.......Warhammer Online is really nothing revolutionary. I don’t think many people were expecting it to be, ...... My only hope is that people will see this game for what it really is: riding the success of World of Warcraft. .....Warhammer Online is a good game, it’s just not revolutionary. It doesn’t try to break boundaries and it doesn’t try to become anything more than what’s already been put out before. I think MMOs need to change. For too long we have been seeing the same thing and those few companies that try to think outside the box get kicked to the curb. I hope that somebody will change this and create a new breed of MMOs and give us addicts a much needed experience.
*Update* Literally last night we beta tested a dungeon within Altdorf. That's all I'm going to say on that matter because of the NDA which covers that specific server. Just letting people know that there are dungeons in the game.
Finally, i have been waiting for someone else aside from me that played CB that feels the same way, Im sure glad im not the only person that thinks this way about the MMO industry!!!
You just sound INCREDIBLY biased. And yes, i read everything you wrote. I just, personally, cannot see how you can begin to compare WAR to WoW.
WAR= RvR heavy pvp... a seamless world where PvE and PvP intertwine VERY nicely (revolutionary in itself) WoW= Boring PvE, worthless PvP (epics are a dime a dozen and you aren't worth 2 cents if you don't arena! And arena is VERY limited!)
Just because he is not super objective and taking multiple viewpoints and possibilities does not mean he has a bone to pick. Many people simply don't operate that way.
Take it for what its worth. The OP never claimed he was revealing some kind of truth from heaven. And besides claiming he is a WoW fanboy is silly he specifically said certain aspects of WAR are the best he has ever seen in an MMOs. Fanboys don't talk that way.
.......Warhammer Online is really nothing revolutionary. I don’t think many people were expecting it to be, ...... My only hope is that people will see this game for what it really is: riding the success of World of Warcraft. .....Warhammer Online is a good game, it’s just not revolutionary. It doesn’t try to break boundaries and it doesn’t try to become anything more than what’s already been put out before. I think MMOs need to change. For too long we have been seeing the same thing and those few companies that try to think outside the box get kicked to the curb. I hope that somebody will change this and create a new breed of MMOs and give us addicts a much needed experience.
*Update* Literally last night we beta tested a dungeon within Altdorf. That's all I'm going to say on that matter because of the NDA which covers that specific server. Just letting people know that there are dungeons in the game.
Finally, i have been waiting for someone else aside from me that played CB that feels the same way, Im sure glad im not the only person that thinks this way about the MMO industry!!!
I've really had enough of this crap.
STOP COMPLAINING AND PICK UP EVE
Actually i do play Eve as well, Eve happens to be one of the most innovative MMO titles out, they are one of the VERY RARE and few that stepped outside the MMO cookie-cut mold and made something unique, i applaude them greatly for that!
As someone who has been in beta for a few months now, I find your review pretty fair. The WoW comparisons are going to happen no matter who reviews the game. If a new fast food burger joint opens up, people are going to compare it to McDonalds and like it or not, WoW is currently the McDonald's of the MMO world (I prefer Wendy's!).
The really bitter reviews are going to come from the hardcore DAoC fans who are going to expect this game to be old school RvR, which it's not. Warhammer's PvP is its own game and can't really be compared to the other games PvP systems. Some of your favorite features that you are expecting, will be there. But other features that you were expecting might not. You'll really have to get your own hands on with the game to judge it for yourself. Some of the people I played with on Warpstone loved the game, when they didn't think they would. And others who have been itching for this game for years, tested it for a month before giving up on it because they felt it was nothing they haven't seen already. Make your own choice when you get your chance to play.
Only negative thing you'll hear from me, is that September might be just a bit to soon for release as there is still many bugs, lots of CTD's (they're so frequent they actually have a CTD survey going now), many problems getting stuck in the terrain, and lots of lag on the bigger battlefields. Hopefully they'll keep rolling patches out before release to correct most of those issues, but I personally would rather see them polish this game and release it right.
EDIT: One other negative thing I remember, some of the Races have less custom appearance options then Vanguard did! Hopefully they just haven't patched the newer features in yet!
I totally agree with you OP. Even though I havent played Warhammer Online yet, i can already tell from the videos, the blogs and the reviews from other testers its more of the same.
I was never one to think WAR was going to be revolutionary. It wasnt made with that purpose. However, you can count on it being a completed game on release. Which has me worried. Is this what it has come down to? Me being thankful that the game is COMPLETED, when I really should be upset when it presents nothing new?
MMO's are truly going backwards. All of the other games, the earlier ones, the classics, all were about the world. Now its about the "game." I know it, WAR puts you on a defined path. You go to one zone to the next, to the next zone, they tell you where to go. You dont really have a choice. And then theres classes - the same old classes of tank, DPS, support etc etc. No death penalty probably is the worst.
