Asphodel Game Making Contest... Fail

Well the contest wasn't all I thought it would be since almost no games finished and the few that did had tons of server problems as well as very little content. Overall, the contest turned out to be a disaster for the developers having tons of issues with the practically featureless engine they had to use.

Still, it was great idea and I congratulate Team Galactic, the winner of the contest. I just hope the next one they have will be a better success (and I hope to get into it myself).

Help Me Out!

I'm looking for a game to review and really, there aren't that many out right now. So I ask you, the viewers to please, suggest me something I can rate.

Just make sure it is:

• A 2d MMO
• Currently in Beta or Released

Post your suggestions in the comments. Thanks!

Asphodel Games' Game Creation Contest

My friend Punika brought to light that Asphodel Games will be hosting a game creating contest where developers have 2 weeks to create an MMO given the Konfuze engine (What Elysium is built off of).

It is too late to register now, but keep close tabs on the 14 teams in the running. I'm thinking after this is all over (11/12/09) I will make my own ratings on how I feel each game did.

I have overheard info on just a few of the games and already it looks to be a very close contest with tons of great ideas. Still, can they pull it off by November 12th? We'll have to see...

Tale of Wonder Alpha (FIRST VIDEO)

Introducing my very first video on MMOverdose. This video is a series of pictures from my adventures in the Tale of Wonder Alpha. So far it is a great game but in heavy develpment. Still I love it and would play it all the time once it comes out.

So without further adieu, here is the video:




For better quality, watch on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiFBIvNaodw

The Polls Are In!

Congratulations Tale of Wonder, you are our first Contest Winner. Your game is now displayed on the right hand side as well as your website.

Now incoming viewers will see your game quickly and may even join your community. More contests are coming soon including Best Game Engine and Best New Features.

Stay tuned...

Promising New Games

There are a lot of games in development out there that really deserve to be looked at, I really hope some of these can go all the way to a release and this post is dedicated to telling them they're doing an awesome job so far. Here's a list of games that may be receiving 9/10 or above here in the future:









Oh Punika, always trying something new, but keeping this nice, simple, and cute. Tales of Wonder is his latest game and probably the most promising. This traditional exploring, killing, and dungeon running MMO is just great and Punika confirms: "its not far away from open alpha."

You can check out it's progress at: TaleofWonder.WebMMORPG.net











Just cause I don't have a catchy banner for this game doesn't mean it's not original. Lostica is an amazing 2d side scrolling MMORPG with tons of great features. This is a really really great idea, for as I believe, this is the first game on Eclipse Engine has made this great breakthrough to side scrolling gameplay. The game is not ready yet, but beta is coming soon. Stay up to date on this game, because you can't miss that beta.

Check it out at: MrMiguu.110mb.com







Think of Arkland as the perfect example of a 10/10 2d MMORPG. This game has tons of great features including a custom built engine that allows jumping, awesome effects, and some great great graphics. The games art style is the best part I think. It looks like perfect a mix of realistic and cartoon graphics. I haven't got my hands on a release date for it yet, but I don't believe it will be any time soon due to the heavy development it is under.

This game doesn't have a website, but still check out it's topic on Eclipse at: TouchofDeathForums.com



All in all, check out these games and prepare for tests in the future. Also expect to see these reviewed on MMOverdose once they come out soon.

Ambardia Review #1

Review By: Scythe

Ambardia is a new game for me, I didn't learn about it until I spent some time on the Eclipse site. This is an actual dedicated game on Eclipse and features a nice community as well as constant updates. The graphics are a little strange, but the features even out the score. In the end though, it's all about gameplay.

Gameplay

In Ambardia, you play as a traditional hero on a quest to bring peace to the world and do odd jobs for farmers and soldiers that can't do it themselves. I have to give it credit though because the game does feature a nice storyline and some really cool quests, but the main thing I like is the world.

Ambardia's world map at a glance looks quite small. There is a main island as well as some other smaller patches of land surrounding it, but the real action happens elsewhere. The game features many exciting dungeons and cool mini-worlds like the new Magic Garden (super generic name) featuring 250 connected maps and many dungeons and quests.

