Shadowtale

Panoramica

"Shadowtale" is a 2D flash-based browser fantasy MMORPG, where players control their characters in real-time, allowing them to jump, dodge, and attack monsters using skill and timing.

Caratteristiche

• Unique, MUD-like gameplay
• Constantly being updated
• Combat is reliant on skill
• Exploration and unknown areas add a bit of mystery

Review

Despite its simple appearances, "Shadowtale" is a very innovative, and fun title. A Flash-based MMORPG, "Shadowtale" has less in common with many current MMOs, and more in common with MUDs. Starting off, players create their character (by customizing name and appearance), and are thrust into a world filled with quests, monsters, towns, and people.

Much like MUDs, the game plays in a grid-based, "where do you want to move next?" type of system. As you enter an area, you'll see where you are in that area's map, as well as what directions you can travel from your current space in the grid. Move up, and you'll show up somewhere like a door; move down and you'll run into monsters or quest giving NPCs.

Unlike many MMORPGs, combat in "Shadowtale" can be influenced by skill, as you fight in real time using your mouse and keyboard, and can evade enemy attacks, utilize jumping, and perform combos and knockdown maneuvers. Quests given in the game are familiar, and should feel right at home to both MUD aficionados and anyone who has played any sort of MMORPG in the last few years. You'll learn of some event transpiring, and go off to recover an item, find a person, or kill X of a random creature.

In the game, you can control your player in a 2D environment, but on a 3D plane. Much like classic sidescrollers, while the action predominantly involves moving right to left (or vice versa), you can go further back or forward, and mayn times areas you need to access will be down or up; once in the areas, of course, it's back to moving sideways.

Unfortunately, one of the weaker areas of the game was the online portion, specifically the community. During my days playing "Shadowtale," I ran into a handful of great people who were a blast to play with. More often, however, I ran into people who only made my experience worse. Standing around and doing nothing as I was dying, or waiting for me to clear an area before it allowed us to move on.

At this time, there's also no way to invite friends to play, and the game randomly assigns a server when you login. So, if you want to meet up with friends for a session, one of you is going to have to keep logging in and out until you pop up on the same server. And if one of you disconnects.

Still, "Shadowtale" shows a lot of promise. It's a very unique game in the genre, it's playable in a browser (even if it does require a huge ongoing download), and it brings to mind the days of text-based MUDs and staying up all night awash in the green and black glow from the monitor. It won't compete with the bigger, flashier titles, but "Shadowtale" is certainly creating a niche for itself, and don't be surprised if you hear more about it in the future.