People throw themselves into combat, not afraid of death. Is this really War? In war, do you throw yourself out into combat, hoping to get a "heal" and if not, dying and coming back all spic and span? Its ridiculous, and I find myself amazed someone hasnt thought up of the unique concept of giving players something to fear.
But then they say it wouldnt be "fun".
What a load of crap.
WAR is really just WoW focused on PvP. Not really bad, but not great either. I personally am a PvP person, I can enjoy myself in this game and I will be probably getting it to have some fun on it ocassionaly. Put WAR isnt going to be something spectacular, or something that will get my heart pumping like the PvP on AC1. But its something.
If Warhammer came out a few years earlier, the discussion would be far different. It's funny how WoW took everything about Warhammer and made it into a game...Timing is everything. WoW was first, and no matter what the grandfather of the genre does, it'll always be compared to it.
Whatevs though. I have fun play WAR, so I think I'll play it until they make Warhammer 40K Online...
You just sound INCREDIBLY biased. And yes, i read everything you wrote. I just, personally, cannot see how you can begin to compare WAR to WoW.
WAR= RvR heavy pvp... a seamless world where PvE and PvP intertwine VERY nicely (revolutionary in itself) WoW= Boring PvE, worthless PvP (epics are a dime a dozen and you aren't worth 2 cents if you don't arena! And arena is VERY limited!)
WoW is like Halo 3. It's crap, but everyone still plays it.
Ha.. Its like the "Macarena"... The only reason people danced to that song is because the moves were easy to remember and everyone else did it..lmao
I just can't believe all of you comparing WAR to WoW.
Either: you haven't played WoW or you haven't played WAR.
They are just SO different. WoW = burnt out, tried, mindless, linear, worthless pvp. BUT it has mildly interesting PvE (which gets boring after discovering how to defeat bosses when new raid instances come out).
WAR = PROPER RvR, VERY GOOD 'battlegrounds', innovative siege warfare (e.g. you can enter 1st person to fire siege turrets... just like an fps).
Warhammer is not a bad game, but, it's nothing revolutionary either. The biggest thing War has going for it is that it's incredibly easy for the casual gamer to get things accomplished. I think that will be its biggest draw and strength and what I think the dev's were hoping for.
It will take the people away from WoW who got bored with it and want a new experience, and I think it will start getting into WoW's new subscription numbers as well. But I'm not sure if it will have the depth of other games out there.
At this point, I like the game. It is fun with the right class and engaging. The quests are easy to pick up and quick to do. The PQ's are fun and certainly a novel idea. The grouping system is excellent and makes it easy to join a group or warband. You can join RvR or PvE quickly and easily, and get quite a bit accomplished within a short period of time.
Ultimately, what gets a person to play a game isn't whether it is revolutionary or just a rehash, but whether it is fun or not. Warhammer doesn't bring anything new to the game, but I think it's fun.
As much I thanks you for your review on the game I feel it a little biased by the fact you compare it too much to WoW and taking it as The Good Game. Also without being fanboish WoW didn't brought much new to MMORPG so there's not many "different" styled MMO that work there way to fame.
Ah this has been brought up twice. The reason I compared it to WoW is because it has been clearly influenced by WoW. Everything about the game reminds me of WoW: different specs, classes, even some of the zones. I'm not going to sit here and compare to Eve or to EQ or something like that. And it bares little resemblance to DaoC so what am I going to use as a reference? I chose WoW because of that, I'm not a fanboy and I don't think World of Warcraft is the be all end all of MMOs. I was hoping I drove that point home with the bit at the end.
To say it plainly: I am not a WoW fanboy and only use it as a reference because WAR is so similar. That is all.
You might also want to mention that when most people write MMO reviews and make comparisons in them, very often it is with WoW. In this case, with what you mentioned, but more importantly, because almost everyone who has ever played an MMO has at least tried WoW. It's much easier for the reader that way because they can more easily understand the comparisons.
Thanks for your review. Tbh I think what was wrong with it and what made it feel so long is that you used too much description and covered very little. For the most part it was about dungeons, leveling, RvR, the main cities, and two of the classes. You could have summarized alot shorter and give the same jist while covering more content in the game and keeping your review at the same length. Not trying to make your review look bad or anything, just criticizing for improvements.
What I agreed with alot on was your general idea of the game and your idea on what MMOs should be... breaking the mold, not playing it safe and as you say, "riding off the success of World of Warcraft".
EDIT: Also want to mention... ugh, I hate having no death penalty. I mean really... for a pve game that isn't so bad. But this is about pvp. You need some sort of death penalty to help prevent (or keep control of) zergs. grah... I have a feeling this is just going to be a WoW with a new skin and lack of PvE (when WoW can offer both).
Thanks for the honest review OP. You did a great job. Don't be bothered by that 1234aaa guy, he is clearly nothing more than a WAR fanboy... I'm sure he was an AoC fanboy before that.
Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike Loved: Star Wars Galaxies Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.
I have to admit its frustrating to base personal play style on other people's reviews, however War was one of the few games I didn't get to beta test. Based on the video's, images and reviews since the NDA was lifted these are the impressions I'm getting. It would appear that Mythic made a concerted effort to keep the game lively and engaging. My particular issue with this first impression is that elements of depth or substantive story line/lore doesn't necessarily play a significant part in the game. In other words immersion is more superficial, racing stripes and flash, than dialog and historicity.
What has struck me most was hearing from none PvP players suggesting that Mythic got PvP right. I can't help but think that strategy and tactics have now been compartmentalized to a point to where skill and finesse is arbitrary, its now about bashing and slashing till someone falls down as death penalties have been completely trivialized. Public Parties/Warbands sounds very much like FPS game cuing, naturally its hard to knock something you've not tried, but this seems like the antidote to LFG and may not necessarily be a bad thing, yet we've all been in those tragic PUG groups.
This game really does look like it caters to the new MMO game style of keeping everything in motion so as to hold people's attention than the more high brow sophistication of old MMO's. Until I can see the game for myself these are the impression I'm getting so far.
The Old Timers Guild Laid back, not so serious, no drama. All about the fun!
www.oldtimersguild.com An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it. - Jef Mallett
I just can't believe all of you comparing WAR to WoW.
Either: you haven't played WoW or you haven't played WAR.
They are just SO different. WoW = burnt out, tried, mindless, linear, worthless pvp. BUT it has mildly interesting PvE (which gets boring after discovering how to defeat bosses when new raid instances come out).
WAR = PROPER RvR, VERY GOOD 'battlegrounds', innovative siege warfare (e.g. you can enter 1st person to fire siege turrets... just like an fps).
Your post is incorrect:
WOW UI Layout = Life bars upper left side Radar upper right with Quest Text below Radar
I just can't believe all of you comparing WAR to WoW.
Either: you haven't played WoW or you haven't played WAR.
They are just SO different. WoW = burnt out, tried, mindless, linear, worthless pvp. BUT it has mildly interesting PvE (which gets boring after discovering how to defeat bosses when new raid instances come out).
WAR = PROPER RvR, VERY GOOD 'battlegrounds', innovative siege warfare (e.g. you can enter 1st person to fire siege turrets... just like an fps).
While the focus of the game may be on different things its hard not to compare games who's lore is so similar. WoW also brought a lot of people into MMOs so of course the game is going to be compared to other games.
Also, people are allowed to have other opinions. There is a way to disagree with someone's opinion other than saying their wrong. I haven't played WAR so I can't say how if I feel the same way the OP does, but I like to hear people's opinion. If you have a different opinion you could always post your own detailed review.
I have to say I enjoy the post OP, its good to see what people's actual opinions are and how they view a game.
I just can't believe all of you comparing WAR to WoW.
Either: you haven't played WoW or you haven't played WAR.
They are just SO different. WoW = burnt out, tried, mindless, linear, worthless pvp. BUT it has mildly interesting PvE (which gets boring after discovering how to defeat bosses when new raid instances come out).
WAR = PROPER RvR, VERY GOOD 'battlegrounds', innovative siege warfare (e.g. you can enter 1st person to fire siege turrets... just like an fps).
LOL yeah because WOW and WAR are nothing alike I mean their gameplay mechanics are nothing alike...........
They are like twins that look the same but have some differences like moles.
There's only one thing that annoys me more than stuck up WoW noobs, and that's people who over-use the word "fanboy". They label ANYBODY who says something negative about a game a fanboy. For the love of god stop, you sound like absolute fools and that word is spreading way too quickly on the internet.
Good review. I still have 3 copies of WAR coming and it hasn't changed my mind about anything.
The PVP in WoW stinks, especially the E-Peena. I have 3 70s all decked out and I am completely tired of it. On the other hand, I love the graphics and since WAR is where they actually stole the ideas from, I'm looking forward to something new with a much much better PVP system. To each his own. Most of the people who are against WAR in this thread have likely already spent their money on WOTLK, and yet they call others fanbois because they support WAR.
Newsflash - we are ALL fanbois. The huge percentage of MMO players don't even come here to read these "opinions" we all have.
