Rating: 
Summary: Working on being a great game
Review: I've been playing the game for the last month and just past my subscription renewal point without cancelling, but I don't think I'll go that much further with this game. Horizons does many things right, but has a few things wrong with it that really ruin the game experience.Graphics look good, but not always smooth. A high end system is required to run this game and you'll be tweaking the settings even with the best of systems. As the biggest memory hog game ever created, it will chew through 1 gig of memory real quick and a Radeon 9800 pro 256 becomes "not enough". There's a good side of this though: Even at low settings, it looks great and you will spend time just staring at the landscape and stars. Like EQ, most lag occurs in high populated areas such as towns and cites probley a result of bad net code just as much as graphics. Horizons has the best sound and music I've heard in a game. They really spent some time and did it right and the music will haunt you once you hear it. It changes as you enter different environments and really enhances your experience. Game designers can learn alot from Horizons when it comes to the music. The main challenge facing Horizons is it's content. There's barely any at all. The only real content you'll find in horizons is what you create yourself. Quests usually involve collecting 10 things of "this" or kill 30 of "that" and are just plain stupid. Many quests will have you running here or running there being a mad messenger of sorts. While this follows what's been seen in other MMORPG's, Horizons fails in it's attempt as there's no real sense of danger in it. Dying in Horizons gives you a "death penalty ticket". You don't have to get back to your corpse, no loss of XP, you just get a ticket that reduces your effectiveness for eight hours. I have never felt this effect and can't tell the difference. There is no fear of death in Horizons, no real penalty. Go ahead and kill that big golumn, it doesn't matter if you die, you can just try again. There's no real sense of adventure here. Crafting becomes tedious. The placement of resources in the game at higher tiers is designed to get you running back and forth for hours between gathering and processing of them. While many things are done right with the way Horizons does crafting, it becomes a chore. Spending four hours mining ore and creating things raising your level, then rinse and repeat. Where's my monsters? While other games had all sorts of monsters everywhere you run, Horizons has hardly any. They usually group in area's and can easily be avoided. Even if they do come at you you can easily outrun them. For fun I aggro'd an entire army of undead and tried to train them into town. In other games this would be a horrible thing, but in Horizons they just head directly back and give up at a certain point - not going after anyone else they pass along the way. Again, there's no sense of danger here. Unlike others, the game bugs are providing me with an endless source of entertainment. I don't get upset like so many others. It adds a challenge when the game crashes right in the middle of taking on two higher level creatures, or right when my group needs me the most. It adds a real world element to the game and sense of urgency as I scramble to get back in through the web portal they've created. To me, this is a game feature that should be explored further and could really invoke some strong gameplayer emotions. The Devs are scrambling. I have hopes for this game. There are many things to like about it and it seems a shame that it was rushed out the door so quickly. They can fix it. I think it will be a better game in a couple of months. With the other MMORPG's coming (World of Warcraft/EQ II) it had better be.
Rating: 
Summary: possible worst launch ever.
Review: dial-up users do not bother. in the slim chance you happen to make it past the web logon get ready for a LONG wait to get into char creation. oh theres a good chance youll get booted on the way there as well and a sure thing youll get booted when actually entering the game. zoning, entering the game, etc. all take forever on a dial-up and again usually kick you. woohoo
Rating: 
Summary: Beta participant
Review: ...from just about the first group of people let in (there were a few before me) I have watched this game develop into a remarkable design... there is something new here in that certain abilities will stay with your character even when you switch classes. What this means is that you can play five levels as a cleric then switch to a warrior and still retain those heals and buffs that were abilities rather than spells. Now granted, you will no longer be able to cast the spells of the old class, even though you retain the abilities. Yet after you have gained a warrior ability like Powerstrike as a warrior you can go back to your cleric class without penalty just where you left off. Further, the crafting system is really stellar in implementation, and is useful for recovering from the weaknesses associated with your character's loss of a fight. I dropped back to only a four star on this because I have trouble seeing how the devs are going to be able to match the excitement generated by RvR player -vs- player combat, but it is possible I suppose. I'll just have to go back in to see...
