Cabal Online is just another Asian fusion crossover

If Cabal Online was a restaurant, it would be a trendy, authentic asian fusion joint where you can have sushi and egg foo young served together on the same plate. The waitresses would be wearing kimonos, gagaku would be playing in the background and the menus would be written completely in kanji. The whole game looks, feels and plays like an Asian MMORPG.

Cabal Online came out last year and was released in EU and Asian markets. Earlier this month the game was released in North America by OGPlanet. Upon entering the game, I get this overwhelming feeling that I have already played Cabal Online. Like most other Asian MMO's, you create your character and are just plopped down uknowingly in the middle of some small, yet bustling outpost full of people just waiting for your help.

One of the initial flaws with Cabal is a very unintuitive user interface with unhelpful configuration options. You have to play Cabal either with WASD or click to move with your mouse. I have always preferred using arrow keys. There doesn't seem to be any way to remap your keys in Cabal Online and their support site didn't even mention customized controls.

After being tossed around the village in what was a pretty weak attempt at a tutorial, I was given my first combat mission. I was also warned to be prepared to drink a lot. It seems that Cabal is a game that revolves around drinking potions. Ok, it's about drinking so many potions during combat that it extends beyond realistic and immersive and becomes a hindrance to fluid gameplay and a roadblock for fun.

When the clouds turn dark and rain starts to fall, I know its usually a good idea to go inside. When an MMORPG lacks creativity and immersion in the starter town, I know from experience it only goes downhill from there. When a game introduces an aggravating mechanic on your first combat encounter, the frustration of that mechanic only intensifies as you invest your time into playing the game.

Here is where my review of Cabal Online ends before it even begins. After completing the first few quests, I realized I was right when I said I have already played Cabal Online. The game offers nothing that has not been done before in other Asian fusion MMORPGs. It looks Asian. It plays Asian. It grinds Asian.

In a market where MMORPG's have become a dime a dozen comodity, they must capture the player's attention immediately. They must immediately immerse the player from level 1. The expectations of an MMORPG are realized in the first couple hours of playing the game. Cabal Online failed on first impression.

Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair with my initial assment of Cabal Online. I have not leveled into the combos, engaged in PVP or explored the uniqueness claimed by Cabal. Unfortunately, if Cabal Online was applying for the job as my primary MMORPG, it failed its initial interview. The game carries a pretty decent resume, but first impressions make the most impact. I was unimpressed with Cabal Online. When players tell you "Just wait until level 10, it gets better", that is a warning sign. If levels 1-9 aren't so exceptional as to grab my attention and suck me into the game, why should I expect it miraculously change at level 10?