but 1000 ratings form a hypothetical 10 million mmorpg gamers gives a 3% margin of error. I think it is far to say judging by the overall mmorpg gaming community, the detractors are in the minority.
I thought TSW was an 8.5 too before I left Kingsmouth. Link to your chronicle Suzie?
You do know linking of chronicles 9/10 from people aren't really them right?
I would ask for yours, but you'd just do the same thing and pick someone who's played the hell out of the game and say it's you. Who's to know? amirite?
I linked my chronicle weeks ago on this site. That was two weeks of playtime, I have't logged into the game since the 14th.
Suzie?
You played all the missions and Transylvania and dungeons? No you didn't. Here's what you did. You did PvP. Look at your Talismans LOL. Greens QL9 -QL10? LOL
w/e....you have no idea the full content TSW offers. You should log back in and do the actual content when it hits horizontal progression.
but 1000 ratings form a hypothetical 10 million mmorpg gamers gives a 3% margin of error. I think it is far to say judging by the overall mmorpg gaming community, the detractors are in the minority.
We know, you are a career salesman. Link to your chronicle?
I thought TSW was an 8.5 too before I left Kingsmouth. Link to your chronicle Suzie?
You do know linking of chronicles 9/10 from people aren't really them right?
I would ask for yours, but you'd just do the same thing and pick someone who's played the hell out of the game and say it's you. Who's to know? amirite?
I linked my chronicle weeks ago on this site. That was two weeks of playtime, I have't logged into the game since the 14th.
Suzie?
You played all the missions and Transylvania and dungeons? No you didn't. Here's what you did. You did PvP. Look at your Talismans LOL. Greens QL9 -QL10? LOL
w/e....you have no idea the full content TSW offers. You should log back in and do the actual content when it hits horizontal progression.
but 1000 ratings form a hypothetical 10 million mmorpg gamers gives a 3% margin of error. I think it is far to say judging by the overall mmorpg gaming community, the detractors are in the minority.
We know, you are a career salesman. Link to your chronicle?
I was in the closed beta myself, and I hated it too. I didn't uninstall it though, i just stopped playing. I gave it another shot after launch and i have come to enjoy the game. It has very good pve. Good dodge mechenics, better strategies in dungeons than wow. Great story, has kept me interested longer than SWTOR. I agree with the score, but yeah the review is all over the place. I did some research and reading about mechanics and character builds, and once i had a small grasp on the game, i jumped in and enjoyed it immensely more than I did in CB. There were those very frsutrating bugs in some missions, I didn't like it but decided to wait it out and hope for a fix, so moved on toward another mission. To me the big negative aspect of funcom in this game is saying okay, the missions should be fixed now, only to find they are still broken. But again I like the game so for now, I'm just going to shrug that off. there have been work arounds for some missions to be completed. GMs have generally been helpful in advancing you to the next tier of the mission.
Read my Reviews of TSW & GW2. I don't hate either of them, but when you don't side 100% with a 9.5 or higher score for a game people are rabid for they call you a hater, troll, or "Lover" of said game.
But noone is saying TSW deserves a 9.5 What people are saying is that TSW doesn't deserve a 7.0
I will just add in my 2 cents that if anyone thinks they want to try the game (rather than rely on trolls who "played beta" which was completely different than the current state of the game)..
There is a free preview this weekend starting Friday August 3rd until Monday August 6th. Go sign up for the free weekend and judge the game for yourself.
Stop taking the words of others. It's free to try this weekend so try it for yourself.
Read my Reviews of TSW & GW2. I don't hate either of them, but when you don't side 100% with a 9.5 or higher score for a game people are rabid for they call you a hater, troll, or "Lover" of said game.
But noone is saying TSW deserves a 9.5 What people are saying is that TSW doesn't deserve a 7.0
There's a difference.
Nah, they gave TSW an 8.5, and i don't agree with that (as do many others). However, my Review gave TSW a 6 or 7 I think? I don't recall off-hand and I'm being lazy @ work atm.
As an MMO I believe I gave TSW a 5, but as a SPG I gave it an 8. So take that for what it's worth .
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity: Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
Originally posted by Zooce I linked my chronicle weeks ago on this site. That was two weeks of playtime, I have't logged into the game since the 14th.
Suzie?
You played all the missions and Transylvania and dungeons? No you didn't. Here's what you did. You did PvP. Look at your Talismans LOL. Greens QL9 -QL10? LOL
w/e....you have no idea the full content TSW offers. You should log back in and do the actual content when it hits horizontal progression.
