Forsaken World-UPDATE

  Forsaken World was one of those games that seem like every other...but it isn't!From just looking at a few videos I was able to tell that Forsaken World was graphically intense as well as game play intense!To those of you gamers that claim to have a "real life"(pfft yeah right) Forsaken World is limited to how many instances,events,and of course daily quests you can do.After you have done all of those quests you have to wait until the server resets the next day so you can do them again.This might seem like a bother but it is actually very smart.Due to the amount of exp these quests and events give it would be insane to not have them limited!You are forced to do quests later on to level up and this requires you to do some instances,so be careful which ones you choose to do!Also Forsaken World has some quests that give a huge amount of experience as well as some nice items!

  Now I am not going to sugar coat this and scream "OMG BEST GAME EVAH!" Forsaken World like any other mmorpg has its flaws.One of them being the boredom from levels 1-40.I had rolled a Protector and wanted to get into crafting epic armor for myself so I could tank more efficiently.It was only later that I found out that crafting became unlocked at level 30.Though the grind to level 30 wasn't slow,it was quite difficult to do due to not having the appropriate gear!Of course to make things easier you can farm shards from elite monsters and get gear that way but at the time I did not know about this!Thankfully some friends were kind enough to help me farm sapphire shards for my gear and I was ready to go from that point on!Population wise Forsaken World is filled with people!Not crowded to the point that questing is impossible but just enough so you don't feel alone.And if you are feeling emo you can switch to a more empty channel at any time!

  As for races and classes Forsaken World has a nice selection of both!Even a Vampire race and class for you Team Edward peeps...no werewolves yet though!You have a total of five races to choose from and each have certain classes special to them only.Dwarves and Stoneman are stuck with one class though and Stoneman can only be male.As for Kindred,Human,and Elf, they have a total of four classes each!Racial abilities are obviously included so for you hardcore players out there be sure to choose your race and class wisely!

  Forsaken World also has a pet system where certain monsters can turn into souls for you to capture!This pet system should interest certain people since they can provide the player with buffs in PvP or against instance monsters!They also get stat points per level up so you will have something to do when you are bored.Some monsters can only be caught by a character that has chosen the Tamer profession so if you want that awesome looking boss as a pet you will want to choose Tamer.The pets can also learn skills and some pets will have different attributes or have better stat growth so don't think it is as simple as catching one.You can also fuse pets together to make one stronger or have certain skills.

  Equipment wise you can infuse your gear with gems provided they have an empty socket!You can obtain said gems from doing instances or completing quests.But this is where I had a problem with Forsaken World.The cash shop takes advantage of this system and sells stones,ingredients used to combine stones and items that are used to remove stones.These items can be bought of course from players or you can trade in in game gold for a certain amount of cash shop currency.The only downside is that you cannot obtain in game currency from doing quests.Quests give you "Soul" currency which is currency that is bound to your character.You can't trade or deposit with it and you cannot exchange it for "real" in game currency.So unless you learn the ropes of playing the auction house you will have trouble with this system.

  The new expansion has added more areas as well as a new race the Lycan.Unfortunately the Lycan do not receive a unique class and are only limited to one class that is gender locked.Males can be assassins and females can be priests.This is a disappointment because honestly a sword wielding Lycan would make for a more interesting choice.Now the Lycan can transform into a werewolf and use skills to keep the transformation up.But aside from that there racial skill is horrible.They get an increase of 100% movement speed for 2 seconds.You know what I can do with that? Absolutely nothing.
  The new "Soul Leaf" system has made things a bit less cash shop oriented.You can get these by mentoring or by doing "Life in Freedom Harbor" quests.There may be more but I have not fully explored this new system.The items you can buy with the soul leaves is limited to a few pets,mounts,and costumes but nonetheless it is helpful and I expect the developers to add more things into it such as refining items and fusion materials.

  The community has not diminished and is very much alive.You can find parties and guilds for whatever you may need be it help,info,or just a casual guild.Currently they have a 2k soul leaves+title+goodies event going on.You can find more info here Event Thread

Final Review:

Gameplay: 9/10

Population: 8/10

Content: 8/10

Cash Shop: 6/10

Vindictus

  Vindictus is a action hack and slash mmorpg that focuses on instance based dungeon runs to complete quests,obtain gear,and gain skill experience. The towns are also instanced with different channels that you are randomly dropped into but can switch to another at any time. Vindictus is fast paced and ,accompanied with a pc compatible game pad, can provide you with a nice adrenaline rush now and again. Coupled with skills that can be used in any combo and a dodge ability and you have yourself a nice game that delivers on its action orientation. With four released classes and another class coming soon you have a nice roster to choose from until you find the perfect play style. Unfortunately these classes are gender locked but don't let that stop you! The classes currently released are Lann,Evie,Karok,and Fiona.

