Introduction
Cabal 2 might be new to us in America, but the game was actually released in South Korea way back in 2012, so it’s definitely not a new game. Unfortunately, this is an obvious fact you will quickly realize after diving into the massively multiplayer role-playing game, as a lot has changed in three years. It’s not horrible by any means, but it would be much more impressive if we got to play it in 2012 when it was first created.
Still, if you’re a fan of the first game and you’re not super picky, comparing it to other recent MMORPGs, then you will appreciate Cabal 2. Remember the Force Blader and Force Archer? Well, they’re making a comeback, and they’re not the only ones making a return. There are 6 playable classes, and one of them is the new Priest class. You will still build up skills and chain them together to destroy your enemies with powerful combos, and go on quests throughout the land to reap various rewards.
Sure, it’s familiar and you might think it’s too repetitive, boring, or even a washed-up repeat from dozens of other MMORPGs you’ve played in the past five years. However, some of us actually like games like this and appreciate the world it puts us in, and the outstanding work the developers did to make the world a 3D reality. I’m not going to give this game a super low rating, but I also understand it doesn’t deserve a perfect one as it’s definitely not a unique or even original game.
In the game, you will hunt for clues to the mysterious disappearance of children across the world, and this will take you across the continent through various dungeons in a world developed with the CryEngine 3 game engine. It’s a beautiful world, even though other new titles have better graphics, it’s still a beautiful freaking world so don’t try to downplay it!
Cabal 2 has 6 playable classes, and they are the Warrior, Wizard, Force Shielder, Force Blader, Force Archer and Priest.
Gameplay
If you’re familiar with the genre then you are aware of the common classes and how they can be used as either the tank, healer or damage healer. This game will not surprise you one bit if you’ve played any MMORPG in the past, so you have to not care about this to enjoy the game. It’s free-to-play and that will win most folks over, but its not nearly as good as Path of Exile and other free-to-play games so maybe not.
There are some cool little features about Cabal 2, such as the detail that you can put into customizing your character’s appearance, making him or her look tougher by changing the shape and size of their body. The cool finishing moves you can use in a boss fight are also a nice addition, although it doesn’t necessarily enhance the gameplay or make the game better in any way, shape or form.
When you start the game you will spend the first few hours slashing your way through linear zones, where you kill beetles, scorpions and other generic enemies. This is exactly my problem, although I find it unfair to treat Cabal 2 different from other titles who do the same repetitive stuff, by putting in the same enemies and monsters to fight from other games. Still, it’s a problem and it is definitely in Cabal 2.
Aside from the boring beetles and scorpions, Cabal 2 will have you completing various quests, and it’s cool that they all tie together to tell a story, but like most MMORPGs, the story isn’t so unique. To put in more fair words, the story isn’t worth the effort you go through to hear it, to piece it together. Hours of running around without discovering anything meaningful about the story and what’s going on – it’s almost depressing. Nobody wants to waste hours of their life, and this game certainly doesn’t consider how much time the players spend doing repetitive tasks.
Oh, and this may shock you but the cutscenes are really voice acted, and not so bad. You’re not able to skip through them so thank goodness they’re not so bad. Well, some of them are bad, but not as terrible as other role-playing games’.
When it comes to games like this, I never become attached to the characters, they are almost always boring to me. It’s not personal with me, as I just don’t play games like this for the characters, I play for an escape from my daily routine and stressful life. But, the characters do suck, so don’t waste your time with this game if that’s going to bother you. When a quest is over, say goodbye to the characters and move on! That’s how this game operates over and over again.
The levelling system kind of sucks too, because after you hit level 20 it becomes incredibly difficult to level up. I mean wow, it will take a day or two just to hit another level. But, it sucks because in order to level up you will have to bore yourself to death, which really sucks because you’re only at level 20, come on!!! There simply aren’t enough story quests to keep you leveling up in a more fun and entertaining way, so prepare yourself, you’ve been warned.
Want to keep taking on side quests to level up? You can’t! You’re actually limited to how many time you can take a side quest in one day, and once you hit a certain level they will disable you from taking on certain quests.
Graphics and Visuals
The world may look generic, but the graphics do look amazing and its still a beautiful world. Your surroundings will really make the game more likable, and if the environment didn’t look so good I would never play this game. I would have never played it in the first place, because it’s not unique or original, so it must shine somewhere. I like how your weapons will glow in the lighting, and how they pulled off a fantastic day and night cycle.
Some things feel empty, even lifeless, but overall the graphics are on point and the visuals aren’t nearly as bad as others’. I truly think you can still appreciate it, especially if you’re not somebody who plays a lot of MMORPGs and just want a free game to kill time. In that case, you will probably love this game. The animations are nearly perfect, the way the characters fight and their movements are flawless. The developer did a great job at making the game, but the writers were obviously amateurs.
Conclusion
If you’re thinking about downloading Cabal 2 after reading my review then give it a chance, because any serious critic wouldn’t question it after everything I just mentioned. The generic appearance, the repetitive, unoriginal gameplay, boring story, lack of character development, and I can probably go on. However, if you’re not a harsh game critic and you haven’t played too many MMORPGs (or at least not in recent years) then you might actually like Cabal 2. So give it a try, it’s a free-to-play game and you can always delete it if you don’t like it.
