Good that you like it.

What will be really interesting is if it will manage to keep you playing for months/years.

Warhammer still has less playstyles than most other mmos out there, so it will be interesting to see how that works out.

Originally posted by pegleg

For this guy to give such high marks on a Game with such subpar graphcs/gameplay, and so on tells you what his expectations are. I mean I do enjoy the game and all, buts not a game. This must be his 1st MMO. We all have to start somewhere.

maybe you should read the post. It was a female writing not a male and she mentioned numerious mmos.

OP, very well written, good humor, and thanks for the review! I must say though that it's impossible for me to take a one day experience too seriously. The first day I played LoTRO I could have written a similar review (had I your skill/flair) because I was similarly entranced. However, a month later I was bored with it. Same with Ryzom, the first couple of days I played it I couldn't get enough, then it just fell apart for me. I truly hope your initial zeal for WAR maintains; please keep us informed!

Originally posted by bodypass

Exactly...

Now come back in 10 days and reread what you wrote.

 

than you'll understand....

-----

 Every WAR copy sold is free publicity for WotLK.

 

Maybe you should read some of the beta tester posts about WotLK and then look forward to all your hard earned BC raid gear being useless and a world filled with Death Knights.  WoW is same old same old, WAR is fun and something different.

In response to EQ2 - My personal taste cannot stand the EQ2 art direction, to me, it is only pretty if you like clashing colours, corspey looking characters, and muddy toned graphics. Oh yes, and it reeks of 80's style. I do like the skies they do, very pretty skies. Cannot stand any character models. Or the UI, or anything else. I just don't care for it or it's clunky engine. That is my taste, and I'm entitled to it.

I love the art direct WAR has taken, the graphics are beautiful and right up my alley. Personal preference.

All the haters can hate, and all the trolls can troll, and all the fans bois can rave, I still remain skeptical, but am just loving what I see so far. LOVING IT!

Originally posted by lorteged

Originally posted by bodypass

Exactly...

Now come back in 10 days and reread what you wrote.

 

than you'll understand....

-----

 Every WAR copy sold is free publicity for WotLK.

 

lol... i have only laughing left for such a comment, such hatred against a ''game'' ... That is just plain pathetic.
 

Then try browse through the AoC forums... But you're right just don't play the game if you don't like it.

And OP: Great that you found a game you like but EQ2s graphics are at least as good as WARs. The art can be discussed, many clothes in EQ2 are ugly designed but that really have nothing to do with graphics but art.

Originally posted by Loke666

And OP: Great that you found a game you like but EQ2s graphics are at least as good as WARs. The art can be discussed, many clothes in EQ2 are ugly designed but that really have nothing to do with graphics but art.

As good, yes... from a technical standpoint, but I do not like the art style of EQ2 whatsoever.

And I feel the game is less cartoonish than people claim, in fact, I'd say in terms of style, it is similar more to LoTRO bred with a WoW UI/Interface, but better than both BY FAR.

I won't lie, I was a WoW player since release. This game allows me to break out of that horrible rut.

And the RvR is great fun! I love how you can queue right on your minimap vs running around or having to catch flights and taking 15 minutes to get to the BG NPC. I'm on a high population server, and I find the RvR queues are very short with RvR having no lag.

Another thing I like vs say AoC and other games, a lot less instancing than I had anticipated, and when I do have a load - it's VERY fast.

Thanks for your first impressions, sounds like a good game to try hope to see you playing

Thanks for the post OP, it was a great read. I find myself in the same category as you. Warhammer is alot of fun right from level 1, not even when i played AOC 1-20 was it this fun.  The game from the begining allows you to choose how to level, either via quest, scenerio or open rvr. If you dont like the game, thats fine. But honestly graphics are only one of the many things a good MMO needs, and even then it doesnt NEED good graphics. I know people who still play text based MMO's and they have a blast in there little word wars.

