A surprisingly good game.

Garrik

So i decided to give Magic world online a try after seeing that it was added to the gamelist.

I did some reading on it before hand and i admit my first thought was hmmm built in bot system, but i decided i would give it a shot and report back here for anyone else who may have been skeptical.

Well, so far all i can say is this game is addictive and the bot system is very good. I'll do a quick summary of the pros and cons of the game from what iv seen so far to make it easier reading instead of a mighty wall of text.

Pros:

Smoothe 2D graphics - Old fashioned yes, but they are still well done with nice art. I would personally rather play a game with nice 2D's instead of a game with cheap 3D's as it is far nicer to look at. Another plus to 2D isometric graphics is that anyone can run them.

Quest's - Quests vary, there are normal kill tasks, escorts and even instances that move the story along and give you your job upgrades. i was particularly impressed with the instanced quests as you dont normally see that sort of variety in F2P games, you usually just get basic kill 20000 of this and that quests but so far this game has been different and actually enjoyable. The quests are also easy to track, as you can display your quest progress on screen just underneath the mini map.

Classes - Lots of classes ! every starter class gets 3 job upgrades as they go along, in total there are 12 differnt job upgrades to choose from, some lead onto others etc. Its abit hard to explain without pictures, so here is a link to them all http://mwo.enjoymmo.com/forum/thread-263-1-1.html all credits to Ryee, for the class guide.

Player Housing - Thats right a housing system, somthing that people always say they want. The houses are great and quite varied, you can also buy furniture and what not to decorate your home with. However it is quite expensive, but still very cool.

Mounts - Yup mounts of all different levels, again quite expensive, but another nice feature to have.

Weapon growing - One of the more interesting features of the game, from level 20 you can actually have your weapon grow along with you as you level by giving it a series of upgrades, it's a very cool feature indeed and i cant say i've ever seen it in another game.

Crafting - The crafting system is pretty damn good also, there is alot to do and alot that can be done within it, it has quite alot of different routes that the player can choose to go down and eventually they start to cross over each other, requiring different things from different trees to create a certain item. Iv not gone to far into it as of yet, but from what i've seen so far, i'm impressed.

Map and elites system - The elites are like sub-bosses and when killed drop pretty nifty items and usually a map piece. When you get 3 map pieces you can stack them together and it gives you coords to goto to dig up some treasure, the treasure is usually some form of rare item.

Video Chat - The game also has a built in video chat system, i can't say alot about it yet as i havn't tried it out. I still give it credit though, it is somthing new and somthing that hasn't been in an mmorpg before. All in all i think it will be a good community feature.

Game Masters - GM's that actually talk to the community and let us know whats going on, when and how long its going to take. Thats definatly somthing rare for mmo's these days.

Marriage system - Havn't seen or used it, but i guess it is still an extra feature for an love birds out there who want to show their love for each other in game.

Castle sieges - Not been in one yet, but PVP is always a good thing to have, especially when it involves battling for castles =D.

The BOT system - I was abit skeptical about this one i must admit and im sure alot of people who have looked into the game where also... Well what can i say, i actually like it, for a start it eliminates gold farmers and the botting taboo that every other game gets. It also allows casual players to be hardcore and hardcore gamers to get a life if they want to thus leveling the playing field for all.

There will still be quests to do and your bot cannot do them for you, so you will still have to actually play the game if you want to be anygood that is. Even with the botting system in the game, i dont find myself just leaving it on all the time, i do enjoy playing the actual game. The bot is just great though if you know your going to have a busy day, you can still feel like you are getting somewhere even when you are slaving away at a building site, or sat taking calls in an office.

The bot is also very well made, it can time skills, change gear when its breaking, warp you to town to get repairs and stock up, it can be set to go on a certain route and back killing everything between certain coordiantes that you set. It picks up loot and will sell the items that you set it to sell. It really is very well made and easy to use once you get your head round it.

Like i've already said i actually do like the bot now, i think it's a really neat idea, it does'nt cause any unbalance atall because everyone can level 24/7 if they wish to. There will be no advantage to the people who can play games all day long. Really all casual gamers and people who work 8 hours a day should be jumping for joy because this is a game that they can still compete fully in.

I've not found that the bot system has taken away from the community either, yes there are alot of people who are botting but there are also alot chatting and organising guilds etc, to my suprise it has'nt seemed to make that much difference.

Ok so now i'll move onto the cons so far.

