Shaiya

Game: Shaiya

Publisher: Aeria Games

Download or web based: Download

What you get if you pay: Currency for potions that allow for extra experience gain as well as packages of items and medicines.

Review: Shaiya is a basic battle of light versus dark. What races and job types are available is determined by which side is chosen when first creating the game account. While the species on each side are limited the jobs for each race are varied. An over sized, dark Nordein can be either an axe-wielding Warrior or bow-firing Hunter. On the light side of the coin a Human Fighter or Elf Archer would be about the same choice.

There are many foes to fight and quests to undertake. There is also a large amount of Player vs Player options. Dueling amongst one's own race is an option as well as battling the other side over control of the contested Borderlands and the portals and idols they contain.

Abilities and skills can be put in customizable hot key bars for quick and easy use. As more skills are learned they can be added or rearranged in the bars.

While there are portals available for transport between major towns there are also many small outposts and regions that require some walking to reach. Paths and roads don't always take the shortest route between two points so finding shortcuts can make the travel time more interesting.

One unique aspect of Shaiya is the difficulty setting. When first crating a character there is an option of choosing a difficulty based on the player's preference. From Easy for new players that haven't played a MMO before to Hard for those up for a challenge. The top difficulty of Ultimate offers the added challenge of permanently deleting a character if death occurs and resurrection doesn't follow within 3 minutes. This can be a pain at the lower levels and make for possibly suicidal players if it happens at much higher levels.

Rating: 6/10 Very easy to play and can be fun for any skill level. However many quests in the early levels require walking back and forth between distant areas with no teleport available

Mabinogi

Game: Mabinogi

Publisher: Nexon.net

Download or web based: Download

What you get if you pay: Nexon cash, which can be used to buy additional characters, pets, and additional services.

Review: Nexon has a number of games available. Mabinogi is an involved one. It takes place over a large area encompassing many villages and town. The major method of movement from one town to another is simply walking. Teleportation crystals are present by each major location, but can only be used to get to one destination at a time.

Battle is accomplished by simply walking up to an enemy and attacking. Long and short ranged weapon sets can be switched between with the press of one button. This makes it possible to launch an arrow or bolt at a enemy and equip a sword and shield before close combat becomes necessary.

Abilities, ranging from heavy attacks to healing, can be used via hotkeys. Training the abilities is done by using the ability to gain experience in it, then leveling it using an extremely limited number of Ability Points.

Losing a fight has options when one is knocked out. Each option has its own costs. Waiting for help has a medium cost, but requires patience to lay there until a person with the proper ability can come and cast the correct spell. Being teleported to the nearest town have the lowest cost, but can cause a piece of armor to be left behind at the battlefield.

Rating: 5/10 Fun and easy to play, but the strong presence of bots and RMTs (Real Money Traders or people that buy and sell currency on 3rd party websites) detract from the beauty of the surroundings.