This game is getting bashed by critics because the level 2-9 content is horrendously boring. Good luck getting reviewers or even regular players to slog through 10 hours of mediocre content in the hopes that things magically pick up at level 10. You could get away with slow opening content in 2004 but not 2014.
To be honest. I think the journalist is comparing this game to much to skyrim. I dont even think he/she has even played a mmo (heck they may not even know how mmos work!)
The opening paragraph:
"I am not an expert in MMORPGs – or much of a fan of them. I’ve tried quite a few, from the big, obvious titles to more obscure Korean efforts, but the only one I’ve ever put any serious amount of time into is The Secret World, which is, by all accounts, a bit of an odd duck. I’m not in a position to make sweeping generalisations regarding the genre as a whole."
Perfect example of a person who should have just kept their mouth shut. She does actually go on to make sweeping generalizations about what she thinks the genre should be. Quite frankly, her comments about skipping 85% of the conversations is baffling, who the hell does that in an Elder Scrolls game?
"Look, I’m probably going to take a drubbing in the comments for this, but I don’t think it’s that unusual: I immediately skipped about 85% of every bit of text or conversation I encountered. I know this is not how you’re “supposed” to experience games, and I started off determined not to do it, but friends: I don’t want to stand on the spot for ten minutes listening to John Cleese..."
Is she high on a sugar/caffeine rush that she can't sit still and listen for less than two minutes?
The most amusing bit of the article? The text underneath the CGI trailer:
"Gorgeous, isn’t it? No, the game doesn’t look anything like this."
She is actually judging ESO for not looking like it's CGI announcement trailer. Seriously, what the ****.
Maybe if he didn't skip the story he might have enjoyed the experience better.
Maybe if the story was better, he woudln't have skipped it.
Look at this reviewer's background. The only MMO they admit to liking is TSW, which is a game that is like 99% story. (Mindya, TSW is probably the best written, best-voiced and "best quests in general" game out there, so it's hard to live up to that).
Have you been in beta? Have you played out the story?
Its just as well crafted as skyrims honestly.
I played beta the previous beta weekend for about 20 hours. I wasn't super impressed by the story, but i liked it enough to go out and buy Skyrim. Playing which for 3 days resulted on my not playing the 2nd beta for more than 20 minutes.
The main story is ok, if very generic, the story outside the main is pretty bad when compared to MMOs with good stories such as LoTRO, TSW or even AoC.
As far as comparing it to Skyrim... i see it like this:
Skyrim: run outside town - bandit camp, story, dungeon, xp, reward. run further - ancient tomb, story, dungeon, xp, reward.
ESO: run oufside town - bug = killed bug, no xp, no reward. mini-dungeon, half empty, no story, no xp, no reward. run further - nothing. run further - more nothing. oooh another bug, killed bug. better go back to the quest hub to get some xp.
Now that I've actually played Skyrim, i think the mistake these developers made was this: What they should have done was taken Skyrim and built on top of it. Instead, what they did was take Skyrim and build down from it. Regardless of other differences, an MMO should at the very LEAST be bigger than it's single-player predecessor. Even the awful SWTOR is something like like 30 times the size of a regular KOTOR game.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
Maybe if he didn't skip the story he might have enjoyed the experience better.
Maybe if the story was better, he woudln't have skipped it.
Look at this reviewer's background. The only MMO they admit to liking is TSW, which is a game that is like 99% story. (Mindya, TSW is probably the best written, best-voiced and "best quests in general" game out there, so it's hard to live up to that).
Have you been in beta? Have you played out the story?
Its just as well crafted as skyrims honestly.
I played beta the previous beta weekend for about 20 hours. I wasn't super impressed by the story, but i liked it enough to go out and buy Skyrim. Playing which for 3 days resulted on my not playing the 2nd beta for more than 20 minutes.
The main story is ok, if very generic, the story outside the main is pretty bad when compared to MMOs with good stories such as LoTRO, TSW or even AoC.
As far as comparing it to Skyrim... i see it like this:
Skyrim: run outside town - bandit camp, story, dungeon, xp, reward. run further - ancient tomb, story, dungeon, xp, reward.
ESO: run oufside town - bug = killed bug, no xp, no reward. mini-dungeon, half empty, no story, no xp, no reward. run further - nothing. run further - more nothing. oooh another bug, killed bug. better go back to the quest hub to get some xp.
