Gamertell Review: Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria for PC
by at March 6, 2009 4:30 pm
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If you’re a frequent Gamertell reader, you may be thinking, “Wait, Mabinogi was already reviewed!” That’s true. However, that was before the massive Pioneers of Iria expansion that Nexon unleashed on February 26, 2009.
Previously in Mabinogi, the game would be updated in bursts called Generations. Each Generation would tend to have a storyline and new features, which would gradually be rolled out in Seasons. So it wasn’t uncommon to hear players referring to the game in terms of Generation 2 Season 2, or G3S1. Got a bit complicated, and confusing for newcomers.
Nexon decided to shake things up, and instead of continuing that pattern and picking up with Generation 4, launched Generations 4, 5 and 6 all at once in the massive Pioneers of Iria expansion. That wasn’t enough for the company though – it also decided to make a substantial amount of previously premium content free.
Explore the new world of Iria.
Technically, there’s no new main storyline quest for Pioneers of Iria. Instead, the focus seems to be more on exploration of the new continent, skill building and the elf-giant interactions. This is good though, because it means that newcomers or returning free players can now catch up on the previously premium storyline quests from Generations 1 – 3.
Besides, part of the joy of Mabinogi has always been the freedom the game allows you. Players are able to level up characters in many different ways, like cooking, sewing or the more traditional monster hunting. So having too structured a storyline could limit creativity. Pioneers of Iria builds on the already established freedom Mabinogi players enjoy, adding more unique experiences and quests for players.
Make sure you have a fast internet connection, or you may just fail.
The Pioneers of Iria expansion really expands the Mabinogi playing experience. Plus, it makes it a more viable free game to turn to in a time when people are going to be cutting back on physical purchases. The latest expansion gives players the opportunity to play as the new races, learn the new skills and explore the new continent of Iria for rewards, but also gives players who never paid for services before the opportunity to finally go through the storyline quests, take advantage of free Nao Support Service and Extra Storage Service if the cumulative characters’ levels are under 30 and the chance to rebirth characters for free.
The only downside of Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria I’ve encountered is an occasional slowdown on the continent of Iria. That isn’t because of the game itself. It’s because of the players. People are incredibly excited about the latest expansion, and everyone wants to visit Iria, take part in new quests and experience new aspects of the games. This means you may move slower, have trouble completing certain quests quickly or even have a difficult time finding certain NPCs.
This isn’t really all Nexon’s fault and, in its defense, the company has launched a fourth server called Alexina to compensate for the additional traffic. I just wish that Alexina had been created at, say, the beginning of February instead of mere days before Pioneers of Iria launched. That way, people could have established themselves there sooner and the pressure caused by traffic would have been eased.
Pioneers of Iria makes Mabinogi feel like a brand new game.
With the economy being what it is right now, free-to-play games are starting to look really good. It’s obvious that Nexon knows this – the company focuses on free-to-play games. Its latest move with the Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria expansion shows that it wants to make the game more appealing to both veterans and newcomers.
Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria is a unique MMO that encourages not only standard dungeon crawling and monster slaying, but also more peaceful pursuits like farming, fishing, tailoring and exploring. Now that the game has even more areas to explore, races to play as, quests to undertake, stories to uncover and free services to take advantage of, it becomes a good option for Everquest, Final Fantasy XI or WOW players who no longer want to pay to play a game.
Read [Gamertell] Site [Erinn Walker] Site [Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria]
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