Being a former Diablo 2 and Guild Wars player, I believe Hellgate: London failed to deliver on the F2P front for several reasons. This is based on a review from a 21 Marksman in beta atm.
Pros
1.) Graphics - Max the settings out on DX 9 or DX 10, and the graphics look spectacular. However, if you don't have a fairly new system, eye candy will look bland or sub par. Did I mention slow loading times?
2.) Easy to learn - You don't have to be a MMO vet to learn how to play HG:L. You can even skip the tutorial as a matter of fact and you'll fit in just fine.
3.) Casual game - No raiding required fornice equipment. Do the quests and kill all the mobs on the map for maximum exp and you should be fine.
4.) Community - The community is very helpful and most of the time mature.
Cons
1.)Quests - Explore, kill X number, or speak to quests are nothing new. I expected something new from FFS.
2.) Too easy - I do hope they introduce brand new modes to increase difficulty because if you can solo everything in a game even on highest difficulty, then I believe there's a problem.
3.) Not immersive - Compared to Guild Wars you can see possibly 20 - 30+ people on a major city map. Diablo II, you can see the same amount or so in the lobby. In HG:L you see possibly only 5 or 10 people in a small subway system. Hopefully numbers do increase on release because the game atmosphere is very lonely.
4.) For a marksman, the vast majority of skills seem useless. Stats are also quite straight forward as well and don't require much thought except looking at your armor/weapon requirements.
Conclusion
HG:L is a great game to play if you have a new computer (1-2 years old) and a group of friends to play with casually. For new players this game will also be very welcoming because of the community and easy to learn controls. If you don't have a lot of time (say only 1-2 hours a day) to play MMO's, this game will be for you. You will not like HG:L if you do not like underpopulated areas where you feel like you're the only person playing. You will not like this game if you expected it to be something new or revolutionary. You will not like this game if your computer can not handle high/very high settings because it will lag in stations and load times will be very long (not to mention plastic figurines). You will not like this game if you hate carebear games. I hate to use this word, but HG:L offers nearly zero PvP play except for subscribers. Dueling imo doesn't qualify as PvP.
If you are like me, sick of all the mmo's you have played for years and tired of waiting for the next big thing, Hellgate is a great diversion. If you are looking for WoW part deux, keep waiting. If you just want the thrill of mindless slaughter and seas of loot, Hellgate has that in spades.
Another player said it all in chat once, "I will never get tired of blowing shit up!"
To those who say the game is too easy, beta was set to the Easy difficulty level.
To those who say skills are lackluster, particularly Marksman skills, see the quote above.
To those who say the NPC's are lackluster, Mac Kensey says "Take off, you Hosers!" Seriously, it has Wirt! And who wasn't slightly arroused by the female vendor voice-over in Charring Cross? I personally love the insane ramblings of Lucious Aldin. "Shut the face hole, I'm preparing to say things!"
And if you couldn't find Wirt, I guess you overlooked the peg-leg kid in the very first station...
For what it's worth, i find it has TOO MUCH story.. (lengthy quest texts that you have to skip a sentence at a time...) being an old school guy I go with the "If I wanted a story, I'd buy a book." motto.
As for hypothetical "Diablo clones", please do name one worth playing that came out since Lord of Destruction. Me and my wife (and a bunch of other friends who still read books when they want to enjoy stories) will definitely buy and play this one.
im a spastic player and hgl is a spastic game so thats why i like it. my ingame beta name is rispex or vuuduuman. not sure who ill be when the game goes live
played the demo - shows promise For what it's worth, i find it has TOO MUCH story.. (lengthy quest texts that you have to skip a sentence at a time...) being an old school guy I go with the "If I wanted a story, I'd buy a book." motto. As for hypothetical "Diablo clones", please do name one worth playing that came out since Lord of Destruction. Me and my wife (and a bunch of other friends who still read books when they want to enjoy stories) will definitely buy and play this one.
Don't be concerned about the quest text, after Holborn station alls quests only require 1-click to accept. You won't have to turn the pages.
