It's the new trend now to only reviewi 1/4th of the game ? Yeah today I bought a new car and the car salesman had me sold when he only showed me 1/4th of the car. The rest of the car is missing though. No wheels, no engine, no brakes and the transmission needs a complete overhaul but other than that I am a happy buyer. If people are going to review the game then review ALL of it or don't even bother ya know ?
It says level 1 - 20 review so I don't think anyone is stupid enough to take it as a full game review + everything in the first 20 levels is how the game mechanics work for the rest of the game so if you don't like it then you wont like it after.
Yeah I know what it says but some are just missing the point. Everyone and their cousin is writing level 1-20 reviews and selling this game just from the aspect of Tortage. Anyone who has played this game knows that Tortage is done well but the rest of the game seriously lacks on so many levels. I never heard of a game get so much hype just from levels 1-20 Noone is reviewing the entire game because they don't want to admit all the bad things there is after 20, that would be bad for the mmo industry right ? So I guess we can expect 3 more reviews from everyone, 20-40, 40-60 and 60-80 right ?
Not to mention the fact that even if you weren't rushing, the 1-20 review should have come like 2-3 weeks ago. 1-20 is a complete joke in how long it takes to do, and then the game takes a nose dive in content. This is quite obvious to most who have played it and have experience with past mmo's. I agree with the others who said this is a blatant attempt to review the nicer side of the game.
Ok, I'm going to step in here for a minute and explain exactly why this is a 1-20 review:
First, yes, I realize that it doesn't take a long time to run through the content of 1-20 if you're running through the content to progress past it. It's a little bit different when you're playing a game to review it. When you're playing a game for the purposes of a review, you have to go much more slowly. You read every piece of dialogue, you go through unnecessary quests, and just generally spend time exploring.
Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review.
Hope that clears things up for you
I think that is a fair call, also this article is called " level 1 - 20 review", at least these guys havn't played it for a day and given it a 9/10 for the entire game like others have done.
I'm not sure it's an entirely fair review. Let me qualify that by saying that while yes it says only the first 20 levels, taken out of context this may sound like a fairly sizable chunk of the game. Thinking about other games like EQ, EQ2 it could well take a few days to hit 20. I hit 20 in AoC in less than one day. Considering that 1 day vs. the rest of the playtime over the life of an MMO.. this is actually a very small part of the game and as such this should be made adequately clear.
I also feel obligated to point out that auto-follow is actually in the game and does work on occasion. It is however much like many things in the game bugged. The problem is that auto-follow '/follow' only works if the group has been formed after the follower and followee have zoned into the same instance. If you die, zone again, or look at the avatar funny the function will break and you have to reform the group again. Great stuff for a AAA MMO eh?
In hopes that some of the dear readers won't be taken in by a perhaps incomplete review: please bear in mind that AoC while offering a nice change for the first 30 odd levels; quickly diminishes over time and after you get to that point where you want to craft, build cities, siege, etc... it just doesn't deliver what is on the box. In terms of things like crafting, it was bugged to the point of not working at all for nearly the first month. Vanguard had better crafting at the start than AoC has now. There is the usual fare of completely broken quests (as in most MMOs), but in the case of AoC it is a bit more glaring because after you get out of the starter area and begin leveling up .. you very quickly begin to realize just how small the world actually is. With so few travel/exploration options, a completely bugged zone can become a significant deal. AAA indeed. It very much reminds me of how EQ2 was at release where you were completely sick of Commonlands after spending weeks running around it. In AoC there is no large open world. You cannot travel to Shadazar (known to some as the Wicked.)
I do agree with the review about customer service. I'm actually dealing with an issue myself now.... 16 hours and waiting....
I've been playing AoC since launch and it seems like there are an inordinant number of haters for this game that flat out lie about this game to give it a bad reputation. And to respond to those haters, the fans of AoC have become fanboys that don't acknowledge any issues with the game in order to attempt to balance things out.
Jon just gave us a fair review for AoC. The game has issues - but it's fun if you get it to run. I think of AoC's current state as a platform to build off of, and I think it's good. The next few months will tell us if Funcom plans to build onto their platform quick enough to make AoC worthwhile.
Not to mention the fact that even if you weren't rushing, the 1-20 review should have come like 2-3 weeks ago. 1-20 is a complete joke in how long it takes to do, and then the game takes a nose dive in content. This is quite obvious to most who have played it and have experience with past mmo's. I agree with the others who said this is a blatant attempt to review the nicer side of the game.
Ok, I'm going to step in here for a minute and explain exactly why this is a 1-20 review:
First, yes, I realize that it doesn't take a long time to run through the content of 1-20 if you're running through the content to progress past it. It's a little bit different when you're playing a game to review it. When you're playing a game for the purposes of a review, you have to go much more slowly. You read every piece of dialogue, you go through unnecessary quests, and just generally spend time exploring.
Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review.
Hope that clears things up for you
I understand where you are coming from with this, wanting to review the game in whole.
However, what is irresponsible is releasing a highly unfinished product. It should be relayed to your readers in that sense, if you are buying this game you are buying a product that has content up to around lvl 40 and then after that have fun grinding. I play the game and I stomach it, but when you review something review it in its entirety as it is presented to the public, not how it is as content is eventually added to make up for the lack of it.
"As the content is properly completed, we will update the review" to me just says that you know this game has nothing to review for past a certain level - and for that it should be fairly given a 0/10 for this moment levels 40-80. I have to respectfully agree with the others who have posted that if this were a game like everquest 2 where getting to 20 actually took some time when it first came out then that feat is worth a review, but you gave a review for part of the game that took me 6 hours to do at a casual pace.
The biggest disappointment for me was lack of group content. I got to level 35 and finished Sanctum. That was the only decent instance that was group centered.
