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