I can understand the 10 on Graphics if you never played AoC.  WAR graphics, not including AoC is the best out there right now.

Needless to say its a good honest review.

I find AoC graphics too busy, but they are very pretty, especially the beasts, which were beautiful. However, I am not fond of the art direction and they over sexed style. I'm in it to play a game, not oogle.

I love Warhammer graphics for the style and feel, It's "my cup of tea" and the fact that they are not so over the top that' it's too busy or too hard on my PC.

The prettiest games from a screenshot standpoint I find are Crysis (I don't like FPS) and AoC. Just not the game for me.

I don't even play FPS, since I get seizures from them.  :)  So I don't even count them. 

I love this game. Love it.

I feel like I finally FINALLY found a home after being lost in WoW. WoW was amazing since release, but TBC was a game killer for me.

Raiding content (6 man) is incoming. If you enjoy large raids, don't play, but don't count it out, instead of large raids, it's large RvR, which is far more fun and less "predictable."

However, I hate large raids where we farm the same boss who does the same garbage over and over again, I love PvP, and dang it, I'm happy. I'm having fun, and it feels great.

Thank you Mythic. I cannot say thank you enough.

Very well written write up, and follow up.  I added this to the review compilation sticky. 

Originally posted by nikoliath

Originally posted by bodypass

Exactly...

Now come back in 10 days and reread what you wrote.

 

than you'll understand....

-----

 Every WAR copy sold is free publicity for WotLK.

 

 

Nice OP. As for the chap in quotes here, he must be a viral marketer for Blizzard or he is on some sort of crusade, check his post history.

Now thats a typical fantroll response ;)

AoC had its problems just as WAR does.

Dont try to butter it up.

Remember you can put lipstick on a pig, But..........Its still a Pig !!! :D

Originally posted by UberKnot

Originally posted by nikoliath

Originally posted by bodypass

Exactly...

Now come back in 10 days and reread what you wrote.

 

than you'll understand....

-----

 Every WAR copy sold is free publicity for WotLK.

 

 

Nice OP. As for the chap in quotes here, he must be a viral marketer for Blizzard or he is on some sort of crusade, check his post history.

 

Now thats a typical fantroll response ;)

 

AoC had its problems just as WAR does.

 

Dont try to butter it up.

 

Remember you can put lipstick on a pig, But..........Its still a Pig !!! :D

 

Read bodypass's post history and then read the post you qutoed which said 'check his post history'.  He is and always will be a troll.  You can't fantroll a troll they would cancel each other out.  AoC had serious, serious, deep game problems.  WAR is smooth as butter into launch and actually gets better as you level if you like it's style of gameplay.  Comparing WAR and AoC just tells us you didn't play both games at any reasonable level. 

Originally posted by ProfRed

Originally posted by UberKnot

Originally posted by nikoliath

Originally posted by bodypass

Exactly...

Now come back in 10 days and reread what you wrote.

 

than you'll understand....

-----

 Every WAR copy sold is free publicity for WotLK.

 

 

Nice OP. As for the chap in quotes here, he must be a viral marketer for Blizzard or he is on some sort of crusade, check his post history.

 

Now thats a typical fantroll response ;)

 

AoC had its problems just as WAR does.

 

Dont try to butter it up.

 

Remember you can put lipstick on a pig, But..........Its still a Pig !!! :D

 

 

Read bodypass's post history and then read the post you qutoed which said 'check his post history'.  He is and always will be a troll.  You can't fantroll a troll they would cancel each other out.  AoC had serious, serious, deep game problems.  WAR is smooth as butter into launch and actually gets better as you level if you like it's style of gameplay.  Comparing WAR and AoC just tells us you didn't play both games at any reasonable level. 

Hey man you can come up with all the excuses about why the fantrolls are hard are work just as the anti-trolls.

But I see it here just as every other launch the past 4 years.

Also alot of moderation going on as well here and other sites trying to hide one side of the conversation.

