now: when we
PvE instances are expected as well, but
the series of complementary activities enter our farm we will be able to dedicate
they lack at the moment also, even if no
designed to adapt to the typical Hello Kitty ourselves to cultivating a large quantity of
one misses them.
fan, rather than its mild and quite marginal plants and trees with a very simple sowing
combat system. It will indeed be possible system, waiting period and harvesting. In When fighting the various monsters, it may
to manage you own field by cultivating it, some ways it could remind us of the system happen to obtain a card that is associated
besides the already mentioned collecting used in Harvest Moon, but definitely in a with that same monster which will permit
and crafting activities. We will be able faster and more simplified way. This activity, us to evoke a pet of the same race that
to build our home, decorate it and if compared to the other harvesting ones, will start to follow us around. We will have
personalize it. We can also play some mini- will result to be definitely more boring to take care of him and feed him: we will
games with a group of other people to fill and repetitive, as well as with a lack of obtain various bonuses in exchange. Some
up the downtime, as well as a dedicated originality and variety. Luckily though, the pets will expand our inventory, some others
lobby and a room system. materials that these activities will give us as will boost our stats and other ones will be
a reward will be less useful if compared, for useful for harvesting activities. At higher
example, to wood or minerals. levels we could have up to 3 pets at the
besides the loveliness, the Sandbox same time.
There will be different types of farms,
Now, let’s go on by looking more carefully which will be unlocked as the game goes
at the individual features that will make on. Each one will give us more instanced
cultivable space and different options, it’s a matter of style
up the most part of the gameplay of HKO.
So, let’s start by talking about crafting in addition to the possibility/obligation I wanted to emphasize the gameplay to
and harvesting, one of the first things we to build a new home that cannot be make you understand that HKO is not
will deal with when we enter the game. transferred from the former land. There is just another game with the label of some
As already mentioned, there will be many also a guild farm that will work in a similar famous brand stuck on it and without
abilities related to the production of way to the personal one, but precisely, will a soul. It’s a game well studied to be
items, and each one of these will go on be free and belonging to the community. perfectly suitable for casuals, kids and most
independently from the others. However, Planting and Gathering are two distinct of all for members of the female gender,
we will not be able to max all of our skills, skills, so if a player will not be able to plant by bringing a wave of innovation to this
since we will have to choose from a primary a certain type of plantation he could still genre and proposing a sandbox gameplay,
one and a secondary one for both groups. help his guild by gathering fruits, thanks to which is quite free if compared to the
his Gathering skill. classic, linear and repetitive theme park. It
Therefore, the selected skills will grow
We have mentioned housing, that is, certainly has huge deficiencies, since it will
faster and we could reach higher levels
the possibility to build your own house. never attract a veteran of this genre, but if
and thus, be more effective in harvesting
Within the farm space we will have the I had to choose a game for my daughter,
or building. This is a device created to
chance to build our residence by means I would prefer Hello Kitty Online to Free
expand social interaction, since the players
of a certificate, purchaseable from an Realms or even to inferior products.
will be forced to trade with each other
in order to obtain the various types of NPC or obtainable with a quest, which The user, either very young or adult, is
resources. More in general, the growth will will allow us to start building. We will encouraged to interact, dialogue and
not be that fast, but it will not force us to need to accumulate a certain quantity of think about how to optimize his activities
stay too long on the same kind of material resources to construct the various pieces and improve cooperation. Obviously, this
or crafting item either. Resources and and this will require a lot of time that will must be seen from the point of view of
recipes are, in fact, very numerous and we be added to the time needed for the actual an inexperienced user, which could have
will not feel the typical repetitiveness that construction. The building of a house is trouble if faced with more complex games.
neither a fast, nor trivial activity and it will Therefore, HKO is a great step to introduce

16. maybe a little too limited at the moment,
if we consider the nature and the target of
the game.
Technical raTing
It looks good, even if many animations are
poorly developed. The side features on the
game’s site are excellent, for example the game
blog and other extras typical of social networks.
Worth mentioning is the constant presence of
gMs in game chats.
lore raTing
It’s Hello Kitty, that’s all we can say. All hail the
Queen.
groWTh raTing
It’s a system which is simple and not obvious at
the same time, at least in this context. It could
surely have been less repetitive, but for this
type of game it’s not such a big flaw.
inTeracTion raTing
you girlfriend or daughter to the world of criticized, although, the judgment of a If in one respect it completely lacks any form of
sandbox MMORPGs. HelloKittologist could surely be more competition, with the exception of mini-games,
analytic than mine. on the other hand there are forms of cooperation
which are simple but immersive and intuitive.
