My frustration ignites when I cannot figure out how to defend myself.
“Elsword” is a 2D action MMORPG developed by KOG, and published by Kill3r Combo.
The first screen after the log in screen is a brightly colored server screen. The game starts with choosing one of four characters: Elsword, Raven, Aisha, and Rena. Both Elsword and Raven are melee characters. Elsword has the ability to erupt flames from his blade, which does critical damage. Raven has a sword and a Nasod arm, which isused to fire cannons. Aisha wields a rod that casts fire and lightning. Rena carries a bow with arrows that go through more than one enemy. After the player picks a character, there is a quick tutorial consisting of easy mobs and understandable controls. Thegame begins in Ruben Village.
The game consists of mashing buttons without contesting mobs. The creators could, at the very least, make the bosses more interesting and less repetitive. I do not want to fight different forms of Banthus three times in a row. Button mashing during PVE is a problem, because the combat becomes boring. I tried pressing z and x for one hour straight, and it is not fun. The fun only lasts for a good five minutes, where the player does not even know what the move is. The game repeats its stages until the players are exhausted.
The most critical pet peeve is the poorly designed defensive system of the game. The only defensive maneuver for melee characters is Elsword’s counterattack skill, which is tough to pull off against monsters, because they rarely attack and hit. Aisha and Rena have some dodging abilities, but the movement feels awkward to control. Otherwise, the only other defensive moves are moving backwards and jumping, which does not help the characters move through the stage.
The graphics flaunts a comic book art style, something like Viewtiful Joe, only brighter colors. When the characters use their skills, comic panels surround the character screen. The panels surround the character in order capture the moment of that particular skill. The character’s costumes are centered on one color. For example, Elsword has red clothing, a red sword, and red hair. The creatures have fascinating designs as well. The ancient phoru’s contrast of white and dark purple represents the balance of good and evil in the world.The graphics are emphasized to hide the game play flaws.
The ultimate reason why players play video games is for the game play, not the graphics.
Reggie Kwok can be reached at [email protected].
Kreat • Dec 11, 2015 at 6:54 am
What this article fails to express is a long term idea of the game. Yes there are problems in most of the economy of the game, but at the same time if you play just for that, what use is a battle game to a person? This person sounds like he/she has only played a few hours of the game, and not advanced a lot,plus the fact remains it was written almost 3 years ago, meaning that (since the game is still going) it has had time tom improve.
But like every game Elsword has flaws, such as the imperviously mentioned economy issue (and KoG finding every which way to get “cash” event), PvP bias (Long ranged characters are in more favor, than a melee.), making the game difficult to play if you don’t have certain cash items (B-slot, Costume, Pet), and a constant unbalance of power in newer characters.
The ups Elsword have going for it are things such as having to think (most of the time) when your doing a solo dungeon run or pvp, Seeing unique characters (Yes I can hear the screams about cross over characters like Elesis and Rose), Music/Art, and (for me) the play style itself.
DegradedVirus • Aug 28, 2015 at 8:42 pm
Kid reviews a game under the level 30 and barely knows anything about it’s atmosphere and can’t get used to controls, then goes off saying it’s terrible. Can’t tell if Troll or complete moron.
goodiesohhi • Jan 18, 2015 at 6:43 pm
Lol some dude is ranting because he can’t figure out how to play..
Go play your cod or something.
JimBobJoe • Oct 14, 2014 at 4:08 pm
I hate Add, too OP..
jokernano • Sep 21, 2014 at 9:27 pm
This review is stupid ,elsword is a good game that require a lot of skill to pull off .The game itself is very balance and by now most of the character got revamp to make it even more balance.Elsword’s classes have differant style that fit a lot of player and also range classes do not own pvp,althought the pve is a bit boring when ur lv is high cuz u need to spend hours farming but then again what MMORPG doesn’t been there done that.This game is perfect for those who want to try something different and need a quick get away from the hours and hours farming exp.
Bitchpls • Aug 6, 2014 at 9:42 pm
This game has way too many flaws, especially in the PvP area. Everything is unbalanced and favors ranged characters more than anything. The only way to rank up in PvP is to 1v1 (If you 2v2 or 3v3 it would take many many wins IN A ROW to even come close according to the wiki) which is filled with players who already have a maxed out character and are SS/SSS rank. If they were to make this game balanced, they should keep your MMR on EVERY character so the newer players who don’t have much experience, not get dominated and never have a chance.
Laughmore • Jul 22, 2014 at 7:21 pm
Like other button mashing combo games….
PVE in Elwsord is so easy (at least so far at level 20), one must use leveling as training for PVP to justify the repetition. There is no need (yet) to develop the timing and skill to juggle or stun-lock in PVE, but you’ll need it eventually to be competitive against experienced players who can exploit all the mechanics. Some special abilities can help chain combos together, which you should try – or else you’ll get bored of cycling through the 3-4 move standard combos. Get good at opening with an air-dash combo, chained to a 4 move combo that knocksdown, and then an ability that uses MP. Notice the momentum it creates and use your abilities to further control your opponent. Combined with the “awakening” feature and how the resources work, I’m having fun refining and learning Elsword strategy, and my max character is only lvl 20.
Mister Bun • Apr 25, 2014 at 3:33 am
Elsword is a shit game period. Bad community, Market, GM’s, KoG are money whore’s and they change aspects of the game which requires you to buy an item that was part of the original game from the cash shop.
Steven Lee • Jun 21, 2013 at 12:20 pm
This is quite a stupid review. But considering how long ago that was written; I’d say play the game again, you’d be impressed at how balanced it is. The purpose of the game is not to tank out, but there’s a new character named Chung who can help with that issue if you’re so dying to block:P Anyways. Bad review, the game was hardly scratched and now I recommend all people looking for a good MMO, DO not listen to this review and you should experience the game yourself:)
CPC • Dec 20, 2012 at 5:09 pm
have you played the game NOW? There’s a lot better and balanced out stuff now. This game is full of strategies, not defense. YOU NEED A REALLY GOOD STRATEGY to defend yourself. Get it? Otherwise you could just spam an easy defense.
Troll • May 12, 2012 at 10:22 am
Ever played Grand Chase? You can’t defend there either. Plus you don’t know how to play well enough if all you do is “I tried pressing z and x for one hour straight.” It’s called mixing up your combos and applying them right. FYI, the monsters get harder around your level 30s. Instead of defend, ever heard of Mana Break? It allows you to escape one long combo; you should think before putting up some long rant if you don’t know that in the first place.