Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Review
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The design actually dares to innovate in some areas even if some of the new ideas might not immediately work quite as planned. I also think that there is definitely room for RvR/PvP-oriented MMO like Warhammer Online - it's just that what's presented as a major innovation just isn't that radically different from other games. At times, the game feels like "Dark Age of Camelot 2" with a Warhammer sticker glued on. I'm also afraid that boredom due to lack of content and lack of tricks and options in combat may set in far too rapidly - what's there just feels paper thin, lacking in depth. Getting experience from PvP is a good fundamental change, and it helps to retain players who hate questing with a passion, but only if PvP itself is fun in the long term. I'm not sure it is.
Still, Mythic is to be congratulated for actually managing to pull off a good launch with a product that doesn't look like it accidentally escaped from the dungeons of the in-house QA testers - my own expectations were considerably lower. Most of the issues that drag down the score are things that are fixable in future updates, and the underlying foundation is sound. I'm mostly worried about the client-server code related to animations and the slight "stickiness" of the combat. It's annoying, but I guess if the rest of the game keeps you happy, you can get used to the slightly clunky feel.
So by all means, if you are seeking for something familiar, yet different before Wrath of the Lich King drops, Warhammer Online is a solid effort and easily worth the price of the box. It will most likely will keep you entertained at least for a month or two - just don't instantly pay for a six-month subscription, as what's available today is lacking in depth and you may end up disappointed in the long run. It remains to be seen how rapidly Mythic can tune and expand the game.