Now that I've actually played Skyrim, i think the mistake these developers made was this: What they should have done was taken Skyrim and built on top of it. Instead, what they did was take Skyrim and build down from it. Regardless of other differences, an MMO should at the very LEAST be bigger than it's single-player predecessor. Even the awful SWTOR is something like like 30 times the size of a regular KOTOR game.
Did you try to immerse yourself? Try to find different things? Not try to kill bugs?
This game might sell well, say 2 million copies(and that is being generous), is because the IP, but it will not have any staying power. It really doesn't offer anything to keep people playing. Don't tell me RvR will keep people playing. It has never worked in post WoW games, not Aion, not AoC, not SWTOR...no game that counts on RvR to keep people playing has succeeded in retaining players. Also, anyone that has beta'd the game knows how generic it is, the unleashed number of gaming site video reviews provers that. It is linear, you have little options of combat and will be cast the same spells over and over again ad nauseam(just upgraded versions of an existing spell), which gets old after awhile, and let's not even go into character clothing and armor. For instance, sorcerers will look like every other sorcerer through the game. One of the things that killed it for me in SWTOR was the lack of diverse clothing options(when I beta'd) it was rediculous that they didn't have more clothing options. This game is no different.
Since the videos show the game for the first 15 levels or so, you can see for yourself that there is no underwater swimming in this game. That means no underwater exploration. I guess the developers thought they'd just stick to above ground adventures. It is also very linear and what is with the MOB placement? ::rolls her eyes::
If you are going into this game thinking it is more than what it is...I think you'll be saddened that it is nothing more than a genric MMO themepark, with Elder Scrolls skins slapped on.
I could tell you lots more, but the NDA forbids us talking about it past level 15. Which sadly, this is what Funcom did with AoC and EA did with SWToR. So, all I have to say is, buyer beware. Don't expect a whole lot from this game that you haven't all ready seen in countless other MMO's post WoW.
Don't be silly. You can wear any type of armor you want coupled with the fact you can make 10 different styles of that armor including Imperial. I could have Breton heavy chest piece, Khajiit style legs, Imperial helmet, Orc shoulders the list goes on. You have a ton of choice how you want to look like.
I honestly don't see how the NDA is stopping you from saying more since what you are saying is total BS.
Sure, you can wear any type of armor, problem is that if you wear armor not specific for your class you lose protection bonuses and your armor spells are less effective. If you played beta you'd know this. Sorcerers get better protection wearing light clothing/armor. So, what I said was true, unless you just wear whatever you pick up and slap on - and hey, if you don't care for aesthetics and the fact that you get better protection wearing class specific armor - go ahead, and gimp yourself.
This game might sell well, say 2 million copies(and that is being generous), is because the IP, but it will not have any staying power. It really doesn't offer anything to keep people playing. Don't tell me RvR will keep people playing. It has never worked in post WoW games, not Aion, not AoC, not SWTOR...no game that counts on RvR to keep people playing has succeeded in retaining players. Also, anyone that has beta'd the game knows how generic it is, the unleashed number of gaming site video reviews provers that. It is linear, you have little options of combat and will be cast the same spells over and over again ad nauseam(just upgraded versions of an existing spell), which gets old after awhile, and let's not even go into character clothing and armor. For instance, sorcerers will look like every other sorcerer through the game. One of the things that killed it for me in SWTOR was the lack of diverse clothing options(when I beta'd) it was rediculous that they didn't have more clothing options. This game is no different.
Since the videos show the game for the first 15 levels or so, you can see for yourself that there is no underwater swimming in this game. That means no underwater exploration. I guess the developers thought they'd just stick to above ground adventures. It is also very linear and what is with the MOB placement? ::rolls her eyes::
If you are going into this game thinking it is more than what it is...I think you'll be saddened that it is nothing more than a genric MMO themepark, with Elder Scrolls skins slapped on.
I could tell you lots more, but the NDA forbids us talking about it past level 15. Which sadly, this is what Funcom did with AoC and EA did with SWToR. So, all I have to say is, buyer beware. Don't expect a whole lot from this game that you haven't all ready seen in countless other MMO's post WoW.
