[unixmad]

Very good review !

I think it can be a good idea to organize a contest for Graal review, best reviews will be put on the Graalonline site and we can also offer a few gift to the best one.

Originally posted by Polo
Did this last thursday, forgot to post it up though...

Having been an avid player of Graal for almost 5 years, I thought it would only be fair if I gave you all a real insiders review of the game, as opposed to the ill informed and often incorrect ones which I so frequently see. Throughout my long playing time, I have seen many high and lows of the game, and seen many changes, some which were clearly good, and others which could be considered highly detrimental. It is this knowledge that I have acquired, that I wish to utilise in order to bring the game a fair, just and informative review. I feel it is important that the review be broken down into sections, with my views on each justified therein. Most people find differing aspects important in a game, and this allows them to focus on those aspects as necessary.

-Overview-
Graal is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), and uses a fluid control system for an active playing pace, rather than the more subdued point and click methods of other MMORPG's. Features include a level editor, featuring its own scripting language, an animation editor, and more servers than you can shake a stick at, many of which are designed by players themselves rather than those at the Graal Online offices. The game is P2P, although there are varying levels of accounts, and non-playing users can still access the game, they are just removed of any saving rights.

-Graphics-
Graals graphics haven't really changed much since the original incarnation, and we still have what would be described as a sprite driven system, and one which is essentially 2D. This is not to say that the graphics are bad, far from it. As Graal has progressed through its life, it has picked up various tools with which it can manipulate its sprites, including resizing, alpha bending, polygon drawing and lighting. What these allow for is rather fanciful effects, which add to the aura of the game. It is important to stress that the graphic are very clear and concise, and the effects such as alpha blending appear to be well implemented. Many of the player servers often feature their own custom graphics, some better than others, but most are of a satisfactory, if not better, standard. It really seems to me that the 2D aspect of the game has not restricted the game in anyway, and as a result, the graphics, although not mind blowing, fulfil their job perfectly.

-Sound-
I wont lie and say this is Graals strongest point, although the scope here is somewhat up to the players preference. The game engine supports mp3, wav, midi, and man tracker formats (mod, xm etc..), so there is clearly potential for quality here, and the afore mentioned scripting system allows for looping, one-shots, and layering of sounds, so there’s never any glitches in the sound your hearing. That said, the game only comes with a collection of midi's, and a few sound effects. Now whilst these midi's are good midi's, they are still midi's, and as a result, how decent they sound largely depends on the GM Soundset supplied by your soundcard. The sound effects are of a reasonable quality, but fit in with the graphics and feel of the game nicely. Once again, many servers use their own custom offerings for music and SFX, although sometimes they request that you download a music pack from the server in questions website.

-Playability-
Personally for me, this is where Graal Online excels the most. By ditching the point and click style approach, and going for a dynamic control system, Graal has created an environment whereby fighting comes down more to skill, rather than who has the highest stats. Tactical fighting, and fast finger work is required to be the best, and battles never degenerate into the mindless click, click, click drivel of other games. The fact that there are so many servers it another advantage. Due to the degree of editing possible with the level and script editors, many servers can be totally different, with wildly varying systems. For example, some like to lead a more experienced based, role playing example, with classes and the like, whereas others are more 'collect to upgrade', and focus on more of a questing element, with all the obligatory variations between these two extremes, and many more variations beside. You can be assured that whatever your preference, there’s always going to be a server to suit you, and its unlikely you’ll ever get bored of playing. Controls for the game are rather simple, and for most games you never need more than 8 keys, 4 of which are the cursor keys. You never need to search for a key, as you might in say, a flight simulator, and most of the keys are customizable anyway, so you can always tailor them to suit your own preferences. There’s also joystick/game pad support, which I most say works rather well, although I believe most older players find it easier to use the keys.

-Player Integration-
The systems implemented for players to communicate are second to none, allowing for mass messages, messages to select players (both through PM's), chat text above your player, guild messages, and so on. In short, there’s always a way to communicate, and the tools provided for doing this are on the large part self explanatory. There’s even the option to record history of conversations, perhaps for retrieval at a later date. The staff on most of the servers on Graal are polite, well trained and very quick to respond to any plights you may have as a player, and I know that only to well, as after all, I am staff myself. There are of course, the obligatory exceptions to this rule, although no more than you’d expect from any other game. The ability to create your own levels, and purchase your own servers adds incredibly to the longevity of Graal, allowing for players to become their own bosses, and creating yet more environments for others, further adding to the community of the game.

-Additional Features-
As mentioned previously, Graal features its own level editor. Rather than being awkward and fiddly like most of the editors for 3D games, the level editor is deeply easy to use, offering a very much, stick on some tiles and away you go, with many pre-designed blocks of tiles provided (Such as houses and trees), so its always easy to build what you require quickly. There’s also the ability to add NPC's (Non Playable Characters) in order to further add to the design of you level, and this is where the scripting system comes in. With all the functionality you could possibly need already provided, including graphics drawing, string handling, arrays, player manipulation, and so on, pretty much anything is possible if you put your mind to it, and new functions are being added all the time to accommodate players requests. We also have the animation editor, with which you can create your own animations for use with the scripting system. Each sprite on a character can be modified, so its easy to create a certain kind of movement should you wish to. Many servers use their own custom sprites and animations, which goes to show how easy it is to create them.

Overall, what were left with is a massively customisable game, and one which can be picked up and played for the odd 5 minutes here and there, or one which you can spend several hours at a time chipping away at. A game which has things to do, even when you dont like playing, and a game with such fun and community, you can easily see your life being sucked away from you, as you surely become addicted. A game that shows what online gaming should really be about; Fun, longevity and community, not fancy graphics and big budgets. In short, a game which redefines the MMORPG.