The Golden Age 2, which set the nation alight 10 years ago, is its spiritual sequel fun?
For many of you who are old enough to be poor, game sites like 4399 were their gaming initiation.In those days, the internet was the simplest source of joy for all kids, as they could play hundreds of games for free by typing in a single URL.Some of these games were also classics, such as the homage game Jin Yong Qun Zhuan 2, which, with its rich storyline and side quests, as well as its high degree of freedom, allowed many fans of Jin Yong to fulfil their martial arts dreams and to remember the name “Half a Bottle of Divine Vinegar”.
After this, Half-Bottle of Divine Vinegar was once considered to be the producer who “knows the most about martial arts games”.
Recently, Half-Bottle of Divine Vinegar’s latest title, Warrior Rising, jumped the gun and launched on Steam ahead of schedule, and fans who had been waiting for years were so enthusiastic that within two hours, Warrior Rising was in the top three.
As one of those who were addicted to Golden Age 2 back in the day, Little Hair was naturally the first to order it.
Unlike previous titles, Legend of the Warrior is a complete departure from Jin Yong’s novels, except that the setting is still that of an unknown character who eventually becomes famous after a lot of hard work.
At the start of the game, we can choose one of eleven weapons to start with, including a sword, a club, a dagger and a fan, each with its own characteristics, some with strong AOE and some with high attack power.
There is also a talent system called “traits”, which is a kind of permanent buff that provides bonuses to some attributes or special effects.
The game’s stance set is the traditional internal skill + the weapon’s corresponding external skill, where the internal skill is a passive skill and the external skill needs to be actively released.
For example, at the beginning, the sword system’s Dragon Sword Technique can only hit two squares directly in front of you, but later on, the attack range becomes a T-shaped 5 squares.
It is worth mentioning that in the early stages, the “Swallow’s Nest” school has a special skill called “Dark Take”, which allows you to sneak around and steal things from behind people.
It’s not too difficult to steal, but it’s a real treat to see yourself stealing things over and over again.
As for the combat, it uses the traditional turn-based wargame mode, which means “walking the grid”.
It’s worth mentioning that when our characters stand on the side or back of an enemy, they get an extra bonus to their damage, so positioning in the game is important, and you have to be careful not to get surrounded by monsters, or you’ll be slapped in the face with a capital “dead”.
But there’s more to the game than just fighting and killing, there’s more to the world.
There are a large number of NPCs in the game, and most of them have a gift option, so we can quickly get closer to them by giving them gifts that they like.
By giving NPCs gifts that they like, we can quickly get closer to them. By increasing their goodwill, you can get discounts on purchases from them, and some of them have exclusive quests.
Some NPCs can also be invited to join the team and accompany the protagonist when they reach a certain level of intimacy.
As we travel the world, we can also learn more than twenty life skills from a variety of characters, including mining, medicine, crafting, eloquence and business.
Each of these skills has its own use. For example, with a high level of eloquence, you can spend less money in many cases.
If you have a high level of business skills, you can buy things from NPCs more cheaply, and if you have a good relationship with them, you can buy things for nothing.
Of course, all of this is nothing new – after all, the best thing about Warrior Rivalry is its freedom.
Freedom is, quite frankly, about choice, and that’s the core of the game’s gameplay.
Let’s say that at the beginning of the game, a sheriff and a female thief are fighting to the death, and the protagonist happens to be sleeping in a tree nearby.
At this point, it’s our turn to choose, either to help either side or to tie them up.
And after choosing to help, the option of whether or not to take the other one comes up again.
It is even possible to tie up both and then kill them in combat to obtain the possessions they have, such is the degree of freedom on individual events.
These choices will not only affect the current event, but also the subsequent path of the protagonist, and like a butterfly effect, it is possible to be well on your way to breaking into the world.
It is also possible to go to jail in the next moment.
For example, if we meet an NPC who seems to have a lot of money, we can just kill him and take it away if we are short of money.
We can also choose to befriend him and join his family, where we will receive 1000 “pocket money” every day.
In other words, the fate of these characters is up to us.
The game is also full of random events, where a scoundrel will come up to us and either pay or “convince” him with his fists.
There are also a number of “encounters” that allow us to obtain very valuable items.
In short, there is a lot to explore in the game and if we are not careful we can miss key items and storylines, which can be very disruptive.
For example, if there is one and only one other female character in the protagonist’s team, there is a certain chance of getting a “back injury” debuff after staying in a hotel.
As for what happens in the middle of the night, I can only say that those who know will know.
Or maybe you encounter some merchants who are forced to buy and sell, like a scene from a certain TV show.
That’s the thing about martial arts games with half a bottle of fairy vinegar, these side plots and unexpected events bring the game’s “rivers and lakes” to life, and that’s what makes Warrior Rising so much fun.
Of course, as an EA-phase game, it has its share of problems.
As an open-world martial arts RPG, its biggest weakness is its lack of content.
Things like fishing and logging, for example, could be made into mini-games, and in the game they are currently fully automated and not very interesting.
Also, although there seem to be eleven weapons to choose from, only three or four of them are actually playable.
Offbeat weapons like the zither and the shaw have no dedicated discipline or skill in the game, and can’t be played at all late in the game.
Many of the life skills are almost useless, for example, practicing eloquence can save money, and so can giving gifts and making connections, but in the mid to late game you can quickly make connections for a fraction of the cost, making the whole eloquence system seem dispensable.
The worst part for me was the number of bugs in the game, with one vicious bug that prevented me from completing the main quest and forced me to open a new file.
Even so, I can’t deny that Warrior Rising is a fun game, as I’ve been playing it for 8 hours straight since I first opened it and can’t stop playing it, and I’ve played 19 hours so far, just over 50 days into the game.
To be fair, if you are a fan of martial arts games, a fan of Golden Age 2, or a fan of half a bottle of fairy vinegar, this game is a no-brainer.
But for the average gamer, even at a discounted price of $60, it’s not worth it compared to the content and finish of the game so far.
But EA is selling it to have more money for further development, and it’s understandable that the whole system is quite promising in its current incarnation.
And from what I’ve seen recently, the developers have been updating the game quite frequently, and it’s clear that they’re listening to players, so you can wait and let the game polish up a bit before buying it.