Rating: 
Summary: For Dedicated MMRPGer's Right Now, Wait if your not...
Review: ...willing to put up with the technical problems still facing this game.I have played AO for a while now and I find the game to have enormous promise and at current it is VERY playable however there are still bugs, my system freezes once every two or three hours causing me to manually restart. The game is worth the measly fee of $10 a month. If your willing to bear the bruises of this game then I suggest you buy now and come along for the ride with the rest of us, I won't be leaving AO any time soon. EXCELLENT graphics for an MMRPG, leaps and bounds over Everquest and lightyears ahead of UO; the graphics run smoothly on my Pentium 600, 128 SD-RAM, 16 Meg Nvidia. Sound is acceptable, better then Everquest (But that's not saying much). Dont expect and Epic soundtrack or "Life-like" creature effects, don't expect anything too shabby either. Overall a reasonable product that deserves your attention. Even if you don't stick with it I highly suggest to play it on a friend's system or something; give it a shot.
Rating: 
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!
Review: The game has good potential. Too bad it doesn't work, period. It's full of bugs, horrid lag, constant crashing, absolutely no customer service, servers down all the time, loss of exp/items, etc. This game is nowhere near ready. I think it's actually too ambitious for today's technology, certainly Funcom's hardware (like 50,000 people on one server...come on). And contrary to some comments, the patches have not made it better for me or most people I know, in fact it's worse. Save your money and sanity, and do not buy this game.
Rating: 
Summary: What to Believe?
Review: Somewhere between the total condemnation of this game (by many) and the unabashed praise (a little harder to find, for sure) lies the truth...AO is a flawed product with many admirable aspects. I successfully ran the game (which in itself I guess is exceptional) on a rather low-end system (PII450, GeForce 2, 256RAM)without too many problems, even with the graphics maxed out. I downloaded the patches as .exe files prior to installing, so patching was relatively painless, and I had no trouble registering. I've had only one disconnect and almost no trouble zoning, but I've also played in non-peak hours and for no longer than a couple of hours at a time. I think that the many, many technical issues which plagued the release are being slowly resolved. I don't think FUNCOM was adequately prepared for the release (nor was the product adequately tested) but I do think they are making an honest effort to fix the problems. What disappoints me most about AO is not the technical aspect, but the gameplay mechanics themselves. There is no in-game tutorial as such, and the manual leaves out more than it explains. Many of the controls cannot be remapped and personally didn't find them intuitive at all. Graphically, the weather and environments are very nice (as were the skies in ASHERON'S CALL) but figure movement is not particularly smooth or realistic. The buildings are generic/futuristic, but the cities do seem convincingly large. It bothers me, however, that a story set so far in the distant future is so uncreatively tied to the present in terms of design and culture. I have also been playing ANACRONOX and although it is based on the creaky Quake II engine, it is a much more convincingly realized world--lots of little details that really demonstrate some imagination. Not so sure about AO. So, if AO survives the birthing process and is embraced by the gaming community, it might evolve into something special. The question is, do you wait and see, or brave the technical issues and be a part of the process that shapes the world?
Rating:
Summary: Wait and see... It might be fun if it actually worked!
Review: One star is one too many! This game has a decent back-story and premise. That's about it. Far too many bugs and far too laggy. Terrible customer support, as well. More than a week after my request at canceling my account, I got the following response back by email, "Your information has been collected and your account will be canceled. This request will take some time to process we are sorry for the inconvienence (sic - they can't even run a spell checker!)." They obviously don't want to cancel my account before my "free" month is over! This game may be worth buying once the bugs, lag, and customer service issues are resolved. For now, though, wait and see.
Rating:
Summary: Wait for now
Review: AO has very nice potential, unfortunately it is not now! I'm running a Pent 850, with 256 RAM, a Geforce3 with 64 (which I've had to turn down to near nothing), and cable modem..and for a great deal of the time this game is just not very playable. The game has much potential, it has beautiful graphics, the mission generators are very nice, and when it works for any length of time is a joy to play. Of the downsides, it's buggy, the maxium requirments should instead be listed as the minimum, it's laggy and the instruction booklet is a real joke. I am still sticking with the game for now, I realize that problems will be worked out, but if you looking to buy, my advice to you right now is wait.
Rating:
Summary: This is an updated review because now AO is FULLY PLAYABLE
Review: Anarchy Online(AO) did have major launching problems with things like stability, lag(which is still an issue in cities), and CD keys not being able to be registered. First off people are whining about these problems, but they should know that every massive online game is gonna have issues when it first comes out because companies like Funcom can never predict what problems might occur when there are thousands of people on a server. Besides these inicial problems, AO is definitely hands down, the best MMORPG. AO could be considered the best in its class because if offers everything games like EQ(Ever Quest) have and more, such as the ability to take on a mission at anytime. The graphics of AO are definitely far above average, with there amazing lighting, lush detailed enviroments, and even more detailed characters. The sound of AO is simply amazing with the orchestrated music as you walk over a hill as the sun is setting. The gameplay is much like EQ with some new twist and turns that make the game more addictive and fun. Overal Anarchy Online is by far the best MMORPG and any gamer should pick this title up.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Game Ever
Review: Wow, this is THE WORST GAME I have ever played. The items are worthless, you can't sell anything, and its so easy to get high level items, there will be so many high level people it will screw up the balance of the game. I hate to say it, but Id rather dust of my Dioblow 2 than get this game fired up again. Laggy, Choppy, Cr*ppy. That sums it up. Sure it may improve with time, but the gameplay simply isn't there. Funcom turned out to be a real newbie in the world of MMORPGs. EQ is tons more fun. Stick with EQ, you will love it.
Rating:
Summary: THIS GAME ROCKS!!!
Review: This game is a awesome game. The garphics are beutiful and the game is a lot of fun. There was a lot of problems with the game when it was released but most of of the problems are fixed. It still has the lag problem, but its getting better. Funcom is working on it and know what the problem is.
Rating:
Summary: Buggy to the point of being ... This game doesn't work.
Review: Frankly, I'm unhappy to give even one star to a game that simply doesn't work. I've seen a lot of buggy releases in the last few years, but this is so bad that it borders on ... I paid ... for what was alleged to be a computer game, and instead got a rule book and a piece of software that simply does't run. I spent more than a week trying to get the problems with the game straightened out. I exchanged numerous e-mails with FunCom's customer support (average response time about 24 hours), but none of their suggestions worked. In the end, I was still disconnected every single time I tried to log onto the game. Their explanation was that my ISP was incompatible with their software. This seems doubtfull, particularly since my ISP is America Online. So they either don't know what they're talking about, or they've managed to design a game thatis incompatible with the largest ISP around. Neither condition fills me with confidence. I'd like to say that things might get better in a few months, but given the extreme problems with the launch, I really don't think that these people have a clue. Don't waste your money on this game.
Rating:
Summary: Eye Candy.. and that's it.
Review: What is interesting about Anarchy Online is how much potential this game had. Great Graphics, a solid story line, and promises that players would be able to alter the course of the game's storyline all added up to an incredible dream for many gamers. The problem is, the game failed to deliver in most areas BESIDES graphics, leaving us with just another "interesting for a week" piece of software that will be popular only until the "Next Big MMORPG" comes around. If you like running out in a big field, clicking on a monster, killing it, clicking on another monster, killing it, clicking on another monster, etc, etc, etc... then this game is for you. If you're looking for an engrossing RPG, look somewhere else. One more important note: This game DOES contain "easter egg" nudity - that is, in certain extremely rare situations, you are able to see the genitals of some of the "avatars" in the game.
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