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Wildstar - a biased review
I'll start by saying that I was biased when I first saw this game. I didn't really care for the cartoony gfx that I have looked at for years with WoW. The game seemed very generic in many ways and maybe a bit clunky. I was completely turned off by the game, I have followed it a bit but never intended to play.
A friend of mine bugged me to play again in the beta this weekend and I have to be honest, it was a very pleasant experience.
I think what Wildstar does well is combine a lot of what people like in the MMO genre into this title. There really isn't anything new or innovative, but there is a lot of features that people have come to enjoy in past MMOs.
Graphics:
If you go into this game knowing and enjoying cartoony graphics then you will thoroughly love this game. I for one have always been in love with a gritty more dark type of atmosphere but I can honestly say I am enjoying this games graphics.
Combat:
The combat is fun. Having to actually aim and move to get out of the way of people attacks and abilities gives combat a much better feeling than just simply tabbing and then button mashing. The amount of skills is somewhat limited but that becomes an afterthought with the intensity and enjoyment of the fights.
Questing:
The questing does contain your basic go kill x many of this or collect x many of that but littered through all that are very enjoyable quests. Many are unique and will make you laugh or get angry at the opposing faction.
PvP:
The PvP is actually pretty fun. There is a good variety of options to begin with I can only imagine things getting better. I think the warplots are great but do need some work. PvP in general needs some work but al in all I am very satisfied with it.
Environment:
The environment in Wildstar is amazing, there is a lot going on all around. NPCs, creatures, enemies, and buzzing and bustling around, leaves falling, bugs zooming around, machines working, and so much I could not even begin to cover it.
Crafting:
I don't particularly like crafting and my experience in this was limited but from the quests I did do and the few things I made I actually think Wildstar's crafting system would is not as painful as others and adds a lot of customization and a bit of fun to the process.
Customization:
There is a load of different types of customizations in this game from your home, land plots, character, and vehicles. I love when games allow people to be slightly creative and unique. I watched a video of a guy that put a really nice house together, reminded me of SWG days.
Character progression and skills:
There isn't a huge variety of skills and such but there is a nice amount of customization and refinement within the skils, I rather like this method. I would like to have more of a selection but it's far from gamebreaking.
Conclusion:
I pre-ordered the game. It's a very enjoyable MMO with some great features. I feel that a lot of people with thoroughly enjoy this game for a long time. If your looking for some great new experience you won't find it in Wildstar, if your looking for a very enjoyable MMO and seems like it will have some longevity, it's worth a go.
Comments
I am so bored with theme parks,the game is ok but paying a sub. no way.
when you hit 50 after one moth then what,and after doing to only 4 dungeons then what.
enjoy I am waiting for EQN and ESO + destiny and darks souls 2 will keep me busy till then.
if you think the game is good enough for you enjoy.
the repopulation will be totally free and better.
I agree a bit with you about subs.
As a big fan of oblivion & morrowind i bought ESO and played it until 34 lvl. Bored it and dropped it. I m playing WS beta right now and i find it a fine game in many aspects. If it keeps like this i ll pre order it and I hope at launch it will be even better.
Time will show
Good review OP. I am awaiting this one also. With all the content we get while we level and also the end game content that will keep us busy for months and months. And the new content coming out each month. I will be a happy camper.
Reminds me also i wont have to pay a monthly sub with the type of currency they have in-game. It is like eve currency.
Warplots that you can make yourself or join others warplots, battlegrounds, arenas, raids, adventures, dungeons and i pass some right now but in the end we have more then any other mmorpg there is curently out or that will be release in the next year or 2 .
Sure dungeons wise there is a bit less but again each one of them change each time you enter them and they take about 30 to 40 min each to finish.
Edit : it wont be a wow killer or ESO killer or anything like that, because some wont like the graphic or the telegraphs. But in the end it will be a very good mmorpg wiht more content then others and way more fun, not a second job.
^this... And, the world is PACKED. By this I mean EVERYWHERE you turn there is something going on, from environment to mobs patrolling; you'll find it hard to find a unoccupied space that isn't within a stones throw of something. It almost feels too crowded. With it come a HUGE variety of tasks, quests, challenges, which will change and update in your quest log as you move through the environments. It's pretty cool (the amount of choices that you have) but it can be a little overwhelming also. Taken in small doses, W* will be a hit. Try to rush through to end content, and you'll likely miss a bunch, get frustrated, and rage quit.
Just FYI gaming is completely subjective, hence why I didn't mention any other MMO. This game has many features that EQN and ESO will never have and vice versus. ESO, EQN, and Repop are completely different gaming experiences so to even compare them or call them "better" just makes everything you say moot.
I played ESO and it is a good game, I am in The Repop alpha testing and it will be fun.
Wildstar's experience greatly varies from the experience you will get from those 2 games. I have had more fun in this past beta of Wildstar than I have in any game I have recently played, not saying those games are worse and that Wildstar is better, that argument people make about games being better or worse is either troll or just shows how low a level of intellect the person has making the remark.
Wildstar is a very lighthearted and comedy filled funhouse w/ some very deep and immersive features.
I was able to further experience the housing this morning and I have to say that it was AWESOME. Some of the additions you can make and the plot features make housing much more than just a vanity feature. You can set a crafting station so you don't have to deal with the bustle of city life. You can set up different resource plots to help your crafting path. I built a jumping puzzle and that was really cool, a little mini-game on your land. The amount of stuff you can do with the housing plot is really quite fun.
Great post. I will be playing Wildstar for one simple reason...its fun!
Should have gone B2P from day 1 instead of Sub based. would have been far more forgiving of the flaws in the game.
