Well it did not take long! Valorus you might want to read! The reason I said fanbois (in a childish way as you rudely put it) is that this is not a hate vanguard post. I did not want them to come here and say I was trashing Vanguards performance because I hated it. Haters would not flame a hate thread they would support it! Fanbois on the other hand would flame because they would feel I was trashing Vanguard. It would have been nice if you had just answered the question or ignore the post. I said that in the original post because I did not want people to view this as a vanguard bashing. I realized some zealous fans would think that. I wanted an honest answer to an honest question. If you read you would see I want to play the game and want to see if it improved when it went live. You on the other hand did what I had hoped no one would feel the need to do, Insults and name calling. Also notice I did not feel the need to insult you. If your thoughts did not matter to me then why would I have started this thread. Also, indeed with a system like mine I had real performance problem hence the post. If you have read any of my posts or reviews you would see I am not a game trasher in anyway and am very experienced in forums with almost 10 years of mmorpg experience. This was a honest question that insulted no one.

Tonyshad079 here is the site I mentioned for testing system requirements for games www.systemrequirementslab.com you can test your system requirements for many game there including Vanguard and when I did the test I maxed all the requirments but I still got poor preformance in the beta. I realize games can improve when they go live so I wanted others input without the name calling or flames you tend to get in game forums when you even hint a game may not be perfect.

Ok here is my take on Vanguard. I was in the beta. I lasted 2 days for only one reason performance! Performance is everything. The reason WoW is so popular is not the gameplay it is performance. It plays well on most systems. I prefer 1280x1024 as my res. in games. My system can handle 1600x1200 but i pefer 1280x1024. I play with that res with all graphic maxed in EQ2 and get over 30fps. I went to system lab do do the test for vanguard I maxed every requirement. I run amd 4600 duel core, ati crossfire 2 x1600 videos cards (each 512), system ram is 2 gigs so this is a pretty good gaming box. Yet in beta Vanguards performance was terrible even at balanced. This box should be able to handle Vanguard with most graphic maxed.

I want honest assesment of games performance now that it has gone live. I really wanted to play this game. I really want to like it. I am not trashing it in anyway. So fanbois no flames here. With a box that cost well over 2k I should be able to play Vanguard at high setting with good performance at the lower res of 1280x1024. I play many system heavy games with graphic maxed with no problems. EQ2 looks fantastic and performs extremely well. I will not settle for low graphic setting to play Vanguard. That is my problem I want to play but in beta it look horrible at low settings and great at high settings but performance was terrible. Has performance improved now that it is live? So you know I will not play with settings low so do not bother suggesting that road. Sigil has a potential great game but with poor performance on a box like mine they will not realize the games population possiblities. I have read other threads here and at other sites and performance seems to be a big issue with Vanguard. Really is to bad a game with so much potential fall short do to performance issues even on a good machine.

I agree with Micona what brostyn says is simply not true. There are players everywhere. I can be in the most remote area at 3am and still find players. EQ2 is full of content with the addition of EoF you have a couple years to explore all the content if you take your time READ and do not just power level. I left EQ2 for about 1 year to play WoW. Had fun but got really bored with WoW once lvl 60 was reached. I planned on returning to WoW with Burning Crusades but I deleted Wow from my pc, since I am having so much fun in EQ2. 

I thought I would give EQ2 another try, I was glad I did. When I logged in my toons were still there and SOE gave me all the veteran rewards as if I had been playing the whole time. My house and all its stuff was there which really impressed me. I needed to relearn a lot so I started a new toon. The game play and crafting changed a lot and for the better. With all the added new content I was amazed at how big Norrath had become. It seems like everyday I still find something new. I am no fan of SOE I was a pre-nge SWG player that got screwed I am also not a EQ2 fanboi. I have played mmorpgs for almost 10 years now and tried most of them. EQ2 is one of the best deepest mmos out at the moment. So many who post and review here say the craziest things about EQ2 as if they never even played it. I say come back you will enjoy EQ2.

