Vindictus: First Impressions

After seeing ads for it on The Escapist and watching the trailer, the promise of physics-based combat in Vindictus was too tempting to pass on. That, and it's free-to-play (F2P). What do I think after two missions?

Good: 

It's BEAUTIFUL. My gaming rig isn't the newest, so anything that looks good even on low graphical settings and 1024x768 is keen. There are just little things that stand out as well, such as being able to change your character's expression on the creation screen. The Source engine looks like it wasn't squandered when you see your character smoothly shift from a coy smirk to a full-on toothy grin, and it doesn't look cheesy.

Movement. Movement feels quite fluid like in a platformer, rather than the slightly plodding pace of other MMOs. On the scaffolding of a bell tower I was able to smoothly maneuver around gnolls and kick them off to their doom.

The Prologue. I know it's just fluff, but the introductory cutscene and prologue really set the tone well, and are a cut above what I'd expect from a F2P game. The addition of movie-style opening credits was a surprise, but gave it a slightly more professional feel.

The Combat. OMGBBQ! I can trick enemies into attacking each other!!!! It's not like in Doom, where you'd get them angry at each other, either. Once a boss gets ready to attack among a group of minions, you can maneuver so that the minions are in front of the boss. Once an animation starts, the attack can't be stopped, so the boss ends up pummeling whatever is in front of it. Also, finishing a combo with a kick sent a gnoll flying back into a comrade standing right behind it, hurting them both. This type of spatial presence is something that I've been waiting for; compared to fighting games or FPSs where (in-game) inches could win or lose a match, it always seemed odd how MMOs seemed to slack off regarding melee combat. I've never cared much for fireball-spamming as a mage, so an emphasis on hand-to-hand combat and positioning during combat feels fresh and more fun.

The Ships. Like in Guild Wars, areas outside of the town are instanced. You go to the port to 'book passage' to the area, and the interface for setting up a 'ship' works well. Immediately you're presented with a list of groups that are being set up, and the parameters for those sessions. If you create a new session, you can set how many slots are available for others (or just go alone), if it's invite-only, and additional challenges for bonus points, such as beating it with one or two players. The functionality of the whole system may not be too revolutionary, but the presentation is where it shines.

Bad:

Characters. Currently there are only three characters to choose from, with "coming soon" listed for another in the background. No biggie, but as the community grows, it might hurt immersion if eventually you look like 33% of everyone else around you.

In-Game Browser. Certain features, like the guild browser, appear to use an in-game browser. It may just be my system or internet connection, but I haven't seen the browser windows that pop up work yet.

I'll definitely be playing this more, to see if it holds up after the initial shine wears off. Sadly, Parabellum never had enough shine to start out with.