Hey guys, how you all doing? Well, thanks to the fantastic staff at mmosite.com, this weekend I was lucky enough to score myself a closed beta key for Key to Play’s new game Priston Tale 2; the second enigma and although this game boasted some rather intense graphics, smooth combat, interesting quests and a few other unique features not found in other MMORPG titles, the game, for me, still lacked that wow aspect, that X-factor which leaves your jaw swinging about your knees. Does this mean you should not play this game? Absolutely not as this game is packed with features which long-standing fans of the classic fantasy MMORPG genre are sure to love.

To cover a more technical aspect of the game, first, let me begin by saying this game is fairly graphically intensive, so you’re going to need a higher end system if you want it to run at full capacity. Even with my new computer, there were some parts in the game which made my screen flicker, just the slightest bit. But, if you’re able to run games such as Requiem, or even 2 Moons, you should be fine. If you have any problems, just turn off the special effects in the options menu under the graphics sections.

As you might have already guessed from the title, Priston Tale 2 is of course a sequel to the first Priston Tale and as you might expect, the story line plays a fairly large part in the game which helps provide a little more inspiration towards the questing side of the game rather than simply grinding. Essentially, it is only through completing the game’s quests that you are able to uncover the back story of the game as well as what perils currently face the realms and how these might be thwarted. Be warned, however, as this is a big game and you are going to require a lot of hours to get through the main story quests if you want to do the whole linier start to finish thing, not to mention the many, many side quests and those which aid you in developing skills for your character or gathering things for various craft.

Like all MMORPG games, your character can follow several classes, or job rolls, each with their own specific strengths and weaknesses. In Priston Tale 2, these classes include; the wizard, whom is designed for more offensive roles and if handled correctly, has the capacity to deal massive damage; the warrior and knight, both of which are melee based roles and suited to close combat; the huntress who is a ranged combatant, utilizing bows and javelins and the disciple which follows your priest, priestess or cleric style archetype and though can be used in combat, is far better suited to providing aid in the way of statistic buffs and healing. Each of these classes can be upgraded when the appropriate level is reached, thus giving players access to more powerful skills and abilities. At current, there are two races to choose from; Tempskron and Morion, but there are plans for the release of a third race in the near future.

Unfortunately, the game is simply point and click, yet may turn to WASD a litter later on. Skills, spells and items can be placed on a hotkey and combat is structured in real time. For example, you click on a monster to engage in combat and then utilize your skills and items as you see fit. Once defeated, the slain creature may drop coin or items, know as loot, which is for you to take. It is also through monster slaying that players will gain experience to level their characters and also collect materials for crafting and items for the various quests throughout the game. The combat is smooth and the skills have some nice special effects, but for this action fan, it got a little tiresome after a time. Still, some of the spell affects are pretty awesome and you can have some fun using overly powerful spells on lower level monsters, if only to see them blasted into oblivion and sent sailing through the air. Another unique feature of this game in terms of skill is the mortal skill system. Like a combo system, this allows you to link up your skills and or special abilities to deal some real damage.

Items, weapons and armour collected and or crafted through the game can be bought and sold through NPC or direct with other players. You also have the choice to buy or sell your own shop, which I thought was a nice little feature. You should note than most items in the game have a set durability and if you are wanting to keep using them, you should get them repaired.

The game has a fairly decent crafting system and there are a few unique features such as aging which I haven’t seen in other MMORPG games. You can age items to improve their effectiveness, yet by the same token, you can also specialize items which focuses on more specific attributes of said item. Another method of achieving similar feats is via the seal and circle method which, though complicated, is well worth the effort. However, this, of course, depends on what you want to achieve. The crafting itself is fairly easy to understand and through it, players can craft just about any item which can be found and equipped within the game which I know will be of interest for more business minded players, if you catch my drift.

For those of you who might be interested, the game holds a fairly decent PVP system, in which players may battle and attack other players is designated areas. Of course, outside such areas, it is not possible, but once beyond the safety of such places, it’s a free for all. In my opinion, this gives the game a competitive edge which I think is sadly lacking from other MMORPG games. However, the one problem I do have with it is the way in which it is set. I mean, there is nothing stopping high level characters from targeting newer players. Apart from this, the game also holds some events which are also PVP, one of which sees one group of players defending a castle, whilst another attacks. The attacking side is able to use siege engines, which is really cool.

This is a solid game and considering it’s still in CB, I can imagine things will only get better, once all the minor bugs are sorted. Will, I be playing this outside of the CB, probably not, but then again, games like this are not really my cup of tea. For me, this game was 5 out of 10. Solid, but it’s the same old thing. However, for other players who enjoy high fantasy MMORPG games, I will give this 8 out of 10. It is unique and has many cool features. Oh, and I didn’t even get to talk about the mount system, did I? All well, I guess you will have to discover that one on your own. Take it easy people.