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Nusair's Wildstar game review!
11 years ago
So many of you may or may not have heard of Wildstar. Those of you that have, may have seen the NC soft logo and just ended there. I have to say I can't blame you. NCsoft has had it's share of flops. In fact the only NCsoft game I really gave any more then a thought of my time was City of Hero's which I enjoyed quite a bit. So there has been plenty of hype about the game and I would like to put my thoughts down for anyone interested in the game. I've not had the best of track with MMO's. since WoW I've had a bit of a falling out. WoW started great and really...i felt dragged ass and ruined their own lore and game well trying to keep the game from getting stale. So I've been pretty critical of all MMO's since.
So Wildstar is a pulpy sci-fi setting game. The game features seven races (four on each side, though both sides have Humans) and Six different classes. This part of the game doesn't really have anything spectacular. It does have a pretty decent character customization system. It has plenty of options and lets you adjust your character's facial features and body features along with adjusting facial traits such as nose size, chin size and what not. It isn't overly complicated and fairly easy. I was pleased by it but it didn't blow me away.
Once you get into the game, you are faced with a slightly cartoonish world that is by design a bit hokey and humorous. It serves it well as it just makes the game more comfortable to play. They do a decent job of making things easy to understand for the most part. The stats in the game are a bit of an exception. Each class gets different benefits from each stat. For example Brutality increases attack power on Warriors well Medics it gives Strike-through rating. So it isn't so simple to understand what exactly you want. You need to really read your class to understand what you want to look for in gear. So once you understand what your stats do and what you need for your class it will make your game experiences much better when you get to level 10 or so when they actually start to matter.
The game play is pretty simplified, it helps you feel like a hero when you start playing. All attacks are basically an AOE with different sizes. Your sword swing for example does an arch in front of you well laser pistols may do a long straight line or cone in front of you and lets you take on more than one mob at a time. The combat system is basically a hybrid system that leans toward a Guildwar's style you can change on the fly. You are given quite a few abilities that you unlock as you level up, but have only limited space on your hotbar and make you build your own play style no matter what class you play. I actually enjoy this it isn't overly limiting and really makes you fine tune your rotation what ever it is and stops you from needing absurd amounts of add-on to manage your abilities (which I've always considered cheating anyway)
Ultimately the game has been accused of not doing anything original. I will agree with this criticism there isn't anything this game really does that is a new idea. HOWEVER....what it does do has a rather fresh and appealing feel to them. The quest system is broken up and lacks lots of the UPS style quests of *pick up this bring it here* Quests require you to use items on monsters, solve puzzles, and kill monsters. But they don't load you down with to many of one kind. My personal favorite is a quest that has you sick a mind control octopus on enemy player's or their base guards...at the end of which you get a lovely brain sucking helmet that talks only to your character...and you get a nice moist tentacled friend to take place of your head!
The group quests are by far a nice change. Dungeons are not the cozy autopilot they are in games like WoW or other MMO. If you get a Dungeon...on normal it is going to slap you around and leave you feeling raped...the bosses are no joke. The first dungeon I did at level 20 was WAY more interesting and WAY more difficult then raid end game bosses in WoW ...and only require 5 people...yea....FIVE people! Far more easy to get five friends together instead of trying to deal with the bullshit politics of large raid guilds.
The crafting system is by far the BIGGEST thing different then any other game. Crafting itself is actually a mini-game. It isn't the ...click and craft style play most games have. Finding materials is relatively easy. Crafting isn't so hard either but getting exactly what you want takes some skill! Just cooking for example isnt' an exact science! You need to actually add ingredients....and balance them to make special versions of food to give it special buffs. But it isn't the same ingredients every time. Last time a pinch of garlic and some cheese was all it took...this time it may need pepper and some cinnamon! Armor smithing/architects are much the same way. There is an element to randomness that you have no control over. So you will need to pay attention. Also leveling your crafting up gives you crafting skills that let you choose which bonus your craft tech tree will have. That way most armor crafters will likely not have the same talent set up...I admit the crafting and trade system impressed me.
so TLDR?
Game is good...if you enjoy MMO's this is a game for you, and you will rather enjoy yourself! If you are on the fence about MMORPG I would check out youtube or ask a friend who does have it to let you try it. The game does have a subscription model, which I actually prefer over free to play. However it is possible to play for free! Yes yes...there is a system set up that lets you use in game currency and acquire C.R.E.D.D. which lets you play with out using hard cash. You will have to GOOGLE that to get the low down. Now if you aren't much of an MMORPG type person...just keep moving. There is nothing in this game that will change your mind.
