Order & Chaos 2: Redemption

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).

Characters

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).

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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.

Hit the button below to download Order & Chaos 2: Redemption straight from the Google Play Store. And don’t forget to hit the comments and tell us your very own experiences on the game. Have you been playing this title? What do you think of it? Do you have a preference for another similar game?

Stellacept Online

Stellacept Online is a free-to-play, 3D sci-fi fantasy MMORPG developed and published by Asobimo Inc, a well-known Japan-based mobile MMORPG developer most known for their flagship MMORPG, Avabel Online. Stellacept Online is Asobimo Inc’s most recent English translated game that launched globally on July 16, 2015 with the potential of topping Avabel Online. Stellacept Online offers a unique sci-fi fantasy theme similar to the Phantasy Star game series, gorgeous graphics, and engaging story-based questing that speaks of high production value. Stellacept Online reached over 100,000 downloads on Google Play and iTunes one week after its release and is currently set on becoming one of the top MMORPGs on mobile devices.

Character Creation

Players begin Stellacept Online by creating a character with many appearance customization options in hand. The character creation screen itself looks very sleek and reminiscent of console JRPGs. Players can choose male or female, and choose from 12 different face and hair style options and 10 different hair colors. Players can also change their height, skin color, inner armor (underwear) color, and outer armor color (for their starting armor). The character customization is definitely in-depth with a lot of options to choose from to make each character look somewhat unique. Players can also enter their birthdate since zodiacs and astrology play a role in the game. There are no classes to choose from during Character Creation because the game has an unrestricted class system based on nine weapon types.

An Open Sci-fi Fantasy World

Stellacept Online has an open persistent world divided into many large zones. Players start off in a futuristic, yet very colorful and fantasy-looking, base that serves as the main town in the game. The town is persistent and is full of players and quests NPCs scattered around. There is a tunnel on the left side of town that teleports players to maps for their active quests. Quest progression is fairly linear so the tunnel automatically knows which map the player is headed towards next. These maps are huge and are filled with NPCs, players, monsters, and various story-related objects. As of this review, the game was bustling with new players running around at every corner, which actually made questing a bit of a hindrance due to how many players were trying to kill the same monsters. Each map is large and persistent so there is quite a bit of running to do sometimes but it really brings the open world to life.

Wonderful Graphics

Stellacept Online has great graphics and is one of Asobimo Inc’s best looking MMORPGs. The game has a sci-fi fantasy theme reminiscent of the Phantasy Star game series. The world is futuristic and yet very medieval fantasy-looking at the same time. Weaponry is very high-tech with laser blasters, energy blades, robotic spheres, and more, while the armor in this game has a more advanced, feudal look. Most of the environments, other than the main town, look very fantasy-esque with grassy fields, trees, and creatures such as wolves and giant mosquitoes. There are also some unique creatures such as dragons, giant fish monsters, and demon-like bosses. The interfaces and menus have a very sleek, sci-fi JRPG look and are easy to navigate and use. Overall, the game looks great and the world and character designs are very detailed.

Freedom to Customize Your Build

Stellacept Online does not have a set class system which allows players to build their characters how they like. The game has 9 unique weapons which include: Blade, Blaster, Sphere, Glaive, Launcher, Disc, Vice, Chaser, and Ranger. Each weapon has different attack styles and separate skill trees containing many skills to choose from. With so many different weapons and skills to customize, the combinations are almost endless. There is also an option to quickly switch between two weapon types (named “Main” and “Sub” weapons) so the game encourages players to choose at least two weapons to focus on.

Players can also customize their builds through the S/G/M Level and Status upgrades. Defeating monsters will give players Star Spicas which they can use toward S/G/M Level upgrades. The S Level strengthens Blade, Glaive, Vice, and Ranger weapons, the G Level strengthens Blaster, Launcher, Chaser, and Vice weapons, and the M Level strengthens Sphere, Ranger, and Chaser weapons. The S/G/M Levels only increase after twenty points have been allocated toward one of them so they do take a relatively long time to level up. Points for Status upgrades are obtained from leveling up. The 6 Status options are STR (affects SLASH, SHOT, MAGIC), BODY (affects DEF and MAX HP), TECH (affects ACC), SPD (affects AVD and MOV), SOUL (affects CRIT Resist and GRD), and LUCK (affects CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG). They are basically like stat points in other MMORPGs and it is important to allocate them wisely depending on the weapons players decide to focus on.

