Silkroad Online Hands-On
By Mike Smith
UPDATE: Legend III Plus launches!
Silkroad fanatics have an early Christmas present this year: the Legend III Plus update is ready just in time for the holiday season.
So what's new? Quite a bit, as it happens. First up, and perhaps most exciting of all, there's a new fortress for players to capture. Called the Bandit Fortress, it's located right next to the Jangan Fortress, and if you can occupy it you'll be able to control tax rates at both the Specialty Goods shop and the Ferry.
A new event is also kicking off: called the Jewel Box, it's a worldwide treasure hunt. Monsters will start randomly dropping jewel box pickups, which you can collect and turn in for a range of rewards. Chief among the Jewel Box goodies is a new Devil Box powerup, which at its maximum level will increase a fortunate player's hit points by 25%, their damage by 30%, and their speed by 20%.
Not bad, eh? If you like the sound of that -- and we sure do -- you'd better get out there and start hunting down those jewel boxes. Good luck!
Free massively-multiplayer online games are everywhere these days. But fire up Silkroad, and you'll see it's something a little different. For one thing, it's actually 3D, unlike the basic graphics of many other free games. From the looks of it, you could almost be playing World of Warcraft -- except the client is free to download, and there are no subscription fees.
That's just the start of the differences, though. Rather than some otherworldly fantasy planet, Silkroad is set firmly on Earth on the Silk Road that ran between China and Europe during the 7th century. You'll run across familiar places, names, and areas, but there's a healthy dose of mythical content thrown into the mix. It's developed in Korea, where massively-multiplayer games are incredibly popular, but don't worry: it's in English, or at least a passable imitation thereof.
That unique theme, and the creditable capabilities of the game's graphics engine, means the developers could have some real fun with the locations. You'll encounter spectacular Chinese cities packed with pagodas and dripping with dragon statues, roam the Himalayas, and explore the European city of Constantinople. Set it next to the visuals of another free MMO like Runescape, and there's no comparison.
Silkroad's class system boasts three main archetypes: the trader, who moves goods from one place to another for profit, the thief, whose task is to rob the traders, and the hunter, who is employed by the trader for protection. You can choose to play as characters in China or Europe, which doesn't just affect your starting location but has deep repercussions for your character's skills and abilities. Europeans are more suited to group play and offer a traditional class-based system, but Chinese characters offer more flexibility and are thus better for solo gamers.
If that's piqued your interest, why not give it a try? It's free to download and play, and you only need to stump up cash if you want to purchase optional premium items. In other words, there's nothing to lose -- other than time spent playing.
Silkroad Online Image Gallery
Posted: 1 Dec 2008
