by FEMAELSTROM, HSM team writer

I love Gran Turismo 5. I just understand racing so much that the game makes sense to me; I understand the best driving line into and out of a turn, how to set up a car to handle certain tracks. I love it all. When I come home from a hard day at work, I want to get my God of War on and kill all sorts of mythological beasts. These games have been my staple, my real passion in the gaming realm. The games I usually don’t go for are pretty straight forward: fighters, button mashers (like Guitar Hero), and RPGs.

But what to do when a setting like Home gets its first RPG? Many of my friends are in it, and a few have really excelled at it, too. Considering that, I thought to enter a realm that I never have really stepped foot into and see what all the ruckus was about in this new RPG set in the warm and cozy land of Home.

First, let me remind you: I am not an RPG fan (at all), but I decided to go through the tutorial and all the loading screens, and…I have to stand and applaud. It was well worth it. Great job, Lockwood!

Here’s why an RPG cynic like me steers clear of RPG’s. I am not a fan of too much in-game management. When I play games, I am not the type that likes to worry about power stones and their placement and how it affects certain enemies and not others. I don’t generally like the process of worrying about managing my armor or weaponry or having to tinker with magic spells and their powers or stones or crystals. For a gamer like me — and there are plenty of us out there — I prefer the idea of jumping into a game and running and gunning with the action as in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. There you simply start in a scene with a pistol in your hand and shoot at the bad guys.

Ok, this is not reality, but it is familiar.

I like games that are a little more grounded in reality, like racing games, or the familiar, such as the Greek mythology in God of War. Yes, mythology is as fanciful a set of storytelling as one can get, but to so many, the tales are familiar and mythology interests such a wide blanket of people because of its universality. Having to learn a whole new mythology is not hard, just alien; and that familiarity with the Greek gods makes for easier game play to jump into for a non-RPG player like me.

Mercia,though, is not what this cynic thought it would be.  I do not like to manage my supplies, but this so far has not been bad. The interfaces are intuitive enough that I was able to fumble around and actually make some progress. I say fumble, as I am a true RPG novice, and this should not be seen as a strike against the game. The ease of the management screen was surprisingly easy and inviting to those that I know that are already enthusiasts of the genre, as well as the newer RPG player like myself.

The gameplay is fun. I am a swordsman, and at a fast pace I was able to upgrade my weapon to a better one and feel like I was going to be part of the action, not just the guy accidentally swinging at the vines. This holds promise for those of us who don’t even casually play RPGs. The ability to basically get a default sword and enter the fun was amazingly easy and comfortable to a  rank novice like me.

Being as the game is in Home, it is a very social game. I went in with people I know, and if you are able to, I suggest that this should be the path you take. It is absolutely fun. Questing through the lands with somebody else is both fun and a help with some of the baddies. In time, each member of the party will find their own weapon speciality, but from the get go, it will be fun as you and your friends roam and discover this lush land.

The baddies here are fun in fun environments; that’s a big plus for this novice RPG player.

Speaking of lush, this game is so well-crafted. My friend and I stopped to look around at so many of the locations simply because the atmosphere is so well done. Sounds are well done and immersive, as are the visuals. The locations well represent the idea they are trying to portray. If a temple is supposed to look in ruins, it does. The baddies in this game are well done, too. There are a variety of creatures that have a good common thread of looking similar but definitely distinct. This sounds like a contradiction, but it has to be seen to really be appreciated. The baddies also have a well-designed, serious look, unlike some RPG’s that can look too cartoonish sometimes. This rewards the player with a more serious approach.

For a first time player, there are Home rewards to acquire. I won’t spoil what and where, but they are in there, and the rewards are really very cool, as is typical of Lockwood.

There are a couple elements I had trouble with, including a  few tasks I had to accomplish at the lower levels that called for long backtracking sessions.  The camera occasionally pans to the door one will need to leave through, and this cost me health as the game’s baddies still ran and attacked me. There is community gameplay and this is great, but at times I would enter a room that others had left, only to find that they had cleared out the room of experience, prize-giving rewards and baddies that, as a player, I would have liked the chance to eliminate.

Play this and you too will feel like you scored a bag of free loot, because it’s that good.

One last item, and to some this is a non-issue and to others this is a big issue, but I personally lean towards the non-issue side here: in the commerce tents, there are commerce points where one can buy upgraded items, such as swords, armor, shields, magic potions, and bows with real money. I am still of the belief that this is not mandatory, so it is up to the user to buy or not, and I know a few people that will probably buy stuff with real money. If this enhances their enjoyment and Lockwood’s bank balance, then I think it’s a win-win. If someone thinks this is a bad ploy and won’t pay, one can still enjoy the game as is for free. Considering the obvious amount of money that was sunk into Mercia, it’s surprising how generous they’re being with free content; even SodiumOne had a pay-access gate.

These are just a few items that I saw that could be tweaked, but I certainly wouldn’t let this facet keep anyone from coming into Mercia and truly enjoying the game. As a non-RPG player, I say play it. Play the first few rounds and see if the lush sound and music in combination with the easy game play and ability to play with friends isn’t worth it. As an avid non-RPG player, I can say it’s worth it.

Share

One Response to “Mercia! Mercia! Mercia!”

1. Burbie52 says:

   August 30, 2012 at 10:22 pm

   Glad to see you really like it Strom, I knew you would, lol. It is truly a fun thing to do with a friend, and you can chat with them in a group even if you aren’t on the same missions. I love it.

   Reply