My review of PS

TekDragon · 2003-06-04, 10:33 AM

Well it seems alot of sites are giving their reviews of PS. The first thing i think of is "What the hell are they smoking"? Then i wonder "How much did SOE pay them?".

Not being a professional game reviewer i dont know all the nuances of reviewing. However, i do have the benifit of having played just about every MM game released including another MMFPS (10six). I also have the benifit of having played FPS games for a long time including Tribes, Tribes 2, Unreal Tournament, Quake 2 & 3, Half Life, and some BF1942 (at a friends place).

I also know a little bit about reviewing. I know that you cant look at a game and go "Oooh thats purty, ill give it a 9!". I also know you cant compare it completely to another game that is somewhat like it. The best way i could see to review this game was to break it into small sections relating to the first person shooter field, massively multiplayer field, and finally: the fun factor.

FPS ASPECTS

Concept: Good. I love the concept of the game. Gives some spirit to the world. Too bad storyline doesnt seem to be a priority for the dev team.

Weaponry: Sub par. Relatively few weapons split over 3 factions. For a MMFPS game this is pathetic. The weapons also lack variety. My 6 year old neice could think up cooler weapons. Hell, why didnt they just hire someone from the Tribes team to help them think up some inspired weaponry?

Fighting mechanics: Sub par. Emphasis on weapon firing cones over skill. Very little movement related combat. Any newb with a 2 minute discussion on how to fire in bursts will be a pro at fighting. No shot location mechanics is another step backward. To **completely** knock out twitch and skill fighting is a huge step backwards for a FPS. Even BF1942 had more twitch fighting involved, and its even more realistic than PS.

Vehicles: above par. The variety is good and they each serve a purpose. Driving mechanics need some work but overall this field is a good bit above average for FPS games. I especially enjoy the basilisk and i ph34r the reavers.

Graphics: average. The graphics are pretty, no doubt. But AC2 had better graphics and so will Star Wars Galaxies. Plenty of other games have graphics just as good as this, if not better. The weapon explosion effects are poor and almost made me give this section a sub par rating. However, the scenery is pretty enough to bring it up to average.

Content at release: Sub par. Uninspired, cookie cutter weaponry split across 3 factions. 5 bases. Thats it. The only thing going for the content was the vehicles.. but even that amount is small compared to what it could/should be for a MMFPS.

MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ASPECTS

Communication: average. Other MM games have done better, others have done worse. The voice chat feature is the only thing that keeps it from sinking into sub par.

Player interaction: sub par. The tools to organize outfits (one of the key features going for the game) are lacking, greatly. There is no way to see the equipment for your men and there is no way to organize them into sub squads and assign roles from there.

Latency issues: average to above par. Coming from a guy that played UO when it first came out I can say this game doesnt have much lag. But when you look at other MM games that have 20 to 30 times more stuff running through the server with the same amount of lag you get the feeling that not much of your 13$ is going to the server bill.

Content after release: So far, terrible. All weve seen so far is patches that fix bugs that should of been fixed in beta. And patches that then fix the bugs that come from the previous patches. The only thing weve gotten besides that is the "promise" of some new vehicles and a basic pencil drawing of what one of them will look like.

FINALLY

Initial Fun Factor: Good. Despite the fact that the game is sub par in almost every category theres still the attraction that comes from being in a large scale battle with other players.

Lasting Fun Factor: Poor, but largely unknown. Unfortunaltey, ive already gotten bored with capping the same base over and over. Every day that goes by I play less and less on my nephew's PC. On the other hand, my college buddies still link up every night to play CTF on Blood Gulch in Halo. Who knows though, maybe SOE will pull their heads out of there ass and give the game some content.

OVERALL SCORE
6.5-7.0

An ok game that had great potential but was cut short with abysmal content and flaky combat mechanics.

PR24 · 2003-06-04, 10:44 AM

Latency issues: average to above par. Coming from a guy that played UO when it first came out I can say this game doesnt have much lag

What are you smoking?

PR24 · 2003-06-04, 10:47 AM

One thing you have to remember too, these people where given VIP treatment because they are media/fansites.

Reviews are a personal view on a game but when you give the reviewer VIP treatment it is hard to shit on them (SOE).

In some views the reviewers are almost like friends with the DEV team so shitting on the game just would ne feel right to many. So inflated reviews by some will and should be expected.

I do think GameSpot gave a fair review of PS in it's current state.

TekDragon · 2003-06-04, 10:55 AM

What are you smoking?

