In WAR, characters are members of one of two “realms” (Order or Destruction) and a race within that faction (Empire, High Elf, or Dwarf for Order; Chaos, Dark Elf, or Greenskin for Destruction). Classes are chosen upon character creation, and, while each race has a class of each of four archetypes (healer, tank, ranged DPS, or melee DPS), classes themselves are unique to each race and have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Stability: 7
Difficulty: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 8

Story: 10
PvP: 10
Questing: 10
Crafting: 3

Average Score: 8

The three sections that received “10′s” are the two reasons I love WAR, and, quite honestly, the rest of the game could be nearly unplayable, and I, personally, could still enjoy it. For those who know the story of the Warhammer franchise, the story of the Warhammer world is totally present and integrated into gameplay. Warhammer tabletop veterans will pick up on the underlying story that brought the world to its present point in Warhammer Online. Those new to Warhammer will be quickly sucked into Warhammer’s world, if they so choose to be (also contributing to the high immersion factor). Not every player will read the story chapters added as his or her character advances, but even through quests alone, players can be drawn into the game’s storyline.

In addition to providing a basic storyline, quests supply a steady stream of gear and items. This gear is not of the same quality as can be gotten from random (and rare) drops, RvR rewards (more on that later), and from raiding, but it is more than acceptable before finding more 1337 loot. Experience gains from questing are also substantial enough that players are not tempted to go off and grind as the sole method of leveling.

Actually, leveling is a bad thing in some cases. If you make full use of WAR’s PvP system, until you reach 4th tier, you will spend a good deal of time praying that you don’t level too fast. WAR’s PvP is called Realm-versus-Realm, RvR for short. There are four different tiers sectioned off by level in which players participate. But, unlike WoW’s PvP system, characters gain experience in RvR. So, what happens if you’re on a roll, and you level above the cap in the middle of an RvR run? You have ten seconds to run for it before your maximum health is reduced and you turn into a chicken. Yes, a chicken. This is a symptom of the treatment of PvP in WAR: it’s actually FUN. It’s neither a solo endeavor, nor is it a commitment. It’s easy to join and leave RvR and is very well integrated into the game between instanced scenarios (like WoW’s battlegrounds) involving capture-the-flag and other familiar mechanics and persistent open-world battlegrounds where realms battle over fortresses, flags, and so on. Being a huge PvP fan in general and having found WAR’s RvR the epitome of PvP awesomeness in comparison to most other games, I could go on and on and on about RvR, but I’ll spare you and continue on to the one not-so-great aspect of WAR.

In addition to being a PvPer, I’m also a crafter. WAR’s crafting system is, sadly, unipressive. It’s graphics add an extra nice touch (such as the alchemy lab), and some functionalities are interesting (such as growing plants), but, for most, it’s the end result that matters. Gatherers will quickly find their bags crammed with materials that are useless for a fairly long time which can be a challenge, since extra bags cannot be bought. On the crafting end, early items are essentially useless, especially low-grade talismans which add only minimal boosts and last only a few hours. Potions are more useful, but can be expensive to produce successfully. But, the real problem with crafting is this: talismans and potions. That’s it. The Mythic team has stated that their intention is to add more crafting capabilities, but until then, WAR’s crafting system is only a pale reflection of what it could be if there were more it it than talismans and potions.

But, on the whole, WAR is certainly worth its standard $14.99 per month pay-to-play fee. It may be daunting to more casual players, but is surprisingly friendly to players willing to put in some time to discover its pleasant surprises. I played the 10-day trial, skeptical of how interesting it would be. I held out for 5 days before caving and subscribing. It is a genuinely fun game that is both dark and has a sense of humour. Even at low levels, I never felt pressured to level too fast. The content for tier 1 can be just as much fun as content for tier 4 and is strong throughout. It is actually possible to enjoy the process leveling from 1 to 40 instead of feeling pressured to hit cap after a month. As I do with all games, I’d encourage you to, if Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning sounds interesting, give it a shot. WAR offers a 10-day trial with a level cap of 10 for trial players. The trial and more info are available at: warhammeronline.com.

Each factor will be out of ten.  The two categories will be used to differentiate between what makes a game generally playable and what (i.e. the content) I look for out of a game.

What Everyone Thinks is Important

Stability: Does the game crash if you look at the screen cross-eyed?  Do the graphics slow to a twitch upon opening a browser window?  Does it draw every byte of system resources just to start up?  Basically, this section covers the game’s general playability.  If the game doesn’t cause your PC to explode after being played for 12 straight hours, it’ll get a pretty high score.

Difficulty: Difficulty, in this case, does not refer to the difficulty of in-game content such as leveling, crafting, etc. but to whether or not the game can be played without reading the manual/game guide/etc.  Is the interface logical?  Do you have to check the manual to figure out how to move, use the hotbar, or understand some other simple function?  If an in-game tutorial is included, that will also be considered in the scoring (so, games with in-game tutorials should probably receive higher scores).