I understand that I am not 80 or even 50. However, I WAS able to do some very interesting and exciting group runs in all other MMO I played at level 20-30.
I can only do that many solo quests.. or even group quests. I want more variety. May be I just want to kill mobs, do dungeon runs, craft etc. But that's not possible in AoC. I found the Epic instances to be a joke. It's the same as a regular instance but mobs are harder. SAME layout, same everything. That's a very LAZY approach - let's take what we have, make the mobs harder and call it Epic..
Just to warn everyone now. From lvl 55 to 60 is a dead zone in the game. There are NO quests to do at those lvls so its all grinding....i had to make another character so it didn't feel like i was grinding out 5 lvls. Thats the only part i hate about the game is that area of lvling. The rest of the game kicked ass.
Not to mention the fact that even if you weren't rushing, the 1-20 review should have come like 2-3 weeks ago. 1-20 is a complete joke in how long it takes to do, and then the game takes a nose dive in content. This is quite obvious to most who have played it and have experience with past mmo's. I agree with the others who said this is a blatant attempt to review the nicer side of the game.
Ok, I'm going to step in here for a minute and explain exactly why this is a 1-20 review:
First, yes, I realize that it doesn't take a long time to run through the content of 1-20 if you're running through the content to progress past it. It's a little bit different when you're playing a game to review it. When you're playing a game for the purposes of a review, you have to go much more slowly. You read every piece of dialogue, you go through unnecessary quests, and just generally spend time exploring.
Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review.
Hope that clears things up for you
I understand where you are coming from with this, wanting to review the game in whole.
However, what is irresponsible is releasing a highly unfinished product. It should be relayed to your readers in that sense, if you are buying this game you are buying a product that has content up to around lvl 40 and then after that have fun grinding. I play the game and I stomach it, but when you review something review it in its entirety as it is presented to the public, not how it is as content is eventually added to make up for the lack of it.
"As the content is properly completed, we will update the review" to me just says that you know this game has nothing to review for past a certain level - and for that it should be fairly given a 0/10 for this moment levels 40-80. I have to respectfully agree with the others who have posted that if this were a game like everquest 2 where getting to 20 actually took some time when it first came out then that feat is worth a review, but you gave a review for part of the game that took me 6 hours to do at a casual pace.
~Danke
You brought up a great point and a few words I missed, I agree 100% keep reviewing it now, not when content is properly updated, I was under the impression this was an initial review and a 21-40 would be forth-coming,
I missed the "As the content is properly updated, we will update the review". Thanks for pointing it out. I have to agree with the players that if you don't intend to keep reviewing the game as is now then it is half a review, are saying you will update the 21-40 in what 2-3 months or more?
Auto-follow is a boon to "professional" power-levelling companies, while I don't play AoC I would move the lack of this feature from the cons to the pros
Not to mention the fact that even if you weren't rushing, the 1-20 review should have come like 2-3 weeks ago. 1-20 is a complete joke in how long it takes to do, and then the game takes a nose dive in content. This is quite obvious to most who have played it and have experience with past mmo's. I agree with the others who said this is a blatant attempt to review the nicer side of the game.
Ok, I'm going to step in here for a minute and explain exactly why this is a 1-20 review:
First, yes, I realize that it doesn't take a long time to run through the content of 1-20 if you're running through the content to progress past it. It's a little bit different when you're playing a game to review it. When you're playing a game for the purposes of a review, you have to go much more slowly. You read every piece of dialogue, you go through unnecessary quests, and just generally spend time exploring.
Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review.
Hope that clears things up for you
I understand where you are coming from with this, wanting to review the game in whole.
However, what is irresponsible is releasing a highly unfinished product. It should be relayed to your readers in that sense, if you are buying this game you are buying a product that has content up to around lvl 40 and then after that have fun grinding. I play the game and I stomach it, but when you review something review it in its entirety as it is presented to the public, not how it is as content is eventually added to make up for the lack of it.
"As the content is properly completed, we will update the review" to me just says that you know this game has nothing to review for past a certain level - and for that it should be fairly given a 0/10 for this moment levels 40-80. I have to respectfully agree with the others who have posted that if this were a game like everquest 2 where getting to 20 actually took some time when it first came out then that feat is worth a review, but you gave a review for part of the game that took me 6 hours to do at a casual pace.
~Danke
You brought up a great point and a few words I missed, I agree 100% keep reviewing it now, not when content is properly updated, I was under the impression this was an initial review and a 21-40 would be forth-coming,
I missed the "As the content is properly updated, we will update the review". Thanks for pointing it out. I have to agree with the players that if you don't intend to keep reviewing the game as is now then it is half a review, are saying you will update the 21-40 in what 2-3 months or more?
I agree, if this is the case, why bother? Why wait until the game is "properly updated" before reviewing the rest of it? The damn game is released, this means for all intents and purposes it is done. People are paying for it and playing it. New people deserve to know what game they're getting if they sign up now, not in two or three months.
Gotta tell ya Jon, if you want dispell the belief some have of your reviews being biased and motivated by incentives from Funcom instead of the truth, then review the rest of the game fairly and accurately as it stands right now. 21-40, 41-60,61-80.
what he's saying is that in order to do a complete review it's gonna take a lot longer time than this, he's saying leveling several characters up to lvl 80 and partaking in all aspects of the game. that takes time, lots of time--possibly several months time.
what he's saying is that in order to do a complete review it's gonna take a lot longer time than this, he's saying leveling several characters up to lvl 80 and partaking in all aspects of the game. that takes time, lots of time--possibly several months time.
What he's saying is that he has a life outside of the gaming world!!! Unlike the people who have the ability to play 20 hours a day.
