There have been few MMORPGs that during the last few years have tried to gain a foothold in the market by imitating the formula of World of Warcraft, the most successful massive of all time. However, there have been so many who have tried to offer something
different to the consumer, and that is why it is appreciated that Trion has dared to bring us to the West Archeage, a game of Korean origin with great influences of historical ‘sandbox’ as Ultima Online or Star Wars Galaxies. Will he be able to find a place in a genre so saturated with clones?
It is difficult to see today a new MMORPG that bets on such forgotten concepts in the genre as housing, war between clans, control of territory or economy.
Only Eve Online (and to a lesser extent Darkfall or Age of Wushu) seem to work on some mechanics and systems that, over time, seem to attract only
veterans and experienced people of the genre. To the so-called ‘hardcore’. The market has changed, and the masses seem to be much more comfortable in more direct and accessible proposals such as those of the theme parks. That’s why it’s surprising, to this day, the launch of a game like Archeage.
And is that while it is true that Archeage inherits many of the ideas of games ‘WoW-type’ is also that in its ‘end-game’ we find a much less linear structure than we are used to. Up to level 50, the game experience is not far from a ‘themepark’: we accept missions (whose objectives are not too far from the classics “kill X, pick up Y and talk to Z”), we complete them and obtain as a reward experience , equipment and money as we progress to reach the maximum level. No news a priori around here.
On the other hand, and in a similar way as RIFT does, in Archeage we can choose 3 classes of the 10 available to customize our hero. In that sense, you can create characters of the most varied, because there are no restrictions when mixing classes, types of weapons and
types of armor. Do you want to play with a killer who uses a two-handed weapon and wears plate armor? No problem. Or do you prefer a tanke that, in
addition, can execute harmful or healing spells? You can also do it. Although the way to progress is not new (it is done through the classic talent trees), the result offers many more possibilities and freedom than in other MMORPGs.
However, already during this way we are presented with mechanics that differ a lot with games of that type. Archeage presents a vast (huge) open world without loading times between areas where we can build a house, take care of a garden or navigate the seas with our own boat. And that’s where the sandbox nature of Trion’s title comes into play: no one obliges us to do any of this as a requisite to obtain an end, but rather presents itself as the end itself. Do you want to be a merchant?
You can devote to cultivate in your land and sell the goods in the most dangerous areas to get the highest possible reward. What you like is to fight? Well you can travel the world at your leisure in search of enemies with which to do PVP. Do you prefer to build and manage your own house or even a castle for all members of your clan? Archeage offers you the necessary tools for this.
Archeage flees the classic formula for the ‘end-game’ consisting of completing a dungeon to get equipment and thus be able to complete a new dungeon more difficult to get more quality equipment, to infinity. Like any ‘sandbox’ worth its salt, it offers the tools,
and it is the players who decide what to do with them. In that sense, we are facing a brave title, because as we said, there are not many massive online players who dare with proposals where the player must decide what he wants to do in the game and what he wants to have fun with.
