Everquest versus Anarchy Online (A Review)

Anarchy Online has been out almost a month now. I know there have to be some Everquest players out there wondering about Anarchy Online and how it compares to EQ. I beta tested Everquest and have been playing it ever since. I also beta tested Anarchy Online and have been playing it since it was released a few weeks ago. Of course, I have seen a lot more of EQ than AO, so there are things that I can’t compare quite yet, but I still thought I would give you my initial impressions to help you decide if AO is a game you might want to try. So here is my comparison and review. Playability This is something I feel needs to be stated right up front, because I am going to try to ignore it for the rest of the review. At the moment, Anarchy Online is not a quality, playable game. The game was released with Funcom fully knowing that it was bugged, incomplete and unplayable. I was a beta tester and I was astounded when I discovered that the version we were playing those last weeks of beta was truly just a step from the release version. Frankly, I believe that any legitimate company should hang their heads in shame after releasing a game in this bad a shape. Funcom then rubbed salt into the wounds of even their most loyal customers by announcing that the game was “110%” playable two weeks after release, setting off the clock on the 30 days you get with your purchase and assuring that they will start charging people for a game many cannot yet play. The lag in the game is horrendous. Anytime you get close to more than a handful of other players, your frame rate drops to almost nothing and you find yourself standing in place. What’s worse about this is that you can’t sit or move your curser enough to even log out of the game, and you are often forced to stand there for five minutes or more hoping to just get out of the game. Of course, you can always alt-tab to windows and control-alt-delete the game closed, but that seems like a pretty extreme measure. Basically, this means that you are better off just not trying to play during the typical prime time hours. The pathing in the game is so bad that when you are in a mission your best chance is to move to a room, stand still and wait to see what starts to shoot at you. Of course, then it is often in another room and shooting through the walls, but at least you can shoot it back that way. Mobs can attack you through walls and across the playing field without you even seeing them or knowing where to go to fight back. Quite often you will lag out during a fight, which makes it impossible to use your special attacks, and then come back in and find out that you died. High patience and a low frustration level are required to play this game right now. A high performance machine and high speed internet connection are also a lot of help. If you go in expecting a beta quality game, you will probably still be amazed at the problems. Still, many people are able to play the game, so for those of you who are willing to overlook the obvious problems and want to delve into the actual game lurking behind the bugs, I’ll try to give you my view of how it plays. Graphics and Sound The graphics of Anarchy Online are crisper and more realistic than those of Everquest. There are nice little touches that really add to the feel of the world. The sky effects are pretty amazing and there are things like little robots and flying birds that add a touch of realism to the game. The player models are stunning and the number of outfits you can wear are astonishing. I created a female character just to experiment with the rather racy outfits you can buy at the store. This is definitely a PG game. With all the variety, I don’t doubt that you could really get to the point where you can recognize a person just by his or her looks. They also programmed some fun emotes into the game, letting you really express yourself. I know I got a lot of work out of the /anger command when the zones weren’t working right after release. Still, even with such crisp graphics, I find the world to be a little drab. I am sure it is by design, since Rubi-Ka is defined as a dead world that is slowly being terraformed, but there is very little color and variety amongst the cities and zones. Part of the fun in Everquest is zoning into a new zone and seeing how different it is from the rest of the world. Everquest has forests, plains, jungles, oceans, lakes, mountains and a whole variety of other types of terrain. From what I have seen so far, much of Anarchy Online is the same. So, while I like the individual graphics in AO better then EQ, overall I think I prefer the look of Norrath to the look of Rubi-Ka. When it comes to the sound track and sound effects, AO has EQ beat by a mile. I always thought that the music in Everquest was almost an afterthought by the developers. If I recall correctly, music was not even introduced into the game until several months after its release. A good soundtrack can help get the heart thumping and add to the excitement of a battle. AO has this and EQ doesn’t. When I play EQ, I find myself turning down the sound, but when I play AO I like to really crank it. Soloing and Grouping This is an area where these two games differ significantly. Everquest is strictly a group game. While soloing is possible, it is difficult to do and time consuming. In general, groups are easy to form and, because the classes are so well defined, you can form a group of total strangers and fairly quickly figure out everyone’s role in the fights to come. Anarchy Online is just the opposite. It is very easy to solo, and in many ways it is preferable. I have found it very difficult to find a group because most people have quickly discovered that you can get higher experience and better rewards by soloing. Moreover, when you do get into a group most people are confused about what they are supposed to do and in the end everyone basically just blasts away at the mob until it is dead. I assume as people get higher in levels and more specialized that things will change, but groups will never be as easy to define as in Everquest simply because the professions in AO are not so easily pigeonholed into defined roles. This has led to an interesting development in the game. Anarchy Online is simply not as social a game as Everquest. There is no general chat like the zone chat of Everquest and with fewer groups and faster leveling, it is much harder to meet people and make friends. It is more like a bunch of single player games being played simultaneously on the same server. Some of this is due to the lag, which causes most people to do everything they can to avoid other players, but even without the lag, I doubt this will ever be much of a group game. The advantage of this soloability is that Anarchy Online is able to be played in short bursts. If you only have an hour or two to play Everquest, it is almost not worth playing. By the time you log in, get to a zone, find a group and get into a rhythm it is time to log back out. However, with Anarchy Online, you can grab a mission, play it through and gain a half a level’s worth of experience and a nice reward all within about a hours playing time. This alone makes it a far better game for the casual gamer than Everquest. Still, I like the social aspects of Everquest and find Anarchy Online really lacking in that regard. Without more chat features and more incentive to group up with other players, the game will never really seem like a MMORPG to me. What I have discovered is that when I have an hour to play and just want to play a quick solo game, I log onto Anarchy Online. But when I know I can really sit down and immerse myself into the game, a find myself going back to. So far, I don’t think AO has the same addictive hook that EQ can exert on you. Classes/Professions