It's really unfortunate: way back when, this was one of the most honest gaming sites on the web. Money corrupts.
Bill Murphy is a symptom of the problem at MMORPG.com, not the cause. The web site treats major advertisers with kid gloves, and in doing so, effectively endorses those advertisers' fraudulent business practices. As such, they are their own worse enemy; MMORPG.com risks losing its forum-goers -- like so many other sites -- because it has lost all credibility as an unbiased and objective game-reviewing site. No web hits means no advertising dollars.
Whether talking about BioWare's SW-TOR or Zenimax's ESO, the games were not ready for release. Period. Neither game was adequately tested; both games had/have not just bugs, but major design flaws; both games were released when they were, I suspect, as "cash-grabs" because the development teams had overspent their budgets (probably a large portion of that on voice-overs and marketing hype).
No tap-dancing around the issues can change reality. No "soft porn" review can cloud the reality of what players are experiencing. It's not just the number of bugs that are an issue, it's the extraordinary variation of types of bugs which suggest this game was very poorly tested... not just in Beta, but also in Alpha, which suggests a very unprofessional development team.
Really do you play the game at all??? Or are you just spouting whatever argument you read on the internet as truth? I actually play the game have for 2 weeks now probably 40+ hours. Now maybe I'm just super lucky but I haven't run into any game breaking bugs, in fact since actual release (not early access) I can honestly say the only bug I may have run into in sound cutting out during some cut scenes and most likely its my drivers not being up to date. (relogging always fixes the problem)
But you and a few other Non-players come shouting how there are millions of bugs and how almost everyone is effected because you read some post from unknown internet poster Xs. Seriously If their were as many bugs as you like to claim Id expect to hear about it in game, but I can't say I have. In fact in game chat seems pretty damn positive about the game with people having fun.
Sorry but in the end I'll take my own experience over you and your non-playing crowd bellowing about what some stranger on the internet posted with no proof. The only thread I've seen here at MMORPG where the poster actually posted his system showed the problem not to be bugs but that his systems power source was way under par for the system he was running
You assume they are not playing and there are hundreds if not thousands of posts across the internet pointing to the same problems. I guess you truly are super lucky. Must be nice being so lucky as you walk around with rose-colored sunglasses.
and you don't even play the game but assume what may well be a vocal minority of less then 1% is the majority??? LOL please since you seem to believe everything you read maybe I could sell you a bridge because you know there's no way any of those bugs could be from players with systems that don't meet specs, or trolls, nope that could never be. Now I admit there are bugs I rather doubt there are the thousands of bugs being experienced by the majority you as a non-player claim. My own experience sure isn't the same as yours. Oh wait that's right you don't play so you have no actual experience.
Originally posted by Ragnar1337 This game is total garbage and all of these sites trying to sugar coat it are kind of embarrassing at this point. The game is a very poorly designed cash grab off the Elder Scrolls name and it will most certainly be the biggest flop of 2014. When will these studios try to actually make a good game rather than make a big budget marketing hype campaign that crashes and burns in the first year? As long as fanboys keep throwing money at trash like ESO we will keep getting games like this.
As long as fanboys keep throwing money at trash F2P games we will keep getting games like those too.... point being?
My friends and I are having a great time in ESO. Sorry it wasn't to your liking. I highly doubt this will be a flop. If anything, I think it will become more popular as bugs get fixed and more people play the game. What's in the game now is good and fun... not revolutionary, but entertaining none the less.
I don't think the business model has anything to do with the game being a piece of crap. I'm sure Elder Scrolls fans will enjoy this game for about 2 months but after that it's over with. This game just fails as an MMORPG, it servers no purpose other than to play skyrim at the same time as other people. Once people play through the story lines there is nothing left. That pitiful excuse for a pvp mechanic which is nothing but a big instanced MOBA if anything will not keep people paying a monthly sub. Even if it goes F2P it still has nothing to offer long term and it looks like it was completely designed that way.