Graphics: How ugly is the game?  Are the graphics suited to the game’s general atmosphere?  Much of this score beyond general pretty-ness factor is determined by how well the graphics fit the game.  Example:  WoW’s graphics would not fit EVE, nor vice versa, but both work in their own respective cases.

Sound: Was the soundtrack made by the creative director’s 3-year-old (assuming said child is not a musical prodigy)?  Do the voiceovers sound like the same person did them–for characters of all genders, races, and so on?  In the case of soundtracks, this is another “Does it fit?” category.  But, the basic premise is the same:  if the sound makes you want to mute it or turn your speakers off, it’s bad.

What I Think is Important

Story: Does the storyline resemble the depth of Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or does it contend with the likes of the illustrious See Spot Run?  Has the backstory been made into best-selling novels or comics?  Better yet–was the game based on pre-existant best-selling novels, comics, or tabletop games?  Or, on the other hand, does the plot make you feel that a romance novel would have more depth?  If you swear that this world must exist because there’s no way anyone could make up so much detail about something that doesn’t exist, that’s pretty good.   

PvP: Does PvP give you an adrenaline rush, but not reduce you to neurotic twitching?  Do you try to stop leveling so you won’t have to adjust to a new PvP bracket/tier?  Does the game make you love PvP so much that you start judging all other games by the quality of their PvP?  If PvP is both competitive and fun, we have a winner.

Immersion: In some ways related to the story, immersion isn’t quite the same animal.  Basically, this category instead covers how much you feel like you live some other life in the game.  Do you feel like you’re a citizen of your character’s world?  Do you know more about the price of real estate in-game that about the real-world real estate crisis?  Are you more excited about finding more epic gear than about buying clothing to replace that shirt you’ve been wearing for the last 3 weeks?  Yes, this is the creepy obsession factor.  It does sound really weird and awkward, but it’s really the result of a good game’s ability to immerse players in its world.

Crafting: Does the crafting system consist of mushing a bunch of unrelated things together to make some useless junk?  Does empty bottle + stick = Sword of Epic Lame -12?  Does it just not make sense (see previous question)?  If so, you have stumbled upon a really horrible crafting system, but you didn’t need me to tell you that.  If, on the other hand, you actually look forward to crafting 500 potions for your guild’s next raid, not only are you crazy, but you have found an excellent crafting system!  But, you didn’t need me to spell that out, either.

After the basic scores, I’ll make comments about the game in general as well as make some specific explanations.  I’ll try to keep them short and to-the-point, unlike the explanations above.  More like this explanation, but rather longer so that it generally makes sense.

So, this, in no particular order (it’s how they’re arranged on my desktop…) is my to-do list of games to review…

Ragnarok Online
Sword of the New World
World of Warcraft
Guild Wars
Trickster Online
EverQuest II
Atlantica Online (re-reviewed in new review format)
Wizard 101 (yes, the shame–I know)
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Perfect World
Monato Esprit
Florensia
Rohan: Blood Feud
Runes of Magic

I can’t even tell you how many betas I’ve participated in, closed and open.  Usually, I use the betas to waste time when I should be doing something productive and abandon them shortly after beginning them.  I expected nothing different from Atlantica Online, of course.  But, from the level 1, I was addicted.  I play as Ydella on the Mycenae server and am currently level 30 and of Free League division 16 (more on that later).  According to my Xfire profile, I have played Atlantica for a day and a half (36 hours)–fourth of my five most-played games, and all that in only a few weeks…

†Basics†
Atlantica Online is not the traditional MMO:  it’s an MMOTBS (Massively Multiplayer Online Turn-Based Strategy).  Turn-based strategy games are notorious for moving rather slowly, but Atlantica takes care of that by adding a turn timer for the player and computer as well as having a competent AI that challenges players and requires quick reactions.  The player is put in charge of the main character he or she created as well as mercenaries which can be hired at various increments.  In battle, the player controls all of these characters who fight and level up individually to combat various challenging enemies in battle.  Of course, it’d be silly to have nine characters fighting only one monster, so encounters are individual pitched battles with a number of enemies which make for exciting and rewarding experiences in themselves.

†Storyline†
So why fight all these monsters and hire mercenaries anyway?  That’s where the plot comes in…  The first area of the game is within the player’s dream where he/she discovers that he/she is heir to the power of the lost civilization of Atlantis.  In speaking with the three sisters who are in charge of Atlantis, the player gets a quick tutorial of how to play the game and also learns the purpose of his/her quest:  to find Atlantis and fulfill his/her destiny.  The player then returns to the real world (oddly enough, our world, assuming you live on Earth) to discover Atlantis.  The story then takes the player through various cities and dungeons to help the people in those cities and lead him/her closer to his/her destiny.  The player can wander wherever he or she wants, but the plot guides the player fairly rigidly.  Now, this is good for people like myself who like the strong plot of single-player games and the gameplay of MMOs, but perhaps not so much for people who like more open-ended wandering before end-game.  If I had to pick one thing that sold me on Atlantica, it’d have to be the strong plot.

