Seriously, Chinese counterfeits surprise you?

I have just read an article from the newspaper The Korea Times. In it, the writer is actually surprised that the Chinese are copying MMORPGs coming out of Korea. This begs the question, "Have you had your head in the sand for the last 10 years or what?" Chinese consumer goods have become synonymous counterfeit products or knockoffs.

I'm still amazed that people expect anything else from the Chinese markets. But I do think the writer has a bit more to learn about the subject of his own article. Gamers are much more fickle than he assumes and unless the Chinese knockoffs surpass their Korean counterparts in quality(in which case are they still knockoffs?) the gamers will still be handing their money to the Korean companies.

Here is the article followed by a link to the original;

First it was mobile phones and automobiles ― now, China's insatiable appetite to copycat is poised to devour Korea's original online games.

Korean game makers fear that Chinese copycats will drive them out of the market, taking advantage of the country's sheer market size and Beijing's lenient attitude to piracy.

Webzen, a mid-sized Korean online game publisher, has been garnering a significant Chinese following for its role-playing game, "Mu," which it has been providing through its local partner, The9.

However, Webzen was recently surprised to hear that The9 is about to reveal a new game called "Mu X," which it claims to be Mu's sequel. Of course, Webzen can't afford to go ballistic against its Chinese partner, which is the local operator not only for Mu, but also for another Webzen hit, "Sun Online."

Blizzard Entertainment, the creator of the planet's most popular role-playing series, "World of Warcraft," has also been frustrated by The9's efforts to market a clone called "World of Fight." The9 has been the Chinese operator of World of Warcraft, but Blizzard recently cut its ties with the company and awarded its local rival, NetEase, the rights to operate the game and also other hit products, including the yet-to-be-released "StarCraft II."

"We haven't seen the game yet, so it is too early to tell whether Mu X is a copy or not," said an executive from Webzen. The9, which has reportedly spent two years developing Mu X, is expected to reveal the game at the upcoming China Joy 2009 computer games fair.

Webzen recently sent an official letter to The9 demanding the Chinese company settle intellectual property and trademark rights before marketing Mu X.

"It is frustrating that The9 has been promoting Mu X as if it is linked with the original Mu. It is not, and we have not received any information about Mu X during its development by The9," the official said.

The success of Mu put Webzen on the industry map, accounting for around 50 billion won (about $40 million) of the company's overall revenue on average over the past few years. The game has also provided The9 with a platform for growth in China, but the release of Mu X will undoubtedly sour the relationship with its Korean partner.

Online game publishers aren't the only Korean firms becoming increasingly concerned about what they call Chinese knock-off products.

Last week, police investigators in Seoul arrested a 32-year-old man and detained 11 others on charges of smuggling thousands of knock-off mobile phones from China, that were copies of popular models from Samsung and Apple, and which had earned them more than 20 million won.

The estimated damaged in trademark rights totaled about 750 million won, according to police.

Chinese Copycats Threatens Korean Game Makers

Wind Slayer Review

Wind Slayer is a 2D side scrolling MMORPG(Massive Multi Online Roleplaying Game). The game is owned by publisher, Outspark, and is free to play. Revenue generated comes from the premium items which can only be obtained by purchasing them with real world money. The system requirements are generously low so even with a 7 year old computer, it should run fine.

The graphics in general are cartoonish, heavily resembling other games of this genre like Maple Story and Wonder King, though I would place Wind Slayer's graphics somewhere between the two. The graphics though do look a bit raw and unrefined. They cannot compete with some of the newer 2D side scrollers. The animations for attacks and other actions are very basic and consist of very few frames. Something I did find amusing were the word balloons that appeared from the monster every time I hit it.

The backgrounds though were fantastic. Towns were given very different artistic styles which helped me differentiate them much more easily. Quite often I find that towns are well drawn in RPGs but they don't vary much in design. In Wind Slayer, one town was given a Japanese cherry blossom theme and was very horizontal, while the next town over was a mining town that had an orange glow that had given the impression the time of day was dusk and was a vertical town, using many platforms and levels to travel upward.

There isn't much to say about the sound effects. It became repetitive after a few hours of hacking at monsters. The music was very appropriate for the game, but I would have liked it more if there were different songs for each area; the same song was played no matter where I went. After the second day, I found that I preferred to have all the sound effects and music turned off.

