Game Watch 2015 - part 1: Lost Ark

On 01/09/2015 at 03:41 PM by Machocruz

Wherein I catalog and share the games that are catching my attention and piquing my interest in year 15 of the second millenium

Rarely does a game catch my attention based on visual splendor alone, anymore. Even rarer when that game looks to be yet another Diablo-like/asian MMO. But holy shit they are turning the dial up to 11 with this one. Makes other attempts at following the legacy of Diablo 2 look milquetoast. Thing is, I usually like the idea of playing these games, but find them wanting in actual practice; combat is too simplistic and lacks much in the way of requiring twitch skills or tactical thinking. They throw so many trash mobs at you that the goal of the game becomes:get to the next waypoint before the power goes out/have to pee/fall asleep in your chair.

What's the difference with Lost Ark? FIrst, it looks so damn good; this sub-genre often lacks for visual stimuli. Diablo 3 and Path of Exile have their moments, but at no point do I say to myself "Man, I want to see what the next area looks like!" Just from this trailer, I can't wait to see more and am thinking about upgrading my PC. Then there are the powers. D3 acquits itself well in this department, providing a lot of visual flair, satisfying effects of light and particles, weight, and impact. PoE, not so much; I find about 80% or more of the powers to be very underwhelming. Torchlight 2 is a mixed bag depending on class (I find the Engineer and Berserker to have the most satisfyig suite of powers). Lost Ark looks to blow them all away in every category. Moves look and sound powerful, over the top, and cool. Plus mounts, including a large mech.

I have to give credit to an article at Rock, Paper, Shotgun for introducing me to this. The game came out of nowhere for me, and I was surprised and impressed by what i saw in that trailer.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

01/09/2015 at 05:31 PM

yeah I'm upgrading this year too for a couple games. that and Dragon Age has been running too hot on my laptop, so I need to do it.

Machocruz

01/09/2015 at 07:37 PM

Eeew, lap top gaming. Actually, I'd prefer the more compact arrangement with a laptop, but I've heard nothing but bad things about gaming on laptops, even gaming laptops.

01/09/2015 at 08:44 PM

it's not great, but I need to be mobile sometimes.

Super Step Contributing Writer

01/09/2015 at 06:05 PM

I dunno, still looks a bit repetitive to me, though the areas are certainly more diverse and impressive than I usually see in hack and slash fests.

01/09/2015 at 07:35 PM

Well, I figure if I don't play an of these Diablo 2-likes for a while, I'll be fresh for a new one that looks more interesting than the rest. The problem is that mouse clicking for every action (movement and attack) is just not a satisfying input method for an action game, let alone an action game where you fight countless mobs to get to the next break point.

01/09/2015 at 09:43 PM

Will it not allow for PC/360 control? Several games I own on Steam have started claiming they require keyboard/mouse, but my PC/360 controller works just fine with them. Granted, controls seem a bit off in GGX2#Reload, NFS Hot Pursuit, etc., but my Batman games are saying they require keyboard and they were mapped perfectly when I played those. They also had controller icons indicating so when I first bought them, along w several other of my games. Weird ...

KnightDriver

01/10/2015 at 02:49 AM

The game looks fantastic!

PixlBit