Gory MMO coming to the states in early '08
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Jan 6th 2008 at 12:00PM }
Do your MMOs lack the blood splattered carnage you've come to love in console action games? Do you enjoy your late night World of Warcraft raids, but wish that you could gib the Amani trolls your party defeats? Good news, gorophiles (that is, people who enjoy gore, not those who harbor erotic fantasies about Goro), Korea-based Gravity Corp, creators of the fairly popular Ragnarok Online, have made an MMORPG to slake your disturbing bloodlust -- the unfortunately titled Requiem: Bloodymare.
The game will feature "intense sequences of bloody and gory graphics," and an intriguing system where giant monsters roam the world when the sun goes down. Though the game's promise to conjure up our "deepest nightmares and fears" fills us with trepidation, we look forward to finding out if MMOs are capable of scoring scares, and also, discovering what the hell a Bloodymare is when the game hits American store shelves early this year.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Obie @ Jan 6th 2008 12:08PM
Holy crap!
That video was BORING! I think I'll pass on this one.
MegaSnort @ Jan 6th 2008 12:12PM
Korean MMOs tend to be very boring.
Frank @ Jan 6th 2008 12:56PM
"Korean MMOs tend to be very boring."
Just like the Wii
Obie @ Jan 6th 2008 12:58PM
Frank: Was that supposed to be trolling? Cuz I couldn't tell trough the suck.
MegaSnort @ Jan 6th 2008 1:09PM
Received RE:4 WE for Xmas and can honestly say i've never had so much fun playing a last gen port on a next gen system.
Anticrawl @ Jan 6th 2008 1:22PM
I think someone touched a nerve *points at Frank*
Do we need to open up a new sister site called KoreanMMOFanboy.com?
UltimateQ @ Jan 6th 2008 5:24PM
If you watch a video of ANY MMO )World of Warcrap included) they all tend to be quite boring. They weren't show casing how fun the game is, they were showing you the gore.
LaughingTarget @ Jan 6th 2008 12:19PM
Looks like MMO Diablo.
Yes, Korean titles are very boring. They tend to be centered around heavy grining, radially designed worlds and little to do beyond going out and beating on virtual monsters. This one was a bit of a shock since the art direction wasn't the generic Korean anime style.
ThornedVenom @ Jan 6th 2008 1:04PM
Perfect decription of a generic MMO design to avoid.
Noshino @ Jan 6th 2008 4:36PM
sorry LaughingTarget, but korean MMO's tend to be fun, asians in general, I found them more entertaining than american ones =(
in the side note, I heard about this title long ago...they just announced the title and some other stuff, but you oculdn't find any more info...
and actually, Gravity has made great games, but they go from "okish" then to "good" and when the game gains its peak, they go ahead and screw up the balance of the game with stupid upgrades....just like in RO, where Soul Linkers and transcended classes COMPLETLY messed the balance of the game...
Great INITIAL ideas, great implementation, but they have the most awful ideas when it comes to how to go forward with their games (updates)....
LaughingTarget @ Jan 6th 2008 5:24PM
My problem with the Korean ones is the lack of variety. The worlds have little life in them and involve mobs just milling around in a specific area. Monster strength is too contingent from how far you get away from the starting area. While this is fine for the newer players and not getting overwhelmed by too many large creatures up front, this builds the image of a static, boring world.
This is the radial world concept. The number of steps away from the starting town is directly proportional to how powerful the creatures are. Thus, you radiate out from the starting point until reaching the end.
Furthermore, the grind system in these games doesn't sit well with me. I play games to have fun, not as a second, unpaid job. Having to crush 200 of the same creature over and over again just to gain one level isn't my idea of a good time. They also tend to lack other diversions and most even lack a basic crafting system.
The critical differentiating factor in the Korean MMO is the graphical style. One offers up a kung-fu world, another has pirates, a third goes heavy anime, but they're carbon copies where it matters. It is as if there is this MMO making program that everyone picks up, changes the art around a little, and then calls it new.