The majority of the game play consists of finding monsters, killing them, completing quests, and obtaining loot from the defeated monsters. Like most RPG's you eventually choose a class, after reaching level 10 and finishing an initiation quest. After reaching level 30 you can choose one of two sub-classes.
The first set of classes at level 10 are;
Warriors: Warriors are combat specialists that wear the strongest armor and wield swords and shields. Their sub classes are Beserkers and Paladins
Archers: Archers attack their enemies from afar with quick and deadly strikes. They can become Snipers or Beastmasters.
Mage: Mages wield powerful magic to strike down their foes. They can become Elementalists or Summoners.
Priest: Priests call upon holy powers to heal friends and smite foes. They become Bishops or Dark Priests.
Monk: Monks channel the energy of their bodies and minds to become masters of the martial arts. They can become Shaolin or Counters.
Rogue: Rogues spring from the shadows to deal deadly critical strikes. They can become Assassins or Trappers.(the class that I chose)

Choosing a class and delving further into the combat system with class specific attacks reduced the monotony of the game. The classes are different but melee between all the characters remained awfully similar. As a novice, I was jumping around trying to attack monsters, hoping that they would land in my hit box. Combat was pretty much tapping the same few buttons over and over with some maneuvering. If you've ever played a platformer before then you should familiar with this type of combat. The fact that the character is made stationary every time he attacks further adds to the tedium, as does the fact that many skills cannot be used in mid-air.

The PVP system, which is a heavily promoted aspect of the game was not fun at all during the novice stage, which was level 1 to 11 for me. It wasn't any different from attacking monsters except that the targets were much harder to hit and at times, became an exercise in futility. Using simple maneuvering, dashing, and double jumps, I was able to avoid 8 players who were all chasing me, as I was the last man on the field. There are also some design flaws in the arena map as it is possible for a group of players to stand in the corner and repeatedly tap the attack button, effectively stopping anyone from approaching them unharmed. Post-class advancement, PVP became much more interesting. My screen filled up with special effects each time the teams met each other in the arena field. Although this made PVP much more interesting, it still boiled down to the same repetitive tedious combat system that drags this visually stunning game down.

The controls were simple and easy to learn. The arrow keys controlled movement, and there was a hotbar for skills and items. They took a few hours to get used to, but once I did, my character felt like an extension of myself. Like the rest of the game, the controls seemed designed to keep things simple and easy to learn.

This is my first review I will have written for this blog. I was hoping I had chosen a game that would exceed my expectations to start this blog off well but unfortunately that was not the case. I don't see myself playing this game for another week. The game is far too repetitive and lacks any excitement or variance. Monsters were extremely predictable in their attacks, and at times their pathing became bugged and they would run away or in random directions. I wouldn't recommend this game. If you want to play a 2D side scroller, there are plenty of other ones out there.

Wind Slayer - Day 4

Not much has changed in the last few levels. I've stand in the same area grinding because most of the other area nearby are all far beyond my capabilities. There's not much to say. I've finally hit level 15.

I went back into town then joined an arena match to see how pvp was outside of the novice class. Arenas are split into two categories for novices and for people who advanced onto a new class. The former is a basic training camp for new players. The latter is the core of the pvp in Wind Slayer. I will say that it was quite amazing when I first saw characters getting frozen in glaciers, huge pets that are larger the the players, and warriors clad in metal armor. There wasn't much teamwork to speak of. I had envisioned the arenas as team oriented, where warriors were engaging each other in melee, archers were shooting from the back row, and healers were maintaining the hp of their team. Sadly, this wasn't so.

It was fun for a few rounds, but it eventually boiled down to the same combat that frustrated me earlier in the novice arenas, dashing around, hoping that the enemy player will accidentally walk into my dagger as I am stabbing.

I've decided to end my journey early. I did not make many friends that I will miss as most players weren't social and just ran around killing monsters hours on end. It is late right now and I have work tomorrow, so the review for this game will come later.

Guitar Hero 5

The latest in the Guitar Hero installment has been anounced, Guitar Hero 5. Some of the new features mentioned are the new modes; Party Fest, which includes ability to jump in and out of songs and change difficulty while still playing, and Rock Fest which allows up to 8 players to play together online. Other features include choosing any combination of instrument no matter what the other band members are playing, a massive play list, and individual Star Power reserves. Star Power will no longer be shared by the entire band.


And guess what? Fuckin' Carlos Santana himself, the rock legend, will be making an appearing in it.
I am not sure if Guitar Hero 5 can compete with Rock Band's new online playlist which will allow for musicians to create and upload their music, at the cost of $500 for the dev kit, but I will be eagerly awaiting any anouncements of more features for the two games.

Here is a tracklist that was compiled by the guys over at Joystiq;

• 3 Doors Down - "Kryptonite"
  
• A Perfect Circle - "Judith"
  
• AFI - "Medicate"
  
• Arctic Monkeys - "Brianstorm"
  
• Attack! Attack! UK - "You and Me"
  
• Band Of Horses - "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands"
  
• Beastie Boys - "Gratitude"
  
• Beck - "Gamma Ray"
  
• Billy Idol - "Dancing with Myself"
  
• Billy Squier - "Lonely is the Night"
  
• Blink-182 - "The Rock Show"
  
• Blur - "Song 2"
  
• Bob Dylan - "All Along the Watchtower"
  
• Bon Jovi - "You Give Love A Bad Name"
  
• Brand New - "Sowing Season"
  
• Bush - "Comedown"
  
• Children Of Bodom - "Done With Everything, Die For Nothing"
  
• Coldplay - "In My Place"
  
• Darker My Love - "Blue Day"
  
• Darkest Hour - "Demon(s)"
  
• David Bowie - "Fame"
  
• Deep Purple - "Woman From Tokyo ('99 Remix)"
  
• Dire Straits - "Sultans of Swing"
  
• Duran Duran - "Hungry Like The Wolf"
  
• Eagles Of Death Metal - "Wannabe in L.A."
• Elliott Smith - "L.A."
  
