Calamity Gundam
October 22nd, 2010, 02:00 AM
Publisher: Nexon USA (developed by Nexon Korea)
NA Release Date: Oct 13 2010 (Open Beta)
Full Release: Oct 27 2010
Cost: FREE
Sup,
Vindictus is a 3-D MMORPG based around medieval time/Celtic themes. It has an authentic feel to it as well as an intuitive battle system. It is as fast paced as you want to make it as there is a number of quests and dungeons.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0013.jpg
The opening sequence/quest is very well done. Reminds me of Bruce Campbell's Army of Darkness (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106308/). Immersive to say the least. Eventually you find your hero in town a la Diablo 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_II). From there you can dispatch yourself or a party to complete quests via the town dock.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0006.jpg
From what I have played so far the game is co-op, you and your buddies go out and stomp monster skull. Here is where the game incorporates some neat technologies. When in town you are on Nexon's servers. Once your party leaves the docks whomever the party leader is now hosts the game. It uses P2P tech and they really optimized the bandwidth usage of their game for this - it runs great. I have a friend in the southern states and he gets three bars almost all the time. Whatever item drops you see on your screen are yours so no worry about picking up something your buddy wants.
This title also has built-in screenshot capability (compressed JPG) and video capturing in HD (whatever your in-game resolution is in AVI format).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0015.jpg
Unlike other MMORPGs that usually have very crowded town centres with hundreds of character models Vindictus utilizes multiple servers (channels) to render players on thus creating an illusion of a town with less players then there really is. This provides a significant performance boost especially for people with lower spec rigs.
I love action games and fighting games. Vindictus has substance to offer that combines elements from both. You see an enemy - well you could slash him, but why not grab the sucker punch him a few times and then give him a backbreaker to finish him off? Don't want to get your hands bloody slashing through a group of werewolves? Well, pick up that piece of lumber at your feet and swing it side to side to clear a path! Much of the environment is destructible and the pieces that are left over from the destruction can be picked up and temporarily used as a weapon. Kinda like real life, its neat stuff.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0003.jpg
The character art is used for story sequences and is animated slightly. It is really well done, reminiscent of Castlevania's recent portable titles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Order_of_Ecclesia). The town is also well done with good quality textures and lots of attention to little details especially with the current Halloween event going on.
Unlike other MMORPGS I have played, the market in this game is awesomely done. There is a single bulletin board that users can go to and sell items, look up current sales of other players and browse the items that the game has to offer. No more setting up one of your players to open a store in a crowded town centre and waiting hours for items to sell. You can list your items in the marketplace for however long you like, from a couple hours to several days. Once a sale is made your money and a note is sent to your mailbox to keep you informed.
The game is not without its flaws. The dungeon terrain textures and monsters could be more varied. Also the creep monster difficulty does not go up much even when enabling the hard difficulty and macha mod. Contrary to the minions, some bosses seem to go from 1 to 100 in killing power when these mods are enabled so be forewarned not to take the bosses lightly on hard with macha mod. The game offers five characters, however only two are fully available with the third being released on Oct 27, when open beta ends. Another concern of mine is if the quests start to feel like a grind. There are lots of quests but you need to do each one at least once, usually twice or more to get the full benefit from it. However you can do them with a friend no matter what their level is so not replaying some of the quests may provide incentive to help some newbie friends.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0030.jpg
Summary:
What has struck me the most about this game is how good it is for a free game. I have played 15+ free games and this one is the best mmorpg I have played in a while. It is a well polished product with a great transition to the North American market (its only open to CAN and US gamers to boot). The translations are good and voice acting/story is well done. I would pay $20 for this game and its FREE. My total playtime is about six hours so far and I have enjoyed every minute. If you are a Final Fantasy fan or mmorpg fan this is a must try game. For everyone else if you are looking for a non-fps to try why not a free quality mmorpg like Vindictus?
To download the client (its a bit tricky presently):
1. Register an account here:
http://vindictus.nexon.net/
2. Login with your account
3. Click East Server to start the client download. Its about 2GB.
If you are still having issues with the download, try getting it from this link (http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/22074/Vindictus+Open+Beta+Client+v106).
