Just my own opinion written a few days ago.

Is there a Darkfall? YES!!! Is there Life in Darkfall? YES!!!. Compared to current titles on the market it is something different not bad just different. It will be an acquired taste for most and you will either love it or hate it. The control system seems cumbersome at first but after a few hours of play as with any game you stop thinking about it and let the adventure begin.

If you’re looking for a game that is going to have a spawn around every rock you are going to be in for a disappointment the game is built with a certain level of realism. It takes time to loot a kill, you need to pay attention to your surroundings and look for friend or foe constantly to ensure you don’t get jumped. NPC’s can be tough to kill at the start so playing solo is going to be hard but not impossible. Getting wood and stone is a grind so plan on dedicating time to gather, sure you can set macro’s but leave you’re character unattended and all you are going to have when you get back from taking a leak is a naked corps with an arrow in his ass and a empty backpack.

Plain and simple it’s a rough world, no targeting you won’t know what you’re fighting until you start swinging or shooting and realize you mistook that Ogre Boss for a Goblin at distance. This game takes line of sight very seriously so learn to crouch in the bushes and duck walk it has no “Hide in Shadows spell” folks. The maps just a map with minimal bells and whistles and again you do not have a HUD that shows you people except your own party when grouped.

The game look is different, kind of gritty with the look of Champions on line at sunset and Lord of the Rings online during daylight with a splash of Age of Conan on medium settings. If you’re into AOC high setting graphics you’re not going to get them so don’t bitch about it. The environment is put together nicely and has its own look. It is a seamless world the only load screen you will see is when you login and when you die and respawn.

As for what’s in game you have the following:

1. PvP system- Works well good range and melee fighting not to complex but enough abilities to control to develop your own style.
2. PvE system- Yes its in place but not at the level of quests a hardcore PvE person might like but if you look you can find stuff in the world a creative clan could make there own quests. RP’ers should eat that up.
3. Magic System – Yep you got magic.
4. Mounts- You got them just make sure no one steals it. YES PEOPLE CAN STEAL YOUR MOUNT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.
5. NPC- Wildest AI that has been put out in years very aggressive or chick shit depending on who or what you are fighting. NPC’s will mess you up if you do not pay attention so do not under estimate them.
6. Clan Towns and Cities- Start with a pile of rocks build walls then run for Mayor.
7. Ships and Siege Weapons- Yes they are in again realism takes time and money to have them as well as a Towns and Forts.
8. Crafting – There is a system and it is operational.
9. Hidden stuff- I’ve found lots of things and I’ll leave it at that you can do your own searching in game would not want to spoil it for you.

Summary
I was a critic as much as anyone until I was fortunate enough to get a “golden ticket” to play beta. The 1st hour of play I hated the game and was disappointed the 2nd hour after I got some NPC kills in completed some quests got some PK’s in and got PK’d lost my stuff cussed as I had not banked yet and some jack hole had my 2 hours of work. Then the next day I just started to explore and see what was around the next hill and it started to grow on me and I feel a kind of attachment now. The PVP is good and it has a nice risk vs. reward factor. It is not a game that will be for everyone if you have never played a “Sandbox “game there is a learning curve to overcome. All in all when the smoke clears it will be a nice niche market game for hardcore and casual alike you will get what you and your guild “Clan” are willing to put into this game it’s that simple.

A Note about and to the Dev’s
The dev’s have been patching daily and even though not giving direct feedback as I think everyone in beta feels they should they have listened for the most part. The thing about beta is you see how the game grows each day. 3 weeks ago the game was not even an Alpha as of this writing it’s a solid closed beta 10 days to launch and I find myself thinking this crackpot testing process might just pull it off and we will have a reasonably complete game at launch that has enough to get people started with good updates to follow. A piece of advise once launch is underway you need to get a handle on your PR and be straight up with the player base or all your hard work is going to go to waist.

See you in game.
 

Except for me I was expecting it to be bad so the first hour I actually really loved it, and over time it grew on me in some ways, but in others it evened out. 

Agree with you 100% though.  Nice write up, and.. see you in game. 

nice review more or less

It takes that first PvP fight to wake up and understand that this is truly amazing. My first hours was just killing goblins, and "BAM" someone attacked me.....and i defeated him. Thats when i understood

Originally posted by daarco

It takes that first PvP fight to wake up and understand that this is truly amazing. My first hours was just killing goblins, and "BAM" someone attacked me.....and i defeated him. Thats when i understood

True that nothing like first blood!!!

Nice review Tuck2000.