TERA

Developer: BlueHole Studio
Release date: May 1, 2012

The Exiled Realm of Arborea (TERA) has been a long time coming. It was released in Korea on January 25, 2011, and BlueHole Studios and En Masse Entertainment have taken the past year to fine-tune the game for its Western debut.

TERA’s two most notable traits are its action-oriented combat (noticing a trend, yet?) and outstanding character design. The combat, which has been specifically designed to work with either a keyboard or an Xbox 360 controller, relies on position and timing. Enemies can be kited or dodged completely, which allows skilled players to forego a dedicated tank all together. Attacks occur in real-time, so proper usage of spells becomes a must.

On the other hand, TERA’s character design has been a staple in the game’s marketing. The female races, animations, and outfits were seemingly crafted by the labido of a 12-year-old boy. Even the cute, little bunny girls can’t run or cast a magic spell without flashing a panty shot at the camera. But TERA’s monster designs (especially bosses and creatures toward the latter half of the game) are nothing short of stunning. MMOs usually tend to pull out the big guns for their raid bosses, but what I’ve seen of TERA’s puts all others to shame.

After over five years in the cooker, TERA’s overall graphics are already starting to show their age even on max settings, but like with High School of the Dead, this is a piece of entertainment that knows what its fans want and shamelessly fires on all cylinders to deliver it.

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What’s unique?
“TERA emphasizes player skill rather than the stats that many games in the MMO genre focus on,” says Brian Knox, senior producer at En Masse Entertainment. “In TERA, player skill will be the defining factor for victory or defeat. TERA’s big-ass monsters and fast paced, contextual combat should be a welcome reprieve from the standard tab-target MMO and an exciting change of pace for more console-oriented players.”