True Game’s Warrior Epic

Warrior Epic, developed by Possibility Space and published by True Games, is a free-to-play online action MMORPG game. While a fantasy game at its heart like legions of other online games, Gage Galinger, CEO of Possibility Space, counters that Warrior Epic is different: “We have enough WoW and EverQuest clones out there already.” If the game has a heritage, it’s more accurate to say it’s a cross between Sims and Diablo.

The Sims side of the play experience is encapsulated in the customizable warrior halls. These halls are a player’s home base, where he or she houses their warriors and spirits. Almost all of the furnishings, like the table, lamps, flags and banners, can be changed and upgraded to suit preferences. While there will be an extensive array of these upgrades, user generated content comprised of player-created furniture or artistic designs isn’t going to be offered.

One of the more unique features in the game is the death penalty and the warrior spirit system, which are actually features that go hand-in-hand. The death penalty is permanent, so that when a warrior dies there is no coming back to life. “It’s sad to remove the dramatic effect of death,” emphasized Gage. However, death is not the end for the character, because it can be revived in the warrior hall as a spirit, and then bound to a player’s weapon, allowing amped-up skills and offensive capabilities to be unleashed.

Mission types available come in the PvP, like the DotA “Kill the Castle” types, PvE and lengthy campaign varieties. Sure to lengthen the appeal of Warrior Epic to many is the random mission generation, with loot, enemy and terrain alternations to make sure every mission feels brand-spanking new. Warrior Epic encourages short-session game play, as short as 15-20 minutes, complemented by noteworthy achievements to make the most of the brief time put into the play session. As Gage quipped, Warrior Epic is a “lifestyle game”, designed for folks who may want to play a quick mission after school or after work. Adding to the lifestyle angle is the potential for social gaming extensions, possibly on the iPhone or web-based platforms.

While Warrior Epic shows great potential in its social gaming options, it might be made easier because the game asks so little of most modern computers it would be made to run on. The 3D graphics engine for Warrior Epic is certainly basic, especially by 2009 standards, running on a software 3D engine with no internal lighting. Lighting is simulated with some effectiveness using textures with simulated luminosity and color gradation. While the polygons that construct the characters are blocky, the motion and combat animation sequences are smooth by contrast. The upside of a plain vanilla graphics engine is the generous system requirements: a Pentium 4 with 512 MB RAM.

Warrior Epic, as mentioned earlier, is a free-to-play game. As with the majority of F2P games, money is made through microtransaction sales of warrior hall furnishings, armor, weapons and a host of accessories.