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TERA: Our Official TERA Review

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  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 44,059
    Originally posted by BillMurphy
    Originally posted by I_Return

    Finito, doesn't quite end the conversation for the lack of depth in the review. So much missing in most mmo reviews and readers never get any information in a review about the end game. Doing a mid level raid is nothing like end game raids, mid level pvp is nothing like end level pvp, ect and so on.

     

    I think your review is incomplete, and it has failed your audience, in my opinion. I personally am not going to be overly excited about the score, cause I'm not playing the game, but  fans will. That is where the trouble lies, cause once that bond is broken between reviewer and fan or readers, it is never resealed.

     

    I don't even play the game and can easily see from here that is is an 8.0 or higher. The ammount of detail and respect to character development makes SWTOR look like a board game.

    This review is the summary of five separate pieces. Please see the previous articles linked at the introduction. Though, I'm sure you read that, right? 

    Are you a tank in TERA Bill, because you do a great job standing your ground.  image

    I think your score is pretty spot on, perhaps a tad on the high side, but that's because I'm a much tougher grader than most. (there has never, ever been a MMORPG higher than 8.5 on my grading scale)

    And it appears despite what some have said, your rating is pretty much in line with the marketplace in general.

    Metacritic has 19 reviewers averaging out the score at 80/100 and users rating it at 7.7/10

    I do have to agree with almost all your points, one thing that helps in my case is I don't mind quest hub grinding, if you have to grind, might as well be quests vs camps. (some of the upper level quests are quite good btw, you'll see)

    The greatest downside IMO is the lack of meaningful end game content.  In my case, this means territory control a la L2, not raiding a la WOW. I'd like to see more rewards for PVPing as well, right now people pretty much do it for "fun" which has little appeal in my case.

     

     

     

     

     

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

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    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

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  • BadSpockBadSpock Member UncommonPosts: 7,979
    Originally posted by Pivotelite
    Originally posted by cyress8
    Originally posted by Pivotelite
    Originally posted by BadSpock

    TERA does very well at being an extremely mediocre game.

    7.7 is perfect.

     The game itself is not mediocre, it just doesn't provide what you specifically want in a game.

     What exactly can it provide besides combat and the constant LFG spam.  There really is nothing else to do in the game but quest and bam grind.  Even the PvP is not that good.

     Not liking the PvP is your opinion, also some people like quest grind. But calling the game itself "mediocre" or saying it "screams" f2p like a poster way back is not fair to the game and it's developers.

    The graphics are easily the best of any MMO out right now, art style aside, as that is preferential.

    The world is larger than Vanilla WoW, easily, what titles release with a world that size lately? Not to mention that world has collision detection, full hitboxes and top tier graphics and is an open world, all while running considerably well on most computers with highest settings!

    Animations are crisp and well done, character models are very high quality.

    The UI is fully customizable, even more so than Rifts, it comes with a LFG tool and a very unique auction house. Same can not be sa for some other games that released recently...*COUGH*.

    Your preferences on the game aside and what gameplay it delivers to you, it's the things mentioned above that make this game anything but mediocre or screaming of f2p.

    Exactly.

    For a mediocre run-of-the-mill completely safe and standard with a unique gimmick (combat/vanarchs) or two AAA subscription based MMO, it is very good.

    7.7 is a perfect score for the game, IMO.

    It is quite good at what it is trying to do, be exactly like everyone else but have better combat and a few other interesting mechanics.

    Well, that is until a few months or weeks from now when most people reach end-game and the mass exodus occurs, which always happens with these "same pig with new lipstick" games.

     

  • FinitFinit Member Posts: 145

    I think 7.7 is a good score for TERA.  [mod edit - off topic]









     




     

    My Guild Wars 2 Blog can be found here: Divinity's Reach

  • AerowynAerowyn Member Posts: 7,928
    [mod edit]

    I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg

  • BadSpockBadSpock Member UncommonPosts: 7,979
    Originally posted by Finit

    I think 7.7 is a good score for TERA. [mod edit - off topic]

    [mod edit]

    TERA is still very new and very shiney.

