Dark Age of Camelot

Rating:
Summary: The best MMORPG out there...
Review: I've logged well over 100 hours on this game since I started playing it about six weeks ago, and let me tell you, it has been fabulous! I've barely even looked at any other games since this one came out. I had never really played online role-playing games much before this, although I am familiar with several. I decided to try out Everquest and Dark Age of Camelot to see which one was better. After trying them both out, I feel that DAoC is definitely the way to go. I chose to play a Paladin in the King Arthur-based realm of Albion. But, there are many other choices of characters in the game, with two other realms, a couple dozen character classes, and unique specializations within each class. In fact, taking realm, class, and specialization into account, I would say that you have well over 100 career options open to you, each of them unique.

My experience playing the game has been very enjoyable so far. I am not yet high enough to venture out into the PvP-dominated frontier areas, so I will leave that for others to comment on (it sounds like a blast, though...) I have been spending my time adventuring around within the "core" realm of Albion, fighting monsters, doing quests, learning tradeskills, making friends, and just generally immersing myself in another world. The game has EXCELLENT graphics (much better than EQ), the sound effects are nice and realistic without being too annoying, the music is pretty good (it only plays when you are fighting or entering a city or town), and the combat and spell animations are top-notch. There are a lot of quests contained within the game, with worthwhile rewards and a good return on money and experience.

The game, being new, naturally has fairly stringent hardware requirements. If you have the required hardware, though, I have found that the game will run just fine on a plain old 56K modem (though I have encountered some lag in large cities). And of course, since it is an online game, there will be the occasional crash. However, crashes have been few and far between. Loading the game, setting up my account, and running the game have all been problem-free.

The manual included with the game is a little skimpy, and the map, while useful to beginners, isn't really all that great. But, there are many, many player-run online sites that have up-to-the-minute information on the game, excellent maps, monster locations, quest information, guides and advice for playing the various classes, and much more. By all means, use these resources, they will enhance the gameplay tremendously.

Another thing I like about this game is that soloing is a viable option, whether you are playing a "tank" class like an Armsman or a Paladin, or a casting class like a Theurgist or a Sorceror. Each class has its own strengths and weaknesses, but a player who knows what he is doing can solo succesfully in each of them. That's good for players like me, who doesn't always feel like finding a group to play with.

Of course, if you are interested in grouping, that is a lot of fun, too. A team of players can take on monsters that none of them could handle individually. Most classes have special skills and abilities that are geared specifically towards grouping, such as group heal chants and spells, resurrection spells, and such.

DAoC also has done away with a lot of things that, to me, make EQ annoying to play. My favorite advantage is, you don't lose all your armor and weapons when you die and have to make a long journey to retrieve them off your corpse like in EQ. You get a penalty in experience and a temporary constitution loss when you die, you return to your last bind point (usually in a keep or a city), and a gravestone is erected at the spot where you met your grisly end. You can, if you choose, return to your gravestone and pray at it. This will regain some, but not all, of the lost EXP. In addition, a character cannot lose a level due to dying. So, while there are penalties incurred for dying in DAoC, they are not nearly as crippling as they are in EQ.

Mythic, the game's developer, is committed to supporting and expanding the world of DAoC for the foreseeable future. They are listening to the feedback from those who play the game, and they periodically release patches aimed at fixing small player-discovered bugs in the game and also tweaking the various classes in order to improve the overall gaming experience for everyone. Bear in mind, this game has been online less than a year. As good as the game is, there is room for improvement, and Mythic obviously has plans to keep upgrading and improving their creation.

I know there are a lot of people out there who have been playing Everquest (and Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, etc.) for a long time, and they have invested a lot of time and work in building up strong characters. I can see why they would not be interested in starting that process all over again in a new game. I respect that. After all, we play these games to have fun, so we should do what we enjoy. However, if you are new to this genre of games, or you are looking to make a switch, then in my opinion, DAoC is the only way to go.

See you out there! If you are defending Albion, may the light of Camelot shine on you. If you are defending Hibernia or Midguard, well, all I can say is, see you on the frontier! I hope you are ready to taste Albion steel!

