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Platform: PC Genre: MMORPG Publisher: Codemasters Developer: Codemasters ETA: Q2 2004
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Dragon
Empires
Up
to this point many of the online RPGs to come along have focused on
fighting goblins, ogres, orcs, and other big, hairy beasts, generally
frowning upon PvP play, or at least keeping it limited to specific
situations where it would be allowed.
Ultima Online allowed it, but there was somewhat of a negative
stigma connected with PKing, outside of those actually doing it of
course. This past year we
saw the release of Dark Age of Camelot that actually encouraged players
to fight one another, as it was made a major facet of the game as the
different realms could square off for massive brew-ha-has.
Now Codemasters is taking a swing at a MMORPG world with a PvP
twist in Dragon Empires on the PC. All of this PvP mayhem shall manifest itself by players forming clans, and battling for control of the different empires of the game. It isn’t about going around bonking beasties on the head, it’s about seizing land and holding onto it (though there are plenty of monsters roaming about for those interested in fighting them). With that, it won’t always be nothing but smiles and sunshine whenever you walk into a town. If you mistakenly wander into a city occupied by an opposing clan’s forces expect a hasty rump paddling as they send you on your way. This could be a doubly bothersome pain in the butt if the occupied town also happens to be the one where your house is located. There’s no word on whether other players will be able to go in your house if they occupy the town, but the simple fact that you can be cutoff from the homestead can undoubtedly prove problematic. However, while the game does center on PvP play, it doesn’t mean anyone can break into a round or two of fist-a-cuffs any ol’ time |
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they please, at least without potentially facing consequences for their
actions. If your clan is
officially at war with another, then it’s fine to attack members of
the opposing clan at the drop of a hat.
What you can’t do is walk up to any individual you please, beat
them up, and expect to get away Scott free.
Doing so may anger the dragons of the game world, resulting in
them taking action against you. The world all of this conflict goes down in promises to be reasonably big for some large scale battles, supporting up to 1,500 players. Loaded sectors are trying to be kept to a low |
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roar,
allowing for
a predominantly seamless world while playing, so players don’t have to
deal with a stoppage in play whenever they try to enter one of the
dungeons in the game. Those
of you who don’t like having to deal with learning a swimming skill,
and the inevitable mishap of getting knocked into a lake before your
skill is at a suitable level should be happy to know that there will be
no swimming in Dragon Empire, just a little bit of wading, but that’s
it. As
mentioned earlier, cities play an important role in the game.
They are the prized gems players are trying to control after all.
Once you seize control of a city, you won’t just sit there and
wait for a clan to come over and pick a fight.
There will be plenty of politics to be dealt with. The
ruling body of the town must now determine taxes for the shops, levies
to put on teleporter and boat transportation, and a number of other
administrative duties. There
are also members of other clans that are not at war with you that will
be roaming the city, chatting with others, using the shops and such.
Just because you seize a town it doesn’t mean it will wither
and die, it will remain a bustling city that has to be taken care of.
How you do so will likely determine whether or not your clan is
challenged for control of the town.
Discontent players within the city may decide they’re mad as
hell and aren’t going to take it anymore, and will attack the powers
that be in an attempt to take over.
In
an unusual turn of events though, the only race that players will be
able to choose in the game is humans.
No dwarves, elves, gnomes, or any other manner of mystical being
will be made an option in Dragon Empires.
In their place players will have a lot more varying human
physiques to choose from, instead of being limited to the almost uniform
chiseled musculature that most humans have in MMORPGs. While
it seems like everyone and their mother is releasing a game with a
description that has “Massively Multiplayer” in it, the thing that
keeps the genre going is a combination of how well upcoming titles bring
something new, and how much they refine and nail down what already
works. So far, it looks
like Dragon Empires is already plugging away on the latter, if it can
tackle the former reasonably well they could have something going for
them. - Mr. Nash (March 4, 2002) |
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