Recommended Specs:
CPU: Dual Core or higher
RAM: 1 GB
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 7xxx series or higher (I would say GTS 250 4850/5750 to play with good settings, GTX 270 4870/5770 or higher to play at max)
Operating System: Windows XP or higher
Hard Drive: 6 Gigabytes or more
Network: Broadband Recommended
Here is a clip of yours truly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrhO95KBg_s
Let me know what you think! Add me in game - Pandorah
NA Release Date: Oct 13 2010 (Open Beta)
Full Release: Oct 27 2010
Cost: FREE
Sup,
Vindictus is a 3-D MMORPG based around medieval time/Celtic themes. It has an authentic feel to it as well as an intuitive battle system. It is as fast paced as you want to make it as there is a number of quests and dungeons.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0013.jpg
The opening sequence/quest is very well done. Reminds me of Bruce Campbell's Army of Darkness (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106308/). Immersive to say the least. Eventually you find your hero in town a la Diablo 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_II). From there you can dispatch yourself or a party to complete quests via the town dock.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0006.jpg
From what I have played so far the game is co-op, you and your buddies go out and stomp monster skull. Here is where the game incorporates some neat technologies. When in town you are on Nexon's servers. Once your party leaves the docks whomever the party leader is now hosts the game. It uses P2P tech and they really optimized the bandwidth usage of their game for this - it runs great. I have a friend in the southern states and he gets three bars almost all the time. Whatever item drops you see on your screen are yours so no worry about picking up something your buddy wants.
This title also has built-in screenshot capability (compressed JPG) and video capturing in HD (whatever your in-game resolution is in AVI format).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0015.jpg
Unlike other MMORPGs that usually have very crowded town centres with hundreds of character models Vindictus utilizes multiple servers (channels) to render players on thus creating an illusion of a town with less players then there really is. This provides a significant performance boost especially for people with lower spec rigs.
I love action games and fighting games. Vindictus has substance to offer that combines elements from both. You see an enemy - well you could slash him, but why not grab the sucker punch him a few times and then give him a backbreaker to finish him off? Don't want to get your hands bloody slashing through a group of werewolves? Well, pick up that piece of lumber at your feet and swing it side to side to clear a path! Much of the environment is destructible and the pieces that are left over from the destruction can be picked up and temporarily used as a weapon. Kinda like real life, its neat stuff.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0003.jpg
The character art is used for story sequences and is animated slightly. It is really well done, reminiscent of Castlevania's recent portable titles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Order_of_Ecclesia). The town is also well done with good quality textures and lots of attention to little details especially with the current Halloween event going on.
Unlike other MMORPGS I have played, the market in this game is awesomely done. There is a single bulletin board that users can go to and sell items, look up current sales of other players and browse the items that the game has to offer. No more setting up one of your players to open a store in a crowded town centre and waiting hours for items to sell. You can list your items in the marketplace for however long you like, from a couple hours to several days. Once a sale is made your money and a note is sent to your mailbox to keep you informed.
The game is not without its flaws. The dungeon terrain textures and monsters could be more varied. Also the creep monster difficulty does not go up much even when enabling the hard difficulty and macha mod. Contrary to the minions, some bosses seem to go from 1 to 100 in killing power when these mods are enabled so be forewarned not to take the bosses lightly on hard with macha mod. The game offers five characters, however only two are fully available with the third being released on Oct 27, when open beta ends. Another concern of mine is if the quests start to feel like a grind. There are lots of quests but you need to do each one at least once, usually twice or more to get the full benefit from it. However you can do them with a friend no matter what their level is so not replaying some of the quests may provide incentive to help some newbie friends.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/Addy_S/Vindictus/2010_10_21_0030.jpg
Summary:
What has struck me the most about this game is how good it is for a free game. I have played 15+ free games and this one is the best mmorpg I have played in a while. It is a well polished product with a great transition to the North American market (its only open to CAN and US gamers to boot). The translations are good and voice acting/story is well done. I would pay $20 for this game and its FREE. My total playtime is about six hours so far and I have enjoyed every minute. If you are a Final Fantasy fan or mmorpg fan this is a must try game. For everyone else if you are looking for a non-fps to try why not a free quality mmorpg like Vindictus?
To download the client (its a bit tricky presently):
1. Register an account here:
http://vindictus.nexon.net/
2. Login with your account
3. Click East Server to start the client download. Its about 2GB.
If you are still having issues with the download, try getting it from this link (http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/22074/Vindictus+Open+Beta+Client+v106).
Recommended Specs:
CPU: Dual Core or higher
RAM: 1 GB
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 7xxx series or higher (I would say GTS 250 4850/5750 to play with good settings, GTX 270 4870/5770 or higher to play at max)
Operating System: Windows XP or higher
Hard Drive: 6 Gigabytes or more
Network: Broadband Recommended
Here is a clip of yours truly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrhO95KBg_s
Let me know what you think! Add me in game - Pandorah