As stated the F2P is a mistake. This series is a run up to a full review of the game by myself. I am trying to stay away from talking about bugs for the survivor series as general rule of thumb until I meet one that truly breaks my expierence. We all know that MO is almost in closed-beta status so trust me in the review I will mention the bugs etc. and this series is a detail of my in-game exploits rather than critique.
Making the assumption that the reader knows "that MO is almost in closed-beta status" is a very disengenuous idea. The game released 5 months ago. Any reader that has not followed the game but just read your article would get a very false impression of the game. It's dishonest. You should at the very LEAST put a statement in at the top of the article explaining the state of the game.
I agree with this. The game is a train-wreck! It is rampant with bugs and the servers are, or atleast were when I played it, still unstable and the client seem to crash daily.
Then we have the lack of content, un-even gfx and the complete lack of any serious PvE.
So I agree that assuming that everyone knows the game is in closed-beta state is a false assumption. Not everyone has been following this game!
Currently playing: No MMOs Played properly: WoW Tried: AoC, WAR, Aion, Darkfall Looking forward to: FFXIV, Earthrise, The Secret World, Guild Wars 2 (very much), Project Copernicus (and Mercury for that matter), Everquest and Planetside Next (finally a meaningful mmofps again) Wants to play in 2 years time if it survives from the subscriptions of fanatics and turns into the game with all features stated on the website: Mortal Online
"Technical bugs will be mentioned only if they affect the gameplay experince".. Right, considering the constant whine on official forums about gamebreaking exploits, I am surprised you didn't stumble on any of them.
Great read otherwise, however a word of advice to others: the game isnt even half as fun as article make it seem like.
I'd like to put in though that this game suffers from a terrible company. I lost over 60 USD and still didn't even get to play after beta. They delete posts about problems and hide their own failures, abuse their players and offer no assistance.
During my time there, they shipped out fake boxes with no discs in them, offered no refunds and even flat out ignored most people's cries for assistance.
So far the only people promoting this game work for the company, you can find a few on this site. They also had to send their engine to their PUBLISHER to program...who does that?
So if you want to try the game, cool. But don't be awed by this article. The game is imbalanced in the PVP area, players abuse you, developers ignore you at best and you will lose a ton of money to no good end. I know, I used to assist the community with some of their problems in game and in the area of customer service. And I was just a gamer, but I spent several hours a day helping people, because the developers game absolutely no thought to anything but profit at the expense of their customers.
No matter writers intention, his article gives a very false impression of the game. It has serious flaws in it's present state. Omitting such a warning is a disservice to any readers. I don't even consider this game in any form of beta, more like a shaky alpha. From the article anyone would assume it is a playable game.
I guess if you don't spend an article intended to share your adventures in a game by instead discussing the flaws you encountered... you're disingenuous.
It's like all some people around here are interested in is hearing/reading how bad something is... 'cause, you know.. there's not enough of that in the forums.
I mean FFS people... it says *right at the top of the article*:
"*Editor's Note: The "Survivor Guy" series and this article in particular are NOT reviews of the game(s) in question, but rather the experiences of a single player in the game world. Technical issues will only be mentioned if the author feels that they are "game breaking" to his expereince."
I mean seriously, how difficult is that paragraph to understand? To my eyes, it's written in pretty clear English. There's nothing "disingenuous" about the article, because it's *not a review of the game*. It's a "journal", if you will, of the guy's (mis)adventures in the game world.
That said, very entertaining read. Sounds like life in MO can be pretty rough .
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
No matter writers intention, his article gives a very false impression of the game. It has serious flaws in it's present state. Omitting such a warning is a disservice to any readers. I don't even consider this game in any form of beta, more like a shaky alpha. From the article anyone would assume it is a playable game.
No... it's not a false impression of the game, beyond the one some of you people here insist on attributing to it.