Don't be silly. You can wear any type of armor you want coupled with the fact you can make 10 different styles of that armor including Imperial. I could have Breton heavy chest piece, Khajiit style legs, Imperial helmet, Orc shoulders the list goes on. You have a ton of choice how you want to look like.
I honestly don't see how the NDA is stopping you from saying more since what you are saying is total BS.
Sure, you can wear any type of armor, problem is that if you wear armor not specific for your class you lose protection bonuses and your armor spells are less effective. If you played beta you'd know this. Sorcerers get better protection wearing light clothing/armor. So, what I said was true, unless you just wear whatever you pick up and slap on - and hey, if you don't care for aesthetics and the fact that you get better protection wearing class specific armor - go ahead, and gimp yourself.
Yeah... but thats only if you dont want a hybrid character. If you want a hybrid character wear whatever you want. If not, go ahead make a light armor wearing mage. No one is gonna stop you.
Almost everything can be leveled up to. It helps to find those bonuses out.
Since the videos show the game for the first 15 levels or so, you can see for yourself that there is no underwater swimming in this game. That means no underwater exploration. I guess the developers thought they'd just stick to above ground adventures. It is also very linear and what is with the MOB placement? ::rolls her eyes::
If
Yes... because we all know how people love underwater zones... from DAoC's Atlantis zones to WoW's Vashj'ir, people freaking love them so much that they try their best to avoid them at all costs lol...
EDIT: hell... even in TES games, tell me of one thing interesting that you could do underwater? What a quest for a fish and a lost ring in Oblivion and... in Skyrim its basically a chest here and there and a couple of entrances to some places (which have a land entrance also)... come on. Its not even worth the effort to design complete underwater mappings for zones and mechanics for release.
YEah...lets forget all the cool things that were done in other TES game involving underwater exploration. Hell in Skyrim, there were caverns you explored and the only way to progress in the them was to swim from one chamber to another and in some cases, you had to swim to areas so you could progress a quest. Yeah...let's forget about all that. If you want to pay to play a half-baked game - its your money. Enjoy!
Did you try to immerse yourself? Try to find different things? Not try to kill bugs?
Anyways... the story if fine..
Yes. I fully listened to every bit of dialogue, even when it was terrible and I talked to every NPC i found - quest-related and not. As soon as i got done with the main story, i set out to explore the world and ran almost everywhere there was to run in the zone. There was very little notable or interesting. I found a few mobs, i found a few quests - which were both stupid AND super-easy at the same time. I went out to a couple of the dungeons that the bartender (or someone) had told me about, i found easily soloable, not challenging places that yield no reward, no story and pretty much no XP.
Oh and i found a whole lot of places that i just couldn't run to. Here is an area with some bugs, beyond it is a mountain, which is a wall. So it's killing bugs or go elsewhere.
As i said, the story isn't terrible. It's better than Rift or EQ2 or a few other games that have outright bad writing. But it's nowhere close to MMOs that actually have GOOD storytelling. It's not even as good as Skyrim, which is kinda ridiculous given it's the same company and the same world.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
This game might sell well, say 2 million copies(and that is being generous), is because the IP, but it will not have any staying power. It really doesn't offer anything to keep people playing. Don't tell me RvR will keep people playing. It has never worked in post WoW games, not Aion, not AoC, not SWTOR...no game that counts on RvR to keep people playing has succeeded in retaining players. Also, anyone that has beta'd the game knows how generic it is, the unleashed number of gaming site video reviews provers that. It is linear, you have little options of combat and will be cast the same spells over and over again ad nauseam(just upgraded versions of an existing spell), which gets old after awhile, and let's not even go into character clothing and armor. For instance, sorcerers will look like every other sorcerer through the game. One of the things that killed it for me in SWTOR was the lack of diverse clothing options(when I beta'd) it was rediculous that they didn't have more clothing options. This game is no different.
Since the videos show the game for the first 15 levels or so, you can see for yourself that there is no underwater swimming in this game. That means no underwater exploration. I guess the developers thought they'd just stick to above ground adventures. It is also very linear and what is with the MOB placement? ::rolls her eyes::
If you are going into this game thinking it is more than what it is...I think you'll be saddened that it is nothing more than a genric MMO themepark, with Elder Scrolls skins slapped on.
