sri, 22. veljače '06 u 14:30
PC Gamer (UK) review of NGE here
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This is the review of Star Wars Galaxies: The Starter Kit in Jan 2006 edition of PC Gamer (UK)
'What a heap of junk'
Compared to the World Of Warcraft experience, or that of Guild Wars or City of Heroes, anyone allowing themselves to be sucked into Star Wars Galaxies has had a tough time of it. Bugs, balancing, a crashing economy..playing this MMORPG has been a labour of love. At its best, its been atmospheric and fun; at its worst, hell on a desktop.
A recent announcement promised to change all that. The already established player base was expected to welcome drastic, game-changing content introduced by a massive patch, and the reissue of the game under the name The Starter Kit. Existing characters would be altered completely to make way for new classes, while skills and combat would change entirely. As of November, Star Wars Galaxies as we knew it ceased to exist; in its place a mishmash of two-and-a-half games' worth of content, people and places.
Can these fly-on-the wall alterations really make for a better game? Some of the 'New Game Enhancements(NGE)' are in Galaxies' best interests. A lengthy tutorial on a space station sees Han Solo guide you through the first levels before you're abandoned in the wilds of Tatooine. It's an ideal introduction to the game - a budding hero being helped by Han - you're given the impression you're special.This is how Star Wars in an online universe should feel.
What follows is disastrous. Galaxies was once the most unique, in-depth MMORPG available. It had that enviable mix-and-match profession system, crafting that has yet to be bettered and possibly the most devoted fan base you could want for a licensed game. There was also tarnish on Galaxies' crown.
Bugs, such as resources allowing the manufacture of stupidly powerful kit and Doctor buffs which allowed players to quadruple their stats, were left unfixed. Professions were tweaked and balanced but ultimately nothing was done to fix these major flaws.
Enter The Starter Kit. After just ONE WEEK of beta-testing, the new changes went to the live servers. Thirty-four professions were culled into nine 'iconic' classes, resulting in such losses as the Bio Engineer, Creature Handler and Ranger. Most of the specialised combat professions were condensed into starting classes such as Jedi and Officer, alongside the more familiar Medic and Commando.
With no option to chop and change professions the classes are more nondescript than ever. Each of the combat classes are virtually identical, with no customisation options to suit different players' needs. Abilities granted every few levels are now merely replaced with higher ranked versions of the same ability when you level up, so that the whole combat system is now soley based around a few special moves.
Targeting has become a manual point-and-click chore, borrowing heavily from Neocron and FPS-style games. As a result, Jedi (the games only real melee class) are at a disadvantage and ranged classes fail altogether - because its impossible to keep a target singled-out when faced with more than two mobs that are close together.
The crafting aspect of the game remains similar,but demand for items has almost disappeared. The weapon you use no longer makes a difference: a level 16 DH-17 carbine will kill your target as fast as a level 80 krayted T-21 rifle. The abolition of item decay limits traders to one-time customers rather than the repeat sale economy of the past. Money will soon be just a figure with no actual value, driving crafters out of the game.
However dodgy a condition SWG was in before this, nobody could have expected such a total massacre of a two-and-a-half year old game in two weeks. The bustling city life and competitive economy has died. Welcome to a game that has lost its identity, where everybody is a nobody.
There are no heroic characters in the tradition of the Star Wars universe, just your average Joes going through repeat missions on Mustafar, with nothing else to do.
Andy McGregor
SCORE: 27%
Overall:
Its': Buggy, Desolate, back to the drawing board
Its NOT: got any depth, fun, the way forward
Influenced by: Star Wars, Benny Hill
Alternative: World Of Warcraft - 94%
(Benny Hill was an old UK TV comedian by in the late 70's early 80s' known for his great humour and at the end of the show, being chased by a crowd of people at warp speed! - Like when the mobs run off into the sunset when you try to target them)
'Just Get me outta here'
Screenshots
Veteran Jedi can become blue glowies to show off their past efforts
Abandon Ship - With a diminishing number of players, you may never group with others on a regular basis, thus missing out on the high quality adventures that do exist out there somewhere.
Terrain now plays a more intergral role in combat now. You cannot attack through rock, which seems sensible enough. Infuriatingly, the reverse is not true. Mobs always appear to hit you even if they are hiding behind buildings or solid lumps of land.
DMUK
a imo sam ih preko jedog gb ako se ne varam i oko 300mb filmića koje sam radio sa frapsom kad smo sa guildom radili dwb runove, imo sam jedan od kojih 150mb još iz vremena pre-cu
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