    7.7 is probably a more accurate long-term review[mod edit]

     

  • SirBalinSirBalin Member UncommonPosts: 1,300

    While Tera is not a sandbox...I'm not so sure i'd go as far as calling it a themepark either.  I'd say its somewhere in the middle.  Fun game

    Incognito
    www.incognito-gaming.us
    "You're either with us or against us"

  • AerowynAerowyn Member Posts: 7,928
    Originally posted by afhn2110

    While Tera is not a sandbox...I'm not so sure i'd go as far as calling it a themepark either.  I'd say its somewhere in the middle.  Fun game

    uuuh what?!

    I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg

  • FinitFinit Member Posts: 145
    [mod edit]

    Fair enough, thanks for the thoughtful reply.

    My Guild Wars 2 Blog can be found here: Divinity's Reach

  • tachgbtachgb Member UncommonPosts: 791

    7.7, can't decide if it's fair or a bit low? :D

  • elockeelocke Member UncommonPosts: 4,335
    Originally posted by cyress8
    Originally posted by Pivotelite
    Originally posted by BadSpock

    TERA does very well at being an extremely mediocre game.

    7.7 is perfect.

     The game itself is not mediocre, it just doesn't provide what you specifically want in a game.

     

     

     What exactly can it provide besides combat and the constant LFG spam.  There really is nothing else to do in the game but quest and bam grind.  Even the PvP is not that good.

    ^^This.   In a nutshell.  Also...isn't mediocre the same as saying middle ground...so wouldn't a 5 be a middle ground score?  Anything higher seems wrong to me.  I personally would give the game a 3 but I rate games based on would I keep playing them or how much fun I had.  I had NO fun playing Tera to level 30 and I lost all interest to play on that same day, just had no drive to log back in.  That speaks volumes.   A few days later I'm smack in the middle of GW2 BWE and never wanting to log off and going through withdrawal once the weekend was over.  Very next weekend, got to play TSW and same thing, loved the game and didn't want to stop playing.  

    Anyway this thread is cracking me up, considering SWTOR's rating is causing some consternation.  Poor Bioware/EA.  I almost feel sorry for them, but you know what they say.  You reap what you sow.

  • MisalignedMisaligned Member UncommonPosts: 45

    [mod edit

     

    Thank you for the review.

  • Adhesive33Adhesive33 Member UncommonPosts: 227

    Originally posted by BillMurphy

    Originally posted by Finit

    I think 7.7 is a good score for TERA.  [mod edit]





















     










     

    I think that's the general concensus of the user's here on the site, yes. The forum folks especially. But generally, we are the minority. What you're asking me to do is to play in to what our readership now believes SWTOR to be. But I would never ask our writing staff to do that. Mike rated SWTOR as honestly as he could at the time of his review, just as I've done here. In the future, BioWare's game will be re-reviewed (possibly by Mike). Will the score stay the same? Will it go up or down? Who's to say?

    Additionally, when I assign reviews I make a point to ask our staff NOT to worry about what any other game has received as a score. Think of it this way, each game and its review should be taken completely separately from the others. Just because I think TERA is more fun than SWTOR does not mean I somehow have to make its score calculate out to be higher than Mike's view of SWTOR. That's the piece that's important there... each review is by one of several different reviewers.

    If anything, ask me what I think of SWTOR these days, after initially believing the title was closer to a 9 in my first impressions piece. Yep... I once thought SWTOR was worth a 9. Or higher. But that luster faded.

    And not to defend DCUO, but rather the score I assigned it back when. That was before the new rating system we've been using since June of 2011. If I were to go back and hold DCUO at launch to this rating system, chances are my score would come out closer to TERA's here, likely lower. And yes, DCUO too will be subject to a re-review in due time. Possibly later this summer.

    I hope, possibly against hope, that this clears up some misconceptions about our reviews and how we weight them against each other (hint, we don't). I'm off to my home base, where I shall be playing some Secret World for a bit.


     

    Just more reason to question the point of a rating system. They are so arbitrary and prone to problems. 

    I particularly like how SWTOR got an 8 for innovation, based on what exactly...voice overs? Tera brings a completely new style of combat (that thing you engage in 90% of gametime) and a political system to a non-lobby-based MMO, and it gets a 6, lol. Please.

