Last year was an interesting one for MMORPGs. A few contenders stepped up to the plate as possible WoW killers, namely Age of Conan and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Age of Conan has thus far proved to not be ready for prime time. WAR on the other hand has shown it can stand up to scrutiny.
WAR’s servers are constantly being updated with new content. Just this week, two new characters were added, the Orc Choppa and the Dwarf Slayer, two new melee classes. This is important to note, because games that receive this kind of attention from the developers are here for the long run.
WAR is a pretty game. The graphical style is very similar to the style employed in World of Warcraft. Combined with similar gameplay, one can understand why Warhammer is referred to as WoWhammer by some. The scenery is pretty, the explosions are glorious, and it’s easy to appreciate the artistic style used in this game. The graphic quality is not the best out there, but I think the intention was to keep it simple,and make the game more accessible to more machines.
The gameplay in Warhammer can be summed up very easily, another WoW. If you have played WoW, you can easily pick up and play WAR without skipping a beat or reading the instructions.
But graphics and basic gameplay are where the similarities end between WAR and WoW. Once you are involved in RvR combat, it is a hectic world at war, with the side of order battling the side of chaos. Major battles occur every day on these servers. But the most important battles are decided before they even start. The well organized teams always win. Meanwhile, that team where every other member thinks he’s Rambo, well, they die a lot.
Most of the arguments I have witnessed in WAR involve the cohesion of groups. There are a handful of excellent leaders in WAR, and when teams follow their orders, battles go smoothly, and their side wins without much effort. The problem is when team members don’t know their role, or decide to go against orders because they don’t like being bossed around. Every war has armies. As a member of one side, that’s your army. You win together and you lose together, so you have to work together.
This lack of cohesion is not uncommon, and is more prevalent on certain servers. It really takes a lot of the fun out of the game when people don’t work together, because you know your side will not come out victorious. But when you find a great team, this game is incredibly fun. Remember the good generals.
And sure, you could spend all your time solo, but the best equipment and best experience are both gained in RvR combat. Seriously, if your intention is solo play, don’t bother with WAR, because you are missing most of the fun.
Overall: 8 out of 10
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[Editor's note: Review written by reader nostars. Thanks!]
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Special thanks to nostars for this review! Good read.
Ive been thinking of trying this game out … TBH the only thing keeping me playing WoW is the shit talkin on vent with friends. 3.1 might bring some fun but im thinking its just gotten to old to me. Any recommendations on server/faction?
Yeah, they were so good at release is because they cut 25 percent if not more of the content out last quarter of beta. The new classes just released were suppose to be in game on day 1. That’s the reason they are doing so well, they looked at it, and cut some off because it would not be ready, unlike Conan (such a shame for that game too…sooooo much promise)
As for WoWhammer…Yeah, but when you want to attract players from another game you have to put things like the ‘target’ to get the players to play. The only thing that is strange is I found the grind (because of many phases of beta thus character wipes) got boring a HECK of a lot quicker. I mean ok I have like 3 80s and 4 others in various spots between 70-73 and it has not got as boring as the 4th time I did the 1-15 grind in WAR.
But, the game did do one thing VERY well. it brought what Mythic is good at to the table…Realm vs Realm combat. A system where you can run into the first RVR map, at level 3 and manage to kill some people before dying, even ones twice your level It was a fun player vs player experience, unlike WoW is a “Punt your keyboard and throw your monitor across the room” experience.
@Milander I agree about Age of Conan, this game was in beta when it was released, and although I am still enjoying it, they really should not be charging for an incomplete title. But the game has improved a lot since last year.
And the best thing about my RvR experience was killing lvl 15’s at lvl 5. I was like HOLY SHIT I KILLED HIM!!!! And in the process, I leveled up real fast once I entered RvR.