You think its a piece of crap sorry but that's just your opinion others may share it but there's a lot of us playing and having fun. Now you'll probably say we're idiots because you are all knowing and we don't share your opinion but hell I can live with that as you haven't shown yourself to be anything more then average internet poster from the shadows that believes he is always right and that there's only one play style ever (yours) I'd say your limited ability to see anything other then your view point speaks volumes. Have fun with your hate, I'll have fun in the game.
I think overall he is correct but is being a jerk about it.
I am not trolling- If you look at my post history from way back regarding ESO I have always stated that ES is my favorite game series and Morrowind my favorite game. I stated that ESO would be nothing special but having played the series and owned every game new since daggerfall- I would buy it and give it a few months.
-You can watch my opinion change as the Beta happens and certain actions regarding the company became evident. Making me decide to pass.
In my opinion this WAS just a cash grab. Rahter than making a good game with longevity, they made a quick cash grab game that is entertaining but will fade very quickly and transition to a F2P game with a cash shop. That isnt trolling, that is what my opinion is based on following this game and beta testing... It really isnt very good.
Is there fun to have- Yeah. I imagine everyone will get a couple good months of fun with this. Some will play much longer- Overall- Something which COULD have been awesome and have the name to be BIG is a mediocre game by a company that is seeming to flounder in many ways.
Am I right? Time will tell. I hope not. In a year I hope I have been proven wrong and the game has depth and staying power...That there is still a sub without a Ca$H $hop...THEN I will play and be happy I was mistaken.
I think I am right though. This doesnt make me happy. I want to be wrong, in this instance and hope I ultimatley am.
Originally posted by Ragnar1337 This game is total garbage and all of these sites trying to sugar coat it are kind of embarrassing at this point. The game is a very poorly designed cash grab off the Elder Scrolls name and it will most certainly be the biggest flop of 2014. When will these studios try to actually make a good game rather than make a big budget marketing hype campaign that crashes and burns in the first year? As long as fanboys keep throwing money at trash like ESO we will keep getting games like this.
As long as fanboys keep throwing money at trash F2P games we will keep getting games like those too.... point being?
My friends and I are having a great time in ESO. Sorry it wasn't to your liking. I highly doubt this will be a flop. If anything, I think it will become more popular as bugs get fixed and more people play the game. What's in the game now is good and fun... not revolutionary, but entertaining none the less.
I don't think the business model has anything to do with the game being a piece of crap. I'm sure Elder Scrolls fans will enjoy this game for about 2 months but after that it's over with. This game just fails as an MMORPG, it servers no purpose other than to play skyrim at the same time as other people. Once people play through the story lines there is nothing left. That pitiful excuse for a pvp mechanic which is nothing but a big instanced MOBA if anything will not keep people paying a monthly sub. Even if it goes F2P it still has nothing to offer long term and it looks like it was completely designed that way.
You think its a piece of crap sorry but that's just your opinion others may share it but there's a lot of us playing and having fun. Now you'll probably say we're idiots because you are all knowing and we don't share your opinion but hell I can live with that as you haven't shown yourself to be anything more then average internet poster from the shadows that believes he is always right and that there's only one play style ever (yours) I'd say your limited ability to see anything other then your view point speaks volumes. Have fun with your hate, I'll have fun in the game.
I think overall he is correct but is being a jerk about it.
I am not trolling- If you look at my post history from way back regarding ESO I have always stated that ES is my favorite game series and Morrowind my favorite game. I stated that ESO would be nothing special but having played the series and owned every game new since daggerfall- I would buy it and give it a few months.
-You can watch my opinion change as the Beta happens and certain actions regarding the company became evident. Making me decide to pass.
In my opinion this WAS just a cash grab. Rahter than making a good game with longevity, they made a quick cash grab game that is entertaining but will fade very quickly and transition to a F2P game with a cash shop. That isnt trolling, that is what my opinion is based on following this game and beta testing... It really isnt very good.
Is there fun to have- Yeah. I imagine everyone will get a couple good months of fun with this. Some will play much longer- Overall- Something which COULD have been awesome and have the name to be BIG is a mediocre game by a company that is seeming to flounder in many ways.
