*PC Blowout* Dragon Nest

After Eden I went searching for a new MMORPG to get myself sucked into.  After some failed attempts in Mabinogi* and others alike, I looked for the best MMORPG of 2013.  What I found, was Dragon Nest.

DN is a real time combat rpg, lending itself as more of an action game than your traditional MMO.  Attacks are very dynamic and nearly every one can have u move while attacking.  It actually feels a lot like a beat em up in the style of Devil May Cry or God of War, as you slash down huge enemies and tens of small enemies. The action here is incredibly smooth and is by far the driving point of this game.  Battles are now a lot more dynamic and action packed, lending itself more to timely dodges and strafing rather than spamming a certain skill while standing still.  That will get you killed in this game.  This takes out some of the grindy aspect of killing a lot of monsters, as you can now take out ten enemies with a well placed shot.  By far one of the best combat systems Ive seen in any PC game.

Vision blur is awesome!

Graphics wise, this game is absolutely GORGEOUS!  Enviornments are sprawling with details, vision glare for up close and far away objects, fully rendered cutscenes, grass movement in the wind, oh my god I could go on!  The games style is phenomenal and is another driving force of the game.  Seeing what kind of dgn layout they have planned for you next can be really exciting.  Ill get into the varying types of dgns a bit later, but towns all look gorgeous and the attention to detail is commendable by any means.  While there was some lag when lots of enemies came on screen, my computer isnt the greatest so I wont hold that to it.

Story wise its actually not that bad!  Who'd have thunk someone like me who skips through most MMO stories would actually like this one.  Cutscenes are frequent to progress plot and they do so much of a better job than any amount of text too.  I actually knew what I was fighting for and who I was trying to save.  Thats pretty awesome.  English voiceovers are all throughout the game, giving characters an actual feel to them, with their own accents, dialects and emotions.  Never have I seen so much polish towards characters and story in an MMO.

In terms of menu placement, UI and others, it handles itself very well.  The UI is relatively easy to navigate, and even though your mouse usually directs the camera constantly, a little hit of the ctrl button will allow you to interact with the options and overall works great.  Though some features are handled better than others, this is a very easy to learn system.  The auto route in this game kinda sucks though.  You'll constantly get stuck on walls and it's unreliable at best.  Which brings me to its transportation system.  Eden was set up with a main overworld with small enemies for sidequests, and DGNs to go into for larger quests and boss fights.  This worked well as sidequests could be accomplished easily and quickly, while major quests are easy to stack and prepare for.  In Dragon Nest, they split it up a lot more.  One area is your town, for accpeting quests and talking to NPCs.  One are houses the entrances to each DGN, with no enemies in them.  And finally are the DGNs, which house all the enemies youll need to face.  This to me is kind of sloppy.  For smaller quests youll need to dedicate yourself to playing through an entire dgn, just for a couple enemies.  It encourages stacking of quests for larger trips, but if you miss one youll have to do the whole dgn again just for the one you miss.  Also NPCs like to send you back from where you came!  "Finish a quest in the mines?  Great!  Heres another quest in the mines!  You just went there?  Too bad!"  It gets frustrating.  Thank god the dgns themselves are always really awesome.  Each have their own theme to them, feature either an abandoned library, to a dark, nightmarish farmland, to a deserted island ravaged with pirates.  This mixes things up and when your not going to the same dgn over and over again, it can actually be really enjoyable.

Very intense battles

So what didn't I like?  Well, a little ...tiny...small...aspect...THE CLASSES ARE GENDER LOCKED!  WHAT?!?  Want to play as an archer?  Well youre a female, no questions asked!  Why would they do this? This completely sucks any immersion I had into the game.  But hey, if I can make her at least look cool, it shouldnt be a problem right?  Well the customization in this game is a joke.  4 types of hairstyles, 4 colours (all very similar) and 4 eye clours.  Thats it.  No facial features, no expressions, its all the same.  Everyone playing this game looks like a clone and its terrible at making you feel unique. Also, this game is rather...ecchi.  What I mean is it has a lot of fanservice to it that sticks out like a sore thumb.  Some girl NPCs will literally lift up their skirts whenever you talk to them.  And yes, you can see their underwear.  That's gross.  I also didn't like the limited amount of costumes they gave me, all parading my girl's body around.  This sucks any connection I have with some of the characters, including my own, and I can only see them as tools for perverts to express themselves.  And finally, theres no community.  I apparently picked a server to build my character on that gets no action, as I could barely ever see people walking around and doing their own thing.  Chat is very rare to see and I kinda felt lonely playing through it.  Theres marketplaces to list items and participate in arenas, but because of my server noone would use these, making them utterly pointless.  When a quest would come up requiring or recommending a group, I have no choise but to turn it down or go it alone.  Thats just....sad.

But overall, Dragon Nest is still a really great game.  The graphics are amazing, storys intriguing, combats phenomenal and enemy slaying will never be more satisfying.  Given that though the lack of community, gender lcoked classes, grindy dungeons and overall pervyness, I can't really give it that high of a score.  I had a ton of great fun with this game, but I can't give it any higher than a 8/10 with a recommendation of Look Into It!

Next Post:  *PC Blowout Finale* Aion Ascension

*Bonus Review:  Mabinogi.  0/10  The worst combat i've seen in a videogame, horrible graphics and it's stupid.  Never Download It!