Apart from this, let’s now talk about what
makes HKO the game with the great in conclusion World raTing
potential that I mentioned before. If it had
Hello Kitty Online is a game that is surely The world completely traces the pace of the
been a “Lovely Kittens Online” or a “Cute
suggested to all the fans of the most world in which the general story is set. The
Little Characters Online” it would probably
famous kitten in the world, but can also instanced farms and houses are a negative
have fallen into oblivion, but instead, the
be a very useful way to introduce little factor, but as for the rest, it’s the world of Hello
Hello Kitty brand is something huge, if
and big girls to the world of MMORPGs. Kitty, for better or for worse.
compared to what has been proposed in
It’s certainly not without flaws, first of all,
MMORPG games so far. Maybe only The
the repetitiveness that could cause it to feaTureS:
Lord of the Rings could remotely come
be unplayable for us long-time players,
near to the amount of people that can be Lore 10
but also, for example the lack of particular
motivated by the Hello Kitty brand name.
protections for the younger ones. One InteractIon 7
An immense army of colored kittens,
aspect is that the lack of these protections
doggies and birdies capable of slaying Growth 7
will help to avoid many problems, such as
elves, dwarves, orcs and any other thing
some limitations present in games like Free tec. compartment 8
that crosses their path.
Realms, but on the other hand, a game worLd 7
So, now let’s take a look at how the with this kind of background cannot allow
universe of Hello Kitty was transposed into itself to ignore certain types of problems. If proS:
this videogame. I must say that I’m not you wanted to find young girls on internet, 1. It’s Hello Kitty
a great Hello Kitty fan (even though, for would you choose Age of Conan or Hello
2. It has a lot to say, for a casual game
years I carried around a gashapon of Hello Kitty Online? The jokes about this subject
3. Striking settings and NpCs
Kitty dressed as a piggy hanging from my are frequent in the forums, but this could
cell phone)and thus, I’m not really familiar be a real problem when the game will conS:
with this world and the characters that give grow. 1. Many repetitive activities
life to it. Anyway, I can understand that 2. The animation of the characters is poorly
To conclude, let’s dedicate some words
the job of transposition has been done in developed
to the item mall. We could purchase
an excellent way, by developing all of its 3. It could sometimes stimulate homicidal
many unique clothes, special pets and
historical characters that will appear as instincts in the user
other equipment here. You certainly
NPCs and the corresponding environments
can’t say that it’s balanced though, since
as well. SySTem reQuiremenTS
the advantages for the paying players
Looking at it this way, the only race which are evident, even if this unbalancing will oS wIndowS Xp
you can belong to, at least in this first probably leave you indifferent due to the proceSSor pentIum IV 1.5 Ghz
version of the game, will be the human almost total absence of competitive spirit
ram 512 mb
race and of course you will not be able to within the game.
portray the most famous characters that dIrectXopenGL dIrectX 8.0
Otherwise the title appears to be varied,
remain unique. Besides the characters hard drIVe Space 2 Gb
long-lived and most of all open to wide
of the series, we will encounter a
evolution possibilities, mainly in terms
large amount of more or less peculiar final raTing 7.5
of quantity of items and skills which are
creatures and most importantly original
locations, everything in a style that more
than once made me exclaim from the
heart “Ohhowcute”. According to me,
from this point of view, HKO cannot be

18. Review: Aion pay to play
developer ncSofT
official SiTe http://aiononline.com
monThly fee 14.95€/$
by luca “Venom” Braj
a company in deep crisis, only one
last game to bet on, to have a chance
to rise or fall. ncSoft has chosen to
put all her hope of twelve years of
life in the videogaming industry in the
hands of this title, and it’s now clear
to everybody that they made the right
choice. With its asian release, aion has
restored the once lost stability of this
korean company and is now available
in the West as well, the strong points
being its hype and good technical
sector. unfortunately though, not all
that glitters is gold. let’s find out why.
characters for all tastes
The will to impress at first glance seems
like one of the key elements on which Aion
has based its commercial strategy. One of
the most important points regarding this
is without a doubt the character’s editor.
It’s a very powerful tool used to model and
personalize the appearance of our main
character in all the ways we see fit, and this
is something very fresh in the MMORPG
industry.
In contrast with what you may think by
watching the images, it will be possible to
create very strange, funny characters, even
super-small in size (with its consequent
advantages in PvP). We will be able to play
around with body proportions creating
really comical creatures, and we will also
have the possibility to simulate many
aspects typical of the most classic fantasy
races, such as dwarves or elves.
In the case in which we have repented
about the choices we made when we
created our character we could easily
rework his physical traits at another time
just by talking to an NPC situated in the
main city, but only if you have the proper
ticket. The physical differences between
Elyos and Asmodians aren’t that many:
the Asmodians have a bluish and purplish
Welcome to atreia We don’t want to spoil too much of the
skin coloring, claws on their feet and a
plot by talking excessively about the lore,
strange fuzz on their back, while the Elyos Being a “theme park” kind of MMORPG,
but it’s good enough to know that the plot
look much more similar to normal human there will be a very well defined base
will be composed of intervals in which our
beings. storyline besides the background, even
main character will talk and interact like a
though it will not be fundamental to go
Once we shaped the physical traits of our true protagonist.
through it in order to go on with the
hero, we can choose his class, on the basis
main game. We will start our adventure A very noticeable aspect comes from the
of which we can define his characteristics
by awakening in an unknown grassland, extra content which forms a frame around
in a more specific way. In the beginning
without any memories from our past. the in-game events, in full Ncsoft style.
the selectable classes will be four and will
Only by going through the game and First of all, the comic book that will be
consist of the usual archetypes: Warrior,
completing the main quests we will released in the near future, followed by
Scout, Mage and Priest. This choice will
discover to be a not-so-ordinary person various texts with the intent of creating
not be able to be changed in the future,
and that we really belong to the Daeva cast hype or to deepen some of the storyline
unless you don’t want to recreate one from
of semi-divine creatures, with the ability to events of the world of Aion.
scratch, so try to choose wisely.
fly and do lots of other cool stuff.

