By Jim Rossignol on October 13th, 2010 at 8:33 am.
UPDATE: Bah, US/Canada only. Rubbish!
Later today, at least, which I suspect means this evening UK time. This fancy-looking Source-engined MMO caught my eye a while back with its hack ‘n’ slashy combat. It’s free-to-play, too, so not cost to dipping in and seeing what the grind/community/micro-paymentisms are like. We’ll be taking a look, anyway. If you want to understand why then take a look at the game footage I’ve posted below. The in-game stuff kicks off after 1 minute, after the meaningless blather about darkness and stuff getting forsakened. Man, do you hate it when you people go around forsaking? Tsk. Nevermind, look at those dudes getting spectacularly killed! That’s the stuff.
Also: Spider!
13/10/2010 at 08:40 Danny says:
The editing in this movie is giving me the epilepsy.
13/10/2010 at 10:17 neolith says:
I second that.
Get a proper artist to do the cutting next time.
13/10/2010 at 16:42 Spliter says:
I third that, it’s friggin horrible, only time I saw worse cutting was in the Predator trailer for AvP3
13/10/2010 at 08:45 WTF says:
I can’t seem to sign up for this? In order to register for the game you need to have a “Nexon Passport” which is only available in the US and Canada. Am I doing something wrong here?
13/10/2010 at 09:49 Rich says:
Nixon Passport?
13/10/2010 at 08:46 BadHat says:
Um.
“The Vindictus team is proud to announce that the Vindictus Open Beta will launch on Wednesday, October 13! At that time, all players in the [b]Continental US and Canada[/b] will have the opportunity to join the battle…”
http://vindictus.nexon.net/News/Content.aspx?boardNo=100&contentNo=009eu
13/10/2010 at 08:53 Baka says:
Yep, no EU Version. Not for a long time it seems.
13/10/2010 at 08:53 neofit says:
For the record, I have never forsakened anything.
13/10/2010 at 08:53 Alt says:
It’s a shame only the Americans can play this beta, well and Canada too. Nexon are awful at releasing stuff in Europe at a timely rate.
13/10/2010 at 08:54 Rinox says:
That pic probably makes this game an arachnophobiac’s nightmare.
13/10/2010 at 09:11 Deccan says:
I think I broke my mouse in my mad haste to scroll past it. It’s a strange day when the comments section is a blessed relief from a post’s contents, here or anywhere.
13/10/2010 at 09:30 pipman3000 says:
first thing i did was block that image.
gross.
13/10/2010 at 09:36 James says:
Babies. Sorry.
13/10/2010 at 16:22 Ozymandias says:
It just wants cuddles
13/10/2010 at 19:23 Chaz says:
Giant spiders freak me out too. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic was probably one of the most unrelaxing game experiences I’ve ever had, as I was constantly tense, alert and on my guard for suprise attacks by giant spiders. Doom 3 was also freaky in that regard too, with those horrible little arachnid things popping out of vents and chomping at your ankles. As for the queens lair with all those twitching wriggling cocooned bodies, eeeuurrgghhh! #Shudders#
13/10/2010 at 19:39 Dominic White says:
Bizarrely, Ozymandias is actually more on the money than anyone might have expected.
13/10/2010 at 08:56 Bob Bobson says:
That is a truely truely terrible first line. Truely. But the gameplay part of the trailer makes combat look good and meaty. The character art design reminds me of Soul Edge, which is a plus in my book. Certainly going to check it out at that price.
13/10/2010 at 19:05 Hmm-Hmm. says:
Truly, even?
Sorry, couldn’t help myself.
13/10/2010 at 09:01 olemars says:
That trailer shows nothing I haven’t seen 10 times this week alone. Can’t see anything new and interesting to make me even slightly care about this game.
13/10/2010 at 09:14 Brumisator says:
Nopbody but valve can make the source engine look good. I have no idea how they do it, but they do.
13/10/2010 at 09:30 MultiVaC says:
Except, of course, for the guy doing that Dear Esther remake. Although the amount of time it’s been taking for him to finish it kind of speaks to how hard Source can be to work with.
13/10/2010 at 09:31 MultiVaC says:
Edit:
Actually, I can’t believe I forgot Zeno Clash. That game is beautiful.
13/10/2010 at 10:38 Brumisator says:
Ah yes, Dear Esther, I’m currently whipping myself for forgetting about it.
But I have my doubts whether it will actually run on a normal computer.
As for Zeno clash, I guess it’s okay from a technical standpoint, I personally hate the artstyle.
13/10/2010 at 11:13 KindredPhantom says:
Or perhaps those behind the Blade Symphony mod: http://www.moddb.com/mods/bladesymphony/
13/10/2010 at 09:35 James says:
That stuff at the beginning is fairly painful. I guess the game part looks alright, not that exciting though to be honest.
