Not advertising or anything but...helps pass the time...

[Zipzo]

So we're all wet in the mouth waiting for TERA Online, PSO2, or whatever other Action-ey goodness that is supposed to come out in 2012 (Well, that's assuming PSO2 gets a US release announcement)...I have a very good time waster for any of you who are like me, and need fillers for while we wait.

I've been playing Vindictus. It's amazingly fun, action oriented combat (which is why we all play Phantasy Star MMO's right?), and the bosses are just down right massive and intimidating. You take them on with 8+ people and there's even a new boss dragon coming out that demands 24 people!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYQ90QMYrYI

There are other videos of people on the test servers attempting that boss on the KR version...but aside from that there are many bosses like that already within NA Vindictus. We're only 1 update behind KR version.

If that video don't give you the heeby jeebus I don't know what will. Plus...it's a free game. I know, I know, f2p uses shops for everything, but take it from me as I've been playing for a while, it's not a pay2win game. The store is not required in the slightest, it's all cosmetic stuff (and extra storage space which you don't really even need, you get plenty in game as you level). Here's another video of the next episode (10, NA Vindictus is currently on Episode 9).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1e6U-e-Wcs&feature=player_embedded#!

Anyway I know this comes off as announcement-ish, but I found a really nice haven in this game until PSO2 comes our way, figured I'd help you guys out and give you something to do as well instead of trolling forums.

Later!

[Angelo]

Customization is a huge deal for me.

I dropped out of Tera because there is not going to be any body scaling.

Vindictus takes it a step further by gender locking classes... no thanks.

I've just been passing the time with console games and work.

[Zipzo]

Customization is a huge deal for me.

I dropped out of Tera because there is not going to be any body scaling.

Vindictus takes it a step further by gender locking classes... no thanks.

I've just been passing the time with console games and work.Yeah I can see how the gender lock might be a turn off, for sure. I am like you in that I enjoy customization.

Once you get by it, this game is really easy to enjoy for people like me who have been PSO/PSU fans forever-if you try it. It's not like it will cost you ;)

The customization of how you look, as in the huge variety of armor sets in the game, really helps everyone to look pretty unique, regardless of the fact your class is gender-locked. You can also dye each individual piece of gear to change its color if you're that crazy about looking even more special. So the gender-lock is, at first, off-putting...but there is quite a lot of aesthetic driven endeavors you can execute on your character in Vindictus despite that.

...and you can change character height in Vindictus too :P

[Jonth]

No, Vindictus isn't gender locked, Dragon Nest is Gender locked. Vindictus makes you play as some pre-made cookie cutter character... Fiona, Lann, Evie, Kai, Karok? Those are not the names of classes, those are the names of people. If I want to play as a people, I'll play a console game. At least with console games, I'm getting a better story typically.

[Kent]

Anyone who hasn't gotten it yet and liked things like PSO and Diablo, should look into Borderlands. It's effectively the same type of game - an action-RPG lootfest - though it's played like a first-person shooter rather than a third-person action game. It's seriously the best game of 2009, no contest.

It's all about hunting for loot, leveling up, getting new skills, and going forward. The base campaign has something of an excuse plot, but the DLC campaigns (excluding the Underdome) have much more coherent stories if you're looking for them, as well as great gameplay content. Yes, there are gender-locked classes (with given characters as specific examples of said classes, who will be appearing as NPCs in the sequel coming next year), and there's not much in the way of customization other than tweaking your character's coloring of various costume components, but it doesn't matter a whole lot since it's a first-person game.

But don't let the customization turn you off - it is a great game, and just like PSO/U, Diablo and any other non-MMO loot-centric multiplayer action-RPGs, it's best if you've got a group of friends you play with regularly.

If you get it, get the Game of the Year edition that includes all of the DLC. It's worth it.


No, Vindictus isn't gender locked, Dragon Nest is Gender locked. Vindictus makes you play as some pre-made cookie cutter character... Fiona, Lann, Evie, Kai, Karok?
All of which are unique playstyles - effectively unique classes - and can only be one gender. Therefore, it is gender-locked. Being gender-locked is a property, it's not mutually-exclusive from having defined characters to play as (which is almost always an example of gender-locked classes).