I could tell you lots more, but the NDA forbids us talking about it past level 15. Which sadly, this is what Funcom did with AoC and EA did with SWToR. So, all I have to say is, buyer beware. Don't expect a whole lot from this game that you haven't all ready seen in countless other MMO's post WoW.
Don't be silly. You can wear any type of armor you want coupled with the fact you can make 10 different styles of that armor including Imperial. I could have Breton heavy chest piece, Khajiit style legs, Imperial helmet, Orc shoulders the list goes on. You have a ton of choice how you want to look like.
I honestly don't see how the NDA is stopping you from saying more since what you are saying is total BS.
Sure, you can wear any type of armor, problem is that if you wear armor not specific for your class you lose protection bonuses and your armor spells are less effective. If you played beta you'd know this. Sorcerers get better protection wearing light clothing/armor. So, what I said was true, unless you just wear whatever you pick up and slap on - and hey, if you don't care for aesthetics and the fact that you get better protection wearing class specific armor - go ahead, and gimp yourself.
Yeah... but thats only if you dont want a hybrid character. If you want a hybrid character wear whatever you want. If not, go ahead make a light armor wearing mage. No one is gonna stop you.
Almost everything can be leveled up to. It helps to find those bonuses out.
Well from someone that beta'd, I learned that hybrid characters were weaker than characters that stuck to a specific class. In PvP, if you stretch yourself to thinly, you weaken your abilities. This has also been true in most PvP centric games.
Did you try to immerse yourself? Try to find different things? Not try to kill bugs?
Anyways... the story if fine..
Yes. I fully listened to every bit of dialogue, even when it was terrible and I talked to every NPC i found - quest-related and not. As soon as i got done with the main story, i set out to explore the world and ran almost everywhere there was to run in the zone. There was very little notable or interesting. I found a few mobs, i found a few quests - which were both stupid AND super-easy at the same time. I went out to a couple of the dungeons that the bartender (or someone) had told me about, i found easily soloable, not challenging places that yield no reward, no story and pretty much no XP.
Oh and i found a whole lot of places that i just couldn't run to. Here is an area with some bugs, beyond it is a mountain, which is a wall. So it's killing bugs or go elsewhere.
As i said, the story isn't terrible. It's better than Rift or EQ2 or a few other games that have outright bad writing. But it's nowhere close to MMOs that actually have GOOD storytelling. It's not even as good as Skyrim, which is kinda ridiculous given it's the same company and the same world.
Be specific on what you mean by:
Dialogue being stupid.
Stupid quest
Super easy dungeons
Nothing notable or interesting (exploration wise.)
Is sounds like you have not even played the beta. Or just played half of the first zone.
This game might sell well, say 2 million copies(and that is being generous), is because the IP, but it will not have any staying power. It really doesn't offer anything to keep people playing. Don't tell me RvR will keep people playing. It has never worked in post WoW games, not Aion, not AoC, not SWTOR...no game that counts on RvR to keep people playing has succeeded in retaining players. Also, anyone that has beta'd the game knows how generic it is, the unleashed number of gaming site video reviews provers that. It is linear, you have little options of combat and will be cast the same spells over and over again ad nauseam(just upgraded versions of an existing spell), which gets old after awhile, and let's not even go into character clothing and armor. For instance, sorcerers will look like every other sorcerer through the game. One of the things that killed it for me in SWTOR was the lack of diverse clothing options(when I beta'd) it was rediculous that they didn't have more clothing options. This game is no different.
Since the videos show the game for the first 15 levels or so, you can see for yourself that there is no underwater swimming in this game. That means no underwater exploration. I guess the developers thought they'd just stick to above ground adventures. It is also very linear and what is with the MOB placement? ::rolls her eyes::
If you are going into this game thinking it is more than what it is...I think you'll be saddened that it is nothing more than a genric MMO themepark, with Elder Scrolls skins slapped on.
I could tell you lots more, but the NDA forbids us talking about it past level 15. Which sadly, this is what Funcom did with AoC and EA did with SWToR. So, all I have to say is, buyer beware. Don't expect a whole lot from this game that you haven't all ready seen in countless other MMO's post WoW.
