Sword of the New World (PC)

The one aspect of the game which really makes it different to every other MMO out there is the Multi Character system. Rather than venturing with one character, you actually control three at any one time. This allows for real depth in character selection and progression. Rather than limiting yourself to one character build, you can quickly change the dynamic of you party by swapping in another character. This could allow you to develop a scout as a medic and swap him out for an assassin if the situation requires. This is much more effective than having to develop a scout that does both jobs.

Combat is, unfortunately, quite dull. Your characters auto-attack any enemy that’s nearby and keep laying in to them till they die, which is normally after a few seconds. It’s important that they are killed do quickly due to the ridiculously high respawn rate and number of enemies. Enemies will respawn very quickly, so if you haven’t cut your way through the swarms of enemies you will get swamped by respawned enemies. At no point did I feel part of the combat and unlike other games there is no strategy to taking on groups of enemies.

Compared to some other Korean MMOs SOTNW has had a major overhaul and has been far more ‘westernized’. Quests and a sense of storyline has been applied over the top of the game, though at it’s core there is a significant amount of grind. In fact due to the auto-attack and auto-heal, there is nothing to stop you plonking your team in the middle of an area and going AFK. The enemy spawns will mean there will always be something to fight. You can move your character to a newer area once you have levelled sufficiently. The fact that this can happen really keeps SOTNW in the Korean MMO column. Though to be fair this is the most western feeling Korean MMO I have ever played.

Despite my criticism SOTNW does have a certain elegant charm to it. It is an enjoyable game though it doesn’t capture the feel that game like World of Warcraft and Guild wars do. Eventually the game does start to become a grind fest, even at its high points I never felt completely involved with the game. This is a real shame because some parts of the games work so very well. As the game is free to download and play up to level 20 I would recommend that any MMO fan gives it a try.