A hopefully unbiased review for those unsure of whether to purchase...(long)

terrant

Hi all, just wanted to add my 2 bits to the "great debate" about this game. There's quite a few diehard fanbois that laud the game and gloss over its flaws; there's just as many nay-sayers who act like it's the worst piece of trash ever invented. I feel netiher to be true, and would like to review it for you myself, in a hopefully unbiased, honest way.

 

A little about me, and the computer playing AoC. I'm 30 years old, and have been playing RPGs for bloody ever. I played MUDs and such for years, then went on to put way too much of my life into a number of MMOs: Everquest 1 and 2, CoH/CoV, EVE, Anarchy Online, Guild Wars, WoW, LOTRO, FFXI, and that's just the ones I had subscriptions to. I also played q bit of VG, and darn near every Asian grinder you can name.

 

About my compooter. I play on:

Intel e3110 3.0ghz

2 gigs PC6400 800mhz RAM

Asus p5n32-E (680i) mobo

8800 GTS 640mB vid card

Vista 32bit

24" widescreen LCD monitor.

Total cost to build: ~$1100US. A full third of that was the monitor, which was an impulse buy. For the record, this computer plays AoC at native 1900x1200 resolution, all graphics settings maxed, with a perfectly good framerates (though I might want a little faster for large batles.) So no, you do not need a $3000 computer to play this game! Lesser machines can easily run it on lower settings.

Let's start off with the graphics. I'll keep it short. They're pretty. Real pretty. Stupid pretty. Especially if you can play at max, which isn't easy for older computers. Sorry guys,this is the Crysis of MMOs- a real gear check for whether you're ready for "next-gen" games. Again, realize you don't need to break the bank to play this, and you don't HAVE to run it at max. But it does look a heckuva lot better if you can.

On to the GUI. It was designed (much like Funcom's prior MMO, Anarchy Online) to be minimalist and not clutter the screen. This may well be the only thing it's good at. It IS clunky, and takes time to work around. While there are some customization options, fans of WoW's "pimp my UI" moddable engine will hate it. And even those less concerned with the perfect UI will find it a little clumsy at first. It does get easier.

Sound wise, the game is almost perfect. Music is frequent, and fits the theme of the area you are in. Sound effects are frequent and realistic, especially ambient wildlife and such. The voiceovers in Tortage are excellent- my only gripe is I wish they could have laster longer. But I can see where that could have been a problem. It just feels awkward when you leave Tortage and all the sudden you have silent NPCs.

And now, a word on Tortage. Look, please understand that Tortage and all related zones are a NEWBIE area. It's essentially a 20-level solo tutorial, that does allow for some multiplayer. It's fairly linear, and it's meant to be that way. Things widen up when you leave there. Dn't fear that like GW< every zone is one narrow path you HAVE to follow. It does open up quite a bit.

Now, about the great instance/zone mess. YES, it is zoned. You will hit loading screens every time you move to another area. These generally lasted 3-10 seconds on my computer, depending on the area's size. One irritating thing is all the NPCs do not load when you enter a zone, so you may spend several seconds waiting for a quest NPC to "pop up". As far as the instancing mess....it IS instanced. There ARE copies of zones. This does NOT mean it's like GW where you're always alone, and it does NOT mean you'll never see other players. For the most part, you won't see multiple instances unless an area is really, really crowded. That said, Tortage is really, really crowded right now. It gets better as you get further in. I understand how mant consider these things "immersion breaking", although hwo you can feel that immersed with chat boxes, GUI buttons, and people screaming Chuck Norris jokes is beyond me.

Community wise, things aren't that bad. PvP and PvE servers definately have a different feel, although that's not to say everyone on PvE is a scaredy carebear, or that everyone on PvE is a Counterstrike-esque 12-yr-old moron. I've actually seen a number of friendly, helpful people on pretty much every server, and debates over OOC are a lot of fun. I'd rate the maturity as better than WoW, but not as much as, say, EVE.

Speaking of PvP...if you're on a PvE server it's a non-issue. PvP servers however have a problem with ganking, although there is a buff gained on rez/zone in that helps mitigate the pain a little. I recommend getting accustomed with Hide (hotkey: H) as soon as possible. Most people don't bother doing a search for you. Against even opponents, PvP is fun, and the feeling that you can be attacked at any moment adds a certain dangerous thrill. Even if you're opposed to open PvP, I'd recommend giving it a try, it can be fun.

