After a three week Xbox Windows Phone release drought, we certainly didn’t expect a new game this week. My bet had been on Halo: Spartan Assault being the one to break the drought, possibly next week. But it turns out that Microsoft and Gameloft had different, happier plans for us this week.
Yes, Order & Chaos Online, one of the 12 Gameloft games announced for Windows Phone 8 last year, is finally available! Finally, we have an Xbox-branded Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) to play on the go. So few of those exist even on Xbox 360!
Of course, the usual caveats with a big budget 3D game apply to Order & Chaos Online. It requires 1 GB of RAM and clocks in at 1012 MB file size, meaning you’ll need more than four gigabytes of space to actually download it.
Getting started
First off, Order & Chaos Online has a free demo that allows gamers to play until they reach experience level 8. So as long as you have a device that can run the game and the space needed to download, you might as well create a character and give it a go!
The first part of character creation is selecting a race and gender. The following five races are available:
- Human: These average Joes are allied with Order, the game’s heroic faction.
- Elf: The Orlando Bloom race lives in the forest and sides with Order as well.
- Mendel: This hideous, Ewok-like race was added to the iOS game later in its life. They are neutral and get access to unique mounts to ride.
- Orc: Created by elfish experimentation, the warlike Orcs side with Chaos, the game’s evil faction.
- Undead: The result of necromancy, undead characters follow Chaos.
You’ll find the gender buttons at the bottom of the screen. Swipe horizontally on your character to rotate him or her.
Class act
Next you’ll choose from four classes. Each class can develop in two distinct directions.
- Warrior: Can be a DPS (Damage Per Second - high damage infliction) or tank (high damage resistance) character.
- Mage: Ranged DPS class that can develop either Skyfire (fire) spells or Permafrost (ice) spells.
- Monk: Can be either a healer or a DPS/buff character.
- Ranger: Can be ranged DPS as an Archer or melee DPS as an Assassin.
Then you’ll customize your features and choose one of three servers: America (where I’ll be playing), Europe, or Asia.
Role playing on the go
After creating your character, you can finally start playing. You’ll likely see other human players starting out – the game will teach you to chat and interact with them soon enough. Talk to an NPC (Non-Player Character) with a scroll over his or her head in order to accept a quest. The first few quests basically serve as a tutorial, instructing you how to move, jump, attack, use the map, and more.
In my brief time with Order & Chaos Online, it actually looks like one of the best games yet to come to Windows Phone. The frame rate is higher than Gameloft’s previous open world games, and well in line with PC MMOs. With real online multiplayer and thousands of quests to complete, this one should keep RPG fans busy for a long while. Speaking of MMOs, if you dig Order & Chaos, you’re sure to love Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls Online when it comes to Xbox One and PC next year.
Order & Chaos Online – Windows Phone 8 with 1 GB RAM – 1012 MB - $6.99 – Store Link
Thanks to Mark Tepper, Steve Frolleau, Marcel, Guilherme, and Sir Switch for the tip!