13/10/2010 at 09:57 Shadram says:
That photo just made me jump, then want to cry, and then do a little bit of sick in my mouth. Please never, ever link a picture like that on the front page again, and if you post one below a jump, at least warn us first. Yes, I’m a total wuss and act like a small, scared child whenever I see even a picture of a spider. I’m gonna be twitchy all day now…
13/10/2010 at 10:02 olemars says:
Big spiders don’t look that scary IMHO. The sound they make as they move around on the other hand… that rapid, muffled pitter patter as they’re running for your trouser leg, searching for a heat source to sink their fangs in.
13/10/2010 at 11:33 Langetc says:
Also I’m scared of swords and tanks, so please don’t put any of them on the front page either.
13/10/2010 at 19:55 Shadram says:
Swords don’t move of their own accord, and tanks don’t have eight eyes, so your point is invalid. Seriously, why the hell would anything need 8 eyes? It’s not natural. Proof, in my mind, that they are in fact demons spawned by satan to kill us all.
And generally, the bigger the spider, the scarier it is. Camel spiders and those massive white ones that live in the amazon… gives me chills just thinking about them.
PS, my post was kinda jokey. I wasn’t actually demanding never to see a spider on the site again, or expect warnings, but I really did react in the way I described.
14/10/2010 at 16:39 adonf says:
I’m afraid of cats. John’s laptop unboxing story made me pee my pants.
13/10/2010 at 10:01 Shadram says:
Also… “I have painted the dark of yesterday… Yet another crimson day awaits…” What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
13/10/2010 at 10:08 James says:
I read it as “Bla bla deep storyline stuff, bla bla it’ll be cool once you understand, trust us bla bla bla.”
13/10/2010 at 15:41 bob_d says:
Maybe it sounded better in the original Korean?
13/10/2010 at 15:45 Dominic White says:
Like I said below, the actual dialogue in-game is far, far better. The terrible writing seems limited solely to the trailer, and I doubt it’s a translation of anything.
Also, it’s by a Japanese studio, not Korean.
13/10/2010 at 15:47 Dominic White says:
And then I go look it up and fact-check it myself, and… oops, yes, Devcat are Korean.
My bad. Oh, edit feature, I miss you so much!
13/10/2010 at 10:15 Richard Beer says:
This is beautifully, fantastically visceral, and I would love to try it. But it is also an object lesson in how important a good writer is to every project. Clichéd nonsense is clichéd.
13/10/2010 at 10:39 Nethlem says:
Allready saw a bit of gameplay from the game a while ago, looked interesting enough but the region locking prevented me from trying.
What’s the deal with this region locked stuff anyway? I can understand it with asian games as there is an huge language barrier. But games that are english anyway? Stuff just pisses me… just like my fileplanet subscription that often has beta access to interesting games but the beta keys are NA only…
It’s like they don’t even want additional players, or they haven’t realized that the internet is actually “world wide”. Yes there are proxies but i certainly won’t pay money for a decet proxy just because some companies think they don’t need additional customers..
13/10/2010 at 11:18 Dominic White says:
You can play this from anywhere in the world with a little proxy magic, but be warned that while it’ll be perform fine on solo runs, the moment you add other players, lag is going to be HEAVY.
http://www.proxifier.com/
http://www.xroxy.com/proxy-type-Socks5.htm
Apparently the European version is due by the years end, which is actually a huge, huge improvement over Nexons usual ‘fuck Europe’ business plan. Still not great, but not terrible, either.
Overall, I’m really pleasantly surprised with the game. It feels like a hybrid of Streets of Rage and Monster Hunter. Good stuff, and well worth the asking price of ‘free’.
13/10/2010 at 11:24 Dominic White says:
Also, the writing in-game is nowhere near as terrible as the stuff in the trailer. Whoever put that together clearly wanted EXTRA DRAMA but had no idea what they were doing.
13/10/2010 at 11:21 Dominic White says:
Oh yeah, and here’s a much better gameplay video, without schizophrenic editing.
http://vindictus.nexon.net/
13/10/2010 at 11:21 Dominic White says:
Well, fuck me. Wrong link – curse you, copy-paste!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a47ixWrPbKQ
13/10/2010 at 13:53 Guildenstern says:
I like the bit where you are about to fight some goblins and then GIANT FUCKING BEAR comes right through the wall and eats them.
13/10/2010 at 14:50 Dominic White says:
The bosses really are the stars of the show. One at the end of every stage, and later on they start introducing mid-bosses as well. The first few are pretty weak, but once you hit the Gnoll Chieftain (huge red dude in that video) it really picks up. Larger bosses can usually flatten you in 2-3 hits, and really force you to learn their attack patterns, and learn your dodge moves. Players can also use chains and spears and such to lock down bosses briefly to give you a little breathing room to attack safely.
13/10/2010 at 11:26 Joe W-A says:
First thing I always notice in screenshots of Source engine games is Half-Life 2 textures, like the floor there. It is a curse.
I am also pretty interested in how they’re managing a Source MMO.
13/10/2010 at 11:29 Dominic White says:
In all honesty, it’s no more an MMO than Diablo. You’ve got town hubs that are basically glorified chatrooms, but the actual gameplay is all instances for up to 4 players. It’s a pure action game – you go into a dungeon, you beat up a bunch of minions, you face down against a big boss, and repeat until you’ve had enough stabbing monsters and kicking gnolls off cliffs.
