Wot I’m playing: Blade and Soul

Some early thoughts on the latest challenger to the MMO throne.

I’ve done the first few levels, nothing serious, but.. I’m not grasping the nettle here. This is more of an action MMO then a more strategic level MMO. The graphics are pretty good, even considering this game was released three and a half years ago overseas but has just made it over to the US now. I dislike games that have such small timing windows (since it’s an action MMO, you have to precisely time blocks to counter strike or take lesser damage for example)

The game has a very stylized anime feel to it, and that’s a positive and a negative. There are some problematic elements to it, including a child-female race and the ever popular “Bust Size” slider bar in character creation.

The  cost to get in is good (free to play), the game is supported by microtransactions… and I’m still having to get over the fact that the company behind Blade and Soul killed one of my favorite MMO’s while it was still profitable (City of Heroes). So I will freely admit some bias here. It’s decent, but I don’t think the folks at Activision/Blizzard have much to worry about here

The Good: Very atmospheric, they do not push pay-to-win models on everyone. Graphics are good.

The Bad: Some questionable design choices, action MMO means that lag is very important. Need more action responses than strategy, and the game IS four years old at this point.

Should you buy it? It’s another MMO with a Martial Arts/Wuxia background, and maybe the closest thing we ever get to Jade Empire: The MMO. If that tickles your fancy, you might want to give it a look. Otherwise, give it a pass.

The Number: 58/100