Revised Review : Atlantica On-Line

Good Oddening. I'm the Impoverished Player ; you get what I pay for.

Now, what could I; a lowly, homely, hardly employable role playing enthusiast, offer you, the paying, er, -gaming- public? How about an in-depth review on what the world wide web has to offer in the way of cheap, inexpensive, and cost efficient MMORPGs? Well, in my search of inexpensive, nay, free MMORPGs, Korea seems to have show the most ambition.

Almost a decade ago, near the turn of the century, a fledgling Korean gaming corporation by the name of Intizen Co set its roots. A full five years after they opened for business, Intizen Co released their first title, GoonZu On-line, in January of 2004. This brought them funding of some $4 Million, and enough recognition for them to branch out into other areas such as Japan, Taiwan, etc. This -also- brought on the realization that their company was named after a centuries old philosophy about life and tea... so they changed it! Intizen went on to become nDoors within the same year that GoonZu On-Line was released, and dependent upon where you live, that's either nDoors Corporation, nDoors Entertainment, or nDoors Interactive.

And what does any of this have to do with my current review? Well, seeing as GoonZu On-Line was only ever released overseas, and since I can't afford language tutoring, a proper translator, or plane tickets to fly there and try it out, I guess it's out of the question... although, nDoors Interactive has released three titles for us Western audience to enjoy... let's see... there's Atlantica On-Line, WonderKing On-Line, and Luminary : Rise of the GoonZu. Well! Let's have a look then, shall we?

WonderKing : Oh... kay... side-scrolling, two-dimensional, chibi-formed, animesque, sequenced platform-er side-scrolling mass multiple... let's see what else we have...

Luminary : ... Well, at least they were generous enough to allow us a third dimension, a-heh. I suppose that means-

Atlantica : That. This. Is. Completely. Different?

I don't just mean 'different' from the other nDoors releases. No, this is an entirely different medium for massive multiplayer role play! This is tactical, turn-based, timer-driven, multi-personal combat! You're not just one malformed otherworldly being with a skill tree and experience point counter. You're a small army... This hearkens to console role playing games like Konami's Genso Suikoden series, or more recently, Squarenix' Last Remnant. If mass unit micromanagement is your cup of Intizen, you're going to love this.

This is also a good game for the history and / or geography buffs out there. The world is set in, well... the world. An alternate history world, to be exact. Having recently rubbed the pre-game basic commands tutorial out of your eyes, you find yourself an awakened Atlantian descendant in the new world. Which is actually the old world. Which is, actually, our world.

You see, somewhere along time's twisty curvature, Atlantis discovered a life-altering material known as Oriharukon, which was powered by four crystals. Being the greedy power mongers that they were, the Atlantians horded this Oriharukon to themselves, eventually depleting their power crystals. This lead them out into the world to seek more, and brought about what are known as some of our 'nicer' desolate wastelands in the current day and age. With out a means to control the Oriharukon (jeez, that's fun to say), all of Atlantis simply blinked out of being...

Of course, the Atlantians weren't polite enough to take the Oriharukon with them, so the duty of cleaning up after their past mistakes falls squarely on your shoulders. And... the shoulders of every other descendant that happens to wake up after a brief combat and unit interface tutorial...

I 'guess' amidst the list of nasty things the Oriharukon is capable of (aside from turning everything it interacts with into deranged monstrous shells of their former selves) is the manipulation of time and space. I mean, sure, the geography bears a striking resemblance to our own (particularly if you want to visit places like the Tower of Pisa, Taj Mahal, or ancient Rome), and I suppose it's as accurate as it can be, given the conversion. I just find it amusing that I can run from Tokyo to Vancouver on an East to West route in a single day without having to change my boots. Yes. They recently added Vancouver, British Columbia to their world map, with what appears to be intent to release more of “Western Civilization”.

The major inconsistency lies within which era each civilization currently lives. It kind of adds to the entire 'steam-punk lite' appeal it has, as you can take part in the rise of the Rome Empire, the independence of Great Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and the Industrial Revolution. You can also barter for goods and information with several historical figures, including Doctor Livingston, Julius Caesar, William Tell, and Charlie Chaplin. There's also these... robot... things... which can be discovered in Detroit City as... vending machines?

The over all look of the game is very eye-catching. There's no cut-and-paste montage back-dropping, here, as every region does its best to stand out or show you something different. However, a lot of the edges are rather jagged. There's no first person mode, which really effects your ability to appreciate the architecture and wildlife in certain areas. The erratic 'special move' jerking camera motions make it difficult to manage your next move during combat within the fifteen to thirty second turn time limit, but thankfully that feature can be turned off. The only time I've ever really found myself in awe of the surroundings is when I'm visiting one of the many real world historical sites.

Character customization doesn't have much to offer, but that's not too surprising given that a staple of MMORPG's is over-sized, vibrantly colored, mismatched armor that just covers everything up, anyways. Maybe nDoors developers realized this, or they just got lazy, because you can choose between blue or bland armor, four different facial expressions, three extremes of hair dye, and... an afro? So, you can't change your skin color, size, or proportions... but you can have an afro? An afro that, might I add, just gets covered up by your helmet, anyways (unless, again, you turn that feature off). Oh, this is a whole new delicious layer of chronological inconsistency.

Who you are is also dictated by which weapon you carry. You've got your classic medieval molds for sword and shield, stave, bows, and long handled stabby things, as well as more modern weaponry like rifles... cannons? Heavy... metal... guitars... and is that... a chainsaw?! You mean to tell me, right out the gate, on this time skewered alternate earth, I can start off running around with a- oh, wait. It says in the fine print you have to have gotten at least one character up to level 100 already before playing with the power tools. Replay value!

