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Gamespot rates Fallen Earth a 6.0
Terranah
Member UncommonPosts: 3,575
in Fallen Earth
Hopefully this will inspire FE to work even harder to bring this game up to snuff. It has real potential, a diamond in the rough. I would give it probably between 6 to 7 myself after playing the game since launch and reflecting on it a bit. Here is the link:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallenearth/review.html
Comments
I disagree with their review; I even disagree with their Aion review though I don't play it anymore. Fallen Earth is a great game. They gave Champions Online a better review which makes no sense, in my opinion. Don't believe the review. If you want to play the game go for it (best time too since there is that 25.00 dollar deal). This game makes me happy to play. This and Eve are two game I enjoy.
I will agree it's a diamond in the rough and many things can improve.
But since this is the first MMORPG since years that has caught me since a little time in CB, some time in OB and slightly after release till now it's a better MMORPG TO ME then most MMORPG's that have been released the last few years. Which would mean I give it a higher number then any other MMORPG out there at this moment. It aint perfect, but then again I havn't seen a MMORPG that actually was perfect.
With its 6 year old graphics and boring unimmersive gameplay and gameworld. They gave it a much better rating than I would have.
I would give it about a 4... i will admit the crafting system was decent and the faction system was good in concept.
This game bored me to tears which sucks because a good post apoc game really needs to be made.. unfortunately EQ1 looks as good as this game does and is more fun to play 8)
Heh, this is the most immersive game on the market. There are a lot of things you could bag on about the game, but that is really not one of them.
The graphics are really quite good if you prefer realistic venues and have the computer to run it at top quality. I found myself a bit confused and surprised when I rebooted up a trial version of AoC and found myself disliking its graphics in comparison to Fallen Earth. It's gritty and real, and sports massive draw distances. You might argue that the Grand Canyon area itself is pretty boring and generic, but thats no fault of the actual graphics engine.
Gamespot MMO reviews plain suck.
They gave Champions a 7.5, with the shadow of a game that it actually is.
But they give Fallen Earth a 6.0 and Aion a 6.5....
Regardless of what you think of those other games, Champions does NOT deserve to be rated higher than both the others.
I've always been of the opinion that its ridiculous to grade a game in a review and take into account technical difficulties attributed to your particular hardware configuration. Or bugs that are likely to be fixed within days to weeks after your review hits the shelves. It has a place in grading console games(where everyone will run into the same technical problems), but not PC games.
There is no way to know if the reader will experience the same bugs and technical problems that the reviewer did(for instance, I never crash to the desktop, while the reviewer makes it sound like a common problem). And potentially pushing players from a game that they may potentially enjoy because of your technical issues seems irresponsible.
Sure, make note of them. Warn the reader that they are a potential issue. But grade the game based upon its merits, not your technical issues.
While I certainly don't think Fallen Earth deserves a 10 rating, it deserves a 7.5 or 8. 6 is quite simply a kick in the teeth from gamespot.
I have to question what kind of computer the reviewer was playing on. The graphics are anything but dated if you have a machine to get into the higher settings. And the gratuitous lag some keep complaining about in cities I don't even have and I am running below minimum specs.
I also don't get where these people are supposedly running into bugs. I have been playing nearly two months and the only bug I've run in to was a crafting screen not updating once my skill level was high enough to let me craft the new items. Relog and fixed. A minor bug to be sure. I have not encountered any others that I can think of off the top pf my head.
Lastly, the combat is clunky? I thought so at first as well because it's significantly different than a standard MMO. Once you figure it all, out it's refreshing and exciting combat verses the usual serial button mashing that is combat in other MMO's. I can see how someone would think combat is clunky, but when I hear people say that, it makes me think they've spent very little time in game. This game does have a learning curve to it, but to me that is part of the intrigue of the game. Everything is not always spelled out for you.
All in all, it's a good core game with a lot of good things going on. That said it does need to be fleshed out a bit more, which is happening and is no different from any other MMO released as they gained their footing in the MMO market.
Fallen Earth is a great game with great potential and I have faith Icarus will see it through based just on what I've seen them do so far with the game.
Einherjar_LC says: WTB the true successor to UO or Asheron's Call pst!
Well, after exploring what I like and dislike a bit more closely, I come out with an 8/10. You can read below to agree or disagree. Let's start at a completely neutral score of 5, not good, not bad.