As someone who has been in beta for a few months now, I find your review pretty fair. The WoW comparisons are going to happen no matter who reviews the game. If a new fast food burger joint opens up, people are going to compare it to McDonalds and like it or not, WoW is currently the McDonald's of the MMO world (I prefer Wendy's!). The really bitter reviews are going to come from the hardcore DAoC fans who are going to expect this game to be old school RvR, which it's not. Warhammer's PvP is its own game and can't really be compared to the other games PvP systems. Some of your favorite features that you are expecting, will be there. But other features that you were expecting might not. You'll really have to get your own hands on with the game to judge it for yourself. Some of the people I played with on Warpstone loved the game, when they didn't think they would. And others who have been itching for this game for years, tested it for a month before giving up on it because they felt it was nothing they haven't seen already. Make your own choice when you get your chance to play. Only negative thing you'll hear from me, is that September might be just a bit to soon for release as there is still many bugs, lots of CTD's (they're so frequent they actually have a CTD survey going now), many problems getting stuck in the terrain, and lots of lag on the bigger battlefields. Hopefully they'll keep rolling patches out before release to correct most of those issues, but I personally would rather see them polish this game and release it right. EDIT: One other negative thing I remember, some of the Races have less custom appearance options then Vanguard did! Hopefully they just haven't patched the newer features in yet!
QFT
I've also been in CB for a few months now. From the moment you first encounter WAR's UI the WoW comparisons are unavoidable. The gameplay is unmistakenly similar to WoW. No matter how you parse it. The questing is similar (with the exception of the PQ's WAR's big shining improvement to the genre), the UI is similar, the combat is similar. Even many of the classes have a similar feel. As the OP said, it is NOT something new and strikingly diferent. It is an evolutionary game, not a revolutionary one.
It is a good fun and polished game. And it is ready for release, something we have not seen in a long time. It does get you into PvP faster then WoW does. But makes up for it by not offering any PvE instances or dungeons until end game.
But please do not berate the OP for offering his opinions to you. He is not a fanboi or a plant as some have accused him of. His opinion seems honest, and it is certainly in line with the actual game that I have been testing for months. I don't agree with all of his opinions, but he reaches a legitimate view based on the game itself. Not on some dream of how awesome it may be. And that game has alot of real clear unmistakeable similarities to WoW.
Good review. I still have 3 copies of WAR coming and it hasn't changed my mind about anything. The PVP in WoW stinks, especially the E-Peena. I have 3 70s all decked out and I am completely tired of it. On the other hand, I love the graphics and since WAR is where they actually stole the ideas from, I'm looking forward to something new with a much much better PVP system. To each his own. Most of the people who are against WAR in this thread have likely already spent their money on WOTLK, and yet they call others fanbois because they support WAR. Newsflash - we are ALL fanbois. The huge percentage of MMO players don't even come here to read these "opinions" we all have.
You may actually be a little disapointed by WAR's graphics. It's hard to put a finger on and describe, but they just lack something. It is sort of like the art team tried to split the diference between WoW's cartoony style and other games like AOC's more realistic approach. The end result doesn't work perfectly. The graphics look nice, but seem to lack that feeling of being alive that even WoW's cartoony ones seems to have.
On top of that the art and animations were rather apparently done by the same folks as DAoC's. and it really shows. Sadly not in the best of ways. Many animations or character stances will seem disturbingly familiar to DAoC vets. Especially the Elves and humans. Even the spell animations seem to be somewhat ported over from DAoC. Now this wouldn't be a bad thing, if they had used Albions glorious spell effects... but nope WAR got lots of Hibernia's poofs pf purple smoke and shadowbolts.
edit: as a follow up to my coments on that "hard to put your finger on" thing that makes the WAR characters feel flat. I've been obsessing about it all evening and I think I finally figured out what causes it. (and please forgive me, but given the racial similarities of WAR and WOW, direct comparisons are unavoidable. Dwarf to Dwarf, Elf to Elf etc). The WoW character models have a very broad range of extremely subtle animations, including one that you almost never notice. They breath. The WAR character models dont do this (not do they have much in the way of subtle animations). That subtle act of breathing, that is so minor as to be almost subliminal really brings the characters to life in ways that you don't notice until it is gone.
Good review. I still have 3 copies of WAR coming and it hasn't changed my mind about anything. The PVP in WoW stinks, especially the E-Peena. I have 3 70s all decked out and I am completely tired of it. On the other hand, I love the graphics and since WAR is where they actually stole the ideas from, I'm looking forward to something new with a much much better PVP system. To each his own. Most of the people who are against WAR in this thread have likely already spent their money on WOTLK, and yet they call others fanbois because they support WAR. Newsflash - we are ALL fanbois. The huge percentage of MMO players don't even come here to read these "opinions" we all have.
QFT
To the OP ... good review and I don't completely disagree with you. (That is to say I agree with your facts, but not necessarily your conclusions/opinions)
On the one hand I will agree that MMOs need to change ... on the other I've seen where they've tried in the past ..... Shadowbane was a great idea, but the technology wasn't there for it to come together. Eve is a great game, and I'll give you that having player controlable area/keeps such as in Eve (and Shadowbane) would be awesome ...