I love the game, i was a huge d2 fan so there s really no way i wouldnt like it, and i think it will be a HUGE hit despite the sayings of the MMO community, but well diablo and d2 were always frown upon by the MMO community, much like Guild wars, and they were great games, and huge hits.
im a spastic player and hgl is a spastic game so thats why i like it. my ingame beta name is rispex or vuuduuman. not sure who ill be when the game goes live
Look out for Zydella , a summoner, I hear she is quite badass LOL
im a spastic player and hgl is a spastic game so thats why i like it. my ingame beta name is rispex or vuuduuman. not sure who ill be when the game goes live
Look out for Zydella , a summoner, I hear she is quite badass LOL
Bob Ross
ah you like summoners? cool. both of my toons are summoners too. it's a very balanced class because you will pwn vs mobs no matter how you spec.
im a spastic player and hgl is a spastic game so thats why i like it. my ingame beta name is rispex or vuuduuman. not sure who ill be when the game goes live
Look out for Zydella , a summoner, I hear she is quite badass LOL
Bob Ross
ah you like summoners? cool. both of my toons are summoners too. it's a very balanced class because you will pwn vs mobs no matter how you spec.
Originally I started with a marksman but I didnt want to limit myself to just one class. I wanted to try as many as I could. Unfortunatly I only got to try 2 classes before they brought the servers down.
I prefer the summoner of the two choices. I like the fact that the summoner has a tank , a small dps (little fire guy) and then me in the background blasting with my splash damage toxic weapon. LOL
Oh wow you had to quote a troll from the beta forums? Nice job. All that poster ever does is bash the game anyway. Sure he has valid points but nothing game breaking. He just screams stupidity at making a "I canceled my pre-order thread" anyway.
In general, the feeling I get from other beta testers is that they really like the game but there are a number of bugs/balancing/functionality issues that need to be addressed before we can give the game a full endorsement.
Like any forum, there are always a number of really loud and obnoxious posters who complain endlessly and make it seem like the world is ending tomorrow.
Things will be a lot clearer once the game goes live and people start reaching the new content.
If you're on the fence about getting the game, just wait for a few weeks and there will be more reviews about this game than you can ever hope to read.
Comments
Its about expectations. Expect too much and youre doomed.
Anybody who expected more from this than Diablo-Style gameplay has a problem now.
For my part: I like it and its fun. I expected the unexpected.
It will kill my time until Warhammer online comes.
Being a former Diablo 2 and Guild Wars player, I believe Hellgate: London failed to deliver on the F2P front for several reasons. This is based on a review from a 21 Marksman in beta atm.
Pros
1.) Graphics - Max the settings out on DX 9 or DX 10, and the graphics look spectacular. However, if you don't have a fairly new system, eye candy will look bland or sub par. Did I mention slow loading times?
2.) Easy to learn - You don't have to be a MMO vet to learn how to play HG:L. You can even skip the tutorial as a matter of fact and you'll fit in just fine.
3.) Casual game - No raiding required fornice equipment. Do the quests and kill all the mobs on the map for maximum exp and you should be fine.
4.) Community - The community is very helpful and most of the time mature.
Cons
1.)Quests - Explore, kill X number, or speak to quests are nothing new. I expected something new from FFS.
2.) Too easy - I do hope they introduce brand new modes to increase difficulty because if you can solo everything in a game even on highest difficulty, then I believe there's a problem.
3.) Not immersive - Compared to Guild Wars you can see possibly 20 - 30+ people on a major city map. Diablo II, you can see the same amount or so in the lobby. In HG:L you see possibly only 5 or 10 people in a small subway system. Hopefully numbers do increase on release because the game atmosphere is very lonely.
4.) For a marksman, the vast majority of skills seem useless. Stats are also quite straight forward as well and don't require much thought except looking at your armor/weapon requirements.