Resolution - The graphics are well done for 2D, but right now they only have a maximum of 1024x768 resolution which is very anoying, but that should be sorted.

Slightly jerky movement - The movement can be abit jerky at times and a little bit unresponsive.

Finding coordinates - Although most quests give you the coords they are some times difficult to pin point on the game map.

Starting - The game can be a little confusing at the start, but once you get your bearings and you hit level 10 (doesnt take long at all) you will be fine though.

A PRO and CON in ONE:

Country chat - The country chat costs 1k for each shout that you make, i think thats a little high really although it does prevent spamming from taking place.

So far i'm enjoying the game, i'm finding it addictive and it's also making me abit nostalgic and that is a very good thing in my books.

That's all i can think of right now, i'll add more if i find/remember anything else.

Feel free to leave your comments and if you have played the game for atleast 10 levels let me know what you thought of it.

Thanks alot for reading. I'll end the post with a link to the main site to make it easier for anyone interested in checking the game out.

http://mwo.enjoymmo.com/

Garrik

Oh and just a note. I've noticed that some people are mindlessly knocking the game due to it having a built in bot. Well tell me, why does'nt EVE online get knocked for it, you can level your skills whilst offline in EVE, the only difference with Magic World is that your are gaining levels and not skills.

Ludwix

Thx man, was actually bored. Its gonna be nice break from EvE.

Dling right now.... 2.2GB.

Garrik

Yeh thats why i decided to download it, mainly due to being bored. Well altelast now i have somthing to play and somthing that can play itself whilst i work .

Hope you have fun. Let me know what you think.

niceron

 think the graphic animation need to be ++++

need more animation i think...

Ryee

Thank you Garrik, great review indeed...

Give the game time folks as it is barely out of CB1...it will improve as the community is small and we are all working together...

The game company is 5 notches above any other that I have known, and I have known many...

Only problem now is that you linked my Class Guide and now I'm going to have to finish it!!!  Lol, but the pictures do tell the story well in any event...I'll get it done before the end of the weekend...

percy1105

hey Garrik

i love mwo much this is first time i found a game  which my char canup level even i have to go to work its good game

when i back home i still can play and i don have to train hard [ working+ playing game at same time ]

 

good game mwo.

 

thank Garrik

Housam

are you kidding me it just looks so god dam awful

tailou

that video shows a bad example. I didn't played the game yet, but from the video all i can see is a fast/fowarded action and all turns pretty confused....

the house system is attractive, maybe could give it a try.. because nowadays it all seems so... quiet.

InAngus

all I wanna say is good luck to our MWO...

www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/338

Ex0dUs101

Ill give it a try, purely because it reminds me of diablo

Garrik

---

Originally posted by Housam

are you kidding me it just looks so god dam awful

---

I agree, that video isnt the best. Its far to fast, in game is alot better.

On a note anyone who gives this game a shot need to be able to accept isometric graphics. You have been warned =P.

asciirider

Great review!

I've been playing MWO since day one of the first CB test and I was instantly hooked., not only by the game iself but by the community. Only one other beta I've played has shown this amount of interaction betwennot only players, but GM's as well. There's even a MSN chat group started by the GM's for us to have easier access to them.

Also, seems like withthis game, without all the flashy graphics, quite a few passed on applying for CB1, leaving actual testers to play and our bug reports have helped the game immensely.

The only thing wrong in the original review is it's 500, not 1K for country chat, and world chat (to let the other faction hear as well) requires an item freom the cash shop. Now the 500 gold per message, along with the fact everyone can bot in this game and the fact that you can buy cash i nthe item mall is going to keep the gold farmers/spammers from wanting to even bother.

And to Housam, what's more important flashy graphics, or gameplay? I'd rather have a game with 2D graphics that's worth playing,  and has new features than a high graphic game that  is the same old same old WoW/EQ clone

resonate6

 