Am I right? Time will tell. I hope not. In a year I hope I have been proven wrong and the game has depth and staying power...That there is still a sub without a Ca$H $hop...THEN I will play and be happy I was mistaken.
I think I am right though. This doesnt make me happy. I want to be wrong, in this instance and hope I ultimatley am.
No game is for everyone I know a few people who don't like TESO because its not Skyrim enough for them no problem with that. I know others who Dislike TESO because its not like other MMO's they have enjoyed in the past That would true too.
Currently I'm having fun, you might be right though in a few months it might not be fun to me anymore, Hell Skyrim got old to me after 4-5 months and hundreds of hours played. Nothing last forever. If Zenimax does keep up with putting new content in regularly I think I'll stick with ESO longer then any MMO I've played in the last 6-7 years though. Lots of IF's
I'm not saying ESO doesn't have its share of problems, nore am I saying it's for everyone or a WoW killer. On the other hand neither am I searching the internet for posts from people I don't know and that have no factual credibility past the point they can type, to use as a reason not to play.
You are saying that it doesn't have longetivity while the game is not even 1 month old. We have no idea what Zenimax is preparing for us, while at the same time Craglorn, the first raid, is around the corner. it's people like you who are destroying games by saying that it has nothing to offer and that you have nothing to do once u hit max lvl. It's clear that you are NOT even VR10.
How can u know what it has to offer if u haven't hitted max lvl? I am VR10 and i have to tell u that it has a lot to offer, even right now, without the Craglorn.
Play the game first, and then comment on it.
P.S Most of the "haters" haven't gone past the starting zone, or even more, they haven't even bought the game and they base everything on that one beta weekend they played and the articles they read around.
I went into this game in pure MMO burn out. I have tried a ton of them and hated them all in the recent batch. So when my wife, who played the beta begged me to pre-order and play with her I was drug kicking and screaming into this game. I started play during the early launch, skipping the beta so I would not be burned out from the start.
I am a huge fan of the Elder Scrolls series and RPGs in general, which is why I have hate so many of the new MMO releases, they seem to have left out the RPG. So I was already hating this game before I launched.
Four hours later of game play with my wife I was hooked. ESO is not the best MMO out there but at least they attempted to make the RPG front line in the game. The game has more of an RPG feel than any other MMO I have seen right now and in fact feels a lot like the MMOs we loved in the early days.
There are flaws no doubt but to be honest this is expected. An MMO is a huge undertaking and is meant to be enjoyed like a good TV series, something that grows and deepens over time.
I wanted, when I started to scream about the monthly cost and high up front cost and how going MMO would ruin an great RPG IP. Truth is now I will gladly pay the money and even bought a copy for a friend to just try so he can join us. Overall this is an MMO that I actually want to play, something I cannot say about the others.
Kudos for doing a staged review instead of rushing through as much as you can in 5 hours and call it good.
I'd petition for Bill to get to endgame before pronouncing a verdict. Typically, games hit a bit of a slog in their leveling during the second half/last third. Also, what quality is the endgame? Remember that that was one of the serious problems with SWTOR, and one of the things people complain about in GW2. It's a bad start that a big part of the end game, aka adventure zones, will be patched in later in EOS, but if that happens before 70-80% of the people hit cap it's ok, I guess.
Anyway, staged reviews = a great step towards getting a comprehensive review of an MMO. Please don't falter right before the finish line.
Nice review, although I don't really see ESO as the best dungeons the entire gaming industry offers, I think it compliments the RPG part of the game fantastic.
This game is unquestionably the best Questing and Adventure an mmorpg has seen since Mines of Moria. While I don't think the Dungeons are the strongest point, and others might be more satisfied with Wildstars dungeons, I can definitely say that ESO has some really challenging dungeons on par with FFXIV dungeons and has great storylines behind them.
Yep, the dungeons are uninspired, with traps that are a complete joke for the most part. With many you can just walk along the side and avoid them. I'm disappointed they seemed to rush their designs, too many of them come off as cookie-cutter and lacking challenge.
Otherwise I completely agree with you, strong questing and adventuring.
