Forget the slow, almost turn based point and click fighting in most Massively Multi Player Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) of yesterday. Check out Vindictus, from Korean game producer Nexon, with its next-generation action packed swordplay and fantasy fighting system. No more static battles where you just stand next to an enemy NPC and trade blows. Instead, Vindictus offers fast-paced, intensely energetic gameplay with an array of destructible environments, for free! It looks to be one of the most hotly anticipated MMORPGs of the year!
Mabinogi Heroes was the original name of the game, but it has been changed to the more mysterious sounding, Vindictus. The original Mabinogi game, also by game powerhouse, Nexxon, had a very cartoony, cell-shaded anime look to its graphics. Vindcitus looks completely different, and I wonder if the reason they changed the name was to distance it from the earlier, more kid friendly MMORPG. All speculation aside, it is obvious from the gameplay videos, trailers, and screenshots that Vindictus is no kids game and has gone to an ultra hardcore style of gameplay and graphics.
Players can choose from 5 main characters to play as, in a departure from traditional MMORPGs where players usually choose a “class”, not a “character.” These characters are Kai (male archer), Fiona (female warrior), Evie (female magician), Lann (male warrior), and Karok (giant warrior). All characters have different abilities and skills, making them invaluable on the different levels and zones.
Gameplay is hardcore combat, fast and brutal. The game uses the awesome Source engine from Valve and environments have a lot of physics-based obstacles and destructible items and zones. It appears that players can even pick up different items (trees, gravestones, rocks, barrels) and wield them or throw them at the enemy. Bridges can be chopped down, walls destroyed, traps sprung and so on, in this intense, action-rpg game. I was really impressed with the early gameplay videos for Vindictus and hope the game continues in the same action genre. There aren’t many MMORPGs that use the intense action that Vindictus uses, so it is nice to see this change in the taste from Nexon.
Vindictus is currently available in Asia, and in North America. It is not yet released for Oceania or Europe, playing from an IP address from those regions will not work. You can download the North American client for Vindictus at its website, hosted by Nexon. The game is free to download and free to play, although you can pay money to purchase different item upgrades, costumes and more in the item shop (microtransactions basically pays for this game).