It’s been nearly a whole year since I last posted any of my opinions here at GamerNode. I’ve come back from a great deal of time off from writing, and as such I might be a tad rusty…so bare with me. I thought It would be a cool to take a look at Warhammer: Online and say what I believe the game has going for it and against it.
So let’s start with what the game has going for it.
New-ness: Yes that’s right, it has new-ness! Warhammer: Online is a breath of fresh air in the stale lungs of the MMO industry. Anything that looks new to gamers, looks cool, and seems to have some changes made to the way we play MMOs, is surely to have a crowd waiting outside of Gamestop to buy the game.
Features: From public quests, to the detailed tome of knowledge, you’ve got features upon features of cool things to check out in this game. Being able to customize your interface without the hassle of downloading addons and hoping to God that the upcoming patch doesn’t wreck your hard work is sure to be a plus to MMO gamers out there. This game makes you feel important in the grand scheme of things. You feel as if you’re contributing to a grand capital city as you watch your work aid the leveling of that city. It’s great fun exploring, killing trolls, and aiding fellow players while you watch your little avatar level up. With the tier system, and the level boost setup so you don’t get completely ganked PVP, you don’t feel any huge obligation to level up at lightning fast speeds. This makes leveling up in Warhammer: Online natural, and less like a chore.
Hype: It’s Warhammer…it’s a new MMO in a WoW dominated market; of course it’s going to get a lot of attention. The game was in development for quite some time, and even though some of the developer’s over-zealous features were left out of the game, Warhammer still received a ton of positive hype. That hype helped give the game a healthy launch, with over 500,000 registered members out of the gate.
Story: Warhammer’s story is, in my opinion, fantastic. It gives lore nerds something to really bite into, and since some gamers are sick of the world of Azeroth, this is a nice breath of fresh air. Sure some kiddies might claim that Warhammer steals it’s story from Warcraft, but in reality Warhammer’s lore has been around and evolving for over 23 years. You hear that kids? Warhammer came before Warcraft…The lore is rich, brutal and gritty. Regardless of the side you choose, you’ll notice that the Warhammer world is not filled with neon lights and spaceships hovering over the capital cities; but instead you find burning buildings with people screaming inside, decapitated heads on sticks, and…well you get the picture.
Ok well that’s it for the good, now what keeps Warhammer: Online from being absolutely perfect.
Bugs: Yes I’m more than aware that Warhammer: Online is a brand spanking new MMO. I’m also aware that there has never been a completely bug-less MMO launch in the history of video games…but the fact remains that WoW, like it or not has had years and years to iron out many of the annoying bugs that keep us from truely enjoying the game. I believe new comers to the world of MMO’s will generally find WoW more appealing simply because the game runs smoother and with fewer hiccups than Wahammer: Online. No it’s not entirely fair, and mystic has done an outstanding job in fixing these bugs very quickly, but the bugs are still going to effect the game in a negative way.
Hype: Yes I believe hype to be a bad thing as well. A game, like anything else in life, can become so hyped up that gamers start to expect too much from it. I feel that was the case with Warhammer: Online. Many people expected Warhammer: Online to be the be all end all; The second coming that was to save us from the "evil monopoly that is World of Warcraft" if you will. However, when WAR wasn’t absolutely perfect, many people who over hyped the game started to bash it for not being completely perfect. They forget the hell we all had to go through at the beginning of WoW’s launch. They forgot all the bugs that have come and gone….and come back to haunt us in some cases. No game’s perfect, I think it’s important we as gamers try to keep that in mind.
Endgame: Ok, I’m lvl 40….now what? I’ve heard this a lot in WAR. People spend a lot of time grinding in PVP and PVE to get to the end game, just to discover that the end game isn’t fully realized just yet. Yea there are cities to siege, but that can only be fun for so long right? Hey I love protecting a piece of our land as much as the next guy, but when finding something fun to do in a MMORPG becomes a chore, it seems like it’s time to leave and go play something else.
That’s really all I could think of to be honest gamers. Warhammer: Online has a lot going for it. It has a great story with deep lore and some rather interesting fart jokes; but the fact remains that the developers of the game have an uphill battle to fight. With WoW’s upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King coming out in just a few days, and Blizzard obviously making some changes to compete with WAR, I think it’s safe to say Mythic has their work cut out for them. The thing I’d like to stress is that this is all great news for us, the gamer. Competition breeds innovation and change to games that would otherwise stay the same.
That’s all for now boys and girls. I’d like to know what you guys think of Warhammer: Online and its future in the MMO world. Remember that this is just my opinion, my take on things. Take from it what you want, and oh yea, leave some feedback if you don’t mind.
