To continue my investigation into "imported grinders," I have moved on to check out
War of Angels, a new game being published by
gamigo. I have to say, I found plenty of good stuff and plenty of bad stuff in the game, as well as some of those obvious tiny fixes that will hopefully be undertaken after this open beta. Let's be honest -- an open beta is considered a release these days, and I don't think that's fair. Yes, many games use it (and I have heard developers admit to this) as a way to make money while continuing to roll out basic development, but I say we allow them to just drop the "beta" part and get on with it.
As far as the background story: I do not log into a game to memorize the lore. I do not go to the website to write down notes on the lore in the hopes that I will get it right in my first impressions article. Just like any stranger in a strange land, I am not going to know everything right away. It should be no different for me in a game, and one of my litmus tests is to see whether the game will provide me with an understanding of who and where I am. It's not impossible; other games do it. I didn't find much lore in the quests at all, so I cannot comment on it much.
But let's talk about how
War of Angels plays.
To start off, I want to give a nod to the fact that the developers have included several control schemes in this game. That means that I can click-to-move, use true WASD controls, or press my arrow keys. By "true" WASD I mean that W moves you forward, S moves you backward, and A and D turn you --
with the camera glued to the back of your head. Thanks to my wrist issues, I simply must have a game that can give me as many choices as possible when it comes to movement. Disabled players, of whom there are literally millions, might also need as many options as possible.
What's so hard to understand about it, anyway? I have recently played some amazing games that obviously cost a lot of money to make, yet they could not get WASD down. While I understand that WASD might have no effect when you're busily grinding mobs all day (target the mob, shoot the mob), I still do not understand why a developer would give no options whatsoever to
stick the camera to the back of your character's head. It allows us to move the camera without having to hold down right-click. Holding down right-click to constantly move the camera has got to be one of the most painful things I can do, if I have to do it constantly. So you can see why it's such a big deal that
War of Angels actually got WASD
right.
Also, the game features combat in the air and water. Flying is achieved by simply buying a pair of wings (I think you can gain permanent ones later) and hitting the space bar. While up in the air, I can tab-target the nearest mob, and I will be automatically flown to the proper range and height to attack. The same applies to swimming underwater. I also loved the fact that, by default, you can hold your breath for several minutes before needing to surface. After all, you are an angel -- why would you only be able to hold your breath for 30 seconds?