Rating: 
Summary: Must Buy
Review: This game rocks -- played 2 months of beta and haven't had this much fun in an MMOG in a Looooooooong time. Beautiful world and lots of innovative concepts. blah blah I could go on forever but I gotta buy a few more copies for the wife and kids. 5 stars all the way
Rating: 
Summary: More information
Review: It's amazing that Amazon doesn't request more information for games and books. Some people are just plain cruel to the game, some are indifferent, some are happy with the game (hoping for improvement) and some are too happy and I do wonder if they have played it. If you are going to give a review please be fair and include some information:
1: What are your machine specs? (Proc type & speed, amount & speed of ram, graphics card type & speed, connection type, and just overall PC info.
2: How long have you played the game (Months, weeks, days, hours) and please be trueful.
3: What prior knowledge are you basing your opinion on? (D&D player, Dragonlance and other D&D type books, or gamer.
3.5: What types (if applicable) of games are you comparing it to? (Unless the above information is included)Just plan hyping the game giving it a 5 star or slandering it giving it a 1 star rateing will not really be taken seriously because of the fanatics. The reviews that I'll put the most though into otherwise will be the 2.5 to the 4.5. Most games even the most horrible or the best very rarely deserve better or worse.
Also rate the game's originality seperate. Just because there are dozen games out there with F-15, F-16, and F-22 doesn't mean I'm not dieing to see the next big Air Combat Sim to come out.
Anyone that would like to email me with more info would be appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing new, nothing fun
Review: I tried the game, but there's just nothing new here. It's the same old same old and not really as entertaining as games I've played for months or years. It has a lot of technical issues and lag as well. Really save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Possible gem in the works.
Review: This is the first MMORPG that I've ever been in. I entered beta in August and have been a steady player up until they closed beta. I am currently awaiting the US release and I shall stick with this one for a while. First of all, I'll blast some of the problems the game has. From what I have seen on the message boards (go to Tazoon.com, the former official beta board for messages from experienced beta players), the Europeans are already playing almost the exact same version as all of us beta players were. The changes being mostly that most, if not all the monsters and play elements have been turned on. Many things were kept from us in beta and I can agree with some of that, they don't want to spill all the surprises at one time. But that also leaves many things untested. There has been much made out of the crafting and building system in the game, but if you were to be a dragon player, be aware that laircrafting (as I've heard) is still in Alpha stage with a total redesign and flight for adult dragons got sent back to QA for several reasons. The flight does not concern me yet because there is susposed to be a (rumored 3 month) timer before you can even become an adult dragon, no matter how advanced your character is. There are a lot of other problems in the game as well, graphic, gameplay and exploits that I doubt have been taken care of yet. I think they were under some pressure to release this game, but it seriously could have used another month or two of refinement. Short term, it is probably going to result in some seriously bad press for them. For the positive side, it has a lot going for it IF the developers can work out the bugs. I consider this release to be "beta 4" (we just finished beta 3). The characters are nice to look at. Most of the animations are good looking, though many need to be reworked and tweaked. There is a player run economy that could be one of the strong points or could lead to problems, but I like it so far. Crafters who work hard will make lots of money. Adventurers can find their share of excitement, though they don't seem to be able to make much money. The best part is the dynamic world. They can make changes to the world in real time, not have to take the server down and patch it. Judging by some of the things I have seen, it may even be possible for one of the big towns to be overun by the enemy and if you were there, see it crumble into ruin as the blight takes over. That means, if you lived in a frontier town, everything you worked for and built could be taken over by the enemy if your town was not defended well. This game promotes community building and cooperation, crafters and adventurers working together for a common good. Many will be turned off because there is no player vs. player element yet, but there is a large stadium outside of Tazoon that has a definate look and feel of a gladitorial arena, so they may get their PvP in the end. Overall, I think this will be a good game in the end. It has had great anticipation over the past 4 years, but remember, it is not the same game it started out as. Half way through it's development, a major portion of staff departed and the game was redesigned to what we see today. Those that remember seeing stuff about the "old Horizons", forget it. That game is gone. This is what came in it's place and, for better or for worse, I think it is a good one.
Rating:
Summary: Great Game
Review: People always seem to make the mistake of comparing new MMO's
to games that have been out for years. No game out is without faults. So if you have read any negative about the game, don't
let that stop you. I have been in beta since August, and I
find it great fun, it has some minor problems to work out, but
overall the game is very stable and has huge potential.
Rating:
Summary: Definately the mixed bag...