The flip side is space ...EVE can get away with it because it is in space (and thus it is essentially limitless) anything set on a world is going to be limited by the space of that world. Basically if they tripled the space in WAR you'd still be looking at a vast expanse of unbuildable areas and in a relatively short time those areas where cities/keeps/etc could be built would be claimed, and likely claimed by a relative few on the server. Yes, they'd have to fight to keep them (probably all on their own as their realm mates would want them to fall so they could try to take it back and get it for themselves) but either 1-they'd be ultra hardcore guilds (or huge zerg guilds) and able to keep it easily, or 2-they'd loose it and it would eventually end up in the hands of a guild that fell into catagory #1.
SWG showed that if you allowed building anywhere it takes very little time for there to be buildings everywhere. Tatoonie went from a vast wasteland to having cities crammed as close together as the game would allow you to place them. (There was a bit of this in SB as well) ... so with that I'd say capturing(and defending) exsisting keeps makes just as much sense, because before too long that's all it would be anyway.
Tahrqa Leifbow, Lord Commander of the Argent Order
A good read, OP. Thanks for taking the time to share your insights. Coming from almost the same playing history than you, I feel WAR will be the same for me as it is for you. I also wanted to play Witch Hunter and also preferred Order, but as you write it, Witch Hunter doesnt sound so fun anymore.
I am mainly dissapointed that Zerg has a place in WAR. I really had hoped for a different PVP approach, especially since WAR is so much centered around PVP, I find it a huge letdown, they werent able to prevent Zerg as a successful tactics. Its something I always loathed, people running, lolcoptering and zerging, taking out all the interesting strategic possibilities. I too will try WAR out at start, but the more I hear the more dissappointed I get, tbh. Its just a collection of more and more small things which drag down WAR for me, like itemization, character customization, cities and classes getting deleted... it goes on.
Like AoC it sounds like WAR is going to be an ok game, but mediocre.
Don't listen to them. For years we've been hearing, "Oh just wait till the NDA drops, they just can't tell you how great the game is yet." Well now the time has come and those who still can't except that war isn't the best thing since swiss chocalote will be in denial.
Are you blind? the game is receiving more praise for its beta than any mmorpg released over the last 5 years.
Not to mention, its hard to consider you a credible source, when you cannot even spell chocolate correctly.
Piss poor trolling attempt guy.
Rock a FailCom avatar now and express your disgust with pride!
Comments
Finally, i have been waiting for someone else aside from me that played CB that feels the same way, Im sure glad im not the only person that thinks this way about the MMO industry!!!
I've really had enough of this crap.
STOP COMPLAINING AND PICK UP EVE
Just because he is not super objective and taking multiple viewpoints and possibilities does not mean he has a bone to pick. Many people simply don't operate that way.
Take it for what its worth. The OP never claimed he was revealing some kind of truth from heaven. And besides claiming he is a WoW fanboy is silly he specifically said certain aspects of WAR are the best he has ever seen in an MMOs. Fanboys don't talk that way.
Finally, i have been waiting for someone else aside from me that played CB that feels the same way, Im sure glad im not the only person that thinks this way about the MMO industry!!!
I've really had enough of this crap.
STOP COMPLAINING AND PICK UP EVE
Actually i do play Eve as well, Eve happens to be one of the most innovative MMO titles out, they are one of the VERY RARE and few that stepped outside the MMO cookie-cut mold and made something unique, i applaude them greatly for that!
As someone who has been in beta for a few months now, I find your review pretty fair. The WoW comparisons are going to happen no matter who reviews the game. If a new fast food burger joint opens up, people are going to compare it to McDonalds and like it or not, WoW is currently the McDonald's of the MMO world (I prefer Wendy's!).
The really bitter reviews are going to come from the hardcore DAoC fans who are going to expect this game to be old school RvR, which it's not. Warhammer's PvP is its own game and can't really be compared to the other games PvP systems. Some of your favorite features that you are expecting, will be there. But other features that you were expecting might not. You'll really have to get your own hands on with the game to judge it for yourself. Some of the people I played with on Warpstone loved the game, when they didn't think they would. And others who have been itching for this game for years, tested it for a month before giving up on it because they felt it was nothing they haven't seen already. Make your own choice when you get your chance to play.
Only negative thing you'll hear from me, is that September might be just a bit to soon for release as there is still many bugs, lots of CTD's (they're so frequent they actually have a CTD survey going now), many problems getting stuck in the terrain, and lots of lag on the bigger battlefields. Hopefully they'll keep rolling patches out before release to correct most of those issues, but I personally would rather see them polish this game and release it right.
EDIT: One other negative thing I remember, some of the Races have less custom appearance options then Vanguard did! Hopefully they just haven't patched the newer features in yet!
I totally agree with you OP. Even though I havent played Warhammer Online yet, i can already tell from the videos, the blogs and the reviews from other testers its more of the same.
I was never one to think WAR was going to be revolutionary. It wasnt made with that purpose. However, you can count on it being a completed game on release. Which has me worried. Is this what it has come down to? Me being thankful that the game is COMPLETED, when I really should be upset when it presents nothing new?
