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Moriendor
Black Ring Leader
Joined: 19 Jul 2001
Posts: 1306
Location: Germany |
Nope. This ain't a Dutch review  . Instead, NL stands for 'Next Level' and they have written up a <a href="http://www.nlgaming.com/reviewDisp.asp?id=515" target="_blank">review</a> of Microsoft's/Turbine's MMORPG sequel 'Asheron's Call II'. The game scores an excellent rating of 87%.
<br>
<br>Here's a bit:<blockquote><em>Let me begin by saying this game is massive! The world is huge, and sparsely populated (at least for now!). I was on for almost about 30 minutes before I ran into another player, but I found as I played more and more, that there were more players to interact with. Also, unlike most Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) it didn’t take forever to get from place to place. Sure, there was quite a lot of walking, but the worlds look so good, it didn’t feel like drudgery. The world is beautiful, and is by far the best MMORPG I have played to date. Even with these detailed graphics, as long as you are running a decent video card, you will rarely see any slowdown.</em></blockquote> |
Wed Feb 19, 2003 3:33 pm |
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warsprite
Guest
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This guy probably played the game for 2 or 3 hours tops. Long enough to get a feel for the system but not nearly long enough to make any reasonable assessment about their quality.
For instance:
He states that the world is Huge. Actually, the world is quite small be mmorpg standards. Much smaller than either Ac1 or EQ. Travel is quick both because of the small size and the extensive portal system. The world is also rather poorly arranged. Unlike AC1 where you could wander off into the wilderness and do some serious exploring the world of AC2 is segmented into strictly level defined regions whose only way in or out is via a portal. Another 'feature' of the small world is the automap which pretty much eliminates the pleasure / excitement of exploring. From the first moment you begin the game every single town, city, or feature of even the slightest interest is already marked on your map like a second rate tourist guide.
He goes on to extol the virtues of the crafting system and again reveals how little time he has actually spent pursuing it. Crafting works very well up to around level 10 and is a great way to bootstrap your character's gear. After a point though it becomes tedious as the recipies soon require items which are extremely rare and near impossible to find in the quantities needed in order to advance. A character quickly outgrows their ability to craft items they would find useful and finds it much easier to acquire better gear by going after bigger monsters.
Finally, the statement I disagree with the most in the article was
quote:
"Although this game does not do much different, it does do the things we love about MMORPG very well, and takes them to a new level."
True enough the game does very little that hasn't been seen before, but I am extremely skeptical about anything being taken to the next level other than the quality of the graphics. The gameplay is extremely shallow. It has a small world that comes pre-explored, levelling is quite easy either alone or in groups. The average player will have no trouble reaching the upper level limit within 2 months, the hardcore player can probably do it in 3 weeks. The content is easily exhausted. In my opinion this game represents not a step forward for the online rpg but a huge, dumbed down, diablo-esque, step backwards. If you're a first time online rpg player this could be the game for you just as the first time cyclist may need training wheels to help them get started. Experienced gamers would be better served sticking to one of the existing titles or waiting for any one of the new games due out later this year. |
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Wed Feb 19, 2003 4:04 pm |
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