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How are these three obscure mmos?
Rockgod99
Member Posts: 4,640
Alright I need some info on three obscure games and maybe a few opinions on whether the games are good or not.
Three games: Puzzle Pirates, Wurm Online & A Tale in the Desert.
I tried to play Wurm twice both time that game wouldnt run. this was on a older system, im sure ill be fine now. the other two I have never tried at all.
Any info/opinions on the games would be helpful before i try them.
Thank you in advance.
Comments
The only one i played out of these three is ATITD and basically if you love crafting and don't need fighting that game is for you because that's what it's all about : crafting . And the crafting is more complex than just gathering the mats and knowing the "recipes" to make something . As an example to make charcoal you need to manage the "oven" (add more wood/air/water or reduce the amount of air , etc...) or to make objects like axes you actually need to make it look like an "ideal" example they provide you , how higher the ressemblance how better the quality .
So ye, if you really like complex crafting => that game is made for you. (also: the community is overall nice, well when i played it at least)
(personally i got bored of it pretty quickly because even if i'm a crafting fanatic the lack of an economy and fighting just didn't fit me)
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Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
well i did played the remaining two
(wurm and pirates)
pirates are more of a group of (rather interesting) minigames - i would not call it really a mmorpg, but it is great if want just casually spend some short (or longer) time playing some funny minigames. and it is, well, "free"
(it has certain minigames free every time and certain free only on specific weekdays)
wurm has more or less 2 parts - pvp and crafting. as for pvp, i didnt liked it, it is imho rather week compared to other games, but as for crafting, it is really great. you can craft many different items from food to houses, statues and ships and each item takes many steps (gathering, semi-products), but it takes a lot of time.
it has of course also some cons - e.g. if you would want to place a house outside of village, you would have hard time to find some spot on at least a bit decent place (at least so it was when i was playing, when freedom server came out). similar problem (but on smaller scale) you will have with any other "building" - mines, fields, fenced yard etc. also you would be crafting mostly for yourself, because there are of course many "maxed" crafters around. and also (which doesnt bother me, but could bother you) the graphics are rather weak
Wurm use to be a lot of fun, but I haven't played it in several years. Really rough to try and do things on your own so joining a town is nearly necessary if you don't have a group of friends with you to set up a settlement. Also watch out for spiders, they can track your sent, do a lot of moving by swimming. Water gives some protection against beasts. Terra forming and crafting is absolutely amazing in Wurm. I build an underground city for me and my friends in that game, along with several other times we played. It is fun to go off in the woods and try to make something of the land with your friends.
A Tale In the Desert is a good game, played it for a few weeks a long time ago. Really nice to have a game that is different. I agree that the lack of economy is kind of lame, but I suppose with a group of friends you could do some really cool projects. From what I remember, building anything too far off from the Nile would be a pretty impressive project.
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You know, I wish other games took after that part more. Too bad the rest of the game sucks but crafting is usually really bad in MMOs.
wurm is good in that you can terraform the terrain build houses any where, make your own roads, farm plants, breed animals. build boats, ships, carts have pets there is a good 2-3 months of stright learning and building things non stop in this sandbox of a game.
As good as all that may be the pvp and general fighting is weak. No character customization every one looks the same, its been that way since the game went live back in 06. Its fun for a little while and i do recomend that people at least try wurm because you have never played a game like this before. but the game it self makes it hard for you to stick around because of the grind or lack of things to do after you rush through the content.
I haven't really played Wurm and I've only glanced at ATitD. From what it was like in the trial it was a crafter's paradise. Think of something like a greatest ever solo crafting game without combat. If it suits you it's there.
As for Puzzle Pirates I played the game for about a year and a half or so and I am kind of an vet there. And I got to say I really enjoyed that game. The gameplay is.... diffrent to say the least. Almost all activities in the game are minigames. There are no meaningful experience levels. There are no skill levels that you can achieve (only a ranking). It doesn't matter if you played the game for 5 years or just started. The only thing that matters is how good you are in said puzzle.
The game theme is obviously pirates. You generally sail on a ship and plunder gold from npc's or other players. Typical pillage can look like this: You get some people on your ship. You order them around to so called stations. And one player play a minigame to fill cannons with cannonballs. Second play a minigame to keep sails full of wind and the ship moving. One plays a game to repair the ship and keep it from damage. One plays a game to pump out bilge water that slows the ship down. And one navigates the ship on the battle board. When you board the other ship your whole team/crew play a competitive puzzle game against the other team and who wins takes gold from the other.
There are 21 or something minigames to play. Some are played to craft diffrent items, some are played to make the ship running, some are played to defeat brigands,barbarians,skeletons,zombies and cultists, some are played in the inns for wager or fun.
This game is very skill-oriented. You are mainly mesaured by your skill and not by your time in game (experience, levels) and some social reputation if you want to seek it. Now those puzzles may seem casual at first but if you want to join the top ranks and become elite you need to get good at them. Luckily there is tons of tutorial videos on youtube and forums of the game. It doesn't take much time to get good though. You can join the game elite ranks in a month or so from the start.
Here's a little video of one of the puzzles (mini-games) called sword fight. Players on the left fight against skeletons on the right. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ydQbuEq6Go&feature=related
Strengths:
Gameplay. The minigames are nicely designed and each one of them has the potential to hook you up for weeks. And there are 20+ games.
Community. There are no trolls, scammers, griefers and general jack-asses (or hardly any). The game attracts diffrent kind of players. People are glad to help you and play with you even if you are a greenie (game term for noob). This the kind of game when you are so immersed in the world that you find yourself using "yarrs!" and "mate"s long after logging off.
Pay system. The game host subscription oceans (some kind of vip account is needed to unlock the whole game) and microtransaction servers where everything is unlocked but some items come with a doubloon cost. Those doubs can be bought for real cash (Paypal,Credit card, pay by sms in most coutries) or from other players for in-game currency. It is perectly possible to play the game qithout spending a dime (my first payment was about a year after I started the game, only because I thought I would like to support the game I like. I didn't need to actually).
Weaknesses:
Music. Or rather lack of quality soundtrack. You will quickly shift towardsusing winamp or something. Or maybe not, who knows. You might like the songs in the game. I didn't.
Graphics. The game is mostly 2D. The handmade art will not suit anybody seeking cuting edge 3D worlds.
Lack of "take me by the hand through the game" kind of tutorials. You need to find some things for yourself. The game won't give you the arrow pointing toward your goal. And there are no quests or such things. You actually need to use your brain to find some things if you do not want to ask anyone for help (though the latter is the most effective usually).