Originally posted by Panzerbase This is seems like a piece of prep for a high score, the game has some serious issues, you simply can't wave them off by saying you're having fun. The dungeons are linear, repetitive, and at wow normal dungeon levels of difficulty. I think the safest bet here for someone interested in trying ESO is wait out the initial launch and see if they have any major changes coming down the pipeline.
Ok I have to say something, isn't the main point of gaming to have fun?
If the reviewer is having 'said fun', isn't that the MAIN thing we should focus on in game reviews?
Originally posted by Panzerbase This is seems like a piece of prep for a high score, the game has some serious issues, you simply can't wave them off by saying you're having fun. The dungeons are linear, repetitive, and at wow normal dungeon levels of difficulty. I think the safest bet here for someone interested in trying ESO is wait out the initial launch and see if they have any major changes coming down the pipeline.
A reviewers Job is to give their overall Verdict, they very much can sweep issues aside in their review, as that's the point, does the good outweigh the bad? ON the other hand they can sweep all the good away in the end as well, if warranted... As long as they acknowledge those issues. I'd say at this point there's little point in them being named in single order, they're widely known. Just saying "the issues" alludes everyone to the subject at hand.
The point of any review now is to say whether what lies under those issues is worth the headache. I get the impression from even some of the more negative posters around here, that in the end it is ( at least the PVP), though I get the opposite vibe from some of the more pro ESO posters. THey seem to point toward a wait and see stance.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
"Hopefully XP on the mobs inside will be rebalanced one day for those who do like to grind."
Hopefully not, grinding is the bane of MMOs. When ESO was in the design stage they said they wanted to steer clear of grinding gameplay. If you want to grind, ESO is not a game for you.
I'll disagree, I enjoy it.
And if they did "rebalance" so one could grind I don't really see the issue as one could do the quests OR "grind". t's only a grind if one thinks it's a grind, remember that.
Doing quests can also be "a grind".
Last night I stopped doing quests just so I could stay in an area and kill monsters as I sort of "wanted to do something".
I think that's the real issue with quests. Though I think Elder Scroll ONlines quests are the best (though the Secret World has more thinking involved in many of theirs) if one is only doing quests then one isn't really doing any combat. I suspect the desire to fight monsters is the desire to be in combat.
Quite happy players want to fight monsters, and give them a reward, just not xp. Gold maybe, prestige points, something like that.
had fun until yesterday. i play almost every day, but this game just doesn't like two players to team up. lots of times i end uo doing things solo with a floating V where my buddy is. He is more active then i am and usually a little ahead of me. So he has done several quests that i haven't done. and tadaa... i end up doing them solo. I am dissapointed that the only way to do things together is to play the character only when you buddy is online. (no way thats going to happen all the time)
I'm not a fan of combat (i like it, but i suck at it) so i team up with someone that actually doesn't suck at it. Together we can be a strong team, but this game doesn't like that so don't expect us to be running together. Since we can't play together we decided both to end our subscription. have fun, "onward to the next game"
this game would get a 6/10 max.
1) there is no way i can change appearance
2) not possible to upgrade items that i like to my current level
3) too many items and too little storage space.
4) only a few filters to find what you looking for
5) looks-nice-but-i think-it-stinks selection wheel to find an item to use in combat
6) for me personal: all combat seems to be more effective if you do it ranged. in close combat your toast way too quickly. i just dont like ranged. (as i said... i suck at combat)
7) i cant play all the time with a friend unless you both do the same quests together.
so for point 6 it probably me and therefore not a big issue.
i don't like the fact that i can't progress a quest until i am 5 or 6 levels above what is supposed to be green.. (again, this is me sucking at combat.... don't mind...)
Originally posted by Panzerbase This is seems like a piece of prep for a high score, the game has some serious issues, you simply can't wave them off by saying you're having fun. The dungeons are linear, repetitive, and at wow normal dungeon levels of difficulty. I think the safest bet here for someone interested in trying ESO is wait out the initial launch and see if they have any major changes coming down the pipeline.
