Homeland?
- Trådstarter Ghaz
- Startdato
Er vel egentlig helt sikkert at det ikke kommer til europa. Isåfall skal jeg printe ut dette emnet og spise det til middag. Men uansett, jeg tviler på at dette spillet har en levetid på lengere enn en måned. Japansk minimalisme kan bli litt overveldende i visse tilfeller. Dette er kasnkje et godt eksempel på en barnevennlig versjon av nådagens MMORPG som WoW, SWG, LA2, EQ2 osv. I og med at dette spillet er meget simpelt oppbygget og ikke er like teknisk som MMORPGene. Men dette er da bare min mening, og det gjennstår å se hva mer spillet har å by på. Jeg har jo ikke testet det heller. ^_^
Dette har Edge Magazine May 2005 hadd å si om Homeland:
Making it on to the exclusive team allowed to beta test an online title is frequently a thrill, and nothing could be more exclusive than a networked RPG designed for Gamecube. Homeland knows quite a bit about exclusivity, only recently resurrected from development hell with a constrictive caveat: the title would only be sold via developer Chunsoft's website. Those that purchased early would also get into a yet more exclusive club - the beta test.
Both the online and offline adventures are included in the trial disc, and the Homeland hallmark of exclusive invitations doesn't end when you open the box. The opening movie sees your youthful character awake from an afternoon nap to discover a guardian angel opening a welcoming portal to another world that only they can enter.
From here, the start is a little underwhelming. Initial reactions are that Homeland is fairly generic adventure material. Taking the role of 'Quester', you're invited to move from a hubworld to other lands in order to question villagers, solve quests and fight monsters. Progression unlocks different Quester guises which you can adopt and level-up. The turn-based combat is relatively simple, with single commands for attack, while the in-game menus appear as an easily selectable circle of commands around your avatar.
Homeland begins to bust out of its stereotypical trappings once the action widens in scope. Character you build up can be summoned into the game world (providing your of the relevant proficiency to do so) and you can then chain up these characters and NPCs together by holding hands to combine power and tackle bigger situations. The more people linked, the more powerful the group becomes. One example uses the group to muster enough breath to blow a blocking object out of the way, the combined airflow being more effective than one single puff. Taking the hands of a weaker or wounded ally also help protect him, and locking palms with certain characters helps gain their special properties; taking the hand of a fire character allows the hero to walk across magma, for instance.
Your Quster's progress revolves around a traditional level-up/experience chain, but one that is well-scaled - you feel steadily powerful after an hours exploration, engaging in combat and judicial uses of energy-topping spells and potions. In fact, the sense of power is ramped so well that enemies that was once best avoided soon feel the same way about you, scampering away in fear. Consequently, killing weaker enemies feels all the more opportunistic and underhand; cornering a defenceless foe becomes a guilty pleasure, especially when the reward is a single-digit experience point and the animation makes them so sympathetic.
Speaking of which: it was the games aesthetics that caught much attention back when it was just announced just over a year ago, and they remain enchanting onscreen. Action is framed similarly to other Gamecube titles Animal Crossing and Giftpia and, whether intentionally or not, the stylised graphics share a similarity to Wind Waker's smooth cel-shading and Tove Jansons Moomin illustrations. Visuals are streamlined and simple but deliberately so, a concession to ensure the game works efficiently online.
Which is, of course, where much of the game is designed to come together. Our online tests proved a little mixed, though. Connection and configuration issues are typical teething problems for any MMO or online console game, although the bare-bones nature of Gamecube's networking function seems to amplify this. As such, we've been unable to test 'Play God' mode, which lets you set up your own server for an adventure from your own GC. Joining other servers in the 'Play Adventure' mode worked smoothly and quickly, although rather annoyingly you may appear to other side of the world, meaning you'll have to wait or catch up with other players.
This kind of illogical logic damages the combat/handholding mechanic when online. As a team, the player leading the chain does all the work; you're just along for the ride. And while it can certainly be compelling to watch this take place live onscreen and reap experience points benefits at little cost, it isn't very involving. Whoever leads will get bonus points for actually doing the hard work, but this means some will master Homeland quickly while others are left languishing. That online game customarily leaves newcomers feeling inadequat is one thing, that this particular one seems to encourage it is quite another. Homeland may raise its game when played socially with people you know, but for now it's more excluding then exclusive.
Such imbalance is something that could be ironed out once the testing phase is over, and perhaps it would be better implemented if players were only allowed to lead the gang for a set period of time. (Although at this stage it's improbable that Homeland's development schedule has leeway for such modifications - the first copies of the game will be rolling out of the pressing plant by the time you read this.)
What's more worrying is the question of Homeland's relevance. Whereas it's possible to lose a weekend in World of Warcraft purely wandering, Homeland is a traditional RPG given a bit of spice thanks to its online functions. From what we've seen, it's strictly tied to the thrill of completing some rather similar-feeling quests - not quite fulfilling Chunsoft's intentions to make something unique and innovative for the Cube. While a playtest of the full version in future months may prove this wrong, for now it seems that, with a western release almost entirely off the cards, the exclusivity to be had from playing one of the few online games for an under-supported machine may be its only real distinguishing feature.