I would give them a point for originality in terms of stepping outside the usual fantasy genre. They created a post apocalyptic mmo and that is unique in the mmo genre at this time. So now we are at a 6.
There are three main spheres of activity in this game, pve, pvp, and crafting.
Crafting is fun and interesting and generous from the standpoint of allowing you to learn all trades and some combat skills as well, but it is undermined somewhat by questionable design decisions (in my opinion). For instance, vendors that sell materials and even the finished items which crafters can make seems odd, and I could see arguments for an against. It's great if you are a crafter and you need that one component, but at the same time it limits your ability to profit. Another thing is the lack of permanent decay. Items do decay but can be fully restored. In time an excess of gear will probably undermine the market. A lack of customization in crafting means that everything crafted is the same, and so it becomes difficult as a crafter to build a name and reputation for yourself. Of course, all these things I mention are subject to change and improvemet, but as it stands now I would give it .5 point to make this game a 6.5.
Now let's look at pvp. From what I hear it is a lot of fun in S3. Heck, when I found pvp in S2 it was a blast. But that pvp goodness is contrasted by some bad design choices (in my opinion). For instance, the awkwardness of combat as it relates to the user interface is most apparent when in pvp. You have all these abilities but it's very hard to access them in combat mode where you must aim and then hit some kind of key stroke like alt + 7 or ctrl + 9. It just feels awkward to me. But if you confine yourself to the first row of abilities it's okay, but it just seems a waste to have so many abiilities and not have quick access to them because by the time you look down to do a multi key stroke you have lost your target. This is not hard, it's just frustrating. Next critique I would give would be the design of how conflict towns work. It's stresses quest grind to take control over action which is what I prefer. It should be more in line with a Battlefield 2 type mechanic where you take control of key points in the city and hold them for a certain amount of time and the city will swing toward your faction. Rewards should be better for pvp. If you can't make the items more powerful, make them look really cool. So while I think pvp in this game has a lot of fun potential, as it stands now I would subtract a point. So now we are back down to 5.5.
Pve has good points and bad as well. I think the fact you have to target your opponent is engaging, but again the user interface is poor. So far it seems like the game can be soloed pretty easily for a pure combat toon which depending on what you prefer could be good or bad. AI is adequate. Quests are well written and interesting. I also like the fact that you can tag an npc that someone is fighting and get credit for your quest. The lack of different mobs is boring though. In general I think the game comes out ahead barely, and with some changes would get a full point, but as it stands now .5 for 6 total.
Next let's look at the art direction of the game. I like the realistic look they are going for, but having said that the color palette while maybe realistic is extremely boring on the eyes over time. I think the little towns are well down, and seeing burned out cars along the road adds to the post apocalyptic feel, but besides that there is a lack of interesting things to see. The avatars in general are okay, but they need to replace some of the faces with more appealing ones. Too many of them look strange, leaving me with one male face and one female face that I can tolerate. Armor and clothing are well done, but diversity and fun are hampered by the fact that we don't have a vanity tab to either switch quickly between outfits or simply wear one item in a slot for the graphic while using another for its AC and resists. The vehicles in game are cool, but could use better textures or the ability for decals or different colors. So some of these things could be added in a patch, other things we are stuck with. In general I'm neutral about the art at this point, but with some additions to the game I would give it another point.
The advancement system is a nice change from typical levels, but it has its faults. The greatest fault is that not everyone wants to grind all the missions in game to get all the ap, yet to be competitive in pvp you will need as many points as possible. Therefore you are forcing pvp types into pve. Infact, probably most people would like to have all the points possible, yet there is no way to tell what quest gives AP unless you look it up on the web or copy and paste a set of waypoints that someone created. This is a legitimate workaround but extremely sloppy when an easy solution would be to have ap quest givers have a different color quest symbol above their heads. In general I'm favorable to their ap system. I would give them a point for going outside the typical class/level box. So now we are at 7.
The one world, one server without instances except for the starter tutorial is a big plus. I love the feeling of the big open world, but traveling in it can be painful when the vistas are so repetitive and uninteresting. Still I would give it a point. Now I am at 8.
Now for performance. In general the game performs ok for me. But in towns it does get pretty laggy, especially when it is busy. I think when you look at the visuals, the performance is not really justified though. The engine needs to be further optimized. The game is pretty stable though. I don't think I've crashed once unless the server was going down too. I guess I've been lucky maybe. In general I am nuetral or slightly negative to performance so I will detract .5 and now we are down to 7.5.