So Wildstar is a pulpy sci-fi setting game. The game features seven races (four on each side, though both sides have Humans) and Six different classes. This part of the game doesn't really have anything spectacular. It does have a pretty decent character customization system. It has plenty of options and lets you adjust your character's facial features and body features along with adjusting facial traits such as nose size, chin size and what not. It isn't overly complicated and fairly easy. I was pleased by it but it didn't blow me away.
Once you get into the game, you are faced with a slightly cartoonish world that is by design a bit hokey and humorous. It serves it well as it just makes the game more comfortable to play. They do a decent job of making things easy to understand for the most part. The stats in the game are a bit of an exception. Each class gets different benefits from each stat. For example Brutality increases attack power on Warriors well Medics it gives Strike-through rating. So it isn't so simple to understand what exactly you want. You need to really read your class to understand what you want to look for in gear. So once you understand what your stats do and what you need for your class it will make your game experiences much better when you get to level 10 or so when they actually start to matter.
The game play is pretty simplified, it helps you feel like a hero when you start playing. All attacks are basically an AOE with different sizes. Your sword swing for example does an arch in front of you well laser pistols may do a long straight line or cone in front of you and lets you take on more than one mob at a time. The combat system is basically a hybrid system that leans toward a Guildwar's style you can change on the fly. You are given quite a few abilities that you unlock as you level up, but have only limited space on your hotbar and make you build your own play style no matter what class you play. I actually enjoy this it isn't overly limiting and really makes you fine tune your rotation what ever it is and stops you from needing absurd amounts of add-on to manage your abilities (which I've always considered cheating anyway)
Ultimately the game has been accused of not doing anything original. I will agree with this criticism there isn't anything this game really does that is a new idea. HOWEVER....what it does do has a rather fresh and appealing feel to them. The quest system is broken up and lacks lots of the UPS style quests of *pick up this bring it here* Quests require you to use items on monsters, solve puzzles, and kill monsters. But they don't load you down with to many of one kind. My personal favorite is a quest that has you sick a mind control octopus on enemy player's or their base guards...at the end of which you get a lovely brain sucking helmet that talks only to your character...and you get a nice moist tentacled friend to take place of your head!
The group quests are by far a nice change. Dungeons are not the cozy autopilot they are in games like WoW or other MMO. If you get a Dungeon...on normal it is going to slap you around and leave you feeling raped...the bosses are no joke. The first dungeon I did at level 20 was WAY more interesting and WAY more difficult then raid end game bosses in WoW ...and only require 5 people...yea....FIVE people! Far more easy to get five friends together instead of trying to deal with the bullshit politics of large raid guilds.
The crafting system is by far the BIGGEST thing different then any other game. Crafting itself is actually a mini-game. It isn't the ...click and craft style play most games have. Finding materials is relatively easy. Crafting isn't so hard either but getting exactly what you want takes some skill! Just cooking for example isnt' an exact science! You need to actually add ingredients....and balance them to make special versions of food to give it special buffs. But it isn't the same ingredients every time. Last time a pinch of garlic and some cheese was all it took...this time it may need pepper and some cinnamon! Armor smithing/architects are much the same way. There is an element to randomness that you have no control over. So you will need to pay attention. Also leveling your crafting up gives you crafting skills that let you choose which bonus your craft tech tree will have. That way most armor crafters will likely not have the same talent set up...I admit the crafting and trade system impressed me.
so TLDR?
Game is good...if you enjoy MMO's this is a game for you, and you will rather enjoy yourself! If you are on the fence about MMORPG I would check out youtube or ask a friend who does have it to let you try it. The game does have a subscription model, which I actually prefer over free to play. However it is possible to play for free! Yes yes...there is a system set up that lets you use in game currency and acquire C.R.E.D.D. which lets you play with out using hard cash. You will have to GOOGLE that to get the low down. Now if you aren't much of an MMORPG type person...just keep moving. There is nothing in this game that will change your mind.
(Fav part of SWTOR is that I can mostly solo it.)
There is a narrator that basically gives you a hilarious little blurb when you level up and change zones. For example I level up last night and he yells. "Holy @&^$ My BADASS-OMITOR JUST HIT ELEVEN! It made me chuckle...and most of his commentary does. But this is pretty much a MMO...not much in the way of solo content or class story. Pretty much just world story so if you enjoyed SWTOR for the personal character story you will likely be sad that this game lacks any of that.
Except in winter. Then I prefer something else.