A reviewers Job is to give their overall Verdict, they very much can sweep issues aside in their review, as that's the point, does the good outweigh the bad? ON the other hand they can sweep all the good away in the end as well, if warranted... As long as they acknowledge those issues. I'd say at this point there's little point in them being named in single order, they're widely known. Just saying "the issues" alludes everyone to the subject at hand.
The point of any review now is to say whether what lies under those issues is worth the headache. I get the impression from even some of the more negative posters around here, that in the end it is ( at least the PVP), though I get the opposite vibe from some of the more pro ESO posters. THey seem to point toward a wait and see stance.
I don't agree Distopia, I think a reviewer's job is to relay the experience objectively. Granted, it's an opinion piece and the reviewer should be telling the readers what the author's opinion overall is, however, a reviewer needs to present to me, the reader and potential purchaser of this game, what I am going to see, do, and experience. It needs to be as objective so that I can determine my own subjectivity.
As far as covering the issues in other reviews, That's fine. But that's not what happened here. This review....this segment, this thread, says "Needs polish". You don't drive a brand new car off the lot only to have it break down before you even get home with it and say....."It needs polish" No, it needs fixing. His choice of words is misleading.
As a reader and potential customer, my question is......"What are the chances I may be impacted by them if I play this game now?" Sure, if they are low enough, it might be worth a risk, maybe it's not. But a review needs to give me what i need to make that decision myself, "Needs polish" fails to do that.
I learned a long time ago never to trust their game reviews. If you believe a word they say then you get exactly what you deserve. You want to know what the game is really like? Ask the people who have played it every day since beta. They know exactly whats good and whats bad about the game. Not some weekend warrior who logs in for an hour at a time, looks around, and says "ooh! pretty" before posting a picture of his lunch on Facebook.
Artwork is amazing, lore is spellbinding, the world is stunning .....
Everything else is awfully boring, the voices lack emotion, and the bugs ....... holy crap. Without Mod's the game would be unbearable, with mod's it's almost bearable .... almost.
I think people are reading what bugs exist in game and going "OMG to many bugs" with out putting much thought behind it.
Let me explain it a little bit for people who don't seem to understand that not every person is being hit with the same bugs. For example, the guild I'm in (over 1000 people playing split up across 3 seperate guilds) only had a handful of people get hit with the bank bug. I fortunately did not. But I got hit with a seperate game breaking bug, that even fewer of us got hit by. Out side of the quest bugs which haven't been as many as people seem to think. I would venture a guess that about 1-5% of the total population is getting hit by game breaking bugs at any time. And they seem to be random on who gets them versus who doesn't.
So yes this game has bugs, yes they are fixing them as fast as they can. But remember this is new technology that hasn't been tried before previously and so there are bound to be hick- ups between the tech and the coding. Give the game time, they'll figure it out. in the mean time the game is fun and the PVP is a blast. Enjoy the ride, stop stressing the small stuff, you'll live longer.
Originally posted by Panzerbase This is seems like a piece of prep for a high score, the game has some serious issues, you simply can't wave them off by saying you're having fun. The dungeons are linear, repetitive, and at wow normal dungeon levels of difficulty. I think the safest bet here for someone interested in trying ESO is wait out the initial launch and see if they have any major changes coming down the pipeline.
A reviewers Job is to give their overall Verdict, they very much can sweep issues aside in their review, as that's the point, does the good outweigh the bad? ON the other hand they can sweep all the good away in the end as well, if warranted... As long as they acknowledge those issues. I'd say at this point there's little point in them being named in single order, they're widely known. Just saying "the issues" alludes everyone to the subject at hand.
The point of any review now is to say whether what lies under those issues is worth the headache. I get the impression from even some of the more negative posters around here, that in the end it is ( at least the PVP), though I get the opposite vibe from some of the more pro ESO posters. THey seem to point toward a wait and see stance.
I don't agree Distopia, I think a reviewer's job is to relay the experience objectively. Granted, it's an opinion piece and the reviewer should be telling the readers what the author's opinion overall is, however, a reviewer needs to present to me, the reader and potential purchaser of this game, what I am going to see, do, and experience. It needs to be as objective so that I can determine my own subjectivity.
