Dark Age of Camelot

Rating:
Summary: my review of the first part of the game
Review: The first thing that struck me was that this was a massively multiplayer game that ACTUALLY WORKED RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. I installed it, downloaded the update, made a character, and began playing. My character was level 5 by the end of the night. I played EQ a little, but not very much because I found it boring. This game has been very exciting...during class I've been wishing I could run back to my dorm to play it a little while longer. There is a very comfortable learning curve as well. I didn't have any problems learning how the interface worked and how to control my character. It may appear at first that there aren't many options for making a character (only 4 races per kingdom, and 4 classes) but actually, once a character reaches level 5, they can choose a more specific class to expand to (from Viking to Berserker, Thane, Warrior, or Skald, for example) which bestows new and special powers to develop over time. This game is a lot of fun, and I reccommend it to fans of games like Everquest.

Rating:
Summary: Too bad for Verant, Everquest developer...
Review: Exactly, I want to give this game 4.5 stars.

After I had made my fighter character to level 7 paladin and a mage character to lv 6 sorceress in Dark Age of Camelot(Camelot in short), I felt the same feeling as I was 2 years ago after I played Everquest. The feeling is that I want to play this game instead of going to work, sleep, etc. Well, don't worry about me, I'm ok until now. ;)
Camelot is the game that shows what it will be like if Everquest had been introduced 2 years later. Yes, Camelot is that fun like Everquest. At first, I thought only the graphic is better than Everquest. But after I played it through a week, I now have no desire to go back to Everquest and my 6 month subscription for Evequest which I started in this month seems waste to me because I will play this game from now on...to perhapse Shadow over Lucilin comes out.
Ok. I was a bit superfluous about compliment, right? I want to conclude my review that Camelot is as much fun as Everquest and It changed a few rules which bother me a lot in Everquest like having to buy magic scroll to learn, or having to keep food and water always, or lose level if you die soon after level up. So I have decided my mind that I'll stick to this game. What is yours?

Rating:
Summary: The Fighting Kicks!
Review: First off the fighting in AC and EQ sucked hard. This game comes back with a fighting style that is comparable to Tekken and with new expansions it may become as good or better (as far as attack selection goes). I played EQ for a few months and then started beta testing for this game and cancelled my EQ account. I had been thinking about doing that for a while, because, frankly, my idea of fun is not kill something, sit down for two min. and then kill something else (caster) or run around in a group pressing 1 then 2 and 3 and asking for heals (melee). Even the hybrids were boring because they were worse than even the tanks, and played almost no role (it ussually took me close to 2 hours to find a group at lvl 48). Also, in Eq, a series of spells were laid out and you casted the first, the second and so on until the thing was dead. In DAOC it is much the same as far as casters go, but as a fighter you actually have to make quick choices (I wondered when the mmorpgs were gonna figure that out) as far as stamina goes and what styles to use. Also, the fighters and casters are pretty evenly balanced, unlike in Eq where you had to group at lvl 9 or you would be killed (that is only if you wanted to lvl a little faster than once every 3 weeks). All and all, this game not only blows EQ out of the water, but vaporizes all remaining traces of it.

Rating:
Summary: Very boring, Pvp is very unbalanced
Review: This game in my opinion is terrible. Though I must admit it did have probably the most stable MMORPG launch of all time, that still doesnt fix the actual problems with the game. First off leveling in the game is rather easy, and I'm sure there already people that have achieved level 50. Second, pvp is supposed to be a big deal in the game, but because the classes are so unbalanced it makes most pvp battles unfair. The game also lacks in visual quality of the graphics. Yes the graphics are nice, but they definitely do not compare to Anarchy Online's graphics. This is just a wanna be Everquest, that failed in my opinion. If you want a good MMORPG I suggest Anarchy Online or Everquest.

Rating:
Summary: In the shadow of EQ...
Review: Three years after Everquest comes out and this is all they can do??? I was very excited about this coming out because I had quit EQ. I wanted a new game like EQ but without all the problems associated like lag and stupid rules. This is a BIG disappointment. It made me think of going back to EQ to get my on-line gaming fix.

The graphics are really not much better than Everquest. I don't know if you have a really really good graphics card and system with a DSL connection, but if you don't like me (AMD3, 450mHZ, 56k modem) FORGET IT! The graphics were EXTREMELY choppy! The camera angles and controls are IMPOSSIBLE! It is the worst game I have ever played in terms of these things.

The game looks just like EQ, but has more complicated controls. It is very difficult to figure out at first. Everything is manual. When you die, for example, you don't go automatically to your binding point. You have to TYPE something like "/replay". If you want to quit, you TYPE "/quit". This is annoying. I wonder how bad combat can get.

I played for three hours and then uninstalled it. I am returning it today. Thanks for wasting my day yesterday!

I think this is really a ripoff of EQ. But I think they should have done a MUCH better job having three whole years you know.