Apparently, what some people here were hoping to read was an article bashing MO and railing against it for all its flaws (again, like there's not enough of that in the forums), and are upset that you didn't get it. The author's not playing by the rules! Outrage! Release the Kraken!
Get over it already. It's clearly stated what the article is intended to be, what it's intended to describe and what it's not intended to describe.
What's the big deal? Are some of you afraid that someone reading it might get the impression that, ruh roh Raggy, there might be *fun* to be had in the game? Heaven forbid, we can't have that! Every utterance uttered about MO must entail all the problems it has or it's.... disingenuous!
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I think you nailed the first experience exactly. I am looking forward to seeing how you feel later on. People either continue to love the game and defend it no matter what. . or once the "new" wears off you start asking where the rest of the game is.
As far as virtual worlds it wins for me on the "feel" level. It feels right. . but there is also something missing. . and no it is not an in game map.
I guess if you don't spend an article intended to share your adventures in a game by instead discussing the flaws you encountered... you're disingenuous.
It's like all some people around here are interested in is hearing/reading how bad something is... 'cause, you know.. there's not enough of that in the forums.
I mean FFS people... it says *right at the top of the article*:
"*Editor's Note: The "Survivor Guy" series and this article in particular are NOT reviews of the game(s) in question, but rather the experiences of a single player in the game world. Technical issues will only be mentioned if the author feels that they are "game breaking" to his expereince."
I mean seriously, how difficult is that paragraph to understand? To my eyes, it's written in pretty clear English. There's nothing "disingenuous" about the article, because it's *not a review of the game*. It's a "journal", if you will, of the guy's (mis)adventures in the game world.
That said, very entertaining read. Sounds like life in MO can be pretty rough .
Mike... for the record that disclaimer was added after the article was published after it was questioned. The article originally also stated the game was F2P... As it exists NOW... with the disclaimer I am much more comfortable with it, but that was not the original state. The original state simply saif to "check out Adam's thoughts on Mortal Online"
So when you see my earlier posts they were written at a time before the above changes were made.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
I guess if you don't spend an article intended to share your adventures in a game by instead discussing the flaws you encountered... you're disingenuous.
It's like all some people around here are interested in is hearing/reading how bad something is... 'cause, you know.. there's not enough of that in the forums.
I mean FFS people... it says *right at the top of the article*:
"*Editor's Note: The "Survivor Guy" series and this article in particular are NOT reviews of the game(s) in question, but rather the experiences of a single player in the game world. Technical issues will only be mentioned if the author feels that they are "game breaking" to his expereince."
I mean seriously, how difficult is that paragraph to understand? To my eyes, it's written in pretty clear English. There's nothing "disingenuous" about the article, because it's *not a review of the game*. It's a "journal", if you will, of the guy's (mis)adventures in the game world.
That said, very entertaining read. Sounds like life in MO can be pretty rough .
Mike... for the record that disclaimer was added after the article was published after it was questioned. The article originally also stated the game was F2P... As it exists NOW... with the disclaimer I am much more comfortable with it, but that was not the original state.
So when you see my earlier posts they were written at a time before the above changes were made.
That's fine.
I'm not even speaking to the F2P portion. If it was stated in a way that made it sound like he was describing it as F2P, but was corrected.. then fine. That's a mis-statement easily corrected with a simple edit.
I'm speaking to the people arguing that it's a "disingenuous" representation of the game, because he's not talking about the game's issues.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I guess if you don't spend an article intended to share your adventures in a game by instead discussing the flaws you encountered... you're disingenuous.
It's like all some people around here are interested in is hearing/reading how bad something is... 'cause, you know.. there's not enough of that in the forums.
I mean FFS people... it says *right at the top of the article*:
"*Editor's Note: The "Survivor Guy" series and this article in particular are NOT reviews of the game(s) in question, but rather the experiences of a single player in the game world. Technical issues will only be mentioned if the author feels that they are "game breaking" to his expereince."