In my opinion, Anarchy Online went the wrong way with their profession system. I don’t doubt that there will be some significant changes as they start to see how the players deal with it. Anarchy Online tried to overlap the professions and also, through a skill system encourage diversity even within the professions. In and of itself, this is not a bad thing. This supposedly lets the players determine their own destiny rather than be pigeonholed into a role determined by the game designer. Unfortunately, from what I can see, it has had the opposite effect. First, the professions don’t vary that much from each other at the start. Because of the easy availability of healing and nano restoring devices, everyone in the game can heal themselves and cast multiple spells. Plus, everyone can wear the same armor and use the same weapons. Naturally, everyone is going to start to figure out the best weapons, armor, nanos, etc and use their skills accordingly. This is especially true because you get so few improvement points that you feel you can’t waste any on any skill that is not strictly necessary. So what you get are few actual variations in classes. Maybe they will vary more in later levels. Also, with the sole exception of the doctor, all of the AO classes are attack classes. With the exception of the doctor class, there are no true support classes. There are classes that could be used in support roles, but because most players will spend a lot of time soloing, players who choose those classes will inevitably end up spending their improvement points on attack skills rather than support skills. This really hurts the grouping process and also reduces the variety in the game. In contrast, Everquest’s class system is very well defined, with each class getting their own specialties, armor, weapons, spells, etc. This can sometimes be frustrating, but it builds up a very well developed reliance upon other players and encourages grouping and interaction. It also makes it easier to know who and what you are dealing with. When you meet a level 25 barbarian shaman, you pretty much know what he can and can’t do. That certainty is not present in AO. On top of that, EQ’s variety increases replay value. The class and race you choose in EQ will significantly effect how and where you play the game. Play an Ogre Warrior and then play a High Elf Wizard, and you will find your aproach to the game to be completely different right from the start. In AO, the breed and profession seem to have little effect on how you play the game. Everyone gets weapons and spells. They may vary in name, but they all work pretty much the same. Are you really going to stop playing your level 150 character and start over with another profession that does much the same thing, only shoots pistols instead of machine guns? So I have to give Everquest’s system the nod over Anarchy Online. I have a feeling others may disagree on this. There is something to be said about having the ability to diversify your character. Still I know that when I switch from a Rogue to a Warrior in Everquest, I will get a completely different game experience, whereas in AO switching from a fixer to a soldier will not really change your style a whole lot. Items and Quests This is an area where Anarchy Online has really improved over Everquest. I love the generated mission system. You go up to a mission generator, put in your parameters and request a mission. You will then be sent to an area to perform a duty, whether it is fixing a machine, killing a traitor, finding a lost item, or some other similar quest. When you get there, your own private dungeon is created. It generally takes an hour to finish and at the end, you usually get a nice reward. You can do missions privately or in a group. This sure beats Everquest’s go camp 10 monsters for a cheesy reward quest system. However, the missions are better in concept in execution, which is a general theme running through much of Anarchy Online. I know I promised not to mention this again, but right now AO is a truly flawed game. Missions are often broken and can’t be finished. The pathing is so bad that you have no idea which Mob will start to shoot at you and you can often find yourself firing at a Mob through a wall while another one stand right in front of you oblivious to your presence. When you lag, the doorways disappear and can’t be crossed, stranding you in the middle of the mission. Still, assuming all of this gets fixed, the missions may well be the best part of Anarchy Online. Anarchy Online also gets a huge thumbs up for making their equipment level sensitive (well actually skill level sensitive, but it works the same way). There will be no twinking in AO, so a newcomer will not find himself wondering why everyone else in the game his level seems to be decked out in great gear while he’s scrounging for enough credits to buy the basics. Plus, equipment drops randomly in accordance with the level of the mob, so there is no camping in AO either. And on top of that, just about everything can be bought in the stores. You are not going to be forced to sit in one place for 15 hours just to get that Phat Lewt. These are huge plusses in Anarchy Online’s favor. There is a negative side to this though. Because it is so easy to get the items you want by yourself, there is little trade going on. Also, there seem to be few, if any, unique or rare items. I always thought items in EQ should drop more randomly, but that doesn’t mean they should become more common. I think that the lack of rare items in AO will somewhat take away from the competition that a true game player likes to feel. While a game should not be all about Phat Lewt, that is still a fun element of EQ that seems to be missing from AO. Still, overall I like the way AO handles quests and items better than the way EQ handles them. Overall Game Play So which game is more fun to play? That’s really the bottom line in evaluating a game. When you are sitting at the computer looking at the AO and EQ icons side by side, which one are you more likely going to click? Well, that’s a complex question. They are both fun games. If you can afford both, I recommend you play both. Why? Because of the differences. While they are supposedly of the same genre, in many ways these are completely different games. AO is a nice solo game that has the added advantage of having other people around to occasionally chat with and interact with and even group with. You can play it for an hour and actually accomplish something. Plus, I haven’t even mentioned the pvp aspects, mainly because I have not tried that yet. EQ is a great group game where you can really lose yourself in a group experience. When you have enough time to truly immerse yourself, this is the game to play. In all, even after setting aside the bugs and lag and lack of playability of AO at this time, I definitely prefer Everquest over Anarchy Online. Of course, EQ’s had more than two years to polish and hone itself to relative perfection, and I’ve also played EQ a lot more than I have played AO, but I doubt that even in four months or so when Anarchy Online finally reaches its potential and becomes a truly final product it will surpass Everquest. This does not mean Anarchy Online is a bust. If you can get past the bugs and the lag there is a pretty nice game in there. If you only have the ability to purchase one more game this year, then by all means save your money and wait for The Shadows of Luclin expansion or perhaps Dark Age of Camelot. If you don’t mind paying $50 for something that is flawed but still kind of fun, then this game is worth a try. Whatever you do, don’t cancel your EQ account though, because you may find yourself wanting to come back in a month or two and you will want that level 60 warrior still sitting there when you return.

