EQ2 Review (Well Done and Objective)

[Twystyd]

One of the better reviews I have ever read. Nutz and boltz with a solid break down.

http://eq2.forums.thedruidsgrove.org/sh ... ge=1&pp=15

[Flipout]

very nice read.

too bad about the graphics. movies/screenshots looked amazing.

[Supreem]

wtf did someone delete my post on this thread?!?

[Twystyd]

I don't delete posts.

[barbos]

me either

[Pytt]

go to hell you anal phesant.

[Zoidmeister]

I posted a link to that back on Oct 19 (see about 2 threads down).


That's why Supreem was wondering where his post went ... it was on my thread.

Checkout my gem of a copy/paste from it

[Supreem]

OMFG you calling me a crotch pheasant with that gay avatar? HOLY FUCKING PILLOW BITING SADNESS!

you look like a character on dawsons creek hahaha

[Hall]

I DONT WANT TO WAIT for our lives to be over....while dan puts it innn the mansss beeeeehindddddddd. I dont want to wait for our lives to be overrrrrr.

On the next EPISODE.

Like omg did you see rolondo with alex like omg thats soooooo wrong i think he is going to ruin that relation ship. like omg he is so totally a crotch pheasent fer sure.

[Pytt]

Dawsons Creek fuckin owns. Call me Pasey ...bitches.

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

[Zoidmeister]

Another extract.....

It's funny how much everyone is anxious to get their hands on this game so much. A lot of people will be disapointed. I have played the beta and I'm done with it. It was great at first just like any new game but it dropped pretty fast in comparison. There are so many things that ruin the gameplay. The game controls you, not the way around. In fact, I have uninstalled it from my computer.

Here are a couple examples of things that ruined it for me (no particular order):

-You cannot buff anyone unless they are grouped with you. Same with healing. As soon as you leave the group, the received buffs fade.

-Every encouters are locked unless the player decides to yell for help in which case the encounter is unlocked and the possible rewards (exp etc) nullified (great anti KS system but that's all it does).

-When you click on a mob, it tells you in what category it falls, solo or group. It also shows you who that mob is associated with. Basically, if you pull that mob, you will know exactly which of his friends will come after you. There is no pulling strategy, no single pulling fun.

-Not enough solo content for the casual gamer.

-the servers cannot stay up more than one day without crashing, the server-side lag in

certain zones horrible and makes the game unplayable (yes of course, it's a beta, but eq2 will suposedly go retail in just a few weeks).

-Some zones become unaccessible as you get higher in level, you coudn't go back in there and show those old deadly encounters a thing or 2. Oh sure, there are plenty of zones to explore but why or why not? To prevent bothering lowerbies? whatever the reason....

-click the door and zone, click the marine bell and zone, zone zone zone. I rather have a seamless world where I see how the hell I got from the docks to the forest. I guess it's just a preference.

-When a party member dies, his exp debt is shared among all group members. Come again? Of course it's fair share for the warrior that dies a lot and the wizard that dies less (in a group setting). I can see how it would be understandable in a guild group or with your friends but with pickup groups and idiots that run around and get killed randomly? Kick them from the group? Great idea but you still have the debt.

-For you rerollers out there, be ready to do the same thing over and over for the first 10+ levels. The beginning classes are similar to each other. Even at the second rank, the different types of fighters don't distinguish themselves much. You have to wait for lvl 20 to actually begin some distinction. This system has more cons and than pros.

-NPCs voice overs are fantastic but wait a minute... that guard just said the same thing he did earlier when I passed him .. in the same voice as the other guard over there! Who talked about immersion? (the guards look different though)

There you have it, a few of the many things that ruined it for me.

Hopefully, some of these things will change before release or maybe have changed but from the looks of it, they won't, yet, if ever. The same threads about these gameplay issues are posted regularly on the beta forums and it's been months. Is SoE not interested in improving the gameplay?

I'm not going to discuss any of these topics since there are threads and threads about each in the beta forums. If you like these things and think they seem logical, you may be right or wrong, it doesn't matter. If you have fun, then good for you.

Here is a thread example (copy/paste) straight from the beta forums from a more experienced player:

Thoughts on EQ2 - From a 42 Ranger

**********************

Logrus wrote:

This is a post I've been meaning to write for a while. I've been in beta a long time, since a few weeks before the last character wipe. I am a level 42 Ranger/Level 27 Woodworker who I've played an insane amount of time. I've met many friendly devs and GMs, provided feedback and test a variety of zones, crafting, monsters, quests, and everything else. As a brief disclaimer, I never played EQLive, so you won't see me reference it, or how I think EQ2 should be like it. When I say what I see or feel,
that's simply because I want EQ2 to be good, and I think such and such would be good. The first few weeks of almost any MMRPG are amazing, with new things behind every door, with systems you don't quite understand, and this especially true of a beta, where things are added each week that can change the world completely. This was all true with EQ2.

Now that the NDA is lifted, I see the end of Beta coming, and the start of retail. While I knew this would happen, I, like nearly every other Beta tester am a bit worried about the state of the game. While many people point at the lag in Antonica and other crowded zones as the main issue, I've been lucky to have little to do with it, since when I first came to Antonica I was often the only person in it.

