With Perfect World being known for putting out a consistent flow of titles, such as Battle of the Immortals, it’s hard to overlook that one could only hope for more with their fresh release, War of the Immortals. Despite not being a direct sequel, there is no doubt that players have been looking forward to what may be another solid hack and slash title. But is it worth the download?
Aesthetics – 7.5/10
A couple of the things I enjoyed most about War of the Immortals are the sights and sounds. Given the way players will find themselves interacting with outside environments and more open areas, the characters can come off as being a bit distant. I almost feel like I’m controlling ponds on a chessboard. When in a group with other players, things tend to feel very cluttered. The viewing angles are not as adjustable as I would have liked either. However, that’s not to discredit the overall look of the game, because I feel the folks over at Perfect World really did a great job with the detailing and scope of the characters. Players will find that the environments in War of the Immortals are very open, bright, and vibrant. Moreover, my Ranger and young Duelist looked great, even from the start of the game.
The only complaint I had was that some of the edges of some of the designs and detailing are not very sharp and can come off a bit overwhelming. However, I cannot say that I had as many problems with the sounds of the game. I didn’t find myself playing my own playlist or music over the soundtrack and open sounds within the game, because I actually enjoyed them far more than I usually anticipate with MMOs. The soundtrack, for the most part, is very calm and has a soft tone to it that flows well with the game. You won’t be hearing too many obnoxious and incessant noises that will make you just revert back to other options. Overall, there is truly just this unique feeling that players will only find themselves to understand when they have experienced both Battle of the Immortals and War of the Immortals.
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Gameplay – 7/10
Much of the gameplay you will find when playing really is not that different or anything new and unexpected. You’ll start right off the bat with the traditional questing and methods of leveling: lots of running, gathering, and aimlessly meandering around zones. Leveling really is not incredibly time consuming, and I did not feel like my only objective in the game was to attain ranks with everybody else that plays. Although I could not experience every single dungeon in the game, I still had a fairly fun time. My only issue with most end-based objectives was that the combat system really isn’t all that engaging. However, the aesthetics of the game still tried to balance it out by making it at least look nice. That counts for something, right? There are eight different classes in the game: the Champion, Heretic, Magnus, Ranger, Berzerker, Enchantress, Duelist, and Slayer. Each class has its own unique role, which really does tend to make your overall playtime with the game personalized, something I thoroughly enjoyed about the system that was implemented. The pet system in the game, which I’ll bring up here in a bit again, is also super neat. I’m not going to lie, I probably spent more time working and looking up things for my pet than I did for myself and so the option is there for you. You can set your own pet to have different types of skills and abilities with its own unique role, making each person’s pet stand out from the rest.
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Innovation – 6/10
One of the major disappointments about War of the Immortals is regarding all of the new features: what we were hoping to see, what we haven’t seen, and what we probably won’t see. I don’t think it is entirely fair to only make comparisons based upon the indirect prequel, Battle of the Immortals; however, there simply has not been a strong delivery on what mechanics truly set War of the Immortals apart for how players would experience the game. If you have already dipped your foot into Battle of the Immortals, you will notice that War of the Immortals is strikingly similar. Although the game does feature a new storyline, there simply was not anything strikingly innovative or intriguing for me to say that War of the Immortals provides you something very original. What I did enjoy, however, was the pet system in the game. You can purchase a plethora of upgrades and skills for your pets, which does a touch of uniqueness to the game, especially when combined with your classes and roles.
Polish – 8/10
The overall polish of the game was fairly strong. Much of the reason for this is that Perfect World knows what they’re doing, and I mean it. A lot of the development and design is not something new for them. Battle of the Immortals really set the framework and ground for the release of War of the Immortals. Consequently, after doing solid work from the betas, it really shows that the overall experience you get from the game will be fairly smooth. Yes, there are minor issues here and there that I did have when I was grouping but nothing that hindered my gameplay and enjoying the game. The only thing, again, I could note as being bothersome is the viewing camera. I’m used to driving my mouse around all over the place, coupled with my AWSD movements, to accommodate precisely how I want to view my character within a specific setting in the area. Unfortunately, I just keep getting this feeling that I’m accommodating to the settings of the game, which does get annoying when you’re casually questing or doing something that may be clutch. Regardless, I would much rather be complaining about the camera system than having to tab out to restart the game because of regular server issues.
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Longevity – 6/10
This is where War of the Immortals takes a bit of a hit. Despite the additions with the release of the game, the appeal to want to play the game over a long and extended period of time simply is not there. Don’t get me wrong, the game definitely has its ups, but are there enough that will want to keep you going for the months to come? I’m not too sure. Part of the reason for this is that War of the Immortals is something you’ll either come to love or not find too much of an interest in. That’s not to note that is catered toward a single group of people but it does often seem to lend itself and Battle of the Immortals to be really enjoyed by a pretty solid, smaller community. With that in mind, we can’t exactly judge the game far too much, seeing as how the closed beta was only a couple months ago and the full entire breadth of future releases are still on the line.
Social – 7/10
When playing War of the Immortals, I just could not get over some of the confusion I had regarding the social aspect of the game. It almost seems like there is this conflict of interest regarding players who are stretched between the game and its indirect prequel, Battle of the Immortals. There is not a massive player base by any stretch of the imagination, but that is not to say that it completely takes away from your experience of the game, because there still seems to be a strong group of dedicated players that thoroughly enjoy what Perfect World has to offer. However, keep in mind that if you are a newcomer, I would highly recommend finding a group to cuddle with when you get the chance. A lot of the social base is clan and guild driven, so you won’t have to search too much to find the sufficient amount of regular players to make your experience with the game any less friendly than you would hope to expect.
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Value – 7.5/10
Players will be happy knowing that War of the Immortals is Free-to-Play, but unfortunately this trend of paying for goodies still follows. Thankfully, the depth of the game is not as centered on your ability to dish out your wallet as we have normally been finding with many other Free-to-Play games, as well as major P2P titles for that matter. Nonetheless, players have the option of purchasing many items for use that are not sold by NPCs directly within the game. I’m not going to lie, I did actually have quite a bit of fun seeing all the different abilities and strange things that your money can buy you within the game, but that’s not so much of a complaint as it is just seeing your available options. If you find yourself really getting into it, you might as well be spending the money you would have saved pushing out $15/month on top of the title on ZEN. Your overall experience of the game will be a bit more pleasant because you’ll be able to access things that only money can buy.
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Conclusion
In the end, I came out a fairly happy camper. Just like any other game, War of the Immortals has its ups and downs. However, unlike any other game War of the Immortals is going to provide you a unique experience that you really will only be able to understand once you check the game out for yourself. If you’re looking for a new MMORPG or are in the market to try out something you may have not played before, it is definitely worth giving this game a shot, because you may come out more satisfied than you came in.