Comments

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Lag Lag Lag
# Jul 24 2001 at 4:14 PM Rating: Default
Hi,

I read Allakhazam's review, and based on my playing AO since June 27, I have to agree with him. His opinion on playability completely matches my experience with AO. Regarding his opinions on classes, I didn't get far enough with each class to have a valid opinion of my own.

#Anonymous, Posted: Jul 24 2001 at 4:29 PM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) Yes his opinion of LAG was correct. there is lag in the city. Heck even in EQ when I went on guild events and you have 30 people casting particle effects in a raid you get lag. Sure not as bas as AO. AO will get fixed over time.
I'm praying for a new better game.
# Jul 24 2001 at 3:47 PM Rating: Default
People Everquest was a good decent game two years ago. But, through their policies and stances on customer support and service it is realy a turn off. Now at first I thought EQ was a rpg, but what it realy is, is an adventure fps. Bear with me for a second: You hav first person view; you can deal damage to mobs; you pick up weapons and armour; and the more mobs you kill the higher in level you go. That's an adventure game, not an rpg. Hold on, let me define rpg. In an rpg you create a character/persona; he has a very specific type of persona - based on race/skills/class/alignment and such; through those specific persona aspects he becomes more developed and defined and in a given situation he would "react" in a clearly identifiable way. ex: if an orc walked up to him, he would react ... like this; if the king of france walks up to him, he would react ... like this. Also in an rpg you can tell tales about the adventures and not all adentures result in money/equipment/experience points. Saving a puppy from a well for a little girl in a strange town doesn't render phat lewtz - that's rpg. A little girl asking the drow (because she's young and naive about drow) to save her puppy, who then turns and casts a fireball down the well - that's rpg.

I know some of you are saying this is the best implementation that a computer can come up with, insofar as rpg's are concerned, I beg to differ. Horizons and dark age of camelot seems to be trying to hit this very mark.

Ask yourselves this: in everquest could you truely be 'EVIL' on a blue server. Sullong zek seems to be trying to hit this on the head, but time will tell after all the nerfs and rules changes. Can you be truely evil, can you rape/pillage/burn/train "WITHOUT GETTING /REPORTED". Some people say training people isn't being evil, it's being a jerk to a player. Wouldn't a drow do that? Wouldn't a troll bend over backwards to make you miserable? Wouldn't a necromancer command legions of undead to decimate your lands? - that's all rpg.

Only in EQ can a dark elf necromancer serving inoruuk walk into north freeport and hug the paladin/cleric guild master. Only on EQ could a priest of inoruuk go to the plane of hate and be thrashed by every living being from the plane of hate.

Remember drizzt, the drow priestess'es were in fact systematically thrashed by lolths handservants, but they also visited them and had extensive conversations with them, and even came to their beck and call, depending on importance and level.
The Point
# Jul 24 2001 at 3:44 PM Rating: Decent
The EQ versus AO comparison is compelling for the simple reason that most of Allak's readers *already own* EQ and are wondering *whether or not to buy* AO.

Based on this review, as well as every other review I have read, there is simply no compelling reason to buy AO at the moment. The game does not function as it is supposed to do (pathing etc.); and has lag and memory issues that sometimes make it unplayable.

So I simply don't see the controversy: give up a cool, fun game that is a bit dated (EQ) for one that doesn't even work??? Nuts.

Souls
43 Lizzie SK

RE: The Point
# Jul 24 2001 at 4:19 PM Rating: Default
Do you really think that 33k people are playing every day a game that doesn't work? hehe

Yes there are issues. Just like EQ had - even now has. They will get resolved. I respect your choice to not buy AO. But the game does work. There are specific issues to specific areas in the game. Many people dont even experience lag. Did you know that? Some (like me) experience a LOT of lag. But yet I prefer this game to EQ. I've played EQ for 2 years. I grew to hate what the administration made it. A game with no pay off... no real goal or evolving world. The world doesn't change. New continents, but no evolution. no goal. no wars. even on pvp it's just not there yet.

Another structure is required to simulate war and battle. AO is making steps to that end, so is Neocron, so is Shadowbane, etc.

With all the issues in AO, I still find myself not playing EQ. I gave AO a fair chance. what I learned was this.
**Even if AO doesn't improve and I end up quiting it, AO showed me a valuable lesson - EQ just give me nothing no entertainment. And most people i know who play who won't admit this are so blind to the fact they spent all of last weekend frustrated from some dragon raid, or some terible guild event, or the utter lack of Roleplaying or just hte fact there is no pay off for gaining levels.**

Ao isn't the answer, it's a pointer to the fact EQ has failed for many and it's time to move on to something better. Neocron, AO, Star Wars, DAOC, Horizons, Shadowbane.... something with better structure....
Sheesh
# Jul 24 2001 at 3:27 PM Rating: Excellent
So much negativity from you people. I think it's unfair in the first place to bash someone for his opinion. I don't think this review was meant for you people in the first place. The people that have already cancelled your accounts with EQ and hopped on the AO bandwagon. This review was for people like me who havn't played AO yet, and were still cautious about the move. What I got out of this review, you ask? Alla, DID reccommend buying both if you can afford them, but DID warn us about lag and bug, which may or may not be present, though I DO expect them in this early stage of the game. Am I gonna run out and buy AO now? No. Would I have ran out and bought it if Alla had nothing negative at all to say about it? No. But knowing some of the plusses and minuses of the system now, it sounds very appealing to me, and something I will definatly want to check out after they have smoothed the edges. It's just common sense if you want to play a quality MMORPG, don't buy it the day of the release.