Lol, right now.. nothing. Ive got a MEPS appointment in two days so my piss cant be cloudy

Seriously though, you play UO in early release? If you were in britian it would take you 30 minutes just to move across the screen.

I gave the game average because, although its sub par when compared to other recently released MM games with broadband... the 56kers seem to have a better time with PS than other MM games.

NightWalker XI · 2003-06-04, 11:02 AM

Your review = pants

But the lag section is truie, I never lag except on Emerald but thats not where I have my main char anywho.

TekDragon · 2003-06-04, 11:14 AM

Your review = pants

... thanks? I think? Maybe? How old are you?

beavis88 · 2003-06-04, 11:16 AM

>>Content after release: So far, terrible. All weve seen so far is patches that fix bugs that should of been fixed in beta. And patches that then fix the bugs that come from the previous patches. The only thing weve gotten besides that is the "promise" of some new vehicles and a basic pencil drawing of what one of them will look like.

Well shit, it has been out for a whole 2 weeks already, so it is pretty messed up that they haven't put in 4 new weapons, 6 new vehicles, 3 new base maps, and some extra continents. Lazy fucks!

Maybe you and your 6 year old nephew can come up with some original weapons and implement them for SOE in the next couple weeks.

NightWalker XI · 2003-06-04, 11:21 AM

I am 17, I said pants so I wouldn't say shit, but eyah thats what I mean, all you do is bash this game every chance you get

TekDragon · 2003-06-04, 11:22 AM

So far, terrible

Well shit, it has been out for a whole 2 weeks already, so it is pretty messed up that they haven't put in 4 new weapons, 6 new vehicles, 3 new base maps, and some extra continents. Lazy fucks!

*sigh* this is why i hate fan boys.

beavis please remove your head from your ass. Breate a few breaths of fresh air. Now answer me this: So far, have they released any content? No. They havent. Therefore the review "SO FAR, TERRIBLE" is perfectly accurate.

I barely counted this section at all in my review. It was just something to point out because a) the content at release was terrible and b) they havent "yet" introduced any new content, only a sketch of a bomber and a promise.

beavis88 · 2003-06-04, 11:26 AM

Sure, I don't dispute that your analysis of content since release is accurate, I'm just saying its misguided at best, and at worst, utterly retarded.

Believe me, when SOE needs to be taken to task, I certainly will be right there with you blasting the shit out of them. But get a grip -- you may have written the world's best game review, but when you whine about no new content two weeks after release, it just makes you look dumb.

TekDragon · 2003-06-04, 11:27 AM

Nightwalker. Until you actually single out a part of my review and prove me wrong on it, your opinion means crap. I gave logical reasons for why i gave the game the ratings i did. I compared them to games that have been released recently and over the past years.

You dont agree the weaponry is uninspired? Fine, compare it to other FPS game weaponry and show how "inspired" it is.

You dont agree the release content was crap? Fine, go look at 10six (a prior MMFPS) that had close to 100 weapons and 100 vehicles, not counting dozens of armors, structures, mods, and gear. Go look at Tribes or Tribes 2 which has 100s of weapons over the mods. Even base has inspired weaponry and fight mechanics.

Do SOMETHING other than just run in here like a 8 yr old fanboy and cry that i didnt say "PS is t3h best!! Its so l33t!! All j00r bases belong to us!"

[Edit]

Sure, I don't dispute that your analysis of content since release is accurate, I'm just saying its misguided at best, and at worst, utterly retarded.

So you agree with it. But you think its retarded that i mentioned it... even though it plays almost no role in how i review the game and was just used to contrast the content at release?

Hate to break it to you but when Anarchy Online came out they had some solid content put in within weeks. 10six had a whole string of content added within the first weeks and month, adding plenty of new weapons, armor, vehicles, structures, and mods.

Trust me. The fact that POS has done nothing but fix/break/fix the code since release is worth noting. It might count as maybe .5% of my review, but its still noteworthy.

NightWalker XI · 2003-06-04, 11:37 AM

Actually its "All your base are belong to us"

Anyway:

Weaponry: Sub par. Relatively few weapons split over 3 factions. For a MMFPS game this is pathetic. The weapons also lack variety. My 6 year old neice could think up cooler weapons. Hell, why didnt they just hire someone from the Tribes team to help them think up some inspired weaponry?

Ok, there are enough weapons, I do not know why for some crazy reason anyone would want like 100 weapons, its pointless and they would never be used.
As for coolness I think the weapons are cool and so is their descrition, the Gauss is portable rail gun, bullets driven by magnets, a shotgun pistol, Vanu weapons overall, in my opinion those are all cool.