MMO's are truly going backwards. All of the other games, the earlier ones, the classics, all were about the world. Now its about the "game." I know it, WAR puts you on a defined path. You go to one zone to the next, to the next zone, they tell you where to go. You dont really have a choice. And then theres classes - the same old classes of tank, DPS, support etc etc. No death penalty probably is the worst.
People throw themselves into combat, not afraid of death. Is this really War? In war, do you throw yourself out into combat, hoping to get a "heal" and if not, dying and coming back all spic and span? Its ridiculous, and I find myself amazed someone hasnt thought up of the unique concept of giving players something to fear.
But then they say it wouldnt be "fun".
What a load of crap.
WAR is really just WoW focused on PvP. Not really bad, but not great either. I personally am a PvP person, I can enjoy myself in this game and I will be probably getting it to have some fun on it ocassionaly. Put WAR isnt going to be something spectacular, or something that will get my heart pumping like the PvP on AC1. But its something.
Lets hope Darkfall really is real.
If Warhammer came out a few years earlier, the discussion would be far different. It's funny how WoW took everything about Warhammer and made it into a game...Timing is everything. WoW was first, and no matter what the grandfather of the genre does, it'll always be compared to it.
Whatevs though. I have fun play WAR, so I think I'll play it until they make Warhammer 40K Online...
WoW is like Halo 3. It's crap, but everyone still plays it.
Ha.. Its like the "Macarena"... The only reason people danced to that song is because the moves were easy to remember and everyone else did it..lmao
I just can't believe all of you comparing WAR to WoW.
Either: you haven't played WoW or you haven't played WAR.
They are just SO different. WoW = burnt out, tried, mindless, linear, worthless pvp. BUT it has mildly interesting PvE (which gets boring after discovering how to defeat bosses when new raid instances come out).
WAR = PROPER RvR, VERY GOOD 'battlegrounds', innovative siege warfare (e.g. you can enter 1st person to fire siege turrets... just like an fps).
Warhammer is not a bad game, but, it's nothing revolutionary either. The biggest thing War has going for it is that it's incredibly easy for the casual gamer to get things accomplished. I think that will be its biggest draw and strength and what I think the dev's were hoping for.
It will take the people away from WoW who got bored with it and want a new experience, and I think it will start getting into WoW's new subscription numbers as well. But I'm not sure if it will have the depth of other games out there.
At this point, I like the game. It is fun with the right class and engaging. The quests are easy to pick up and quick to do. The PQ's are fun and certainly a novel idea. The grouping system is excellent and makes it easy to join a group or warband. You can join RvR or PvE quickly and easily, and get quite a bit accomplished within a short period of time.
Ultimately, what gets a person to play a game isn't whether it is revolutionary or just a rehash, but whether it is fun or not. Warhammer doesn't bring anything new to the game, but I think it's fun.
Ah this has been brought up twice. The reason I compared it to WoW is because it has been clearly influenced by WoW. Everything about the game reminds me of WoW: different specs, classes, even some of the zones. I'm not going to sit here and compare to Eve or to EQ or something like that. And it bares little resemblance to DaoC so what am I going to use as a reference? I chose WoW because of that, I'm not a fanboy and I don't think World of Warcraft is the be all end all of MMOs. I was hoping I drove that point home with the bit at the end.
To say it plainly: I am not a WoW fanboy and only use it as a reference because WAR is so similar. That is all.
You might also want to mention that when most people write MMO reviews and make comparisons in them, very often it is with WoW. In this case, with what you mentioned, but more importantly, because almost everyone who has ever played an MMO has at least tried WoW. It's much easier for the reader that way because they can more easily understand the comparisons.
Thanks for your review. Tbh I think what was wrong with it and what made it feel so long is that you used too much description and covered very little. For the most part it was about dungeons, leveling, RvR, the main cities, and two of the classes. You could have summarized alot shorter and give the same jist while covering more content in the game and keeping your review at the same length. Not trying to make your review look bad or anything, just criticizing for improvements.
What I agreed with alot on was your general idea of the game and your idea on what MMOs should be... breaking the mold, not playing it safe and as you say, "riding off the success of World of Warcraft".
EDIT: Also want to mention... ugh, I hate having no death penalty. I mean really... for a pve game that isn't so bad. But this is about pvp. You need some sort of death penalty to help prevent (or keep control of) zergs. grah... I have a feeling this is just going to be a WoW with a new skin and lack of PvE (when WoW can offer both).
Thanks for the honest review OP. You did a great job. Don't be bothered by that 1234aaa guy, he is clearly nothing more than a WAR fanboy... I'm sure he was an AoC fanboy before that.
Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic
Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW
Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike
Loved: Star Wars Galaxies
Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.