Animations are a mixed bag as well. They put a lot of emotes and dances in which is very cool, but combat animations need to be improved. I would not add or detract a point here. Refinement will come with time.
So I guess I would give the game an 7.5 after looking at it closer. The originality of the genre, the ap system, the open world without instances, the realistic appearance of the game and the fact that my character sometimes says some really amusing things are all positives and together taken as a whole I would give a .5 slant to make the game an 8.
Most of my negatives are a lack of refinement that will come with time, and others are design decisions which I think they need to reassess or maybe they just disagree and that's fine. So bottom line, 8/10.
PS. sorry if my numbers don't add up, I kind of went back and forth on some things in terms of a point or half point, etc.
Well written Terranah and I agree with many points you make.
But.......I will kinda disagree with you on the visuals as to me it's these type of visuals that make it possible to have this hugh open world, I am sure if FE was more instanced or had smaller zones/sections they could have upped the visuals.
Overall like I said it was well written and I like would see more progress, for example the dye thing, I would really like to see dye being used at things we want to have a certain colour instead of using the pre-made craft recipy's that need a specivic colour, so would like to add my own colours to cloth/armor and such.
And as I said before I feel performance is GREAT, really it is, this is based on the fact I play from the EU(Netherlands) and just have minor hickups when entering busy (peakhours) towns, not even worth calling lag, FOR ME, but can understand and do see many do have lag issue's, but I am not sure if they changed their settings, or that they feel because they can max settings in single/multiplayer game or heavy instanced or small zoned games they might expect the same from such a open world game like FE. But obviously any game whatever genre has always room for more optimizing.
Probably the most accurate assessment of the games strengths and weaknesses I've read.
Reviews are based on the personal opinion of the guy writing them, they will never be totally fair. But the ones like this are just made so interested players can read them and get some ideas of the game.
Gamespot usually have better reviews than many other sites, I havn't played FE yet so I wont comment on this one however.
All reviewers are humans like us and it is ok to like different games. If you strongly disagree you should maybe use a site that are more into the kind of games you like. Check their reviews of older games that you like or hate and find a site that have about the same opinions like you.
Very fair review really, even if the score doesn't look great.
Truth is FE isn't a great 'video game' really, it plays pretty badly but that doesn't stop it from being a tonne of fun in spite of that, as weird as that may sound.
Currently Playing: The Game
First of all like others said, depends on the reviewer.People understand numbers and ratings deifferently.For me an 8 would mean that it has decent gameplay and by that i mean combat wise mainly.And i gotta ask, do you like the way the skills work,
or the way the engine registers hits?The animations or the ai?
I like the setting very much and id like fe to shine, but some things are facts.If all the players in the world didnt mind the gameplay that wouldnt mean that the issues are not there.We have games with solid and fluid ui/gameplay.In that area fe is a step back.Its not a matter of game building philosophy, combat is just clunky and needs fixing.Once you fix the weirdness you can start giving character to your game.
Im 100% in agreement with the reviewer.
Keep your distance or ill send you back to hell spirit.
First of all like others said, depends on the reviewer.People understand numbers and ratings deifferently.For me an 8 would mean that it has decent gameplay and by that i mean combat wise mainly.And i gotta ask, do you like the way the skills work,
or the way the engine registers hits?The animations or the ai?
I like the setting very much and id like fe to shine, but some things are facts.If all the players in the world didnt mind the gameplay that wouldnt mean that the issues are not there.We have games with solid and fluid ui/gameplay.In that area fe is a step back.Its not a matter of game building philosophy, combat is just clunky and needs fixing.Once you fix the weirdness you can start giving character to your game.
Im 100% in agreement with the reviewer.
Fair enough on your opinion.
I gotta ask how much did you play the game to arrive at your opinion.
The first few hours of gameplay myself, I would have agreed totally with you about the clunkiness of the combat. The more I played though, the more I realized it's not clunky, but just different and takes some time getting used to. Melee combat is a bit akward I will admit, but found it substantially less so moving to third person rather than first person for the ranged combat.
Yes I like the way the skills work for the most part. The rifle skills need to be more accommodating of the range of the rifles, but overall yes.
I've had no problems with the way the engine registers hits.
Animations for the most part are acceptable. No the vehicle physics are driving game caliber, but acceptable. Melee combat animations in first person are a bit akward and need some refinement work.
