Brent at Virginworlds: AoC > WAR

Taea · 08-20-2008, 08:51 AM

Brent has published a blog entry that has me both fuming, and laughing out loud at the same time. In his time playing WAR, he found it repetitious, not fun and old! He ends his thoughts with a comparison that AoC is in a "world that had some heart, some beauty and some purpose" that WAR does not have.

Read his blog, then let me know what YOU think.

SirRobin · 08-20-2008, 09:14 AM

AoC > WAR?

Wow, I feel sorry for Mythic. While more people can talk about WAR now it's all still just opinions, no matter how silly and "WTF?" some of them might be.

Taea · 08-20-2008, 09:21 AM

There are plenty of comments telling him he missed the boat on that comparison. I've played both, and I don't share his thoughts at all on that one.

Barbarious · 08-20-2008, 09:23 AM

Missed the boat by a long shot...

After wasting a month with AoC post-launch and played WAR for only a week, I can already say that WAR is more polished and fun to play than AoC.

I'm not a big storyline guy though - maybe he found something in the story or plot that he just didn't like...

but in terms of the game itself...

that comparison is just plain fail.

coder1024 · 08-20-2008, 09:38 AM

well, nothing to fume about, I didn't think. It was clear to me that he sort of missed some of the really great things about WAR in his experience.

Sure, if you just walk up the next quest giver and get some dumb PvE quest and go kill 10 rats and turn it in and rinse and repeat, you're not gonna be all that impressed with the game. it will seem like the same old same old. It doesn't matter how much you dress it up in lore, killing 10 rats is still killing 10 rats.

But, with AoC, you're *FORCED* to do this. In fact, with AoC, the goal is, as with most MMOs, to spend hundreds of hours leveling your toon so that eventually you can participate in the "end game" everyone is talking about.

So the whole experience is leveling your toon through largely boring activities like questing and grinding mobs. Sure, if you've never played an MMO before you might be impressed that you've been given a mission to deliver some critical document to some other NPC. If you're a vet, you're not so easily amused

The thing with WAR, though, is that you don't have to do that. With WAR, there isn't this, level to max level so THEN you can play the end game. With WAR, the end game is at every tier and you can jump right into it from level 1.

THAT is the key selling point for WAR. They deliver end game from the moment you start playing the game and you're not forced to go through some treadmill to get to the end game (which with AoC wasn't really there anyway).

Another key point which is related to this is that you have the choice. You can do traditional PvE, PQs, RvR scenarios, and open world RvR.

xenrik · 08-20-2008, 09:48 AM

To be fair to his blog, most of it is talking about how he feels WAR isn't a 'step forward' in mmo design -- and to a certain extent I think he has a point.

However I do think WAR does have a lot of innovations that other MMOs don't and his blog does not really give credit for that.

I would say that if your looking for 'something completely different' you won't find it in WAR -- but nor should you expect to as they have always been very clear how the game is focused.

I also think it's unlikely you'll find 'something completely different' coming from any of the big publishers -- much for the same reason that all the really big films that come out are either along the same lines as films already out (how many 100's of teen slashers have there been now, with the 'bad thing' changed and not much else), or are based on an IP they know will sell (Harry Potter / Narnia / etc.).

You have to look to the small players for real innovation and unfortunately making MMOs is such an expensive business that these seem to be coming out very slowly (e.g. Spellborn -- and like AoC the only major innovation there is the combat) and often they fail before they even release.

Taea · 08-20-2008, 09:52 AM

In the AoC - WAR comparison, AoC always marketed itself as something completely different. For many people the game failed to deliver.

I haven't gotten that impression from WAR. I've always felt is was more of "we're a great game" versus "we're going to change the industry!!"

SirRobin · 08-20-2008, 09:57 AM

Yep, at least how it feels to me, WAR has promoted itself as an evolutionary step forward while AoC promoted itself as a revolutionary step forward. AoC failed miserably to deliver on its hype while WAR actually has delivered on its hype in my opinion.

Wihtgar · 08-20-2008, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenrik

You have to look to the small players for real innovation and unfortunately making MMOs is such an expensive business that these seem to be coming out very slowly (e.g. Spellborn -- and like AoC the only major innovation there is the combat) and often they fail before they even release.

That's true, although I'm fairly optimistic about both Stargate Worlds and Fallen Earth. At least neither of those games have orcs and elves.

WAR never really marketed itself as revolutionary, so it should not be criticized for not being revolutionary. It's a nice little game. I haven't played AoC so I can't comment, but I never heard anything positive about that title.

RAH · 08-20-2008, 10:04 AM

Havent even heard of this guy...

Seems like his expectations are way too high.