Order & Chaos Online

MMORPGs take too much of your time, efforts and sometimes money. Choosing which you will play is of salient importance. After all, these are not games you just play for a little bit, or can finish in a few hours. A good MMORPG will keep you busy for months, or even years.

Is Order & Chaos 2: Redemption the one you will dedicate your time to? The series sure has plenty of followers, so there is an ample community that will tell you this is the mobile MMORPG to download. In fact, we did put its predecessor in our list of the top 15 Android MMORPG games.

I personally thought I should go ahead and take the bullet for the team by downloading the title and taking care of this review, risking months of MMORPG addiction that would surely obliterate my social life. I have been playing Order & Chaos 2: Redemption for a couple weeks and am ready to tell you my thoughts on it, so let’s dig into all the details.

The Story

Undoubtedly, RPGs are recognized for their deep narratives, which tend to be very well elaborated and provoke emotions no other types of games can achieve. And of course; these are all about role-playing, after all. Order & Chaos 2 is not the exception to this unwritten rule.

As you would expect, this is the continuation to Order & Chaos Online. It has been 600 years since the destruction of the Primal Heart, which ended up causing an unexpected cataclysmic event that caused unbelievable damage to everything this world’s residents knew.

The world is now recovering from all the destruction and heroes are beginning to rise once again. Your goal is to help keep piece and find redemption (that is part of the title, after all).

Character

Character customization is a staple most MMORPGs adhere to, and Order & Chaos 2 is not the exception. The question is whether this game satisfies your needs for appearance modification or not.

Let’s start by saying I am definitely satisfied with the races and classes. There won’t be a plethora of choices,  but Gameloft did a good job at keeping each class and race under its own category and specific characteristics.

You can opt to be a human, elf, orc, mendel or kratan. By the way, the last one happens to be new. Kratans are these reptile-like, tall beasts with an immense amount of strength. They are kind of gentle giants, though, as they happen to prefer diplomacy if possible.

When it comes to appearance customization, the app does very well, but it also doesn’t come near other console-level games. Yes, you can modify your character’s looks a bit, but you only get a few options for the hair, skin color and face types.

I would like to see a deeper appearance altering system, as I am used to having the ability to change every single part of the face and body in my characters, but this will definitely do for a mobile game. Remember, Gameloft can’t go crazy and add even more MBs to their already sizable game app.

Weapon crafting and customization are also viable options. You can even add abilities to your weapons, which is actually quite helpful.

The world

Like any good MMORPG, one of Order & Chaos 2’s largest assets (literally) is its world. Gameloft calls it “a living and breathing world”, and that is exactly what it seems like. For starters, it’s huge. But it’s not like those RPGs that have immense maps with repetitive, lame visuals. You definitely won’t be walking through monotonous fields here (at least not most of the time).

This world is very much alive. There’s plenty of scenery alterations wherever you go. Other characters will always be present, both players and non-players. I do wish I could see other live players more often, but there are enough out there to keep the social aspect active. And we can’t forget about those monsters, which you can always pick fights on and get loot from.

I do have to say it’s easy to get lost in the game, as the map is a bit hard to read and reach. But what MMORPG doesn’t have a confusing map? At least you can use the guidance line to lead your way when you are heading to a mission.

Gameplay

Gameplay is important for any dedicated gamer. Especially when it comes to titles like Order & Chaos 2, in which the battle system will mean the difference between you totally loving or hating the game. Does Order & Chaos 2 do a good job? It’s definitely fun and active, but strategic gamers probably won’t like its button-smashing nature.

This is because you have to press a button every single time you want your character to do somethings. Otherwise he/she will just stand there and chill while the enemy depletes that precious health bar.

There are four buttons in the bottom-right corner. The main one is for the regular attack, while the other three can give you access to abilities you will continue to get throughout the progression of the game. By the way, these can be customized and switched at will.

Moving around is an important part of the battle, as well, which does make things a bit more exciting. For example, I chose to be a ranger, which means I can back off and continue shooting while the enemies try to get close to me. In most cases I can walk away from a battle with zero damage.

If you need more help, it’s also possible to pull out a secondary menu that will grant you access to more skills, potions and other items. Do try to vary your skills and switch them around depending on your conditions. Sticking to the same attacks is easy, but it gets repetitive, and adapting with your environment can really give you the upper hand in combat.

Quests and missions

Things get interesting here. Order & Chaos: Redemption is certainly no casual game. Gameloft has managed to bring a near-console quality MMORPG to mobile devices. Nothing is lacking here, but we can definitely tell some casual mobile gaming elements were integrated.

Remember those WoW quests and missions in which you had to walk for hours on end? Regular MMORPGs are a sit-down-and-spend-all-your-day-in-the-computer kind of experience. But you can’t do that on mobile. The battery won’t even last that long! Though Order & Chaos 2 can be fun if you continue playing for extended periods of time, it is also designed to be picked up for quick gaming sessions.

I believe my longest mission so far has lasted about 15 minutes. This means I could pull off a quest or mission during a work break, or maybe a bus ride. Just be careful with that data, which this game sure is good at consuming. And obviously, it has no offline mode.

The user will have to get missions from specific characters in the game. These will ask for help and get you started on the intricate story. Don’t you worry, you won’t run out of things to do!

Final thoughts

Will you take on this quest or spend your precious time on another time-consuming hobby? That is the question we are trying to answer here, as an MMORPG like Order & Chaos 2: Redemption is no small investment.

Honestly, it had been some years since I last took on an MMORPG and can say I am satisfied with what Gameloft has put together here. For one, fans of the first Order & Chaos game will definitely have to give it a try. It is a direct continuation of the story, after all. But this doesn’t mean those of us outside this clique won’t find some fun in this game.

I spent some good time with Order & Chaos 2 and can say I am really enjoying the experience. You get the complex story, map, character customization and weapons system, but there is no time-consuming element involved. You can play this game in little spurs, as well as hard-core sessions. It’s a great balance that caters to both casual gamers and more dedicated users alike.And did I mention it’s a free game? Yes, there are in-app purchases in here, but I found I never had to use them to really enjoy the game and move forward. Those who find pleasure in long, complex games that never really end will find a nice home in the Order & Chaos 2 world. I believe you can’t do much better than this when it comes to mobile MMORPGs.