• Elton John - "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"
  
• Face To Face - "Disconnected"
  
• Garbage - "Only Happy When It Rains"
• Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc."
  
• Gov't Mule - "Streamline Woman"
  
• Grand Funk Railroad - "We're an American Band"
  
• Iggy Pop - "Lust For Life"
  
• Iron Maiden - "2 Minutes to Midnight"
  
• Jeff Beck - "Scatterbrain"
  
• Jimmy Eat World - "Bleed American"
  
• John Mellencamp - "Hurts So Good"
  
• Johnny Cash - "Ring of Fire"
  
• Kaiser Chiefs - "Never Miss a Beat"
  
• King Crimson - "21st Century Schizoid Man"
• Kings Of Leon - "Sex on Fire"
  
• Kiss - "Shout it Out Loud"
  
• Love and Rockets - "Mirror People"
  
• Megadeth - "Sweating Bullets"
  
• Mötley Crüe - "Looks That Kill"
  
• Muse - "Plug in Baby"
  
• My Morning Jacket - "One Big Holiday"
• Nirvana - "Lithium"
• Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
• No Doubt - "Ex-Girlfriend"
  
• Peter Frampton - "Do You Feel Like We Do (Live)"
  
• Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde - "Bring the Noise 20xx"
  
• Queen & David Bowie - "Under Pressure"
  
• Queens Of The Stone Age - "Make it With Chu"
  
• Rammstein - "Du Hast"
  
• Rose Hill Drive - "Sneak Out"
  
• Rush - "The Spirit of Radio (Live, 2008)"
  
• Santana - "No One To Depend On (Live)"
  
• Scars On Broadway - "They Say"
  
• Screaming Trees - "Nearly Lost You"
  
• Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"
  
• Sonic Youth - "Incinerate"
• Spacehog - "In the Meantime"
  
• Stevie Wonder - "Superstition"
  
• Sublime - "What I Got"
  
• Sunny Day Real Estate - "Seven"
• T. Rex - "20th Century Boy"
  
• The Bronx - "Six Days a Week"
  
• The Derek Trucks Band - "Younk Funk"
  
• The Duke Spirit - "Send a Little Love Token"
  
• The Killers - "All the Pretty Faces"
  
• The Police - "So Lonely"
• The Raconteurs - "Steady As She Goes"
  
• The Rolling Stones - "Sympathy for the Devil"
  
• The Sword - "Maiden, Mother & Crone"
  
• The White Stripes - "Blue Orchid"
  
• Thin Lizzy - "Jailbreak"
  
• Thrice - "Deadbolt"
  
• Tom Petty - "Runnin' Down a Dream"
  
• Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "American Girl"
  
• TV On The Radio - "Wolf Like Me"
  
• Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk"
  
• Weezer - "Why Bother?"
  
• Wild Cherry - "Play That Funky Music"
  
• Wolfmother - "Back Round"

And here are a list of characters that will appear in the game:

• Matt Bellamy (Muse)
• Johnny Cash
• Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
• Shirley Manson (Garbage)
• Carlos Santana

Gamespy Exclusive Preview of Left 4 Dead 2

This is a preview of the Swamp Fever campaign.

The premise for the Swamp campaign is that the survivors head into a bayou in order to find refuge within a community which has refused aid from the military and outside sources. When you first arrive it seems hopeful, like perhaps their isolationist attitude could have held out against the outbreak. However, after a short distance you realize that you're in the f**king swamp -- aka no walls -- and that these people were really just sitting around waiting to get surrounded.
- Anthony Gallegos

The game play looks great so far. But I am split on my feelings about this game. I'm one of those who feel that they released this game far too early. I do feel it's unfair to buyers of the first Left 4 Dead, but it may be hard to resist the temptation to buy this sequel after seeing this amazing preview. The music and sound effects are dead on, giving me chills as I watch them travel through the swamp.

Wiiware - My Life as a Darklord

I highly suggest everyone out there with a Wii buy this for 1,000 points, when it is released today. I played Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as King, the earlier installment in this series, and it was wonderful. My Life as King puts a twist on the traditional genre by making you the king of a castle, and in charge of assigning quests to adventurers and managing the town.

This game isn't going to be another simulation style RPG, but rather a tower defense style game. Although they may not be the same, the tower defense genre has an incredibly addictive gameplay, and combined with a Final Fantasy themed environment; this game is worth the 1,000.