Swordsman Developer: Beijing Perfect World Publisher: Perfect World Entertainment Platform: PC Arc Download Reviewer: Logan Ladnyk Swordsman by Perfect World is a free-to-play MMORPG. Music: I love the opening OST, 'Carefree'. Am listening to it as I am writing this review.:) Rewatch value: It is 42 episodes if you watch from the DVD version and 56 episodes from the tv version. I might re-watch this a few years later when I have the time. I am quite impartial to Swordsman aka The Smiling,Proud Wanderer. (profile not up yet) for Swordsman Online reviews, gameplay videos, guides, screenshots, tips, news and more.S. Swordsman Online, developed by Perfect World, entered test phase 2 earlier today, and I got in for a look. With Age of Wushu leaving a deep impression, minus the combat which I didn't enjoy, my hopes were extremely high for this game, which was delayed for a couple of years due to an upgrade in game engine. So how did it fare in my eyes?
Before I begin, this article is purely a personal opinion piece, based on 6 hours of gameplay and 3 characters belonging to different clans. Swordsman Online, developed by Perfect World, entered test phase 2 earlier today, and I got in for a look.
With Age of Wushu leaving a deep impression, minus the combat which I didn't enjoy, my hopes were extremely high for this game, which was delayed for a couple of years due to an upgrade in game engine. So how did it fare in my eyes?
Basic gameplay
I was deeply disappointed, I truly am. While Swordsman Online can boast of its 10 authentic martial arts clans for players to choose from, every player wears the same look for the first 20 levels. To add a further blow, players are not transferred to the clan base before or after choosing.
In fact, players choose the clans to join in a house, and then carry on like everyone else. No branching storyline, no differentiation in clans to show other than the skills.
From what I remember in Age of Wushu, every clan has got different quests to allow players to understand its foundations more, its beliefs and get to know the important people. Not in Swordsman Online, everything is rushed for players to progress.
The maps are really small as well, leaving no room for actual exploration. Jogar bingo gratis online. I might be spoiled too much by Age of Wushu, but I am estimating each map in AoW is about 10 times the size of that in Swordsman.
There is also no actual 'qingong' thus far except for some instanced quick time events, with just a double jump to show in actual play.
Clan base
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The 3 clans I tried were Wudang, Emei and Tang Clan. After the above disappointment, I thought that I should move on, and perhaps the clan bases will be all grand and stuff, a gigantic place to explore and even bigger than those in Age of Wushu. Man I was wrong.
Seen above is the map of Emei. Doesn't take a genius to really know how puny it is, with only a couple of NPCs around. Ok, it is closed beta after all, but what are the chances of a massive base expansion come launch? And every clan base is an instance, players can't just go riding up a mountain and reach them.
Combat
The combat system in Perfect World's other new game, Saint Seiya Online, was near perfect for a classic point and click. Everything seems like a mass in Swordsman Online, from a normal gamer's point of view. You see, the 'normal attack' key cannot be dragged and placed under the number keys, since they are taken up by the set skills.
With most of the other keys confined to different functions, the default attack keys are just right click and the console key. Yes, the one beside the number '1' on your keyboard, which did not work for me. Eventually, I placed the normal attack key under 'E', which is reserved for chained combos.
There are different skill sets to learn, for example the Taichi Swordplay set has a few skills under it. New skill sets can be learned when progressing in the game, and players can change them during battle. Pretty much like Guild Wars 2, except that the weapon stays the same.
Party system
Partying for dungeons in Saint Seiya Online is extremely fuss free, with the system automatically allocate individual players of the same level range together and even make sure different classes are chosen. I have no idea why. but Swordsman Online reverted back to the confusing system of looking through a list of parties with slots, hoping the leader will accept. Juicy stakes poker review.
This led to the chat window spammed with players looking for parties for the first instanced dungeon, with most eventually choosing to go solo. Why, Perfect World, would you take a step back?
Graphics
The only saving grace during my 6 hours of game time is probably the awesome graphics. Everything looks so pretty, minus the same clothing every single player is wearing. It is a shame that Swordsman Online seem to be bogged down by its gameplay features.
Closing comments
I will still be playing Swordsman Online, and I am actually on my 4th character now to test out the different clans. If nothing major changes my views, I will not be posting any more personal updates. I am seriously underwhelmed by the game, and I can't believe almost nothing on my list of expectations is met.