I did 0 PvP in release, that should be obvious from the stats on the chronicle. The last time I logged out I was testing a new build for farming signets off the deathless in carp fangs since all my transylvania missions were on cooldown for the third time. My main build is blade chaos (should be clear from the ability wheel). Here's a shot taken while I was finishing the main story.
Read my Reviews of TSW & GW2. I don't hate either of them, but when you don't side 100% with a 9.5 or higher score for a game people are rabid for they call you a hater, troll, or "Lover" of said game.
But noone is saying TSW deserves a 9.5 What people are saying is that TSW doesn't deserve a 7.0
There's a difference.
Nah, they gave TSW an 8.5, and i don't agree with that (as do many others).
Not that many actually. You're in the minority of gamers. Based on User scores here and on metacritic. Your opinion is still your own, but you don't speak for the majority. Note even close.
Game will be going free to play by the first of next year, that is if the world survives 12,21,2012. Just a prediction. As for the score...any more I just see them now for what they truly are - subjective opinions. I think they are fun to read and see how we see things differently. Clearly, in this case, I and the reviewer of this game would have substantially different opinions.
I still can not wrap my mind around 8.0 score for longevity. I think WOW and SWTOR should get 10 in this department since all these three MMOS end game is dungeon grind for purple.
How in the bloody hell did you find it "ok" to take what essentially boils down to "Graphics" and turn it into a major scoring point for TSW? Graphics =/= a game. This shouldn't be a scoring point!
Game Play – 8.5??
This is a highly opinion based score area given the fact that people whom like WoW will like TSW's gameplay, but generally speaking people whom like DAOC, EQ, SWG, or even Age of Conan's combat system will dislike it immensely. You should put near the beginning of your article which game you mostly relate to for your scores. Obviously I don't agree at all with an "8.5" given TSW's horribly clunky & non-intuitive combat system. Not to mention the horrible animations.
Value & Longevity – 8.0??
Your primary reason, as stated, for this scoring point was based on SWTOR's recent announcement about F2P and that since TSW already has a cash-shop it'll make a clean transition to F2P should subs prove to dip too low?!
Value & Longevity is a scoring point, in most reviews, that dictate replayability & end-game enjoyment. At the VERY LEAST it has nothing to do with the payment model associated with the game.
NONE OF THE POINTS YOU RAISED FOR SCORING MAKE ANY SENSE AS A PRIMARY REVIEWBASE!
Next, we look at your overall Pros/Cons that have zero connection to any of your previous scoring points:
Pros
Deep skill system - Just a facade, not actually "deep" GREAT story - Agreed, but so did SWTOR Meaningful dungeons - How exactly are they "meaningful", they have no impact at all on the world outside those instances?! Tiered and unique questing - Same quest system used by WoW. Go to point A get quests 1 - 9, do quests, go to Point B for higher tiered/chained quests. Nothing unique here other than the occassional "gem" with a half-decent story behind it.
Cons
Lack of initial character customization - Yup Lackluster PvP - Yup Repetitive trash mobs - Yup
Evidently you disliked playing TSW and that is fine, I imagine you wouldn't agree with the scores if you didn't. I happen to love playing TSw and I am happy with the score. It will always be opinion based, for you, me and for the reviewer. Based on this review, I would of given the game a try and I would of loved it (as I do now) and been happy to have a new MMO home.
I can also tell you are very biased yourself in your remark which makes your disdain all the more hilarious, almost to the point where I am not sure if trolling? You clearly take the all pro's and turn them into your version of cons, then agree with the reviewers cons. There is no deviation between your thoughts and the reviewers other than the fact you dislike the game.
Let me address your concerns with the pro's and see where we are going wrong. I shall also try to do this objectively as I do enjoy the game and I wouldn't want to be too biased.
Aesthetics – 9.5??
How in the bloody hell did you find it "ok" to take what essentially boils down to "Graphics" and turn it into a major scoring point for TSW? Graphics =/= a game. This shouldn't be a scoring point!
Graphics have always being a scoring point for games, but this should never be based on the game engines but more to the tone of the game. Super mario has great graphics for what its intended tone is. So does TSW. Sadly you might disagree but from the 20 years of reading game reviews, including back in the day when the I read the Street Fighter 2 review in CVG magazine in the UK, graphics have always been a factor.
Game Play – 8.5??
This is a highly opinion based score area given the fact that people whom like WoW will like TSW's gameplay, but generally speaking people whom like DAOC, EQ, SWG, or even Age of Conan's combat system will dislike it immensely. You should put near the beginning of your article which game you mostly relate to for your scores. Obviously I don't agree at all with an "8.5" given TSW's horribly clunky & non-intuitive combat system. Not to mention the horrible animations.