AI is AI. Nothing stellar here to report as the AI to me is no better or worse than other MMO's I've played. I've had zero rubberbanding issues concerning mobs.
The combat "clunkiness" is not so much a matter of fact, but I feel a matter of taste.
Just to note, I am not saying Fallen Earth doesn't need some polishing to be an even better game but it has only been out roughly 3 months and is doing just as well, if not better than many titles released recently. The game is stable, the core gameplay is solid(even if the animations needs some work for melee), and the crafting is the best since SWG. This game is doing fine and will fare fine in the MMO market.
Einherjar_LC says: WTB the true successor to UO or Asheron's Call pst!
Reviews are based on the personal opinion of the guy writing them, they will never be totally fair. But the ones like this are just made so interested players can read them and get some ideas of the game.
Gamespot usually have better reviews than many other sites, I havn't played FE yet so I wont comment on this one however.
All reviewers are humans like us and it is ok to like different games. If you strongly disagree you should maybe use a site that are more into the kind of games you like. Check their reviews of older games that you like or hate and find a site that have about the same opinions like you.
Gamespot, like many other websites get paid to bump up the score of certain games. While Halo 3 may be a solid game, it's the same game as Halo 2 with revamped graphics. Point being, don't trust them, especially after the Kane & Lynch incident.
I think if you really wanted to get a good feel for a game through reviews though, you'd read plenty of user reviews and make your final assessment from those, because at least there are some truthful consumers (in between fanboys and the haters) out there.
"IRL is a pretty upstanding MMO with thousands of classes, a lot of PvP and even some pretty unique emotes and titles you can acquire. Explore that world first, then we'll talk about this virtual one."
First of all like others said...
Im 100% in agreement with the reviewer.
Fair enough on your opinion.
....
The game is stable, the core gameplay is solid(even if the animations needs some work for melee), and the crafting is the best since SWG. This game is doing fine and will fare fine in the MMO market.
Maybe you are right, maybe it grows on you.Fact is that im spending most of my time riding and scavenging.And while i enjoy the landscape and exploring , im more of an action guy.I dont think i can spend my entire trial on travelling.I guess time will tell.I agree with your last paragraph in general.
All is in good faith, if im itchy its prolly cause i dont get my mmo kicks from anywhere.
Keep your distance or ill send you back to hell spirit.
Let's face it, with a clunky combat system, a load of bugs and some noticable quality issues, the game is not going to get more than 7 on average. Thankfully it has other rewarding aspects that keep you coming back to it.
To me, FE's primary strength is immersion: the vast maps, the visuals, the sense of individuality through self-sufficient scavenging, crafting and exploration, the wonderful music - all of it combines to make up a truly unique experience among a plethora of samey MMOs.
On the other hand, you have many bugs and some distracting annoyances like water with invisible walls around it, still bad vehicle mechanics, laughable rag doll physics, glitches in instancing, combat encounters, dismounting, etc... Also, as a player who enjoys both fast and fluid FPS combat, and its tactical cousin and slow, numbers-based RPG combat, I have to say this game's combat system is not working as anyone could ever have possibly intended. I don't know how it's ended up here but it's truly a product of low-quality implementation. It's neither awfully tactical, nor fluid or fast-paced. A combat system has to have a hook, a strong suit. This does not have one.
So with all the bugs, the weak FPS combat system why do I keep playing it and having fun? Because the crafting, exploration, and the gameworld in general makes sure it's enjoyable. Because above all, I love being in Fallen Earth it feels good and unique. So, big props for immersion, Icarus, even without cutting edge graphics.
This is one of my two favorite MMOs now, along with EVE Online. Still, if I were doing a professional review, I'd feel giving it a grade any more than a 7 would be plain irresponsible, given this game's serious quality issues. You would just piss off too many gamers who are looking for just a good, smooth gaming experience. Just kill a mob and see it tumble 10 feet into the air in what seems like a tractor beam in an alien abduction gone wrong, get off your bike and see it disappear off the face of the map - there's your clue.
Though, the thing is... you don't need to give it a high grade. Just make sure you direct the right players into this game, make sure they know this game can be a very rewarding experience when you don't mind its quality issues - which may not be exactly gamebreaking depending on what you are into.
Very nice post Nikopol, i congratulate you sir,on your ability to express yourself.
Possibly describes FE's current state in a nutshell.
Keep your distance or ill send you back to hell spirit.
