Sword of the New World: Granado Espada Review

It is this long scope of SotNW that can be both its strength to some gamers and its undoing to others. The Korean gamer seems to be a dedicated sort to say the least- the kind that really does have to catch 'em all in Poke M�n, go back through Resident Evil in each and every one of the unlock-able outfits to get that 'A' rating, and find all the unbelievably esoteric Easter eggs in any title they get their hands on. Us big lazy western types can be a little less enthused by a game that really only starts to give up some of its more complicated features after a hundred hours of game play, despite having been waved before our noses since we first signed on. This title will certainly reward dedication, but it's a level of commitment that is nearly certainly well beyond the average casual gamers attention span.

The visual style of SotNW is certainly a more immediately rewarding experience. Capable of being run in either full-screen or windowed mode (for convenient hiding behind spreadsheets at work) the game runs well on even modest laptops. The visuals and landscapes are every bit a mash of neighbouring genres as the characters - Elizabethan pioneers are around so we can have big trousers and gothic churches and towers, which is a bit similar to the conquistadors so we can have lunatic faux-catholic abbeys and hidden treasure, which bleeds over into pirates with galleons and giant hats, which is a bit like cowboys so we can have prairie towns, etc. Few graphic designs have been quite so unwaveringly fearless in the face of glaring anachronisms and geographic incongruity - but the resulting melting pot makes for a constantly fresh and interesting landscape.

The rotatable POV works smoothly in all but the most effect-heavy large scale battles, with only the occasional scenery clipping issue to obscure the view. When either traversing the landscape or fighting the hoards a fairly long view is best to keep all your fighters in view and get an idea of how the tide of battle runs, which is almost a shame given the excellence of the animation and the sumptuousness of the character designs. Each stance and each weapon will have their individual animations, with an impressive variation even without the special moves thrown in. The characters appearance will not change with the addition of new armours and equipments, but can instead be separately altered with a trip to the local tailor. Putting together your favoured look can again be an exercise in monk-like patience and perseverance, as that hat you really want to pull together your Bonnie and Clyde theme will require an extra 50 levels, a fortune in local currency, and a side quest longer than the plot of many older RPG's entire.

There are in my play experience certainly a few negative points in the game world and the mechanic, beyond the Zen attitude to progression that is sometimes required. One of the most pronounced issues at the levels I have yet seen is that due to the power and versatility of having three different characters at your command, and an entire family available to swap in and out, nearly on the fly, the need to form expedition parties seems limited. In World of Warcraft the Tank needed the Healer in order to stay alive, and the healer needed the Fighters to actually kill some monsters, and so on. If the player is themselves a tank and a healer and a fighter, why bother with making associations? And if that is the case, why should the game bother being online in the first place? The online interactions with other players are typically excellent, with a range of social gestures and animations to perform, an extremely intuitive trading and stall-opening system as well a global auction house. The duelling system is quick enough to get in and out of that it can be fun to while away the time in the populated hours. At about 30 hours of play, however, I have yet to really see the enduring appeal of sharing my loot with any other players by simply taking the dungeons at a careful pace.

For those folks that start to push the lofty heights of Level 50+ and then 100+, whole new play elements will start to open up. Two particularly worth mentioning are the mercenary system and world politics.

Mercenaries are a very interesting addition, allowing experienced players to lease their characters to other players for large sums of money. These mercenary characters will be held on time based contract, and added to your family. They will follow your instructions and lend their skills to your team, but cannot be stripped of any of their equipment and weapons, and will accrue a cut of the acquired gold automatically. For the high level player this can be a fantastic way to keep high level family members productive and active even when not useful for the time quests. Already some family surnames are becoming associated with the best in Mercenary muscle, and reputations are being made.

The politics of Grando Espanda is as yet still murky to players with a penchant for daylight and seeing family members, but each town is equipped with ballot boxes that can be used to seriously tip the balance of power in each settlement, ostensibly between Monarchists and Republicans. It seems like the players with the power will be able to make serious changes on the way the economy works, which settlements you will find welcoming to you, and even who rules the entire land. Such lofty heights need not concern mere peons like us for quite some time though.

Another negative aspect of SotNW, which it has in common with many of the Asian MMORPG's, is a system of being able to pay real money for objects and experience. A spending spree on the credit card can give players massive advantages over their fellow gamers who are already paying subscribers, which can lead to quite some ill-will. The game is free up to Level 20 for non-subscribers, which is a decent number of hours of play and can really let new gamers get the feel of things before committing. After that cap, subscribers have a choice of three different bundles, with differing levels of support and freebies thrown in.

Summary

Sword of the New World: Grando Espanda stands out from the crowd with its excellent visuals and action packed combat. Despite the patience stretching scope of the quests and achievements needed to unlock desired characteristics; its immediate game play is exciting and varied enough to keep you engaged. Both stylistically and game play wise it's probably the furthest away from the two mainstays of Orcs vs. Humans or the Elite clones that dominate the online market, and its appeal turns out to be more enduring than just this refreshing novelty. If you can overcome the, well�.. slightly Korean-ness of some of the design features, you should find this quickly accessible and far reaching MMORPG a good contender for your Warcraft time. Certainly worth the free client download.