Combat is great. Period. No auto-attack means you have to think a little in order to do the best damage you can muster. Combos/Spells are well animated, and Fatalities are just plain awesome. Although I warn you, most melee fatalities leave you locked in a long animation that can be used against you. Despite what many fans say, it is TOTALLY possible to fall into a "1,2,3" mentality with combat, especially for casters (to whom the semi-revolutionary directional combat system mean nothing). But it's not always the best way to go. Also, expect lots of multiple mobs coming at you. Pretty much every class handles itself well in PvP or PvE solo/group content, and battles are often a fun challenge.

Trading, Player cities, Siege warfare, and player economies are not in the game yet. Tradeskills are practically an endgame concern only. I have not gotten far enough yet to comment on those.  I'll follow up when I can.

So, long story short. Is this game for everyone? No. Look guys, it's not AC or EVE or COH or even WoW. It's its own game. If you don't like zoning, or feel instancing is the devil, not much I say here can persude you. Don't buy the game. If you think quest-based levelling is evil, and would prefer to level by tradeskilling/grinding mobs, this is NOT the game for you.

However, it IS a fun game. It's beautiful, and combat is a thirll, and PvP is pretty cool. To anyone willing to deal with the zoning/instancing thing, I'd really recommend trying it. You might even like it. Overall, I score it around a 8/10. It's only real flaws at this point are some small irritating bugs (nothing like AO or even WoW's launch!), somewhat high tech reqs compared to older games, And the use of instances/zones. Other than that, it's a terrific game. It is NOT a WoW-killer. I fully intend to keep my WoW subscription. But I will probably keep my AoC one, as well. I'm having fun playing, and that's what matters in the end.

No, I don not have buddy keys to give out, so please don't ask.

 

ProfRed

Awesome review.  This board needs more reviews like this, and please continue to post reviews as you gain levels.  This review could have easily been written but had a negative opinion in the last paragraph stating you would not be playing the game due to 'X' reason.  I haven't written a review yet because I am having too much fun in game so I doubt my ability to write a review like this, but Bravo!

kefkah

Very good post indeed. Looking forward to your follow up post.

 

Sirtak

Great Review. I so far see nothing that would turn me off from this game, besides the fact that I would love to run it on high, my computer only allows me running it on Medium... Which isn't THAT bad ... I suppose.

Anyways, I look forward to the follow up. Really curious to see the tradeskills. *Thumbs up*

Vesavius

Originally posted by terrant


Hi all, just wanted to add my 2 bits to the "great debate" about this game. There's quite a few diehard fanbois that laud the game and gloss over its flaws; there's just as many nay-sayers who act like it's the worst piece of trash ever invented. I feel netiher to be true, and would like to review it for you myself, in a hopefully unbiased, honest way.
 
A little about me, and the computer playing AoC. I'm 30 years old, and have been playing RPGs for bloody ever. I played MUDs and such for years, then went on to put way too much of my life into a number of MMOs: Everquest 1 and 2, CoH/CoV, EVE, Anarchy Online, Guild Wars, WoW, LOTRO, FFXI, and that's just the ones I had subscriptions to. I also played q bit of VG, and darn near every Asian grinder you can name.
 