Well first off I can tell the gamespot reviewer never played MUDs, Ultima Online at launch, or cared much for SWG pre-cu.
Second off this game is a 10/10.
Some of you fanbois really need to snap out of your fantasy dream. Sometimes you guys are even worse that the DarkFall players.
I like FE and have been around since F&F Alpha. But unsubbed today for a while.
A 6 is a perfectly fine score for the game at the moment. It doesn't deserve any higher score (yet).
There are too many issues still with the game they need to address and fix, before a higher score is warranted.
Cheers
Score doesn't matter, don't take it to heart. All that matters is if you're having fun.
FYI, Gamespot is a BS rating site, look into the Kane and Lynch review debacle, although I disliked the guy and disagreed with him, he should be entitled to his opinion. Give money to gamespot and they tip the scales in your favor, give them nothing and they will place you at the bottom of the list. Other that it's good for news...
The review is spot on, IMO, though I agree the game is better than CO. CO should've been a low 5.
My experience was pretty much identical. Never since my MUD days have I felt so disconnected from combat. Stand there, click, activate special abilities when available, watch an occasional animation(VERY occasional) as numbers stream away on the screen until the guy does a half somersault with their butt in the air, followed by buzzing flies that look like they came from a super nintendo game.
Often when I died, I'd go shooting up into the air. It would be annoying if it wasn't so funny to watch.
Horrible lag in popular places.
Animations are really, really bad. And that's even compared to my main game, LotRO. Interesting thing though. Despite human animations being so bad, the horse animations are terrific. Go figure...
He's dead on about the positives, too. Great quest dialogue(great NPC dialogue, period). A crafting system that is simple, brilliant, and actually useful. Skills, no classes. Complete control over your advancement. Levels are pretty long, but you get AP throughout, so it really doesn't seem to matter.
But let's face it. The reason this game is still alive is that there are few games that scratch the itches that this one does. And as such, I want it to survive long enough to get solid. The folks who built this game definitely share my way of thinking, and I'd hate for a smart game to die over silly technical nonsense.
To be fair the game does not lag for me, my friend, or my bro, or a majority of clanmates in game. The game can be touchy with lag but if you play around with the settings enough you can almost get rid of all the lag.
As for the animations, the lead developer has already admitted to how bad they are and said they are working on making more varied animations and having them look better as well, they just couldn't finish everything they wanted to before launch.
Also the lead dev stated they have a 5+ year schedule of what they are doing/working on every day, he also mentioned a lot of cool things they will be adding in the future like creature handling and mercenaries where you can have them fight for you or scavenge/mine for you.
The game is still early in it's life, as long as they don't change developers it can only lead it into a brighter future. One thing that can be observed from MMO gamers is that they are very impatient and picky, they want everything now and not later. FE has a lot more to offer from launch then other games I've played such as EQ1&2/WoW/Aion/WAR etc, and there are definitly people who only played those games years after they were released are unfairly judging FE all because it's new.
MMOs can only truly be tailored to the community once it is launched, beta/alpha testing for these games provides limited feedback and what direction the game should head in. But it is safe to say the Devs have put their footdown to the WoW-loving carebears who are trying to beg for it to be more WoWesque.
FE only needs about 50k subscribers for it float on its own for a long time, and Im sure they can get that many devoted fans with ease in the type of niche-field it represents.
That review is fair, read it and it matches the score.
That all doesn't help. And it hasn't anything to do with impatience.
So far the FE community has been quite patient compaired to many other MMO communities.
But even for them the patience is going to run out sooner then later, if they can't sort the plague'ing issues out.
Except for the crafting system. The whole PVE is increcibly boring. And PVP and it's conflict towns is completely broken.
Mob AI is non-existent. Mob pathing is horrible broken. Scripting is non-existent.
Adding crazy amounts of HP and DPS to a boss encounter isn't going to make it more fun and challenging. It makes it extremely boring and tedious!
And yet that's all there is to Boss encounters. They just stand there with lots of HP (and if they didn't forgot he might do some more DPS) and that's it.
It's that a lot of the quests are well written, that a lot of people are still able to cope with the unimaginative, unchallenging boring PVE.
Then we come to the horrible lag within town borders during prime time. It's a hot issue since F&F Alpha and here we are a year later, nearly 5 months after launch even... and it's still not addressed and a hot issue!
No. The reviewer was spot on this time and the score was deserved and well marked.