Choices! Too many choices!!!!
Master x Master is an Action MMORPG (PvE) / MOBA (PvP), developed by NCSOFT, who claim this is going to be a game that is going to distinguish itself from other similar games because of its unique mechanics. The alpha version of the game showed plenty of potential, though there were some aspects that did not really convince me. Perhaps they will get fixed or changed in the beta version, or perhaps they will stay the same. Since the game is only in an alpha stage at the moment, I decided not to talk about graphics, story, or sound.
Trying to explain Master x Master to someone who has not played any MMORPG’s or MOBA’s is quite simple. You start off as a hero, in this case called a Master, who needs to help the ‘alliance’ to retake Earth from evil aliens/androids/robots. You do not have to do this alone, since you can always take one partner with you during your missions. During the game, you can tag that partner in, and you can continue playing with that other Master, or you could switch between the two to create interesting, and sometimes overpowered, combinations. There are 30+ Masters available in the game, most of them unlockable by spending in-game resources. This provides the player with a mesmerizing array of options. Additionally, each Master can be levelled up and upgraded until (s)he has access to 4 different active skills, a couple of passive skills, and one ‘ultimate’ attack. Plenty of things to try out, I’d say, but is it enough to keep you interested?
Besides the overabundance of playable characters, another interesting aspect is the ‘rock-paper-scissors’ mechanic, which in this game is called ‘nodes’. Every Master has a certain affinity for one of the three types of nodes: Ardent – Helix – Kinetic, or red – green – blue. The nodes itself can be collected and bought, and provide passive buffs for the characters. The better attuned to the ‘type’ of the Master, the more effective his/her skills will be. The 30+ characters are all divided into one of these three ‘types’, and as in the ‘rock-paper-scissors’ mechanic, some types are stronger than others. This provides for yet another twist to the game experience, as you can plan which ‘types’ of Masters you want to use in order to count not only other Masters, but enemies too!
During my limited amount of gaming sessions, I managed to play through a variety of different modes, the first one being campaign missions, divided into daily missions and story missions. Story missions were only accessible when you bought special tickets that could be used to open up these missions. The campaign can be played either on your own, or together with friends or the AI. The more Masters in a single mission, the higher the difficulty and the rewards, and vice versa. You could see these as dungeons that you need to clear together with your team. With this, the link to other MMORPG’s is quite clear. A large part of this game revolves around you teaming up and getting increasingly better loot. In this game mode, you can upgrade your hero to the maximum level, with the best skills and the biggest buffs.
Another big part is the “Arena” game mode, in which you have to battle against other players, either in 3v3 form or 5v5 form. The 3v3 arena offers you fast-paced gameplay, and is probably the most fun mode in the entire game. The map is constantly changing, and your team really needs to work together in order to smash the rival masters. The 5v5 arena, also known as ‘Titan Ruins’, plays as a League of Legends game. In this game, you try to destroy the ‘core’ of the opposing team by sending an everlasting stream of foot soldiers against the enemies’ camp, towers, and their own soldiers. If you rank up enough kills, you can summon a variety of ‘Titans’ to help you in your onslaught. Pretty neat, but perhaps a bit too similar to LoL?
It struck me that Master x Master only has the ‘tag’ mechanic and the ‘rock – paper – scissors’ system to actually carve its own spot in the ever-expanding world of MMORPG’s/MOBA’s, and that it tries to take the best parts of highly successful games in order to convince you to play this. Perhaps this is just the start of an original game, though there is still a lot to be done.
For starters, the multiplayer aspect really did not properly work. Plenty of delays of over 10(!!!) minutes made me quit trying to get into an arena match, and even if you do want to sit this one out, there is nothing to be done in the central area besides trading and improving your character. The fact that the game kept showing “Matches delayed due to reports of inappropriate behaviour” was really annoying too, since I did not have a clue when/what/who. To add insult to this, after I had booted up the game the day after, this message was still there. Grrmmblll.
There is plenty to be done in order to save Master x Master from the big plague in the land of MMORPG’s, namely the game becoming too boring too quickly. Sure, the amount of playable characters is amazing, but isn’t that a bit like LoL? And those story missions, don’t they look a bit like what we have seen in Wow? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It’s too early to say anyway. I hope the beta is an improvement, and that I can play-test it a second time, preferably with my saved profile.