Rating:
Summary: LAG LAG LAG
Review: I have played this game since the beginning of the Beta 3 phase (total of about a year). While it offers a vast improvement in customer service over EverQuest it is still lacking high level content. One of the main attractions of the game is Realm vs. Realm encounters. While this can be fun, what ends up happening is that once enough of the realm is gathered to have a decent battle, the lag precludes participation. You can't cast, you can't move, you can't target and you can barely type. Once you gather more than 20 in close proximity the distortion progresses exponentially. It is still a nice game and a good place to pass some time and make friends. There is a nice diversity between the realms which can help eliminate some of the boredom of leveling. The bad news is that so far, all of these type of games suffer from the lag problem whenever a large number of players congregate in the same place. Another problem with the game, is the need for a healer to be in groups at high levels for crowd control. I was under the impression that no single class would be indispensable, that turned out NOT to be the case. Also, depending on your class you may not even be able to solo.

Bottom line, I am disappointed with the game so far, but await promised updates.

Rating:
Summary: Save your time and money
Review: I've played this game for a couple months now and I have bounced around through all three realms, unfortunately, each realm is pretty much the same...boring.
I purchased this game after I fell out with EQ. What drew me to it the most was the fact that it was advertised that players can solo their entire careers, but with each patch that seems to be changing. I played in the Albion realm for a while and you practically have to be in a full group to do anything half way exciting. Even the quests require the player to form a group of at least 2-3 people. Leveling is extremely slow past Level 10. It took me almost 2 weeks of active playing to get one of my charaters from Lvl 10-11.
The game becomes pretty monotonous as well. It's nothing more than killing for experience and there isn't much to the story line either.
The classes and races aren't interesting at all. Some are just plain BORING! And the fact that most people in this game don't know how to group makes it even more of a challenge.
I was amazed that this game has won so much acclaim. PC Gamer gave it a 90%, and it was even in Cinescape as one of the best games of the year. That just sounds like alot of people have more boring lives than me, because this game simply can't hold my interest.
In my own honest opinion, this game is nothing more than an excercise in frustration and extreme boredom. If your into boring games, monotonous gameplay, and terrible models, not just the characters, but the NPC's as well, then this game is definately for you.

Rating:
Summary: It's ok. It could be better, though.
Review: While this is a great MMORPG that's really been pretty good, at about level 11 I'm already a bit sick of leveling over and over and OVER AND OVER because at my level, there's not much else to do. I mean yeah, this other stuff sounds cool...but at level 30?! Maybe it's just me, but I don't have the time or patience to do a repetitious thing over and over for weeks, wasting time just so i can do something cool...IN A MONTH.
Plus, I really don't think Mythic was too imaginative about spells. Whatever happened to flying? They could do something cool with that- I find myself walking SO MUCH MORE THAN I NEED TO. Plus, fighters should really have some sort of advantage, I dunno...they don't really match up with enchanters, and enchanters dont match up with fighters at the moment.
One thing that DAOC really did do well is the interface. Your stats are ALWAYS handy, the buttons are clear and it's easy to understand what info they'll get you just by looking.
One thing that's really annoyed me is that your gravestone is IMPOSSIBLE to find in the dark. There should really be some kind of indicator that points in its direction until you pick up your exp...often I have to ditch about 1/10ths worth of a level just because I can't find my own headstone. Either that, or you should have, like, a floating marker above it, or something...ANYTHING!!
While DAOC is good for someone who is fine with simplicity, I'm finding myself wanting more already.

Rating:
Summary: Pointless, mindless, endless....
Review: I got this game several months back because of all the rave reviews about it... and.. after a few days of updating my computers to the high standards of the game, I was finally able to enjoy it.

I played 17 characters in all, I hardly slept, and I was completely enthralled by the game for about a month, then I completely lost interest in it. Leveling your character becomes nearly impossible past lvl 20. Buying new equipment becomes tedious since you have to do it every other level, spend a fortune while you are at it, and you still look exactly the same. The monsters you fight are all the same models with different names and colors. The quests are boring and not thought out and a solid storyline is virtually nonexistent. There is no point whatsoever to this game besided leveling so that you can go get slaughtered in RvR where characters that can kill you by sending a glance in your direction prowld in the shadows... and even RvR (team PvP) gets boring because of all the nerfs strong classes are getting and all the buffs "weak" classes are getting. Some classes are completely pointless altogether in RvR and I was forced to delete them (such as the Spiritmaster, Blademaster, Mentalist, Mercenary... they have their upsides but their existence is pretty much meaningless).

