Tera

Most of the genre conventions are found here, some with improvements. This makes the game easy to jump straight into as you'll pick up the nuances and new features along the way.

Thanks to the use of Unreal Engine Tera comes off looking both fresh and beautiful at first glance. As a new player you're given the basic introduction through the tutorial, and as you reach level 20 you will have fought your way through hordes of enemies and find yourself fighting side by side with other players against a massive boss. Unfortunately the fate of the hero is unclear, and this is when the real adventure begins. Arriving fresh at the front lines you're going to have decide whether you want to be a tank, healer, or potent mage, and so on.

The quest system in Tera is similar to that of many other MMOs. But it has been designed to allow the player to experience the story in a better way. There are two basic types of quests; red quests that advance the story and optional yellow quests. However, these side quests do give you much needed experience and equipment for later chapters. At the start of the game some of these quests are repeatable so you can make sure you're experienced enough to survive the early chapters.

Side quests provide us with the standard objectives of collecting a set number of things, or killing off a certain amount of enemies. However, there are small little improvements here that make it more enjoyable. Having issues finding a certain questmob? Simply click the hyperlink in your quest description and it will be shown on your mini-map. At the end of an area you often have to locate a particular enemy to progress the story. Once again these mobs will appear as red dots on the mini-map.

In addition to the standard quests found in World of Warcraft, there are ones that you need to complete in a certain amount of time or ones where you have to survive a certain number of enemy waves. Travelling in Tera is also well facilitated. At first (level 5) we we can teleport ourselves from place to place, later on (level 11) you can start using mounts. On top of that there's a flight system that is available once you've reached the capital.

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Tera is an action focused MMO that plays a bit differently than what we're used to. You simply choose an enemy (or group member if you're a healer), take aim and use your abilities. It's perhaps best compared to a shooter. It takes a bit of getting used to, and it's a lot more action-heavy than other MMORPGs on the market. You can set which abilities you have on your mouse buttons, and there is also a combo system in play that allows you to string together attacks. All in all, the combat of Tera is both very well crafted and entertaining.

Tera naturally also has a crafting system, and in Tera it makes perfect sense to harvest everything you come across. First of all, items break and you need materials. Secondly, what you harvest can give you incredible buffs and enhancements. It's going to be interesting to see how the buff system plays out in major dungeons, and how it'll be coordinated to maximise effects.

There is a system for matchmaking in play if you don't enough friends for a certain instance. Instances is something that takes some getting used to in Tera for veteran MMO players. This is mainly due to the targeting system and the way collision is handled. You cannot pass through other characters or bosses to attack them from behind. And it's not as easy to run away from an opponent while you still have to maintain your aiming. This also puts a lot of pressure on the healer as one missed spell can spell (pun intended) the end for that character.

After some time you'll get used to the action heavy system, but only experienced players should attempt the roles of healers and tanks, as the action quickly turns into chaos and players run off in various directions making both roles more difficult.

Whichever way you choose to look at it, Tera is a strong addition to the genre. For a long time it might not have looked the part, and the beta events weren't all that convincing, but now that Tera is finished and released on the European market it is clear that this game holds a lot of potential, thanks largely to its great visuals and action-heavy gameplay, while remaining true to the classic MMO fundamentals.