AoC - early access review (på engelska)

här följer en liten review jag skrev upp för dem som är intressare. kom ihåg... mina tankar bara.

Graphics:
*rig used = q6600 @ 3.2ghz, 8 gig standard ram, 3870. vista 64
Gorgeous Game. much better than eq2 (IMO) animations are smoother more realistic (due to motion capture). the countrside looks pretty alive.
Runs better than eq2 ever did and ever will. i can remain playable in dx9 version with all details att the very top of their sliders with AA. thats with a single card!. i have crossfire so it will work. i still cannot run full playable in eq2. landscapes are gorgeous for an MMO, gives you a sense of scale and immersion.. especially when you are climbing those mountains. despite having "Zones" i enjoy climbing just to see the view.

UI: this part pretty much sucks compared to eq2. dont get me wrong.. its not all bad. but there are no settings to modify it. i miss being able to set hotbar sizes positions of health and group bars, and setting up colors in eq2 was a godsend.. but i think this will improve with time.
generally its still a click the button and do the spell.

Story: i gotta say the story is much more immersive than what i played in eq2, there is a very clear storyline that you have to follow to leave the first island. this is solo, and apparantly stretches all the way to lvl 80. (which i muchly approve off.) the only problem i have is that the story does not really seem to be MMO material. its the kinda of story youd find in a single player game. and makes it feel like your the hero on your own. rather than immersing you in the world. .. but as i said. this is only up to lvl 20 so far. which can be done in 2-3 days easy. i expect it to get harder.

Quests: quests are well done. especially in the beginning with all voiceovers etc. however after you leave the initial island the voiceovers are only part of the actual main storyline quests. and guessing raids etc.
they also suffer from the general problem that i mentioned in the storyline. some of them just dont make sense for an MMO. ... getting wolf skins. yes that works. however finding a hut for a guy to move to? thats somethign only one player should ever need to do.

Combat: this is the best part of the game. it is very much melee oriented. there are only 12 classes and you get 8 character slots so plenty to choose. from. combat is more interactive in that each entity has 3 levels of shield. which they can move around to different areas. if you hit their had 5 times all their shuilds are gonna move there and you will do no damage.
Weapon attacks actualy strike more than one oponent. this works really well. and really helps when you are trying to smahs things up. two handed weapons are actually really really fun to use. evem combos are fun. you click a combo starter and then have to press the right directional butttons in order to complete it. the animations are gratifying. there are also random chances to do fatalities. which look great. this combat engine is the main focus of the game. and its what really draws you into the questing and killing.

Items: cant talkm much about these yet. wait till 40.
Mounts: wait till 40.
Crafting: wait till 40.
Gathering: can gather at 20, have not done so yet.

as with any MMO this game has a few bugs, and issues, but it has a great deal of potential. though there are aspects where eq2 does better. i have to give AoC the thumbs up, it made actually playing fun. whereas in Eq2 it was mostly the friends i had that kept me playing. or the desire for that next uber armor piece. AoC focuses more on gameplay expereince than item hunting. one thing i miss is a home to call my own. emotes are also on the low quantity scale. give the game 6 motnhs to a year and it should beat everythign else out there i think.

oh yeah feats, which are basically your AA but reminds more of WOW's talent system than eq2 AA. nothing over the top, they seem well balanced and mostly it come down to preference rather than any real advantage.

Classes : there are only 12. and you have 8 character slots. so you get to play around abit. but you wont really know until you hit at the very least.. lvl 20. how a toon plays.

well thats it for my review for you any q's feel free to let me know. hope you can understand english