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Anarchy Online: Shadowlands
by Jolex Del Pilar
Friday, November 14 2003
Expansion to futuristic MMORPG is a whole lotta' sci-fi. Check out our review.
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Title:
Anarchy Online: Shadowlands
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Platform:
Pentium II 450, 128MB Ram, 3D card, 1.4 GB of HD space.,
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Publisher:
Funcom |
Developer:
Funcom |
#
of Players: Tens of thousands. |
Genre:
MMORPG
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Origin:
United States
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Expected
Release:
October 2003 |
Grapevine:
Jobe is a nice place to hang out. I even met a nice girl who came to my room occasionally, we decided to stay friends... |
Back in June 2001, the staff and I had a chance to preview the original Anarchy Online before it was launched. It was a spiffy little gathering in San Francisco that included a free bar, and buffet courtesy of Funcom. At the time, the game was buggy on the servers, and log offs were common, but the case remains the same for most MMORPGs at launch, Asheron's Call anyone? Jump to 2003, and Anarchy Online is arguably the second or third most played MMORPG on the market. EverQuest still holds the crown as the most addictive, and most played piece of software on the net, but it's set in a different reality of sorts than AO.
While EverQuest attempts to immerse gamers in a Tolkien-esque world full of dwarfs, elven mages, and barbarian warriors, AO is a game that is set in a sci-fi world more akin to Coruscant from Star Wars, or even the futuristic world that served as the backdrop for the movie Blade Runner. The AO world is big, and that is playing a little into understatement. The newest expansion pack, Anarchy Online: Shadowlands, adds 7 new areas, and the floating city of Jobe into the mix, and it's easy to see that AO is not a world that will be explored in a day, a week, not even a month. Additionally, Shadowlands comes with full versions of the original game and the first expansion, The Notum Wars, included free of charge. Now that was nice of Funcom, wasn't it?
The back story of AO is well written and conceived, there are even a few novels that chronicle the events in the game if you're interested. Basically, a planet called Rubi-Ka is colonized by OmniTek, a mega rich corporation, and is mined for a special material called Notum. Notum is essential in constructing nano technology, and quickly, Rubi-Ka becomes a much desired world. Competing corporations and even colonist become competitors for control of the planet, and essentially, you're thrown into one side of the battle.
Shadowlands takes place during a time when the more "cultured" inhabitants of Rubi-Ka begin to formulate a plan to take themselves away from the petty conflict and decide to build a floating city in the skies named Jobe. Made of scientist, and academics, the citizens of Jobe continue their research on the floating city and discover a portal to an unknown land called the Shadowlands. The land is made up of varied terrains ranging from snow capped mountains to green, and rich forest. The land is also teeming with dangerous, wild beast.
Another addition to Shadowlands includes the introduction of two new character classes. These are the Keeper and Shade. Keepers are sort of like the Paladin's of Rubi-Ka, a strong warrior with noble purposes. Shades are almost the complete opposite, they rely on energy absorption, and other cynical means to survive in the world of Rubi-Ka. Of course if neither of these two fit your fancy, you can always choose from the original 12 classes already offered with the original AO.
Shadowlands has the same skill structure as before, but there are a few tweaks from the original AO. Killing A.I monsters, or A.I "mobs", will give you XP points which will allow you to level up. With each level up, not only do your overall stats increase but you get IP points to spend on abilities such as speed, protection, trade and repair, nano and aiding, spying, and navigation. This system allows a degree of customization. Fighters will most likely spend IP points on their melee skills, while those more interested in spying will spend points on skills associated with that particular trade.
Once you've picked your race, profession, and what not, you get to spend a little time in a place called the "backyard". Basically it’s an area where "newbs" can level up by killing low level monsters. Once you hit level 5 or 6 though, it's time to move on and into the big bright world of Rubi-Ka. After all, AO is an MMORPG, and the point of the game is to get out there and interact with the other players, completing missions, and so forth. It should be noted that most of the worlds of Rubi-Ka, and the Shadowlands will be inaccessible to you for quite a while. You have to be past level 50 to even get out of the first level Nascence, if you don't want the corpse of your character splattered by high level mobs in the other lands.
You don't want to get on this guy's bad side...
There is a difference between AO and Shadowlands that should be noted. In AO you had special portals that would allow you to travel between different areas fairly quickly. In the Shadowlands, this type of rapid transit no longer exists. This means characters must enter a portal to a new land, and then "foot it" until they reach the other side, where another portal will allow you to warp to the next land. If you have some credits to spare, you can ride in style with air cars, land vehicles, and watercraft, or even fly like Superman if you have the abilities. Missions in AO usually involved going up to a terminal in a city, choosing mission difficulty, and then getting some quest for some random items. Shadowlands mission are a little more linear and follow a sort of story. Your actual missions are handed out by NPCs throughout your quest. The story follows a "Redeemed vs. the Unredeemed" theme. You will learn more about who the redeemed and unredeemed are as you progress.
Visually, Shadowlands is pretty good. The only MMORPGs I have played myself have been EverQuest, and *shudder*... Star Wars Galaxies. Compared to the two, Shadowlands stacks up favorably, especially when it comes to overall area design. Shadowlands features some sharp texturing and lighting, definitely above average for an MMORPG.
The game also features a fairly intuitive interface. Being the MMORPG newb that I am, I expected the game to be fairly difficult to control and master. This was not the case. Everything from upgrading your armor, to interacting with other players was intuitive. I even learned how to do the flamenco in one of Rubi-Ka's night clubs.
The music in the game can be described as unique. Funcom sent me a CD full of the musical score from AO, and while I wouldn't pop it into my car when I'm traveling into S.F on my way to school, it's good enough that I might listen to it while sitting down and surfing the net at home.
Anarchy Online: Shadowlands won't appeal to everybody. This game takes a lot of patience. In fact, this game holds the record as the longest VGLN.com review in terms of time spent reviewing it. Nearly 3 weeks on and off was spent by at least one staff member checking AO under each of our review criteria. We even received a guided tour from a Funcom rep (my date to one of the night clubs in Rubi-Ka). However for those that have the patience, the money (AO, like all MMORPGs has a monthly charge), and of course the desire to play a deep, well defined quest in a large, varied, world, then AO: Shadowlands will be right up your alley. Just make sure you get to bed before the sun rises.
--- Jolex Del Pilar
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Gameplay:
[9.0]
Deep and involving. Don't expect a quick 15 minute session, Shadowlands will suck you in. |
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Graphics:
[8.3]
Very good for an MMORPG, still not as good as non-online games, but still above average. |
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Sound:
[8.5]
From techno, to stringy compositions, it is varied. Good enough to listen to even when not playing. |
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Presentation:
[9.0]
The world of Rubi-Ka is alive. The feeling of a futuristic colony world is fully intact. |
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Replay
Value: [9.5]
It goes without saying, if AO hooks you, you'll be playing a lot, as long as your wallet will hold out at least. |
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Global
Score: [9.1]
AO: Shadowlands is a great expansion to a great MMORPG. If you own the original AO, buying this is a no-brainer. If you don't, can't go wrong with AO (that is unless you absolutely love Orcs, and Elves). |
Click here for an
explaination of our "hit and miss"rating system.
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