Rating:
Summary: Should you switch from AO or EQ? You bet - here's why.
Review: I just jumped from Anarchy Online to this game (too many problems with AO, and too boring). This was truly well spent money. It would have been well spent money at twice the price. (I'll also take a moment to mention: Amazon shipped my copy the same day I ordered - so if you've been trying to buy it in an always-sold-out-store, buy from Amazon and quit wasting your time. With shipping it was only a few dollars more - a pittance to end the maddening wait.) I am only happy to have bought this game and haven't a single regret.

Quests begin early and are satisfying early. Simple, newbie magic items are apparently the most common reward. So far I've had to perform crusades for the Church of Albion against the river sprites infesting the lands; hunt down a demon in haunted ruins whose heart was a powerful magic stone; and destroy an undead cleric in a graveyard for his treasure. And my 2 characters are only level 7!! :)

If you're a fan of the myths from any of the 3 realms (Arthurian, Norse, or Irish) you'll be impressed - the realms all, in my experience, seem well-grounded in the mythology of each realm. Please keep in mind that it's not a literal adaptation of the myths, but a blend of "D&D Fantasy" (elves, fireball spells, magic rings that give stat bonuses) with real mythology. The blend works wonderfully.

If you like Everquest (I did), maybe you've always felt that EQ was not as mature or realistic as you'd like (I did). I found the graphics cartoony and was bored by a lot of the background info of the game. Plus all the people walking around in the same super-twink armor with dual super-twink swords got a little obnoxious.

The graphics, mood, plot, and design of DAoC takes MMORPGs out of the "kiddie realm" and into the adult realm with subplots like: the conflict between the Church of Albion and the goddess-worshipping Avalonians; servers dedicated to roleplayers (that's right - two whole servers of people playing in-character and talking in-character - about 2,000 people on each one on a busy night); realistic and mature avatars who look like actors out of historical movies like Braveheart (ie gritty and realistic); NPCs who have conversations, fights, and celebrations with each other that you can eavesdrop on or join to learn more about the story; and interesting quests with a real plot to them that tie in to the bigger storyline.

My only warnings:

1) World is not massively large as with EQ and Anarchy Online. It's plenty big - walking the length of a realm is still a multiple hour journey - but it's not ultra ultra continent sized like the prior mentioned games.

2) Sound and music is definitely not as lush and full as AO (if you've played).

3) The game was well debugged, but it's not perfect: there are still some problems. There are occaisional crashes. (Nothing like AO tho.)

None of these things I mention have detracted from my enjoyment of the game. Why?

1) When you reach level 15, you can travel to other realms, effectively tripling the size of your world and opening up PvP opportunities.

2) I'm buying medieval music CDs to listen to while I play.

3) The DAoC staff is hard at work filtering out the bugs and increasing their response time to player appeals.

Final review? If you're a powergamer who wants MaD L00T, levels, and cash, you may not like DAoC as much as your current game. If you want plot, emotional involvement, character development, romance, history, great graphics, maturity, mythology, and roleplay, I can't help but give Dark Age of Camelot the highest possible recommendation. If I could I'd offer to buy anyones copy who took my advice who wasn't satisfied, because I will spend the next year giving this game to my friends as gifts. If you bought the game for the reasons I described, though, you wouldn't want to part with it anyway. I promise.

- shad from FYM internet cafe

Rating:
Summary: Addictive, Engrossing and Downright Fun!!
Review: I purchased this game a week ago and have been totally entertained for the past several nights and look forward to many, many more nights of enjoyment to come!

In the past I have played Ultima Online, Everquest and Asheron's Call. Also I have played several of the games from the Final Fantasy Series and the original Ultima series before it went online.)

The Dark Age of Camelot is one of the newest releases in the genre of MMORPG's (Massively Multiplayer Online RolePlaying Games). It features a massive simulated world environment encompassing three kingdoms or realms which are essentially at war with one another. Players team up online to protect their kingdom's relics (holy objects that confer special abilities or powers upon all the players in a realm) and to capture competing kingdom's relics. The game is very flexible allowing for many different styles of play, allowing those who wish to join others to form groups or guilds and those who prefer a more solitary style of play to solo on their own.

The graphics are extremely well conceived and executed. (Their rendering of a night sky is breathtaking, not to mention the way the clouds travel across the sun at sunset and sunrise.) The interface is fairly easy to learn with an hour or two of experimentation. The interface features a point and click system as well as a series of keyboard commands. The keyboard commands are fully cusomizable and even allow for the creation of macros if the player so desires.

It is obvious that the creators of DAOC (Dark Age of Camelot) studied previous and current MMORPGs that are on the market to enhance and improve gameplay. Of particular interest to me was the loot autosplit feature that automatically divides monetary and item rewards among group members after a battle. The game is level-based with players being awarded skill points that can be spent to improve current abilities each time they increase in level. This allows characters to specialize in specific abilities making them unique even in their own play. (For instance- Wizards can be either Earth Wizards, Ice Wizards or Fire Wizards- specializing in spells of this nature- or they can choose to spend their points equally and gain power in all three areas!) (I currently have a Theurgist who specializes in Air magic.) There are also healer/priests, warrior/fighters and thief/rogue/minstrel types of characters. Each class or type of character has many options that can individualize their style of play.