And again this is your opnion, I don't find it clunky, or non-intuitive. It might not be what you're looking for, but doesn't make your opinon more valued than the reviewer. His review is based on professionalism and you either trust the reviewer or you don't. If you are unsure you can compare with other reviewers before making a decision. Just like, I love 'The Dark Knight' the film, but you go to Rotten Tomatoes and you'll find professional reviewers who disliked it and they state there reasons. Now, if you tend to have a habit of liking and disliking the same things as that same reviewer then chances are it's a safe bet to base your purchase choices on that review.
Value & Longevity – 8.0??
Your primary reason, as stated, for this scoring point was based on SWTOR's recent announcement about F2P and that since TSW already has a cash-shop it'll make a clean transition to F2P should subs prove to dip too low?!
Value & Longevity is a scoring point, in most reviews, that dictate replayability & end-game enjoyment. At the VERY LEAST it has nothing to do with the payment model associated with the game.
I agree with you here, luckily TSW seems to be doing really well and whether it goes to another payment model is irrelevant, but I do understand what the reviewer is saying. They are thinking more along the lines of a market of people thinking 'is it worth getting into this game if it goes down the same route as SWTOR'. For Funcom its a non-issue, AoC which was horrid to start with, so much so that I stopped playing it after a month and never looked back is still going strong with it's own community.
As for longetivity, I been playing every day since early access and I have not run out of things to do, with the promise of monthly content (which has now delivered on their first months issue) i'll have no issue in finding myself without things to do.
Deep skill system - Just a facade, not actually "deep"
It is quite deep in fact, I am not sure how far you progressed with the game but in the later stages it becomes quite good. I also don't want to hear an arguement about 'Oh the game should be deep from the outset etc' or any of that smack because in other MMO's you start of with 2, 3 skills and these progress through leveling and only at the end game does your skill set with talents become more diverse.
The reason I would say this is deep is because I was doing a Nightmare dungeon where we openly discuss who will be full-filling each role, which of us as DPS will be going to purge, to cleanse, to weakening, to debilitating, to inpairing etc etc. It allows a certain level of flexability and on the fly change for you to over come difficult encounters. For myself I wanted to maintain an Elemental/Blade build but I also wanted to be able to support in those harder encounters, so dicussing and playing about with my abilities I found a nice sweet spot for in the skills for myself to progress through. I like how deep it allows me to venture and mix and match. It's the only game I have played where a ability set like this mattered and was enjoyable. If that's not deep, then I want to know what your version of 'deep' is and what referencing your using.
GREAT story - Agreed, but so did SWTOR
This is subjective, I played SWTOR all the way through including all end game content before I finally gave up the ghost. Sadly this will be a preference thing. To me SWTOR did not have a fantastic story, I can honestly say I do not remember a SINGLE NPC by name in that game apart from those who are in reference to the KOTOR series. Even the end game has no story, you get max level, you meet a quest giver who gives you 15 mins of story filler and off you go. You never know why you're really fighting for considering Malgus who I thought would be the big bad for us Republic to die off in al ater dungeon. This then left it open to bosses I didn't care for, I had no motivation.
In TSW I remember already all the NPC's and like their emotion and characters. Each zone has a story to which is building up to something bigger and I am eager to find out what that is. Characters in TSW already have fans, such as the jail-bait Carter and the immortal suit wearing trade prince. I don't recall that level of character dedication being present in SWTOR, in game or on forums.
The personal story is nice, but again, it completes, leaving you no real motivation. It would of been good if your story mission set up the upcoming end game. Gave it some passion. But they really did go for a KOTOR like story for an MMO world and it didn't sell it to me. I am also a Bioware fan, so I was quite dissapointed. Again, this is opinion. Story will always be story and some people will like romance and some comedy. I can't fault you on your idea of excellent story.
Meaningful dungeons - How exactly are they "meaningful", they have no impact at all on the world outside those instances?!
They are meaningful because they are relevant to the story. Polaris is relevant to whats going on in Solomon island, Hell to that of Wicker which is an awesome character, you have the Darkness war which is relevant to the arch with the sword, also detailed through the story quest. All the dungeons are relevant and meaningful because they are extensions to the story, they add another slice of pie to the lore and to the ultimate puzzle as to what's going on with story of the game. The 'Big' picture so to speak.
Granted, your actions don't change your environment or your world, but they aren't meant to. In addition the dungeons are fun, not grindy or trashy and difficult.
Tiered and unique questing - Same quest system used by WoW. Go to point A get quests 1 - 9, do quests, go to Point B for higher tiered/chained quests. Nothing unique here other than the occassional "gem" with a half-decent story behind it.