I agree, if this is the case, why bother? Why wait until the game is "properly updated" before reviewing the rest of it? The damn game is released, this means for all intents and purposes it is done. People are paying for it and playing it. New people deserve to know what game they're getting if they sign up now, not in two or three months. Gotta tell ya Jon, if you want dispell the belief some have of your reviews being biased and motivated by incentives from Funcom instead of the truth, then review the rest of the game fairly and accurately as it stands right now. 21-40, 41-60,61-80.
Everything has a conspiracy to it.... oh wait thats right lets call a Congressional hearing to investigate the improprities of MMORPG.com and their reviews being funded by the gaming companies themselves.
Yup, right up there withe Clemens on steriods, the Patriots stealing signs, the federal gov't as teh true mastermind of 9-11.
Give me a freaking break already. The amount of criticism that spews out of 75% of you all is absurd. If you know so much about what people want, make a game company, pay Jon to review it, and shut the hell up!
what he's saying is that in order to do a complete review it's gonna take a lot longer time than this, he's saying leveling several characters up to lvl 80 and partaking in all aspects of the game. that takes time, lots of time--possibly several months time.
What he's saying is that he has a life outside of the gaming world!!! Unlike the people who have the ability to play 20 hours a day.
It's his job, not his past time. he gets paid to deal with games, including reviewing them, having other people review them, etc., etc.
Originally posted by melwe
Originally posted by Zorvan
I agree, if this is the case, why bother? Why wait until the game is "properly updated" before reviewing the rest of it? The damn game is released, this means for all intents and purposes it is done. People are paying for it and playing it. New people deserve to know what game they're getting if they sign up now, not in two or three months. Gotta tell ya Jon, if you want dispell the belief some have of your reviews being biased and motivated by incentives from Funcom instead of the truth, then review the rest of the game fairly and accurately as it stands right now. 21-40, 41-60,61-80.
Everything has a conspiracy to it.... oh wait thats right lets call a Congressional hearing to investigate the improprities of MMORPG.com and their reviews being funded by the gaming companies themselves.
Yup, right up there withe Clemens on steriods, the Patriots stealing signs, the federal gov't as teh true mastermind of 9-11.
Give me a freaking break already. The amount of criticism that spews out of 75% of you all is absurd. If you know so much about what people want, make a game company, pay Jon to review it, and shut the hell up!
First of all, comparing this to congressional hearings and 9/11 conspiracies shows you may want to schedule some sessions of your own with the local headshrinker.
Secondly, I did not say that he was in fact taking money for reviews. however, many people have accused him and this site of doing such thing, and I simply stated one way this could be shown untrue.
what he's saying is that in order to do a complete review it's gonna take a lot longer time than this, he's saying leveling several characters up to lvl 80 and partaking in all aspects of the game. that takes time, lots of time--possibly several months time.
You missed the point, the time it takes to review is very reasonable, the point being made is another review will not even be attempted until the content in the game past level 20 has been updated/added, thus it won't be reviewed as the game stands at release, which is when we are buying it.
Half a review of half a game, the rest of the review will come when the game is complete, that should speak volumes of the state of the game...
I'm a nobody in the big picture of life, just like you, and at least I have the intelligence to know that!! The amount of time I see people waste on knocking a game is beyond me. And yea, I'm getting caught up with it too and now I'll stop.
what he's saying is that in order to do a complete review it's gonna take a lot longer time than this, he's saying leveling several characters up to lvl 80 and partaking in all aspects of the game. that takes time, lots of time--possibly several months time.
You missed the point, the time it takes to review is very reasonable, the point being made is another review will not even be attempted until the content in the game past level 20 has been updated/added, thus it won't be reviewed as the game stands at release, which is when we are buying it.
Half a review of half a game, the rest of the review will come when the game is complete, that should speak volumes of the state of the game...
you must not be reading the same thing i'm reading, cause he's saying that as he completes the content he will update the review.
"Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review."
see, he's saying that in order to do a proper review he needs to go through the content with several different characters/classes--he's got 4 and they're on different server types to get a better all around feel for the game. notice that part down at the bottom? see, he's already stated that in order to do a proper review he needs to play it on several characters/classes/servers--that is what he refers to as "proper", and once he completes the content in the "proper" manner (see above--several characters/classes/servers) he will update the review of the game.
he's not saying that he will update the review once the game is complete, he's saying as he completes the content in the proper manner he will update it. do you think that Funcom is going to have the game completely fixed with no bugs and completely full of content within even the next month?! are you afraid of Funcom's patching schedule that they might fix the bugs and content before a full review can be done, lol?! i like the game and i still play the game, but i'm not deluded into thinking that in a couple weeks everything is gonna be fine and dandy--it's gonna take some time to get everything worked out.
what he's saying is that in order to do a complete review it's gonna take a lot longer time than this, he's saying leveling several characters up to lvl 80 and partaking in all aspects of the game. that takes time, lots of time--possibly several months time.
You missed the point, the time it takes to review is very reasonable, the point being made is another review will not even be attempted until the content in the game past level 20 has been updated/added, thus it won't be reviewed as the game stands at release, which is when we are buying it.
Half a review of half a game, the rest of the review will come when the game is complete, that should speak volumes of the state of the game...
you must not be reading the same thing i'm reading, cause he's saying that as he completes the content he will update the review.
see, he's saying that in order to do a proper review he needs to go through the content with several different characters/classes--he's got 4 and they're on different server types to get a better all around feel for the game. notice that part down at the bottom? see, he's already stated that in order to do a proper review he needs to play it on several characters/classes/servers--that is what he refers to as "proper", and once he completes the content in the "proper" manner (see above--several characters/classes/servers) he will update the review of the game.
he's not saying that he will update the review once the game is complete, he's saying as he completes the content in the proper manner he will update it. do you think that Funcom is going to have the game completely fixed with no bugs and completely full of content within even the next month?! are you afraid of Funcom's patching schedule that they might fix the bugs and content before a full review can be done, lol?! i like the game and i still play the game, but i'm not deluded into thinking that in a couple weeks everything is gonna be fine and dandy--it's gonna take some time to get everything worked out.
"Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review."
First off, my bad on a miss quote, it was "content is properly completed, it will be updated". Sorry. That aside it still can be read either way, content is properly completed as a reviewer, or content is properly completed by Funcom and the the review will update. I think this is the main argument being made, until Jon clears that up we'll have to wait and see.
Also I have no wish to see a good or bad review, I got the CE, had the 10k lag for the 30 free days, cancelled account, all over for me and won't be going back, I hope the bugs get fixed for those who remain. I just want a fair review, if it is the case the review is in the process of being researched while we speak then its all good. So far I think it has been a balanced review. I would still like to know how Funcom fixed his lag.
Review should be most useful to people who haven't played the game yet, who cares what the rest think, I didn't buy it yet and thought this review is very useful in helping me with decision making.
what he's saying is that in order to do a complete review it's gonna take a lot longer time than this, he's saying leveling several characters up to lvl 80 and partaking in all aspects of the game. that takes time, lots of time--possibly several months time.
You missed the point, the time it takes to review is very reasonable, the point being made is another review will not even be attempted until the content in the game past level 20 has been updated/added, thus it won't be reviewed as the game stands at release, which is when we are buying it.
Half a review of half a game, the rest of the review will come when the game is complete, that should speak volumes of the state of the game...
you must not be reading the same thing i'm reading, cause he's saying that as he completes the content he will update the review.
see, he's saying that in order to do a proper review he needs to go through the content with several different characters/classes--he's got 4 and they're on different server types to get a better all around feel for the game. notice that part down at the bottom? see, he's already stated that in order to do a proper review he needs to play it on several characters/classes/servers--that is what he refers to as "proper", and once he completes the content in the "proper" manner (see above--several characters/classes/servers) he will update the review of the game.
he's not saying that he will update the review once the game is complete, he's saying as he completes the content in the proper manner he will update it. do you think that Funcom is going to have the game completely fixed with no bugs and completely full of content within even the next month?! are you afraid of Funcom's patching schedule that they might fix the bugs and content before a full review can be done, lol?! i like the game and i still play the game, but i'm not deluded into thinking that in a couple weeks everything is gonna be fine and dandy--it's gonna take some time to get everything worked out.
"Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review."
i guess i'm missing a huge part of this review...
where is the comparison/contrast to the different classes and server types played? the only mention i really saw was that some dude on an RP server, RP'ed before attacking...
so, for reading all the quests, trying all the stuff, playing on all the server types and with different toon types -- where's the comparison/contrast?
otherwise, why were all these toons leveled to 20? because if that's the reason he gave (it is); then, where's the info? should i just expect RP on an RP server and that was the only diff between servers and toons?
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
The only suprising thing here is that they didnt try to pull this trick with vanguard.
They could have just reviewed character creation,and "put off" reviewing all the rest of the things that were screwed up.How long did they try and put off a review on that one ?Shame(for Brad and co) they didnt think of this back than,they could have put a review out day one.
I really have to wonder what the next low in MMO review "journalism" will be.Perhaps they'll go as far as to review the box and packaging for the next train wreck.
"Yes, we give the box and packaging a 9 out of 10.Be sure to pay out the $40 bucks to experience this".
"What ? You'd like to hear about the game INSIDE the box and packaging ?You want to knwo if the features promised are actually in the game and working ?Dont worry, spend your $40 bucks now, and sometime in the future we'll get around to actually telling you about it."
Heck, they could even get D&L some extra cash this way ......
Im sure some people would actually buy the spin .You know, like they are now.
Seems to me like hes written his review on what he thought of the game! how unfair lol.
This is another one of those games where so mny people have so different experiences of it.
Personaly people say there is no content after level 40! i am a level 53 Ranger now and currently am playing in the snowy mountian area, eligolithian mountains or something cant remember at work at min but my biggest bug bear is that the quest list is just too small. I'm having to delete quests just to fit others in.
But then again i'm a grinding fan and not a quest fan. i left wow after being in so many groups where during an hour period i was in a group with 10 players! we start a group kill a quest mob and 3 players leave to do a quest hand in nd so on. so yes you can race through all the quests to level as fast as poss or you can play the game. if you played a single player game and levelled to the end level would you complain bout lack of content? yes i know mmo's are different as in there is no end, but lets use our common sense and realise that at the begining there can only be so much content and most is going to be focused on the early levels as thats where we all start, for those that want to race ahead and max out, fine! just dont complin about it later.
you can pick a fault in anyones argument/opinions, actualy anyone can pick a fault with almost anything in the whole world. only experience and wisdom will teach you what to let go over your head.
My god, a lot of you are truly close-minded. Do you even know everything that making a full review of a game implies? Moreover, it's not just "a game", it's a fucking MMO. You do know MMOs are eternal works in progress, right? You do know MMOs are designed to provide for a whole of a lot more hours of gameplay than your average Mass Effect, right? Not only that, but I hope you do know that MMOs are quite deep when it comes to amount of content, and one person blasting through EVERYTHING the game has to offer in a month and writing a believable review about is inconceivable.
