Forsaken World (PC) Review

 

Forsaken World is a MMORPG from Perfect World Entertainment and something like the little brother to the much more popular Perfect World International. Forsaken World was published in 2011 and will at the end of November 2022 finally shutdown its servers. Perfect World on the other hand was published in 2006 and will keep going even in 2023.

Forsaken World PC should not be confused with 'Forsaken World: Gods and Demons' on Steam, which is just autoplaying trash. A shitty mobile game, that for some reason has been ported to PC and should be avoided like the plague.

This is going to be a review for Forsaken World PC and it's going to be rather short. I decided to check this game out before it will be cancelled, but I didn't play for too long, and I am also going to explain why I could quickly reach a verdict on this game. The MMORPG genre is filled with a large amount of games, which can, in my opinion, be divided into 4 different leagues of quality. There is our A-League, in which we find some of the best and some of the most well-known games. Then there are the B-League games, which are much smaller games, that get less public recognition or are simply a bit too dated nowadays for the mainstream. While B-League games still have either a certain quality or at least some game aspect that makes them unique, C-League games are the real averageness of the genre. These games are not really terrible, but there isn't anything worth praising either. D-League games on the hand are just straight out broken or irredeemably bad. Which games belong into which category is of course a very subjective matter.

The reason why I mention all of this is, that for me Forsaken World is a clear C-League game. It is a Fantasy MMORPG in the style of games like WOW or Aion. Many other smaller MMORPGs, like Allods Online or Runes of Magic also took strong inspiration of these games, but they at least had some unique elements, like the Astral ship combat or the multiple class system.

Forsaken World on the other hand is a painfully average Fantasy MMORPG. Most aspects of the game are somewhat okay, but nothing really motivates you to play the game. If you look at the PVE, PVP, the combat system, the visuals - for every aspect there are at least a few dozen MMORPGs that are more worthy of a playthrough.

The game has 7 different races (Human, Elves, Dwarves, Stonemen, Werewolves/Lycan, Demons and Kindred/Vampires), which cover all the typical fantasy stereotypes and also the different typical classes, you could expect in any random MMORPG (Warriors, Mages, Priests, Rangers, Assassins, Bards etc). Some races can play the majority of classes (Humans, Elves), while some races are bound to only one choice (Dwarves, Stonemen). All classes are race locked in some degree. The race and class choice overall has no impact on the PVE, all players start in the same region (Interestingly enough there were apparently race specific starting zones in the past, but they have for some reason been patched out of the game) and complete the same rather monotonous fetch-quests. There are some few different quests, but they are also rather basic. PVE is not terrible, but I also didn't experience or heard about anything really worth playing. There is just a lot of averageness here. Character creation is in my opinion also a bit too limited. You might be able to choose between dozens of hair colours, but only have a few different faces to pick.

The combat system in Forsaken World is a very static tab-target system. I got no problems with tab target combat, but the one here in Forsaken World doesn't feel particularly engaging. It is okay, but certainly not more than that. Movement speed in the game also feels artificially slow, like they would try to persuade you to buy a mount in the ingame-shop (which they probably are; the free mount disappears after 1 week).

PVP might potentially be fun, but sadly Forsaken World is extremely Pay-to-Win. You could grind for months (more likely years) to get somewhat competitive equipment, but there are also gear refining/reforging functions exclusively in the shop (or at least a lot easier/faster), potions with time limited bonus stats (so that the players keep buying them for PVP) and so on... Forsaken World could certainly not be recommended for PVP focused players. 

One of the few probably unique systems in Forsaken World is the prayer system. Players can pray a couple of times per day and receive a buff or new items from the gods in the game. The more players on a server pray during an hour, the higher the chance to receive some gift from the immortals. At least an original idea, but certainly nothing worth playing the game for.

Visuals of Forsaken World are also disappointing. For the most part they are decent (even though quite lacking in comparison to other 2011/2012 MMORPGs like Rift, Guild Wars 2, Star Wars Old Republic, Tera, Vindictus etc). Some textures on the ground and some other areas however just look terrible and don't fit the rest of the game. Forsaken World therefore looks a bit liked a pimped up mobile port of an MMORPG. The Graphics are not terrible, but overall still a bit lackluster.

The soundtrack on the other hand might be one of the few highlights of the game. It certainly doesn't come close to compete with the best games in the genre and loops perhaps a bit too much, but it is overall still quite fitting, which was definitely a positive surprise.

 

Pro:

+ Decent race and class selection

+ Soundtrack is not bad

 

Contra:

- PVP is very P2W

- PVE is too average

- Visuals are a bit lackluster

 

Result:

Forsaken World is not terrible, but it is also not really worth playing either. Combat is very average, visuals even a bit below average, the soundtrack perhaps above average. The prayer system is rather neglectable and PVE is mostly average and forgettable. The race and class choices are perfectly decent, but nothing you couldn't experience better in many other games. PVP on the other hand is sadly very P2W. Forsaken World is a mostly average game with some even below average elements and therefore also gets a slightly below average score. I wouldn't recommend playing the game before the server shutdown, unless you have nostalgic feelings for it, because there are much better alternatives.

 

4.5/10

Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2 (PS4) Review

 

Chapter 3 Season 2 of Fortnite Battle Royale was called 'Resistance' and featured the war between the Seven and the Imagined Order. The conflict was already heavily foreshadowed in the previous season, but found its satisfying conclusion in CH3S02.