It is unique because that type of 'tiered' questing system has not been done. Thus if it is the only one of it's kind, it is unique. Questing in itself isn't unique, but that isn't the statement made. However it is the thing you choose to knock, which shows your disdain for the game.
Lack of initial character customization - Yup
Agreed, there is a lack of customization of character and clothing can fill that hole. I was disappointed with how far I could take my character considering AoC creation system was quite robust. However, listening to player feed back they are releasing more options and the option to reshape your avatar for free to begin with. So, although I was saddened by the lack of options I am greatful they listened and are pushing it forward for August.
Lackluster PvP - Yup
I am not much of a PvP person, I am more of a PVE person. I did give Fusang ago, which kinda reminds me a bit of AV, that was very lackluster. But, I tried stone henge and loved it. however if you are a PvP fan, this will not sell it to you. So I can agree on you with this.
Repetitive trash mobs - Yup
See this one, I just don't see it. There are enough mobs around that are different that I just don't understand this remark by yourself or the reviewer. The mobs are all relevant to the location... I mean if you play the game and pay attention they are all pretty awesome.
like in Kingsmouth you see the stage of a drowned dead getting turned into an incubator, coming to land, setting up the pod then giving birth to a warrior draug. It has a nice eco-system and lore about it which is why I enjoy it. I like that when you do a quest with a unique model, say Jack O'Lantern that his impact is not dilluted to his relevance with there being 10 versions of him. But, as zombies and Draug go I can imagine there being many versions of them as they are hordes.
This isn't even unique to Kingsmouth, in Egypt you see people becoming converted into enemies, or enemies that catch on fire that become new types of enemies to fight. It's all in the details.
What fadedbomb said was not true at all.I wonder if he even played the game. 1 example is the quest system. It is not go to point a and collect 9 quests. First of all your only allowed one main quest and 3sside quests. Idiot
What falc0n is completely incorrect as he took what i said out of context.
I played EVERY stage of Beta, and even got to test the Alpha build before beta hit.
I was using an example of questing by saying "collect 9 quests". Yes, they DO limit you in the # of main quests you can collect, but saying you can only collect 3 side quests is 100% FALSE. In beta, prior to launch, I was able to collect 1 main question and up to 5 side quests. It depended on the TYPE of quest and if it was a chain off of one of the first ones I picked up. It also depends on the type of quest (combat, delivery, etc).
Next time try to do better than just take what I say out of context. It was obvious I wasn't saying "THIS IS HOW IT IS 100% VERBATUM!". The quest system, compared to WoW, is the same. Get quest -> Go Here, Complete Quest-> go back get another quest from an npc around the first quest giver, or the original quest giver. Once all quests completed in Area(A) -> Move to Area(B) with higher level quests/chains.
Dude we know your opinion now. We also see your opinion on the other game u love. Why dont you just post on that game and forget about tsw?
And what other game do I "love"? Don't say GW2, because I don't love that game, and i've been called a Hater towards that game as well as this one.
Try a "Cut down" that's a bit more original in order to demean my opinion more than the one you side with the most personally.
k?
Maybe you should just give up gaming then. Tsw ang gw2 Are great games
Or maybe people need to have an opinion other than (play or gtfo).
Read my Reviews of TSW & GW2. I don't hate either of them, but when you don't side 100% with a 9.5 or higher score for a game people are rabid for they call you a hater, troll, or "Lover" of said game.
Both of your comments are borderline troll. I didn't report you for the slight chance you were serious.
Thing is they didnt give it a 9.5 but an 8.5 which is inline with the general public. And who is grilling here. You write "NONE OF THE POINTS YOU RAISED FOR SCORING MAKE ANY SENSE AS A PRIMARY REVIEWBASE!" in brackets
Because her points didn't make sense for scoring, as none of it was useful information. It was all overly subjective fluff that no one ever scores an MMO by. That was the point. The bold-caps was also strategically placed for you to see it clearly. Notice how my entire post isn't in caps, but only like 5% of it :P?
Yes your score is of course right and the 1000 others rating this to give it an average off 8.4 and 8.7 is wrong
I think THIS is the game he likes, And he is pretty good at it..... Or so he thinks...XD
The real reviews of a game come from the players now and only the players. It is not just this site that has stopped giving real reviews of a game all game sites have.
Funny. The average score for TSW on Metacritic with over 600 USER/GAMER/PLAYER reviews is 8.4. Go figure.
Game will be going free to play be the first of next year, that is if the world survives 12,21,2012. Just a prediction. As for the score...any more I just see them now for what they truly are - subjective opinions. I think they are fun to read and see how we see things differently. Clearly, in this case, I and the reviewer of this game would have substantially different opinions.
