The Pride of Taern
The Pride of Taern Review
The Pride of Taern is a free to play MMORPG video game. It is browser based so most computers will be able to run the game smoothly without too many hassles. The game does suggest you play it in browsers other than Apples Safari however. The only difference this game offers compared with other MMORPG video games is its unique turn-based combat system. Its a lot more engaging than in most games and a lot of thought and strategy is required for you to come out the victor in most battles.
Before you get a chance to fight in your first battle, the game introduces you to its story. It has a very beautiful opening cutscene introducing you to the world of Taern and its citizens. A constant problem I had with the game however is that it lags quite a lot and I was unable to view the cutscenes properly. Not to mention that The Pride of Taern is a pretty visually demanding video game so the loading times are both long and frequent.
Before you start the game however, you are required to choose and alter the appearance of the character you want to play as. There are seven classes to choose from that include the following: Barbarian, Knight, Sheed, Archer, Fire Mage, Voodoo and Druid. Much like in most other games, different class types have special strengths and weaknesses so it pays to read up on the description for each before you make your own final decision on a class type.
After you have done that, you can alter the appearance for your character. The selection of options isnt as vast as it is in some other MMORPG video games, although you can heavily customise the appearance of your characters facial features. I laughed at the first sight of my character since she looked a lot like Princess Leia did in the first Star Wars film. If thats not your taste, you can always change the hairstyle of your character to match your own personal preference. You cannot alter your characters skin color nor is there an option to play as a race other than a human. This may displease some gamers, although it does not hinder The Pride of Taerns actual gameplay features in any way.
Once the game finally loads up, you are then ready to officially play The Pride of Taern. I was taken aback a bit to the games visuals as the character models and cameras point of view looks shockingly small compared with other recently released MMORPG video games. The games fixed camera reminds me a lot of the older Final Fantasy video game where you had to navigate your character around from a high point of view point.
Despite the small character models, the environments themselves are highly detailed and the landscape is gorgeous to look at. The fiery remains when the soldiers burn the village of Taern at the very start of the game is a highlight as is the time you will be visiting other villages in the game. Overall, the landscapes in the game are great to look at even though the character models may appear to be too small for my own liking in this game.
The one thing I really liked about The Pride of Taern is how it actually has some sort of story and narrative to the game. Most MMORPG video games are generic where you just accept a bunch of quests to do that are given out by random strangers that you meet. In this game however, an evil empire from Nithor burns all the villages around its area to conquer the lands. This includes Taern which is where you and your family reside.
Its a pretty grim story when the game starts, although its engaging to follow and you immediately feel sympathy for the character you are being because youll have to find their little brother who has run off during Nithors fatal raid of the village. The character will only find bad news when their little brother is found dying from his wounds in the cemetery. Its a depressing sight and this game captures this horrifying scene perfectly. After this incident, the character wants to escape Taern with his/her mother and seek revenge on Nithor for what they did to Taern and its people.
Other than the games story, another unique aspect of the game is the ability for you to choose your own dialogue to speak. There are a few options you can choose to say when you are speaking to certain characters. These conversations dont really alter the direction of the entire game, although it gives the player more freedom and choices to make during some moments in the game when you talk to specific characters.
The turn-based combat system is one of the more enjoyable aspects of the entire video game. This is because this is not the usual point and click method that is often used in most other RPG video games. The Pride of Taern has a feature that relies on you using “ability points” to pick the amount of defence and attack you want to initiate during each round in battle. There are only 12 “ability points” that you can use per round so it requires you to be smart enough to balance out your battling strategy each and every time you enter combat. Entering combat is easy too as the game loads up a separate screen and enemies are located on the map as a red highlighted outline.
Speaking about the combat system itself, if you are up against archers, you will want to use a lot of your ability points on your ranged defence. You can increase your magic and melee defence, although this might be redundant to do if you are up against long-ranged enemies. As for your own attacks, there are several options you can choose that include your own long-range or short-range strategies. The more ability points you use, the stronger your attack will be. To make things even more interesting, you have to make your choices in less than 10 seconds. If you fail to do so, your turn is missed for that round and the enemy is likely to strike you down first. It may sound complicated at first, but you do get used to this unique combat system. That being said, it might be too difficult to understand if youre not an RPG veteran.
The audio is one of the best I have ever heard from a free to play browser based video game before. The grim music played during Nithors invasion of Taern fits the severity of the situation perfectly and sets the moody atmosphere. When your character escapes Taern and is onboard a ship, you can really hear the waves and sea crashing onto each one another. This game sounds great if you have a surround sound set up on your computer. The quality of the sound in this game is unlike I have ever heard from a free to play video game before.
Ignoring the games frequent loading times and very small character models, The Legend of Taern offers a gaming experience that is rarely seen from a browser-based video game before. The detailed landscapes are breathtaking too see and the deep and engaging combat system will please hardcore RPG video game fans. Not to mention the audio is crisp and is of a high quality rarely seen from free to play video games. All in all, this game offers everything you would want from a high quality MMORPG video game and fans of this particular genre will not be disappointed by it. The only people that may struggle from playing the game are casual gamers as the combat system might be too hard for them to master.
