Star Legends: MMORPG Review Diary #1

I’ve had a week with Spacetime Studios’ new MMORPG. Here’s what I think so far…

The folks over at Spacetime Studios have been quite busy. Not only have they released a major content pack for their first MMO, Pocket Legends, but they have gone an released an entirely new MMORPG in Star Legends: The Blackstar Chronicles. This is not a full review of the game, as it really is impossible to do so in just one week with any MMORPG. Rather, this is the new way that we will be reviewing RPGs here at TouchGen. We want to give you guys ongoing thoughts relating to what we experience in the game  as we play. When we feel that we have seen enough, we’ll post a final entry with a final score for the game.

Clear as mud? Good.

We’ve provided quite a bit of coverage for Star Legends since it was first announced, but I’ll admit that the release kind of snuck up on me. It’s actually been quite some time since I’ve picked up Pocket Legends, mainly because other MMOs, such as DC Universe Online, have been stealing my attention. Pocket Legends was the first true MMORPG on the App Store, and while it started out with basic features, it expanded to include things like PvP, character customization, and an auction house. Spacetime Studios’ CEO, Gary Gattis, told us at GDC that Pocket Legends was essentially a testing

Finally, some (limited) customization options!

ground to eventually release their original IP, Blackstar, on mobile devices. This game has been long lost since it was under development for the PC years ago. It had some very high aspirations and certainly turned a few heads in that time.

Space Legends definitely does not feel like the Blackstar game that I remember reading about back in those days. That said, it does in many ways feel like Spacetime has taken Pocket Legends to the “next level” as far as MMO gaming goes. This is first apparent when you start the game, as you actually get to customize your character somewhat before you start. I know this sounds like a given in MMOs, but for whatever reason Pocket Legends took over year to add this feature. Unfortunately, the menu system to customize/choose your character is a huge pain to use. Both on the iPhone and iPad I was constantly inadvertently swiping between the three character classes – Engineer (healer), Commando (tank), and Operative (DPS/controller) – as I tried to customize their look. I fought my way through the very limited customization options nonetheless, and made my way onto a ship for the tutorial level.

For the record, I went with a Commando named “Teegen” (get it?). I should mention that right at the start, the game offers you a 30 platinum (the game’s in-App purchasable currency) upgrade to your character. This gives you 100 mana and health “stimpacks”, some good armor for levels 5, 10, and 15, and some other goodies. Considering 30 platinum is $5, I decided that paying for the upgrade was a worthy investment, and a worthy price for this “free” MMO. This equipment proved very helpful later on in the game as I leveled up, and if you have the money to make the upgrade purchase (which is only offered this one time), I would certainly recommend it. It should be noted that this is the first of many instances in which the game really pushes you towards it’s platinum in-App purchase system – even more so than Pocket Legends did. It’s not a terrible thing, since this is a free to play title, and they have to make their money somehow, but it’s something to be noted.

Teegen found himself in a ship’s holding cell, being broken out by some unfamiliar faces. I always felt like story took the back-burner in Pocket Legends, and it seems to be mostly the same here. Granted, I did find some fun little tidbits here and there via reading consoles and terminals throughout the levels, but I never got a feeling that I was part of something big,  or that I was paving my own way through the universe. The game follows pretty much the same style as PL. After the first few intro levels, you find yourself on a hub world, a giant ship called The Blackstar, and from here you find missions, use the “go to” function to jump into an instance, play through it until you beat the mission, then go back to The Blackstar to redeem it.

Thank god for engineers!

Instance-based gameplay seems to detract a lot from the immersion in Star Legends, just as it did in it’s predecessor. I can understand the reasoning of making the game like this, since it’s meant to be played in short periods on the go, but a surprising number of people dedicate a good amount of time to playing through the game, and jumping from one instance to the next constantly can be a jarring interaction for those looking for a more fluid experience.

The core gameplay experience of Star Legends is exactly the same as Pocket Legends, so there’s not much reason to go into details. Spacetime did a good job making the menus intuitive and adding features in PL, and all of these pass over to this game. The on-screen controls are the same as well, so anyone who played the original MMO will feel perfectly at home with this one. The leveling system is exactly the same, with a big in-game emphasis to buy “enhancers” that increase your speed, defense, attack, or more importantly, the amount of XP you earn for each kill. Like real-life drug pushers, you get the first one for free! Unfortunately, after that they cost platinum, which means money out of your pocket. There are ways to get them for a steep price by paying gold (in-game currency), but I’ll talk about that later. Generally speaking, the style, controls, and other gameplay elements are so identical to the original game, that at many points I felt like I was playing “Pocket Legends in Space” rather than a brand new MMO. Luckily, there were also quite a few moments that proved that wrong.

One of the biggest additions to Spacetime’s MMO engine comes in the form of multi-phase bosses and varied objectives within missions. In Pocket Legends, the ultimate goal of each mission was to kill everyone while collecting a certain number of items. That was it. It was fun, but certainly got monotonous after a while- especially the missions that required you to collect 1000+ objects. In Star Legends, the different levels provide different activities to perform, along with mini-quests provided within the level itself. For instance, in one level you are asked to destroy three alien egg clusters by dragging a bomb and arming it at each one. It sounds simple, but there are lasers that automatically activate the bombs, killing you and anyone around you. Instead of plowing through, you are required to scout ahead and pickup key cards that let you activate terminals that can power down the lasers. Once you do this, and start arming the first bomb, you’re suddenly attacked by a group of alien pests. Your team has to defend one person for

Multi-phase bosses are a welcome challenge.

about ten seconds while he arms the bomb. When you finally blow up the final egg cluster, you are confronted with a giant bug-like boss. This is by far the most complicated instance I have played so far, but I loved every minute of it! It forced me and my team to work together, and I honeslty had more fun than any single Pocket Legends mission I have played in the past.

Teamwork seems to be a big factor in Star Legends. Each of the three classes have their own skills and abilities that need to be used to unlock various secrets and areas in some levels. For instance, a broken door might need to be blown open by a commander, while a broken console may need to fixed by an engineer in order to access extra loot boxes. Like most MMOs, you don’t want to play this game alone, so providing different benefits for teaming up with a good mix of classes really adds a lot to the overall game experience. If you find yourself playing with the same classes, go to The Blackstar and find someone to play with who can balance things out. Or, if you feel you want to get a larger group of players going, why not start a guild?

Yes, there are guilds in Star Legends. I started the “Space Nips” (yes, it’s what you think), and we grew from 5 to 35 overnight! But I think I’ll save my thoughts on the guild system for the next diary entry. Until then, I’ll be playing Star Legends as “Teegen”. Feel free to send me a friend request or PM in-game if you wanna smash some space scum together!

>> Click here to jump to diary #2!

Star Legends (Universal) – Free to play

Due to the large time commitment required to complete RPG games, TouchGen.com generally reviews them in a segmented “diary” format in order to bring you information without waiting too long for the entire game to be played. Unlike many gaming websites, we are committed to playing through games in their entirety before giving them a final score. MMOs are a bit different due to a lack of “endgame” events. That said, we will play them until we feel we have seen everything we need to see to make a final judgement on the game’s score.