Sometimes I wish you were single, but then I remind myself that this is the internet and I sound creepy for saying such things.
My appologies !
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity: Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
I still can not wrap my mind around 8.0 score for longevity. I think WOW and SWTOR should get 10 in this department since all these three MMOS end game is dungeon grind for purple.
I can't believe such a generic end game gets 8.0
/facepalm
The pve'rs in TSW think the end game is awsome. The dungeons are raid quality in terms of challenge and there are raids on the way. As a person who used to be about 50/50 pve/pvp and it now 90% pvp, I really like doing the TSW dungeons, and can't wait for the 10/20 mans.
I still can not wrap my mind around 8.0 score for longevity. I think WOW and SWTOR should get 10 in this department since all these three MMOS end game is dungeon grind for purple.
I can't believe such a generic end game gets 8.0
/facepalm
The pve'rs in TSW think the end game is awsome. The dungeons are raid quality in terms of challenge and there are raids on the way. As a person who used to be about 50/50 pve/pvp and it now 90% pvp, I really like doing the TSW dungeons, and can't wait for the 10/20 mans.
AOC is 4 year old MMO and offer more challenging raid content with puzzles and stuff and yet people love to hate on it and here another MMO models its end game around WOW genric hamster wheel grind and it gets 8.0. Right!! hell even Rift offers more challenge for raiders why not give it a 10?
Great thourough review by Suzie. MMO discussion sites should have the best MMO reviews (duh!) and this is a good one.
And I happen to agree with all the strengths and weaknesses highlighted.
There are others out there being harsh with their numerical scores of TSW even though, when you read the text, they are mostly full of praise. I guess game review sites still have some egg on their collective faces after the over-enthusiastic reception SWTOR got: low numbers are the FOTM in review circles... I'm happy to see MMORPG buck that trend and give TSW a very fair score.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
I was in closed beta for a while before the BWEs started and at first, I was kind of horrified at the character graphics, clipping, animations, etc. But over time, things got tweaked and fixed and improved. And by July 3rd, there were so many things different between the closed beta version and the game at launch that I knew anyone who had only played the beta would not know the game today.
TSW isn't for content locusts. Neither is it for hardcore endgamers, as its endgame starts at the beginning, which is so odd as to be nearly impossible to wrap your mind around. And just about every time you think you have things figured out, there's a whammy making you rethink what you think you know.
This is a great game for the thinking player looking for immersion. That doesn't diss the non-thinking player, but they might find it irritating because it won't fit their expectations.
A fair and balanced review pretty much in line with my own impression from playing the game. I don't find the pvp lackluster though - have had some great times in Fusang!
I'm not too sure on what kind of score I would give TSW, I thought SWTOR was about a 7. I bored of SWTOR after about 2 weeks and that was playing with a friend. I am playing TSW now, have been since the 5th I think and I'm still interested. I do take breaks from it and do other things, unlike a lot of people who are done with the game already. I'm currently in Carpathian Fangs, messing with different build optimazations and building decks for healing/dps/tanking. All I can say is, most mmo's in recent years I have played I ended up growing bored of within 2 weeks I'd say. I'm currently not bored of TSW (though again I take breaks from it and don't play obsessively) and plan to pay for another month. So I suppose I'd rate it higher than a 7 in comparison to what I thought SWTOR was. I'd say 8-8.5 is fair with some sway in opinion.
Comments
Now I'm not a statistics guy,
but 1000 ratings form a hypothetical 10 million mmorpg gamers gives a 3% margin of error. I think it is far to say judging by the overall mmorpg gaming community, the detractors are in the minority.
You played all the missions and Transylvania and dungeons? No you didn't. Here's what you did. You did PvP. Look at your Talismans LOL. Greens QL9 -QL10? LOL
w/e....you have no idea the full content TSW offers. You should log back in and do the actual content when it hits horizontal progression.
We know, you are a career salesman. Link to your chronicle?
You do know linking of chronicles 9/10 from people aren't really them right?
I would ask for yours, but you'd just do the same thing and pick someone who's played the hell out of the game and say it's you. Who's to know? amirite?
I linked my chronicle weeks ago on this site. That was two weeks of playtime, I have't logged into the game since the 14th.
Suzie?
You played all the missions and Transylvania and dungeons? No you didn't. Here's what you did. You did PvP. Look at your Talismans LOL. Greens QL9 -QL10? LOL
w/e....you have no idea the full content TSW offers. You should log back in and do the actual content when it hits horizontal progression.