Sure, there's reviews out there that go for the whole game. Have you even thought why? Because that's the way games have been reviewed for years and years. When MMOs started coming out, the most logical proceeding was to apply the same reviewing techniques and standards, because they're games too, after all. But you're not counting that these things are bloody massive, and they get even bigger and deeper with the years. Normal reviews don't cut it anymore, because what the reviewer experiences will probably be very different to whatever the reader plays with, and because a person, or even a team of persons, will not be able to explain fully what an MMO consists of, how it plays, and so on, by just going through the content like normal reviewers do with normal single player and multiplayer games, because there's only so many sides to them.
I think this kind of review is a prudent step forward in the ways the media reviews MMOs. Sure, we'll have three different ones, but then again, that's just how MMOs are, unless you really think playing at level 5 in Everquest was the same as playing at level 50. So stop deluding yourselves with the "OMG WE NEED FULL CONTENT REVIEW" because it's stupid and impossible to achieve due to the aformentioned "eternal works in progress" characteristic: when the reviewer reaches level 50 the content might have already changed anyway. Therefore, we have two possibilities: no review at all, or sectioned reviews of what there is NOW under the capabilities and deadlines of the reviewer. I'd rather have reviews from people who try to be objective under the pressure of the public than the random idiotic uncoherent ramblings I see coming from the regular posters in this site.
In my opinion this is the new way of reviewing this particular type of game, and I think it suits its needs a lot better than normal, run-through reviews, which are perfect for other types. It may not be fully accomplished, but it's a step forward from the always-seemingly -incomplete reviews of the past.
I have no doubt this will be a start to a new trend.The industry is so screwed up, and the products in such sad shape they have to do everything they can to hide it.
Of course, its unlikely they will also decide to put off teling people to " BUY IT NOW" while deciding to only give out some approved minuscule amount of real information about the product.,in their new partial review system .
Can't risk sales, and hence advertising revenues and stay alive for long.
And make NO mistake, this site's primary purpose is to act as a proxy for MMO companies and sell their products.
Comments
It says level 1 - 20 review so I don't think anyone is stupid enough to take it as a full game review + everything in the first 20 levels is how the game mechanics work for the rest of the game so if you don't like it then you wont like it after.
Yeah I know what it says but some are just missing the point. Everyone and their cousin is writing level 1-20 reviews and selling this game just from the aspect of Tortage. Anyone who has played this game knows that Tortage is done well but the rest of the game seriously lacks on so many levels. I never heard of a game get so much hype just from levels 1-20 Noone is reviewing the entire game because they don't want to admit all the bad things there is after 20, that would be bad for the mmo industry right ? So I guess we can expect 3 more reviews from everyone, 20-40, 40-60 and 60-80 right ?
Ok, I'm going to step in here for a minute and explain exactly why this is a 1-20 review:
First, yes, I realize that it doesn't take a long time to run through the content of 1-20 if you're running through the content to progress past it. It's a little bit different when you're playing a game to review it. When you're playing a game for the purposes of a review, you have to go much more slowly. You read every piece of dialogue, you go through unnecessary quests, and just generally spend time exploring.
Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review.
Hope that clears things up for you
I think that is a fair call, also this article is called " level 1 - 20 review", at least these guys havn't played it for a day and given it a 9/10 for the entire game like others have done.
I'm not sure it's an entirely fair review. Let me qualify that by saying that while yes it says only the first 20 levels, taken out of context this may sound like a fairly sizable chunk of the game. Thinking about other games like EQ, EQ2 it could well take a few days to hit 20. I hit 20 in AoC in less than one day. Considering that 1 day vs. the rest of the playtime over the life of an MMO.. this is actually a very small part of the game and as such this should be made adequately clear.
I also feel obligated to point out that auto-follow is actually in the game and does work on occasion. It is however much like many things in the game bugged. The problem is that auto-follow '/follow' only works if the group has been formed after the follower and followee have zoned into the same instance. If you die, zone again, or look at the avatar funny the function will break and you have to reform the group again. Great stuff for a AAA MMO eh?
In hopes that some of the dear readers won't be taken in by a perhaps incomplete review: please bear in mind that AoC while offering a nice change for the first 30 odd levels; quickly diminishes over time and after you get to that point where you want to craft, build cities, siege, etc... it just doesn't deliver what is on the box. In terms of things like crafting, it was bugged to the point of not working at all for nearly the first month. Vanguard had better crafting at the start than AoC has now. There is the usual fare of completely broken quests (as in most MMOs), but in the case of AoC it is a bit more glaring because after you get out of the starter area and begin leveling up .. you very quickly begin to realize just how small the world actually is. With so few travel/exploration options, a completely bugged zone can become a significant deal. AAA indeed. It very much reminds me of how EQ2 was at release where you were completely sick of Commonlands after spending weeks running around it. In AoC there is no large open world. You cannot travel to Shadazar (known to some as the Wicked.)
I do agree with the review about customer service. I'm actually dealing with an issue myself now.... 16 hours and waiting....
Buyer beware.
Des
Thanks for a fair review, Jon.
I've been playing AoC since launch and it seems like there are an inordinant number of haters for this game that flat out lie about this game to give it a bad reputation. And to respond to those haters, the fans of AoC have become fanboys that don't acknowledge any issues with the game in order to attempt to balance things out.
Jon just gave us a fair review for AoC. The game has issues - but it's fun if you get it to run. I think of AoC's current state as a platform to build off of, and I think it's good. The next few months will tell us if Funcom plans to build onto their platform quick enough to make AoC worthwhile.
Ok, I'm going to step in here for a minute and explain exactly why this is a 1-20 review:
First, yes, I realize that it doesn't take a long time to run through the content of 1-20 if you're running through the content to progress past it. It's a little bit different when you're playing a game to review it. When you're playing a game for the purposes of a review, you have to go much more slowly. You read every piece of dialogue, you go through unnecessary quests, and just generally spend time exploring.
Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review.
Hope that clears things up for you
I understand where you are coming from with this, wanting to review the game in whole.