†Mercenaries†
The lifeblood of Atlantica is by far the recruitable mercenaries.  There’s a lot of diversity to be had in the tactics a player uses, and this is all due to said mercenaries.  Ranging from the berserker-style Viking to the healbot Shaman in D-class and the high-powered Cannoneer to the quick Witch in C-class, mercenaries can be hired and stored in the Mercenary Room as needed to insure that the player’s favourite strategies are well catered to.  However, until level 44, the player is limited to only D-class mercenaries and their upgrades–a frustrating barrier for those who’d like some more diversity in their allies.  The D-class mercenaries are certainly no wimps, but C-class mercenaries bring with them powerful new skills and help flesh out players’ strategies.  Each mercenary will level up separately, can be upgraded to more powerful forms with crystals, equipped with weapons and armour, and taught various skills.  A player can even rename mercenaries with a low-priced Blue Quill to complete the individualization of his or her small force of mercenaries, adding a personal touch and attachment to the otherwise bland recruits.

†PvE†
The PvE portion of Atlantica is undoubtedly the focus of the game–and it shows.  PvE consists of pitched battles between the player’s mercenaries and various world and dungeon monsters.  These battles can be quick and simple or drawn-out and challenging.  Encounters result in experience points and valuable loot which can be used or sold on the market.  A warning to those unused to strategy games:  Atlantica’s combat system is no hack-and-slash.  Force takes back seat to strategy and knowledge of mercenaries’ strengths and weaknesses.  However, monsters’ difficulty and intelligence increase incrementally, so early fights don’t require complex strategies which are common later in the game.  The game is structured so that the player’s arsenal of strategies is forced expand slowly through a combination of new mercenaries and more powerful enemies so that he or she will be challenged by the game’s various stages while also being prepared enough to conquer them with his/her own strategies.

†PvP†
In many games, PvP becomes a great time sink for me.  Atlantica’s Free League is no different.  Free League is made up of 18 divisions (10-18 are currently active) with 18 being made up of the least experienced PvPers and 1 being made up of those with exceptional winning records.  Players can compete in Free League beginning at level 20 in division 18.  Free League competitions are opened periodically throughout the day and last for one hour.  Players can compete in up to 8 battles per competition.  As the player wins matches against players in the same or similar divisions, he or she moves up the ladder to more advanced divisions and greater honour.  Players also earn titles (such as Soldier, Scout, etc. up to General) as they accumulate fame which can be displayed in front of their names.  Currently, Free Leaguers can also win real-life prizes (see this page for details) in addition to in-game items such as license packs and bonus experience.  But the real value of participating in Free League competitions is testing out strategies and just enjoying the game.

So have I persuaded you to give Atlantica Online a try?  If so, visit the website HERE and register!  Remember, everyone who participates in Free Leagues until 23 October, 2008 (now until 30 November, 2008!!) helps the Atlantica community get free stuff and has a chance to win real-life items such as iPods and Wiis!  At the very least, give Atlantica a try and see if you’ll love it as much as I do!

Yet, the final vote on the bill was a close one:  205 ayes to 228 noes.  With elections swiftly approaching, why did so many Representatives choose to vote against the human resistance to change that voters have expressed in response to this bill and other such federal rescue attempts?  The answer to this question is simple:  they realize that something absolutely must be done, and whatever that is, it must be done quickly and effectively.  For such a colossus of an economy as that of the United States, failure simply is not an option.  The economy does always right itself–in time.  But what the public must realize is that it will not be quick, and it will not be without more damage.  Whether or not it can right itself before its utter collapse is not a chance that can be taken.  With over 300 million Americans’ economic stability and the global economy’s future hanging in the balance, political preferences must no longer hold their usual sway.  Throughout American history, some previously held ideas must be forsaken to address important issues at hand to ultimately save our freedoms which we have the opportunity to prize here in America.

So why did the proposed legislation fail if it was meant to protect our stability and freedom?  The first answer to that question is a less hopeful one:  lack of public support.  Due to the looming general election, many Representatives, at best, hesitated to approve the bill, and far more voted against it altogether due to the voters’ desire to keep things the way they are and wait for the economy to sink or swim without intervention.  However, the more hopeful reason for which the bill was not passed was the hope of many Representatives that a better bill could be drawn up or the proposed one improved so as to limit control which would be given to the government while still salvaging the economy.  Many Representatives, after the vote, spoke to the high hopes that such an improved legislation could be proposed and approved quickly so action can begin to right the economy as soon as possible.

Bottom line?  Something has to be done–and fast.  The opportunity cannot be given to the public to panic as they did 70 years ago which resulted in the Depression.  Legislators have united in their desire to renew confidence and stability in the United States economy, despite the costs both financial and of a more abstract nature.  Often, no one really wants change, but our economy is changing regardless of our intervention or lack thereof.  The public must decide that it is necessary to change with it, or suffer whatever consequences may come.