Review: Horizons, as you might have guessed from the posts here, is a jumbled bag of many different attributes, both good and bad. I'll try to cover much of each, in as fair and objective manner as possible. As a beta tester since September, with a top of the line rig, the graphics engine is a memory hog, with major loss of frames per second in a scene drawn of any complexity. While some spell effects are indeed quite nicely done, other graphics, such as characters themselves, are rather lack luster at best. The world environment itself is drawn quite well, with but just a few unrealistic detractions that pop up every so often. Combat animation is very reasonable, while casting animations (seperate from the actual drawn spell effect) can be quite repetative. Races are many, but their variety is mostly in their looks. While there are differing "stats" per race, the amount of that difference very quickly proves inconsequential after 10 levels. Races also have abilities, some of which are quite potent, and lends some viability to the different races, while others are lackluster at best. The exception here is dragons. The dragon race is uniquely done in comparison to the other races, with the promised ability to fly once becoming of age. Dragons are the only race with aging (three progressive steps), have their own classed (one each for adventuring and crafting) with its quest based advancement system, and a hoard which needs attention to keep a dragon viable in combat and effects the aging process. However enticing a Dragon seems from the start, however, they are weak when young, are significantly more difficult to play and level with, and sadly, have very few options for "distinguishing" themselves from other dragons, other than by looks alone. There is also likely to be many dragons at the release of the game, until the glamour of the race begins to wear thin, when those who are looking for achievement see that this is far easier to accomplish with a normal race. The classes of all other races are available freely amongst each race. The classes, as is normal in a new product like this, range from potent to lackluster in capability ... some, at this point, lack any viability at all in the eyes of their testers. However, it can be expected that given time, these sorts of problems will be addressed, as is the nature of MMORPGS. Multiclassing is not only possible, but quite rewarding in Horizons. The system is done very well, for example allowing you to be primarily a ranger, but with some mage like spells if you wish, with little impact. Those who go for balanced combinations will find their path a bit more difficult, as their level "rating" is raised by due to their increased abilities. Note, while any class can technically be mated to another, same combinations are far more effective, while others are a waste of time. Usually classes that share similarities are the more rewarding ones, while combinations which are vastly different from each other, such as a warrior/mage combo, will wind up disabling nearly all of the abilities and spells of the non-current "primary class." (A multiclass character must always have one single class selected for adventuring or crafting each, and that current class is the one that gains experience, and likewise limits the other classes from their full potential) Prestige classes are also possible in this game... one need not be simply a warrior/mage combo, but instead might chose the prestige class of Chaoswarrior, using the abilities they have gained to apply towards a single class that uniquely combines the two, once they have reached the necessary prerequisite skills by leveling to a certain point in those two classes. Crafting in this game... from my point of view, is done extremely well. If you like crafting classes, you will love Horizons, no doubt. While not as complex as in Star Wars:Galaxies, there is challenge, and a massive amount of variety, as well as the individual tasks of gathering resources, pre-processing them, and finalizing the product. Currently, there is little in the way of customizing a product visually, or in a more complex manner than by just adding a few statistics, but at least some of this has been promised to be added some time close after the release. Monsters in the world, from the beta testers eyes, are the same models with different paint over them. However, on the final eve of beta, a few models "hidden" from even beta tester eyes were introduced, and promises of more waiting when the servers go live are heavily rumored. All models tend to be animated very well, and they usually are every bit, often more so, capable as characters. The AI has shown a tendency of severe repetition, anther feature proportedly "hidden" from beta testers eyes. However, a few observed instances, such as other monster healers attending to engaged mobs, rather than just themselves, does bode well for the game. The weather effects of Horizons, by near to every testers judgement, are just astounding in visuals and sounds. Blinding blizards exist, that arent just swirls and a blanketed snow fog that limits your visability... but instead variating with snatches of visability just as one would have in driving windswept snow. Area's known as "blighted" can have terrific miasma's of green fog, or torrential rain with awesomely well drawn and powerfully thunderous bolts of lightening. Some particularly unique creatures in game can even "carry pockets of blight" with them, causing the weather and landscape to change as they wander about their way. Hands down, I have not played a game with better weather effects, and currently could only complain that the "natural" weather always seemed to be consistant and localized in beta. IE, if you picked a spot, and it was a clear day there, it was always