  Party play is necessary if you plan on getting the best gear or for leveling fast!The problem with this is that you may encounter latency issues due to the peer to peer connection system it has.If you or another member has a crappy connection the whole party suffers.It is rare to encounter this though so you will be safe until you run into someone using a proxy to play the game.You can also choose to solo this game but unless you are extremely good at your class you will have a difficult time and may end up taking longer on a dungeon run than if you were in a team.Best solution is to get some buddies that live nearby or at least on the same continent to join you.

  Customization wise you have a fair selection of hair styles,hair color,eye color,size, and skin color.To make you stand out even more you can dye your gear different colors! Unfortunately a large selection of the customization options are cash shop based and will cost you some cash to get.But hey everything can't be perfect!Aside from this you can get through all of the game just by running dungeons and crafting your own gear. Gear also has stats to help you specialize in a certain role,and depending on the armor type, can give you added dex for critical hits but lack defense,defense and hp but lack dex, etc. This system allows players to explore and see which armor set is best for them.Titles are also another way to make you stand out and even give you stat boosts.

  PvP is also implemented into Vindictus and is balanced no matter how much you die it is never the class that makes you a good player. PvP has tactics here and involves thinking and playing wisely in order to overcome your opponent.Their is no such thing as a "OP" class so don't go picking a class based on PvP.Pick a class you like stick to it and get better!Other than that PvP is fun and if you don't like to think don't get into this at all!

Final Review:

Gameplay: 10/10

Population: 9/10

Cash shop: 9/10

Content: 9/10

Balance: 9/10

Rift Online

Rift is a fancy mmorpg with unique features that will be sure to catch the eye of the passing gamer.From wide open terrain to invasions from the Planes,this will be one game that you will never forget. As you start Rift you have the choice of 3 races per faction.Dwarves,Elves,and  Mathosian Humans make up the Guardians while the Bahmi,Kelari,and Eth Humans make up the Defiant.As for classes you have a few preset "souls" which are a combination of three classes to fulfill a role such as tank,support,or dps. After selecting your preset class you can modify your three souls to any of your choice.But with this magnificent class system there is also a big problem.Some classes are not meant to be used with others due to conflicting skills that either use up mana or do nothing to support the other two souls.And some builds are just broken requiring any end game players to be forced to follow a linear path.

  Another interesting feature of Rift are the Elemental Planes.These planes emerge from Tears across the game world.Using a certain item you get at the beginning of the game you can open the tear into a full blown Elemental Tear which summons monsters and gives you random quests.After successfully sealing the tear you receive points that can be used to obtain blue grade gear,potions,or stones to give you added buffs.Some tears called "Minor Tears" can easily be done solo.But Major Tears are not so easy so bring along a buddy if you want to get that nice blue weapon!
  Invasions are...well...what the name says INVASIONS!An invasion takes place every few hours and requires a large amount of players to defend your factions territory.If you participate you receive a nice amount of points at the end and the exp isn't bad either!But be warned,elite monsters appear at times leading the small army of elemental beings and not only do they look intimidating they hit like a truck!The option to join a public group and form a raid against these is always available when you are near a person in that group so finding a party is simple.At the end of each invasion a large boss monster appears.It has a ton of hp and can deal a ton of damage!But after defeating it you end the invasion and can continue on questing!
  The population is healthy but at times you may find it difficult to find any players since a large chunk of the community is already at end game.But thankfully their will be times when a high level player runs you through an instance or helps you complete certain group quests so you won't be stuck as much as you would hope.You will usually be soloing though as most of the quests are soloable and you only need a group for the optional group quests.
  PvP is easy to get into and an easy way to get fast levels!PvP selection on Rift is cross server so you will often be teamed up with people from different shards and even the opposing faction.As you gain levels you can access more maps with different objectives such as capture the flag,acquire the most points,or have as many people carrying a buff.After a few minutes in PvP you will be suprised at how many levels you have gained and how fun it really is!Another option is to grief players from the opposing faction >:D
  Rift is a unique mmorpg that should be played by more people and with the upcoming expansion,it may just be what you dreamed of in a mmorpg.Enjoy the video :)

Final Review:
Gameplay-9/10
Graphics-9/10
Population-6/10
Content-8/10