To those of you who bashed Alla on this review, shame on you. This man has no intention other then helping and informing his loyal readers. To say you lost respect for him and to insult him on his own website is horrible. Get over your EQ ***** envy. It will take a hell of a lot to push Verant off the MMORPG throne, and Bashing EQ and Alla doesn't help.
RE: Sheesh
# Jul 24 2001 at 11:00 PM Rating: Decent
Your right on verant will not be knocked of with Star wars galaxies coming out witch i htink will take over AO in Sci fi games mybe Doac will take over EQ but AO in my opinion will not beat star wars when it comes out.
RE: Sheesh
# Jul 24 2001 at 4:33 PM Rating: Default
I wouldn't bash him for his opinion. but he's basing his opinion on incorrect data and then selling that data to you and others.

It would be like reading a review of EQ saying, "Well EQ has no real incentive to group. All you do in a group is die die die." That is not correct. There is incentive to group in both games.

This person who wrote this appears objective but he really isn't. He came in with bagage. Look at all the AO players who are responding saying, "hey that's not true, I can do taht in AO... Hey there is a reason to do this in AO... AO doesn't do that..." they are only saying it as from real life experiences we don't see some of what he's saying.

He is right on the lag. Although I think he should have prefaced that in the opening paragraph that when Verrant launched EQ it had massive lag problems being hooked on Cerfnet with a ISDN backbone. Even worse then AO when it launched. Such is life - things improve.

Did you play
# Jul 24 2001 at 3:21 PM Rating: Default
Did you play past lvl 5??

All the reviews coming out compare AO to EQ..

AO is not EQ if that is the only way you can judge future products then dont judge them. Comparisons to EQ are getting old. AC is more simmaller to AO the EQ ever will be.

EQ was fun for me a 1 1/2 ago until I realised my char afetr 51 was a waste why sit there for 6 real time hours just to get half a bub of exp...Pointless!!!

"Studies show once you reach lvl 60, women will know your name and people will no longer laugh at you but with you"

So yeah in AO you finally get to say 200 then what go fight Uber Mobs until all you gear is max'd then what?

PvP baby...Greif PK....Grid Ambushes Etc...

Or you could walk around Tutoring folks to earn some dough..

Or you could spend weeks decorating your Apartment..

Or you could bye a Vehicle and cruise the Skies of Rubi-Ka.

quit whining!
# Jul 24 2001 at 3:18 PM Rating: Default
Quit whining and buy the freaking game!
all problems will be solved in time ..
god didnt create earth in 1 day.

if ya dont like ao go back to eq or uo or quit playing both and see the sun outsite ..;)

tarcy
Think
# Jul 24 2001 at 3:09 PM Rating: Default
Some of you fanboys are getting all upset over the most realistic review of AO to be put out.

You guys say the game works great now but let me ask you something.If you were using the recommended specs funcom published on the game box would it still play great?No way it would and you all know it.

You guys get all huffy saying the game is great but you dont realize the people who dont have a 1.2ghz cpu might not be enjoying it as much as you are.These folks would never have spent 50 dollars if they new up front the system they would need to run this game.

In case your wondering yes i have a 1 ghz cpu but i still get crap game play because of the memory leak.
AO
# Jul 24 2001 at 3:00 PM Rating: Default
Its funny. Seems like the people who were saying that EQ sucks because of bugs, bad pathing, etc. are saying that AO is great, even though it has worse problems.

I am in the software industry and it sickens me that the general public is willing to put up with software that is not functional but released anyway. They had an example of how popular this game was going to be with EQ (which, I pressume, is the reason to go after this market--the power of the almighty dollar) so they should have anticipated more of the lag issues, let alone bugs withing the game. Even when they didn't, they should have responded to and admitted that they should have left it in beta and not started the monthly subscription.
RE: AO
# Jul 24 2001 at 4:36 PM Rating: Default
why dont you read the thred. this started with the writer you dumb ****. HE stated that the game has pathing issues, and offered that as a reason why he doesn't play.

He made a stupid f***ing statement. People responded by saying, uhh EQ has had pathing issues since launch... not the other way around.