The thing I found most compelling about this game is the world. Even now it prompts me to explore and gain access to every zone I can. I am, at heart, an explorer, not a powergamer (Though, I do powergame, to further my exploration.) There are many amazing
zones, both in how they look, and how they function.

However, the biggest turn-off to the game, for me, and many others, is the character development system. As you all know, development is entirely linear. There is none of the joy in developing a well-rounded character, or a specialized one. None of the confusion in deciding what powers to pursue, and what to avoid. Even the frustration that comes with having made a mistake in development is good, because it gives your character exactly that, some character. You are different. You feel attached to your character: he is you, for better or worse.

But EQ2 chose to go with a system where the only choice you make is choose what subclass you want to be. I think most everyone knows going in what they want to be, so this choose is moot. If you want to be a Templar you will be just like *every* other Templar there is. Sure, some have better equipment, and some have different power in spells, but for all practical purposes, they are identical. I've played with many different Templars and Inquisitors, and I can't tell the difference between them, much less tell one Templar from another. Uniqueness has been removed completely. Even the idea of a 'subclass' is a bit misleading, since the differences between
subclasses is so mild, it is for the most part irrelevent. The first 1-20 levels are basically the entire game, in a nutshell. That's when you get your the majority of your core powers, almost 20 entirely different powers, that will define what your class is. The amazing thing is, this doesn't include any subclass powers. Each subclass has about 7-8 powers, of which most are not as useful as the original powers. Getting from 1-20 takes almost no time, relative to the rest of the game, yet that's it as far as character development is concerned. Character Developments ends before the subclass even begins.
From 20-45 you mostly gain two or three upgraded versions of your 1-20 powers.

I've noticed that many people burn out in their mid 20s. The answer is always the same: I was bored with my character. Some reroll, and do 1-20 again. Then the get bored again. Maybe this isn't the game for them. Perhaps. But it seems to be that the system is turning off many gamers, casual and powergamers alike.

Despite all the negative reactions on the boards about this sytem, SOE is going full steam ahead with it. Vague messages about changes in future expansions only serve to reinforce the idea that SOE is rushing the game out the door to compete with WoW, and that SOE is confident that masses will rush to buy and play a game with a half-fleshed out character development system.

Yet, I think it's more than that. (Though, that's definately part of it.). I think SOE has gone out of their way to control what characters can and can't do in this game more than any MMRPG in recent memory. I remember when I first started playing MMRPGs, I
always thought they were designed to grant the player as much freedom as possible, much like the RPGs they are based on. If you can imagine it, you can do it. Of course, computer games need to be coded and designed, and such ifinite freedom is impossible.
However, EQ2 goes much further than need be, all under the guise of balancing what players can accomplish.

On first entering the world, you learn about group and solo mobs. Solo people should never be killing group mobs of their level, and groups will never want to kill the solo mobs. Damage between fighters and scouts is roughly equivelent, so you will never be
wanting for DPS. All healers are equally effective, or ineffective, givin that 2 healers in a team is almost required for anything marginally difficult. Dungeons and zones are resticted to certain team sizes of people who have completed access quests. Equipment is limited by level usage, and how effective it is at certain levels. There is little awe and wonder at taking on something extremely difficult and winning, because such encounters are tweaked, to make it impossible to do so. My favorite memories of online gaming is when I, or my team, took on something difficult and won. Also, I cherish
powerful items that can make your character that much better. EQ2 will not be a game to make those kind of memories.

Instead, it will be a game where you follow your linear class path, and watch as your level 10 power is given a different name, and granted to you at 24 and 38. You will do the access quests when you can, and you fight things at your level, and will fight the solo mobs when alone and the group mobs when in a group. You will wear armor that rises as you level, so everything remains balanced throughout the game. Each fight will feel exactly like every fight, with you pounding your 4 skills that you've been using since level 20, and you will know the result of the fight before you even begin the battle. Your in-game experience will be almost identical to someone else playing your class. EQ2 is more like a Baldur's Gate than one would expect of a MMRPG.

I know EQ2 is billed as a next generation MMRPG, and graphically, it is. But in terms of overall gameplay, it seems like a radical step backwards."

************************

This thread is over 10 pages long with countless posts that reply... /agreed. And I do too, 100%.

Yes the graphics are stunning and it's beautiful walking through the cities and looking at the monuments, cathedrals etc. Same with the music, excellent. But the gameplay needs work. The same issues are brought up over and over and there is little sign of changing certain aspect of it. I am glad I was chosen in the beta, I saved myself some bucks.

[Supreem]

/cry

way to go SOE. with reviews like this, I would go back to EQ before I even thought about buying EQ2. retards. it seems like they took out everything good from the first game.

[Rhiandra Rangnar]

are some of you actually contemplating playing eq2?

[Nicosia]

....Rather pluck out Ron Jeremy's man hairs with my teeth..... Eh Rhia

[Rhiandra Rangnar]

Nico!!!!!!!




I need your new email addy, stop slacking!