As the title sounds, this game is all about multiplayer online gaming and while it could be played solo, the fun is definitely framed in networking and party quests.
With just a few days after its release, this makes it difficult to give the definitive word on how solid the online experience will be as the MMO titles take time to mature and content will always change.
Many of the beta players complained of lag and I am sure I wasn't alone in having some frustrations before I could run the full game on my PC. I resorted to finding a player-submitted update patcher and installing the 200MB of updates - all in the lieu of
a patch
which arrived the next day for beleaguered NZ/AU Warhammer standard edition purchasers.
The interface is very detailed and RPG players will make good use of the resolution and view distance, the engine so far works well although the frame rate is variable but in the end it's the quests that will determine how satisfied you are with only one or two failing to complete.
And in the end it's only early days yet, and it's going to have be totally satisfying to lure gamers from the massively popular World of Warcraft which boasts 10 million paying subscribers. I'm definitely giving it a chance.
Warhammer designer Mark Jacobs, asked in an interview why people would switch says that
all online games have an expiry date
. "One of the things that certain games have done - and we won't mention names - is that they're trying to go back to an old school, we-want-people-to-work-harder-to-level (style of gameplay) and make it less fun. No, we're not going to do that. We want you to have fun in our game."
One popular US multiplayer gamer was surprised at the suggestion that
WoW may expire
saying that there is no sign WoW is declining, especially as a huge expansion for it is coming out soon and "it appears to be at the height of its health so far."
The game's creative director predicts in an interview that Warhammer
will get a million subscribers
within the year, and then eventually three million.
You take on roles as dwarves, warriors and elves and others, siding with either the 'Empire' faction or as a member of 'Chaos.' There are 20 classes, four less than in the original game.
In familiar fantasy game style, you get assigned quests to get rewards and loot to buy better weapons, armour or spells, which gives you a tougher monster in the next mission.
Online in teams, you can get control of areas and claim them for either faction. Realm vs realm gameplay is a drawcard for this game, whereas solo players will find endless options for creating and refining items a more worthwhile pursuit.
The graphics, while not groundbreaking, do a great job of bringing a fantasy tabletop strategy game to life. The environments are deliberately darker than those of WoW.
Get a taste of that here:
The pace of combat tends to be slow, which affects the otherwise straightforward
PvE
part of the game but this works well in
PvP
.
You soon encounter Public Quests which not everyone will find a welcome innovation but it gives you an understanding of the grouping system.
This is a deep game said to have around 200 hours of playable content. It's solid and built off the namesake of a leading franchise, it brings focus back to fun and invites players to join guilds and build communities but it will struggle to oust the hordes of WoW fanatics. It is fair to say these are early days and this game has a lot of development focus so we'll see how things go in six months time!
It's great to have a worthy alternative.
MadGamer rating: 8 / 10
To be in to win a copy of the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collectors Edition, worth $169, email us
here
by Sept 30 and tell us how many classes there are in the game.
