Help
This article was translated by BlkNoiz! Give him some love, this was his first go!
With high expectations and interests, "Blade and Soul" is the game that is on the spotlight. Reasons for such attention have to do with Hyung-Tae Kim's distinct art style and hard striking action driven combat.
Despite such high expectations, many have worried in the past that "Blade and Soul" might just become another ordinary NCSoft game with good graphics and common MMORPG system such as "Lineage 2" or "Aion". After experiencing the demo myself, at least, such worry is totally needless.
Blade and Soul was definitely something else compared to previous NCSoft titles. They focused most of their efforts in lowering the difficulty of control while improving upon action and storyline all the while promoting convenience. In the end, they found themselves with this unique and amazing title, Blade and Soul.
ThisIsGame has taken the first trial with the G☆Star-2010 version demo. It seems I have a lot to say, from Qing Gong graphics to controls of the game.
Male Lyn Force Master, the Cutest of them All!
The demo starts with character creation. Beautiful descendants of the Phoenix: the Kun; Tough and strong descendants of the Ancient Dragon: The Gon; Humans with exceptional physique and minds: The Jin; Cuties with big ears and tails: The Lyn; A total of 4 races are presented.
Four classes were included; the Kung Fu Master, Blade Master, Force Master, and Destroyer. There are class restrictions according to the races. No races are gender-locked other than the Kun which is a race populated only by female. I went ahead and played the demo as a female Gon Destroyer and Kun Kung-Fu Master.
After the character creation is dealt with, you go into the game after watching a little clip of intro/staff roll video. I can't discuss much specific details, but there are many cut-scenes within the game that help with understanding the storyline.
This is the intro/staff roll video. There is a big surprise at the end!
Spectacular Mind-Blowing First Impression
Alright, let's get into the game itself. The first impression of Blade and Soul is just fantastic. Hyung-Tae Kim's signature slender but voluptuous and cutesy characters are seen throughout. With warm background and cleanly articulated effects, the game expresses a feel of an unusual type of fantasy rather than a traditional Moo-Hyup. As a side note, I personally felt that if "The War of Genesis" was to be turned into an online game, it would be just like this.
About the graphics. I will let the screenshots here handle that job. It is not on par with CG-like graphics, but is the best out of all the online games that are currently out there. I was very much impressed with the highly detailed backgrounds.
In order to bring the best experience out of the graphics, the interface of the game has been minimized
To view this as a traditional Moo-Hyup themed game, this (both player and mobs) is just too fancy!
The gameplay is mind-blowing. When not in battle, the Qing Gong gauge can be used to run at extreme speeds and to jump high distances. You can use it all you want until your Qing Gong meter runs out, it will replenish when you're not using Qing Gong. There is a gliding descent following the high jump, I was having so much fun just running and flying around the area looking for shortcuts.
Jump into the sky and run! Just awesome!
Gliding descension feels like skidding through air.
Convenience and Strategy, A Control Mechanism Aimed at "Win-Win"
The controls in Blade and Soul are simple and easy. When moving, keys are excluded, only 3 or 4 hotkeys are used most of the time. In the demo, there are a total of 11 keys that can be used; A fraction of how much other games require for playing.
Situation-dependent changes is the reason behind such a low number of keys. Blade and Soul does not incorporate a system where a specific skill is activated by a specific hotkey. Different skills are activated upon the same key depending on different situations in a given battle.
For example, for Destroyers, the "R" button usually starts the combo: Judgment -> Retribution -> Heaven's Fury. When facing an enemy who is knocked down, the "R" button then changes to the skill "Trample".
The skill "Destruction" which is executed by pressing the"F" button also changes to "Slam" when dealing with enemies in mid air. Just like this, even when same keys are used consecutively, executable skills keep changing according to different situations.
The skill is usually "Destruction", but once you hit an enemy into the air... (continue to next image)
...the skill changes to "Slam" like this. Since the enemy is in the air, "Judgment" skill button is gone for now.
