2004 E3 Review
Unlike some other years, the 2004 E3 did not have as many surprises in the MMORPG category. Most of the entries were ones that have been hanging around for a while and are getting closer to release. Others that have been showing up for years have either, like Horizons and Shadowbane, finally been released, or like Mythica, simply disappeared into the gaming graveyard. Still, there is plenty to be excited about. Everyone kind of acknowledges that the next year’s MMORPG scene will be dominated by the twin releases of World of Warcraft and Everquest 2 and most of the other games seem to be trying to find a niche that will let them survive the overflow from the two giants. On top of that, many of the existing games seem to be coming out with a Christmas expansion. This means that, whether it is new zones for your existing game or one of the new ones soon to be released, it’s very likely that you will be playing at least something new by the time the next E3 rolls around. When reading this review, keep in mind that what you see at E3 is contrived and gussied up to look its best for the world press. Often when you get to actually play a game, it turns out to be quite different than the demo version.
New Games to Watch
World of Warcraft. I’ve been beta testing this game for 2 months now and plan on publishing an extensive review when we officially open our World of Warcraft site (which while not open for news, still has quite a bit of information on it – go to wow.allakhazam.com to see more). Suffice it to say that this game will knock your socks off. WoW takes MMORPG gaming to a new level. Most of the parts you hate about these games are gone and what is left if just pure fun. The focus of the game is the quest system. Unlike most other games of this type, the quests are fun, unique and integral to playing the game. They involve you in the story line and give you direction as to how to play and provide significant experience and item rewards. Because of the quests, your time in the game always serves a purpose and there is very little time where you find yourself simply camping mobs for items or experience. You log into the game, check your quest log and decide which one to start to work on. Everything flows from there.
The game is very well oriented for the casual player. You can play for an hour and actually feel a sense of accomplishment, although the game is so much fun, you may well find that the whole day has slipped by without you realizing it. Food and drink let you heal quickly between battles, so there is very little down time. Crafters and explorers may suffer some since running somewhere takes a lot of time and crafting ingredients are often hard to find, though the crafting system is easy to use and develop. Although they are still being tweaked, the classes are generally very well rounded and group combat works very well. Plus, all of the classes can solo very effectively and at least the ones I have tried are all quite fun to play in their own way.
Do I sound too enthusiastic about this game? Well, I have to admit that I am having more fun playing World of Warcraft than I have had on any single game in quite a long time. That "I just have to log on today" feeling I haven't had since the early days of Everquest is back in spades with WoW. Still, the game is not perfect. The rest state which punishes you for playing too long is a terrible addition which will hopefully either get eliminated or seriously altered before release. The graphics, while nice, are in my opinion not as good as some of the newer games coming out, particularly EQ2. There is also a need for more content. As it stands right now, I wonder if there is enough there to give the kind of multiple replayability that most MMORPG’s need to keep your interest year after year. Still, these are minor problems that barely impinge on what is a genuinely fun game. This is a can’t miss game that you are most likely going to want to play some day.
For more information go to http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/
Everquest 2. The second half of the Big Two, EQ2 looks like it may be equal to if not better than World of Warcraft. I saw the display at E3 and had the added advantage of getting to play the game for five hours at the last fan faire, and this game looks like another can’t miss prospect. Quite frankly, Blizzard and SOE must be playing each other’s games, because the few hours I played of EQ2 reminded me a lot of WoW. The 5 hour demo I played was very quest oriented. Everything you did was dictated by the storyline and integrated nicely into the game world. You never had that “what do I do now” feeling you get in many other games. Hopefully, this carries on to the higher levels. The UI was very easy to use and understand and I was able to get right into the battles and quests without much worry about the controls. Former Everquest players will basically be able to step right in and quickly figure out how the game works.
The thing that really stands out about EQ2 is its graphics. The character customization is so detailed that it is very likely you will be able to recognize individual players simply by how they look. The world itself is simply beautiful and full of incredible detail, and the demonstration they gave at E3 showing a group battling an acid dragon was heart thumping. NPC's actually interact with each other in the cities and the addition of voice makes the player to NPC interaction far more realistic. This may well be the most immersive MMORPG yet. Of course, that beauty comes with a price and many players are simply not going to meet the minimum system requirements to play the game. It may just be time to upgrade that old computer. Since I haven’t played it as much, I can’t say as much about EQ2 as WoW, but what I have seen is impressive. The beta test can’t come soon enough as far as I am concerned. This looks to be a definite winner.