Questing with an Engaging Story

Stellacept Online combines traditional questing with a story that keeps things interesting. The questing is very beginner friendly and the game holds the player’s hand for most of the game, which in my opinion, is a good thing. The game guides players from one quest to another with quest arrows and simple objectives. The quests mainly involve killing a certain number of monsters or a specific boss, talking to NPCs, and collecting monster drops, but story elements in between help keep the game interesting. Every NPC interaction becomes more immersive as the camera zooms in on them and there are many NPC to NPC interactions creating some amusing dialogue and animations. Additionally, NPCs speak conversationally so there are no big “walls of text” to read. There are also many cutscenes involving both NPCs and the player character. The lore itself is also interesting. Everyone in the world of Stellacept Online has a Stella, which is like a spirit companion, and these Stella are mysterious and causes the player to occasionally enter strange flashbacks in order to unlock the truth and hidden potentials of the Stella.

Combat: An Action and Point-and-Click Hybrid

Asobimo Inc has made their fair share of both action and point-and-click MMORPGs and Stellacept Online is a mix of both. Players move with a virtual joystick and have a button to attack similar to mobile action RPGs except it isn’t as action-oriented as say, Avabel Online. Pressing the attack button will target and attack near-by enemies but the attacking is slower than true action RPGs so it somewhat seems automated. Essentially players will keep spamming the attack button as they characters stand there and attack, which kind of feels like a point-and-click game since players are somewhat auto-targetting and cannot dodge. There is, however, a combo and skill system that makes it more action-oriented. Players can attack monsters for 3 hit combos before the attack animations reset but using a skill after the third hit will trigger a 4-hit combo for extra damage. Additional skills can also be combined into attack sequences for higher combos. Despite the hybrid combat, the combat is definitely not bland or boring. The animations are very smooth and the flashy skills and effects make the combat exciting to watch. Plus it is still somewhat action-oriented and players can move and attack with the ranged weapons. There are also bosses in each map that can be a blast to fight once players are of the proper level.

The Mysterious Stella and Burst Mode

Stellas are glowing orbs of energy (possibly spirits) that follows players around. Everyone has one, even all of the NPCs. They are a unique and mysterious aspect of the game’s lore and play a large role in the story. Every now and then, players will unlock a star in their astrology chart (from completing story missions) which contains 4 potential stars for each zodiac. These stars give the player special skills during Burst mode. Players have a Burst meter that gradually fills up while fighting monsters. When the bar is full, players can enter Burst mode which transforms them into a giant, glowing deity that can quickly destroy any foe that they attack. Unfortunately this mode only lasts for a couple of seconds, due to overpowered it is, so this mode is best used wisely. Stella skills can be used during Burst mode and different Stella skills can be learned throughout the game. These skills include powerful AOE attacks, buffs, and passive abilities. Stellas are mysterious and progressing through the story will unlock their true potential.

Cash Shop/In-App Purchases (IAP)

The in-app purchases in Stellacept Online are similar to most of Asobimo Inc’s other MMORPGs, which are lenient and unnecessary but offer slight advantages and cosmetic items.

The most popular items in the Cash Shop at the moment are the Avatar items, which are purely cosmetic costumes that enhance the character’s appearance with many unique themes. These costumes are obtained from a wheel that randomly gives out different parts of the outfit and different colors of the costumes so players cannot directly buy the ones that they want. There are also item wheels that give out random useful items such as upgrade and boost items. With Gems (premium currency), players can also buy a beginner weapon pack, hair cosmetics (hair styles and colors), skill resets, revives, teleports, Star Spica (skill exp) boosts, and bag expansion items. Other than the beginner weapon pack, which gives slightly better versions of the beginner weapons, there is no other equipment that can be bought from the Shop. The in-app purchases are mainly cosmetic and convenience items and are overall very reasonable and the game currently is in no way, pay-to-win.

Final Verdict – Great

Stellacept Online is yet another top notch MMORPG from the well-known, Asobimo Inc. With high quality graphics, a unique sci-fi fantasy theme, engaging questing and story, and fair in-app purchases, Stellacept Online is a great mobile MMORPG that all MMORPG fans should try out.

