Vanguard - A Vintage Treasure

kftaurus

Well I can honestly say I am pleasantly surprised… After a few years of stale MMOs including F2P re-releases I decided to give Vanguard another shot.  It has been a long time since I have truly enjoyed an MMO, a lot of them out there try really hard to succeed but for some reason do not grasp my attention nor my imagination.  This is simply not the case with Vanguard.  I realize it is an old game, and there are a few negatives to the game that I have already noticed but I think it has some redeeming qualities for those with a bit of patience.  I have been playing only for a bit (level 13) but I am going to try to sum up my experience in a short pros and cons (equal amounts to be fair) list for anyone considering giving it a shot (although everyone should now that it’s free!)

Pros:

·         Sense of nostalgia, while not something that seems like a good thing, in this case it is.  Remnants of EQ days are surely to hit that comfort feeling for our longer playing MMO-aholics.

·         Deep systems, crafting is amazingly complex and nothing like most click to create systems and diplomacy is one of the more unique minigames I have played in a game in a while and is an interesting take on faction relationship building.

·         Combat is surprisingly difficult depending on what it is you are trying to do (negative for this incoming later).

·         Community is great, most of the players are extremely helpful so far with the exception of a few.

Cons:

·         Outdated graphics, not really a con in my opinion but I know that is a turn off to some amongst us.

·         Game engine is a little rough around the edges and produces some odd moments including clipping and constant minor frame issues (not really too noticeable after playing for a bit).

·         Combat feels a little slow/sluggish, maybe because it is based off older styles of combat in MMOs but it just lacks a certain oomph to it.

·         Small player base in the starting areas, although this is changing every day with the F2P bringing players in.

All in all (TL;DR) the game is a great homage to older games, although feeling a bit archaic at times due to an older engine and graphics it may be exactly what some of you are looking for.  I would especially recommend it for those who complain of newer MMOs being too simplistic or being too clone-like to their counterparts.  Hope to see you in game, it deserves a second chance.

gexz7

I really have to object to outdated grahpics, if you mean to imply they do not look like cartoons then you are correct.

However although the models are not the best, they are still better than any other game and the level of detail and drawing inclduing artistic value has no equal.  Now it might take a rig to run it, I am not saying that but outdated is a poor camparision concerning the graphics

 

kftaurus

I respect your opinion, without a doubt I have no issue with the graphics.  Although to say that they could stack up with MMOs releasing today I think is not correct.  I have setting maxed as my computer can definitely handle it, as you implied that they aren't that great otherwise, but I still think they are slightly outdated.  They do not look bad, just not nearly as smooth for character models and edges as other modern games.  The draw distance and artistic direction itself is incredible though, that I will give credit for where credit is due.  To each his own I guess, just trying to give a reasonable review of a game that I think deserves a bit more attention especially now that it is F2P while trying to remain as objective as possible.

gexz7

I agree with what you are saying but I think when you have a more realistic engine it may not look as new as say as GW2 or Tera but again thoese games are more cartoony so to speak, I did not mean to imply that the lower settings are less grahically oriented, I am not, what I am saying is the 3D control is for items drawn on a map, high perormance leaves out bushes and fences with overgrowth whereas the highest graphical settings includes these items, draw distanct txture map and spell density are all different controllable items, so for me high performance with everything else jacked looks more real and more pleasing than my computer trying to hiccup  through 100 inoranate objcts all over the field I am crossing, but to each his own

 

sylentnyte

IF you force AA or use an injector with vanguard you are in for an absolutely amazing visual treat.

without those though...game still looks pretty decent

Lethal920

For any of those wondering about how Vanguard runs, I just purchased a $400 laptop from Walmart and it runs Vanguard smoothly on medium.

Adamantine

I have no complaints about the graphics. I always run on low though, I'm a powergamer, I hate the idea to lose a combat because of graphics lag.