Nicely bustedGladly!
http://chronicle.thesecretworld.com/character/Chopsticks
be sure to look at the global pvp rankings too
I was in the closed beta myself, and I hated it too. I didn't uninstall it though, i just stopped playing. I gave it another shot after launch and i have come to enjoy the game. It has very good pve. Good dodge mechenics, better strategies in dungeons than wow. Great story, has kept me interested longer than SWTOR. I agree with the score, but yeah the review is all over the place. I did some research and reading about mechanics and character builds, and once i had a small grasp on the game, i jumped in and enjoyed it immensely more than I did in CB. There were those very frsutrating bugs in some missions, I didn't like it but decided to wait it out and hope for a fix, so moved on toward another mission. To me the big negative aspect of funcom in this game is saying okay, the missions should be fixed now, only to find they are still broken. But again I like the game so for now, I'm just going to shrug that off. there have been work arounds for some missions to be completed. GMs have generally been helpful in advancing you to the next tier of the mission.
But noone is saying TSW deserves a 9.5 What people are saying is that TSW doesn't deserve a 7.0
There's a difference.
Thank you for the fair review Suzie.
I will just add in my 2 cents that if anyone thinks they want to try the game (rather than rely on trolls who "played beta" which was completely different than the current state of the game)..
There is a free preview this weekend starting Friday August 3rd until Monday August 6th. Go sign up for the free weekend and judge the game for yourself.
Stop taking the words of others. It's free to try this weekend so try it for yourself.
Nah, they gave TSW an 8.5, and i don't agree with that (as do many others). However, my Review gave TSW a 6 or 7 I think? I don't recall off-hand and I'm being lazy @ work atm.
As an MMO I believe I gave TSW a 5, but as a SPG I gave it an 8. So take that for what it's worth
.
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
I did 0 PvP in release, that should be obvious from the stats on the chronicle. The last time I logged out I was testing a new build for farming signets off the deathless in carp fangs since all my transylvania missions were on cooldown for the third time. My main build is blade chaos (should be clear from the ability wheel). Here's a shot taken while I was finishing the main story.
Not that many actually. You're in the minority of gamers. Based on User scores here and on metacritic. Your opinion is still your own, but you don't speak for the majority. Note even close.
Game will be going free to play by the first of next year, that is if the world survives 12,21,2012. Just a prediction. As for the score...any more I just see them now for what they truly are - subjective opinions. I think they are fun to read and see how we see things differently. Clearly, in this case, I and the reviewer of this game would have substantially different opinions.
I still can not wrap my mind around 8.0 score for longevity. I think WOW and SWTOR should get 10 in this department since all these three MMOS end game is dungeon grind for purple.
I can't believe such a generic end game gets 8.0
/facepalm
Evidently you disliked playing TSW and that is fine, I imagine you wouldn't agree with the scores if you didn't. I happen to love playing TSw and I am happy with the score. It will always be opinion based, for you, me and for the reviewer. Based on this review, I would of given the game a try and I would of loved it (as I do now) and been happy to have a new MMO home.
I can also tell you are very biased yourself in your remark which makes your disdain all the more hilarious, almost to the point where I am not sure if trolling? You clearly take the all pro's and turn them into your version of cons, then agree with the reviewers cons. There is no deviation between your thoughts and the reviewers other than the fact you dislike the game.
Let me address your concerns with the pro's and see where we are going wrong. I shall also try to do this objectively as I do enjoy the game and I wouldn't want to be too biased.
Aesthetics – 9.5??
How in the bloody hell did you find it "ok" to take what essentially boils down to "Graphics" and turn it into a major scoring point for TSW? Graphics =/= a game. This shouldn't be a scoring point!
Graphics have always being a scoring point for games, but this should never be based on the game engines but more to the tone of the game. Super mario has great graphics for what its intended tone is. So does TSW. Sadly you might disagree but from the 20 years of reading game reviews, including back in the day when the I read the Street Fighter 2 review in CVG magazine in the UK, graphics have always been a factor.
Game Play – 8.5??
This is a highly opinion based score area given the fact that people whom like WoW will like TSW's gameplay, but generally speaking people whom like DAOC, EQ, SWG, or even Age of Conan's combat system will dislike it immensely. You should put near the beginning of your article which game you mostly relate to for your scores. Obviously I don't agree at all with an "8.5" given TSW's horribly clunky & non-intuitive combat system. Not to mention the horrible animations.
And again this is your opnion, I don't find it clunky, or non-intuitive. It might not be what you're looking for, but doesn't make your opinon more valued than the reviewer. His review is based on professionalism and you either trust the reviewer or you don't. If you are unsure you can compare with other reviewers before making a decision. Just like, I love 'The Dark Knight' the film, but you go to Rotten Tomatoes and you'll find professional reviewers who disliked it and they state there reasons. Now, if you tend to have a habit of liking and disliking the same things as that same reviewer then chances are it's a safe bet to base your purchase choices on that review.