This is mostly a major cultural difference, as evidenced by the popular player vendor system most Korean based MMOs have. Walking into the various towns along the radial steps, you run into dozens, if not hundreds, of player bots sitting around the town, crowding the place trying to hawk various pieces of junk they picked up off mobs right outside the town wall.
Repetition in a single skill is culturally ingrained in the Asian markets. This is why they tend to do very well in specialized industries where a single skill is all that is required to perform well. As such, games aimed at that cultural preference will always be preferred there.
It isn't a matter of better. The Korean styled grind isn't something the Western mind is interested. We tend to enjoy varied interests and want a more diverse game. This is why Western developers aim at wide varieties in the game and why the sandbox style game is increasingly popular, as evidenced by the sales of the Grand Theft Auto series and more recent games like Assassin's Creed.
The Korean system just doesn't function well in American audiences. World of Warcraft is the most popular MMO in the States since it removes a good chunk of the grind that makes games like EverQuest and Vanguard minor players in the market and why popular Asian MMOs, like Lineage, don't do well here.
It is all about the marketing, and the above game wasn't designed to be marketed to American audiences and will most likely follow along the string of other failed Korean entries in the US market like R/F Online because of it.
UltimateQ @ Jan 6th 2008 5:28PM
LaughingTarget, World of Warcraft made MMO easy enough and available to the masses. But when it comes to a GOOD game, nothing beats good ole' Everquest 1. Meaning like 8 expansions ago. WIth the newer stuff I am not interested.
Noshino @ Jan 6th 2008 6:03PM
LaughingTarget,
The problem is that you seem to be generalizing korean games, have you REALLY played RO?
I mean, I don't look a second job for an MMO either...
here, list of the games I have played:
Ragnarok online, RF, Mu, Domo, WoW, Guildwars, Fury (ugh, what did they spend those 13 mil on....seriously), R.O.S.E., Maple Story, Conquer, Silkroad, Flyff, Granado Espada, Cabal...
I could only stay on RO, for me, what I look for on a game is the pvp aspect, the most fun part of almost every game, and IMHO RO has (well, had) the most balance pvp system.
"Monster strength is too contingent from how far you get away from the starting area"
"most even lack a basic crafting system"
"Repetition in a single skill is culturally ingrained in the Asian markets"
"The Korean styled grind isn't something the Western mind is interested"
How long ago has it been since you last played an asian MMO?
one, crafting system doesn't make a game, here is what make a game:
Game Interface
Battle System
Leveling Mode
and at a somehwat lower degree, the Graphic Style
"Repetition in a single skill is culturally ingrained in the Asian markets"
Please, play a GOOD asian MMO before writing them all off, hell, if I was to use just one skill for RO, I would get killed within...mmm...seconds
The amount of skills needed to level increases as the game goes, you can't tell me you are expecting someone to level the same way when they are high level as when they were just beginers...
for the record, all that WoW does is put together ideas from many other MMOs out there, the thing is, it isn't bad at any of them, but it doesn't excel in any of them either...
WoE (War of Emperium - RO) was the selling point for me, I really loved the idea of having to fight with guilds over who owned a castle and had access to special dungeons, but I know to give credit where it is due, and RF is one of the first games to implement the war system in an impressive way
LaughingTarget @ Jan 6th 2008 6:16PM
http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/mmoclub/
I've played the vast majority of the ones there. Maybe in 1997 when I got into MMOs, the combat system would be the biggest reason to get one. Now, 11 years later, just a combat system is worthless. There needs to be a ton more than just whacking on monsters and other players for it to be any good. The Korean style just doesn't do it for me. Remember, variety and hitting on monsters for hours on end isn't variety.
Anticrawl @ Jan 6th 2008 12:37PM
Yeah those enemies were mindless. The blood was ok I guess. I think I'll just continue the wait for Guild Wars II next year. It'll be worth it, right now though I think I'm gonna go work on my Guild Wars characters.