Although I do not consider my money completely wasted on this game, I would suggest anyone who is thinking about buying this game to consider upcoming titles such as Shadowbane, Dungeon Siege, current classics such as Everquest, or some oldies like Baldur's Gate II.

Rating:
Summary: Realistic, and BETTER THAN EVERQUEST!!!
Review: You wouldn't believe how many people stopped playing EverQuest to play this game only!
It's much more realistic than EverQuest. The sound your feet make are a perfect example. The sound your feet make is perfectly synchronized with your walking. You won't make three steps and then hear a clunk sound.
The character models for women are more realistic,too. I mean they aren't extreamly ugly, but they don't all look like half-naked swimsuit models.
Another thing that makes this game better than EverQuest are the spell effects. Spell effects look like..... well..... spells! Not little flickers of blue and red, but stuff you may imagine Merlin himself to conjure up.
Next is RvR, I haven't experienced it yet but everyone I talk to says it looks like an actual mythical war.
Monsters are smarter in this, too. They give up if you outdistance it, it won't keep following you if you're like half way accross the zone from the thing. And they fight smarter, they will aggro on a caster or healer much faster than EverQuest because they know their attackers aren't getting boo boos as fast as they should.
If you're loyal to EverQuest and don't want to cancel your account because of the massive amount of money you spent so you could run Luclin don't get this game. But do if you're bored of EverQuest, because this game is much better

Rating:
Summary: Simply, Wow
Review: Dark Ages of Camelot combines mythological fantasy with the best RPG online system ever. 3 Great realms offer classes and races to appeal to all senses. From Trolls to Firbolgs, Britons to elves, Dark Ages has it all. All kinds of interesting people play, with distinct roleplaying servers for serious roleplayers, and superior realm vs. realm servers for those who like to fight. Cold, hard realms. Warm, lush trees and lands with magnificent cities and towns are all include in Dark Ages. Uplifting NPCs to gruff, winter-hardened Migaard NPCs, It is all there. Overall, the best game I have ever played in any category, even topping Baldur's gate and a mile ahead of Everquest, Dark Ages of Camelot is worth the price and a whole lot of fun.

Rating:
Summary: Save Your Money and Buy EQ
Review: I baught this game before I baught EQ because a friend said that is was supposed to be better. When I baught it, I found out that it had many cons.
1. If your graphics card has not been updated, this game will not perform well for you.
2. I understand that an online RPG game is bound to have problems, but they could atleast have a decent Tech Support center, i've waited weeks for help before.
3. The graphics are nice, but the game does not have variety.

-I'd reccommend going to EQ first. I made the switch after a month of playing DAoC. I am sure that I made the right choice.

Rating:
Summary: Game Player
Review: I have been playing Daoc since it was released. I have been playing on the Midgard race. If you are wanting a new game that isnt EQ this is a game to try out.

When you first create a new charactor you will have a long battle to get money and equipment, but once you hit around 27th level you will start seeing your bank account filling up with items and money.

This game was getting very old at first, but in the last couple weeks they have release Epic Zones. In these new zones you are able to hunt in multi party's. If you liked the Planes in EQ this is a great zone for the higher end game.

The game first started out as the high end game was all about taking forts from the other races in the server, but this gets old really fast since being the defending you are on the losing end Now with the new Epic Zones you can traval into a harder zone that has new mobs and new items that you can hunt out.

This game is turning into a great game, just got to give it a little bit of time to figure out what is needed in a Online Game.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Fun Online RPG
Review: This game rules!!! I love it. U can talk to buddies and train your chracter. I like spellcasters and archers. Those are just a few of the character classes you can choose from. I think Mythic did an outstanding job on this game! I am anxiously awaiting a sequel. If you like online RPGs,magic and medevil games then this game is perfect for you!

I hope to see you in the game! Good luck and may the light of Camelot guide you through this wonderful adventure!!