RPG Toram Online

Toram Online is free-to-play, 3D anime-themed MMORPG developed and published by Asobimo Inc., a well-known Japanese mobile game developer best known for their mobile MMORPGs, Avabel Online and IRUNA Online. Toram Online is the sequel to IRUNA Online and takes place in the same universe but with new characters, new maps, and a new story. Toram Online was recently released on iOS on May 14, 2015 and Android users can download the game from the official Toram Online website (not out on Google Play yet). Toram Online has been in active development over the past year and Asobimo Inc. has been translating the game from Japanese to English since late 2014. The game is still fairly unknown due to ongoing beta testing and lack of advertisement, but the game is definitely in a playable state at the moment and is worth trying out.

Character Creation:

Toram Online offers the most appearance customization choices that I have seen in any mobile MMORPG. Character Creation is divided into four steps due to its inability to fit everything into one screen. In the first step, players can choose their character’s gender, skin color (15 different options), and one of three heights (short, medium, and tall). In the second step, players can choose a face type, eye style, and eye color with many different variations. The third step features hair customization with more possibilities than I have seen in most PC MMORPGs. Players can customize different parts of their character’s hair including “Bangs,” “Back,” and “Tails,” each of which, have over 15 options, with “Bangs” and “Back” having over 30 options. There are so many different possibilities and the hair creation is extremely in-depth for a mobile game. There are also over 20 different unique hair colors with every shade of the rainbow. Male and Female characters have the same hair customization choices to choose from and each character in the game can look fairly different due to the appearance customization. Toram Online has, by far, the best appearance customization in any mobile game I have played. In the fourth step, players can choose their starting weapon.

A Non-Restricted Class System

Toram Online has no classes which gives players the freedom to build their character how they like. The game does, however, has four different weapon types with skill trees that somewhat define your class. The four weapons and their difficulties include Sword (Easy), Bow (Normal), Staff (Hard), and Knuckle (Easy). Although the game does not restrict players to one class and players can build hybrid characters if they like, in order to simplify things and explain different roles in battle, I will associate each weapon with a common class. The classes include Warrior, Archer, Mage, and Fighter respectively as named by the game’s community.

Warriors are high health, frontline fighters specialized in two-handed swords and one-handed swords with a shield. Their main attributes include Strength and Vitality and are easy to play due to their “tankiness” or attack power, depending on how players build their character. Archers are swift ranged snipers who can attack with bows and crossbows from a distance and dish out high amounts of damage before getting attacked. They depend on Dexterity for attack power. Mages are powerful spellcasters equipped with a staff and have the highest amounts of damage in the game but are fragile and the most difficult class to play. They are difficult due to how quickly they can drain their mana and getting attacked while casting a spell completely disrupts the spell and the mana is also lost. They rely on Intelligence for attack power and Dexterity for casting speed. Fighters are a unique melee class equipped with large gauntlet-type weapons known as “Knuckles.” They are an all-around class with average attack power and defense and rely on Agility for attack power. Each class has their pros and cons and a variety of different skills that can be unlocked and leveled with skill points gained from leveling up.

A Beautiful and Scenic World

The world of Toram Online is absolutely gorgeous. Only 2 years after Asobimo Inc. set the graphical MMORPG standard with their highly popular, Avabel Online, they release Toram Online which manages to top it in almost every way. Every new map, area, or boss battle begins with a cutscene panning the surroundings and it is mesmerizingly beautiful. Toram Online is, in my opinion, the best looking mobile MMORPG at the moment, although the anime graphics make it an unfair comparison to most other games, but it is definitely the best looking anime-themed game on mobile. The environments are bright, colorful, crisp, and very atmospheric. Each map looks very detailed and original, and one can tell Asobimo Inc. spent an enormous amount of time working on the backgrounds, scenery, and object placements in each map. The main town in the game is huge and has a very appealing medieval fantasy feel to it. Character and NPC models and weapons and armor are also all well-designed. The game also has amazing music that makes the already gorgeous world even more immersive and dazzling.

Combat and Gameplay

The combat in Toram Online is point-and-click in a very traditional sense. Because most gamers nowadays prefer action, hack and slash combat, Toram Online’s combat to some may feel like a step backwards, especially considering Asobimo Inc.’s Avabel Online featured action combat. Players can move their characters with a virtual joystick and target and auto-attack enemies with a button on the bottom right or by tapping on the enemies themselves. Although it is not action-oriented, the point-and-click combat works well and feels very polished. The animations are smooth, the effects are flashy, and the combat is simple enough for anyone to pick up. Although some players may find the combat boring, personally, I thought it was fine for this type of MMORPG. I believe Asobimo Inc. wanted to keep the combat similar to IRUNA Online (the prequel game) but with improvements, and the combat, although still point-and-click, is a lot better and more fluid than IRUNA Online’s stiff and lackluster combat.

