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My review for DnL
oakthornn
Member UncommonPosts: 863
Greetings,
I finally got the opportunity to try out Dark and Light.. I've read all the negative bashing on the game with very little positives at all,so I pretty much knew what I was expecting before I logged in for the very first time.. I managed to play the game for about 8 hours.Most of the time I was observing and figuring out the basic controls and UI system along with messing around with the different abilities and skills... I only got to level 10 with my fairy,but I honestly couldn't play the game any longer than I did... Before I continue,this game obviously is far from finished.There are to many bugs to list them all here but I'll name a few common ones.. The mobs hit you for to much damage,this needs to be reduced considerably..Don't try to be a spellcaster or hunter to start the game.The damage output is ridiculously low compared to the fighter tree..For example,my little fairy was able to 1 hit kill monsters at times an do an average of 80-110 dmg whereas my spells would do 1/5th of the damage..This definitely needs to be fixed asap..I noticed bugs while trying to attack certain mobs.It would either not allow me to attack,and or the damage I was hitting the mobs with wasn't taking effect..This also needs to be fixed asap.. Anyway,without further delays,here is my official review... BTW here are my computer specs
AMD 64 Nemisis 3500
1500 DDR Ram
Nvidia 7300 GT 512 mb Graphics Card
160 GB Hardrive
Asus Motherboard
Graphics: 7.5 I had the graphics beefed all the way up to the max which helped considerably...Theres no way that a game like Shadowbane has better graphics than DnL..Its just not possible...Now,with the settings turned all the way down,then the graphics do look horrible,but u can say that about any other MMO like EQ2,WoW,EQ Live,DAOC,SWG,etc etc etc.. Anyway,the terrain,trees,water,mountains,sky,all look pretty good and acceptable to be able to play.. The only problem I have is the ground looks kinda bad and needs work..Which is why I gave the 7.5 rating.. Also,i like how u can zoom in very close and move the camera around so u can get a better look at yourself,other PC's,and different monsters... So,overall the graphics dept passes the test in my book..
Sound: 8.0 I liked the overall sound and music in DnL.Definitely enjoyable which kept me interest enough to keep playing for 8 hours straight.. The sound passes in my book
Role Playing: 3.0 This is definitely one of the problems that needs to be addressed soon If the Dev's want to keep people interested for a while..Theres no real sense of roleplaying whatsoever in DnL..Without content and different goals to achieve,being able to Roleplaying seems a bit tough to do right now.. This needs to be worked on in the near future..
Fun: 5.5 The only reason I'm giving this a 5.5 is because I think its pretty hillarious to see my little fairy owning mobs with her sword and performing 1 hit kills lol.. When I created her,the vision I had for her was to become a powerful Enchantress or Necromancer.. But seeing how screwed up the classes are right now,I had to scrap that idea and put my skills in the fighter tree simply because it was the only way I'd survive lol... Anyway,it took me a while to understand the concept of fighting.I must have died 10 times before I killed my first monster lol..But after I figured it out,I didn't die for 8 striaght levels.. Other than 1 hit killing mobs at melee,the game really isnt that much fun at all.. Exploring isnt to bad,but the world is HUGE and pretty lonely..I barely see anyone playing,which lessens the fun factor alot,I don't see much of any content except for a group of monsters here and there..There are no dungeons to explore that i know of,and no real sense of goal..The towns are dead with a few npcs who look very zombielike and dull.. Theres no real sense of excitement or breathtaking cities,fortresses,etc to enjoy..The only real positive thing I can mention here that is done well is the descriptions of the weapons and armor..Very well detailed and easy to understand..One feature I actually like heh.. Overall,the fun factor in DnL fails..
Community: 3.0 I barely see anyone playing,which lessens the fun factor alot.I don't see much of any content except for a group of monsters here and there.. There are no dungeons to explore that I know of,and no real sense of goal..The towns are dead with a few NPC's who look very zombielike and dull..This definitely fails miserably..
Performance/Lag: 6.0 I didn't experience barely any lag whatsoever even with my settings set on high.. Perhaps most ppl who experience horrible lag is because your system is probably very outdated.. The lag part of this rating is what passes,the performance is where this is lacking.. Character skills,abilities,mob dmg and abilities all need to be tweaked and fixed asap..Along with the bugs and glitches seen all throughout the game.. Definitely needs some work..
Value: 4.0 This game is definitely not ready for release period.. No one should have to pay to play this game..I understyand why 99% of the people here are upset and feel like they've been cheated and ripped off..There are to many things wrong with this game to even allow it to be playable..The server should be brought down for however long it should take to at least fix the common complaints such as the spellcaster skill tree,dmg modifers for melee of both monsters and PC's,and for god sake please add some content..Fill the world with NPC fortresses,cities,dungeons,etc..Give us a sense of excitement..This world is huge yes,but its so damn empty...
Customer Service:-------- I haven't had a problem to actually rate this system yet,so I'll leave it blank for now
Overall I give DnL a Rating of ((((5.3)))) Thats the most honest rating I can give and the best rating this game deserves right now... Will it get better? We'll just have to wait and see..But I will be cancelling my subscription at the end of the month for sure...
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
Comments
Nice review oakthornn. Not saying I agree completely but it is very well written.