I realize these are fansites and that WAR does not have a site for people who play the game to talk about it.

So you would think the damn fan sites would at least be fair enough to allow all types of posts regarding the game.

The combat is just like I thought it would be even though people said ohhh its faster now after they patched it up awhile back.

Faster compared to what????? A freaking three toed sloth??

Anyhow since I am more of a FPS type of gamer I will leave you all to your world of monitoring what people have to say craft :)

Have fun enjoying your game I hope they get the issues worked out and you guys have a good launch!

Later

Op nice first impression review thank you and I'm glad you're having fun with the game.

Pay no mind to the newbs giving you a hard time about your review scores these guys flame anyone that hasent played 10+ mmos and see matrix code when they look at a mmo screen lol.

Personally it was nice to see a womens perspective on the game.

Oh and to those saying WARs graphics are shitty keep in mind if she only played WoW, Lotro and Eq2 then of course she would give WAR a 9 the game looks great compared to those games.

Originally posted by Sanvean

So, the hubby and I talked, and he twisted my arm today when we were in WalMart into buying it since my WoW retirement. I'm just bored out of my mind. I don't like raiding much, I cant’ say it’s burn out, I’ve never really liked raiding, I prefer to do BG's but hate the fact that there are only a few BG's one of which I loathe. WoW is the hamster in a wheel bs and it's driving me nuts. I’ve raided hardcore, I’ve raided casual, I’ve PvP hardcore and casual as well, always something was missing. Always bored, but no other alternatives that had that fun hook.

After the great flop that was AoC and prior to that Vanguard, I wasn't really interested in WAR to be frank with you. LoTRO also left much to be desired. For starters, I did not like the character movement in prior games, the feel was all wrong. AoC didn't like the 123 combat stuff the mechanics of combat itself. The instancing or very busy graphics. LoTRO combat was very boring with even more boring are the classes. I also dislike the way the characters move and fight. EQ2 is just plain ugly and I feel it's full of technical issues given it's age. Lineage 2, pretty package, crap everything else. Horrible controls, horrible community etc etc. Then you have other games which I don't even feel like going into. All in all, I never care for the classes or combat of other games when compared to WoW. In a nutshell, they are missing one critical part, Fun. It also left me highly nervous for the future release of other games. Total skeptic.

 

From this point forward, my review is to be compared with my WoW Gnome deep fire Mage.

My Review

So anyhow, with much pessimism and overall distaste, I installed it, loaded it up, and watched the intro video. I add, I did this knowing that it was going to be a sinker, an over hyped stinker.

Holy cow, the intro video rocked my world. Ok, well, it's just an intro video… right?

First of all, let me start off by saying, I adore the art. It's beautiful. Is it WoW like? Yes, but very next NEXT generation and more serious. The graphics are just stunning, all the little detaisl are so well executed, but still with the cartoon edge, which I really like (it's a freaking video game, I hate playing a waxy corpse and overly real is fake and corpsey.) The spell animations for the classes I chose blew me away. You log into the middle of battle, not a pup tent and some corny kiddie quests. It seemed as if my realistic yet fun looking wizard was actually casting a magic spell vs vibrating her triangular shaped hands. Or clunking a wolf upside the head (slowly) with some blunt mace. Thunk! Quests were straight forward... fun, didn't take too terribly long and wasn't collect 56 freaking Trogg teeth. I like it. So much in fact, I really don't want to be any other class. It was what a Mage/Wizard SHOULD be, but never quite was. Even with my gnome's good gear and the fact I could farm like no tomorrow, the wow factor was always missing. All around me bombs are going off, canons are being fired, there is action action action. There is a large glitz factor here, start right in the middle of something going down. Wow starting zones = crickets and old people fast asleep. I’m really starting to get interested, but still cautious. But I should at least check other stuff out... you know, other classes.