Kitano playing Zatoichi is a little like Clint Eastwood playing Hopalong Cassidy; the star brings along a powerful persona that redefines the pop superficiality of his character. He poses as a humble wandering blind masseur whose hearing and instinct are so razor-sharp that he knows better what is going on around him than those who are limited to sight. He walks with a slight stoop, sometimes smiles or laughs to himself, carries his head cocked to one side, never seems tense or coiled, and then in an instant his cane-sword has found its target.
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In its broadest outlines, 'Zatoichi' is a revenge drama. The blind swordsman encounters on his travels two sisters (one actually a transvestite) who work as geishas at a wayside rest station. They were orphaned when their parents were killed by the merciless Ginzo gang, which shakes down small merchants. Zatoichi learns about their story, and although he never declares his intention to do anything, eventually the gang's retainers begin to die while trying to kill him. Finally all comes down to a duel between Zatoichi and the crime boss' high-priced bodyguard Hattori (Tadanobu Asano), a warrior of fierce talents.
The combat system in Perfect World's other new game, Saint Seiya Online, was near perfect for a classic point and click. Everything seems like a mass in Swordsman Online, from a normal gamer's point of view. You see, the 'normal attack' key cannot be dragged and placed under the number keys, since they are taken up by the set skills.
With most of the other keys confined to different functions, the default attack keys are just right click and the console key. Yes, the one beside the number '1' on your keyboard, which did not work for me. Eventually, I placed the normal attack key under 'E', which is reserved for chained combos.
There are different skill sets to learn, for example the Taichi Swordplay set has a few skills under it. New skill sets can be learned when progressing in the game, and players can change them during battle. Pretty much like Guild Wars 2, except that the weapon stays the same.
Party system
Partying for dungeons in Saint Seiya Online is extremely fuss free, with the system automatically allocate individual players of the same level range together and even make sure different classes are chosen. I have no idea why. but Swordsman Online reverted back to the confusing system of looking through a list of parties with slots, hoping the leader will accept. Juicy stakes poker review.
This led to the chat window spammed with players looking for parties for the first instanced dungeon, with most eventually choosing to go solo. Why, Perfect World, would you take a step back?
Graphics
The only saving grace during my 6 hours of game time is probably the awesome graphics. Everything looks so pretty, minus the same clothing every single player is wearing. It is a shame that Swordsman Online seem to be bogged down by its gameplay features.
Closing comments
I will still be playing Swordsman Online, and I am actually on my 4th character now to test out the different clans. If nothing major changes my views, I will not be posting any more personal updates. I am seriously underwhelmed by the game, and I can't believe almost nothing on my list of expectations is met.
Kitano playing Zatoichi is a little like Clint Eastwood playing Hopalong Cassidy; the star brings along a powerful persona that redefines the pop superficiality of his character. He poses as a humble wandering blind masseur whose hearing and instinct are so razor-sharp that he knows better what is going on around him than those who are limited to sight. He walks with a slight stoop, sometimes smiles or laughs to himself, carries his head cocked to one side, never seems tense or coiled, and then in an instant his cane-sword has found its target.
Swordsman Online Review Games
In its broadest outlines, 'Zatoichi' is a revenge drama. The blind swordsman encounters on his travels two sisters (one actually a transvestite) who work as geishas at a wayside rest station. They were orphaned when their parents were killed by the merciless Ginzo gang, which shakes down small merchants. Zatoichi learns about their story, and although he never declares his intention to do anything, eventually the gang's retainers begin to die while trying to kill him. Finally all comes down to a duel between Zatoichi and the crime boss' high-priced bodyguard Hattori (Tadanobu Asano), a warrior of fierce talents.
This plot, however conventional it may sound, plays quite differently in Kitano's hands because of his acute and distinctive style of pace and timing. Not for him the 10-minute Hong Kong-style martial arts extravaganzas. In one scene set in a stony wasteland, Zatoichi is attacked by eight enemies, kills them one after another with almost blinding speed, and leaves the gray stones splashed with red blood, in what is, apart from anything else, a rather effective abstract color pattern.
Zatoichi is hardly on screen every moment, or even in every scene. The movie devotes full time to the Ginzo boss (Ittoku Kishibe) and his auditions for a bodyguard, and establishes Aunt O-Ume (Michiyo Ogusu), who befriends the two geishas, O-Kinu (Yuko Daike) and O-Sei (the transvestite Daigoro Tachibana). We get a sense of village life, of gossip and speculation, of keen interest in this curious blind masseur.