Originally posted by Garrik


So i decided to give Magic world online a try after seeing that it was added to the gamelist.
I did some reading on it before hand and i admit my first thought was hmmm built in bot system, but i decided i would give it a shot and report back here for anyone else who may have been skeptical.
Well, so far all i can say is this game is addictive and the bot system is very good. I'll do a quick summary of the pros and cons of the game from what iv seen so far to make it easier reading instead of a mighty wall of text.
Pros:
Smoothe 2D graphics - Old fashioned yes, but they are still well done with nice art. I would personally rather play a game with nice 2D's instead of a game with cheap 3D's as it is far nicer to look at. Another plus to 2D isometric graphics is that anyone can run them.
Quest's - Quests vary, there are normal kill tasks, escorts and even instances that move the story along and give you your job upgrades. i was particularly impressed with the instanced quests as you dont normally see that sort of variety in F2P games, you usually just get basic kill 20000 of this and that quests but so far this game has been different and actually enjoyable. The quests are also easy to track, as you can display your quest progress on screen just underneath the mini map.
Classes - Lots of classes ! every starter class gets 3 job upgrades as they go along, in total there are 12 differnt job upgrades to choose from, some lead onto others etc. Its abit hard to explain without pictures, so here is a link to them all http://mwo.enjoymmo.com/forum/thread-263-1-1.html all credits to Ryee, for the class guide.
Player Housing - Thats right a housing system, somthing that people always say they want. The houses are great and quite varied, you can also buy furniture and what not to decorate your home with. However it is quite expensive, but still very cool.
Mounts - Yup mounts of all different levels, again quite expensive, but another nice feature to have.
Weapon growing - One of the more interesting features of the game, from level 20 you can actually have your weapon grow along with you as you level by giving it a series of upgrades, it's a very cool feature indeed and i cant say i've ever seen it in another game.
Crafting - The crafting system is pretty damn good also, there is alot to do and alot that can be done within it, it has quite alot of different routes that the player can choose to go down and eventually they start to cross over each other, requiring different things from different trees to create a certain item. Iv not gone to far into it as of yet, but from what i've seen so far, i'm impressed.
Map and elites system - The elites are like sub-bosses and when killed drop pretty nifty items and usually a map piece. When you get 3 map pieces you can stack them together and it gives you coords to goto to dig up some treasure, the treasure is usually some form of rare item.
Video Chat - The game also has a built in video chat system, i can't say alot about it yet as i havn't tried it out. I still give it credit though, it is somthing new and somthing that hasn't been in an mmorpg before. All in all i think it will be a good community feature.
Game Masters - GM's that actually talk to the community and let us know whats going on, when and how long its going to take. Thats definatly somthing rare for mmo's these days.
Marriage system - Havn't seen or used it, but i guess it is still an extra feature for an love birds out there who want to show their love for each other in game.
Castle sieges - Not been in one yet, but PVP is always a good thing to have, especially when it involves battling for castles =D.
The BOT system - I was abit skeptical about this one i must admit and im sure alot of people who have looked into the game where also... Well what can i say, i actually like it, for a start it eliminates gold farmers and the botting taboo that every other game gets. It also allows casual players to be hardcore and hardcore gamers to get a life if they want to thus leveling the playing field for all.
There will still be quests to do and your bot cannot do them for you, so you will still have to actually play the game if you want to be anygood that is. Even with the botting system in the game, i dont find myself just leaving it on all the time, i do enjoy playing the actual game. The bot is just great though if you know your going to have a busy day, you can still feel like you are getting somewhere even when you are slaving away at a building site, or sat taking calls in an office.
The bot is also very well made, it can time skills, change gear when its breaking, warp you to town to get repairs and stock up, it can be set to go on a certain route and back killing everything between certain coordiantes that you set. It picks up loot and will sell the items that you set it to sell. It really is very well made and easy to use once you get your head round it.
Like i've already said i actually do like the bot now, i think it's a really neat idea, it does'nt cause any unbalance atall because everyone can level 24/7 if they wish to. There will be no advantage to the people who can play games all day long. Really all casual gamers and people who work 8 hours a day should be jumping for joy because this is a game that they can still compete fully in.
I've not found that the bot system has taken away from the community either, yes there are alot of people who are botting but there are also alot chatting and organising guilds etc, to my suprise it has'nt seemed to make that much difference.
Ok so now i'll move onto the cons so far.
Resolution - The graphics are well done for 2D, but right now they only have a maximum of 1024x768 resolution which is very anoying, but that should be sorted.
Slightly jerky movement - The movement can be abit jerky at times and a little bit unresponsive.
Finding coordinates - Although most quests give you the coords they are some times difficult to pin point on the game map.
Starting - The game can be a little confusing at the start, but once you get your bearings and you hit level 10 (doesnt take long at all) you will be fine though.
A PRO and CON in ONE:
Country chat - The country chat costs 1k for each shout that you make, i think thats a little high really although it does prevent spamming from taking place.