My goodness you people are so stupid.
RE: AO
# Jul 25 2001 at 2:12 PM Rating: Default
Why don't you read what you write? It makes no sense. Guess you have first hand knowledge at recognizing stupidity.
Another Psycic? =/
# Jul 24 2001 at 2:42 PM Rating: Default
"Have fun in EQ, it's got about 6 months left." Funny, I've been hearing that for over a year and a half now. Good thing I don't trust those 900-Psycic numbers. :p
Settle down
# Jul 24 2001 at 2:34 PM Rating: Default
Mybe his review isnt completely accurate but people settle down the lag is getting better and saying that allakhazam is a person who has never played the game are crazy he has a website for hes got to like the game to make. And saying EQ is going to be around for only a little longer the new expansion will make the graphics much better then they are now and more 3D.
Cons and Pros
# Jul 24 2001 at 2:28 PM Rating: Default
I played AO from Beta 4 myself. There are just so many more things you can do with AO than EQ. Its alot more easier to Roleplay for some reason. I found it harder to roleplay in EQ than in AO. In AO you even have your own personal living space that you can buy things for and decorate it how you want. The Areas by the Sides you choose, Clan, Omni or Neutral look different from each other. Most of the people who have complained about AO's character abilities probably havent been past lvl 20.. No make that lvl 15. The faster leveling ability causes less frustration because you can get to your level much quicker than in EQ so it makes you more satisfied and feel like youve accomplished quite a bit in such a small amount of time. You have the ability to Insure your character and dont have to worry as much about death. Such as EQ for example: when youre solo'ing giants and you get that one giant who resists everything you throw at it and you get a mudhole stomped in your ***** Now youve just lost Ooooh half a bubble? A full bubble of XP which took you 2 or 3 hours to make???? Where as... you die in AO, Sure youve nearly got a new level and youre almost finished with a mission and you die. Big Whoop. Your insured. Although you lose the XP you still come back fully clothed. When you reclaim the stuff you last had on you in your inventory youre all set again. The missions are more interactive and are randomized. You never know what your gonna find in the locked treasure chest or whats behind that locked door. Whats kinda baddie is around the next corner? Another thing that Ill never forget is that Funcom said "your" game as in Opposed to Verant saying "Our" Game. Whats the purpose in EQ btw? I got the best PHAT l3wT in game!!!! AO has a storyline based on those 3 factions. Who will win Omni or Clan. Will Neutral help them out or take their own side and beat them both or help both. The real politics havent started in game yet. There are mission Tokens for a small neck pin Token board that raises your standing and gives you benefits. The first benefit is some extra max HPs which go further than you think here. Yeah you have First aid kits and Nano rechargers and Treatment centers but nothing can beat a repetitive heal from a good Doc. Which way do you want your Engineer?? Personally Vierge my engineer is going the route of Tradesman with all the tradeskills being maxed every level first, then stats then nanos and combat abilities. He is more group oriented the higher level he gets though because his Combat skills are lacking but his robot pets more than make up for it. My Adventurer instead of going Dual weilding Pistols I went straight Melee dual weilding one handed edeged weapons. Every Profession has their own nano formulas. There are many ways you can play just ONE profession. Each profession has its favorite breeds because certain breeds max out higher in certain stat areas. Skills are based on stats and those stats govern the max limit of that skill. Such as Opifexes are Agility and Sense based. The reason the Martial Artist profession prefers Opifex is because most of the martial artist prefered based skills are heavily agility based. But you dont have to go opifex Try going Atrox. How tall do you want your characters? How fat or thin do you want them? Its your choice in character creation. How many faces does UO and EQ have per Race and Sex type? 1 for UO then the ability to choose skin color? 7 or 8 faces for each race and sex in EQ and no way to change bodies. Try AO 20 or so different faces for each race and sex.
This is the booming age of technology folks. MMORPGs are popping out everywhere. Its your choice where to go and to stay. Noone is wrenching you arm or beating you around the ears telling you to stay or go. Peoples' personalities and lifestyles differ so they prefer different types of games. At the rate technology is growing there is always gonna be a bigger and better game somewhere. I just saw one that took an outrageous amount of system resources but it completly took my breath away. How does flying around galaxies and landing on planets sound to you? In a year or so theyll be mid to bottom of the line. Look at Horizons. Were already pushing 2gig processors. I bet well be in Tetras in another couple of years. (at least the computer that are on the market) They have 256 bit GRAPHIC cards now and SDRAM memory is so cheap right now that a game cd is worth more than a 128 SDRAM chip. I like AO because they are trying to take care of all their customers not just the UBERs who play the game almost as if its a job. There are your die hard fiends and your fed up players. Which one are you? UO for being around as long as it has still has players because there are the die hard fiend players. AS there will be with EQ, AC, and AO. Im a gamer folks. If one game no longer suits me I move to a bigger better and or different game. Every game has its pros and cons. Do the Pros in a game outweigh your personal cons? EQ is not a place for casual players. Why do you think a good 60-70% of the player base mainly had druids. They were easily soloable. Not everyone is socially graceful. Another one of my cons for EQ was the different servers. I had friends on several different servers and I couldnt just pick one. In AO its all one place.


Vierge Clan Engineer
Lyrinn Clan Adventurer

good review, but missing stuff
# Jul 24 2001 at 2:08 PM Rating: Excellent
*
119 posts
Eq, AC, and AO were all released with relativly fine tuning left to be done. (i don't kno about UO because i didnt' play that).

i only have characters at level 10 or higher, but i can already see the differences between them. (nano mage, and Soldier). my soldier is hitting for more damage each time i up his ranged, and my nano get's better damaging spells.

about the "feel". Omni the town itself has a very "noir" feel to it, all dark structures and very forboding. run out to Harry's and you'll get the feel of a suburb (and a hella'va lot less lag)
there is a cave entrance in the east side of Harry's that completly impressed me, went from a nice plains on the outside, but the cave had a full "toxic" feel, even had to practice some tomb raider type jumping to stay safe (outta the toxic goo).

i got spunky and decided to take a little run out of town, and found an entrance to where some critters were, and since they were all red, hit my "concealment" button, and just stood there and looked around, i saw 5 different critters...it was freakin awesome. no one of them has a resembelance to any of the "classic" types (havent seen an orc/orkoid type yet)

to compare AO and EQ you need to take a step back.
EQ is litterally one of the popular MUD engines with graphics. AC took the other popular MUD and added graphics to it. for a first attempt, they did a great job.