I don't like having a prescribed "character" with a name and identity and everything all made up for me in a game like that, personally - even if you can "name" them, change their appearance and what-have-you. I would rather it put forth the notion that a given named character is someone who is a given class, rather than you're playing as somehow and individual off-shoot of a specific actual in-universe character or something. It just feels like a crapshoot when they do it like Vindictus, even though the game is all fine and dandy.

[Outrider]

I don't like having a prescribed "character" with a name and identity and everything all made up for me in a game like that, personally - even if you can "name" them, change their appearance and what-have-you. I would rather it put forth the notion that a given named character is someone who is a given class, rather than you're playing as somehow and individual off-shoot of a specific actual in-universe character or something. It just feels like a crapshoot when they do it like Vindictus, even though the game is all fine and dandy.

Of course, the coincidence here is that's exactly what they do in Borderlands.

[Kent]

Naturally, Borderlands is great enough of a game to have its many minor flaws easily passable, including any silliness with character pseudo-customization.

Funny how that works out.

[Akaimizu]

Borderlands was/is a nice game. I definitely know. I was hooked on that thing for well over 100 hours. A friend of mine and I played the thing almost like we were part of a clan. In short, we played the stuffing out of that game. Those who remember my primary PSU character, on this board, would not be surprised that I went with the pistol-wielding Mordecai in the game.

And regardless of what color rarity, what was my favorite Mordecai-using weapon in the game??? Easy. Mashers. It's a general class of pistols and usually just in the purple rarity variety. Even if you never see them in Orange or the light turquoise super rare class, you can take those weapons to your endgame (But not necessarily to a boss like Crawmerax). Why???? Because they Flip Freakin' Vehicles. That's right. Their explosive 7 round burst on impact does crazy (unlisted) stuff to even the scariest mean vehicles in the game. So if this dreadnought of a vehicle with nasty guys in rocket launchers come to destroy your party. Send good ol' Morte in front with that 1 little banger (pistol) and watch that vehicle and all of its passengers flip around and in the air like it's Sonic in Sonic Spinball, and watch as all attacks from it completely cease to a grinding halt.
Mashers. The secretly awesome weapon of Borderlands. When I accidentally discovered that with my friend, we could hardly believe it at first. I caught on quickly, and it was one of those single-most awesome moments of Borderland playing for me.

Last time I felt something that awesome, or felt like a major hero for something like that in multiplayer, was in early PSU when I took a Guntecher with meager level 10 tech cap and successfully played a multi-role support player, buffer and healer, to an entire party of Cast hunters and rangers, working my highly organized selection with my fingers going the speed of a competitive Magical Drop game, and got them through the toughest Crimson Beast level available at the time. I was determined. I loved the idea behind and the feel of that class, but I determined to prove the naysayers wrong with hard work. Seeing a bunch of friend requests shoved at my face, after that, almost felt like people wanted me to give them my autograph. Nothing matches the coolness of (at any time) completely nailing a run and being a significant party member for which others see you pulled major weight, utilizing a highly technical class that many people (on both sides of the ocean) shunned as being quite lacking. While I haven't been in that game for a while, I never gave up on the class because the play style and challenge level was the best. Classes that have it easy are a nice break, but they get boring to me quick.

[Zipzo]

I was addicted for Borderlands for a long time with a group of friends but the lack of any "end game" or lasting appeal once you hit the level cap sort of sucks the fun out of it. Sure there is going for the best guns, but that's incredibly repetitive given there is only one boss that is actually difficult that drops loot worth keeping for the long haul (the giant crawdad thing, which I became a pro at soloing on 4 player mode).

Vindictus has everything PSO had, except instead of items dropping straight out you get materials to craft those rares instead. The gender lock at first is sort of a "meh" but the fantastic gameplay quickly smears out any and all disappointment. The game is free after all.

I played PSO endlessly, on Dreamcast, through until the end of it's Gamecube days, and to me Vindictus just brings me back to my PSO days on every level.

Borderlands was fun but it is not PSO. It's a FPS. A completely different endeavor.

Dragon Nest comes in close second under Vindictus, and I play that as well (less often), but DN is more about skill spam and juggling your enemies which was never really a concept in Phantasy Star MMO's.

[Roger Triton]

I remember I had read another thread about Vindictus. Sounds worth checking out. Thank you.

[Slidikins]

Vindictus was quite fun when I played it, but it suffered from a lack of content. I'm sure it's even better now, but I'm back on my PSO kick so I don't need to play it anymore.