Most of the character customization comes in the form of your battle arrangement, anyway. Namely, who you choose to let into your little band of wrong-righters, and how you rank and file them. As you progress through the game, you will be able to hire additional mercenaries to stand with you on the three-by-three square grid of battle, to a maximum of nine units, including yourself. This is not to say that you can't put reserve mercenaries into dry storage, just that their may be an underlying 'fee' for such privileges. Your choice in mercenaries to hire is nearly quadruple that of your starting character, as there are specialized classes such as inventors, sailors, witches, and Spartans.


Getting around the world of Atlantica is pretty straight forward. Arrow keys or ASDW for movement, with a Q / E strafe. Simple shooter maneuvering. You also have the point and click option, which is essential for initiating combat. Possibly my favorite mode of transportation, however, is the auto-move command. You can select a location, NPC, or quest parameter from any menu, click auto-move, and your character jaunts off obliviously in pursuit of its goal on a predetermined path. Of course, if any monsters should happen to stumble into this predetermined path, you'll quickly have to commandeer your auto-piloted persona to veer around it. Doing so will prompt a message box, asking if you intended to do that and would like to reclaim control of your tireless troupe.

If you -did- intend to waltz willy-nilly into the next "natural" abomination to cross your path, or clicked upon it with the cliche pointy-clicky sword, you'll be treated to a Final Fantasy shatter screen effect, and the realization that one world monster can equal anywhere from three to nine combat scene monsters. And seeing as your "world map" self engages in sporadically stabbing at the air or firing its weapon, you can't really step aside as another group of monsters wanders up to assist the first batch. This is what friends (and charm scrolls) are for. Once you are actually in combat, you can activate any of five randomly determined members of your party each fifteen to thirty second turn, based on action points and party size. You can select members with keys one through nine, or follow the activation order determined by the computer. Our stalwart settings, ASDF and QWERTY, act as quick keys for your actions. Targeting... is the tricky part.

So far as I have found, you have to click upon the opponent or ally you want to use an ability on, be it beneficial spell or standardized attack. Given the slanted screen display, this can be difficult when the unit you want to select is smaller then the unit in front of it on screen. Even accidentally clicking a wing, tail, or other vestigial appendage can cause you to initiate an otherwise poorly planned move, with no way of taking it back. I found it easiest to pan the camera out as far as it will go, and then rotate it until you have an aerial view of everyone on the grid. You may also have to pan to the left and right when aiding another player, or being attacked by multiple groups. Get used to recognizing potential threats from afar...

Of course, it wouldn't be much of a multiplayer game if you couldn't engage other players in bouts of sequential stratagem. Anything you could hope to accomplish alone can be done on a larger scale. A much larger scale. A player can join a party of three others, for a total of 27 allied combatants including mercenaries. Each party member can join a guild of up to 50 members, and take part in guild activities. These range from something as mundane as social crafting, to higher grade quests, to effecting the commerce and warfare of captured city. And a guild can join a nation of up to nine other guilds. An entire. Nation. That's five hundred players! This is quite possibly the largest social network I have found to date outside of world chat. And when you take into consideration what a little friendship can earn you...

When questing with other players, you gain a significant amount of extra experience. A small amount is also pooled off to the side, and reward to the lowest level mercenary amidst you and your current allies. As you battle, you can increase your crafting skills dependent upon what your guild is attempting to build. As your craft skills increase, you can trade and learn new crafts from anyone in your social network. As you constantly grind away at one species of monsters, your knowledge of said species will increase. Where it can be located, what kind of loot it carries, what it's vital statistics are... and you'll earn more experience for killing that particular kind of critter. This information can also be traded to other players, which can come in handy if they are a higher level then you, and slaughtered some unforeseen future enemy.

Now, I know at this point, you're probably tired of my yammering, and rubbing your knuckles in anticipation of the price tag attached to all of this. Well, I hate to disappoint my viewers... but it's free. All of it. Every day of every week of every month for as many years as they can get away with it financially. Everything I've mentioned game play wise is absolutely free. It's the 'special features' that cost extra. Basic conversion is five real dollars for five hundred non-refundable Gcoins. The bargains don't really begin until your spending fifty to one-hundred dollars. Spending fifty dollars nets you an additional five dollars worth of coins on top of what you purchased, where as one-hundred dollars offers an additional twenty dollars worth. This may seem like a significant deal, but you have to consider what you're paying for. Your average shop item costs (amusingly enough) anywhere from 499 Gcoin for 1/17 odds you'll get what you want, to upwards of 3,899 Gcoin for a complete, 90-day active, guaranteed scroll package. And what could you potentially get from these deals?

One use items, like combat scrolls, stacks of material, or beneficial licenses that expire after a set number of days. You might also be fortunate enough to chance upon a costume piece, which grants various stat bonuses, or a mount, which not only increases your movement speed, but also your avatars attributes in combat! And those are both permanent features, to do with as you see fit. Sell them for points, collect them, or use them as they were intended. Now -that- is a powerful fashion statement!

Aside from a few technical graphic annoyances, and the fact that you don't have to necessarily be at your computer unless you're in combat, I urge everyone to give this game a go. Crafting and running from point A to point B can be tedious, but if you're in that much of a hurry, you'll probably just fork over the five dollars for time-saving materials, anyways. It's got an amusing, alternate history backdrop, and a supportive, team building community. And it won't cost you a thing.