AO is the first of a new generation. they still have class roles, but allow for diversity within the role. it's not EQ's fixed class, where the only difference between two characters of same race and class, is the equipment they wear (which most go for "the best for that slot", thus making them homogenous) and thier initial 20-30 points. or AC's "the best skills to have" problem where (i stopped playing 7 months ago) everyone is a two school mage (item, life), archer, with melee Defense.

with AO the posssibility of having two soldiers standing side by side and having a completly different skillset is a very good chance. one could be a john wu akimbo pistol wielder, and the other could be the guy carrying a rapid fire missile launcher capapble of taking out that tank on the ridge (and yes, i'll probably be driving the tank when they get here.)

the lag problem is still there. i play on a dial up modem (Damn DSL, and cable aren't available in my area yet) and i can only realy play in the wee hours of the morning. and even then, i get a mission quick and get back to a lag free mission area.

at my level there isn't much to tactics besides zone in, look into the main room, if nothing aggro's immediatly, pick a fight, and kill them all in the room. (i play with order turned to full green, and so they only engage one at a time). and then follow the "hang left" principle and go throught the mission in a logical order taking left turns till i've come back to the start. i typically kill everything in the zone jsut to get the exp, and all the loot possible.

about grouping, at level 8 i found a doc who was looking for a group, and we did 4 group missions with the difficulty turned all the way to red. the exp flowed, but then i found out that the reward only went to one person, so i was a little depressed, and we had to alternate looting of corpses to keep the money even, as there isn't an "auto split" yet. and i miss the "so and so has looted the uberdevice of killing" that EQ put in a few months ago. but we both got uber exp with me killin, him healin and assisting me.

so, grouping is a viable form of play as long as everyone understands thier role (like meta's and agent's with thier roots, melee opponents have no real chance...hehe..don't bring a bat to a gunfight).

overall, AO is where i'll probably be in a year exclusively. but for now, i still play EQ more, as they iron out more bugs.
#Anonymous, Posted: Jul 24 2001 at 2:01 PM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) Wait until the game gets into it's groove...it's really not fair to compare two things when one is God and the other is an infant. One important aspect neglected to mention is the storyline, which has not even began yet. Once we all begin to see some higer levels (which is what we are using in Everquest to compare to) and let the "real game" (imo) begin, then please place your opinions for all to view again.
My 2 credits
# Jul 24 2001 at 1:54 PM Rating: Decent
First let's get this out of the way - AO should NEVER have been releaseed in the shape it was in. If I released a piece of software like this to my customers at work I'd be out of work. OK, small flame over.

Let me say I've played EQ from day 1 of retail release and I've played AO from day 1 of retail release. I have a lvl 52 cleric in EQ and have my nanotech up lvl 19 in AO.

Allakhazam's review has a few facts in it but mostly it doesn't seem like he's played the game very much.

Playability
Yep, pretty right on here. I have a P3 1GHz/512MB/GeForce3/DSL and I still get hideous lag if I'm anywhere near a large group of other players. The stability of the game has improved drastically over the first weeks since release, but the performance still sucks. Mission bugs with shooting through walls are slightly annoying but largely playable now. The first few days I lagged out frequently in missions and couldn't even get transported back to my reclaim terminal when I got killed because zoning wouldn'g work. Those problems seem to be largely resolved now.

Graphics and Sound
AO blows EQ away on graphics. The graphics at 1600x1200x32 are just amazing even with options turned down to help with the lag issue. As far as sound goes, I turned off the music on EQ almost as soon as I got it, and did the same on AO. Everybody I talk to did the same. Not sure how having a techno pop soundtrack enhances your immersion in a virtual world unless that's what happens to you in the real world when you get into a conflict. If it does you should seek professional help.

Soloing and Grouping
Most of the statments in this section are just outright wrong. Once you get past the mid-teens soloing for experience is very time consuming compared to grouping. I went from level 18 to level 19 in about 25 minutes when I got in a full group which took me about 3 minutes to get into. Since then I've been doing solo missions for credits which have been successful for that purpose, but I've put in probably 6 hours of time and only finished half of level 19. No comparison. The one statemen in this section that is accurate is that so far the game is much better for casual gamers like me. Playing a level 50 cleric in EQ is a pain. I'm hoping the trend of being able to solo continues into the later levels in AO, even if just for credits.

Classes/Professions
You're way off in this section. The different professions in AO are very, very different. The lowest level nanos do some similar things but by mid teens they're very different based on which class you play. There are some general nanos that everyone can buy, but they're extremely weak compared to the specialized ones. For example, my nanotech can get a heal spell....a wimpy 10-25 pt heal spell that is virtually meaningless at mid teens level. The docs get much higher level ones, but then again they don't get Accelerated Titanium Pellet like I do :) Also, since all the classes have major differences in which skills are easy to raise, it becomes nearly impossible for anyone to be successful doing a generic character which uses all skills. If you don't specialize in something that's cheap in IP to raise you're toast. For example, my nanotech is already at 139 comp lit and hopping the grid all over, for a soldier to get to that level they would have to dump all their IP into comp lit and would basically be useless as a soldier since they couldn't use any high level weapons or armor. The comment about everyone being able to use the same weapons and armor is also wrong. All the good armor and weapons have skill requirements that rapidly become out of reach for professions for which they aren't appropriate. Someone gave me some heavy duty tank armor, but my wimpy little nanotech couldn't wear it for lack of Strength. However, my soldier buddy will never be able to wear the Nano Armor for the opposite reason.