    The 9.5 for TOR's "polish" is equally amusing. Exactly how is Tera less polished after having a year of refinement in Korea before launching in the west? Clipping? You mean like swimming underwater in SWTOR? Haven't noticed it myself. 

  • ValkaernValkaern Member UncommonPosts: 497
    Originally posted by Chrome1980
    Originally posted by Kanester

    8.5 - 9.0 for me.... 7.7 is a Joke.

    5.0 to 6.0 for me....8.5 - 9.0 is a joke.

    *grins*

    See, after a long string of errands, they sent me to kill some trees and I was also hovering around a 5.0. I admit I began to lose faith. Then, they sent me to kill some slightly older trees and I understood we were clearly dealing with a 6. After a bit of errand running that score was fast approaching an 8.

    Then I recalled that this wasn't a contest for 'most flacid representation of MMO cliches blindly adhered to because, what, you expect us to think? Plus, half naked elf guys, yo.' or 'least amount of creative input required to get people to pay you for rehashed trash'. 

    This game is the epitome of lazy and uninspired online games designed to take advantage of a dry release period (and possibly some very specific fetishes). It has no substance and should not exist in 2012.

    Plus, these guys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDbDrHEQEv0. Classy! Quality commentary, Cro-Magnon!  Clear display of skills.

    Does hitting the keys that hard make ones character hit harder or did his fingers just fuse together to form a giant gnarled club as evolution tried desperately to correct some obvious mistakes?

    5.0 tops. It lost points for being bad.

  • BadSpockBadSpock Member UncommonPosts: 7,979
    Originally posted by Valkaern
    Originally posted by Chrome1980
    Originally posted by Kanester

    8.5 - 9.0 for me.... 7.7 is a Joke.

    5.0 to 6.0 for me....8.5 - 9.0 is a joke.

    *grins*

    See, after a long string of errands, they sent me to kill some trees and I was also hovering around a 5.0. I admit I began to lose faith. Then, they sent me to kill some slightly older trees and I understood we were clearly dealing with a 6. After a bit of errand running that score was fast approaching an 8.

    Then I recalled that this wasn't a contest for 'most flacid representation of MMO cliches blindly adhered to because, what, you expect us to think? Plus, half naked elf guys, yo.' or 'least amount of creative input required to get people to pay you for rehashed trash'. 

    This game is the epitome of lazy and uninspired online games designed to take advantage of a dry release period (and possibly some very specific fetishes). It has no substance and should not exist in 2012.

    Plus, these guys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDbDrHEQEv0. Classy! Quality commentary, Cro-Magnon!  Clear display of skills.

    Does hitting the keys that hard make ones character hit harder or did his fingers just fuse together to form a giant gnarled club as evolution tried desperately to correct some obvious mistakes?

    5.0 tops. It lost points for being bad.

    Best. Post. Ever.

  • ValentinaValentina Member RarePosts: 2,108

    [mod edit] TERA doesn't do anything of the sort. The quests are probably the most boring quests for an AAA title in a very long time. Questing in WoW was at least streamlined and flowed well., and in SW:TOR you got an immerssive, personalized situation in each quest. In TERA they're chaotic and confusing, not to mention boring. The combat in this game is fantastic, the graphics are gorgeous and the music/atmosphere and world design is incredible. I'd like to see revamps done on questing, and maybe some new content that takes advantage of exploration in this game because the world is so beautiful and so big. Some sandbox content would fit this game beautifully, and I usually hate sandbox games. I think the rating he's given this game is appropriate, especially when you actually read the review.



     

  • AerowynAerowyn Member Posts: 7,928
    Originally posted by Valkaern
     

    See, after a long string of errands, they sent me to kill some trees and I was also hovering around a 5.0. I admit I began to lose faith. Then, they sent me to kill some slightly older trees and I understood we were clearly dealing with a 6. After a bit of errand running that score was fast approaching an 8.

    Then I recalled that this wasn't a contest for 'most flacid representation of MMO cliches blindly adhered to because, what, you expect us to think? Plus, half naked elf guys, yo.' or 'least amount of creative input required to get people to pay you for rehashed trash'. 