So far i'm enjoying the game, i'm finding it addictive and it's also making me abit nostalgic and that is a very good thing in my books.
That's all i can think of right now, i'll add more if i find/remember anything else.
Feel free to leave your comments and if you have played the game for atleast 10 levels let me know what you thought of it.
Thanks alot for reading. I'll end the post with a link to the main site to make it easier for anyone interested in checking the game out.
http://mwo.enjoymmo.com/
Garrik
Oh and just a note. I've noticed that some people are mindlessly knocking the game due to it having a built in bot. Well tell me, why does'nt EVE online get knocked for it, you can level your skills whilst offline in EVE, the only difference with Magic World is that your are gaining levels and not skills.
 
 

I'll give it a look-c. Thanks

markyturnip

Looking at your avatar, it dawns on me that Toejam and Earl online is the best idea since MUDs began

Kassiah

I had never even considered trying this game, or gave it much thought at all, until reading your review. Now I am going to download the game and give it a shot  I spent five years in Ultima Online, so 2d graphics are no problem for me at all.

 

Thanks!

kesleri

I played this game for like 15 minutes before i had to make sure it wasn't a good game, this game is just donkey poo.

Ingaaa

Originally posted by kesleri


I played this game for like 15 minutes before i had to make sure it wasn't a good game, this game is just donkey poo.

Uhmmm, i dono think so, This game is absolutely fabulous.

i can bot my char even i have to go to work

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

asciirider

Originally posted by kesleri


I played this game for like 15 minutes before i had to make sure it wasn't a good game, this game is just donkey poo.

Yes I'm SO sure you can make an informed decision of a game in 15 minutes..

Don't knock a game until you've actually tried it people.  It takes hours to get a valid opinion.  When I first started playing back at the beginning of CB1, I almost gave up after 30 minutes and moved on.  However, after playing a little longer and actually bothereing to LEARN the game, I got addicted, and wound up as one of the highest level summoners until the wipe.

 

Now giving a game 15 minutes means you have the attention span of pocket lint. I have ADHD, and takes a lot to keep my attention focused, this game does it. And when I drift off... well the bot's there for me.

 

People if you're going to slam a game at LEAST give it a chance, some do that a lot without even downloading, let alone bothing to play it.

decease

also there is guild base system... hiring soldier.. and fight along the guild war    remind me might and magic XD

vicaro

is it a good game?

can someone tell me some details about this game?

Ingaaa

Originally posted by vicaro


is it a good game?
can someone tell me some details about this game?

Review at mmosite, kinda nice review...

http://feature.mmosite.com/content/2008-03-23/20080323181113761,1.shtml

Arawon

Thanks for the extensive review.I appreciate the work that went into it.

niceron

Garrik made a great job too...

thank you, Garrik

lorechaser

What's MWO going to do for end game content, and longevity?

If people can bot up the levels, it's only a matter of time before people have maxed all classes (far less time than a traditional MMO).  What then?  What keeps people from getting there, getting bored, and moving on?

That's an honest question - those of you with experience with the game - have they addressed that?  Is there something to deal with it?  Is the answer "PvP and RvR"?  Or is there more to it?

gath

Originally posted by lorechaser


What's MWO going to do for end game content, and longevity?
If people can bot up the levels, it's only a matter of time before people have maxed all classes (far less time than a traditional MMO).  What then?  What keeps people from getting there, getting bored, and moving on?
That's an honest question - those of you with experience with the game - have they addressed that?  Is there something to deal with it?  Is the answer "PvP and RvR"?  Or is there more to it?

What keeps that from happening is basically, hte insane amount of time needed to lvl, at high lvls.

Late 40s you take 2 days non-stop bot same lvl mobs to get 1 level up.

Imagine at lvl 60-70... still, isnt that far out, my guess, and can be done.

 

Now, what is waiting for you end game:

RvR (cant say how good/bad it is, havent tryed it, not sure anyone even tryed it...)

Then... you can "grow" your weapon. Growing a weapon is similar to getting a weapon from (+1) to (+2) and so on, from other games, incase you know. But this time, you might just lose the weapon all togheter if you fail. So, you have to farm for mats/gold, or just buy mats/gold from the game "Mall" (by real $) and try over and over.

Slightly over 1 week played, cant see anything else to do late game... except camp neutral maps and kill enemy bots, but i guess that will become old very fast.