Next I tried Dwarf Engineer. Oh my GOD. Are these dwarf chicks ever pretty, cute, and VERY FUN. Dwarf women in WoW couldn't bed down a 4 toothed trucker. These thick girls got it goin’ on! I find the engineer class FUN. I was smiling from ear to ear. A real live smile on my face. However, I heard that the Engineer Class has a strange utility, basically irritate and confuse with some AoE. Sorta like a CC thing. Jack of all trades master of none, with somebody that is fast with mouse and macro, and due to the fact my reaction times aren’t as fast being an older gamer, I decide to tinker around a bit more (but VERY hooked on the Female Dwarf.)

Enter the Greenskin Shaman. Really funky with a cool vibe, not my deal, too creepy/gross/evil, I log out after I give him one good hop (I even got the named Pickle btw, which is pretty cool) and try a Witch Elf.

The Witch Elf female is very oh la la. Pretty as she is, not feeling it so much, and cant’ say I’m crazy about the way this race moves, it doesn’t’ feel natural, just not my taste. I also think it's because I like the Goodies more than the Baddies. So....

I try a Dwarf Rune Priest. I think I'm in love. She is so fun. With this class I don't start off with 3 spells, I get 2, a damage spell and a heal spell, but I love the feel of it. Frankly, I am torn. I've always been a mage/wizard type. Always. And... god my Bright Wizard chick is a FOX. Whew! This chick has tats that are on fire people, and it doesn't look stupid. I do adore the Dwarves in WAR, I really do, it just has that fun feeling, like my old gnome, but far more attractive.

My basic system specs:
Vista 32 bit
Dual Core Duo
8800 GT
And all the other basics

The Score SO FAR with only several hours played - Give me a few days to see where the numbers REALLY stand

10 UI and Graphics. Simply beautiful. Each race gets a little different of a UI, with a different sort of icon. The graphics I give just about a perfect 10 other than when a bug pops up, but to be frank, with all the whining about bugs and lag, I haven't encountered anything really yet that deserves beign whined about. I remember when WoW first came out, our PC's would lock up in flight or in IF and servers would crash when people raided Crossroads... and this other than a very slight stutter once in a blue moon is nothing. RvR is smooth as butter. I also like the compass around my character so I know where I am headed without looking on the minimap. Also like that I can track more than 5 quests at a time on my screen. All sorts of little bells and whistles... too numerous to go in here that make me realize, Blizzard implemented stuff like the ! and ? for quests because of this game. I’m sure of it. They made many of their recent moves to counter this game, and with just cause.

9 Quests. At level 2 I was firing and aiming cannons, not whackin troggs with a wooden hammer, which is pretty cool. some typical quests as well, but very fun. I also like how early on from the starting point, you feel immersed in action and war.

10 Spells, Combat and Animations. The combat is not quite as fast as WoW for some classes, yet faster for others, but it feels more natural and real, without feeling clunky. I very much enjoy casting, and this game gets casting right, it really adds to the fun factor. Animations are very cool, the eye rolling and hair flipping of my Witch for example. I also like how the mobs/people I fight all look different. Not killing the same freaking face over and over. Very refreshing.

8.5 Bugs and clunk. Hmmm, very little so far. I was expecting a lot more. I was almost tempted to score it a 9, but I haven’t played long enough just yet. I feel it’s very fluid, and I would never have been able to tell that it was released today.

9 Innovation. Can't comment yet, but as far as layout and combat, the wheel hasn't been "fixed" if you catch my drift. It has however been refined and improved (better materials.) Will score top marks because I only see an improved wheel, not a square one. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken.

10 Fun Factor. So far? Big fun. I can't wait to log in. I don't remember the last time I had this feeling, but I am loving every moment of it and for a change, do NOT regret spending cash on this game. It's early still, and I will post as the week goes on. I am forcing myself to go to bed, but look forward to logging in tomorrow.