Don't be silly. You can wear any type of armor you want coupled with the fact you can make 10 different styles of that armor including Imperial. I could have Breton heavy chest piece, Khajiit style legs, Imperial helmet, Orc shoulders the list goes on. You have a ton of choice how you want to look like.
I honestly don't see how the NDA is stopping you from saying more since what you are saying is total BS.
Sure, you can wear any type of armor, problem is that if you wear armor not specific for your class you lose protection bonuses and your armor spells are less effective. If you played beta you'd know this. Sorcerers get better protection wearing light clothing/armor. So, what I said was true, unless you just wear whatever you pick up and slap on - and hey, if you don't care for aesthetics and the fact that you get better protection wearing class specific armor - go ahead, and gimp yourself.
Yeah... but thats only if you dont want a hybrid character. If you want a hybrid character wear whatever you want. If not, go ahead make a light armor wearing mage. No one is gonna stop you.
Almost everything can be leveled up to. It helps to find those bonuses out.
Well from someone that beta'd, I learned that hybrid characters were weaker than characters that stuck to a specific class. In PvP, if you stretch yourself to thinly, you weaken your abilities. This has also been true in most PvP centric games.
Im calling BS.
I made a heavy armor night-blade with a greatsword. I was able to sneak up and ambush people when i got to them doing great damage. It worked fine for me, and it seemed to work fine for everyone else too.
Yes it took more time to perfect that class i made. I had to experiment and after i did, it turned out fine. Great even.
"It's not even as good as Skyrim, which is kinda ridiculous given it's the same company and the same world. "
Thats good, I have not played a single mmo which would be that great like Skyrim. Especially with mods. Its like the reviewer, people expect too much. Skyrim with mods is high end, the top.
- i don't have direct quotes. but some are provided in the existing reviews that mention text.
Stupid quest
- random drunk asking you to bring him 10 bottles of wine, which are scattered less than 15 seconds away from him and require no fighting or skill to obtain.
- a mage (or something) asking you to put on a disguise he has, run less than 30 seconds away to a place you could have easily gotten without said disguise, and rescue his apprentice by killing 1 mob that isn't even in the way of your getting to said imperiled apprentice.
Super easy dungeons
- inner sea armature or whatever it's called and the other one of the same type (i'm bad with names and frankly, if it was memorable, i would have remembered)
Nothing notable or interesting (exploration wise.)
- you want me to give examples of nothing? I didn't find any (new or random) dungeons. I didn't find any interesting quests that led me to interesting places. I didn't find any interesting items. I didn't find any intersting geography (i.e. moutain to climb, castle to explore). It's mostly emptiness populated with a scattering of mobs that give no xp.
There ya go.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
Maybe if he didn't skip the story he might have enjoyed the experience better.
Maybe if the story was better, he woudln't have skipped it.
Look at this reviewer's background. The only MMO they admit to liking is TSW, which is a game that is like 99% story. (Mindya, TSW is probably the best written, best-voiced and "best quests in general" game out there, so it's hard to live up to that).
There is no way he could know if the story was good or bad if he skipped it.
"It's not even as good as Skyrim, which is kinda ridiculous given it's the same company and the same world. "
Thats good, I have not played a single mmo which would be that great like Skyrim. Especially with mods. Its like the reviewer, people expect too much. Skyrim with mods is high end, the top.
Fallen Earth is basically an MMO version of Skyrim (in a different setting). (It actually even has a similar opening sequence where you barely escape a life-threatening situation only to be thrust into a wide open world where you can do anything you want (and follow the main story if you like).
It's not like Skyrim is some unattainable ideal. It's just a large world, with an open skill system and many different places to explore. It has virtually nothing that can't be recreated in a multiplayer setting. As it stands, LoTRO is closer in feel to Skyrim than ESO (in lotro you run across a huge world and run into ancient ruins full of bandits or whatever - that is like the ultimate "skryim expriences" if you will). And something you do not experience in ESO. At least not the first major zone of it anyway. I can't speak to the whole game.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
This game might sell well, say 2 million copies(and that is being generous), is because the IP, but it will not have any staying power. It really doesn't offer anything to keep people playing. Don't tell me RvR will keep people playing. It has never worked in post WoW games, not Aion, not AoC, not SWTOR...no game that counts on RvR to keep people playing has succeeded in retaining players. Also, anyone that has beta'd the game knows how generic it is, the unleashed number of gaming site video reviews provers that. It is linear, you have little options of combat and will be cast the same spells over and over again ad nauseam(just upgraded versions of an existing spell), which gets old after awhile, and let's not even go into character clothing and armor. For instance, sorcerers will look like every other sorcerer through the game. One of the things that killed it for me in SWTOR was the lack of diverse clothing options(when I beta'd) it was rediculous that they didn't have more clothing options. This game is no different.
