IS there no pvp at launch then?

Nice review.  Personally I find the fast pace with Bane combat kind of addictive.  I often get sidetracked from a quest because I want to fight through 'just 1 more!' wave of Bane attacks at a control point or frontline.  Needless to say 'just 1 more' often turns into an hour or so of fighting. 

As for PvP, they're working on it.  I do think the game screams for PvP, but I don't want them to add it just because.  I want them to do a well thoughtout version of PvP that fits well with the story.

Very nice review, i feel the same way.

I disagree with the OP's view on the Logos alien voiceover. I find it very nice and soothing not um... creepy as the op states. I feel it should sound somewhat mysterious without being robotic. I think it really fits well and the purpose is to help the player understand the past events that led to this current situation. I totally agree with the rest of the op's views of the game.

The biggest deal breaker for me so far has been the lack of support for community building.  From no /e freefom emoting command, to the short list of graphical emotes, to the no chat bubbles when trying to communicate with others, to furniture not being interactive.  I REALLY playing in beta, but I agree with others that it just didn't grab me after the glow wore off.  I think this is a direct result of the lack of community.  I don't log in and play Oblivion anymore after beating the game either.  I DO still log into the same text-based MUD I've been a customer of for the last 13 years though.  :)  Looking back (I do intend to give the game another glimpse after this next big patch), TR just felt like a single player game with a bunch of other players running around mixed in with the NPCs.

I largely agree with the preview, except that I think it's too generous towards the game.

One thing I have to really question is the comment that the game has "tons of innovation". I'm wondering what innovation the reviewer was talking about? The game is hyped as innovative, but aside from the hybrid combat system that ultimately satisfies neither RPGers nor FPSers I didn't find anything innovative about the game. Repeating hype with no real basis is not a good way to start with an objective review.

The game is a huge disappointment. It would be disappointing in any event, but it's made even more so knowing the money and time (six years) that went into it and the fact that Richard Garriott is behind it. What a wast of time, money and talent.

Originally posted by fiontar

 

One thing I have to really question is the comment that the game has "tons of innovation".

I stopped reading the review the minute that word "innovative" popped in. There is nothing in TR that hasn't been done before.

I'll be looking for this one in the bargain bins in a month or two after release, just to add it to the copy of Auto Assault I bought the day after the servers shut down.  Absolutely worthless, but good as a collectible memento of a failed game.

Far as Richard Garriott, he has shown the same failing as Brad McQuaid. A one trick pony (Ultima series) who's time is over.

The action in TR is fun but at the same time coming from Playing FPS/RPG like Deus Ex and System Shock 2 and as well as playing  games like Neocron I don't fell like aiming is not that well designed,  even being all the way behind some cover you still get hit if you where standing in the open but can't hit back(Yeah I know it is still beta but It's still there at this stage),  in some areas run out real fast and it gets boring waiting for repops, which makes the XP bonus system seem useless when this happens, also some areas have way to much action.

The Story the goes with the quests are great but the quest them selfs seem to be the same quests you find in all games, I rather have less quests and a lot more areas to explore and mixed with action along the way.

Also some area's(usually caves) in TR become to crowded from people trying to kill a mob that is only found in that one area, this seems to be much worst then other games that have this same problem, well it takes 15-20 minutes to kill 6 - 10 mobs for a quest that can be killed in less then 5 seconds there is a problem.

I not seeing any long term depth in the game crafting could have been handled better, they could have made crafting more important and make way better quality weapons then the store bought ones.

Ammo Useage / Cost is way unbalaced between the weapons where some weapon use lots of ammo way to fast with little reward you get from kill a mob with it, also some weapon do almost or very little damage compared to other weapon's of it's level and shot frequency.

I really feel that it would make a better single player games then a MMO as I don't see much that it offers to keep you playing or wanting to log in for that matter, also has the feel of a game more like Guild Wars then a P2P MMO

Like others who have actually PLAYED some mmos in the past decade I couldn't continue past this part..

"This Sci-fi MMO by NCSoft displays a ton of innovation, from premise to gameplay"

Whatever it takes to stay in good relations with NC though right?  I don't blame ya, the sites gotten pretty popular.

i agree with the review 100%. was really excited about this game but, i can't recommend it as a game worth spending $50 on.

Originally posted by fiontar

I largely agree with the preview, except that I think it's too generous towards the game.

One thing I have to really question is the comment that the game has "tons of innovation". I'm wondering what innovation the reviewer was talking about? The game is hyped as innovative, but aside from the hybrid combat system that ultimately satisfies neither RPGers nor FPSers I didn't find anything innovative about the game. Repeating hype with no real basis is not a good way to start with an objective review.

The game is a huge disappointment. It would be disappointing in any event, but it's made even more so knowing the money and time (six years) that went into it and the fact that Richard Garriott is behind it. What a wast of time, money and talent.

The combat system, as well as the unobtrusive AI, are really different than anything I've seen in 10 years of MMOing.  I think it's a great idea, and I actually do feel satisfied with the meld.  That being said, I don't think it's a standalone sellpoint.

Originally posted by Redshaman

IS there no pvp at launch then?

There's some consentual PVP, but what I was really hoping for was player/clan controlled control points.

Three things.

First: Way too much spin on a negative review. Tell it like it is, leave the candy coating at home.