I am open to all opinions and godpuppet has his. I know nothing about his post in the past never read any. If he hates the game so much and has no other agenda regarding SoE. why is he wasting his (or her) time in the forums of a game they think sucks? I hate RYL terrible game and I have never posted once in it's forums, why, because I hate the game, like godpuppet does with EQ2, so I do not want to waste my time there for any reason. Also I have not seen a reply as to why he thinks EQ2 sucks. Don't both telling me to read his old posts in other threads, I am in this one. The reason I say this is EQ2 does not suck. If you are an mmo player and have tried as many games as most of us have you know this. You may not like EQ2 but to say it sucks is silly. I do not like WoW I do not play it anymore but it does not suck.  I do not like RYL and it sucks and most here would agree. It sucks because it is a poorly designed game. No matter what some say EQ2 is an amazing and polished game. Some may not like it but to say it sucks simply is not true. (let's not start a debate on the definition of "sucks")

It would be easy to write pages on EQ2 how deep it is and great looking. I will not mention all the mmo I have played and beta'd. I have a decade of mmo experience. I have played all the game listed on mmorpg.com's top ten list. EQ2 is great for the following: 1) Best graphic out (but you better have the system, steep requirments) 2) sound is fantastic and uses 3d effect extremely well 3) smart deep storyline to follow 4) interesting content for all gameplay styles (solo, small group, raids)  5) Crafting (I hate crafting but EQ2 does it well and I even do some) 6) Fun quest 7) player housing and collectibles for them 8) many different styles of horse mounts and flying carpets 9) amazing enviroments to explore, great fun dungeons, water enviroments you actually fight,explore and swim in 10) one of the best mature players bases in any mmo. There are many, many more reasons whyEQ2 does not suck. EQ2 many not be the game for everyone but even if you do not like it, it simply does not suck. 

I play all 3 games you mention but left WoW for good recently. All three EQ2, WoW, and GW have strong points. I am not a WoW hater. However if you are looking for a persistent world that seems alive. Or a game that has more things to do then fight and level. Then, Eq2 is the game to play. Be warned you need a hefty computer to play it to enjoy it's true beauty. If you have the system EQ2 is an amazing looking game with great 3d sound.

The quests are fun and varied although there are the rinse and repeat quests too like in other mmos at times. The crafting system is deep and varied. As a non crafter in games I actually do some in EQ2 because it is fun and you make cool stuff. There is player housing with cool collectables and player made stuff for your house. I love working on my player houses. There are mounts in the form of horses of many types and flying carpets. The world of Norrath is huge if you have all the expansions. Much bigger then WoW. 3 starting cities gives variety to beginning play. Many races to choose from. If you want to be a frog go for it. Many professions to go along with them. Also a great storyline.

All in All, with 9 years of mmos experience I feel EQ2 is the best mmorpg out at the moment and will hold up for years to the new ones coming out. If you are not a grinder, enjoy exploring and being in a living game world, then you will have years of content to go through. This is a game I rarely feel bored in. It seems just as i start to feel a bit bored something new and amazing happens when i least expect it. SOE has messed up more then one game but they have handled EQ2 right. I highly recommend this one and at less then 40 buck for game and all 3 main expansions a great value as well.

I love mmorpg.com a lot. I agree often with so many of your editorials and reviews. I like how you seem to be unbiased but you lost me on these awards this year. They will mean nothing to me. Eve and WoW the only choices for best game and other awards. Give me a break! I think your reader review lists speak to were WoW sits and that is not at the top. EQ2 has gone up in ratings this year because SOE has done a great job improving this game. Yet EQ2 is not in the running for best pve or game. Just because WoW has a large customer base does not mean it is the best game. Same holds true for Eve but I at least understand why Eve is listed.