Det er mulig jeg blir å bestille dette, spesielt med tanke på at SEGA har overtatt rettighetene til å utgi spillet.
Making it on to the exclusive team allowed to beta test an online title is frequently a thrill, and nothing could be more exclusive than a networked RPG designed for Gamecube. Homeland knows quite a bit about exclusivity, only recently resurrected from development hell with a constrictive caveat: the title would only be sold via developer Chunsoft's website. Those that purchased early would also get into a yet more exclusive club - the beta test.
Both the online and offline adventures are included in the trial disc, and the Homeland hallmark of exclusive invitations doesn't end when you open the box. The opening movie sees your youthful character awake from an afternoon nap to discover a guardian angel opening a welcoming portal to another world that only they can enter.
From here, the start is a little underwhelming. Initial reactions are that Homeland is fairly generic adventure material. Taking the role of 'Quester', you're invited to move from a hubworld to other lands in order to question villagers, solve quests and fight monsters. Progression unlocks different Quester guises which you can adopt and level-up. The turn-based combat is relatively simple, with single commands for attack, while the in-game menus appear as an easily selectable circle of commands around your avatar.
Homeland begins to bust out of its stereotypical trappings once the action widens in scope. Character you build up can be summoned into the game world (providing your of the relevant proficiency to do so) and you can then chain up these characters and NPCs together by holding hands to combine power and tackle bigger situations. The more people linked, the more powerful the group becomes. One example uses the group to muster enough breath to blow a blocking object out of the way, the combined airflow being more effective than one single puff. Taking the hands of a weaker or wounded ally also help protect him, and locking palms with certain characters helps gain their special properties; taking the hand of a fire character allows the hero to walk across magma, for instance.
Your Quster's progress revolves around a traditional level-up/experience chain, but one that is well-scaled - you feel steadily powerful after an hours exploration, engaging in combat and judicial uses of energy-topping spells and potions. In fact, the sense of power is ramped so well that enemies that was once best avoided soon feel the same way about you, scampering away in fear. Consequently, killing weaker enemies feels all the more opportunistic and underhand; cornering a defenceless foe becomes a guilty pleasure, especially when the reward is a single-digit experience point and the animation makes them so sympathetic.
Speaking of which: it was the games aesthetics that caught much attention back when it was just announced just over a year ago, and they remain enchanting onscreen. Action is framed similarly to other Gamecube titles Animal Crossing and Giftpia and, whether intentionally or not, the stylised graphics share a similarity to Wind Waker's smooth cel-shading and Tove Jansons Moomin illustrations. Visuals are streamlined and simple but deliberately so, a concession to ensure the game works efficiently online.
Which is, of course, where much of the game is designed to come together. Our online tests proved a little mixed, though. Connection and configuration issues are typical teething problems for any MMO or online console game, although the bare-bones nature of Gamecube's networking function seems to amplify this. As such, we've been unable to test 'Play God' mode, which lets you set up your own server for an adventure from your own GC. Joining other servers in the 'Play Adventure' mode worked smoothly and quickly, although rather annoyingly you may appear to other side of the world, meaning you'll have to wait or catch up with other players.
This kind of illogical logic damages the combat/handholding mechanic when online. As a team, the player leading the chain does all the work; you're just along for the ride. And while it can certainly be compelling to watch this take place live onscreen and reap experience points benefits at little cost, it isn't very involving. Whoever leads will get bonus points for actually doing the hard work, but this means some will master Homeland quickly while others are left languishing. That online game customarily leaves newcomers feeling inadequat is one thing, that this particular one seems to encourage it is quite another. Homeland may raise its game when played socially with people you know, but for now it's more excluding then exclusive.
Such imbalance is something that could be ironed out once the testing phase is over, and perhaps it would be better implemented if players were only allowed to lead the gang for a set period of time. (Although at this stage it's improbable that Homeland's development schedule has leeway for such modifications - the first copies of the game will be rolling out of the pressing plant by the time you read this.)
What's more worrying is the question of Homeland's relevance. Whereas it's possible to lose a weekend in World of Warcraft purely wandering, Homeland is a traditional RPG given a bit of spice thanks to its online functions. From what we've seen, it's strictly tied to the thrill of completing some rather similar-feeling quests - not quite fulfilling Chunsoft's intentions to make something unique and innovative for the Cube. While a playtest of the full version in future months may prove this wrong, for now it seems that, with a western release almost entirely off the cards, the exclusivity to be had from playing one of the few online games for an under-supported machine may be its only real distinguishing feature.
Det er mulig jeg blir å bestille dette, spesielt med tanke på at SEGA har overtatt rettighetene til å utgi spillet.
Skulle gjerne ha prøvd Homeland hvis det slapp ut utenfor japan. Men synes det er litt mye å investere i Bredbandadapter og spillet pluss evt. lisens kostnader når Revolution er rett rundt hjørnet og jeg ikke har verdens største inntekt. Hvis jeg skulle betalt for noe online spill på cuben ville det nok blitt PSO, det ser så søtt ut
Her er foresten et bilde fra dette rare rollespill-fenomenet for de som ikke har sett noe fra det enda.
Her er foresten et bilde fra dette rare rollespill-fenomenet for de som ikke har sett noe fra det enda.