19. let’s put on a pair of wings
Once we have finished our long tutorial,
we must choose a specialization for our
class and then obtain the so-desired
wings. Every character will then have
two sub-classes to choose from, also
being able to select from a range of
more specific skills and abilities. We
will decide our preferences by picking:
Gladiator (DPS) and Templar (Tank) for
the warrior class, Assassin (the usual
invisible harassing pest) and
Ranger (Bow) for the scout class,
Sorcerer (the most classic mage)
and Spirit Master (Summoner)
for the Mage class, Cleric
(Healer) and Enchanter(healer &
buffer)for the Priest class.
One thing we should say
about the characters of Aion,
besides the physical looks, is
that they turn out to be rather
repetitive. In fact, we will not
have the opportunity to directly
differentiate our stats or modify
our talents, but we will still be
able to improve our equipment
by the usage of Manastones and
Now let’s talk about one of the most waited
also our abilities via the Stigma
for elements of Aion, I’m talking about the
System, which we will discuss
ability to fly, it’s one skill that could be used
later. The personalization of the
freely only in certain areas and in PvP or
build system is kind of limited,
also to glide softly in any PvE area of the
as for now, and it doesn’t excel for its
them with better ones, we will simply have world. By playing around a little bit with
originality.
to go to the Manastone remover. The our keyboard and dropping down from the
As I said before, it will be possible to boost Enchantments Stones instead, will have right spots, we will be able to increase the
our weapons and armors with the use of to be removed with Extraction Tools from duration of our glide and consequently
Manastones and Enchantment Stones: the our old equipment, just to be used later speeding up our moves. Still, we must not
first ones are items that can be dropped to strengthen the new ones. Both of them forget that our flight time is limited: we
by the enemies we kill and can be set into will be used to boost various aspects of our could then find ourselves falling all of a
the right slots of our main equipment. equipment or more directly to boost our sudden and maybe dying from the fall. So,
In the case that we would like to replace stats such as HP, MP, Dodge Rate etc.. except for the gliding mechanics, the flight

20. system will remind many of you of the one Plus, the quests will not always be so
used in Perfect World, a famous Chinese obvious. In fact, we’ll have to read them
game that Aion probably used as a start- carefully and click on the key words, which
off, and not only for this element. will supply us with extra info regarding
the data of the item and the character to
Paradoxically, in the world of Aion we will
search for, and will give us a more detailed
not be able to swim; we will sink quickly in
overview, sometimes even pointing out
the deepest of lakes and will start losing
to us its location on the map. Therefore,
life, even if the majority of the depths of
Aion doesn’t excel for the originality of
the bodies of water won’t even come up
its questing mechanism,to the contrary
to their knees. The lack of this ability is
it appears to be antiquated. But, thanks
probably due to the fact that the water is
to the interludes and a wide variety of
definitely a scarce element in this game,
objectives, it succeeds in maintaining an
indeed something normal in the NCSoft
adequate standard for its setting.
tradition. This has already been seen in
Lineage as well which didn’t give this The PvE is composed of a pretty linear
opportunity when it first came out either. structure; as a matter of fact, we will have
the feeling of moving on pre-established
tracks, without having that many alternative
Quests locations to explore. Sometimes there will
be particularly interesting spots where
The leveling aspect in Aion is based on we could grind, but anyhow there will be
the continuous interchanging of quests few of them. The majority of the quests
and grinding to level up. Actually, quests can be handled alone, even though some
should be enough to level up in the little help by other players is anything but
majority of cases, but to find them or finish
them alone will not always be a simple
task. In addition, sometimes it may happen
that quests will finish and you will be forced
to look for spots where you can mob grind
in peace.
We will happen to have many tasks: some
of them will be simple, such as talking
to an NPC, delivering an item, defeating
a certain number of enemies or maybe
confronting a boss, others instead will
be more complex, such as infiltrating
in aggressive mob outposts, activating
devices, stealing items or talking to an
NPC that pops up all of a sudden. This
last type of quest has often resulted to be
rather annoying: in fact the NPC or the
item dropped from the mob is only one
and for this reason it’s almost impossible
to avoid player camping, so whoever
doesn’t click fast enough will have to
wait quite a long time before the process
could be repeated. This flaw is surely
not that relevant, but we must say that it
could render the playing experience quite
frustrating. The only thing we can do now
is to hope in a future patch release that
would improve the management of this
kind of quests.