As far as covering the issues in other reviews, That's fine. But that's not what happened here. This review....this segment, this thread, says "Needs polish". You don't drive a brand new car off the lot only to have it break down before you even get home with it and say....."It needs polish" No, it needs fixing. His choice of words is misleading.
As a reader and potential customer, my question is......"What are the chances I may be impacted by them if I play this game now?" Sure, if they are low enough, it might be worth a risk, maybe it's not. But a review needs to give me what i need to make that decision myself, "Needs polish" fails to do that.
I also find it interesting that all AAA games have decent reviews and scores in the 7+ range on average...In fact, I have seen so few 1's and 2's and even 5's that I have to wonder what bar is being used. If all games really rate around 7+ we are getting above average to fantastic games on everything that launches...never (with AAA money behind it) Have we had an average game.
Gaming reviews are a joke. Everything is 'worth buying 'and I hardly ever hear of anything being average or below.
Reviews from fans are much more honest in my experience.
-That said- I am not even talking about THIS review. Not trying to beat a dead horse with something I think most people clearly understand...Just speaking in general about gaming reviews.
People tend to dismiss good reviewers for 'paid reviews' but that's just idiocy. Most of the reviews by gaming sites and such are done by people who don't really spend enough time playing or understanding the game, which is probably why gaming review scores tend to lower over time.
You know, That kinda stick in my side a bit too while I was reading. I can't speak to the dungeons. Except to say I played in Open dungeons back in Anarchy Online and love it or hate it, It added an interesting flavor to instancing that I 'd love to experience again.
But that wasn't my issue with this piece. So far, this game has had some very serious showstoppers for some players. I expect them to be fixed soon enough, however, to simply brush them off as nothing more than " It needs a lot of polish, sure,...." totally invalidates any objectivity the OP can try to make a claim to. This article should have acknowledged the major issues, both the ones that have been fixed, and the ones yet to be addressed.
Comments
and you don't even play the game but assume what may well be a vocal minority of less then 1% is the majority??? LOL please since you seem to believe everything you read maybe I could sell you a bridge because you know there's no way any of those bugs could be from players with systems that don't meet specs, or trolls, nope that could never be. Now I admit there are bugs I rather doubt there are the thousands of bugs being experienced by the majority you as a non-player claim. My own experience sure isn't the same as yours. Oh wait that's right you don't play so you have no actual experience.
I think overall he is correct but is being a jerk about it.
I am not trolling- If you look at my post history from way back regarding ESO I have always stated that ES is my favorite game series and Morrowind my favorite game. I stated that ESO would be nothing special but having played the series and owned every game new since daggerfall- I would buy it and give it a few months.
-You can watch my opinion change as the Beta happens and certain actions regarding the company became evident. Making me decide to pass.
In my opinion this WAS just a cash grab. Rahter than making a good game with longevity, they made a quick cash grab game that is entertaining but will fade very quickly and transition to a F2P game with a cash shop. That isnt trolling, that is what my opinion is based on following this game and beta testing... It really isnt very good.
Is there fun to have- Yeah. I imagine everyone will get a couple good months of fun with this. Some will play much longer- Overall- Something which COULD have been awesome and have the name to be BIG is a mediocre game by a company that is seeming to flounder in many ways.
Am I right? Time will tell. I hope not. In a year I hope I have been proven wrong and the game has depth and staying power...That there is still a sub without a Ca$H $hop...THEN I will play and be happy I was mistaken.
I think I am right though. This doesnt make me happy. I want to be wrong, in this instance and hope I ultimatley am.
No game is for everyone I know a few people who don't like TESO because its not Skyrim enough for them no problem with that. I know others who Dislike TESO because its not like other MMO's they have enjoyed in the past That would true too.
Currently I'm having fun, you might be right though in a few months it might not be fun to me anymore, Hell Skyrim got old to me after 4-5 months and hundreds of hours played. Nothing last forever. If Zenimax does keep up with putting new content in regularly I think I'll stick with ESO longer then any MMO I've played in the last 6-7 years though. Lots of IF's
I'm not saying ESO doesn't have its share of problems, nore am I saying it's for everyone or a WoW killer. On the other hand neither am I searching the internet for posts from people I don't know and that have no factual credibility past the point they can type, to use as a reason not to play.