Kicking gnolls off cliffs never gets old, by the way. All the grappling moves are tons of fun.
13/10/2010 at 15:39 bob_d says:
@Dominic White: Sigh, when will publishers learn that five players is not “massively multiplayer” but simply “multiplayer.” From my experience with Korean companies, every game needs to be labeled an MMO, even when it isn’t though.
13/10/2010 at 13:13 Dominic White says:
In other news, Dynasty Warriors Online Beta starts tomorrow, and it’s a worldwide deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFniW8gitr8
http://dynastywarriors.aeriagames.com/
Online spinoff of the super-ridiculously popular hack n’ slash series. Make a historical chinese badass, and kill upwards of 600 dudes per mission. Also free to play.
13/10/2010 at 13:47 Axess Denyd says:
As a longtime student of kung fu, this is relevant to my interests.
Not terribly realistic, but it could be awesome.
Sadly I have neverp layed any Dynasty Warriors game, though.
13/10/2010 at 15:40 Heynes says:
Played a bit of it during the Early Access period. Was an interesting change of pace for an MMO – gameplay is what could be described as a mix of Demon Souls and Monster Hunter. Content-wise feels really limited (only 2-3 playable heroes with limited customization, small hub world with the main gameplay taking place in instanced dungeons, probably less than a dozen types of enemy models, etc), but it plays pretty nicely if you enjoy more 3rd-person action games. Oh, and my favorite bit was the loads of destructible objects you can destruct.
13/10/2010 at 16:32 MWoody says:
I liked the destructible objects until I realized that the game hides items – sometimes quite valuable ones – in those objects. It turned the game into “slash slash, enemies dead, now walk around and spent 3x that amount of time crushing every crate and pot, shoot me now.”
The game is more than a little bit grindy, and it really seems to push you more and more to group up as your advance. But nevertheless, it’s amusing enough to warrant a download for zero dollars. I’ll also add that the in-game text is perfectly serviceable – i.e. not excellent writing, but unlike that horrible trailer, I never got the feeling it was the result of a translation by a non-native speaker.
13/10/2010 at 16:58 Dominic White says:
The higher the difficulty, the better the loot tables. If you’ve got 4 players, then bump things up – Hard mode + Season of Macha for Hard+ will give you far better, more frequent drops while also being a fun challenge.
13/10/2010 at 16:02 Shadowcat says:
Obviously we need a caption contest for that screenshot, as Jim’s alt/title powers have failed him. Or does Jim shun such things in general? I can never remember. He will be compelled to edit in the best caption from this thread, of course.
“Is it still there?”
13/10/2010 at 16:33 MWoody says:
“OBJECTS IN MIRROR…”
13/10/2010 at 19:20 pupsikaso says:
AWESOME. Thank you SO much for reminding me Jim! I’ve completely forgotten about this game since it was posted here some time ago.
Man, what would I do without RPS?
13/10/2010 at 20:07 FunkyBadger says:
AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaarrgh!
13/10/2010 at 20:38 pupsikaso says:
Anyone know where to download the game? I’ve signed up on the site, but can’t find a link to download it =/
13/10/2010 at 20:41 pupsikaso says:
Nvm, after a round-about way of searching I’ve found it
http://vindictus.nexon.net/Support/Client.aspx
13/10/2010 at 21:13 pupsikaso says:
No, wait, I think that’s the old client…
13/10/2010 at 21:42 squidlarkin says:
Just checked the forums. The reason we can’t get in is because the beta hasn’t actually started yet. *twiddles thumbs*
13/10/2010 at 22:23 squidlarkin says:
And now it has!
13/10/2010 at 21:52 SonofSparda89 says:
Wow, those comments just made me impulsively slap my pant leg. thanks for the descriptive comments, now i’m dreading falling asleep i know the spiders are waiting for me lol.
14/10/2010 at 12:26 Albino Eatpod says:
Where’s its weak point? I wish to hit it for massive damage.
21/10/2010 at 12:44 Peter says:
I’m in the United Kingdom and it works for me. I’m playing it right now. This game is AWESOME.
23/10/2010 at 19:40 Bertone says:
Its actually really poetic. If you watch the lore trailer on the official site u’ll understand what he’s talking about.
Basicially, their belief is that when the humans kill enough fomors, morrighan will grant them their paradise.
That’s why he says
“I have painted the dark of yesterday, yet another crimson day awaits” He has killed so many fomors that everything around him is painted red with blood. And he knows the next day will be red too.
“Answer me goddess, where’s my paradise” He keeps killing, but he’s not granted paradise.
“My enemies scream in silence, from their ripped lungs” Epic line
“Morrighan, have you forsaken us?”
So it basicially seems like he’s bitter cause he’s been fighting the fomors, but his goddess doesn’t appear like the prophecy said she would.
Pretty good if you ask me. Better than You are a hero with amnesia, learn your shit again to save the world.