As the MMO world goes, there are certain criteria one must follow to successfully put together a memorable MMO
experience. I’m basing the following on my extensive experience with Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, as well as LucasFilm Games’ Habitat (though, less on that because that was really eons ago in the 80s). Anyway, a good MMO contains less clutter, easy control scheme/layout, a nice upgrade system that encourages/motivates players to keep going and some sort of sense of solid/coherent storyline that brings the gamer into the world. All of these things must be in check before an MMO can feel engrossing. Final Fantasy XI was my first real dive into the MMO world, at least the one we know nowadays. I remember playing that game online until 3am every day (no, literally everyday) for nearly six months when it came out for the PlayStation 2 (lots of wonderful dial-up moments back in the day). It felt like a world one could explore and had a massive following, which made the world feel very populated and alive. The upgrade system was good through 10 levels before it became stagnant. The world Square Enix built for gamers felt self-sufficient, even the monetary system established (trading/barter/sell material) felt thought out. There was a lot that Final Fantasy XI had going for it and simplicity for the gamer was smack in the middle of it all.
Why am I rambling on about this? Well, Blade & Soul follows the same path with simplicity and immersion. It offers gamers a chance to be apart of something big, presents the world as something engaging and spectacular, kind of in the same vein as FFXI. Meeting and engaging with other people online is easy, as is the combat system that is laid out for you. The control scheme is brilliant and incredibly intuitive to pick up on, as well as the tutorial the game puts you through (and that doesn’t feel draggy at all).
Anyway, let’s get right into it.
In terms of gameplay, Blade & Soul really delivers right now. Casting a Dynasty Warriors like shadow, the gameplay is fast, furious and pushes quickly from mission to mission. Normally MMOs tend to stretch their action out and drudgingly makes players push from point A to point B. For example, we reviewed Wildstar a few years ago, which lies somewhere in family of a Guild War, and getting from mission to mission always felt like a chore with a series of tiny chores in between and less payoff along the way. It felt stretched out, a tad bit repetitive in some respects and didn’t really keep a constant stream of interesting action going. Blade & Soul doesn’t run like that, as it keeps pushing the player forward in a fast-paced manner. Again, it feels like a Dynasty Warriors game, where action lies around every corner, ya know, minus the ba-jillion enemies all at once. For example, the first real mission you run into, outside of the introduction of the main antagonist, is getting rid of an attacking clan in a small fishing village. You wake up from being unconscious, are alerted there are some issues with an attacking clan and BAM! You’re in the action. It’s a nice little rush to be able to just jump right into things without having to build up to them. That’s the biggest element of a typical MMO that I hate the most, knowing that I will have to build up my character slowly before seeing some real action. There is a point where leveling comes into play, but Blade & Soul adjusts the action to meet the needs of the gamer without compromising the pace. It is a simple and brilliant way of hooking the gamer.
As for the control scheme, while I’m currently still in the early stages of playing this game, the control scheme was easy to pick up on right out of the gate. I’m a reviewer, so I’m not the brightest bulb in the bunch when it comes to complicated gameplay, but it was easy to pick and choose what type of attack I was going to deliver and how it was going to be delivered. For example, going back to the fishing village mentioned earlier, I can press ‘1’ on the keyboard when I target an enemy (which can happen automatically, though you need to click once on the mouse to see it through) and my guy, Sir Sammich, does a sneak attack on the enemy. Every single time I clicked the mouse button it was a reactive sword slash into the enemy. This is absolutely new to me in MMOs, as most MMOs just ask you what you want to do and require you to click once to keep repetitively attacking the target, more automatic fighting (it can get boring quick). That type of gameplay is strong in FFXI, FFXIV and games like Knights of the Old Republic (not an MMO, but it should be). This type of gameplay with Blade & Soul is more manual, as it feels a lot more connected. I’m sure there are other MMOs that do this, but I haven’t played one yet that does. Anyway, the point I’m making is that it feels like an action game that you actually control, it’s easy to pick up on and the actual battles are simple to figure out.
In terms of leveling trees, I didn’t get too much into those quite yet. You’re given a book at the beginning of the game before you clan is completely wiped out that details a very complicated leveling tree for your character. I say complicated because there is quite a bit to it, lots of nice options, but the actual function of it seems pretty intuitive. It looked a lot like the trees found in the Dragon Age series, if you need a comparable example. The same goes for the equipment upgrades and whatnot.
The big plus for this game, at least for me, something I’ve always been kind of ‘iffy’ about when playing MMOs is the visual presentation of the title. Right now, Blade & Soul is gorgeous. From the moment you launch the game and you tour your clan’s village, you’ll find animated backgrounds, stunning depth to the environments (I saw a gorgeous, active waterfall in the background in the beginning) and plenty of particle effects that make for a firm reminder that you’re in a fantasy world, though one that is quite alive. The environments in the game, while linear in some respects, are girthy and gorgeous. I was quite impressed and in awe of what Blade & Soul had to offer up in the presentation category. I’m anxious to see what other lands look like in the game.
In terms of character models, again, they’re on par with what you would find in a game like Dynasty Warriors. Complicated characters that have over-the-top body structure, while sporting colorful and cool looking costumes. For people who love customizing a character’s looks, you’ll probably be in heaven. Overall, the style is quite fitting for the world created.
One thing I would like to point out about presentation before wrapping things up is how the story of the overall game flows with the gameplay. The story is simple — your clan is wiped out by another clan and you’re basically on a path of revenge (or at least that is what I have picked up so far). The cut scenes flow into the gameplay, they help to reinforce the story and bring the gamer closer to being immersed in the game. You’re not simply going out and hacking/slashing with an extreme disconnect to the world, you’re actually fighting for something. Good stories go a long way when it comes to gameplay and Blade & Soul appears to be on track for something special.
Overall, as of right now with a small amount of gameplay time I’ve achieved, I’m liking what I’m seeing with Blade & Soul. It has a lot of personality and is giving plenty of good reasons for gamers to give it a go. NCSOFT looks to have a hit on their hands, but only time will tell.
