When I first found out that Wind Slayer got licensed by
Ignited games I was pretty excited. I don’t know what it is, but I’m a huge fan of
Ignited games MMORPG portal. Maybe it’s just their website’s design that attracts me, but for whatever reason I feel as if they’ve done a great job keeping their MMORPGs up to date and hack free. One thing I’d like to point out about Wind Slayer before I begin talking about the game’s specific features is that the game is NOT a Maplestory clone! With the almost sudden growth of the side scrolling MMORPG genre it’s not surprising that newer games will borrow features from older ones.
Wind Slayer is a genuinely fun
Wind Slayer is a fast paced 2D side scrolling fantasy MMORPG. The game borrows a lot of features from other popular scrolling games like Maplestory and LaTale but it has quite a bit of its own innovations. Perhaps the game’s strongest point is that from the moment I created my character to the moment I logged off for the day I was having fun. The game has a comprehensive crafting system, plenty of quests and a fun ‘hack and slash’ style combat system that feels unique. Another aspect of Wind Slayer that distinguishes it from the other side scrolling MMORPGs on the market is its impressive list of starting classes and job advancements. Like many other games, players start their adventure in the world of Wind Slayer as a classless ‘novice’ and have to select their first class only after the first few levels of the game. In Wind Slayer players can advance to one of six starting classes at level 10 by visiting the Ozi Temple. The fact that Wind Slayer has six starting classes is pretty impressive considering a lot of newer games only have three or four. One of my only complaints with the game now is that the controls can feel clumsy at times and combat isn’t as fluid as it should be.
The single most attractive aspect of Wind Slayer is the game’s PvP components. It is also what distinguishes Wind Slayer from other side scrolling MMORPGs. The game’s PvP at its current state is limited to small arenas that can support up to 16 players at once. Currently, the only PvP mode released is team deathmatch, but several other modes like ‘free-for-all’ and ‘capture the flag’ are under development. Not only does Wind Slayer have a PvP system, it has a darn good one. Unlike other games where higher level players always dominate PvP, Wind Slayer has a PvP mode called ‘normalized’ which makes every player in the arena the same level to ensure fairness. The game also has the standard arena mode where everyone plays their own character ‘as is’ without any adjustments for fairness, but the fact that the game has multiple PvP modes is quite impressive.
Another interesting facet of Wind Slayer’s PvP is that the game actually rewards players for participating because the game has a special currency called ‘Victy’ which can only be earned through success in PvP. Victy can be exchanged for special items ranging from bonus experience to special clothes. Perhaps the most interesting item that requires ‘Victy’ are ‘job advancement’ scrolls which are needed for job advancements, which means players either have to participate in the game’s PvP to advance to the next class or they have to purchase the scrolls from a player that earned it through PvP.
Big improvements
I first played Wind Slayer when the game entered closed Beta back before the game was being published by Outspark. The game back then was absolutely nothing compared to what it is today because of the countless bug fixes and overall improvements. Simply moving around or attacking felt clumsy and slow. The game still has its drawbacks and faults but the fact is that the game has been improved significantly since its first beta. I urge players that were ‘turned off’ by the game’s glitchy behavior back before Outspark was published the game to give the game another chance. The game’s combat system still feels a bit glitch and movement at times can still become laggy, but the fact is that the game has fixed most if its previous bugs and with a reliable publisher like Outspark, the game will continue to be updated.
Final Thoughts
Wind Slayer’s game world is actually incredibly large, so try not to get lost, especially early on. When I first started playing I wandered away from the newbie zone to try and find more difficult monsters, but I quickly found myself lost and in an area with enemies that I had no chance to killing. I’m not sure why the game developers placed such powerful monsters within a few ‘zones’ away from the newbie area, but the game’s monster placement certainly could use some work. Another small complaint with the game’s world is that although it’s large, it’s nowhere near as large as Maplestory’s, but I’m confident Outspark will continue to release updates that will expand the game. To top off the game’s impressive list of features is its solid user interface, which I consider one of the more important aspects of a game, because a poorly designed ugly interface can easily ruin an otherwise great game. Think about it, the thing players look at most and interact with most is the game’s interface!
Final Verdict – Good
If you’re a fan of side scrolling MMORPGs, Wind Slayer is certainly worth the download. It has a solid PvP system and a large selection of playable classes and job advancements. The only real drawback to the game right now is that combat is a bit glitchy and the game doesn’t have nearly as many features as other side scrolling MMORPGs.
