Scarlet Legacy Review

     First on the chopping block is Scarlet Legacy, as chosen by my lovely girlfriend.  One of the Games Campus stable of games which include 9 Dragons and Asda 2.   Well now, shall we break it down.  I'm going to refrain from giving numerical values as a review is subjective enough as it is.  Bare in mind I only made it to level 20.

Aesthetics

    The setting obviously drawn from Eastern design but is seemingly constant throughout.  As I said before the character models are great and finely detailed.  The enemies are just as finely done, though it's a shame there are so few of them really.  You'll fight bandits in one area which use the same models as the bandit in the previous three areas, their only difference is name and level.   This is a problem throughout the game, bandits, soldiers, wildlife, etc.  The scenery suffers a similar problem, for the most part it is hills and fields in one color or another, with a few trees scattered about.  The music is nothing special, after a few repetitions, I tuned it out.  The other thing that drew me out of the game is the names of NPC's.  It's a little off putting to talk to a monk or samurai character with name like Mike, Joe or Larry.

Gameplay

     There is no choice of race and only four classes to choose from, so you must rely on the hair, face and color detail options to create a unique character.  The character models are lovely and nicely detailed though.
     
     There are many skills to gain as your character progresses, each with their own animation.  You'll can buy these from you trainer in various cities and towns along your way.  Your main attacks will build up points which are used to enhance a number of special moves.  They are fun to see and experiment with, but after a while you'll use the same attacks over and over again. 

     Everyone get a pet or three to assist you in battle.  You can only have one out at a time, and it's mainly an aesthetic choice.  They do gain levels and progress alongside you though. 

     Crafting is pretty confusing and I have to admit after the initial quests to familiarize yourself with it, I never bothered with it. 

     Questing is mainly a matter of killing a number of mobs, with the occasional fetch quest thrown in for variety.  Very few mobs attack first, most stand there and wait your first strike.  They all stand in groups, so you must be care not to hit the attack too often our you will target the next closest enemy and attack it.  The difficulty only seem to rise in the fact that the number of required kills do. 

     The only quest that held much interest was the main quest in which your character has a magic mirror that connects you to a captive princess.  The voiceovers in there sections are nice, but it's a shame they all in Chinese.  It's a good thing I like to read the text boxes.

Value and Longevity

     There is no barrier to entry other than download and patch time.  I saw no need to delve into the item shop at all.  It mainly contains vanity items, but there are of course items for leveling, crafting, and mounts.  There is only one server for North America and the population is pretty low.  The low population makes it hard to to form a party for quests and instances.

    In conclusion, Scarlet Legacy is a game with pretty characters, but tons of repetition and grinding.  It's free so it's worth trying, but only a real glutton for punishment could pursue it for any length of time.

Purpose

Welcome to Everday Gamer. 

My goal here is to review MMORGs, both current and older titles, with an eye toward the more casual gamer.  I plan to play and review a different game every other week, or more often as time allows.  To give a fair impression of each game, I will play to at least level twenty or equivalent.  If there is enough interest in a particular title I will pursue it further. 

If there is a game you want me to review, let me know.