a clear day there. If it was a blizard at another spot, it was always a blizard there. Again, developers of the game claim that this will not be the truth upon release. While the sounds from weather are great, often the rest of the games sounds are quite repeating at best. They are done fine, with nothing sticking out as incongrous, but again, its quite lackluster. Additionally, ambient sound has yet to be seen ... er ... heard implemented. Like any MMORPG, music, particularly combat music, is dreadfully repetative. I believe it as simply the nature of most computer games. There will never be enough music in a single game to add enough variety to it, and at some point, again especially combat music, it begins to get annoying. However... what music there is, is done very, very well. Some of the music is just mind blowing in how wonderful it is; its obvious that they put a lot of effort to get a handle on an issue that plagues computer games. There are multiple scores for combat, but still far too few to sucessfully address that issue. Otherwise, the music is thematically placed, and for example, lends a strong feeling of the culture of the city you are in. I literally have gone to cities just to sit there and listen to the music run through, and then ported to another city to listen to it's score. Some cities even have multiple scores, another attempt to add to the variety. While I speak ill of music in computer games in general, by comparison Horizons does extremely well at it, easily placing as one of my top three games with regards to its music. As for the User Interface, it's quite modifiable and easy to use. Visually, its merely acceptable; funtionally it is quite nice. Text from chat and game information is adjustable in size and color, as are the background of all the windows, to your preference of the level of opacity. Multiple banks of hotkeys are displayable at once, with the ability to select the primary hotkey bar for keystroke use, while keeping other hotkeys visually acessable and activated by a single mouse click. My only gripes with the User Interface is that the area in which you type in order to chat with others or issue a command is not adjustable in size, which can make for extremely small text at higher resolutions. Also, there is an issue with the text "cropping" or having parts of it dissapear preceeding your curser as you type, making a very difficult situation for those who are not expert typists such as myself, leading to games of "guess where your typo is in the missing text." Finally, the size of hotkeys are not adjustable, again leading to issues of tiny sizes at higher resolutions. Horizons, overall, is a darn good game, with it's own bag of issues. The nature of MMORPG's lends that this is normal upon release, and will get better as development of the game progresses. For me personally, I had no qualms ordering this game, as it fits my needs. However, others, particularly those who must have an element of Player vs Player, may see the game quite differently. The best suggestion I could make is to read as many reviews as possible, or better yet, see if you can look at the game first hand with a friends assistance. Good luck, and I hope to see you in the world of Istaria, should you decide this game is for you.
Rating:
Summary: A work in Progress but the place for me
Review: I was a beta tester for this MMORPG for several months. As opposed to the 'gamers' who prefer to keep their extravagant praise or flames anonymous, (Exception, Kore Breach...), I am proud to identify myself as Gila Gobergin, Sslik crafter/adventurer. I also posted as 'Gobergin' on the Tazoon.com Beta forums, if you would like to check those out for more background.
This is not the game for the 'uber l33t' hack-n-slash AFK Macroers. If you don't even know what I just said, there is hope. If you really liked Ultima Online until the hackers and PK'ers ruined it, this is going to appeal to you. I know- I beta tested the original UO as well. There is no PvP and the intention is to foster a greater sense of interdependence and community. I firmly believe that a more mature mindset- not chronological age, just a willingness to actually work on a game reather than expecting to macro yourself through everything- will find this a really attractive game. The thing that appeals most to me was being able to develop all the skills I needed to completely support my character as both an adventurer and a craftsman. It tickled my fancy to develop a character that basically was a classic MilitiaMan- Fully competent businessman and crafter who was able to whack the encroaching undead as well. I can only offer my personal opinion, but I had never heard of this game before until I joined the beta- but it cured me of a nasty Diablo II LOD addiction.
As has been stated, there are problems with this environment, and it did come out of beta earlier than I would like. For the first month or so, expect a certain amount of lag, glitches and odd happenings. However, this is in no way a major disaster on par with Anarchy Online or Star Wars Galaxies initial releases.
Oh yes, and on the graphics..... most of those who complained actually never bothered to modify their graphics settings. I was very happy with the graphics I saw and had only a low-midrange gaming video card. In Beta, the lag got bad at times, but that was mostly due to unoptimized code which was cleaned up by the end of beta party.
I played this game for months in beta (All the way to a very enjoyable close of Beta combat sequence) and saw steady, continuous improvment all that time. I never was bored, and always found a way to deal with any glitches that came up. I have pre-ordered and plan to be there as soon as my CD comes in the mail.
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