9 Potential. From what I see, tons and tons of potential. Now I know why WoW opened up PvP to PvE and back transfers. I think this game would make Blizzard a lot more nervous for their monthly bottom line. However, everyone is very very wary of new MMO's, because it's been one nasty tank after another. I'm having a lot of fun and I really hope it continues that way. I think they (Blizzard) may very well be afraid of WAR taking a chunk of their already burned out player base. Will it be a WoW killer? No, some people won't ever even give it a try, especially because all the other MMOs are bombs and that will scare many people off (Van, AoC, and IMO LoTRO is also pretty lame, all be it not bombs and much better than Van and AoC) compared to WoW. Some people might think, ew it's PvP. And I may yet still find it's not for me, but this is a damn good game, you can tell that there was a lot of solid effort put into it by real pros. I don't want to grind for fiftyeleventyseven hours or raid for 5 hours to face monster repair bills. Suddenly, WoW seems so... simple. Very very... simple. Even if I opt not to choose WAR and I'm 90% sure even at level 3 I will be, that this game has shown me there is some real solid potential out there.

 

So far, it's beautiful, and I love it. So far...

 

The below screens were taken on Balanced (Not high) settings. They are also distorted due to being saved and resized, the game looks better than this on my PC. View my PC specs above.

 

SCREENSHOTS

My Flicker Album:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58039367@N00/

Thank you Mythic, so far 

Will post more screens later if I get the chance

 

 

The same UI, Graphics,classes, as every other Clone mmo coming out
 

Although I do like the public quest idea, this game just  isn't worth the buy IMO.

Glad you like it though

Originally posted by bodypass

Exactly...

Now come back in 10 days and reread what you wrote.

 

than you'll understand....

-----

 Every WAR copy sold is free publicity for WotLK.

 

That you're an idiot making a fool of himself on a forum?

WAR is an awesome game if you consider its still a child just launched.

Almost no bugs at all.. doesnt overload your graphic card nor your system.. runs smooth as a babies arse.

Its fun to play, lots of classes and diferent costumization possibilities.. rvr is really fun and pve too.. with missions going from the simple kill x kill y to control a cannon and shoot it bringing mayhem in a battlefield. really a fresh aproach refining the old quest systems we all used to by now.

The graphics are very warhammerish styled wich makes them rather good.

Only complain id make about the game is that the whole world seems crowed with mobs.. you cannt move much without finding either a savage pig or tiger or enemy whatever.. wich is an issue imo. Would be nice to have a much lower population on the world [ with exception of battlefields where that overcrowed population is understandable ].

Originally posted by Shastra

So OP is saying EQ2 is ugly and WAR graphics are 10/10? you know i love WAR and i am not going to stop playing it for a long time but i would never write bullshit and lies like this.

    I think EQ2 graphics suck also.......I could literally count the pixels on my characters sometimes and this was at the highest settings........I always thought the character models were hideous..... I'm not overwhelmed by War's graphics either but EQ2 is definitely nothing special.

Originally posted by Theocritus

Originally posted by Shastra

So OP is saying EQ2 is ugly and WAR graphics are 10/10? you know i love WAR and i am not going to stop playing it for a long time but i would never write bullshit and lies like this.

 

    I think EQ2 graphics suck also.......I could literally count the pixels on my characters sometimes and this was at the highest settings........I always thought the character models were hideous..... I'm not overwhelmed by War's graphics either but EQ2 is definitely nothing special.

As long as its your personal opinion its fine. However i think EQ2 graphics are good for its age. WAR is for gameplay but in graphic category it hurts my eyes. But doesn't mean i am going to stop playing it. RVR is just too much fun.

Update:

New screen shots and updated review.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58039367@N00/

Loving the scenarios, great fun. Yes, FUN.

The game is a home run. I can hear the ball smacking against the baseball bat. It's enjoyable, it's not a grind, it's an adventure... and last night, I couldn't wait to wake up and start playing. WAR was on my mind when I woke up, yes, it's that enjoyable.