GW2 has many flaws, but I can easily forgive them due to the no sub.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
I think both ESO and Wildstar should have come at somewhere around 8,99 per month or offer packages from 5,99 to 12,99.
There is so much room between 12,99 and F2P these companies don't seem to recognise. On today's market, no game is going to establish itself at 12,99 - just as no F2P title does.
In terms of a full blown sub, the themepark department belongs to WoW and the sandbox corner (still) to EvE. The past 10 years have shown that, yet the companies are totally blind in that regard.
Btw: i loved your sig in the "other forum" back then, the one with the many hearts
Better for whom, you or us all?
thanks. We broke up. So that sig had to move into the memory lane now.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
I'm sorry buddy but you're totally and utterly wrong about the reach level 50 and do 4 dungeons part. Let's talk end game shall we... As you stated above you have your 4 dungeons that are actually extremely difficult. You have your 2 20/40 man raids, you have your PvP warplots, you have rated/unrated battlegrounds and arenas. You have housing, and you have the level 50 zones that are piled of random events, and world bosses. And don't forget they ALREADY have 15 months of end game content all ready to go. If you ask me, that's a SHIT TON more then 4 dungeons.
EDIT : I also forgot the Adventures and Shiphand missions.
You also forgot that he plays ESO and thinks that wildstar isn't worth it because it doesn't have enough endgame content.
It absolutely floors me that people are making a huge deal about a game charging a monthly fee. This is going to be the breaking point of whether or not you play the game. Growing up on EQ, DAOC, WOW, and countless other games that chargers a subscription fee it is meaningless. 15 mother fucking bucks is going to have your panties all tied up. Something is seriously wrong with you if your huffing and puffing over chump change. I first stepped into the gaming world in 8th grade, I found a way each and every month to scrounge up enough to pay my parents in exchange for them handing over their credit card.
It all boils down to to reward vs investment. Ill happily hand over my money if the game is worthwhile and remains that way each and every month. If there coming out with new things (zones, quests, items, etc) and actually listening to the complaints of the community, you know the money is going to good use.
Then again, this shows what exactly is wrong with this up and coming generation. They expect everything to be handed to them on a silver..scratch that..gold platter without having to work for it. Nothing worth owning doesnt have a cost attached.
"My P.O. telling me I need a 9 to 5
But I already got a job, and that's staying alive"
How much room is there really, though?
Sub prices have stayed more or less the same for the past ~15-20 years now. Even with how inflated the euro & dollar have become. Most MMOs cannot survive for long on the current subscription fee it seems (either not enough players, or the cost to maintain their game is way too high), so is lowering the sub fee really an option?
Especially when you consider that most gamers don't like to mix a subscription with a f2p model. The whole selling point of having a sub is that it 'covers the costs and promises quality content in the future'. However, we've seen that just isn't true for most games. The fear of F2P is that it doesn't guaruntee quality content, however you don't have to pay a cent to find that out.
So how much room is there really, when it comes to sub price. The closest thing we've seen to that is a few games offering a choice between a sub fee or a cash shop. A choice which, interestingly enough, seems larglely less popular than a pure cash-shop.
What are you basing 'endgame content' on? ESO has quite a few endgame dungeons, pvp, and raids coming out withing the next month. Unless the only content you care about is high-end raiding, I don't really see where your comment comes from.
LOL, can't survive on less? Really? You really believe it costs Blizzard $15 x 4 millions subscriptions to keep WoW up and running? The profits from subscriptions are outlandish compared to what you get in return for them.
I am fine with subscription fees. At MINIMUM wage in the U.S. that's roughly over 2 hours out of your 150+ hour month of paid wages. 3 if you include taxes. So, three hours at work (if you make literally minimum wage) for HOW MANY HOURS of entertainment?
If you play even 10 hours a month ( A MONTH!) that's three TIMES your initial investment back.
WAY cheaper than movies, bowling more than a couple a games (which you can only do once or twice).
I'm sorry, I just don't see the huge deal against subscription fees in general. As long as they have "working" customer support and amazing up-time (excluding patches etc...) what's the deal? Maybe I am just jaded... but I am a numbers guy and the subs aren't that bad in comparison to other things.
RAWR
A.) That doesn't mean you are an expert on what's good and what isn't. Why bother saying it at all? I've been gaming since gaming was born too and I thought a whole lot of "popular" games were overrated or just plain garbage, including Dragon Age, Final Fantasy VII and Skyrim. And don't get me started on Sonic the Hedgehog.
B.) Subs don't do anything of the kind. Not even "usually". Adults with bank accounts misbehave too, you know, I've seen it far more than "kids" doing it. You'd imagine someone who's been gaming so long would know the truth about subs.
On a related note, I got a beta in my inbox, but with a couple grammatical errors, etc. Is the real return email for Wildstar "transactional (at) email-wildstar-online dot com? If it is, maybe I'll give the game a download. It's only a weekend anyway.
I got an emai from transactional (at) email-wildstar-online.com, too.
There should be two codes in the email. One for US servers and one for european servers.
Go to secure. ncsoft. com, login an try to activate the beta key.
It worked for me. I can download the beta client form the official ncsoft website.
If you want to be sure, don't click on any links in the mail. Just copy and paste the beta key.
I am basing endgame content on actual content that is in game at the moment. Eso has the easiest dungeons i have ever experienced and one type of PVP. Now compare that to 3 different types of pvp(arenas,ranked and unranked bgs and warplots), 2x 20-40 man raids, 4 extremely challenging dungeons and 6 adventures with different paths to choose in.
Not to mention the open world bosses and actual open world pvp.
Totally agree with you there. But, when i read this "when you hit 50 after one moth then what,and after doing to only 4 dungeons then what." i can't help but answer to the guy, with actual facts.