The game story incorporates elements of Celtic and Norse Mythology. It seems to ignore the Christian elements of the King Arthur legend- although there is much use of the Holy Grail in the game. Perhaps the developers were trying to avoid controversy, choosing to focus more on gameplay rather than on weighty theological issues.

The chat features are layed out in a single window with tabs allowing you to specify which chat channel you would like to speak in (Main window, Group window, Guild Window or a basic Chat window that is not specifically related to ingame action). They are supposedly going to add an Auction window for players to buy, sell and trade items in the future.

I highly recommend Dark Age of Camelot for both the veteran and the newbie Online Gaming afficionados!

See you online!

SingerSpell

Rating:
Summary: Are U Kidding- this game is AWESOME!
Review: My God!- DAoC is by far the best RPG of any sort out there. If you liked EQ-look out, this game tramples it! There are tons of features spells monsters and styles of gameplay.

First, the gameplay is spectacular. It's easy to play, but complicated enough so that it doesn't get boring. Overall it is very smooth, and the graphics are great. I liked EQ, but immediately quit my account when I saw this game. Spells look much cooler that in EQ, and battles are fun and there are lots of skills you can use during them.

You can play many different ways. You can fight monsters, gaining experience and money, advancing higher and higher through the levels. Or you can become a pvp rvr player. Here, you group up with your guilds and realm and try to conquer the land in other realms and defend yours. Most of the time there are many people better than you on the battlefield, but it still great fun and you get into it. You can also go on many quests, given by NPC's or players. They are great fun and have good rewards. Also, almost every NPC has a task to give you if you ask, kinda a shorter version of quests.

The three realms, Albion, Herbernia, and Midgard are all great. Though cool and fun to play, Hibernia is my least favorite realm. However, this might just be me, and other may love them. This is the realm most based on magic, which sometimes becomes a burden, but at others its great. Hibernia may be the best for personal gain, but that isn't what this game is about. Some of the classes are druids, scouts, and heroes.

Next is Albion, my second favorite group. They have the most base classes, including elementalists and mages. Later on they can become paladins and armsmen. This is the realm of Arthur, and is also a lot of fun. Their classes are very well balanced, and they have some of the best quests.

My favorite realm by far is Midgard. This is the realm of trolls, dwarves, and mischiveous kokbolds. The later classes consist of Thanes, powerful warriors who also have weather-controlling spells, Hunters, people of the land capable of taming many animals, and Shadowblades, quiuet, stealthy rouges quite capable of sneaking in pvp. This realm has my favorite landscape, the coolest monsters, and, in my opinion, the coolest races and classes. Trolls look cooler and cooler as you go on, and dwarves look awesome too. But, there may be people who don't like this realm, though if they are, that's not right.

All in all, you have to get tis game- it's all pros and no cons!

Rating:
Summary: Everquest on steroids
Review: DAoC (this game) has amazing graphics for just about everything. The chat system, in my opinion, is well thought out and very user friendly. The GUI is fair to good, with a few bugs left to be worked out.

Those are its good points. With that said, this is EQ (Everquest) in newer clothes. It is Mythic Entertainment's version of EQ, and that is about it.

If you have a higher lvl character in EQ, starting over in something that is essentially the same game can be frustrating. I would suggest evaluating whether or not to switch based upon the time it takes for a person to once again advance to point that is similar to the level attained in EQ. For me, it was not worth the time... plus, my social contacts in DAoC are non-existant, while in EQ they are well established; that, in itself, is a big factor in deciding which game to play.

Rating:
Summary: I think I'll go back to Everquest instead
Review: The graphics are better but I think I'll go back to Everquest. Here's why. There is less downtime in DAoC for sure but it makes the game almost non-stop kill, loot, kill, loot, sell. For all the extra effort of killing I haven't noticed leveling any faster than EQ. I really don't like the models of some of the non-elven characters. They look sorta like quasimoto standing erect with big, blocky arms. When you cast buff spells they need to be refreshed about every 5 minutes or less. This is VERY annoying. I'm sure that due to less mana recovery time it's similar to EQ buffs that last longer but mine are always wearing off during battle. I picked an Enchanter for my class since I heard they get pets. It turned out to be a humanoid. I thought it would be some cool summoned being. The graphics engine could certainly boast a fun, fantasy model but it's not. I'm sure the game will appeal to many and there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the game. It has a good PvP scheme, nice graphics, better music, and almost no downtime but I'm going back to Everquest. It wasn't quite the step up I was hoping for to give up all the work I have into EQ and my 4 post level 50 characters.