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May 2006 Donation Item Critique |
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This month's Donation Items are the Angelbow and the Chain of Command 
Saw One Coming; Laughed at the Other
Seriously. "Chain of Command" sounds like another item in their long lines of items based around bad puns. Then again, I did buy the Rili Sari, so who am I to insult the name for what is suppose to be a chain weapon. The Angelbow, on the other hand, I was expecting since two months ago (as were most of you, I'm sure).
Death From Heaven
Much to my surprise, the Angelbow lacks in modes compared to its darker counterpart from a few months back. This was probably the oddest thing that struck me immediately when the drop-down menu of how I can equip this item came up.
It would appear that the avatar artists have decided to drop the Cross Held modes and stick with the hand mode and the Back Mount mode. Seems a bit odd, but I can see their reasoning for it. After all, there's only one reason why this item was made.
Design-wise, the back mode is the more attractive of the set. And it should be. The bow itself is designed with the wings already established in a way that putting it on your back is probably the only way to fly. I would be very impressed if someone can use the hand-held modes well enough.
The hand-held modes are pretty much standard, but they just make the Angelbow look odd when your hands are down. Even upright and held, the Angelbow doesn't look like a ranger's weapon so much as some kind of futuristic laser weapon that shoots out a holy beam of light.
In short, it's the same as the Demonbow, only Angelic. Nothing new except to those that have been wating for back wings. This will shut them up until the official ones come along, which probably will be bigger in design.
The Dark Art of Asu Kikingu
First off, this is one of those donation items that look good with another of the same kind. There's no two ways about it. For at least half of the modes, you will need another Chain of Command just to make it look good. That being said, let's look at each of the modes individually.
The default mode of this item gives you strange chain armor of sorts that I swear I probably saw worn by a professional wrestler in the past. Those that have invested in the Web Set will be happy to know that this mode matches it perfectly. It also takes up the Jacket slot, which means you can wear both tops from the set and look more gothic than you ever could in real life thanks to things like dress codes an the fact that this item is a potential weapon.
The next two modes probably go well together, but I don't see how you can pull it off without claiming you have some kind of supernatural power. Ring D mode comes in an Upper and Lower version, each creating a circle that hovers around either your waist or at eye level of your head. While nothing new as far as the gravity-defying items pool goes, these modes do look rather out of place. Maybe they won't once those contacts come out. I'm thinking this will look good if and when the contacts where it just shows the whites of your eyes and nothing else comes out for purchase. As far as what else to wear with it? The Jacked-Up stuff comes to mind, mostly because it has that flowy design caused by some dark mystical force unseen by human eyes.
Probably one of more humorous modes is Belt of Chaste. This mode coupled with some skimpy underwear will make it seem you are wearing more than just protection. With this mode, there's no need to say that "No means no." An idiot can see that once they get a good look of your avatar wearing this. Incidently, this mode can accent the default mode of this item rather nicely. It should also be noted that you are only protected from the front and not in the back. For that, you'd need the Chain Tail Blade mode. More on that later.
False Locke is probably the only time you get to see the chain without any strange modifications to it, which also is probably the only time you get to see how long the chain actually is. As a hand item, this mode puts you in some rather large shackles. The false part is the fact that they are not going to inhibit you from any danger like the Prisoner Shackles are suppose to. If anything, they will protect your hands. I personally don't like the design of this mode. They look like big chain-link boxing gloves that are chained together.
Right Strike and Left Strike are pretty much your standard ninja way of showing off this weapon while having it at the ready. Just pick an arm and your chain will wrap itself around it with the blade hanging off but still within your reach for a quick throw or stab. Unfortunately, you're going to have to deal with the fact that the chain also gives you a rather tight looking wrap around your neck as well. This may not be a bad thing if you can work around or with it, but it does subtract from the appeal of these two modes.
The oddest mode so far would have to be the Bladed Pigtail mode. As the name implies, you get two pigtails from this mode that form from the chain that is wrapped around your head. Avatars with short hair will probably be attracted to this mode, but if you have long hair, be warned. It looks awkward and can often skew your hair's perspective from both the front and back. Using the Island Girl Wig doesn't help it either, as the yellow just clashes too much with the grey. Dark short hair works best with this mode.
Chain Tail Blade is the mecha-substitution for the Devil Tail. The previous Devil Tail substitute (the Fire Whip) doesn't look as close to the original as this version does. The obvious differance being is what direction the chain choses to swing to. However, from the back, it becomes clear that you will need another Chain of Command in either the default mode or the Belt of Chaste mode to go with this. The link that starts the tail is a single ring that seems to attatch itself to either your belt or to your back depending on what you are wearing as your pants. You can get around buying another Chain of Command, but it would involve investing in pants that LOOK like they have chains on them to begin with. For the boys, this is easy. Just buy that pair of Goth Pants that have been here since who-knows-when. For girls? I don't recall seeing many pants that look like they have chains on them. Your best bet is to get a belt that matches it.
The final mode is Chain Mask, which isn't all that impressive. The chain simply wraps around your face in the same manner the CN Scarf does for Unknown Hero mode. Strangely enough, it's design reads as the exact polar opposite of the mentioned mode of the CN Scarf. You will probably need two more Chains (one in default, the other in Belt) and a third if you really want to show off how much gold you have (for the Tail Blade), but I'm sure there are ways around it.
Overall, the variety this item offers is only hindered by the fact you need a second one to couple with it. If you can find your way around that, then you should pass it on to all those users out there that are budget concious.
Behold! The Angel of Chaste!
For chosing to release Donation Items early after such a vast majority of people have voted in the poll saying to just tell us when the month starts, I'm surprised they didn't shoot themselves in the foot the first time around. They release an item which will probably generate a lot of money for them one way or another. The Angelbow because people want back wings so badly they will shell out money for it; the Chain of Command because you can't have just one and make it look good unless you really are creative with what you got. Furthermore, with such an increase in donations, this means more of these items to go around. More items on the market means lower prices. Lower prices means people will get some nice stuff without having to quest very long for it.
Sounds like a win-win situation so far. Let's hope it pans out.
 Zeek Slider · Tue May 16, 2006 @ 04:58am · 2 Comments |
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