Since the videos show the game for the first 15 levels or so, you can see for yourself that there is no underwater swimming in this game. That means no underwater exploration. I guess the developers thought they'd just stick to above ground adventures. It is also very linear and what is with the MOB placement? ::rolls her eyes::
If you are going into this game thinking it is more than what it is...I think you'll be saddened that it is nothing more than a genric MMO themepark, with Elder Scrolls skins slapped on.
I could tell you lots more, but the NDA forbids us talking about it past level 15. Which sadly, this is what Funcom did with AoC and EA did with SWToR. So, all I have to say is, buyer beware. Don't expect a whole lot from this game that you haven't all ready seen in countless other MMO's post WoW.
Don't be silly. You can wear any type of armor you want coupled with the fact you can make 10 different styles of that armor including Imperial. I could have Breton heavy chest piece, Khajiit style legs, Imperial helmet, Orc shoulders the list goes on. You have a ton of choice how you want to look like.
I honestly don't see how the NDA is stopping you from saying more since what you are saying is total BS.
Sure, you can wear any type of armor, problem is that if you wear armor not specific for your class you lose protection bonuses and your armor spells are less effective. If you played beta you'd know this. Sorcerers get better protection wearing light clothing/armor. So, what I said was true, unless you just wear whatever you pick up and slap on - and hey, if you don't care for aesthetics and the fact that you get better protection wearing class specific armor - go ahead, and gimp yourself.
As you do in skyrim also. So it's staying true to it's core rule set.
Comments
The opening paragraph:
"I am not an expert in MMORPGs – or much of a fan of them. I’ve tried quite a few, from the big, obvious titles to more obscure Korean efforts, but the only one I’ve ever put any serious amount of time into is The Secret World, which is, by all accounts, a bit of an odd duck. I’m not in a position to make sweeping generalisations regarding the genre as a whole."
Perfect example of a person who should have just kept their mouth shut. She does actually go on to make sweeping generalizations about what she thinks the genre should be. Quite frankly, her comments about skipping 85% of the conversations is baffling, who the hell does that in an Elder Scrolls game?
"Look, I’m probably going to take a drubbing in the comments for this, but I don’t think it’s that unusual: I immediately skipped about 85% of every bit of text or conversation I encountered. I know this is not how you’re “supposed” to experience games, and I started off determined not to do it, but friends: I don’t want to stand on the spot for ten minutes listening to John Cleese..."
Is she high on a sugar/caffeine rush that she can't sit still and listen for less than two minutes?
The most amusing bit of the article? The text underneath the CGI trailer:
"Gorgeous, isn’t it? No, the game doesn’t look anything like this."
She is actually judging ESO for not looking like it's CGI announcement trailer. Seriously, what the ****.
The problem with all these critics bashing ESo is that they compare it to games that are actually good. This just sets them up for disappointment!
Make a list of how TESO is bad. I want to see it. I have already made a list of cool/unique features. Come on, lets see it.
I played beta the previous beta weekend for about 20 hours. I wasn't super impressed by the story, but i liked it enough to go out and buy Skyrim. Playing which for 3 days resulted on my not playing the 2nd beta for more than 20 minutes.
The main story is ok, if very generic, the story outside the main is pretty bad when compared to MMOs with good stories such as LoTRO, TSW or even AoC.
As far as comparing it to Skyrim... i see it like this:
Skyrim: run outside town - bandit camp, story, dungeon, xp, reward. run further - ancient tomb, story, dungeon, xp, reward.
ESO: run oufside town - bug = killed bug, no xp, no reward. mini-dungeon, half empty, no story, no xp, no reward. run further - nothing. run further - more nothing. oooh another bug, killed bug. better go back to the quest hub to get some xp.