About my compooter. I play on:
Intel e3110 3.0ghz
2 gigs PC6400 800mhz RAM
Asus p5n32-E (680i) mobo
8800 GTS 640mB vid card
Vista 32bit
24" widescreen LCD monitor.
Total cost to build: ~$1100US. A full third of that was the monitor, which was an impulse buy. For the record, this computer plays AoC at native 1900x1200 resolution, all graphics settings maxed, with a perfectly good framerates (though I might want a little faster for large batles.) So no, you do not need a $3000 computer to play this game! Lesser machines can easily run it on lower settings.
Let's start off with the graphics. I'll keep it short. They're pretty. Real pretty. Stupid pretty. Especially if you can play at max, which isn't easy for older computers. Sorry guys,this is the Crysis of MMOs- a real gear check for whether you're ready for "next-gen" games. Again, realize you don't need to break the bank to play this, and you don't HAVE to run it at max. But it does look a heckuva lot better if you can.
On to the GUI. It was designed (much like Funcom's prior MMO, Anarchy Online) to be minimalist and not clutter the screen. This may well be the only thing it's good at. It IS clunky, and takes time to work around. While there are some customization options, fans of WoW's "pimp my UI" moddable engine will hate it. And even those less concerned with the perfect UI will find it a little clumsy at first. It does get easier.
Sound wise, the game is almost perfect. Music is frequent, and fits the theme of the area you are in. Sound effects are frequent and realistic, especially ambient wildlife and such. The voiceovers in Tortage are excellent- my only gripe is I wish they could have laster longer. But I can see where that could have been a problem. It just feels awkward when you leave Tortage and all the sudden you have silent NPCs.
And now, a word on Tortage. Look, please understand that Tortage and all related zones are a NEWBIE area. It's essentially a 20-level solo tutorial, that does allow for some multiplayer. It's fairly linear, and it's meant to be that way. Things widen up when you leave there. Dn't fear that like GW< every zone is one narrow path you HAVE to follow. It does open up quite a bit.
Now, about the great instance/zone mess. YES, it is zoned. You will hit loading screens every time you move to another area. These generally lasted 3-10 seconds on my computer, depending on the area's size. One irritating thing is all the NPCs do not load when you enter a zone, so you may spend several seconds waiting for a quest NPC to "pop up". As far as the instancing mess....it IS instanced. There ARE copies of zones. This does NOT mean it's like GW where you're always alone, and it does NOT mean you'll never see other players. For the most part, you won't see multiple instances unless an area is really, really crowded. That said, Tortage is really, really crowded right now. It gets better as you get further in. I understand how mant consider these things "immersion breaking", although hwo you can feel that immersed with chat boxes, GUI buttons, and people screaming Chuck Norris jokes is beyond me.
Community wise, things aren't that bad. PvP and PvE servers definately have a different feel, although that's not to say everyone on PvE is a scaredy carebear, or that everyone on PvE is a Counterstrike-esque 12-yr-old moron. I've actually seen a number of friendly, helpful people on pretty much every server, and debates over OOC are a lot of fun. I'd rate the maturity as better than WoW, but not as much as, say, EVE.
Speaking of PvP...if you're on a PvE server it's a non-issue. PvP servers however have a problem with ganking, although there is a buff gained on rez/zone in that helps mitigate the pain a little. I recommend getting accustomed with Hide (hotkey: H) as soon as possible. Most people don't bother doing a search for you. Against even opponents, PvP is fun, and the feeling that you can be attacked at any moment adds a certain dangerous thrill. Even if you're opposed to open PvP, I'd recommend giving it a try, it can be fun.
Combat is great. Period. No auto-attack means you have to think a little in order to do the best damage you can muster. Combos/Spells are well animated, and Fatalities are just plain awesome. Although I warn you, most melee fatalities leave you locked in a long animation that can be used against you. Despite what many fans say, it is TOTALLY possible to fall into a "1,2,3" mentality with combat, especially for casters (to whom the semi-revolutionary directional combat system mean nothing). But it's not always the best way to go. Also, expect lots of multiple mobs coming at you. Pretty much every class handles itself well in PvP or PvE solo/group content, and battles are often a fun challenge.
Trading, Player cities, Siege warfare, and player economies are not in the game yet. Tradeskills are practically an endgame concern only. I have not gotten far enough yet to comment on those.  I'll follow up when I can.
So, long story short. Is this game for everyone? No. Look guys, it's not AC or EVE or COH or even WoW. It's its own game. If you don't like zoning, or feel instancing is the devil, not much I say here can persude you. Don't buy the game. If you think quest-based levelling is evil, and would prefer to level by tradeskilling/grinding mobs, this is NOT the game for you.
However, it IS a fun game. It's beautiful, and combat is a thirll, and PvP is pretty cool. To anyone willing to deal with the zoning/instancing thing, I'd really recommend trying it. You might even like it. Overall, I score it around a 8/10. It's only real flaws at this point are some small irritating bugs (nothing like AO or even WoW's launch!), somewhat high tech reqs compared to older games, And the use of instances/zones. Other than that, it's a terrific game. It is NOT a WoW-killer. I fully intend to keep my WoW subscription. But I will probably keep my AoC one, as well. I'm having fun playing, and that's what matters in the end.
No, I don not have buddy keys to give out, so please don't ask.
 

I wish I had written this

twistedvenom

I liked your review of the game so far.  I have a level 21 nerco and let me tell you PVP is hard for me.  Just FYI be ready to die alot if you are not used to PVP battles that can happen anytime.  I ve been ganked so many times I had to walk away form my computer to keep myself form crushing my computer out of pure rage.

ProfRed

Originally posted by vesavius





I wish I had written this

Me too!  I hope I can write a review in a few weeks without too much bias, but until then I hope more people like this write some reviews, whether negative and positive.

ajax7

bump good review.