That old beta magic
Aug 11, 2008 19:28:35
Submitted by Brent on Aug 11, 2008 19:28:35 CST (comments: 3)
Aug 11, 2008 19:28:35
 That old beta magic has me in its spellThat old beta magic that devs weave so well My fingers on the keyboard and I'm feelin' so fine. Even better then Warcraft at expansion time... Those of you who have read my work, or listened to one of my podcasts are used to controversy in one form or another. So today I thought I would do something akin to reading the last chapter of a book first; I will get whatever controversy, however mild, out of the way right off the bat. "I've already played World of Warcraft "" it's called Warhammer Online." That said, anyone who was reading this article in hopes of angst and ire can skip to another article. So on with the good times... Yes, that old beta magic has me in its spell. No, unfortunately, I am not in the closed beta for Warhammer but in a few short days I, and all of the others like me who pre-ordered the collectors edition, get to start our journey into the great war against (or for depending on how you lean) chaos. If you are not a Warhammer fan you might not yet know about Chaos. Just like the old television series "Get Smart" Chaos in Warhammer Online represents the darker side of life "" the "bad guys" if you will, but then again that is a point of view isn't it. Yes, in a few short days I will be able to delve deeply into one of my favorite virtual worlds of all time...the world of Warhammer. And my friends, I have not been this excited about a beta in a long, LONG time. And so that gives me pause to think why I am so excited THIS time as opposed the other beta's in which I have had a chance to take part. At first I thought it was because, whether subconsciously or not, had bought into the Mythic bandwagon as they hyped the game. But after a bit if soul searching it seems that is decidedly not the case. After all, I have been a fan of Warhammer since long before anyone ever thought to add the "online" part to the name. I, like so many others, painted a miniature orc and goblin army. The only difference is what I did with mine. In my case it was presented to the grandchildren of a dear friend in a lovely box all their own. Perhaps, I thought, it was simply because this was not an intellectual property (IP) that Mythic created on their own "" instead it is an IP in which some players will already have an emotional investment, having little or nothing to do with how bored they may be with World of Warcraft. In truth, that is a large part of it for me. But that is far from being all of it. The remainder of my excitement is the difference between the corporate attitude of Activision/Blizzard versus the attitude at least espoused by Mythic in recent months. While Blizzard, at least of late, has taken their "the game is done when it's done" attitude to an extreme bordering on chutzpa, that is not at all the attitude I see and hear coming out of Mythic. Mythic has taken time to find out what is wrong with so many other games that have come out of late, expecting to be the mmo that launched a million plus subscribers. If they deliver on what they promise they will set right some of the aggravation that Blizzard has simply ignored. Well...I managed to stick a bit of controversy and fangirlism in there at the end anyway didn't I? Until next time... See you online (in Warhammer Online) -Julie Whitefeather |
Submitted by Brent on Aug 11, 2008 19:28:35 CST (comments: 3)
Comments:
'Lucky you're already a fan' by Eli
Submitted on 2008-08-13 12:30:21 CST
You\'ll find out pretty quick that Mythic can\'t take much credit for Warhammer, as you said. They only manage the execution, while Blizzard manages the whole kaboodle, and so Blizzard deserve more credit. Mythic did copy WoW gameplay flawlessly, to their credit. But Warhammer is, by far, with no equal, the most pedantic beta ever undertaken in the history of gaming. This, while they are spending unimaginable amounts of money on marketing, has left a very sour taste in this tester\'s mouth. The game is good though, it\'s just like Warcraft, and anyone who is bored of WoW will definitely be playing WAR.
'I'm a fan of both' by Mogda
Submitted on 2008-08-20 08:27:52 CST
There are people that will never be satisfied. For some it will be too similar to WoW. For others it will be too different from WoW. For me, I'll just enjoy it for what it is.
Who cares about the art style? Who cares which came first? Is it fun? Do you enjoy playing? As someone who doesn't have an axe to grind, that's all I really care about.
I think I must be in the minority, because I'm a fan of both games. I've been playing WoW for several years, and I will be playing WAR when it comes out as well.
'You are not alone' by Julie
Submitted on 2008-08-20 09:00:30 CST
Anyone who has listened to our podcasts (Fran my new co-host and I) or read my articles will know that I still refer to Rob Pardo as "the man" and the main reason I left WoW a second time (I seem to come back more than a yo-yo) was the reaction of the players to end game. I was recently invited to share part of Azeroth with the ToG's guilds in Azeroth so I have once again gone back to WoW.
So yes I too am a fan of both games. Because I may be critical of WoW and Blizzard from time to time doesn't think I think that Rob Pardo is still THE MAN.
Beyond that, the main reason I bring up the whole "who came first" aspect is to give Mythic and Games Workshop a fair deal. Many who have never read the novels and played the game will immediately dismiss the game as a "wow clone" depending on, from what I understand from the Mog Nation guys and their podcast, where one first starts the game.
As for me, and as I will discuss in the next no prisoners, no mercy, even if public quests aren't ground breaking they get around the most aggravating game mechanic that has been a thorn in my pixelated side for many a year.
And as you said, who cares about style, is it fun? This is the very reason we had a section of our "Age of Conuns" podcast (show number four) called "Damn the graphics full speed ahead. I am thinking we need to include such a section in this weeks show as well.
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