9:02 AM, August 8, 2008
Delsyn: It's the end of our first week in the Warhammer Online and it's been quite a ride. There's been blood, sweat, stench, strange fluids of various colors littering the landscape -- and that's just on the floor of the office. As I log into Warhammer Online I need to make a few decisions. First, which side to I want to play? All of the guys are trying out their new namby-pamby Order characters. I can't. I'm just philosophically unsuited to any organization devoted to the pursuit of peace and justice. Sure, the rest of the GameSpy guys like to talk a good game but when the sword edge meets the bone they throw in their lot with the guys in the white hats. Not me, dude! Chaos Undivided! All hail the Changer of Ways! Back onto my magic surfboard!
If you'll excuse me, I need to take a Thorazine before I start playing again.
10:13 AM, August 8, 2008
Fargo: I feel like our week is wrapping up just when I'm getting into the real meat of this game, so I'm far from reaching any definitive conclusions about Warhammer Online. There are a lot of things I like. The public quests in particular are a standout feature for me. Also important, the world is crafted with a loving attention to character -- something many games miss out on -- and you can't help but be drawn in.
10:20 AM, August 8, 2008
Delsyn: I'm going to take a quick break from drooling in character to echo Fargo's point and expand a bit upon it. Warhammer Online is launching into one of the most brutally competitive environments imaginable. World of Warcraft, for all its many virtues (and it's easily one of the best games ever made) was also the right game at the right time. It was what Star Wars: Galaxies tried but could never be -- the MMO for the rest of us. Fast forward a couple of years and not only does the game have to compete with the monster that is Wrath of the Lich King, but there's a lot of other competition out there like The Lord of the Rings Online and Age of Conan that have managed to stake out their own little piece of the MMO turf.
It seems to me that Warhammer Online has two things going for it that make it distinct -- being built around RvR and PvP combat and the Warhammer Fantasy universe. Just how polished the former is remains to be seen, but based on my play time so far, they certainly seem to have a handle on the latter. The Warhammer Fantasy universe is like the id to Middle-earth's superego. There's no real subtlety or grace in the Warhammer world. It's all unchecked rage, aggression, arrogance, black comedy, slapstick and violence and that zeitgeist of primitive emotions is what makes it so appealing. The mechanics and technology have yet to prove themselves but the one thing that Warhammer Online nails is that fun us vs. them passion that animates football fans (or soccer hooligans if you're not in America). After a week, I really identify with Chaos in a way that makes it feel wrong somehow to step off my disc and slip into the shoes of a White Lion or even Dwarven Engineer, as similar as the play mechanics may be.