Second: There was absolutely nothing in this review that hasn't been posted in the numerous reviews in the TR forum on this site. What was the point?

Third: Why do people still use the "it's in beta" excuse? Beta is for bug finding/fixing and stress testing. The core gameplay ain't gonna change and that's the problem with this game. (The original TR was tons better.)

"Cry "Beta!" and unleash the Fanboys...

Originally posted by Taera

 

Originally posted by Redshaman

IS there no pvp at launch then?

 

There's some consentual PVP, but what I was really hoping for was player/clan controlled control points.

For now - I can say that before launch we will have the control point functionality will be much more as promised. They are already fixed on the internal development servers.

Also, as I said on another thread, we are adding chat bubbles, resizable chat box, resizable chat font, and a tabbed inventory, as well as a revamp of the crafting system to be more 'worth-it.' All before launch. And those voiceovers on logos aren't all for naught. They are telling the backstory of the game.

The big content patch someone was saying is I expect the other two high level continents which are currently closed in beta. I expect they will be opening them up so the beta testers can hunt for bugs before the game goes live.

With the review - Laura said most bases are capturable. At the moment thats one or two a map. I think the AFS needs to stop using blue forcefields. They have forgotten that the thrax are an insect race and hung these big blue bug-zapper forcefield doors that attract the thrax.

I am finding the first couple of maps really well polished - with the intel recon for the map/instance giving you some idea of the objectives for that map. It would be nice if this could display when you look at a map.

The intro movies for the instances are cool.

The voice overs for the logos are nice - apart from the bug at the moment where you get it twice, and the bug where you can hear the darned thing from 20 miles away :)

Sound effects are nice - from the whoosh of wind turbines to the sound effects on guns. But please fix the stupid double firing animation on pistols :)

I like the graphics (running on high), buildings, logos, Eloh ruins, pillars, Eloh caves all look good. Love the moon in the sky over foreas. The trees, plants, ground dont look as good - but they dont bother me.

I am hoping the polish in the first few maps - wilderness, divide etc gets applied to the other maps before release.

T.R is a fun action game. It runs fine on my core 2 duo E6600, 2 gig DDR2, 256M 7900GT video, and Win XP pro. Dont try running it on minimum requirements - the 2 gig memory makes a big difference.

Stability is good - I have had minimal crashes.

Character customization - Face options are good, you can vary height but not build. Dont bother coloring your starting armor - it will be gone by the time you finish boot camp and you wont ever see it again.

Why not creating a new human fraction (fully playable of cours). Humans who dont wont to back on ruined earth. Who wont to stay on a new planet and start to build new human civilization  on Eloh  world.  People who wont to destroy portal to earth to prevent other humans to back in earth hell. Two ideas. Two playable fraction. Both enemy to the Bane but also enemy amongst themself .

Than we have two humans fraction:

GOOD Humans who wont to back on earth

BAD (this is just a name.... we can call him REBEL HUMANS) Humans who wont to stay on new planet. This fraction is not friend whit Bane. Thay also wont to clean Eloh world from Bane.

Of cours.... some Eloh can hate humans. Eloh who try to drive back humans to earth. Thay dont like new comers. So we can have another two fraction in Eloh race. Of cours both playable.

Friendly Eloh (Who try to help humans to back on earth and fight against Bane, BAD humans and Eloh human haters )

Eloh who hate humans (just becouse thay dont love that some new comers occupy theirs world)

And at the end..... why player can choice to play Bane race.

We need to have a choice. I dont think that only clan wars will be enough (for hard core players) for any serious PvP system.

So this is 5 playable fraction involved in great war on Eloh world.

Sorry for my bad english.

TR is a very fun game.. it's perfect when you want 5-15 minutes of action packed blasting and it's just as good when you want to head out with a bunch of friends and clear out an instance or hold a base.

Equipment is sufficiently "sci-fi" to be different from previous games you've seen and the Logos powers add a nice spice to the gameplay.

Personally I would recommend this to anyone who likes a little faster paced action and is tired of all the elves and orcs.

*Sigh* Only if this article was written after the next two patches.

The Next two have some really good stuff planned, and alot of buggs etc too fixed.

Well i hope it gets a better After Realse review.

This seems like a fair review. The innovation is the combat system, branching missions, PVE flipped bases. Exploring for Logos is a newish idea too. Of course, most MMOs launch with little to no original features these days. Despite all the action, it gets boring fast. I once jotted down a few features I'd want in the ultimate MMO, and TR has a few of them but it still gets it wrong.

I see parallels with Auto Assault, but at least then I wanted to see the next area, unlock new vehicles and weapons and get to the PVP end-game. There doesn't seem to be anything drawing you along like that.

I'd recommend giving it a try if you can for free. Good throwaway fun in small doses, ideal for the casual player but beware even semi-hardcore players. I'll be playing LOTRO, PotBS, WAR, AoC, STO... by which time Richard Garriott himself has hinted this game will be dead and there will be another one on the way. 

I agree that the Reviewer was overly generous on this article. He/she should have really gone off but I guess they don't want to "offend" anyone. Innovative?! HA, No way!

Not so clunky UI and combat system? HA! Its the main part I couldn't stand. Should have been made an FPS off the bat not some strange over the shoulder hard to control camera view, annoying right click 4 times to get the skill I need crap that I played.

Sorry, this game needs to go away, I'm tired of hearing about it.