Value & Longevity – 8.0??
Your primary reason, as stated, for this scoring point was based on SWTOR's recent announcement about F2P and that since TSW already has a cash-shop it'll make a clean transition to F2P should subs prove to dip too low?!
Value & Longevity is a scoring point, in most reviews, that dictate replayability & end-game enjoyment. At the VERY LEAST it has nothing to do with the payment model associated with the game.
I agree with you here, luckily TSW seems to be doing really well and whether it goes to another payment model is irrelevant, but I do understand what the reviewer is saying. They are thinking more along the lines of a market of people thinking 'is it worth getting into this game if it goes down the same route as SWTOR'. For Funcom its a non-issue, AoC which was horrid to start with, so much so that I stopped playing it after a month and never looked back is still going strong with it's own community.
As for longetivity, I been playing every day since early access and I have not run out of things to do, with the promise of monthly content (which has now delivered on their first months issue) i'll have no issue in finding myself without things to do.
Deep skill system - Just a facade, not actually "deep"
It is quite deep in fact, I am not sure how far you progressed with the game but in the later stages it becomes quite good. I also don't want to hear an arguement about 'Oh the game should be deep from the outset etc' or any of that smack because in other MMO's you start of with 2, 3 skills and these progress through leveling and only at the end game does your skill set with talents become more diverse.
The reason I would say this is deep is because I was doing a Nightmare dungeon where we openly discuss who will be full-filling each role, which of us as DPS will be going to purge, to cleanse, to weakening, to debilitating, to inpairing etc etc. It allows a certain level of flexability and on the fly change for you to over come difficult encounters. For myself I wanted to maintain an Elemental/Blade build but I also wanted to be able to support in those harder encounters, so dicussing and playing about with my abilities I found a nice sweet spot for in the skills for myself to progress through. I like how deep it allows me to venture and mix and match. It's the only game I have played where a ability set like this mattered and was enjoyable. If that's not deep, then I want to know what your version of 'deep' is and what referencing your using.
GREAT story - Agreed, but so did SWTOR
This is subjective, I played SWTOR all the way through including all end game content before I finally gave up the ghost. Sadly this will be a preference thing. To me SWTOR did not have a fantastic story, I can honestly say I do not remember a SINGLE NPC by name in that game apart from those who are in reference to the KOTOR series. Even the end game has no story, you get max level, you meet a quest giver who gives you 15 mins of story filler and off you go. You never know why you're really fighting for considering Malgus who I thought would be the big bad for us Republic to die off in al ater dungeon. This then left it open to bosses I didn't care for, I had no motivation.
In TSW I remember already all the NPC's and like their emotion and characters. Each zone has a story to which is building up to something bigger and I am eager to find out what that is. Characters in TSW already have fans, such as the jail-bait Carter and the immortal suit wearing trade prince. I don't recall that level of character dedication being present in SWTOR, in game or on forums.
The personal story is nice, but again, it completes, leaving you no real motivation. It would of been good if your story mission set up the upcoming end game. Gave it some passion. But they really did go for a KOTOR like story for an MMO world and it didn't sell it to me. I am also a Bioware fan, so I was quite dissapointed. Again, this is opinion. Story will always be story and some people will like romance and some comedy. I can't fault you on your idea of excellent story.
Meaningful dungeons - How exactly are they "meaningful", they have no impact at all on the world outside those instances?!
They are meaningful because they are relevant to the story. Polaris is relevant to whats going on in Solomon island, Hell to that of Wicker which is an awesome character, you have the Darkness war which is relevant to the arch with the sword, also detailed through the story quest. All the dungeons are relevant and meaningful because they are extensions to the story, they add another slice of pie to the lore and to the ultimate puzzle as to what's going on with story of the game. The 'Big' picture so to speak.
Granted, your actions don't change your environment or your world, but they aren't meant to. In addition the dungeons are fun, not grindy or trashy and difficult.
Tiered and unique questing - Same quest system used by WoW. Go to point A get quests 1 - 9, do quests, go to Point B for higher tiered/chained quests. Nothing unique here other than the occassional "gem" with a half-decent story behind it.
It is unique because that type of 'tiered' questing system has not been done. Thus if it is the only one of it's kind, it is unique. Questing in itself isn't unique, but that isn't the statement made. However it is the thing you choose to knock, which shows your disdain for the game.