Ambardia also brings tons of updates to the table. The team is constantly adding new quests, areas, and features to keep the game nice and fresh. The features range from a simple trade skill system to the new bounty hunting system where you can hunt down the evilest bad guys Ambardia has to offer and return with their heads.

Overall it is a great gameplay experience, and quests keep you moving, it's just you have to explore a bit to find everything. There is a bit of grinding here and there, but it is all fun and new. I have it give it:

Gameplay: 8/10

Graphics

Umm, sorry, not a huge fan. I completely despise games that mix graphics styles and this game it full of it. Some sprites are 3d rendered, some are made to look 3d, some buildings are realistic, some look really strange, and the items, none of them follow a specific style. The graphics are taken from many different sources, but the game still does pull off a nice look.

The game is nice and clean and not just packed with detail, but the graphics can be distracting at times, looking like a scaled now model of some Nintendo 64 game as well as being quick choppy in animation.

The interface is really really, plain, simple, and once again, not their graphics. The upcoming main menu looks promising, but really I want to see how the in-game interface looks. Overall, everything is a mix, which it shouldn't be. I'm ok with games that don't use their own graphics, but please, stick with one style:

Graphics: 5/10

Multiplayer

The community in Ambardia is nice and as I said before there is a lot to do together like dungeons, bosses, and tons of quests. Still, I don't think the game has reached their full potential. Ambardia seriously needs a party system and a way better guild system. There is no new programming for both of those, keeping them extremely simple. You can create parties with a few commands and guilds with some "F" keys, but I want more visual stuff.

Ambardia also has too much of a level gap. When I played, there were some people who were utter noobs and all the rest were too high of a level to care about anyone else. Overall I found this game kinda a drag since I play mostly alone. Still, I have to give it props for its group oriented gameplay:

Multiplayer: 6/10

Overall

Ambardia is a good game, not a great one, but good. There is always new content, but it takes a bit to gain up enough levels to play it. Graphics are hard to ingnore (not in a good way) and multiplayer isn't seen much, but it still supports some nice gameplay.

Overall: 6.5/10
Pass, unless fond of 2d MMO's and can ignore the graphics
*Lots of new content
*Cool Quest System
*Big World
*Small Community
*Few Party and Guild Features
*Too big of a level gap

Play Ambardia Now At: Ambardia.com

Firecaster Review #1

Review By: Scythe

Actually the creator of this game is the programmer for my game, but I won't go easy on him. Still, there's not much to complain over in a pretty stable MMO. This game is in very early stages of beta, but already I can see where it is going.

Gameplay:

In Firecaster you play as... well, a firecaster. But shooting fire isn't all you do in this game. The game features a really cool point and click spell system that works like any top-down shooter. There are spells like basic fireballs to deal small damage and then there are tons of spells that assist your team in killing foes.

Look at it like this. I have a team of two people, I equip my ice spell and my partner equips his fireblast spell that does lots of damage, but can only hurt players standing right next to you. My partner and I have to work together to kill the target so I stun the enemy with ice while my partner goes in for the kill. It is a really cool system, and it is already in game.

Still, combat and such may be nice, the overall use of it is a little strange. So far you can just kill each other, but the creator is working on AI for monsters. Now in traditional MMO's, you go out, kill a monster, get some loot. In Firecaster, the creator states "The game will have no mobs" instead he promises quests and boss battles. Now this will be a better test of skill and teamwork, but really can it pull through with such few things to kill, we'll see, but right now it is looking good, so:

Gameplay: 9/10

Graphics:

First off, the graphics are not his, they are from RPG Make VX, but seriously, they look really good. Your small little wizard travels the world as a pint sized badass, it can't get any cooler. Still, the creator has been thinking of doing custom graphics in the future, but it is yet to be confirmed.

As for spells, the game has the ability to use particle effects to get the best looking fire and ice it can. The particle effects are a bit limited and don't match up to the rest of the graphics all too well, but it still looks quite nice. I have to give it:

Graphics: 8/10

Multiplayer:

Now MMO's are built around playing with lots of friends in one huge world and interacting together to get the best gameplay experience. Firecaster so far is on their way to achieve this having almost the whole game based around team-work and cooperation.