    This game is the epitome of lazy and uninspired online games designed to take advantage of a dry release period (and possibly some very specific fetishes). It has no substance and should not exist in 2012.

    Plus, these guys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDbDrHEQEv0. Classy! Quality commentary, Cro-Magnon!  Clear display of skills.

    Does hitting the keys that hard make ones character hit harder or did his fingers just fuse together to form a giant gnarled club as evolution tried desperately to correct some obvious mistakes?

    5.0 tops. It lost points for being bad.

    lol funny and pretty much how I feel so far playing the game.. although the art is great the world is like you say lazy and REALLY uninspired... They seem to of put a lot of work into the graphics but asthetics are really really bad, oh well good for some mindless fun for a couple weeks.

    I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg

  • SorrowSorrow Member Posts: 1,195
    Originally posted by BillMurphy
    Originally posted by bluemagi

    But what really pissed me off about this game is calling it an "Asian Grinder". 

     But I didn't call it one. If you read that paragraph again, you'll see that I said it would be one without its other features and content. And no, the term's not racist either. I don't think I have to explain why.

    In fact, you might want to read the review and realize that I LIKE the game you came in to defend before going into a blind rage post.

    LOL you must not have played much of it, either that or you are buying into this BS about end game content that is coming eventually. AS the game sits now it is nothing but another  Asian grinder, counting on the fact that american gamers, correction american's in general have become total and complete morons.

    These guys took a F2P asian grinder, 1 of a million just like it and convinced americans that don't know any better that it is different and innovative, thankfully however only a small amount of our overall population of idiots actually fell for this one.

    But hey I'm not judging in fact I feel sorry for you, you are just one more victim of our governments slave class mentality agenda public education conditioning program. Sadly you may not even be the first generation, we now have 3 generations that have been educated to be non thinking, compliant, worker drones.
     

    image

  • n3v3rriv3rn3v3rriv3r Member UncommonPosts: 496

    Hmm so the bottom line is that Tera deserves an unhyped, rational review based on as objective as possible criteria while all other games dont deserve this "privilege" and are reviewed under hype and mass hysteria (read: ave GW2).

    Korean creators of this non-innovative, asian grinder should be honored.

  • ElVisitanteElVisitante Member Posts: 44

    Originally posted by elocke

    Originally posted by cyress8


    Originally posted by Pivotelite


    Originally posted by BadSpock

    TERA does very well at being an extremely mediocre game.

    7.7 is perfect.

     The game itself is not mediocre, it just doesn't provide what you specifically want in a game.

     

     

     What exactly can it provide besides combat and the constant LFG spam.  There really is nothing else to do in the game but quest and bam grind.  Even the PvP is not that good.

    ^^This.   In a nutshell.  Also...isn't mediocre the same as saying middle ground...so wouldn't a 5 be a middle ground score?  Anything higher seems wrong to me.  I personally would give the game a 3 but I rate games based on would I keep playing them or how much fun I had.  I had NO fun playing Tera to level 30 and I lost all interest to play on that same day, just had no drive to log back in.  That speaks volumes.   A few days later I'm smack in the middle of GW2 BWE and never wanting to log off and going through withdrawal once the weekend was over.  Very next weekend, got to play TSW and same thing, loved the game and didn't want to stop playing.  

    Anyway this thread is cracking me up, considering SWTOR's rating is causing some consternation.  Poor Bioware/EA.  I almost feel sorry for them, but you know what they say.  You reap what you sow.


     

    Fun factor is even more subjective then a score broken up into specific components like MMORPG.com's system. By your system, I would rate GW2 a 3 and TSW a 1. I didn't feel like logging on at all for GW2 after 3 days, which is perfect since that was the length of the test. TSW I played for about 5 hours one day and never logged in again. They're clearly not 3 and 1 score games though, but by your ridiculous system they would be.


