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Platform: PC Genre: MMORPG Publisher: Phantagram Developer: Phantagram ETA: TBA
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Shining
Lore
Ever
since Ultima Online was released we’ve been exposed to one MMORPG
after the next, from Everquest to Asheron’s Call to Dark Age of
Camelot as well as a cavalcade of other titles who haven’t gained so
much mass appeal. All of
them had a more realistic approach to art design, often with dark,
brooding motifs and a subtle, almost surreal sense that something real
evil was about to go down. Phantagram,
the folks responsible for Kingdom Under Fire for the PC, see things a
little different as they work on a cuter, cuddlier sort of online RPG
that will try to bring a brighter happier tone to the MMORPG scene in
Shining Lore. The game will have a back-story, so don’t expect to just be given a world to explore with no real sort of context being applied to it. Way back in the ever so distant past there was a civilization known as the Ardran, and within this civilization were the kingdom of the Earth and the kingdom of the Ocean who were at war with one another. Things came to a head when the people of the moon summoned a giant of the Ancient Gods. At this point things were looking grim indeed until Kirie, the Prince of the Earth, and Asha, the Priestess of Pandora, managed to seal away the giant. However this came at a price as it caused the oceans to dry up, making water scares. Now folks the world over were none too happy about this so they banished Kirie and Asha, forget the fact that these too saved the world from the big, mean giant, the end result was no water for swimming pools or freezing into crushed ice to put in refreshing summer drinks and this was simply unacceptable. After a |
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time the two outcasts have a son who travels into the future, rounds
up some heroes and tracks down the Ancient God who is actually
responsible for all of the water disappearing.
Eventually they defeat him and everything is right and good
again. Of course after a
time an eerie evil is being rumored to be on the prowl once more draped
in mystery, and this is where players come in as they try and figure out
what is going on.
This all goes down in a less than typical manner, as Shining Lore is shaping up to be trying to walk the tightrope between being a social experience and an online |
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medium to wallop beasties with your buddies. Phantagram is leaving ample opportunity for players to interact with one another through a myriad of chat features. You’ll be able to yak with people out in the open through text bubbles and using body language, or meet up within a safer, monster-free environment like a tavern instead. All that remains to be seen is if these features are used as they are intended, or if things will digress into a series of server wide auctions for this or that rare item. Battles
are intended to be more varied as combat is expected to differ more
depending on the sort of weapon your character uses, resulting in
different behavior if, say, you were using a sword as opposed to an axe.
While your at it you can expect the monsters to follow along with
the whole cutesy look of the game, so expect to be attacked by bunnies
and the like just as often as more traditionally mean looking beasts.
All battles will take place in real-time, also.
But you needn’t be constantly waging battle against these furry little critters either, as there are plenty of mini-quests to sink your teeth into. Two of the main forms these take are in arcades and job-specific games in relation to the class of character that you are using. Arcades will have small games, just as the name suggests, whether the games are akin to the likes of Galaga and Pac Man, or something entirely different has yet to be seen. Job games allow players to do up the skills of their character for the particular class they are, so if your player is a cook expect to perform some sort of cooking task to gain experience. As for the different job classes available to players, there are five which include the Fighter, Engineer, Designer, Alchemist, and Cook. The
closed beta is already underway for the game, so a release date may not
be too far off assuming things go without a hitch.
Once Shining Lore hits the mass market we’ll see just how well
it is able to balance itself between being a scene for socializing and a
realm for battles and quests. If
nothing else, hopefully it will provide a nice aesthetical departure
from the normally dark and dingy norm of online RPGs. - Mr. Nash |
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