However, what is irresponsible is releasing a highly unfinished product. It should be relayed to your readers in that sense, if you are buying this game you are buying a product that has content up to around lvl 40 and then after that have fun grinding. I play the game and I stomach it, but when you review something review it in its entirety as it is presented to the public, not how it is as content is eventually added to make up for the lack of it.
"As the content is properly completed, we will update the review" to me just says that you know this game has nothing to review for past a certain level - and for that it should be fairly given a 0/10 for this moment levels 40-80. I have to respectfully agree with the others who have posted that if this were a game like everquest 2 where getting to 20 actually took some time when it first came out then that feat is worth a review, but you gave a review for part of the game that took me 6 hours to do at a casual pace.
~Danke
One more thing I want to mention.
The biggest disappointment for me was lack of group content. I got to level 35 and finished Sanctum. That was the only decent instance that was group centered.
I understand that I am not 80 or even 50. However, I WAS able to do some very interesting and exciting group runs in all other MMO I played at level 20-30.
I can only do that many solo quests.. or even group quests. I want more variety. May be I just want to kill mobs, do dungeon runs, craft etc. But that's not possible in AoC. I found the Epic instances to be a joke. It's the same as a regular instance but mobs are harder. SAME layout, same everything. That's a very LAZY approach - let's take what we have, make the mobs harder and call it Epic..
Canceled my subscription
Just to warn everyone now. From lvl 55 to 60 is a dead zone in the game. There are NO quests to do at those lvls so its all grinding....i had to make another character so it didn't feel like i was grinding out 5 lvls. Thats the only part i hate about the game is that area of lvling. The rest of the game kicked ass.
Ok, I'm going to step in here for a minute and explain exactly why this is a 1-20 review:
First, yes, I realize that it doesn't take a long time to run through the content of 1-20 if you're running through the content to progress past it. It's a little bit different when you're playing a game to review it. When you're playing a game for the purposes of a review, you have to go much more slowly. You read every piece of dialogue, you go through unnecessary quests, and just generally spend time exploring.
Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review.
Hope that clears things up for you
I understand where you are coming from with this, wanting to review the game in whole.
However, what is irresponsible is releasing a highly unfinished product. It should be relayed to your readers in that sense, if you are buying this game you are buying a product that has content up to around lvl 40 and then after that have fun grinding. I play the game and I stomach it, but when you review something review it in its entirety as it is presented to the public, not how it is as content is eventually added to make up for the lack of it.
"As the content is properly completed, we will update the review" to me just says that you know this game has nothing to review for past a certain level - and for that it should be fairly given a 0/10 for this moment levels 40-80. I have to respectfully agree with the others who have posted that if this were a game like everquest 2 where getting to 20 actually took some time when it first came out then that feat is worth a review, but you gave a review for part of the game that took me 6 hours to do at a casual pace.
~Danke
You brought up a great point and a few words I missed, I agree 100% keep reviewing it now, not when content is properly updated, I was under the impression this was an initial review and a 21-40 would be forth-coming,
I missed the "As the content is properly updated, we will update the review". Thanks for pointing it out. I have to agree with the players that if you don't intend to keep reviewing the game as is now then it is half a review, are saying you will update the 21-40 in what 2-3 months or more?
Auto-follow is a boon to "professional" power-levelling companies, while I don't play AoC I would move the lack of this feature from the cons to the pros
Ok, I'm going to step in here for a minute and explain exactly why this is a 1-20 review:
First, yes, I realize that it doesn't take a long time to run through the content of 1-20 if you're running through the content to progress past it. It's a little bit different when you're playing a game to review it. When you're playing a game for the purposes of a review, you have to go much more slowly. You read every piece of dialogue, you go through unnecessary quests, and just generally spend time exploring.
Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review.
Hope that clears things up for you
I understand where you are coming from with this, wanting to review the game in whole.
However, what is irresponsible is releasing a highly unfinished product. It should be relayed to your readers in that sense, if you are buying this game you are buying a product that has content up to around lvl 40 and then after that have fun grinding. I play the game and I stomach it, but when you review something review it in its entirety as it is presented to the public, not how it is as content is eventually added to make up for the lack of it.
"As the content is properly completed, we will update the review" to me just says that you know this game has nothing to review for past a certain level - and for that it should be fairly given a 0/10 for this moment levels 40-80. I have to respectfully agree with the others who have posted that if this were a game like everquest 2 where getting to 20 actually took some time when it first came out then that feat is worth a review, but you gave a review for part of the game that took me 6 hours to do at a casual pace.
~Danke
You brought up a great point and a few words I missed, I agree 100% keep reviewing it now, not when content is properly updated, I was under the impression this was an initial review and a 21-40 would be forth-coming,
I missed the "As the content is properly updated, we will update the review". Thanks for pointing it out. I have to agree with the players that if you don't intend to keep reviewing the game as is now then it is half a review, are saying you will update the 21-40 in what 2-3 months or more?
I agree, if this is the case, why bother? Why wait until the game is "properly updated" before reviewing the rest of it? The damn game is released, this means for all intents and purposes it is done. People are paying for it and playing it. New people deserve to know what game they're getting if they sign up now, not in two or three months.
Gotta tell ya Jon, if you want dispell the belief some have of your reviews being biased and motivated by incentives from Funcom instead of the truth, then review the rest of the game fairly and accurately as it stands right now. 21-40, 41-60,61-80.
what he's saying is that in order to do a complete review it's gonna take a lot longer time than this, he's saying leveling several characters up to lvl 80 and partaking in all aspects of the game. that takes time, lots of time--possibly several months time.
What he's saying is that he has a life outside of the gaming world!!! Unlike the people who have the ability to play 20 hours a day.
