While perusing my RSS feed from DSFanBoy, I found this little gem about the upcoming (to US shores, at least) MMORPG Maplestory for the DS. Naturally, my interest was sufficiently aroused to try to find out a bit more about it. This lead me to the Wikipedia entry on the game.
As in any typical MMORPG, gameplay centers around venturing into dungeons and combating monsters in real time. However, MapleStory’s 2-D side-scrolling viewpoint more closely resembles a platformer than the typical 3-D or top-down view of other games. Though the 2-D graphics don’t give the player a more realistic feeling, it is an important part of MapleStory, for the 2-D effect helps the game have larger levels. MapleStory characters fight monsters through a series of attacks and skills. Along with combat, jumping is an integral part of the game.
. . .
New players are sent to Maple Island, a floating island specifically designed to be beginner-friendly. Unlike a collection of other MMORPGs, players in MapleStory can not choose a character class or job when they create the character. Rather, every character starts with the job Beginner until they meet the requirements to complete the first job advancement.
When a player creates a new character, he or she is able to spread 25 ability points amongst four different statistics: STR, DEX, INT, and LUK (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Luck, respectively). Players can not manually choose where these points will be placed, as the distribution is randomly generated by a dice roll, to which an infinite number of rolls are possible. The minimum possible point level scored when the dice is rolled in a statistic is four and the maximum is twelve.
Aside from the 2-D scroller thing, it sounds like a typical MMO. I will have to try it out, though, whenever I can get my hands on it. Ever since I got hooked on City of Heroes (July 2004, BTW), I’ve tried to keep up with MMO news. And since this one plays on my portable of choice (I still want a PSP, but I can’t afford one right now), I’ll probably buy it and try it.
[tags]Nintendo DS, MMORPG[/tags]
I love pinball. I want a pinball machine for home, but haven’t found a decent one at a price I can/will pay. While searching for that pinball deal, I resign myself to PC based pinball simluators. While this provides entertainment, it’s missing the tactile experience one gets with real pinball. Going the other way, however, is Flipper Critters – a Nintendo DS game coming out in Europe later this year. Sure, it too is missing the whole actual experience of pinball, but dang it, at least we get portability. I’ll probably pick up this game if it makes it to the US (or if I can find an importer with the game at a reasonable price). Wondering why? Well, check out the video. Looks good to me.
