Game review: Uncharted waters online

UNCHARTED WATERS ONLINE GAME REVIEW



Introduction:
Uncharted Waters Online has been a vintage game for a long long time started in Super Nintendo then into a MMO. UWO (For short) is not your actual typical hack and slash MMO but rather a different and unique experience when it comes to gameplay. You set out in a world back in 15th century era where exploration, discoveries, and wealth what motivates the people in those age.

Graphics:
The graphics are a bit out dated since the game is already been released locally in Taiwan, korea, japan, etc. but only now it has been released in English and it is available to every player globally. But IMMO the real beauty of its graphics lies on the varieties of places to go. From the great palace of England to the mysterious stone heads of eastern island (Chile). These historic places that only lets you experience in books or images in the internet can now be visited in the virtual world of UWO. Towns are also different depending on the architectural culture of its time.

The variety of outfits, weapons, and ships are all based on the fashion of the 15th century era from western to eastern making it more realistic. Character creation is somewhat limited but you can still have your own unique avatar.

The most appreciated of all is the open sea and the sky because of its vastness and it really makes you wonder how big is the world is.

Sounds:
IMMHO the BG sound is a sleeping pill for me but not annoying, as you travel alone in the open sea and hearing this calm music in your ears made my eyes drowsy.

Storyline:
Each country has its own lead character and story to show. You will be doing quest for them and you will be a part of it. Short cut scenes, large character face images, and the conversation reminds of RPGames in consoles. There are other quests as well (I mentioned this in my earlier blog entries) that involves renowned historic figures such as Da Vinci, Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, and others. Following the main story will let you unlock some of the areas that are important in the game.

Newbie System: (Any system that involves new players)
The helper in town and the Maritime Academy is huge help for me to understand the game better. But the downside is that it is too long to finish each level of academy however it still worth it.

Battle:
There is a land battle where your character set out on foot in the land and encounters enemy during his/her travel. I have little experience in Land Battle but skill animations are good and strategy plays a big part like in the ship battles. Ship Battles are somewhat normal and it is not exaggerated like other MMOs. The animations are simple and fit perfectly to the game overall outlook. For a change, your fingers will not be stressed and all tangled up by just clicking or pressing different skills, items, etc… Relatively easy but winning battles can sometimes be hard retreating a battle is a smart move and not a cowardly act in this game.

Grinding:
The grinding part of this game is gaining fame points (Fame points are like experience to level your job **** and the travelling. During the CBT that I recently experienced, lots of players (maybe veterans) have advanced quickly in only a span of 2 weeks. So I think player's progression is easy as long as you understand how the game works. Another grinding part for me is reading all the information and understanding how it ticks (LOL).

Game Play:
Basic movements like walking in town is easy because of their auto move by just clicking a location in the mini map but this is only available when you are in a town not in the sea. Sailing is easy but navigating and gaining access to different ports is hard. Navigating is hard because obviously your world map IS THE WHOLE WORLD! That is only the half of it, you still have the land to explore to!

Again, reading the quest is a must or you will get lost there are no "addons" like quest helper in WoW in this game. I even downloaded google earth just to know where to go to haha. There are also conditions that your outfit should be good to talk to a noble npc just to get a quest.

Crafting and profession is vast and there are tons of items, equipments, materials, parts, etc to acquire from (including work of arts). But thankfully there is the bank to store this and your own home. Speaking of bank, storage system is different. Storing money and leave it for a long time will gain interest and will be added to your total amount.

Another favorite part is having your own space in the game, either a dorm room, farm, to an island.In short there are many things to do in the game.

Pros:
Lots of things to do in the game.
Recommended for those players that wants a change of pace besides action games.
Educational.
Graphics are simply and unique on its own.
Newbie System.

Cons:
BGM is so relaxing that you can go to sleep.
Due to the games vastness, players can get lost.
Lots of reading may tend new players to quit the game early.
Finding certain area in the sea is hard.
Finding items needed for your profession or crafting is quite difficult.

official site:
http://global.netmarble.com/uwo/