by Chris Noll on Nov 04, 2008
The maps and themes of these scenarios are, for the most part, very
well
done. There are a few scenarios however that could use some tweaking.
Some of the "Capture the Flag" maps are a little large, and teams will
find it difficult or impossible to capture the other team's flag. This
ultimately leads to low experience and renown (a secondary experience
level that's based purely off RvR combat). Often these types
of scenarios will rarely be available as most players will queue for
fast paced scenarios where they can earn much more experience and
renown within the fifteen minute time frame. It's really a guy's game.
Guys want to get the most bang for their buck in the least amount of
time. Fifteen minutes is all it takes.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/47798">The
game's biggest asset (since Angelina unfortunately makes not a
single cameo), is its
open Realm vs. Realm
areas, or "RvR lakes." These regions are persistent in the game world,
and always include several objectives players can achieve for their
realm, as
well as a number of keeps that can be taken over and defended. A
high-quality keep
siege with first-class defense can last several hours if both
teams are on an
equal playing field and are determined enough. There's one for the
girls. On some servers it's not
uncommon to see a hundred players or more battling over a single keep.
This brings a truly epic feel to the game, and makes victory very, very
sweet.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/47800" target="_blank">
title="A Keep Siege" alt="A Keep Siege"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/47800"
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Sieging a
keep after eliminating opposition
target="_blank">Keep Sieges are all about strategy
and coordination. By design the keep siege favors the defenders, but a
well organized group of attackers can still achieve success. Both teams
have siege
weapons available to them, such as cannons, repeating ballistae, door
rams, and hot oil (again, see dorm party reference above). The
attacking team must break through the door(s) to
enter the keep, and kill the NPC keep lord at the top to
take over the structure. Strategy comes into play through crippling the
opposing
team. Destroy their siege weapons and take out their troops, and
then find a way to prevent fallen players from easily getting back
into the fight. It's challenging, heart pounding, and a hell of
a lot of fun.
Some players, however, experience problems with large sieges and the
performance of their computers. Players on lower end machines
may find sieges too
frustrating to play. For these players, we recommend searching their
in-boxes for "stamina" and "performance" themed emails. Players on a
mid to high end machine will
have few problems and enjoy the fight, though.
Overall the sieges could use more diversity. Mythic should use a
variety of mechanics, such as ladders to scale the walls, but they
could also be
destroyed or knocked down by defenders. More intelligent AI
would
be a welcome addition because an undefended keep can fall within
minutes
of the first attack, often motivating enemy warbands (raid groups) to
move
from unguarded keep to unguarded keep for quick renown experience.
Other, more trite requests, would include the ability to launch goblins
with catapults, x-ray glasses to see through walls (and witch elf
"armor"), air raids, and the entire cast of
style="font-style: italic;">Apocalypse Now
singing "We Are the
Champions" upon victory.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/47795" target="_blank">
title="PvE Combat" alt="PvE Combat"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/47795"
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style="font-style: italic;">PvE combat is pretty
standard fare
Outside of the RvR battles, players can churn through
PvE content to keep leveling up but Mythic has
acknowledged that their isn't always enough content for all the levels
and they are working on
fleshing things out a bit more for players who don't wish to use RvR as
a main source of experience.
Frankly, hardcore crafters won't be too impressed with the
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/44272" target="_blank">crafting
system in WAR.
It does offer
some new mechanics, but it really seems to be included as an
afterthought. Each
crafting profession has a different interface - and getting used to
these changing UIs can be a challenge. As with all games,
crafters will find themselves sitting next to the auctioneer to acquire
most of their components, and will often end up spending a lot of
money for a lackluster product. The processes can get repetitive and
simply boring, as one profession literally requires you to watch grass
grow. This is about as fun as it sounds. Really.
The gameworld itself is attractive, but again, nothing new. The artwork
is well done, and even quite attractive in some parts. I have yet to
find an area that truly takes my breath away. No Berlin or
Jessica Simpson solos from me on this one.
Sound in the game is adequate, but nothing that will have you
standing still just to listen. I also found it can be a bit
inconsistent
pending where you are and what you're doing, at times cutting out all
together.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/47799">The game
does promise longevity, and the
sheer number of classes and
starting areas alone should encourage gamers to make multiple
characters. The advancement in the game is set to a pace so that each
level really
does stand out on its own and feels like an accomplishment every time
you "Ding!" Gameplay mechanic differences between the four tiers
(separate zones for levels 1-10, 11-20, etc.) creates a nice
variety
of experiences. Even when you reach
level 40, there are still 80 levels of renown experience you can plow
through to make your character more powerful. All of this, combined
with the design of the RvR playfields will consistently offer a new,
fun experience throughout your career in WAR, and rarely, if ever, will
things feel stagnant or old.
Overall Warhammer Online
is catered to a more social player. It is
possible to play and progress solo, but it's not much fun to do so, as
the
game has been heavily designed with groups, warbands, and communities
in mind. It's not difficult to find a group or warband either, so the
lack of single player gaming doesn't break the game, but it's not going
to please everyone either. Despite its shortcomings,
style="font-style: italic;">Warhammer Online
is the ultimate PvPer's game. If you love the thrill
of PvP
and value community and camaraderie in your games,
style="font-style: italic;">Warhammer Online is
a must have.
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(4 / 5 Hammers)