Everything has a conspiracy to it.... oh wait thats right lets call a Congressional hearing to investigate the improprities of MMORPG.com and their reviews being funded by the gaming companies themselves.
Yup, right up there withe Clemens on steriods, the Patriots stealing signs, the federal gov't as teh true mastermind of 9-11.
Give me a freaking break already. The amount of criticism that spews out of 75% of you all is absurd. If you know so much about what people want, make a game company, pay Jon to review it, and shut the hell up!
What he's saying is that he has a life outside of the gaming world!!! Unlike the people who have the ability to play 20 hours a day.
It's his job, not his past time. he gets paid to deal with games, including reviewing them, having other people review them, etc., etc.
Everything has a conspiracy to it.... oh wait thats right lets call a Congressional hearing to investigate the improprities of MMORPG.com and their reviews being funded by the gaming companies themselves.
Yup, right up there withe Clemens on steriods, the Patriots stealing signs, the federal gov't as teh true mastermind of 9-11.
Give me a freaking break already. The amount of criticism that spews out of 75% of you all is absurd. If you know so much about what people want, make a game company, pay Jon to review it, and shut the hell up!
First of all, comparing this to congressional hearings and 9/11 conspiracies shows you may want to schedule some sessions of your own with the local headshrinker.
Secondly, I did not say that he was in fact taking money for reviews. however, many people have accused him and this site of doing such thing, and I simply stated one way this could be shown untrue.
And finally, who are you again?
Exactly.
You missed the point, the time it takes to review is very reasonable, the point being made is another review will not even be attempted until the content in the game past level 20 has been updated/added, thus it won't be reviewed as the game stands at release, which is when we are buying it.
Half a review of half a game, the rest of the review will come when the game is complete, that should speak volumes of the state of the game...
I'm a nobody in the big picture of life, just like you, and at least I have the intelligence to know that!! The amount of time I see people waste on knocking a game is beyond me. And yea, I'm getting caught up with it too and now I'll stop.
Have a good one!
You missed the point, the time it takes to review is very reasonable, the point being made is another review will not even be attempted until the content in the game past level 20 has been updated/added, thus it won't be reviewed as the game stands at release, which is when we are buying it.
Half a review of half a game, the rest of the review will come when the game is complete, that should speak volumes of the state of the game...
you must not be reading the same thing i'm reading, cause he's saying that as he completes the content he will update the review.
"Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review."
see, he's saying that in order to do a proper review he needs to go through the content with several different characters/classes--he's got 4 and they're on different server types to get a better all around feel for the game. notice that part down at the bottom? see, he's already stated that in order to do a proper review he needs to play it on several characters/classes/servers--that is what he refers to as "proper", and once he completes the content in the "proper" manner (see above--several characters/classes/servers) he will update the review of the game.
he's not saying that he will update the review once the game is complete, he's saying as he completes the content in the proper manner he will update it. do you think that Funcom is going to have the game completely fixed with no bugs and completely full of content within even the next month?! are you afraid of Funcom's patching schedule that they might fix the bugs and content before a full review can be done, lol?! i like the game and i still play the game, but i'm not deluded into thinking that in a couple weeks everything is gonna be fine and dandy--it's gonna take some time to get everything worked out.
You missed the point, the time it takes to review is very reasonable, the point being made is another review will not even be attempted until the content in the game past level 20 has been updated/added, thus it won't be reviewed as the game stands at release, which is when we are buying it.
Half a review of half a game, the rest of the review will come when the game is complete, that should speak volumes of the state of the game...
you must not be reading the same thing i'm reading, cause he's saying that as he completes the content he will update the review.
see, he's saying that in order to do a proper review he needs to go through the content with several different characters/classes--he's got 4 and they're on different server types to get a better all around feel for the game. notice that part down at the bottom? see, he's already stated that in order to do a proper review he needs to play it on several characters/classes/servers--that is what he refers to as "proper", and once he completes the content in the "proper" manner (see above--several characters/classes/servers) he will update the review of the game.
he's not saying that he will update the review once the game is complete, he's saying as he completes the content in the proper manner he will update it. do you think that Funcom is going to have the game completely fixed with no bugs and completely full of content within even the next month?! are you afraid of Funcom's patching schedule that they might fix the bugs and content before a full review can be done, lol?! i like the game and i still play the game, but i'm not deluded into thinking that in a couple weeks everything is gonna be fine and dandy--it's gonna take some time to get everything worked out.
"Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review."
First off, my bad on a miss quote, it was "content is properly completed, it will be updated". Sorry. That aside it still can be read either way, content is properly completed as a reviewer, or content is properly completed by Funcom and the the review will update. I think this is the main argument being made, until Jon clears that up we'll have to wait and see.
Also I have no wish to see a good or bad review, I got the CE, had the 10k lag for the 30 free days, cancelled account, all over for me and won't be going back, I hope the bugs get fixed for those who remain. I just want a fair review, if it is the case the review is in the process of being researched while we speak then its all good. So far I think it has been a balanced review. I would still like to know how Funcom fixed his lag.
Review should be most useful to people who haven't played the game yet, who cares what the rest think, I didn't buy it yet and thought this review is very useful in helping me with decision making.
You missed the point, the time it takes to review is very reasonable, the point being made is another review will not even be attempted until the content in the game past level 20 has been updated/added, thus it won't be reviewed as the game stands at release, which is when we are buying it.