You are saying that it doesn't have longetivity while the game is not even 1 month old. We have no idea what Zenimax is preparing for us, while at the same time Craglorn, the first raid, is around the corner. it's people like you who are destroying games by saying that it has nothing to offer and that you have nothing to do once u hit max lvl. It's clear that you are NOT even VR10.
How can u know what it has to offer if u haven't hitted max lvl? I am VR10 and i have to tell u that it has a lot to offer, even right now, without the Craglorn.
Play the game first, and then comment on it.
P.S Most of the "haters" haven't gone past the starting zone, or even more, they haven't even bought the game and they base everything on that one beta weekend they played and the articles they read around.
I went into this game in pure MMO burn out. I have tried a ton of them and hated them all in the recent batch. So when my wife, who played the beta begged me to pre-order and play with her I was drug kicking and screaming into this game. I started play during the early launch, skipping the beta so I would not be burned out from the start.
I am a huge fan of the Elder Scrolls series and RPGs in general, which is why I have hate so many of the new MMO releases, they seem to have left out the RPG. So I was already hating this game before I launched.
Four hours later of game play with my wife I was hooked. ESO is not the best MMO out there but at least they attempted to make the RPG front line in the game. The game has more of an RPG feel than any other MMO I have seen right now and in fact feels a lot like the MMOs we loved in the early days.
There are flaws no doubt but to be honest this is expected. An MMO is a huge undertaking and is meant to be enjoyed like a good TV series, something that grows and deepens over time.
I wanted, when I started to scream about the monthly cost and high up front cost and how going MMO would ruin an great RPG IP. Truth is now I will gladly pay the money and even bought a copy for a friend to just try so he can join us. Overall this is an MMO that I actually want to play, something I cannot say about the others.
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I have a soap box and I am not afraid to use it.
Kudos for doing a staged review instead of rushing through as much as you can in 5 hours and call it good.
I'd petition for Bill to get to endgame before pronouncing a verdict. Typically, games hit a bit of a slog in their leveling during the second half/last third. Also, what quality is the endgame? Remember that that was one of the serious problems with SWTOR, and one of the things people complain about in GW2. It's a bad start that a big part of the end game, aka adventure zones, will be patched in later in EOS, but if that happens before 70-80% of the people hit cap it's ok, I guess.
Anyway, staged reviews = a great step towards getting a comprehensive review of an MMO. Please don't falter right before the finish line.
Yep, the dungeons are uninspired, with traps that are a complete joke for the most part. With many you can just walk along the side and avoid them. I'm disappointed they seemed to rush their designs, too many of them come off as cookie-cutter and lacking challenge.
Otherwise I completely agree with you, strong questing and adventuring.
Ok I have to say something, isn't the main point of gaming to have fun?
If the reviewer is having 'said fun', isn't that the MAIN thing we should focus on in game reviews?
A reviewers Job is to give their overall Verdict, they very much can sweep issues aside in their review, as that's the point, does the good outweigh the bad? ON the other hand they can sweep all the good away in the end as well, if warranted... As long as they acknowledge those issues. I'd say at this point there's little point in them being named in single order, they're widely known. Just saying "the issues" alludes everyone to the subject at hand.
The point of any review now is to say whether what lies under those issues is worth the headache. I get the impression from even some of the more negative posters around here, that in the end it is ( at least the PVP), though I get the opposite vibe from some of the more pro ESO posters. THey seem to point toward a wait and see stance.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Quite happy players want to fight monsters, and give them a reward, just not xp. Gold maybe, prestige points, something like that.
had fun until yesterday. i play almost every day, but this game just doesn't like two players to team up. lots of times i end uo doing things solo with a floating V where my buddy is. He is more active then i am and usually a little ahead of me. So he has done several quests that i haven't done. and tadaa... i end up doing them solo. I am dissapointed that the only way to do things together is to play the character only when you buddy is online. (no way thats going to happen all the time)
I'm not a fan of combat (i like it, but i suck at it) so i team up with someone that actually doesn't suck at it. Together we can be a strong team, but this game doesn't like that so don't expect us to be running together. Since we can't play together we decided both to end our subscription. have fun, "onward to the next game"
this game would get a 6/10 max.