I mean seriously, how difficult is that paragraph to understand? To my eyes, it's written in pretty clear English. There's nothing "disingenuous" about the article, because it's *not a review of the game*. It's a "journal", if you will, of the guy's (mis)adventures in the game world.
That said, very entertaining read. Sounds like life in MO can be pretty rough .
Mike... for the record that disclaimer was added after the article was published after it was questioned. The article originally also stated the game was F2P... As it exists NOW... with the disclaimer I am much more comfortable with it, but that was not the original state.
So when you see my earlier posts they were written at a time before the above changes were made.
That's fine.
I'm not even speaking to the F2P portion. If it was stated in a way that made it sound like he was describing it as F2P, but was corrected.. then fine. That's a mis-statement easily corrected with a simple edit.
I'm speaking to the people arguing that it's a "disingenuous" representation of the game, because he's not talking about the game's issues.
Disingenuous was the word I introduced to this thread.. for the reasons I listed above... also, as listed above.. changes were made to the article including the removal of the F2P designation and the addition of the disclaimer so all is well now.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
No matter writers intention, his article gives a very false impression of the game. It has serious flaws in it's present state. Omitting such a warning is a disservice to any readers. I don't even consider this game in any form of beta, more like a shaky alpha. From the article anyone would assume it is a playable game.
How? It's almost exactly what I experienced playing this game in beta, and what I experienced in DF. The article shows exactly what it's like to step into a post WOW, lawless world. Technical flaws are a different matter entirely and if this were a review I'd see your point. However, it's not, rendering your point as well as Slapshot's moot. Anyone can research the scores this game has been given, this article in no way shape or form takes away from that.
If someone is foolish enough to read this article and assume there's nothing more to research before they pick this title up. That's their own problem, foolish is as foolish does. The writer of this article is no way responsible for that.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I think you nailed the first experience exactly. I am looking forward to seeing how you feel later on. People either continue to love the game and defend it no matter what. . or once the "new" wears off you start asking where the rest of the game is.
As far as virtual worlds it wins for me on the "feel" level. It feels right. . but there is also something missing. . and no it is not an in game map.
yeah its at its basic man, dude me and you been around the game since beta times, of course that feeling will worn off, but it takes a long time, and plus im resubbing soon.
what we had to go though in beta and what we got now in terms of how stable the game is.
the mortal online right now is like a whole new game compared to when it released early, yeck it wad delayed for a year.
The game is kinda ground breaking so it come with it bugs, but those bugs that was in beta are long gone, and just like most mmorpgs, your gunna suffer from lag, until sv can improve the games network code and get eve online servers :P
its following in the same path as eve online.
heck the only thing to do ingame right now is to interact with players or make money which is fine for me, i prefer it over doing quests and dungeon raids.
thats the whole reason why mortal online is called hardcore because its not your average game.
I think you nailed the first experience exactly. I am looking forward to seeing how you feel later on. People either continue to love the game and defend it no matter what. . or once the "new" wears off you start asking where the rest of the game is.
As far as virtual worlds it wins for me on the "feel" level. It feels right. . but there is also something missing. . and no it is not an in game map.
yeah its at its basic man, dude me and you been around the game since beta times, of course that feeling will worn off, but it takes a long time, and plus im resubbing soon.
what we had to go though in beta and what we got now in terms of how stable the game is.
the mortal online right now is like a whole new game compared to when it released early, yeck it wad delayed for a year.
The game is kinda ground breaking so it come with it bugs, but those bugs that was in beta are long gone, and just like most mmorpgs, your gunna suffer from lag, until sv can improve the games network code and get eve online servers :P
its following in the same path as eve online.
heck the only thing to do ingame right now is to interact with players or make money which is fine for me, i prefer it over doing quests and dungeon raids.
thats the whole reason why mortal online is called hardcore because its not your average game.
Agreed just like some people are gonna bash a game they dislike or find to hard because they didn't like it.. The game had many problems, I played through beta and most of the bugs and left , I went back, and the game is alot better than it was , perfect no... But way better, the game is on the right track, is it going slow yes give thema break there not EA, or blizzard size teams.
