Granado Espada currently holds the title of Longest Time of Having me Play it with me having played it since it opened for beta in Early February 2007. It has a different focus on it, mainly instead of focusing on a “World of Warcraft” like world, or a futuristic world like most MMORPG’s have, it surrounds the Baroque period in Europe, much different from the usual settings. Of course, it does have the MMORPG feel to it, with modifications such as Ustir which contains dinosaurs and a mansion filled with living doll creatures. But what is the game like? Well this is my opinion on it.
GRAPHICS
The graphics in this game are absolutely stunning, whilst most online games can get a dated look after a year or two, Granado Espada remains the same, high level quality as it did when it was released several years before an english release, and has not aged much at all. The 3D landscaping of the areas ingame are all very high quality, with every nook and cranny being well detailed and is consistent throughout all the areas, whether it be a deep dark torturous prison to a blistering cold snowfield. The character designs are also very well done, whilst originally there is only a few character designs, it soon expands over numerous different characters, each with a different clothes design. Everything else is done very well, making it some of the best game graphics I have seen. (Also on the plus side… it doesnt explode my compute). Also, the graphics are not overboard and do not stray from the Baroque Period theme that the game is set in.
MUSIC
I really love the music in this game, since it can get a bit grindy at times, it is important to have excellent music so after hours of levelling, you aren’t exactly hearing the same sound over and over. Numerous artists contributed music to this game including SoundTEMP, S.F.A and Kim Junsung just to name a few. There are hundreds of songs in total, with several being in each level and increasing in each updat, as well as special events. (Such as last year, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer was played during Christmas).
GAMEPLAY
There are a variety of gameplay features which include:
MCC (Multiple Character Control): The one main highlight of the game is the Multiple Character Control System. This allows you to control not one character, but three at the same time, which is a first in an online game. Originally there are 5 different classes that can be used, with both male and female versions, but starting from the first quest, you can unlock many more characters to add to your barracks, which allows you to switch between characters whenever you want to. Therefore not locked to the three characters for good. Each barrack automatically comes with 9 characters, eventually being increased by Cashshop Items worth 1,100G-Points. (Currently I have 27 slots unlocked out of a total of 45)
Faction Activities: Faction-life is one of the biggest aspects of the game. First of all, each faction contains up to 100 families, which can equal up to 300 characters at a time. This is required however for when Colony War comes around, which is a major event held every Sunday night and involves all the factions in the server going against each other to secure colonies in the different areas of the game by destroying a pedestal at a certain site in the region. This gains the faction many special buffs such as increased DEF etc.
Customisation and Posing: All stock characters have several different costumes that can be shown by either armor changes (With different types of armor and levels) or costumes which can be found ingame or rare items that can only be bought via Cash Shop. All RNPC costumes are cash shop. These are also very well done and add the diversity to the game. Not only that, hairstyles can be changed via items as well. Also, the game is good for Machinima with features such as the Pose system, which allows your characters to have different actions. The game also supports it, last year having a Fantazzztic Film Awards which went over several months, with several prizes for users who took part.
AFK System: The game has a semi-AFK levelling system which, due to the considerable grind throughout the game, allows you to leave the characters attacking the monsters whilst you are doing other things. However, there are limitations, so if your character is knocked backwards or knocked out, they will not go back to the system. Thus it is only reliable on a temporary basis.
and many more excellent features in the game……
Overall Score:
Graphics – 5/5 (A)
Music – 5/5 (A)
Gameplay – 9/10 (A)
Overall – 19/20 (A)
Final Review: I really enjoy this game, and I have been very pleased with it over the last few years. If you are out for an online game that is different to one that you would expect, I would recommend you try this out. However, it may be a bit different from what you would usually find in an MMORPG.
Links:
- Granado Espada (IAH GAMES)
- Granado Espada Forums
Sources:
- IAH Games Granado Espada Website Kit (For Images)
