| Video Game News |
| Korean MMOs - The Price is Right |
| by Christian Klepac |
| South Korea loves its video games, supporting them with TV coverage and ubiquitous cyber-cafes. Now gamers worldwide can get a piece of the action - for free. |
Over the last few years, the videogame industry has seen the dramatic rise in popularity of MMOs, or Massive Multiplayer online games. once the province of the truly geeky, these games have become multi-million dollar enterprises, with tens of thousands logging on to play with or against friends and strangers in Blizzard's World of Warcraft or EA's Battlefield 2. Now the notoriously gamer-friendly South Koreans have stepped into the ring with a simple idea that might revolutionize MMOs: everything for free.
That's right, free. While a player might sink $55 or so into a new copy of Star Wars Galaxies and pay $15 every month for the right to battle the Horde in WoW, people around the world can download the "clients", or front-end software, to Korean MMOs for nothing, and then play the games with no monthly fee.
So what's the catch? Well, these games aren't entirely as polished as their American counterparts, and deciphering the "English" dialogue within the games can be difficult (though invariably amusing). Overall though, these games are fun enough to give the American MMO titans a run for their money. Here are some of the more popular offerings (and it seems like another springs up every week):
Silk Road: This game purports to combine "the European western fantasy, the Chinese eastern fantasy and the new Islam fantasy" into a world of supernatural danger and intrigue. Silk Road features PvP (player vs, player) combat and fun character customization options - a player could choose to be a demon-faced warrior or a martial arts princess. Be warned - if you have a slow graphics card, Silk Road's gorgeous landscapes may cause serious "chugging". (http://www.silkroadonline.net/)
Flyff: Flyff is apparently short for Fly For Fun, and puts players in the shoes of cute anime-style characters who battle with swords and axes to pick up power-ups in the form of candy, biscuits, orange juice, and barbeque. At level twenty your character receives either a broom or a hoverboard, and can float around the landscape lording it over "newbs". The art style is not unlike WoW, and so are the hours of repetitive combat, or "grinding" it takes to make it to the next level. (http://english.flyff.com/)
Blitz 1941: It's Germans against Russians in this overhead 3-D game of tank warfare. Blitz 1941 offers a good combination of missile-lobbing and tactics. If massive online tank battles are your thing, this is the game to play. If you're into historical accuracy (or even basic plausibility), best look elsewhere. (http://www.blitz1941.com)
War Rock: This is the free Korean answer to EA's Battlefield 2, a first-person bullet fiesta complete with tanks, grenades, motorcycles and sniper positions. The action is thoroughly satisfying, even if the "death lag" sometimes gives the guy you just killed time to kill you back before falling over. (http://www.warrock.net/)
Space Cowboy: Another anime-tinged game, but this one takes its cues from classic giant robot and space combat shows like Robotech and Bubblegum Crisis. Players operate one of four heavy battle machines, engaging in aerial dogfights and lobbing mortar rounds to take out the enemy. Characters can also mingle in their human forms between vehicle missions. (http://www.spacecowboy.net)
Shot Online: It's . . . golf. But golf Korean MMO style, with experience points (that lead to a better swing), chat channels, and character models that can be pimped out with hats and other accessories. Timing your swings for power and accuracy can require zen-like concentration. (http://www.shot-online.com)
So, are free MMOs the wave of the future? Possibly not. The best online games guarantee players a certain level of connectivity, security, and customer service that are hard to provide without subscription fees. Plus you can feel the dollar difference between the polished animations of BF2 and their counterparts in War Rock. Still, these new games are sending a message to the few big videogame companies that currently have the industry locked up: If you don't give gamers their moneys' worth, they might ship out for somewhere less expensive. |
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