Fighting mechanics: Sub par. Emphasis on weapon firing cones over skill. Very little movement related combat. Any newb with a 2 minute discussion on how to fire in bursts will be a pro at fighting. No shot location mechanics is another step backward. To **completely** knock out twitch and skill fighting is a huge step backwards for a FPS. Even BF1942 had more twitch fighting involved, and its even more realistic than PS.

So, you are telling me no skill is required? STFU and go play the game, I seen newbs do isntant action, they grab the biggest gun they can get and run around shooting anything that moves, they die in second, others liek my outfit, flank the enmy from both sides and do ppincer manouvers, do you know what makes this game? THE PLAYERS, SmokeJumper said ti and I agree, its all down to the players on how the game plays, you can be a moron and run around in the open or you can use real strategy.

Content at release: Sub par. Uninspired, cookie cutter weaponry split across 3 factions. 5 bases. Thats it. The only thing going for the content was the vehicles.. but even that amount is small compared to what it could/should be for a MMFPS.

Its only been out a week or two and already they say new vehicles are near to be implemented, there ar eenough guns for variety, the abses are repetitive but not all fighting goes on there unless your a lazy bastard.

Lasting Fun Factor: Poor, but largely unknown. Unfortunaltey, ive already gotten bored with capping the same base over and over. Every day that goes by I play less and less on my nephew's PC. On the other hand, my college buddies still link up every night to play CTF on Blood Gulch in Halo. Who knows though, maybe SOE will pull their heads out of there ass and give the game some content.

WHAT? I cna't seem to stop having fun, its so great to pull of some crazy military tactics you read on the ent opr books and kill alot of people while doing it, piloting reavers in dogfights, dodging missiles, hiding in bushes sniping people, sneak into a base using the side door and knife some guys....yeah of course its not fun [/sarcasm]

TekDragon there ya go, I'm sure quite a few people agree with me, and if you don't like it leave the game and do us all a favour, or at least go to the official forums where everyone bashes the devs and the game about "zerging" and "balance" youll fit right in over there.

Franchize · 2003-06-04, 11:39 AM

I think that beavis' statement is valid. How can you say "Terrible" what are you comparing it too? What other MMORPG had new content after the first two weeks?

As for the complaint about cone of fire, I love to meet the people who complain about cone of fire, these are obviously the people I frag on a consistent basis. Sorry for ruining your experience man, next time I will give you a head start before I gun you down. Maybe you should get with a squad and work as a "team".

If you don't like the game, don't play. Don't complain don't whine, stop paying, it's that simple. You have an idea to improve the game? Post it on the Playstation site. Otherwise this is all semantics. What kind of reaction do you want from people who read this, a cookie? A pat on the back? I don't see your point?

According to you the only valid review of this game is a bad review, but you still play! Whose the fan boy? Someone who says they enjoy the game, or the idiot who constantly bitches, but continues to pay the monthly fee?

beavis88 · 2003-06-04, 11:44 AM

Yeah, the AO release was fantastic -- no bugs, exploits, nothing...glad they spent all that time putting in new content...

I don't know anything about 10six, other than that it is not running anymore, so I'll have to take your word for it.

SOE hasn't done jack shit as far as new content, admittedly, but frankly, this [retail] launch has exceeded my expectations in every single way. The servers have by and large been up, except for short (<15 min) downtimes for reboots and patches. There do not seem to have been widespread exploits, and where there were, a fix was in place days after release. Lag hasn't been bad, except for Emerald where there are just too many fucking people (note to SOE - you should have opened the second servers much sooner...).

Set your expectations low, and you are unlikely to be disappointed, as they say. Maybe mine are set too low, but considering the scale and speed of PS, they are doing a LOT better than I think most in their shoes would be.

Did you play too much beta Tek? It's way too early in retail to be this jaded about PS

Hamma · 2003-06-04, 11:49 AM

Originally posted by TekDragon
*sigh* this is why i hate fan boys.

beavis please remove your head from your ass. Breate a few breaths of fresh air. Now answer me this: So far, have they released any content? No. They havent. Therefore the review "SO FAR, TERRIBLE" is perfectly accurate.

I barely counted this section at all in my review. It was just something to point out because a) the content at release was terrible and b) they havent "yet" introduced any new content, only a sketch of a bomber and a promise.

again, why are you here?

You are on a PS FANSITE calling someone a "FanBoy"

Go to the OF, and bash PS there.