Last Online MMOTPS Preview

I don’t know what the percentage is of gamers who sat around and said to themselves, “Ya' know, we really need an MMO action game that mimics the gameplay and personality exhibited in Capcom’s Devil May Cry series.” But whatever percentage of gamers that was, apparently it was enough to get Eden World Entertainment to develop a game that’s literally an MMO incarnation of Devil May Cry.

Last Online is a third-person action game with quests, character customization, combos, mid-air attacks, fast-paced combat, guilds, and adventuring. What’s more is that much like the upcoming Huxley the game also sports 100 versus 100 battles in massive battlefields. The good part is that a lot of the gameplay has already been shown off, but the bad part is that no footage of the 100 vs 100 battles has been on display, yet.

Style is usually an important component for games where visible avatars distinguish one player from the next. In first-person shooter MMOs like Combat Arms, Mercenary Wars, Karma: Operation Barbarossa or Cross Fire, character avatars really don’t make much of a difference because the gameplay is usually fast and furious and focused (supposedly) on team tactics and running and gunning.

However, in third-person games it’s all about watching what the characters are doing on-screen and seeing them represent what the player has created. Seeing the avatar in a third-person shooter and customizing their look (making sure they represent what you want to see out of the character you’re building) is about as important as honing the character’s skills that they’ll use. And thankfully, Last Online acknowledges that many players don’t want to be clones and can rightfully change up the look of their male or female avatar with a nice selection of clothing attire and accessories. Many of the clothing options, however, are clearly set within the tone and themes of the Devil May Cry aesthetic, which doesn’t really include a lot of low-rise jeans or cargo pants.

Hence, the only downside is that gamers who don’t find long trench coats, Victorian architecture and gothic clothing cool, probably won’t enjoy much of the look and feel of the presentation in Last Online.

There’s no denying that the true curb stopping appeal to Last Online resides in its overtly fast gameplay. It’s excessive, almost to a fault and I’m pretty darn sure it will leave many-a-gamer with carpal tunnel syndrome.

The best way to describe the gameplay of Last Online is like Gunz: The Duel meets Devil May Cry. And that’s no implication on what to expect from the gameplay it’s literally a direct reference for what the gameplay will be like. The action is furious as players will have to battle multiple opponents at one time in various settings and situations, including boss battles.

Speaking of bosses, the game has been designed from the ground up for group battles and player-vs-environment scenarios in mind. So much so that the engine is proprietary technology specifically designed so that all the wickedly-fast action as seen in games like Bayonetta can be experienced in the same manner within Last Online, except with all the bad guys and grinding gamers have come to love from MMOs. This gives Last Online a distinctive new dimension on bridging the gap between real-time action games and non-targeting open-world MMORPGs.

In Gunz: The Duel gamers can only use either guns or swords but not both at the same time. This is reasonable given that even if most gamers had the option to use a melee and projectile weapon at the same time, it would be a little difficult trying to manage both and hop around and off the walls at the same time. Dual-wielding a melee and projectile weapon was handled slightly differently in Exteel, given that the left hand weapon was always attached to the left mouse button and the right hand weapon was always attached to the right mouse button. Now, Eden has yet to unveil if they’re going to use a control scheme identical to that of Devil May Cry (and if so a controller should be a standard option for play) or if they’re going to implement a play mechanic similar to Exteel given that gamers will be able to use a sword in one hand and a gun in the other.

One thing is for certain, and it’s that gamers can effectively launch and switch between combo attacks that bounce between melee and projectile combat effortlessly. The game also sports the ability to pull off grab moves, skills, counter attacks and the ability to block. How well this will all come together for guild and PvP battles has yet to be seen but it’s safe to say that most gamers who have seen Last Online in action have definitely been impressed.

As of this writing, Eden World Entertainment is still securing global distribution for the game and closed beta testing is scheduled to begin just before summer. For more information be sure to visit the Official Website.

Want to check out a listing of more MMOFPS games? Be sure to visit the Official Bright Hub MMOFPS Action Game Directory.