Sword of the New World Review

<B>Platform:</b> PC
<b>Genre:</b> Fantasy MMORPG
<b>Publisher:</b> K2 Network
<b>Release Date:</b> July 10th, 2007
<a href=”http://www.swordofthenewworld.com/”>Official Website</a>
<b>Writer:</b> Cherith

56a8d2; font-size: large;”>Rating: 7.0

Sword of the New World or Granado Espada is a Korean made Fantasy MMORPG set in the Age of Exploration. You create characters in a Family and take them over to a new world to make a new life. The Sword of the New World title is for North American and European audiences, while the Korean version is often referred to as Granado or GE. For the $19.99 price tag you can play the game online for free, however a paid subscription will allow you to surpass some of the Free2Play restrictions, like the level cap at level 20.

Graphics:
The graphics are beautiful. The characters have a very well done anime feel, with smooth lines and shading. The backgrounds and cities are beautiful; I love the look of the buildings and how the terrain fills in even at a distance quickly.

Controls:
The controls are fairly straightforward for anyone that’s every played an MMO type game, or even a turn-based fantasy game. It did however take me a bit to get used to clicking to direct the characters instead of moving with the use of a mouse. The best selling point to this game is the ability to control three characters at once, however two of the characters are on a type of “auto-pilot” and follow behind you, attacking when necessary.

Sound:
All of the music in the game is trance or electronica type music done in a jukebox format so you can switch songs at the click of a button. Some of the music was supplied by one of the world’s most famous trance DJs, DJ Tiësto.

Flow:
The game begins as your starting character (or characters) embarks on a trip to the new world. You start on a ship, and one of the crewmembers helps you get started on your journey. The quests follow in a pretty logical order afterwards while still allowing plenty of time for exploration.

Fun Factor:
There are several things about SotNW that makes it stand out from the current MMO games in the market. The biggest one of course is the ability to control three characters at once. However, all of the characters have a pretty interchangeable look to them, without much customization, and two of the characters aren’t really controlled in the same way as one character would be in an MMORPG. You can however switch back and forth to change which character is in the lead at any given moment. Along with the ability to control three characters at once is an enhanced “patrol mode” which allows for a player to be AFK while their characters continue to fight. This mode has become a bit controversial as traditional MMO players consider it akin to ‘botting’, however this mode is most useful when a character is stunned or otherwise unable to maneuver. Another new element is the ability to have an added character or an RNPC (Recruitable Non-Player Characters). RNPCs are character cards that are obtainable in many different ways (such as quest rewards) throughout the game. These cards carry an NPC that you can use to join your team.

Female Aspect:
You can choose a female version of any of the available character classes: Fighter, Wizard, Musketeer, Scout and Elementalist.

Replay Value:
There are a lot of really interesting innovations that make this game worth playing. The non-traditional fantasy world gives a new edge to a genre that’s currently overplayed in the MMORPG market. However, there’s some definite drawbacks that make it hard to keep playing, most notably the cap at level 20 for people playing without a paid subscription. Another drawback is the decided lack of unique character creation. All characters look the same upon creation, with the only difference being the multiple outfit choices provided, however you’re destined to find someone with the same outfits pretty quickly since most are interchangeable between several character classes.