Staggs @ Jan 6th 2008 12:51PM
That looked like WoW with blood. Even most of the animations looked like they got ripped straight out of the Undead from WoW.
fredrik @ Jan 6th 2008 12:55PM
dude..
4 strenght 4 stam leather belt?
Anticrawl @ Jan 6th 2008 12:53PM
Not trying to take anything away from WoW but is this how WoW plays as well? If so then damn I was right about not trying it. Honestly really never looked into anything WoW related. Blizzard broke my heart when I found out their new game was going to be an MMORPG rather than a new RTS game.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jan 6th 2008 3:14PM
that looks and plays nothing like WoW. Whoever said it did doesn't have a damn clue what they're talking about.
LaughingTarget @ Jan 6th 2008 5:24PM
The UI is similar to WoW, but that is about it.
ThornedVenom @ Jan 6th 2008 1:05PM
I enjoyed how each hit finally seemed to have an impact.
But blood doesn't always equal fun. Especially with no epic soundtrack.
Tyrus @ Jan 6th 2008 1:09PM
Dear Diary,
Today I clicked on a link that said "erotic fantasies about Goro". Should I tell mother? She may be displeased.
MegaSnort @ Jan 6th 2008 1:13PM
Sounds like a lvl 15 green BOE
NukeAssault @ Jan 6th 2008 1:24PM
Cloud 1:48. lol
TGianni @ Jan 6th 2008 2:05PM
At least it looks better than Hellgate: london, lawlz!
Kris @ Jan 6th 2008 2:40PM
Rorschach!
Brennan @ Jan 6th 2008 2:44PM
if Hellgate: London had way more blood, then i would be happy.
i love the game, but stupid Wal-Mart wont give it to me when i put $5 towards it in-store so i can get the dye kit n key into the beta. I'm gonna have to go there n get a refund ONLY if they dont take $5 off the price of the game.
wal-mart has the gayest customer service.....
MegaSnort @ Jan 6th 2008 3:42PM
Wal-Mart has customer service?!
midgetman22 @ Jan 6th 2008 4:23PM
Everyone is sayin this looks boring and the enemies are mindless....which may be true thru the game...but you can see from this video that this was probably the starting place for the character because he only has 3 moves. if that is indeed true then thats why its slow slow and enemies are only attacking if you attack them....its how all MMOs start -_-
Jashin @ Jan 6th 2008 3:48PM
Why is it that when anyone mentions anything about an MMOG, it brings all the idiots out of the woodwork and they start WoW trolling.
If you don't like MMOGs, don't play them, do people really need to listen to you whine about how you don't like the gameplay?
In MMORPGs you grind, its a staple of the genre, either get used to it, or shut up.
Easo @ Jan 6th 2008 4:26PM
Oh, so only Korean MMOs are boring. After watching footage from WOW, Guild Wars, Vanguard, Everquest, and DarkAges I thought all MMOs were boring.
**note
The only MMO i've ever played was wwII online. It looked horrible, and the players were way too serious, but the game wasnt bad.
Steve @ Jan 6th 2008 5:28PM
So nothing goes aggro in this game? You can just wander about in a dungeon filled with huge monsters at your leisure?
I mean it's like the monsters are just calmly minding their own business and you totally interrupt their mindless wandering by putting an axe in their face, that's not very nice ;)
Cal @ Jan 6th 2008 10:58PM
It's the starter dungeon...
CuteUnit @ Jan 6th 2008 6:38PM
That bored me to death. Since I've been playing The Witcher lately I have a very firm notion of what a game for Adults really is. It's games like The Witcher, not this korean grinder.
Honestly western gaming sites shouldnt even accept advertising revenue from these shovelware companies much less blog about them.
Shignami @ Jan 6th 2008 6:52PM
Im betting that like Ragnarök, this game will become really fun when the private servers dick everything up.