Half a review of half a game, the rest of the review will come when the game is complete, that should speak volumes of the state of the game...
you must not be reading the same thing i'm reading, cause he's saying that as he completes the content he will update the review.
see, he's saying that in order to do a proper review he needs to go through the content with several different characters/classes--he's got 4 and they're on different server types to get a better all around feel for the game. notice that part down at the bottom? see, he's already stated that in order to do a proper review he needs to play it on several characters/classes/servers--that is what he refers to as "proper", and once he completes the content in the "proper" manner (see above--several characters/classes/servers) he will update the review of the game.
he's not saying that he will update the review once the game is complete, he's saying as he completes the content in the proper manner he will update it. do you think that Funcom is going to have the game completely fixed with no bugs and completely full of content within even the next month?! are you afraid of Funcom's patching schedule that they might fix the bugs and content before a full review can be done, lol?! i like the game and i still play the game, but i'm not deluded into thinking that in a couple weeks everything is gonna be fine and dandy--it's gonna take some time to get everything worked out.
"Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.
Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.
It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.
Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review."
i guess i'm missing a huge part of this review...
where is the comparison/contrast to the different classes and server types played? the only mention i really saw was that some dude on an RP server, RP'ed before attacking...
so, for reading all the quests, trying all the stuff, playing on all the server types and with different toon types -- where's the comparison/contrast?
otherwise, why were all these toons leveled to 20? because if that's the reason he gave (it is); then, where's the info? should i just expect RP on an RP server and that was the only diff between servers and toons?
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
The only suprising thing here is that they didnt try to pull this trick with vanguard.
They could have just reviewed character creation,and "put off" reviewing all the rest of the things that were screwed up.How long did they try and put off a review on that one ?Shame(for Brad and co) they didnt think of this back than,they could have put a review out day one.
I really have to wonder what the next low in MMO review "journalism" will be.Perhaps they'll go as far as to review the box and packaging for the next train wreck.
"Yes, we give the box and packaging a 9 out of 10.Be sure to pay out the $40 bucks to experience this".
"What ? You'd like to hear about the game INSIDE the box and packaging ?You want to knwo if the features promised are actually in the game and working ?Dont worry, spend your $40 bucks now, and sometime in the future we'll get around to actually telling you about it."
Heck, they could even get D&L some extra cash this way ......
Im sure some people would actually buy the spin .You know, like they are now.
Seems to me like hes written his review on what he thought of the game! how unfair lol.
This is another one of those games where so mny people have so different experiences of it.
Personaly people say there is no content after level 40! i am a level 53 Ranger now and currently am playing in the snowy mountian area, eligolithian mountains or something cant remember at work at min
but my biggest bug bear is that the quest list is just too small. I'm having to delete quests just to fit others in.
But then again i'm a grinding fan and not a quest fan. i left wow after being in so many groups where during an hour period i was in a group with 10 players! we start a group kill a quest mob and 3 players leave to do a quest hand in nd so on. so yes you can race through all the quests to level as fast as poss or you can play the game. if you played a single player game and levelled to the end level would you complain bout lack of content? yes i know mmo's are different as in there is no end, but lets use our common sense and realise that at the begining there can only be so much content and most is going to be focused on the early levels as thats where we all start, for those that want to race ahead and max out, fine! just dont complin about it later.
you can pick a fault in anyones argument/opinions, actualy anyone can pick a fault with almost anything in the whole world. only experience and wisdom will teach you what to let go over your head.
Thats along the same lines I thought also. The higher level you get the worse it gets.
I do have to say the first 20 levels have a great story behind it and is pretty fun. Thats the important part.
My god, a lot of you are truly close-minded. Do you even know everything that making a full review of a game implies? Moreover, it's not just "a game", it's a fucking MMO. You do know MMOs are eternal works in progress, right? You do know MMOs are designed to provide for a whole of a lot more hours of gameplay than your average Mass Effect, right? Not only that, but I hope you do know that MMOs are quite deep when it comes to amount of content, and one person blasting through EVERYTHING the game has to offer in a month and writing a believable review about is inconceivable.
Sure, there's reviews out there that go for the whole game. Have you even thought why? Because that's the way games have been reviewed for years and years. When MMOs started coming out, the most logical proceeding was to apply the same reviewing techniques and standards, because they're games too, after all. But you're not counting that these things are bloody massive, and they get even bigger and deeper with the years. Normal reviews don't cut it anymore, because what the reviewer experiences will probably be very different to whatever the reader plays with, and because a person, or even a team of persons, will not be able to explain fully what an MMO consists of, how it plays, and so on, by just going through the content like normal reviewers do with normal single player and multiplayer games, because there's only so many sides to them.
I think this kind of review is a prudent step forward in the ways the media reviews MMOs. Sure, we'll have three different ones, but then again, that's just how MMOs are, unless you really think playing at level 5 in Everquest was the same as playing at level 50. So stop deluding yourselves with the "OMG WE NEED FULL CONTENT REVIEW" because it's stupid and impossible to achieve due to the aformentioned "eternal works in progress" characteristic: when the reviewer reaches level 50 the content might have already changed anyway. Therefore, we have two possibilities: no review at all, or sectioned reviews of what there is NOW under the capabilities and deadlines of the reviewer. I'd rather have reviews from people who try to be objective under the pressure of the public than the random idiotic uncoherent ramblings I see coming from the regular posters in this site.
In my opinion this is the new way of reviewing this particular type of game, and I think it suits its needs a lot better than normal, run-through reviews, which are perfect for other types. It may not be fully accomplished, but it's a step forward from the always-seemingly -incomplete reviews of the past.
I have no doubt this will be a start to a new trend.The industry is so screwed up, and the products in such sad shape they have to do everything they can to hide it.
Of course, its unlikely they will also decide to put off teling people to " BUY IT NOW" while deciding to only give out some approved minuscule amount of real information about the product.,in their new partial review system .
Can't risk sales, and hence advertising revenues and stay alive for long.
And make NO mistake, this site's primary purpose is to act as a proxy for MMO companies and sell their products.