EVE Online at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

Let's face it, games get stale after a while and even after trying everything on the market that you think will appeal to you, plenty of us still end up feeling a bit disconnected from our favorite pastime.

This is where I'm at.  I've been playing fantasy-based MMOGs since Ultima Online and have hopped around in countless titles to try to find the one that would wow me into sticking around for a year or four.  So far my favorites have all been online games set in fantasy "sword and magic" backdrops which, admittedly, have kept me from broadening my horizons as much as I probably should have.  I enjoy platform games of various genres, so why was I only sticking with fantasy when it came to online gaming? 

This brought me to EVE Online.  EVE has been around for nearly 6 years and continues to have an impressive quarter of a million subscriptions and is still growing!  I know others who have tried it out and I've heard mixed reviews, but numbers don't lie and hundreds of thousands of players cannot be wrong.  This prompted me to download the trial and get started doing something completely different for a change.  Are you stuck in that rut too?  I can help you my friends and it is as easy as just trying something completely new right along with me.

Put Away the Robe and Wizard Hat!

Make sure you're wearing something underneath first, okay?  Now then, the whole new thing can be very frightening so we are going to break it down for you and show you how EVE is similar to other titles and where it is different.  Hopefully this will take the mystery and fear out of trying something new.

Lore

Lore is something that nearly every decent game out there has at least a little, and the good games have backgrounds that go on for ages!  EVE is no exception here and even though there aren't any dragons or elves, it still manages to have a story that will suck you in and leaving you wanting for more.  Picture this scenario...

EVE takes place in a cluster of stars far from mankind’s original habitat, planet Earth. How far away, and whether or not that cradle of civilization still exists, is a mystery. Humans arrived through a natural wormhole and, gazing up upon an alien sky they had never seen, were completely unable to determine where this new world was located. From the New Eden solar system, where the gate of EVE once led to the old world, humans expanded in all directions at a furious pace, exploring and colonizing rapidly.

Then, unexpectedly and seemingly unprovoked, the EVE gate collapsed in an apocalyptic catastrophe of a scale never before witnessed by the human race, ruining the New Eden system in the process. Thousands of small colonies were left in complete isolation to fend for themselves, cut off from the old world. For millennia they endured, clinging to the brink of extinction, and only a handful managed to survive.

Of those that lasted, five were to rise up and become the major empires that, between them, hold the balance of power in the world of EVE. Today, they are known as the Amarr Empire, the Gallente Federation, the Caldari State, the Minmatar Republic, and the Jovian Empire. Additionally, the world is full of several small, independent factions and states.

For more than a century, the five empires have lived together in relative peace. They’ve continually strived to maintain this peace, as each faction realizes only too well the grave consequences of a massive inter-stellar war. Recent technological breakthroughs in FTL travel, and the ensuing increase in space travelers, have shaken, but not broken, the fragile peace... at least not yet.

This makes for not only a good storyline, but also an immersive environment.  When you play EVE Online, one of the first things you will notice is the visual graphics and audio magic (I say "magic" because this is truly the best audio that I have EVER heard) draw you in.  Turn the lights down in the room and put on a good headset and you will feel like you are in your ship in space and nothing is cooler than that!

Character Creation

To create your character in EVE you'll be going through much of the same process as you would any game.  You have your choice of several race options that includes picking a bloodline within your character's race.  You have career options which are pretty much just like classes that you might see in other games.  You can set your appearance and move around some skills and then you are pretty much set!  The only real difference here?  You don't see your character from the chest down.  Yeah I know, it's a little weird but you ARE inside a spaceship all the time so consider yourself pantsless (ala Zapp Brannigan) and enjoy the freedom!

The World

I fully admit that when I popped into game and got a glimpse of the space around me, I had a big long moment of "Whoa...umm, so now what?"  EVE Online makes no apologies for having a vast playground in which to navigate, but it doesn't have to be quite as daunting as new players make it.  Just like all other games, EVE has various regions (star systems) that you can zone (or gate) between.  As a new player, you'll stick with the areas nearest to the space stations (not unlike cities in most games) and get your missions from the major hubs.  Missions do what they do in any game, they familiarize you with your world and get you stuff!  As long as you aren't venturing into the wild blue yonder for no apparent reason (something that is silly to do in ANY game), then you should be okay.

Gameplay

You find something to shoot and you shoot it.  How complicated is that?  Sure, there is a little more to it but that is the basis of combat in EVE!  The biggest difference between EVE and other MMOGs is equipping for combat.  Rather than donning armor and buffs, you add gear to your ship and upgrade your skills.  It all ends up being the same principal and the only real difference is the variety in items in which EVE provides.  In the end though, regardless of what game you play, you'll need to do a little research in what you will need to be battle ready.  Once you know the lingo and purpose to your gear and skill sets, you'll be off to blast pirates out of the sky with mad speed!

Community

EVE Online community really appears to be pretty standard.  You will have a corporation (which is just another name for a guild) that groups players together in a common purpose and is an invaluable resource in getting started.  If you choose to go at it alone for a while before hooking up with a corporation, then the chat box is right there and ready for your chatting enjoyment and newbie questions.  As a new player you will have access to a special chat channel, for a limited time, designed to help new players.  The people in this channel are awesome and will help you out with just about any question you can possibly need to ask.  Don't be afraid to rely on others to find the answer to the questions that you seek!

Is this the Game for You?

In a gaming world riddled with watered down gaming and /easy_mode, EVE Online is a shining example of challenge and interest, encouraging players to not only dive deep into their surroundings, but also work just a little bit harder for the knowledge that will keep them competitive and alive.  Join me in a revolution!  Step outside your gaming comfort zone, out of your rut, and get to know something just a little bit different!   You may just find exactly what you were looking for all along.