Lack of initial character customization - Yup
Agreed, there is a lack of customization of character and clothing can fill that hole. I was disappointed with how far I could take my character considering AoC creation system was quite robust. However, listening to player feed back they are releasing more options and the option to reshape your avatar for free to begin with. So, although I was saddened by the lack of options I am greatful they listened and are pushing it forward for August.
I am not much of a PvP person, I am more of a PVE person. I did give Fusang ago, which kinda reminds me a bit of AV, that was very lackluster. But, I tried stone henge and loved it. however if you are a PvP fan, this will not sell it to you. So I can agree on you with this.
Repetitive trash mobs - Yup
See this one, I just don't see it. There are enough mobs around that are different that I just don't understand this remark by yourself or the reviewer. The mobs are all relevant to the location... I mean if you play the game and pay attention they are all pretty awesome.
like in Kingsmouth you see the stage of a drowned dead getting turned into an incubator, coming to land, setting up the pod then giving birth to a warrior draug. It has a nice eco-system and lore about it which is why I enjoy it. I like that when you do a quest with a unique model, say Jack O'Lantern that his impact is not dilluted to his relevance with there being 10 versions of him. But, as zombies and Draug go I can imagine there being many versions of them as they are hordes.
This isn't even unique to Kingsmouth, in Egypt you see people becoming converted into enemies, or enemies that catch on fire that become new types of enemies to fight. It's all in the details.
I think THIS is the game he likes, And he is pretty good at it..... Or so he thinks...XD
Sorry but you can not have it both ways. Flame critics and then point towards user reviews. Flame user reviews and then point towards critics.
There is no way one can win in this situation.
Sometimes I wish you were single, but then I remind myself that this is the internet and I sound creepy for saying such things.
My appologies
!
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
The pve'rs in TSW think the end game is awsome. The dungeons are raid quality in terms of challenge and there are raids on the way. As a person who used to be about 50/50 pve/pvp and it now 90% pvp, I really like doing the TSW dungeons, and can't wait for the 10/20 mans.
AOC is 4 year old MMO and offer more challenging raid content with puzzles and stuff and yet people love to hate on it and here another MMO models its end game around WOW genric hamster wheel grind and it gets 8.0. Right!! hell even Rift offers more challenge for raiders why not give it a 10?
*shakes head*
Alot of people seem to be using the user score as some sort of vindication for the reviewer score.
I'd like to remind thoes people that 600-1000 is a poor sample size for an MMO.
What this tells me is that only people with a strong positive opinion of the game cared enough to vote. While most others found the game to be "meh".
Not offensive enough to spur the masses into a downvoting fest, but not good enough to pull in a large amount of positive votes.
Great thourough review by Suzie. MMO discussion sites should have the best MMO reviews (duh!) and this is a good one.
And I happen to agree with all the strengths and weaknesses highlighted.
There are others out there being harsh with their numerical scores of TSW even though, when you read the text, they are mostly full of praise. I guess game review sites still have some egg on their collective faces after the over-enthusiastic reception SWTOR got: low numbers are the FOTM in review circles... I'm happy to see MMORPG buck that trend and give TSW a very fair score.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
I was in closed beta for a while before the BWEs started and at first, I was kind of horrified at the character graphics, clipping, animations, etc. But over time, things got tweaked and fixed and improved. And by July 3rd, there were so many things different between the closed beta version and the game at launch that I knew anyone who had only played the beta would not know the game today.
TSW isn't for content locusts. Neither is it for hardcore endgamers, as its endgame starts at the beginning, which is so odd as to be nearly impossible to wrap your mind around. And just about every time you think you have things figured out, there's a whammy making you rethink what you think you know.
This is a great game for the thinking player looking for immersion. That doesn't diss the non-thinking player, but they might find it irritating because it won't fit their expectations.
1000 people out of 10,000,000 gamers yields a magin of error of 3%
So if you want more than that, idk.
A fair and balanced review pretty much in line with my own impression from playing the game. I don't find the pvp lackluster though - have had some great times in Fusang!
I'm not too sure on what kind of score I would give TSW, I thought SWTOR was about a 7. I bored of SWTOR after about 2 weeks and that was playing with a friend. I am playing TSW now, have been since the 5th I think and I'm still interested. I do take breaks from it and do other things, unlike a lot of people who are done with the game already. I'm currently in Carpathian Fangs, messing with different build optimazations and building decks for healing/dps/tanking. All I can say is, most mmo's in recent years I have played I ended up growing bored of within 2 weeks I'd say. I'm currently not bored of TSW (though again I take breaks from it and don't play obsessively) and plan to pay for another month. So I suppose I'd rate it higher than a 7 in comparison to what I thought SWTOR was. I'd say 8-8.5 is fair with some sway in opinion.