Now that I've actually played Skyrim, i think the mistake these developers made was this: What they should have done was taken Skyrim and built on top of it. Instead, what they did was take Skyrim and build down from it. Regardless of other differences, an MMO should at the very LEAST be bigger than it's single-player predecessor. Even the awful SWTOR is something like like 30 times the size of a regular KOTOR game.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
Did you try to immerse yourself? Try to find different things? Not try to kill bugs?
Anyways... the story if fine..
Sure, you can wear any type of armor, problem is that if you wear armor not specific for your class you lose protection bonuses and your armor spells are less effective. If you played beta you'd know this. Sorcerers get better protection wearing light clothing/armor. So, what I said was true, unless you just wear whatever you pick up and slap on - and hey, if you don't care for aesthetics and the fact that you get better protection wearing class specific armor - go ahead, and gimp yourself.
Yeah... but thats only if you dont want a hybrid character. If you want a hybrid character wear whatever you want. If not, go ahead make a light armor wearing mage. No one is gonna stop you.
Almost everything can be leveled up to. It helps to find those bonuses out.
YEah...lets forget all the cool things that were done in other TES game involving underwater exploration. Hell in Skyrim, there were caverns you explored and the only way to progress in the them was to swim from one chamber to another and in some cases, you had to swim to areas so you could progress a quest. Yeah...let's forget about all that. If you want to pay to play a half-baked game - its your money. Enjoy!
Yes. I fully listened to every bit of dialogue, even when it was terrible and I talked to every NPC i found - quest-related and not. As soon as i got done with the main story, i set out to explore the world and ran almost everywhere there was to run in the zone. There was very little notable or interesting. I found a few mobs, i found a few quests - which were both stupid AND super-easy at the same time. I went out to a couple of the dungeons that the bartender (or someone) had told me about, i found easily soloable, not challenging places that yield no reward, no story and pretty much no XP.
Oh and i found a whole lot of places that i just couldn't run to. Here is an area with some bugs, beyond it is a mountain, which is a wall. So it's killing bugs or go elsewhere.
As i said, the story isn't terrible. It's better than Rift or EQ2 or a few other games that have outright bad writing. But it's nowhere close to MMOs that actually have GOOD storytelling. It's not even as good as Skyrim, which is kinda ridiculous given it's the same company and the same world.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
Well from someone that beta'd, I learned that hybrid characters were weaker than characters that stuck to a specific class. In PvP, if you stretch yourself to thinly, you weaken your abilities. This has also been true in most PvP centric games.
Be specific on what you mean by:
Dialogue being stupid.
Stupid quest
Super easy dungeons
Nothing notable or interesting (exploration wise.)
Is sounds like you have not even played the beta. Or just played half of the first zone.
I am being honest.
Im calling BS.
I made a heavy armor night-blade with a greatsword. I was able to sneak up and ambush people when i got to them doing great damage. It worked fine for me, and it seemed to work fine for everyone else too.
Yes it took more time to perfect that class i made. I had to experiment and after i did, it turned out fine. Great even.
"It's not even as good as Skyrim, which is kinda ridiculous given it's the same company and the same world. "
Thats good, I have not played a single mmo which would be that great like Skyrim. Especially with mods. Its like the reviewer, people expect too much. Skyrim with mods is high end, the top.
What parts. Give me examples.
I agree partially with the linearity, some kind of TES on Rails but I have seen only lvl 10-12 content. More content is closed during beta.
There ya go.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
There is no way he could know if the story was good or bad if he skipped it.
Hardly linear when you find quests by exploring the world. The quest givers are not just huddled together in the cities.
Fallen Earth is basically an MMO version of Skyrim (in a different setting). (It actually even has a similar opening sequence where you barely escape a life-threatening situation only to be thrust into a wide open world where you can do anything you want (and follow the main story if you like).
It's not like Skyrim is some unattainable ideal. It's just a large world, with an open skill system and many different places to explore. It has virtually nothing that can't be recreated in a multiplayer setting. As it stands, LoTRO is closer in feel to Skyrim than ESO (in lotro you run across a huge world and run into ancient ruins full of bandits or whatever - that is like the ultimate "skryim expriences" if you will). And something you do not experience in ESO. At least not the first major zone of it anyway. I can't speak to the whole game.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
As you do in skyrim also. So it's staying true to it's core rule set.