M.Indie by Joseph Lieberman

M.Indie Gets a Little Chaotic (February 3, 2007)

High up on the list of games you probably never heard of and also never would have if not for me- Chaos Lands.

Chaos Lands is a web based MMO done with an overhead flash interface and turn and hex based “strategic” battles. Don�"t get me wrong, this game looks and plays archaic… but oh how I want it to succeed.

The game is simple. Select a race (each race has a racial special ability), a class (each class has a special ability as well as a selected list of the global abilities), and divide up your initial stats and skill points. From there it�"s a grand battle to level up, gain new equipment, and rule the world!

The thing that makes me think CL can be great is their diverse race/class system provides a huge array of options, both for roleplay and for strategic building of characters. They obviously have a huge list of things in development as well. They just launched the first in game �"randomized�" quest, which is a really interesting method for an MMO. You select a team of real players (around your level) and enter “the dungeon.” From there it randomly generates a dungeon covered by fog of war, and it is up to you to navigate it, find three crystals, and then face down the dungeon boss. Succeed and you get rewards, fail and you spend the next few game days resting at the inn.

Another feature I like about CL is it is a slow system. Combat is done in turn based rounds. After battle it takes 5 or more minutes to heal at an inn. This provides some of us busy people with a way to play a game in the background of work.

However, there are some problems with CL that need to be addressed. The first is that the game is still ugly with too much text and not enough information on certain functions. This makes it pretty challenging to get into. The next problem is there is a LOT of potential, but none of it is realized. As it stands the game is nothing more than a PVP or Player Vs. Bot battle arena, the dungeon, a mine, and guilds that don�"t do anything special yet. There�"s plans for multiple cities, supply/demand for items in shops, crafting, territory ownership for clans, clan wars, gods and deities, and plenty more classes and skills.

The only other gripe I have is that the tactical combat system is not very tactical at all. It may become more tactical as time moves on and battles become larger, but a 1 vs. 1 in a hex based map is just a slugfest, whether you are a mage or a warrior.

Will the developers ever realize their goals? Hard to say, but this little gem is worth taking a look at if you�"re too busy to devote your time to a “real” MMO.

www.chaoslands.com

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By: Joseph Lieberman
Posted: Friday February 02, 2007