At the beginning of the season IO had completely overrun the Seven and their allies and their troops were already at the brink of defeat, before they managed to activate the 'Zero Build' mode, in which all of Fortnite's characteristic building was deactivated. The players participated in the Resistance and drove the IO forces further back every week. You could always watch the exact frontlines on the Fortnite map and in some weeks some of the POIs, like the Daily Bugle, Coney Crossroads, Rocky Reels or Tilted Towers, became points of conflict, where players could actively help the Seven troops to free the POIs from the IO. This was a pretty cool feature and gave the season a real war vibe. In a big Live Event at the end of the season (Collision Event) players could, with the help of the Paradigm and her giant Mech, finally defeat the IO and free the island forever (or at least for a season or two). The players were travelling inside the Mech (rebuilt Mech from the Chapter 1 Season 9 Live Event) and shooting all IO troops in sight. The Collision Event definitely lived up to the expectations and was a nice final to a generally very good season.

Chapter 3 Season 2 didn't introduce so many major map changes, but it introduced many smaller war changes. The colossal Foundation statue for example got partly destroyed, huge IO blimp airships appeared on top of some POIs (which later were destroyed through the Resistance forces) and they were generally a lot of craters and wartorn buildings all around the map. Covert Cavern changed to Command Cavern, but, except for the blimp on top of it, remained pretty much unchanged. The three really new POIs were Synapse Station, the Fortress and the Collider. Synapse Station and the Collider were really big, well done POIs. The Fortress on the other hand was a bit underwhelming, because it was only a gigantic drill. The drill was cool, but it was still a bit too small, for a POI. Synapse Station was a second main base for the Seven and a big workshop for their new drivable Battle Busses. Synapse replaced a previously empty spot on the map in the south and was therefore a nice addition. The Collider was only constructed in the last weeks of the season, but it still managed to become my favourite new POI of the season. It reminded me a lot of Isengard from Lotr, which is obviously a plus. Shortly before the Collision Event Tilted Towers was also partly destroyed by a retaliation strike of the IO, which was particularly appreciated by me (not the greatest Tilted Fan).

Item- and weaponwise there were a lot less additions in Chapter 3 Season 2 in comparison to the extremely generous previous season. Apart from the Ranger Shotgun (high damage, very slow speed) and the E-11 Blaster Rifle (Stormtrooper Blasters) there weren't really any new weapons worth talking about. Vehicles played a much bigger role in this season. Tanks were a new addition to the game and even though they were very entertaining, they were also too overpowered in the first weeks of the season. If you didn't manage to find an Anti-Tank Rocket launcher, you were just screwed against these metallic beasts (especially in the new Zero Build modes). Some players compared the situation even to the Season X Mechs. Tanks later on got a little nerfed and therefore more balanced. The other brand-new vehicle was the drivable armoured Battle Bus. About time, they finally were added to the game.

Even more worth pointing out were the many gameplay changes in Chapter 3 Season 2. The new Zero Build Battle Royale modes (Solo, Duo, Trio, Squads) were highly celebrated by the players and one of the main reasons for Fortnite becoming insanely popular during the start of the season. Many people came back to experience Fortnite as "regular BR Game". I am also a big fan of these Zero Build modes, since I could never really warm up to the building aspect of the game. I only dislike that they gave every player an additional overshield of 50 HP, that works separate of the regular Life and Armour points. It will, similar to for example the Halo games, regenerate itself after only a few seconds. This makes finishing other players on a distance much more difficult, if they can just get behind cover and regenerate their shields after around 5 seconds. Mantling was a great addition, that allowed players to grab and jump on ledges, which made the whole movement in Fortnite more dynamic. The tactical sprint function was taken straight out of Call of Duty and was an okay addition. It does function alright, but I was perfectly happy with the regular auto-sprint.

The Battle Pass of the season is a bit unevenly matched. 5 of the 8 skins I liked a lot, but the other 3 skins were quite underwhelming. Erisa is another Anime skin and I just don't like those, but you at least have to give her credit for having an extra style with a seven helmet (even though it storywise makes no sense). Kiara looks like a cheap Loba (Apex Legends) Rip-Off and Tsuki is an obscure robot character. Lets rather talk about the good stuff. Gunnar is an important IO character in the story and he's got some great armours in the Pass. Dr Strange is a fantastic collaboration skin, promoting the Dr Strange 2 movie. The Prowler is another cool Spider-Man skin, even though I actually think he is a bit too much of a smaller side character (unless you count the Miles Morales Spider-Man) to be a featured Secret Skin of a Fornite season. Since he is a great skin aswell, I won't complain. The other two skins are additional members of the Seven. The Origin and The Imagined are not only important for the story, they are also just awesome skins, that alone would probably be worth the purchase of a Battle Pass.

 

Pro:

+ Constant war throughout the season

+ Introduction of Zero Built Battle Royale

+ Cool Story Event

+ Half of the Battle Pass is fantastic

+ New gameplay additions (Mantling, Tactical Sprint)

 

Contra:

- Tanks temporarily too strong

- Half of the Battle Pass is bad

- BP again till level 140

 

Result:

Chapter 3 Season 2 managed to not disappoint as a follow-up to the great Chapter 3 Season 1, which in itself is already an accomplishment. The season, especially in the beginning, had some balancing issues and the content updates during the season weren't as significant and fluent as in the previous season. The majority of the Battle Pass however was fantastic, the map changes overall pretty good and the season really lived up to its war theme, which not all seasons do. The gameplay changes however are what this overall really strong season will always be remembered for. Tactical sprinting, mantling and the Zero Build modes have significantly impacted the Fortnite gameplay, which is quite a revolution for a 4,5 year old game.

 

8/10