I remember WOW took nearly 2 months after release to geta decent server to play on.. But how we forget, I,m far from a fanboi, I been in the gaming buisness making a game is not easy at all. I find this to be a good write, and he should not post bugs if he didn't have them or see them at all, what he posted was similar to what I went through when I first played, I was in vadda and I went around slaying everyone, something one shot me I was like WTF..
the best part of this game is that is just so much different from 98% of all other mmos out there. the first few months it's definately an incredibly fun experiance, as long as you dont mind the buggs(remeber this game is far from finished).
the only problem is once you'v played a few months and know where everything is, which guild has which zone, what mats are needed for weappons/armor, you have gold, you have horses, you have alts, and.......there is not much to do especially if you are not in a guild.
just that simple really. it's at this stage that you start to focus on all the buggs and quickly forget how innovative the game play actually is. unfortunately the buggs are many and every patch brings more.
i'm definately coming back to this game when they fix the most annoying pvp braking buggs and add something that actually requires fighting over.
The game has a nice list of small annoying bugs, such as a the wood chopping animation is a little fast, the new horse ridding sound can come across a little messy ect. All bugs you can play and enjoy the game with still.
However currently there's one bug that is a bit more sinister. The new interpolation system (very recently introduced) is still in the works of being tweeked therefore PvP combat can appear to be desynced at times. Not very good for PvP'ers but battles happen daily and players work around it until it gets fixed.
The game is fun for the first 3+ months, living in the world of Nave is a breath taking experience. However MO is a rough diamond and needs more polish and content to be introduced. Many of us vets stay for the potential / fun PvP / crafting. Apart from that they need to introduce more PvE.
Well I saw some guys talking this out after I posted. I'd like to answer just a couple pieces I saw.
First and foremost : the arguement that we all want to hear how bad a game is. Truth be told, YES we do. Why should I NOT spread the word when a company rips you off for 60 USD and doesn't even give you anything but an empty box?? They did that to hundreds of customers. Lack of refunds, poor customer service? This is all something we would report about a company, so why not a game development company??
[Mod Edit]
They hide posts on their forums, banning and deleting anyone who has a small problem with something that is clearly the fault of the developers and publisher.
Comments
I agree with this. The game is a train-wreck! It is rampant with bugs and the servers are, or atleast were when I played it, still unstable and the client seem to crash daily.
Then we have the lack of content, un-even gfx and the complete lack of any serious PvE.
So I agree that assuming that everyone knows the game is in closed-beta state is a false assumption. Not everyone has been following this game!
My gaming blog
Swweett story man !! Can't wait for the next one
Really enjoyable read, made me chuckle, keep em coming!
Great read about a GREAT game.
Never trust a screenshot or a youtube video without a version stamp!
Where in the North are you from? Awesome read btw
Currently playing: No MMOs
Played properly: WoW
Tried: AoC, WAR, Aion, Darkfall
Looking forward to: FFXIV, Earthrise, The Secret World, Guild Wars 2 (very much), Project Copernicus (and Mercury for that matter), Everquest and Planetside Next (finally a meaningful mmofps again)
Wants to play in 2 years time if it survives from the subscriptions of fanatics and turns into the game with all features stated on the website: Mortal Online
"Technical bugs will be mentioned only if they affect the gameplay experince".. Right, considering the constant whine on official forums about gamebreaking exploits, I am surprised you didn't stumble on any of them.
Great read otherwise, however a word of advice to others: the game isnt even half as fun as article make it seem like.
Great piece of writing!
I'd like to put in though that this game suffers from a terrible company. I lost over 60 USD and still didn't even get to play after beta. They delete posts about problems and hide their own failures, abuse their players and offer no assistance.
During my time there, they shipped out fake boxes with no discs in them, offered no refunds and even flat out ignored most people's cries for assistance.