    Originally posted by Valentina

    [mod edit]  TERA doesn't do anything of the sort. The quests are probably the most boring quests for an AAA title in a very long time. Questing in WoW was at least streamlined and flowed well., and in SW:TOR you got an immerssive, personalized situation in each quest. In TERA they're chaotic and confusing, not to mention boring. The combat in this game is fantastic, the graphics are gorgeous and the music/atmosphere and world design is incredible. I'd like to see revamps done on questing, and maybe some new content that takes advantage of exploration in this game because the world is so beautiful and so big. Some sandbox content would fit this game beautifully, and I usually hate sandbox games. I think the rating he's given this game is appropriate, especially when you actually read the review.










     




     

    Combat isn't a basic function? Graphics isn't a basic function? WoW never does anything for either, but its expansions consistently get 9.0+ scores. You basically listed the reasons why other MMOs got high scores, then listed comparable reasons for TERA but proceeded to say it deserved its middling score. Contradict yourself much?

  • jtcgsjtcgs Member Posts: 1,777

    The fact that "Story" is not part of this mmoRPG review tells me that it is not honest.

    In fact, im seeing more than a few rather important MMORPG features not a part of this review...no wonder its getting a 7.7

    If you leave out a lot of bad or bland, every game is good...

    “I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson

  • ElVisitanteElVisitante Member Posts: 44
    Originally posted by jtcgs

    The fact that "Story" is not part of this mmoRPG review tells me that it is not honest.

    In fact, im seeing more than a few rather important MMORPG features not a part of this review...no wonder its getting a 7.7

    If you leave out a lot of bad or bland, every game is good...

    I'm guessing you didn't read the other four parts of his review?

  • stragen001stragen001 Member UncommonPosts: 1,720

    I completely agree with this score. 

    Its a fun game, with great graphics and an innovative combat style, but overall it doesnt impress

    Cluck Cluck, Gibber Gibber, My Old Mans A Mushroom

  • jtcgsjtcgs Member Posts: 1,777
    Originally posted by ElVisitante
    Originally posted by jtcgs

    The fact that "Story" is not part of this mmoRPG review tells me that it is not honest.

    In fact, im seeing more than a few rather important MMORPG features not a part of this review...no wonder its getting a 7.7

    If you leave out a lot of bad or bland, every game is good...

    I'm guessing you didn't read the other four parts of his review?

    I'm guessing that you didn't read this review where it says at the beginning "over the course of four previous Review in Progress articles. See exhibits A, B, C, and D"...

    heh

    This is a standalone review...one that doesnt even mention the WORD story in it as well as other game aspects because it would have taken the 7.7 and made it a little lower...like 5.7

    Anyone rating the story higher than 1 is insane...it didnt even get good ratings in Korea, Japan or China where it may have made sense. So yeah...reviewing an mmoRPG and not even mentioning the story at all...once...

    “I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson

  • ElVisitanteElVisitante Member Posts: 44
    Originally posted by jtcgs
    Originally posted by ElVisitante
    Originally posted by jtcgs

    The fact that "Story" is not part of this mmoRPG review tells me that it is not honest.

    In fact, im seeing more than a few rather important MMORPG features not a part of this review...no wonder its getting a 7.7

    If you leave out a lot of bad or bland, every game is good...

    I'm guessing you didn't read the other four parts of his review?

    I'm guessing that you didn't read this review where it says at the beginning "over the course of four previous Review in Progress articles. See exhibits A, B, C, and D"...

    heh

    This is a standalone review...one that doesnt even mention the WORD story in it as well as other game aspects because it would have taken the 7.7 and made it a little lower...like 5.7

    Anyone rating the story higher than 1 is insane...it didnt even get good ratings in Korea, Japan or China where it may have made sense. So yeah...reviewing an mmoRPG and not even mentioning the story at all...once...

    Reviews in progress are reviews that are not finished yet. Together, they make a finished review. So yes, I am guessing you didn't read those parts. [mod edit]

  • stragen001stragen001 Member UncommonPosts: 1,720
    Originally posted by ElVisitante
    Originally posted by stragen001

    I completely agree with this score. 

    Its a fun game, with great graphics and an innovative combat style, but overall it doesnt impress

    Exactly the same could be said for SWTOR, except replace graphics with story and combat style with voiceovers (which is essentially part of the story, but meh). Except SWTOR got a whole extra point in its review. Fair?

    [mod edit]

    Cluck Cluck, Gibber Gibber, My Old Mans A Mushroom

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