Items/Quests
I have to agree the AO mission system is far and away a better system that EQ's quests. Having played EQ for quite some time I don't think AO having some broken missions is any worse than EQ which seems to still have quests that are broken from the original release. Also, since I can just delete the offending mission and go get a different one these bugs are much lower impact than in EQ. Another thing I disagree with is that everyone can just get all the items themselves. Just try to build that spiffy quality level 100 implant without the appropriate skills and you'll see what I mean :)
I should also mention that I love the level specific armor.

Overall Game Play
It's hard to tell at this point. I've played EQ for a long time and AO only for a few weeks. I must say I haven't logged back onto EQ at all since AO was released but that's probably just because it's new. I think the PVP concept of AO is much better than in EQ. I like the idea of having certain zones (not just arenas) where you have differing levels of PVP; none, political or mayhem. EQ's PVP system for the non-team servers is useless especially for RPers.

See you in Rubi-Ka.......
EQ vs AO
# Jul 24 2001 at 1:50 PM Rating: Default
I have a feeling he knows what he's talking about more than you do. He's been there and done that, he hosts the largest and most reliable bunch of sites for EQ and AO (eq/aoatlas is part of allakhazam) He's probably played MANY more games than you, Knows the gaming biz MUCH better. I trust his comments over yours. You are probably that guy who deleted your 60 warrior and are mad at yourself because you did it and have to vent by flaming someone who knows more than you.
RE: EQ vs AO
# Jul 24 2001 at 8:47 PM Rating: Default
No kidding bro
#Anonymous, Posted: Jul 24 2001 at 1:46 PM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) You wanna talk about Horrendous lag, try navigating this website!
Played them all
# Jul 24 2001 at 1:44 PM Rating: Default
Out of the big 4 only AC had a stable start. I played through the UO bugs and EQ zoning hell (you are on top o the world!!! 10,000 dam after the freefall). Unfortunately AO did come out too soon, they should have waited another month because its very stable now (except for the memory leak)

Allakhazam had some good points but the My Experience triple post cleared up a lot of the misconceptions he had. Grouping is much better for exp than Solo missions. Missions are where the money is though. As for the social aspect, i have had no problems finding friends and groups but you have to remember people are experimenting with the solo aspect of the game as well.

Another point to bring up is a recent comment of the day from Funcom. They said that the 1st 75 lvls are supposed to be fairly fast, in a couple months even casual players can have a pretty powerful character to fight with and explore the world. Then they can make a new one from a different profession and experiment. The 75-200 lvl range is for the devoted and for the power lvlers. These are the people who have to get to the top 1st or have the perfect Uber tweaked char.

This is AO's way of making the game for everyone, in EQ its pretty tough to lvl a char at any rate playing casually. Also the downtime in AO is WAY less than EQ. With every profession being able to use Nano paks and Treatment Paks downtime is 1 min not 10-30mins. My reading will suffer accordingly :)
woot!
# Jul 24 2001 at 1:36 PM Rating: Default
woot!

yes, yes...you will all play AO. AO is a much better game. EQ sucks. AO rules.

in all seriousness...thanks for thinning the herd AO!!!
Alex Mars Comments on the Hatchet Job Review
# Jul 24 2001 at 1:33 PM Rating: Default
I debated putting this in and decided to add a comment:

Next time don't make your review such an underhanded hatchet job. The facade of an "evenhanded" review was pretty transparent.

Your comments about AO quality are way off base unless you are living in a mountain cabin playing on a TRS80 connected to the internet via a dixiecup and string.

Most of the bugs you listed are either dead already or almost dead.

Has the Writer even Played AO?
# Jul 24 2001 at 1:32 PM Rating: Default
The writer says that AO isn't a comunity based game like EQ and that AO focuses on soloing. Well I can't imagine this writer played his characters beyond level 6. The fastest and best way to move up is by grouping. Soloing definately works but isn't the most efficient.

On top of that, check out the chat and communication features in the game. Yes there isn't a global chat (ooc) but who wants that? That is OOC. AO stays mainly IC. Examples of IC is not being able to pick your name so you dont have some guy named "Pickles" - instead you are given a First and Last name IC, and you can choose a "nick name." So Pickles or "Bloodhound" although silly isn't your "real" name but a Nick Name.

The communication chanels are awesome. you can easily organize a major battle. You have your group/team chanel, you can then create multiple chanels that can include multiple groups/teams etc. you can log/listen to any of these chanels very easily - with just a click of a button.

Dieing in AO is much easier on the human mind. You don't loose levels and if you "insure" (a means to save your progress) you can't loose any experience before Insuring. You can actually get nice items at level 1.

As per graphics, the author somehow prefers ugly 2D looking plantlife to that of the amazing graphics of AO. Then he suggests people wait for Luclin. I think what he fails to grasp is that Luclin although ads a race, and improves graphics. The graphic engine screenshots don't really look that good when compared to Neocron, Anarchy Online and Horizons. Don't forget it's the same game. It's the same company that bans people without warning, it's the same game where you waste your life away for hours and hours just trying to get back level 49, because you died to many times.

Personally I played EQ starting a month after it launched. It was good in the begining, but quickly became Politically Correct. It now has a market for a G rated audience. Neocron, Anarchy and many others are targeting a more adult audience. the newer games do not ban people for cussing.

On the flip side, the only thing I can even try and continue playing on EQ is Sullon Zek. All other servers IMO have no validity as there is no real goal. the goal of blue servers in EQ is to gain cyber crap. Who cares if you have a new helmet? it doesn't even show on your body for crying out loud. Where as in Sullon Zek, and other PvP game environments level determines your power in the game and over other players. That at least is a legit goal for moving up in the world.