So far the only people promoting this game work for the company, you can find a few on this site. They also had to send their engine to their PUBLISHER to program...who does that?
So if you want to try the game, cool. But don't be awed by this article. The game is imbalanced in the PVP area, players abuse you, developers ignore you at best and you will lose a ton of money to no good end. I know, I used to assist the community with some of their problems in game and in the area of customer service. And I was just a gamer, but I spent several hours a day helping people, because the developers game absolutely no thought to anything but profit at the expense of their customers.
Now that was very awesome
I would consoder trying this game, but i doubt that would be a good idea all things considered.
Playing
uhhh... dang.
No matter writers intention, his article gives a very false impression of the game. It has serious flaws in it's present state. Omitting such a warning is a disservice to any readers. I don't even consider this game in any form of beta, more like a shaky alpha. From the article anyone would assume it is a playable game.
I guess if you don't spend an article intended to share your adventures in a game by instead discussing the flaws you encountered... you're disingenuous.
It's like all some people around here are interested in is hearing/reading how bad something is... 'cause, you know.. there's not enough of that in the forums.
I mean FFS people... it says *right at the top of the article*:
"*Editor's Note: The "Survivor Guy" series and this article in particular are NOT reviews of the game(s) in question, but rather the experiences of a single player in the game world. Technical issues will only be mentioned if the author feels that they are "game breaking" to his expereince."
I mean seriously, how difficult is that paragraph to understand? To my eyes, it's written in pretty clear English. There's nothing "disingenuous" about the article, because it's *not a review of the game*. It's a "journal", if you will, of the guy's (mis)adventures in the game world.
That said, very entertaining read. Sounds like life in MO can be pretty rough
.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
No... it's not a false impression of the game, beyond the one some of you people here insist on attributing to it.
Apparently, what some people here were hoping to read was an article bashing MO and railing against it for all its flaws (again, like there's not enough of that in the forums), and are upset that you didn't get it. The author's not playing by the rules! Outrage! Release the Kraken!
Get over it already. It's clearly stated what the article is intended to be, what it's intended to describe and what it's not intended to describe.
What's the big deal? Are some of you afraid that someone reading it might get the impression that, ruh roh Raggy, there might be *fun* to be had in the game? Heaven forbid, we can't have that! Every utterance uttered about MO must entail all the problems it has or it's.... disingenuous!
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I think you nailed the first experience exactly. I am looking forward to seeing how you feel later on. People either continue to love the game and defend it no matter what. . or once the "new" wears off you start asking where the rest of the game is.
As far as virtual worlds it wins for me on the "feel" level. It feels right. . but there is also something missing. . and no it is not an in game map.
Wa min God! Se æx on min heafod is!
Mike... for the record that disclaimer was added after the article was published after it was questioned. The article originally also stated the game was F2P... As it exists NOW... with the disclaimer I am much more comfortable with it, but that was not the original state. The original state simply saif to "check out Adam's thoughts on Mortal Online"
So when you see my earlier posts they were written at a time before the above changes were made.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
That's fine.
I'm not even speaking to the F2P portion. If it was stated in a way that made it sound like he was describing it as F2P, but was corrected.. then fine. That's a mis-statement easily corrected with a simple edit.
I'm speaking to the people arguing that it's a "disingenuous" representation of the game, because he's not talking about the game's issues.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Disingenuous was the word I introduced to this thread.. for the reasons I listed above... also, as listed above.. changes were made to the article including the removal of the F2P designation and the addition of the disclaimer so all is well now.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
How? It's almost exactly what I experienced playing this game in beta, and what I experienced in DF. The article shows exactly what it's like to step into a post WOW, lawless world. Technical flaws are a different matter entirely and if this were a review I'd see your point. However, it's not, rendering your point as well as Slapshot's moot. Anyone can research the scores this game has been given, this article in no way shape or form takes away from that.
