The NDA is lifted, and I have published my review of the Darkfall beta.  You can find it HERE and  on MMOCrunch.com.

I hope both sides will find it objective.   There has been a lot of overstatement on both the sides of the fence.  If you have any questions, please post them here or comment in the blog and I will try to answer all of them.   I realize there are many aspects I may not have touched on, I was worried about making too long

Please keep all the feedback troll free.

Thanks and enjoy!

Thanks for putting that much work into it.  Great review with a ton of great and accurate info.  Should help a lot of people here understand the game in its current form.

I am interested in seeing his blogs as he plays Darkfall in the coming months more than the review right now. We all know he went from /thumbsup to /thumbsdown with AoC . So did the other poster in this thread ! Time will tell.

Paragus, when Earthrise starts to come into its own light will you take a look at it? You're pretty unbiased and I think ER will be a good alternative to DF - all depends on how Masthead handles it.

Originally posted by Bruticus_XI

I am interested in seeing his blogs as he plays Darkfall in the coming months more than the review right now. We all know he went from /thumbsup to /thumbsdown with AoC . So did the other poster in this thread ! Time will tell.

Paragus, when Earthrise starts to come into its own light will you take a look at it? You're pretty unbiased and I think ER will be a good alternative to DF - all depends on how Masthead handles it.

I have applied to the Earthrise Beta.  I would love a chance to take a look at it.

Pretty fair review, which, of course, still cannot adress the (possible) problems of the game when it releases, but that's gonna be seen when it does release. ^^

My only beef with it is what miagisan already said. Generalizing epople into "casual/linear and hardcore/non-linear"  is simply not true. Lots of people love games like eve, which are far from linear and still are casual gamers and lots of "hardcore" people enjoy linear games.

Other than that, I suppose my main concerns will only be alleviated or proven when the game releases. Thanks for the effort. :D

Very informative review. I eagerly await to play. Thanks for posting this.

You should update your comments on the chat tabs issue as you can pretty much customize the windows anyway you want now.

Originally posted by singsofdeath

Pretty fair review, which, of course, still cannot adress the (possible) problems of the game when it releases, but that's gonna be seen when it does release. ^^

 

My only beef with it is what miagisan already said. Generalizing epople into "casual/linear and hardcore/non-linear"  is simply not true. Lots of people love games like eve, which are far from linear and still are casual gamers and lots of "hardcore" people enjoy linear games.

 

Other than that, I suppose my main concerns will only be alleviated or proven when the game releases. Thanks for the effort. :D

i reached that part of the "review" and i started foaming at the mouth......

casual/linear my a$$

you so hardcore....wanna full loot/pvp centric game....could always join the army if you are really hardcore....bleh....it's a friggen video game...since when does anyone in their right mind consider ideo games hardcore.

Originally posted by miagisan

Originally posted by singsofdeath

Pretty fair review, which, of course, still cannot adress the (possible) problems of the game when it releases, but that's gonna be seen when it does release. ^^

 

My only beef with it is what miagisan already said. Generalizing epople into "casual/linear and hardcore/non-linear"  is simply not true. Lots of people love games like eve, which are far from linear and still are casual gamers and lots of "hardcore" people enjoy linear games.

 

Other than that, I suppose my main concerns will only be alleviated or proven when the game releases. Thanks for the effort. :D

i reached that part of the "review" and i started foaming at the mouth......

casual/linear my a$$

you so hardcore....wanna full loot/pvp centric game....could always join the army if you are really hardcore....bleh....it's a friggen video game...since when does anyone in their right mind consider ideo games hardcore.

Unfortunately it's just a term tossed around all too often in today's MMO genre. It's not meant to be offensive or anything, it's just the mindset. "If you don't have that much time to play, you probably won't enjoy this game because it's a sandbox and the more time you put into it, the better you will be at it." Or something along those lines.

No one thinks that you're not "good enough" to be in Darkfall if you're a casual player and if someone does then they're a super nerd. Just ignore them. I always thought hardcore was a bit of a stupid term myself.

I refer to casual and hardcore as the amount of time you are able to commit to playing.   It has nothing to do with being a tough guy or a pansy. 

Originally posted by Paragus1

I refer to casual and hardcore as the amount of time you are able to commit to playing.   It has nothing to do with being a tough guy or a pansy. 

You misunderstand.

It's not the casual/hardcore terminology. It's that it appears you equate hardcore (ie person spending lots of time in a game) to a player who likes non-linear games while you equate casual (ie person not playing that much) to someone only enjoying linear games.

I don#t know if that was your intention...but as you can see, it comes off as such.

Originally posted by Paragus1

I refer to casual and hardcore as the amount of time you are able to commit to playing.   It has nothing to do with being a tough guy or a pansy. 

sorry but that is NOT AT ALL how you referenced it.

quote from you "review"

If you are a fan of harsh free-for-all PvP, full looting, clan warfare, and non-linear gameplay, Darkfall might be just the sort of thing you have been looking for. If you are a casual gamer, someone who enjoys a linear style gameplay, or looking for a graphically intense experience, this game might not be for you. I also think to fully appreciate the game, playing with a group of friends or being in a clan will expose you to more of what the game has to offer. I don't think it was ever intended to have mass appeal, but more to cater to a niche of PvP players who are looking for something more than what is out there now, and I think in that respect it will succeed.