There are skill choices to make during combos, allowing you to chain combos in many different ways. This brings a very strategic aspect to the game and really begs the question of how PvP will be executed. Because executable skills are changing constantly, if you slip your fingers and miss the intended timing, you will end up using the wrong skill.
Due to Blade and Soul's unique targeting system, when you move left and right while facing a group of mobs, executable skills will change. Therefore, gamers who are used to the systems of original MMORPGs of the past (Button A = Skill A, Button B = Skill B) will have a tougher time adjusting to the new system.
I seriously want to try playing this game with a controller!
These are the combos of Destroyers. It includes the combo where the Destroyer would fling an axe to toss the NPC a far.
Definitely Different Dimension of "Story"
To be honest, NCSoft's past projects did not put much of their efforts into developing a good storyline. When we look at their most recent products such as Aion, it only provides us with a good description of the world and general information when it comes to each quest, rather than providing in depth lore and tying many quests together. The story of Aion itself was only based off of the quests with few to no events, which left most wanting more.
Blade and Soul is different. During a short single hour of demo, there are a total 5 cut-scenes. The cut-scenes themselves are quite long as well. They really capture the empathy of the player by focusing on the acts of a specific person. It's like how "filled with rage, you must avenge your parents" has more meaning compared to "You must save the troubled World!" out of nowhere. It is really intuitive.
Additionally, quest logs are very user-friendly and quest items are easy to identify and give no room for any confusion. With no additional devices or mechanics, the game can be enjoyed just by moving around and being in awe of the exceptional graphics.
The cut-scenes are long and satisfying. It really draws you in.
Quest Journals are in the form of a fiction novel. And it gets completed as you progress through the quests.
The Effortless Display: From Cut-scenes to Combat
With a lot of cut-scenes to aid the storyline and gameplay it easily drags you in, making time the quests and combat much more fluent and meaningful. It is easy to tell that so much work has been put into this game.
During a quest where the player is to carry the injured, the player actually has to carry the injured using both hands, unlike most MMO's where you just click on the injured! Another example is when the enemy's ships burn and sink when shot by the player's cannons. It does a great job introducing new NPC's as well! When the game introduces a new main NPC, the camera spins and focuses on different angles of the NPC. It is really pleasurable just to watch the game progress.
Storyline utilizes flashbacks and with such tight storyline, I was able to enjoy the game like watching a movie. The display of action is promising as well. The reactions of hit, block, or dodge are definitely emphasized and effects such as explosion, fire, mud, and dusts flying everywhere are well made and cleanly executed.
Just by looking at this screenshot you can feel this character's personality and abilities.
What happens when you get attacked? This screenshot could tell you that!
You can see the effort made by Team Bloodlust to support the setting and the desperate situation at this point in time in the demo. The best example is when your character 'dies'. Once your character "dies" in Blade & Soul you are given certain amount of time to crawl away from the scene to save yourself before you actually die.
Once you are in a safe zone and away from monsters then you can begin your 'Chi Meditation' to get back on your feet and immediately return to battle. If you get hit once while using "Chi Meditation" you will die and be sent to the nearest town by force. If you take advantage of this Chi Meditating system, you won't need to make a long trip back like many other games.
They captured the appropriate set-up with the right amounts of suspense and convenience at the same time!
It really feels like moving something
NCSoft's Goal to Make a "Different" Game
It is impossible to judge a new game upon only an hour of gameplay, but one thing is for sure, It was clear to see that NCSoft is really trying to produce something "Out of the box" and extraordinary here.
They implemented a new and fresh combat system with easy controls that are worthwhile to master. They also improved on what has been the "Kryptonite" of NCSoft titles; Story and dramatic display, while keeping all of their excellence in fancy effects and graphics.
Can they really continue the dominance of MMORPG's with this game? I honestly think so! I'm sure you'll agree if and when you play Blade & Soul!
You can break someone's arm. In the other direction as well.
The cutest of all NPCs, Lyn Instructor!
There are 3 outfits that were relased in the demo; you can switch between them freely.
Back to top