For more information go to http://everquest2.station.sony.com/
The Matrix Online. All I have to go off of is the limited E3 presentation on this game, but this game looks very promising. The orientation of the game is towards individual combat and group missions. They did a terrific job of bringing the martial arts moves of the movies into the game, and of graphically capturing the look and feel of the movies. The characters are just simply cool to look at and the hand to hand fighting in the game seems very intense. They also created an enormous world. The city we were in had hundreds of buildings and each building had hundreds of floors, all of which were accessible. This seems to be a game that will appeal most to the more dedicated pvp players who enjoy long battle scenes, though they assured us that it has a significant amount of pve content as well. E3 demonstrations are always difficult to use for more than a surface review of a game, but I liked the look and feel of the graphics and combat. Those who are into the movies are going to enjoy experiencing the real thing. I am looking forward to the beta to get a better idea of this one, but it is definitely a game to keep an eye on.
For more information go to http://thematrixonline.warnerbros.com/web/index.jsp
Vanguard. The presentation of this game was mostly a look at the graphics, not the actual game, but what we saw was very impressive. If nothing else, this is going to be one gorgeous game. Much of what we were shown was movie quality in scope and breadth. Since many folks from the original Everquest team are working on it, I would expect it will be quite fun to play as well. The true test of this will not come until next E3, as the current development cycle seems to be shooting for a late 2005 release. Keep an eye on this game. It may be something special.
For more information go to http://www.vanguardsoh.com/
Other New Games
Saga of Ryzom. This game is currently in open beta. I haven’t tried it yet, but hope to download it and give it a try soon. If you want to play it, you can sign up for the free beta on the official site. It seems to be mostly pve raid oriented, concentrating on large battles with hordes of mobs and players interacting at once. The scenes they were demonstrating at E3 were of mass battles raging on their beta server. Since you can currently try it out for free, I suggest any who are interested go to their site and get the client.
For more information go to http://www.ryzom.com/
Wish. The premise of Wish is pretty unique. They plan on relying heavily on a dynamic quest system that will allow them to create unique quests and missions for the players to discover and finish. The idea being that completing a quest to slay a dragon will actually kill that dragon and the players who did it will gain fame for their accomplishment. It’s an interesting idea if they can actually pull it off. The world is also going to be significantly larger than other games, with as many as 10,000 players on a single server. This is supposed to go into beta testing later this year.
For more information go to http://www.mutablerealms.com/
Guild Wars. I am not sure this is technically an MMORPG, but I’ll include it here. From what I could tell, this is more of a Diablo type of game where you gather in one place and form groups and then enter your own instanced dungeon to play the game. The draw is that there will be no fee to play the game, so it will be providing online instanced group dungeon crawling for free. That alone makes it intriguing.
For more information go to http://www.guildwars.com/
There are several other MMORPG’s that either had such a minimal presence at E3 that I was unable to get any real feel for them or perhaps missed them altogether, or that clearly were just hoping to catch the eye of a distributor to get a chance of being released someday. These include Middle Earth Online, Warhammer Online, Dark and Light, Uncharted Waters Online, Mystinia Online and probably others I am missing. I’m sorry I am unable to provide you more information on these games.
The Expansions
Dark Age of Camelot. This game is getting a complete graphical overhaul that really sharpens the look of the game. Of particular interest is a complete remake of the player models. They get better features and styles and the armor gets a much more distinct set of dimensions. The new dyed armors were particularly impressive. The gave us old and new comparisons to see how the changes worked and there is little doubt that you will notice a significant improvement in the look of the game. Hopefully, we can get some screenshots to show you what we saw. The rest of the information on the expansion was still unclear. There will be the usual new zones, items, spells, mobs, quests, etc you get in any expansion. In addition, there will be at least one new class per realm. This expansion also introduces instanced dungeons to Camelot. From what I could see, this looks to be a winning expansion.
Star Wars Galaxies. The new SWG expansion has been eagerly awaited almost from before the initial game actually launched. Players can now pilot their own spacecraft from planet to planet and engage in interstellar combat. What they had on display certainly looked impressive. You could pilot a single person fighter or team up with friends and man the console while they fired from various turrets. Not enough was on display to make a true determination of how much fun this will truly be, but it was certainly interesting to watch. The expansion does not alter game play on the planets, so those who left SWG due to that may still not see enough to make them come back, but those who already love the game will really enjoy this extra dimension.
Everquest. The Everquest expansion was not on display at E3. Thus, we were not able to get any new information on it. As more is sent to us from SOE, we will keep you updated. One thing to note for those who have wondered about Everquest but balked at paying for the multiple expansions needed to play it is that there will be a new version released soon that will cover the original game plus all of the existing expansions in one box.
Final Fantasy XI. The actual expansion was not on display at E3. More information is promised over the next few months.
That’s it for now. As we get in more information on the new games and expansions, we will post it for you. Hopefully, this will help you plan out what you will be playing over the next year and beyond.
