too bad. The game looks realy nice. And the thing you said about exploration peaked my interests.

Also, nice to hear a review that doesn't give a game kudos for potential.

Originally posted by nodamnspam

The one thing I have learned from playing MMO's for years.. unless you absolutely are comfortable paying for what is presented in the beta, don't buy it at release. Let others work the issues out then buy. I was interested in ER but I decided to not let my enthusiasm take over and instead wait. I'll keep waiting until they fix stuff then maybe I'll buy.

This is a key point for me and I would love more honest reviews on the current state of the games instead of what should happen at launch. I have gone through several game launches and for the most part I was very aware of their current state and willing to still pay and stick with them for awhile. I usually have to rely on the forum posts for "real" reviews, it would be nice of the reviews from the websites were equally honest.

Valid review.

I think its a bit unfair to condem the whole community though, many of us in game don't even pay attention to global as its full of idiots mostly. There are many helpful players.

Great read, an informative first impressions on issues that count when evaluating a new released MMO. I look forward to reading more updates on Earthrise that address the issues mentioned in this article. Keep up the good work MMORPG!

The "Parting coments" sound exactly like Aion. Especially the part about those that are blindly loyal. If I didn't know better, I would've thought he was talking about that game.

Thanks for an honest glimps/impression into the game, saving people their hard earned cash, albeit a late one :P

Companies can do this because people are dumb enough and bored enough to pay knowing the beta was fail in the first place. 

Think people have been waiting sooooo long for a new game they have lowered there standards without even knowing it.

Great review. Totally agree with you there. I'm also one of the unlucky ones who bought this game as digital download. I think you forgot to mention that as soon as you step out of the nice camp you can get jumped by any and all players around you, would have been nice if even some areas would have been off-PvP.

Just makes learning the ropes more hazarding as.

At least people complaiing about the various issue's IN GAME actually made it into the game.

Some people (myslef included) bought the game, but cannot even log in, because of an issue with the game client claiming the username/password is invalid.

After Masthead claimed the issue was resolved and reset the password 5 times, I decided paying $50 for a forum account was a bit much and asked for a refund, to which Masthead replied that according to them, there is no issue, I have recieved everything I paid for, so no refund.

CC company felt differently.

thanks for this second "first" impression. Its much more like the first impression everyone have who bought the game

Im happy with this second article. Developers should know that the current state of the game is just as important (if not more for some players) as whatever feature it offers. They should know by now that loss of potential subs because of a crappy release will be very difficult to overcome in the future. Most players dont like to take that risk anymore of paying for a game that plays like an early beta in the hope itll improve soon.

I mean where would the financial incentive be to improve the game any further, if a lot of players were that stupid to pay for an unfinished game?

Im giving this one a good year before trying it out.

If it fails miserably I wont be at all supprised in todays financial climate

I might give it a go when it gets fixed/playable. I won't ruin my own personal impression because of technical issues that can be solved in a few months or less. So thanks for this article - Now I know I won't have to try this game yet.

Sticking to Darkfall for my 'sandbox' needs for now.

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Originally posted by Mindeater
{mod edit}

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It's not a review, it's an impression of the game. It's also an accurate representation of the game right now. We have no idea what the developer is going to do with the game in the future, but if people are going to spend money on the game right now, they should have a good idea of what they're getting into.

If the game does well in 2 months, great. But it's not 2 months from now, is it? It's right now, and right now, this game is boned.
 

They aren't rating it. It's just the writers' personal recommendation based on whether or not this game is playable at this point, it's only their opinion/impression.

You can't really call something a review when there isn't a number(s) being slapped on a product. Atleast that's how i see it.

{Mod Edit}

How many people who post negative comments on these threads even play the game, or any of these games theyre posting on?  Yet how many people see the commentary and are influenced by it?

I purchased Earthrise on a whim, and got my copy a few days ago.  The problems do exist within the game.  Ive been playing these games, reviewing them, and working with developers on them for the past 14 years.

There is nothing new in the problems Earthrise is having.  Reporting like this is making a mountain out of a molehill.   Players then had problems with the launch quality of products, but they dealt with it and the products became great.    In 14 years the launch quality has not changed.  That should tell any intelligent person that it likely isnt going to... unless of course some studio is willing to shell out 100+ million dollars for development in order to make it happen.

This is a first impressions based on the game - a review is in the works but not enough time has elapsed to get a real grasp on things yet. As a site that concerns itself with all things MMORPG we can't censor our opinions incase we might make a game fail, that isn't good journalism or good sense. These are my first feelings of the game and what immediatley sprung to mind is "this cost X and this isn't up to standard". I'm aware that launches are difficult but Earthrise is exceptionaly unstable and the gameplay doesn't initially make up for its shortcomings. It is a heavy decision to trash a small indie developer but we can't as critics of the genre let this influence our opinions - we are reporting whether it is good or bad, nothing more. 

after i read in december 2010, that ER will launch in february 2011 all of a sudden, without a real open beta, i thought by myself: it might be, that somebody needs to make some money, before they have to close the doors.

after i have read this and other reviews, i feel fully reconfirmed. it makes a lot of sense to wait and see, if this game will still exist in May. and then read some articles again.

I am a longtime Darkfall and SWG player..  I am grateful for this review being I was looking into buying this game.  I was already aprehensive with the rushed launch and no type of beta or trial.  Looks like either a "get rich quick scheme" or just poor planning.  Either way they wont see my money until i see improvements.

Originally posted by djnexus

Why are companies allowed to release games in this state and make a profit. I think its bad business. While the game looks cool on paper, im all for it being a sandbox full on pvp like DF but at least wait until its ready.

 

If companies wouldn't be allowed to do this, we wouldn't have any competition and therefore would be stuck in ( crappy ) games from EA and Activision. It got way to expensive to develop a game and therefore small companies don't have money for fix every single issue and develop the game for 10 years.