1) there is no way i can change appearance
2) not possible to upgrade items that i like to my current level
3) too many items and too little storage space.
4) only a few filters to find what you looking for
5) looks-nice-but-i think-it-stinks selection wheel to find an item to use in combat
6) for me personal: all combat seems to be more effective if you do it ranged. in close combat your toast way too quickly. i just dont like ranged. (as i said... i suck at combat)
7) i cant play all the time with a friend unless you both do the same quests together.
so for point 6 it probably me and therefore not a big issue.
i don't like the fact that i can't progress a quest until i am 5 or 6 levels above what is supposed to be green.. (again, this is me sucking at combat.... don't mind...)
I don't agree Distopia, I think a reviewer's job is to relay the experience objectively. Granted, it's an opinion piece and the reviewer should be telling the readers what the author's opinion overall is, however, a reviewer needs to present to me, the reader and potential purchaser of this game, what I am going to see, do, and experience. It needs to be as objective so that I can determine my own subjectivity.
As far as covering the issues in other reviews, That's fine. But that's not what happened here. This review....this segment, this thread, says "Needs polish". You don't drive a brand new car off the lot only to have it break down before you even get home with it and say....."It needs polish" No, it needs fixing. His choice of words is misleading.
As a reader and potential customer, my question is......"What are the chances I may be impacted by them if I play this game now?" Sure, if they are low enough, it might be worth a risk, maybe it's not. But a review needs to give me what i need to make that decision myself, "Needs polish" fails to do that.
Another puff piece from MMORPG.com
I learned a long time ago never to trust their game reviews. If you believe a word they say then you get exactly what you deserve. You want to know what the game is really like? Ask the people who have played it every day since beta. They know exactly whats good and whats bad about the game. Not some weekend warrior who logs in for an hour at a time, looks around, and says "ooh! pretty" before posting a picture of his lunch on Facebook.
Artwork is amazing, lore is spellbinding, the world is stunning .....
Everything else is awfully boring, the voices lack emotion, and the bugs ....... holy crap. Without Mod's the game would be unbearable, with mod's it's almost bearable .... almost.
Soon it'll be F2P, maybe I'll try again then.
I think people are reading what bugs exist in game and going "OMG to many bugs" with out putting much thought behind it.
Let me explain it a little bit for people who don't seem to understand that not every person is being hit with the same bugs. For example, the guild I'm in (over 1000 people playing split up across 3 seperate guilds) only had a handful of people get hit with the bank bug. I fortunately did not. But I got hit with a seperate game breaking bug, that even fewer of us got hit by. Out side of the quest bugs which haven't been as many as people seem to think. I would venture a guess that about 1-5% of the total population is getting hit by game breaking bugs at any time. And they seem to be random on who gets them versus who doesn't.
So yes this game has bugs, yes they are fixing them as fast as they can. But remember this is new technology that hasn't been tried before previously and so there are bound to be hick- ups between the tech and the coding. Give the game time, they'll figure it out. in the mean time the game is fun and the PVP is a blast. Enjoy the ride, stop stressing the small stuff, you'll live longer.
I also find it interesting that all AAA games have decent reviews and scores in the 7+ range on average...In fact, I have seen so few 1's and 2's and even 5's that I have to wonder what bar is being used. If all games really rate around 7+ we are getting above average to fantastic games on everything that launches...never (with AAA money behind it) Have we had an average game.
Gaming reviews are a joke. Everything is 'worth buying 'and I hardly ever hear of anything being average or below.
Reviews from fans are much more honest in my experience.
-That said- I am not even talking about THIS review. Not trying to beat a dead horse with something I think most people clearly understand...Just speaking in general about gaming reviews.
+1