No where do i see any reference to time...only hardcore and casual in reference to playstyles.....so no...you meant what you said and it was not in reference to TIME spent in game. In fact, you make casual players sound inferior and with the IQ of a forumfaller.

Originally posted by singsofdeath

Originally posted by Paragus1

I refer to casual and hardcore as the amount of time you are able to commit to playing.   It has nothing to do with being a tough guy or a pansy. 

 

You misunderstand.

 

It's not the casual/hardcore terminology. It's that it appears you equate hardcore (ie person spending lots of time in a game) to a player who likes non-linear games while you equate casual (ie person not playing that much) to someone only enjoying linear games.

 

I don#t know if that was your intention...but as you can see, it comes off as such.

Not my intention at all.  Bad wording on my part I guess.   I was saying that if your playstyle is like X, or if it like Y, or it is like Z.   I wasn't trying to imply that if you are X, then you are also Y and Z.

Originally posted by Paragus1

Originally posted by singsofdeath

Originally posted by Paragus1

I refer to casual and hardcore as the amount of time you are able to commit to playing.   It has nothing to do with being a tough guy or a pansy. 

 

You misunderstand.

 

It's not the casual/hardcore terminology. It's that it appears you equate hardcore (ie person spending lots of time in a game) to a player who likes non-linear games while you equate casual (ie person not playing that much) to someone only enjoying linear games.

 

I don#t know if that was your intention...but as you can see, it comes off as such.

 

Not my intention at all.  Bad wording on my part I guess.   I was saying that if your playstyle is like X, or if it like Y, or it is like Z.   I wasn't trying to imply that if you are X, then you are also Y and Z.

Yeah...I think it was just easy to be misunderstood. And with the kind of talk that has been tossed back and forth on this forum, it was bound to come up.

Anyway, good review. Thanks again.

Great review, thanks for providing the link. If they deliver on all these features then this may be the game I've been looking for since UO.

I agree with you that there will be a lot of "players" (if that's what you want to call them) who will screem "unfair" at every turn. Personally, if an orc is bigger than a dwarf, it SHOULD BE easier to hit -- sorry about your genetics, dude 

People who are looking for care-bear games like WoW will probably not like it. Hopefully they will go back to WoW. I'd rather see a group of QUALITY players to keep the game afloat than 11 million players, many of them morons or immature a**holes.

One thing I'd really like to see in any game in the future is a "death is permanant" server for those who like to live on the edge. That means when you die your character is wiped. You start over. Talk about a challenge. 

"If you are a casual gamer, someone who does not like harsh PvP in an MMORPG, or you place a heavy emphasis on graphics, there will probably be little here that will appeal to you."

"If you are a casual gamer, someone who enjoys a linear style gameplay, or looking for a graphically intense experience, this game might not be for you"

Tbh, I didn't find it as confusing as miagisan and signsofdeath did, but yes, it could use a better wording.

Originally posted by Shadowoak

"If you are a casual gamer, someone who does not like harsh PvP in an MMORPG, or you place a heavy emphasis on graphics, there will probably be little here that will appeal to you."

 

"If you are a casual gamer, someone who enjoys a linear style gameplay, or looking for a graphically intense experience, this game might not be for you"

 

Tbh, I didn't find it as confusing as miagisan and signsofdeath did, but yes, it could use a better wording.

Thanks for the feedback, maybe I will look into it when i get a minute.   I am in the process of juggling various forums and sites right now trying to keep on top of the feedback.   Tasos sent me a PM letting me know he read it.

     Thanks for the nice well written review......I think the main thing that really hurts this game here is a severe lack of any kind of information and your write up gave quite a bit........ 

NDA release was a little unexpected wasnt it.. anyhow, excellent review, i support it 100%

The time issue is a problem, not knowing for sure what lvl of patching will be added after the game is out the door gold, hinders my desision to pre-order or not.

Im waiting on an official answer throught he beta forums.

I have a few bitches about DF. but all arnt that important when it comes to the bigger picture.

I think the crafting system takes too long to support a solo pvper. Otherwise, man its a great experience. The combat is excellent, It is a dark harsh world.

It was a joy to test, and a frustration all the same.

Either way very interesting to say the least.

Again good review.

But your being humble.

I guess saying if you are x, y, or z turns into if you are x you are also y and z?  I guess you turn the or into an and?  Maybe it is just because you have turned into more of a troll than you thought and were just looking for something to jump all over Paragus about? 

So many guesses, and maybes.  Anyway no point in derailing this further.  It is an excellent review that clearly had a large time investment to spread information to the forum.  Hope you guys read and enjoy it as it is the most accurate glimpse you will get of what beta has been like anywhere on the internet right now.