There is more to mmorpgs then WoW and for that matter Eve.Both are fine games but I think you sold many other games short. Have fun with your awards this year I will not even care what the results are. The winners will not be the best, they maybe the most popular but far from the best. Don't follow the lead of movies Academy Awards. Let us pick the true winners for their merit not what is the most popular. I will vote again next year if you actually give me a few choices. Sorry to the staff at mmorpg I love you all but you dropped the ball on this one.

If your stance is these are the games the voter picked then add 4 or 5 choices to the final voting not just 2. One way you can fix this is call the awards like best game "The most popular game" not best game. I would think the readers choices would closely match your viewer rating top 10 list. However, I am not to bright but at least I am good looking.

The following is part of another post I started but has some of my opinions on the graphics in game.

The graphic and look of EQ2 has been changing in each expansion. I mentioned earlier I am a college art professor. This is my take on the graphic as compared to WoW. They are both great graphic but different styles. I would say WoW is like great cartoon art and EQ2 is like a great fine art masterpiece. Both good types of art but different and player react to them differently. I find EQ2 to be much better and really amazing if you have the system to max them. Some people are seduced by the colorful (but very static) look of WoW and they miss the amazing look of EQ2. EoF addressed a bit of that by making the world more colorful and dense. One thing I find great about EQ2 is the world seems more alive then WoW. All the trees and plants sway in the wind. The enviroments change depending on weather or time of day and they are different all the time not every sunset or storm has the same look. The creatures in EQ2 seem to move and act with more purpose then in WoW. I challenge people who say EQ2 graphic are flat to look with better eyes. I truely do not understand people who claim EQ2 looks dull. That is simply not true. It must be they are playing on lower end systems with graphic turned down.

Rattrap I would say go for it but start a new character that begins in Faydark, A fae, an elf, or a dwarf. The graphic and look of EQ2 has been changing in each expansion. I mentioned earlier I am a college art professor. This is my take on the graphic as compared to WoW. They are both great graphic but different styles. I would say WoW is like great cartoon art and EQ2 is like a great fine art masterpiece. Both good types of art but different and player react to them differently. I find EQ2 to be much better and really amazing if you have the system to max them. Some people are seduced by the colorful (but very static) look of WoW and they miss the amazing look of EQ2. EoF addressed a bit of that by making the world more colorful and dense. One thing I find great about EQ2 is the world seems more alive then WoW. All the trees and plants sway in the wind. The enviroments change depending on weather or time of day and they are different all the time not every sunset or storm has the same look. The creatures in EQ2 seem to move and act with more purpose then in WoW. I challenge people who say EQ2 graphic are flat to look with better eyes. I truely do not understand people who claim EQ2 looks dull. That is simply not true. It must be they are playing on lower end systems with graphic turned down.

I do agree that armor could use more work adding dyes to customize would help. However the armor detail itself is amazing. Your character seems to be wearing armor not just having graphics pasted to them as in WoW. Every chain in chainmail is detailed, again to really appreciate the look you do need a strong system. WoW is a better choice for players with lower end system. SOE has improved overall game and client performance it seems with each expansion. One thing I love is housing in EQ2. I have a big manor house and love decorating it with all the cool collectabls and player made items in game. This gives me a feeling of ownership that was lacking in WoW.

I am pushing EQ2 not because I want more people to play but I truely feel people who are not trying it are missing the best MMO out at the moment. EQ2 did not start out that way but over the last two years it has evolved into the best. I left EQ2 for almost a year to go to WoW ( I had a great time in WoW until lvl 60) but boy am I glad I returned. As far as a few comment that EQ2 is just another raid game that is also untrue. Sure there is raiding but at lvl 70 there are still many things to do. I am mostly a solo player and hardly ever raid. When I do raids are fun and not repetitive like WoW. One last thing, the maturity of the player base is better then in Wow. I recomend EQ2 over WoW to all you ancient players like myself. My guild is active, large, and filled with players mostly over 30 and a bunch well over 40. EoF added the needed polish to EQ2 and glorious that polish is!