If someone is foolish enough to read this article and assume there's nothing more to research before they pick this title up. That's their own problem, foolish is as foolish does. The writer of this article is no way responsible for that.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
yeah its at its basic man, dude me and you been around the game since beta times, of course that feeling will worn off, but it takes a long time, and plus im resubbing soon.
what we had to go though in beta and what we got now in terms of how stable the game is.
the mortal online right now is like a whole new game compared to when it released early, yeck it wad delayed for a year.
The game is kinda ground breaking so it come with it bugs, but those bugs that was in beta are long gone, and just like most mmorpgs, your gunna suffer from lag, until sv can improve the games network code and get eve online servers :P
its following in the same path as eve online.
heck the only thing to do ingame right now is to interact with players or make money which is fine for me, i prefer it over doing quests and dungeon raids.
thats the whole reason why mortal online is called hardcore because its not your average game.
Interesting timing for an unsolicated article.
I win!!! LOL@U
Agreed just like some people are gonna bash a game they dislike or find to hard because they didn't like it.. The game had many problems, I played through beta and most of the bugs and left , I went back, and the game is alot better than it was , perfect no... But way better, the game is on the right track, is it going slow yes give thema break there not EA, or blizzard size teams.
I remember WOW took nearly 2 months after release to geta decent server to play on.. But how we forget, I,m far from a fanboi, I been in the gaming buisness making a game is not easy at all. I find this to be a good write, and he should not post bugs if he didn't have them or see them at all, what he posted was similar to what I went through when I first played, I was in vadda and I went around slaying everyone, something one shot me I was like WTF..
the best part of this game is that is just so much different from 98% of all other mmos out there. the first few months it's definately an incredibly fun experiance, as long as you dont mind the buggs(remeber this game is far from finished).
the only problem is once you'v played a few months and know where everything is, which guild has which zone, what mats are needed for weappons/armor, you have gold, you have horses, you have alts, and.......there is not much to do especially if you are not in a guild.
just that simple really. it's at this stage that you start to focus on all the buggs and quickly forget how innovative the game play actually is. unfortunately the buggs are many and every patch brings more.
i'm definately coming back to this game when they fix the most annoying pvp braking buggs and add something that actually requires fighting over.
The game has a nice list of small annoying bugs, such as a the wood chopping animation is a little fast, the new horse ridding sound can come across a little messy ect. All bugs you can play and enjoy the game with still.
However currently there's one bug that is a bit more sinister. The new interpolation system (very recently introduced) is still in the works of being tweeked therefore PvP combat can appear to be desynced at times. Not very good for PvP'ers but battles happen daily and players work around it until it gets fixed.
The game is fun for the first 3+ months, living in the world of Nave is a breath taking experience. However MO is a rough diamond and needs more polish and content to be introduced. Many of us vets stay for the potential / fun PvP / crafting. Apart from that they need to introduce more PvE.
X) good reading , , some people just have fun, gratz
Sense of humor is always the best way to see things.
Thanks for the funny and entertaining article!
Well I saw some guys talking this out after I posted. I'd like to answer just a couple pieces I saw.
First and foremost : the arguement that we all want to hear how bad a game is. Truth be told, YES we do. Why should I NOT spread the word when a company rips you off for 60 USD and doesn't even give you anything but an empty box?? They did that to hundreds of customers. Lack of refunds, poor customer service? This is all something we would report about a company, so why not a game development company??
[Mod Edit]
They hide posts on their forums, banning and deleting anyone who has a small problem with something that is clearly the fault of the developers and publisher.
Kind Regards.
Actually, I think he does tell us just how bad the game is, just doing it in a hilarious and light hearted way. For example:
- No instructions given during character creation eventhough there are a lot of seemingly important choices to make.
- He had to restart the game several times and even had to go search forums to be able to move.
- Chopping at a tree for 30 minutes for one round of collecting.
Etc, etc. Yes it does sound fun when he writes, but the criticism is there and I would be very surprised if the eventual review is positive.