Most quests (I will talk more about quests in the next section) involve defeating a boss monster which is where the grinding kicks in. Boss monsters are almost always higher level than your character and players will have to grind and level up in order to defeat bosses. Toram Online doesn’t have as much filler quests as other games so killing random monsters just to level up plays a large role in Toram Online. Leveling at lower levels doesn’t take too long but it gets more repetitive and time-consuming at higher levels. The story-based quests do make the grinding feel somewhat worth it in the end though.

A Story-based Questing Experience

Toram Online breaks out of the traditional unengaging, wall-of-text quest storylines and adds in dynamic cutscenes and realistic dialogues to its questing. Individual quests are part of larger story chapters and each quest begins with eye-pleasing cutscenes and multiple camera angles as players interact with NPCs or watch other NPCs interacting with each other. The quest dialogue is conversational, and combined with natural body movements and things happening in the background, the dialogue and story feel high quality and are something to look forward to. In addition to dialogue cutscenes, there are also many other cutscenes that involve action sequences, player movement, boss encounters, and more. Quests range from killing certain monsters to gathering items to defeating giant bosses. As mentioned before, Toram Online isn’t filled with hundreds of filler quests like most MMORPGs so players will generally be working on one quest (usually the boss killing quests) for many levels before moving on with the story. Overall, the cutscenes, story, dialogue, and questing are interesting and well-implemented in Toram Online, but I think Toram Online needs more to keep the player busy to avoid too much grinding.

Cash Shop/In-App Purchases (IAP)

In-App Purchases usually play a large part in freemium mobile games and MMORPGs by providing advantages and cosmetics for paying players. Some games have more reasonable In-App Purchases while other games are just pure pay-to-win. As of this review, Toram Online is still in Beta and Asobimo Inc. has yet to add In-App Purchases to the game. They did recently add an Orb shop with randomized treasure chests containing items such as Training Scrolls, Revive Droplets, Health Potions, and Mana Potions, each of which can also be bought with Orbs but the system is still under development and players cannot purchase Orbs yet. My guess is that the Cash Shop will be similar to Avabel Online’s which was mainly cosmetic items such as costumes, but also had randomized higher rank equipment, which gave advantages and reduced the time spent farming but was not game-breaking. None of Asobimo Inc.’s mobile MMORPGs have been pay-to-win so far so Toram Online’s In-App Purchases should be fairly reasonable.

Final Verdict – Great

Although Toram Online is already out on Apple Itunes, it is still a game largely in development but has huge potential when it finally launches. With top notch, anime graphics, a huge open world, beautiful scenery and music, and an engaging story and questing system, the traditional point-and-click combat and grinding can be overlooked by many. Toram Online is currently one of the highest quality mobile MMORPGs I have played and a game everyone should try out.

Stilland War

Stilland War HD is a popular RPG by UGamehome Technology that combines a large questing storyline with a pretty good character building system. You will start out by choosing a server to play on and then creating your character. You can choose from Assassin, Warrior or Mage and jump right into the action with the game's tutorial. Unfortunately for some there is not a lot of action to it as the game is pretty much an auto battler.  Battles are not turn based but the battles do progress through rounds with you and the opponent alternating your attacks.

he single player game is a large questing system which quickly moves you from one quest to the next by allowing you to just click your way to the next one allowing your character to go and find the next quest giver. Everything takes place on a small town map so progress is very fast. You'll read about the mission then be carried to the battlefield where you will take on the enemies associated with the quest. Quests cost a certain amount of action points which refresh over time but can also be purchased, I didn't find this to be a big issue though and was able to play about as much as I wanted.

This is squad combat so even though you start off by yourself you will quickly pick up new party members to battle along with you. These are obtained through various ways. Some you unlock through quests, others can be unlocked by gaining reputation in the PVP arena but the best ones can be purchased with premium currency which will of course give the spender a big advantage in the game.

Character development is the key to the game. When you level up your characters by questing you will also be able to enhance their weapons and armor to the same level as the character. This is where your gold will go and you will find yourself spending a lot of it improving your equipment. CE is a stat you will need to pay attention to, this is the "combat effectiveness" of your entire party as a whole.

The game tries very hard to get you to continue playing by constantly giving you small rewards for unlocking features in the game and achieving goals. It also features a guild system and lots of events to enter. Overall the game is a good time killer but I found the play to get a bit repetitious.