So far the game is quite laggy, but you have to give it credit for being Java and Browser Based. I think browser based MMO's get the most hype because there are very few good ones. This will definately add to Firecaster's growing community, allowing players to just go in and play (after installing java). I have to say, if they keep this up, Firecaster is on it's way to becoming a nice, unique, easy to play game.

Multiplayer: 8/10

Overall

Firecaster is a good game, that's all true. It is in really early development, but it already has some great new features that make it a great new experience from gamers. It has a great combat system and clean graphics as well as tons of good technology making this worthy of your time. The GUI update is coming soon to allow more easy to play content and it is still constantly growing. Overall I give this game:

Overall: 8.5/10
Play, once it is fully released!
*Great Combat System
*Cooperative Gameplay
*Nice, Clean Graphics
*Growing Community
*Browser Based
*Currently Very Laggy
*Still in Heavy Development

Play Firecaster Now At: Firecaster.com

Silverdale Review #1

Review By: Scythe

I really find Silverdale a great game, but it does have some downsides to it. I have played this game since it first came out and through the many total recreations of the game, I think they might of hit their mark.

Gameplay:

Silverdale's gameplay is a little "meh." The combat system is quite basic having players hold down the Ctrl key to attack and following up with a few spells. It is a simple system, but the whole game seems to be this way.

The biggest upset is how the game has zero quests, that's right, none. The only way to get experience in-game is to constantly hold down Ctrl and click some spells for hours. The game features a level cap of 25, soon to be raised to 30 in the next release, but not many people are that high of a level due to how much grinding it takes to earn you xp.

The game does feature a few dungeons and the next release promises a larger dungeon with some mini-bosses. I find dungeons the most enjoyable part in any game, but so far, dungeons in Silverdale are just enclosed spaces with some mobs and bosses. I want puzzles and traps and things to challenge me each time I play, but the game has none of these. The new update says they will release some puzzles in the next dungeon, but they really then got to go back and add these updates to their lower level dungeons.

Overall, Silverdale is a game all about grinding forever, trying to get the 3% drop rate items and going through "dungeons" that are just about the same as the rest of the world. The gameplay needs some work, but we'll see how much the next update will help.
Gameplay: 5/10

Graphics:

The graphics once again are "meh." They are obviously rips from an older RPG Maker engine, but I still like the style. With the latest updates, there are a lot more item graphics making it so you don't pick up three different types of berries and find that they all look the same. Plus, some of the latest areas feature some really cool recolors of objects such as trees, grass, plants, and houses that definitely add to the mood the the area (as seen above).

Overall I give graphics an eight out of ten, for bringing back those good old pixelized treasures (Which I totally like XD)

Graphics: 8/10

Multiplayer:

Every good MMO needs some good ways to play with your friends in new and exciting ways, but Silverdale keeps it basic. The game features a nice chat system with a friendly community and a basic guild system with guild ranks, but what it doesn't have is a party system. Well actually it does, but you have to type in all these commands just to do it. They promise to have a party system soon and have it be visual, but nothing too special like reserved loot.

The game also has pvp, but all it is is just arena and free pvp areas. Players can enter the one arena they have and battle it out or just venture into the harder areas and kill each other. This is a pretty cool addition, but it leads to a whole lot of spawn killing and such. Plus, in pvp the wizard has a slight advantage with the ability to freeze their foes. Still, I find it a nice social game and I could talk to people on there all day.

Multiplayer: 9/10

Overall:

All in all, Silverdale keeps the classic feel of an old gameboy game while keeping up with today's standards. It lacks the content that makes players continuaously play like quests. It has some cool features like alchemy, but more trade skills would be nice. I still play this game often, but I can't play it too long until I'm bored. Overall I give it a:

Overall: 6/10
"Pass if you don't enjoy 2D MMO's"
*Nice Community
*Well Balance
*Needs Quests
*Needs More PvP
*Needs Better and Visual Party System
*LESS GRINDING!

Play Silverdale Now At: ORPG Creation.com

MMOverdose Is Here

MMOverdose (MMO Overdose) is a site dedicated to reviewing and rating games that we find "unique." We don't just find those big titles like WoW and Guild Wars, we track down the games the fall through the cracks and we help them out.

MMOverdose is dedicated to getting the small games known, and telling you which ones to play and which ones to pass.