I have to admit its frustrating to base personal play style on other people's reviews, however War was one of the few games I didn't get to beta test. Based on the video's, images and reviews since the NDA was lifted these are the impressions I'm getting. It would appear that Mythic made a concerted effort to keep the game lively and engaging. My particular issue with this first impression is that elements of depth or substantive story line/lore doesn't necessarily play a significant part in the game. In other words immersion is more superficial, racing stripes and flash, than dialog and historicity.
What has struck me most was hearing from none PvP players suggesting that Mythic got PvP right. I can't help but think that strategy and tactics have now been compartmentalized to a point to where skill and finesse is arbitrary, its now about bashing and slashing till someone falls down as death penalties have been completely trivialized. Public Parties/Warbands sounds very much like FPS game cuing, naturally its hard to knock something you've not tried, but this seems like the antidote to LFG and may not necessarily be a bad thing, yet we've all been in those tragic PUG groups.
This game really does look like it caters to the new MMO game style of keeping everything in motion so as to hold people's attention than the more high brow sophistication of old MMO's. Until I can see the game for myself these are the impression I'm getting so far.
The Old Timers Guild
Laid back, not so serious, no drama.
All about the fun!
www.oldtimersguild.com
An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it. - Jef Mallett
Your post is incorrect:
WOW UI Layout = Life bars upper left side Radar upper right with Quest Text below Radar
WAR Exact Same
WOW NPC Quest Givers Yellow = Have Quest, Grey = Waiting
WAR NPC Quest Givers Same with differen Icon
Both Level Based forced classes
Both PvP and RvR (Horde and Alliance)
Both Gear dependent
Both Skill dependent
Both Level dependent
Seige warfare is NOT innovative, other MMO's have already done this;
Darkfall already had this (even though god knows if they will ever release)
SWG Jump to Lightspeed (did this with ships in space)
Planetside (already does this even though its really more FPS)
Please get your facts in order before you OVER-HYPE this game.
While the focus of the game may be on different things its hard not to compare games who's lore is so similar. WoW also brought a lot of people into MMOs so of course the game is going to be compared to other games.
Also, people are allowed to have other opinions. There is a way to disagree with someone's opinion other than saying their wrong. I haven't played WAR so I can't say how if I feel the same way the OP does, but I like to hear people's opinion. If you have a different opinion you could always post your own detailed review.
I have to say I enjoy the post OP, its good to see what people's actual opinions are and how they view a game.
I agree with your post.
I will not be buying WAR because i'm tired and bored of the gameplay it offers.
LOL yeah because WOW and WAR are nothing alike I mean their gameplay mechanics are nothing alike...........
They are like twins that look the same but have some differences like moles.
There's only one thing that annoys me more than stuck up WoW noobs, and that's people who over-use the word "fanboy". They label ANYBODY who says something negative about a game a fanboy. For the love of god stop, you sound like absolute fools and that word is spreading way too quickly on the internet.
And OP, I agree with you.
Great review OP. Thanks.
Good review. I still have 3 copies of WAR coming and it hasn't changed my mind about anything.
The PVP in WoW stinks, especially the E-Peena. I have 3 70s all decked out and I am completely tired of it. On the other hand, I love the graphics and since WAR is where they actually stole the ideas from, I'm looking forward to something new with a much much better PVP system. To each his own. Most of the people who are against WAR in this thread have likely already spent their money on WOTLK, and yet they call others fanbois because they support WAR.
Newsflash - we are ALL fanbois. The huge percentage of MMO players don't even come here to read these "opinions" we all have.
ColdSun
QFT
I've also been in CB for a few months now. From the moment you first encounter WAR's UI the WoW comparisons are unavoidable. The gameplay is unmistakenly similar to WoW. No matter how you parse it. The questing is similar (with the exception of the PQ's WAR's big shining improvement to the genre), the UI is similar, the combat is similar. Even many of the classes have a similar feel. As the OP said, it is NOT something new and strikingly diferent. It is an evolutionary game, not a revolutionary one.
It is a good fun and polished game. And it is ready for release, something we have not seen in a long time. It does get you into PvP faster then WoW does. But makes up for it by not offering any PvE instances or dungeons until end game.
But please do not berate the OP for offering his opinions to you. He is not a fanboi or a plant as some have accused him of. His opinion seems honest, and it is certainly in line with the actual game that I have been testing for months. I don't agree with all of his opinions, but he reaches a legitimate view based on the game itself. Not on some dream of how awesome it may be. And that game has alot of real clear unmistakeable similarities to WoW.
You may actually be a little disapointed by WAR's graphics. It's hard to put a finger on and describe, but they just lack something. It is sort of like the art team tried to split the diference between WoW's cartoony style and other games like AOC's more realistic approach. The end result doesn't work perfectly. The graphics look nice, but seem to lack that feeling of being alive that even WoW's cartoony ones seems to have.