Great post!!!
Well Oaks, that's one of the more realistic reviews, a farcry from some I've seen. My "opinion" with so many patches coming out is it is improving, and will continue to improve. The devs appear to be working hard
well written Oak, btw though I do not consider my puter outdated horribly. I score about 2800 on 3Dmark 06 which is acceptable but not a powerhouse by any means and I think I should be able to get above 20 FPS.~shrug~ just my opinion there. But a five is realistic for this game.
oh and the ground looks bad because they had to tone the textures way down so I could get 15 FPS
I miss DAoC
Yes, very well written and unbias review. I personally wouldn't have given those high of marks, but that does not take anything away from your exccelent post, thnx ..!
-Zvorak
I was expecting the typical "D&L is great and just wait for the POTENTIAL" post but I am surprised.
I personally wouldn't have given it such high scores due to the other
games I have played and Beta tested, but you pretty much got the right
stuff in there.
I suggest to request a refund anyways.
Click & Buy should be Pros in doing the whole refund procedure for this by now.
i won't be surprised if they even have a macro for making the refunds
______________________________
My Sager 5760 Review
Nicely done.
Jixxala
Pegasus Foundation
-Leadership team
-Chapter leader
Good review, but I take issue with a few points:
1) graphics for the world may be nice, but character graphics are dated and virtually uncustomizable. Also, I would put the UI as part of "graphics", which is also a blunder. The world graphics I can see getting an 8 or so, but the character/UI I would put as a 5 or so.
2) On the Fun factor, beyond 1-hitting mobs, you didn't have much positive to say. Strange to see your score that high. You also assume that the other classes will be fixed ASAP. The fun factor is much lower for non-melee characters. Finally, the game is supposed to be a "PvP" kind of game, which is of course related to how many people are online (very few). I'm frankly amazed you gave a the FUN factor a score of 5.5. You acknowledge that playing a non-melee character is far worse.
The other parts of your review and scores I can agree with. It is too bad you didn't try flying over water, then crash to desktop, and submit a ticket so that you could then judge customer support quality. That would have likely lowered the overall average as well.
Finally, as an official review, or in some other capacity, MMORPG or other community leaders need to start sending the signal that it is no longer acceptable business practice to release these games with this many bugs and lack of content. I think you hit it on the head in the VALUE section, but I would highlight it in a summary point or something as well. I know early on when MMORPGs were a new concept they would release and still have issues to fix a few months into the game. Given the maturity of the MMORPG market, and that we shouldn't be reinventing the wheel every time a game is developed, an incomplete game is simply not an acceptable business practice anymore. This would also lead credibility to why game review and fan sites should be able to perform a review of a game shortly after release.
Thanks for the unexpected praise on my review of DnL.. I tried being as honest and professional as possible based on each feature I tested and everything I encountered..I also based the rating on the numerous reviews I read by people who simply gave the game ridiculously low scores due to frustration,anger,and disappointment regarding how incomplete DnL is..
"SBE1" You are right to question my rating pertaining to the Fun department..And once again your absolutely right to point out, If you wanted to create a spellcaster with no melee abilities at all,the Fun factor would probably be a negative 5..You'll die every time starting out because spellcasting abilities and damage is just way to weak and obviously needs work.. Let it be known,I gave the rating of 5.5 due to the fact of how hilariously funny it was seeing my fairy swing her sword like a ogre and one hit killling alot of mobs.. I guess you could say that qualifies as being somewhat fun for me.. *shrugs*
I do like kiting mobs from a distance at times and I try testing myself to see If I can actually kill mobs with using strictly magic like I did with my drood in EQ Live,but that task gets frustrating and it takes to long... Now,If my druid was able to one hit kill mobs in EQ with a swing of her scimitar,then you would have had many people forgetting about using their spells and focus on their melee simply because its faster to get exp.. So,for the people who plan on creating hunters and melee based characters,then the fun factor may keep them interested enough to play for a while..Why? Because the game is relatively easy for melee characters and easy at the early levels equals fun for some people..
Also,I did manage to take a balloon ride across a large body of water..I didn't crash "thank God" and the view was pretty nice for the first 10 seconds.. Then I was fidgeting and became inpatient as it took a long time to get to my destination.. One thing I hated about WoW was how long the Griffon rides took to get from point A to point B.. Teleportation spires,circles,whatever should be set up in every MMO by now,lol..It saves alot of time..
Honestly,I'm going to be following the game for the next few months,"or at least until Vanguard goes live" and If I see a improvement on DnL,I'll probably reopen my acccount.. The game does have alot of promise..There are some features and ideas I really like,but on the other side of the coin theres alot of problems with the game that need immediate fixing.. We'll just have to see If the game gets better as time passes.. I'll still continue to play for a couple hours a night or so until my subscription runs out..I might as well since I paid for it..But I won't be requesting a refund simply because I'm to lazy to go through the trouble of getting it and I don't really care about 50 dollars lol...
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
Fair enough. To me, 1 hitting mobs is funny, but boring after a while. Like I said, a good review, but some folks will always differ in thier opinions.
I'd be amazed if this game lasted over 6 months. You may not need to follow the game for much longer.
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)