Conclusion
HG:L is a great game to play if you have a new computer (1-2 years old) and a group of friends to play with casually. For new players this game will also be very welcoming because of the community and easy to learn controls. If you don't have a lot of time (say only 1-2 hours a day) to play MMO's, this game will be for you. You will not like HG:L if you do not like underpopulated areas where you feel like you're the only person playing. You will not like this game if you expected it to be something new or revolutionary. You will not like this game if your computer can not handle high/very high settings because it will lag in stations and load times will be very long (not to mention plastic figurines). You will not like this game if you hate carebear games. I hate to use this word, but HG:L offers nearly zero PvP play except for subscribers. Dueling imo doesn't qualify as PvP.
If you are like me, sick of all the mmo's you have played for years and tired of waiting for the next big thing, Hellgate is a great diversion. If you are looking for WoW part deux, keep waiting. If you just want the thrill of mindless slaughter and seas of loot, Hellgate has that in spades.
Another player said it all in chat once, "I will never get tired of blowing shit up!"
To those who say the game is too easy, beta was set to the Easy difficulty level.
To those who say skills are lackluster, particularly Marksman skills, see the quote above.
To those who say the NPC's are lackluster, Mac Kensey says "Take off, you Hosers!" Seriously, it has Wirt! And who wasn't slightly arroused by the female vendor voice-over in Charring Cross? I personally love the insane ramblings of Lucious Aldin. "Shut the face hole, I'm preparing to say things!"
And if you couldn't find Wirt, I guess you overlooked the peg-leg kid in the very first station...
played the demo - shows promise
For what it's worth, i find it has TOO MUCH story.. (lengthy quest texts that you have to skip a sentence at a time...) being an old school guy I go with the "If I wanted a story, I'd buy a book." motto.
As for hypothetical "Diablo clones", please do name one worth playing that came out since Lord of Destruction. Me and my wife (and a bunch of other friends who still read books when they want to enjoy stories) will definitely buy and play this one.
im a spastic player and hgl is a spastic game so thats why i like it. my ingame beta name is rispex or vuuduuman. not sure who ill be when the game goes live
Guild Wars 2 is my religion
Don't be concerned about the quest text, after Holborn station alls quests only require 1-click to accept. You won't have to turn the pages.
I love the game, i was a huge d2 fan so there s really no way i wouldnt like it, and i think it will be a HUGE hit despite the sayings of the MMO community, but well diablo and d2 were always frown upon by the MMO community, much like Guild wars, and they were great games, and huge hits.
Look out for Zydella , a summoner, I hear she is quite badass LOL
Bob Ross
Look out for Zydella , a summoner, I hear she is quite badass LOL
Bob Ross
ah you like summoners? cool. both of my toons are summoners too. it's a very balanced class because you will pwn vs mobs no matter how you spec.
Guild Wars 2 is my religion
Look out for Zydella , a summoner, I hear she is quite badass LOL
Bob Ross
ah you like summoners? cool. both of my toons are summoners too. it's a very balanced class because you will pwn vs mobs no matter how you spec.
Originally I started with a marksman but I didnt want to limit myself to just one class. I wanted to try as many as I could. Unfortunatly I only got to try 2 classes before they brought the servers down.
I prefer the summoner of the two choices. I like the fact that the summoner has a tank , a small dps (little fire guy) and then me in the background blasting with my splash damage toxic weapon. LOL
Bob Ross
Oh wow you had to quote a troll from the beta forums? Nice job. All that poster ever does is bash the game anyway. Sure he has valid points but nothing game breaking. He just screams stupidity at making a "I canceled my pre-order thread" anyway.
In general, the feeling I get from other beta testers is that they really like the game but there are a number of bugs/balancing/functionality issues that need to be addressed before we can give the game a full endorsement.
Like any forum, there are always a number of really loud and obnoxious posters who complain endlessly and make it seem like the world is ending tomorrow.
Things will be a lot clearer once the game goes live and people start reaching the new content.
If you're on the fence about getting the game, just wait for a few weeks and there will be more reviews about this game than you can ever hope to read.