On top of that the art and animations were rather apparently done by the same folks as DAoC's. and it really shows. Sadly not in the best of ways. Many animations or character stances will seem disturbingly familiar to DAoC vets. Especially the Elves and humans. Even the spell animations seem to be somewhat ported over from DAoC. Now this wouldn't be a bad thing, if they had used Albions glorious spell effects... but nope WAR got lots of Hibernia's poofs pf purple smoke and shadowbolts.
edit: as a follow up to my coments on that "hard to put your finger on" thing that makes the WAR characters feel flat. I've been obsessing about it all evening and I think I finally figured out what causes it. (and please forgive me, but given the racial similarities of WAR and WOW, direct comparisons are unavoidable. Dwarf to Dwarf, Elf to Elf etc). The WoW character models have a very broad range of extremely subtle animations, including one that you almost never notice. They breath. The WAR character models dont do this (not do they have much in the way of subtle animations). That subtle act of breathing, that is so minor as to be almost subliminal really brings the characters to life in ways that you don't notice until it is gone.
QFT
To the OP ... good review and I don't completely disagree with you. (That is to say I agree with your facts, but not necessarily your conclusions/opinions)
On the one hand I will agree that MMOs need to change ... on the other I've seen where they've tried in the past ..... Shadowbane was a great idea, but the technology wasn't there for it to come together. Eve is a great game, and I'll give you that having player controlable area/keeps such as in Eve (and Shadowbane) would be awesome ...
The flip side is space ...EVE can get away with it because it is in space (and thus it is essentially limitless) anything set on a world is going to be limited by the space of that world. Basically if they tripled the space in WAR you'd still be looking at a vast expanse of unbuildable areas and in a relatively short time those areas where cities/keeps/etc could be built would be claimed, and likely claimed by a relative few on the server. Yes, they'd have to fight to keep them (probably all on their own as their realm mates would want them to fall so they could try to take it back and get it for themselves) but either 1-they'd be ultra hardcore guilds (or huge zerg guilds) and able to keep it easily, or 2-they'd loose it and it would eventually end up in the hands of a guild that fell into catagory #1.
SWG showed that if you allowed building anywhere it takes very little time for there to be buildings everywhere. Tatoonie went from a vast wasteland to having cities crammed as close together as the game would allow you to place them. (There was a bit of this in SB as well) ... so with that I'd say capturing(and defending) exsisting keeps makes just as much sense, because before too long that's all it would be anyway.
Tahrqa Leifbow,
Lord Commander of the Argent Order
I would like to thank you for your review.
I am also a fan of sandbox, skill based, open world games were death has meaning.
I fully understand that you wish WAR could be like Eve, UO or SWG pre-cu but its not.
You can not go into a review like this with a Sandbox mentality.
Once I start playing WAR I will toss all my skill based, sandbox loving fanboi isms out the door.
WAR is a roller coaster and easy to get into, hold me by the had fun ride.
It has set classes, no death penalty and no player made structures, why would you even bother reviewing this with a "i want a new sandbox attitude"?
We need to keep the roller coaster MMO's and the Sandbox MMO's away from each other.
Earthrise, mortal online, dark fall and fallen earth will be what your looking for.
I wish you would of stated that you were a sandbox fan before you posted the rest of your review, I wouldn't of bothered reading it.
I am fully aware that War is a simple mmo with a kick ass RvR mechanic.
It doesn't sadden me in the least that War isn't the revolutionary game you hoped it would be.
I know WAR has tact on crafting, limited Dungeon pve and isn't a skill based system, thats fine.
However I do care about the stability of the game, if it's fun, and if it has enough roller coaster content to keep me happy.
Once again thank you for your post.
PLaying: EvE, Ryzom
Waiting For: Earthrise, Perpetuum
A good read, OP. Thanks for taking the time to share your insights. Coming from almost the same playing history than you, I feel WAR will be the same for me as it is for you. I also wanted to play Witch Hunter and also preferred Order, but as you write it, Witch Hunter doesnt sound so fun anymore.
I am mainly dissapointed that Zerg has a place in WAR. I really had hoped for a different PVP approach, especially since WAR is so much centered around PVP, I find it a huge letdown, they werent able to prevent Zerg as a successful tactics. Its something I always loathed, people running, lolcoptering and zerging, taking out all the interesting strategic possibilities. I too will try WAR out at start, but the more I hear the more dissappointed I get, tbh. Its just a collection of more and more small things which drag down WAR for me, like itemization, character customization, cities and classes getting deleted... it goes on.
Like AoC it sounds like WAR is going to be an ok game, but mediocre.
Are you blind? the game is receiving more praise for its beta than any mmorpg released over the last 5 years.
Not to mention, its hard to consider you a credible source, when you cannot even spell chocolate correctly.
Piss poor trolling attempt guy.
Rock a FailCom avatar now and express your disgust with pride!
The truth hurts...
Funcom RX