Conquer Online

Game overview

Conquer Online sets itself apart early from its MMORPG brethren (including its own incredibly similar titles) by offering a large range of character classes to play, though other than choosing the gender there isn't much other customisation available. Still, whether you pick the graceful Water Taoist or the burly Warrior, TQ Online will set you up with a unique set of specialties and characteristics. And, thanks to the Reborn feature, which allows you to pick a new class with better attributes once you hit level 120, you'll get plenty of opportunity to explore all of them.

PvP is where the game really excels, offering a load of modes, challenges and activities for you to battle together or against your fellow players. Most notable is the violent PK Mode, where you can gain experience and gold by slaughtering any player in sight, while also earning yourself a reputation that might see you hunted down by bounty hunters.

Conquer Online's graphics are a let down, blocky, outdated, and made worse by an often cluttered user interface. Another sore point is the cash shop, which allows paying players to get a huge advantage with otherwise unattainable rare items and bonuses. However, a large community of non-paying players helps even this out, and makes the game an overall positive experience for lovers of PvP combat.

Full review

Conquer Online is an MMORPG by TQ Digital set in ancient China, and is fairly similar to the studio's other titles. Despite some poor graphics and other quirks, well developed player versus player options and plenty to do give this title a leg up.

The good and bad of customisation

Starting up involves little more than picking a class and diving right in. Like many other free-to-play MMORPGs, there is virtually no hero customisation - you can only pick your class, gender, and bafflingly, whether you'd like your sprite to be "big" or "small". (If you've got insecurity issues, you might be disappointed to know that choosing "big" seems to bestow absolutely zero advantage.)

However, Conquer Online makes up for limited customisation by offering a lot more classes than most similar titles - about 9 at a recent count. Ranging from the Pirate to the Trojan to the Ninja, they're a fairly mixed bunch, but TQ Online manages to set them apart with special skills and advantages. Pirates, for instance, get more items from slain enemies, while Water Taoists get to enjoy the game's "rebirth" 10 levels earlier than other classes (more on being reborn later).

Seriously fun PvP action

Conquer Online has all the regular features of a free-to-play MMORPG, from the main - albeit story-light - questing, to marketplaces where you can trade with others online, to the option of even marrying another player. However, the PvP modes are where it really picks up steam.

There are several PvP modes with different rules and settings. PK mode is a free-for-all area where you can attack and kill anyone who even looks at you funny (though if you can make out a provocative look from the blocky sprites, kudos to your imagination.) Fun as it is to mow down every unsuspecting newbie in your path, TQ Online have wisely added some control to the chaos. PK points are obtained when you kill another player, and are used to moderate this unsportsmanlike activity. Accrue too many and you'll be labelled a criminal, encouraging other players to hunt you for bounty.

Other modes are Team, where you play in guilds to slay monsters and players unlucky enough not to be part of your guild; Peace, where only monsters can be killed; and Capture, where you can kill monsters and hunt down known criminals with bounties on their heads. The last mode can be especially satisfying if you've been recently slaughtered in an PK area.

On top of this, there are some pretty creative weekly challenges, Guild Wars which reward the victors with rare Conquer Points and a tonne of other PvP options that make up for the totally lacklustre single player quest.

Born to replay

Another great feature of Conquer Online is the ability to be reborn once your character hits level 120 (or level 110 if you choose to play as the Water Taoist). Here, you can choose a different class for your hero to be reincarnated into, while bringing along superior character attributes and skills. You can do this up to three times, trying out different heroes as you go and gaining a considerable leg-up over new players.

Reborn-ability is a good counter to one of the game's (and TQ Online's) weaknesses - the speed at which you level up. While it seems like TQ Online has taken this feedback from its other titles and made some attempt to slow the ludicrous amounts of experience points you earn for pretty much just walking in the right direction, the early game still feels way too speedy, and doesn't balance out until you reach about level 50.

Graphically uninspiring

For a client game, which usually boast better visual capabilities than browser titles, Conquer Online's graphics are pretty uninspiring. While the backgrounds are pretty enough, heroes are blocky and monster sprites are used repetitively even for different monsters. The 3D sprites and the mounts they ride lack detail and look downright awful from some angles, and worse when a group of players congregate in one area. Add to this the notifications from the cash shop, in-game chat and daily events which clutter the screen when you start up, and Conquer Online lags behind most modern titles in appearance.

Another let down is the cash shop, where real money can be swapped for Conquer Points. CPs are pretty overpowered, as they're the only way you can get certain powerful items and other advantages. Considering the only other place you can get them is by winning the highly competitive Guild Wars, paying players have considerable advantage. However, this is only apparent if you're unlucky enough to challenge (or be challenged) by a paying player - there are a lot of non-paying players in the mix to offer mostly fair fights.

Conclusion

Conquer Online excels in interesting PvP gameplay, a diverse assortment of classes and great replay-value with its Reborn feature. For players who thrive on challenging, interesting tussles with others online, these features should be enough to help you overlook some inferior graphics, a lack of a strong single player story and the influential cash shop.