AO also has a 100% better guild environment, where you have guild buildings/apartments, bank accounts, you can set a payroll for members of the guild to pay them once a month, week, day etc.

AO is much more of a RPG IMO then EQ - which is a game about camping for hours and hours and playing for weeks and weeks to regain a lost level.
RE: Has the Writer even Played AO?
# Jul 24 2001 at 2:22 PM Rating: Good
If you have looked into the new expansion for EQ there graphics are going to go more 3D to compete with other new games.
RE: Has the Writer even Played AO?
# Jul 24 2001 at 2:48 PM Rating: Default
Hey man, I have seen the graphics for Luclin and they suck. IT does NOT compare to the beauty of Neocron, Horizons or even AO.

Check out Neocron and then Horizons and then look back at Luclin and the shots on their own site. It isn't as good as those other games.

Luclin is a weak attempt to improve graphics and a VERY weak attempt. It still lags behind Horizons and many other games.

And guys, you didn't address the other point: These other games actually improve the idea of the whole gaming environment. Other games, are busy improving the graphics beyond Luclin and improving PvP, improving concepts of questing and grouping... taking land in battles... etc.

About death: Yes death should have penalties, in AO it does - but it doesn't have to if you are clever enough. But in EQ the penalties are off the scale of normalcy. I see people spend thousands of hours just to get back the two levels they lost in some series of raids. I myself have been in a similar situation. I saw my life becoming the game. I had to spend more and more hours to retain something that wasn't worth it. Where is the pay off?

Will being level 30 mean anythign in EQ? how about 40? or 50? or 60? what do you get? more spells? but better spells gainst better monsters = no change to the game. As long as there is no PvP there is no challenge. Sullon Zek has the right idea. I respect that one server in EQ. BUT, it's still the same game where you HAVE to go kill stupid crap to level up even if you are playing a monk. where is the sense of playing a monk that has to go around wasting wildlife so that he can improve???? EQ has become a RPer's nightmare. I'm not saying that AO is the grand RP environment, but it's a step in the right direction. Where playesr can have nice things without having to kill 500 spiders, or buy 10k plat on ebay. In AO You can make money easily on your own - even at level 1 you can make enough to buy nice clothes, decent weapons for your level and so forth.
RE: Has the Writer even Played AO?
# Jul 24 2001 at 2:15 PM Rating: Default
I would think that he has played it longer then you. I have played both from the start. I think it is good to lose exp when you dye I is saying you will be punished for dying.
RE: Has the Writer even Played AO?
# Jul 24 2001 at 3:22 PM Rating: Decent
Yeah but it's silly that given the oportunity a rat can kill a lvl 60. Don't laugh and say the lvl 60 is a n00b, its in the friggin game. Furthermore enchanters, the weakest class in the game, can kill much of anything on their own so dieing is a reality ALL THE TIME. We should applaud Verant for that?

I'd personally prefer D&D death, but I also prefer D&D's structure and spell system and equipment system anyway.

I can dream can't I?
Alex Mars
# Jul 24 2001 at 1:25 PM Rating: Default
The lag issues are now much less of a problem, BTW, and mission bugs are all but gone.

The comments about EQ classes vs AO classes are on the mark, there is a great deal of overlap in AO classes. EQ classes have a lot more variety.

The gameplay in AO is better than EQ, however. There is almost NO downtime at all (I recently logged on my EQ magician, realized I had a 15 to 20 minute wait for mana/health until I could play and just logged off).

Basically they are both the same sort of game, whack-a-mole and run the level treadmill. AO just does it better, IMO.
maby later
# Jul 24 2001 at 1:22 PM Rating: Default
i was going to buy the game now but i think i will wait, the lag and pathing should get worked out with time. i think i will wait until they get that fixed. untill then, i'm sticking to eq
Different Opinion
# Jul 24 2001 at 1:16 PM Rating: Default
Interesting review... I have played EQ for about 6 months... and in that time, being only a casual gamer, i raised a 30th Druid and 25th Monk. It was a pleasant experience for sure. I had had the opportunity in the past to try UO for a couple of months, but the graphics and gameplay didnt appeal to me at all. When i learned about AO, i applied and got selected to test the Beta 3.
I can respect Allakhazam's opinion, but i have to question his objectivity....? To be honest, there was no need for a review coming from him. He is not in any special position offering a unique expertise on the game through either an association with the developer or through extensive gameplay. There was nothing new or particularly interesting in his review.
He obviously has a vested interest in maintaining the viability of EQ since it has provided him with a source of income for the last 2 years! In terms of website, he is definitely the authority on EQ. Unfortunately for him, there are other sites out there that are doing a much better job on AO at the moment... One can only wonder whether this review could be but an attempt at salvaging some of his departing customers. One thing his review has done for sure for me now is to delete this link regarding AO. Plainly put, i personally like AO much better than EQ, (for many reasons) and as such dont care for a webmaster who doesnt... Thank you though for your efforts on EQ, they were much appreciated, and i wish you luck in maintaining the viability of the game. Competition is healthy. Is that what the EQ giant is feeling now? A much more decent competition than AC or UO were? Mayhaps the giant is not as secure anymore... as he should!
#Anonymous, Posted: Jul 24 2001 at 12:47 PM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) Geez Allakhazam, sounds like your just pissed that someone else put out a better game than EQ. I really think your review of the playability is a "little" extreme. Unless of course you're playing on a 14.4 modem, in which case, your opinion is accurate. As far as mobs being able to attack you through walls and across the playing field....well, I guess you havent been to Mistmoore or Unrest lately. Or Guk, Sol B, Splitpaw.....I think you get the point.
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