Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)

Warhammer Online catapults itself into the class of elite MMO, and it should only get better.
9/30/2008 7:28 PM | 0 Comments | Page 3 of 3

Gardening aside, WAR absolutely nails the Warhammer world in both how it looks and how the inhabitants behave. The cover of the old "Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Core Rulebook" dubs the setting as "A Grim World of Perilous Adventure." This is not high fantasy with talking dragons; Warhammer has always had a gritty realism to accompany its fantastical creatures. It's like 15th-century Prussia, but with magic. WAR captures this perfectly: Walking into Altdorf, the capital of The Empire, you get the feeling that the rich are rich and the poor are destitute, clinging to their faith in Sigmar. The Orcs act like soccer hooligans and the Dwarfs like Scottish highlanders. The Chaos capitol, The Inevitable City, is just what Warhammer fans might have thought a Tzeentch city would look like: bizarre, terrifying and twisted. If you love the Warhammer lore, Warhammer Online will push all the right buttons -- even more than the miniatures game -- as you travel to locations that you had only read about.

This is aided by the graphics and art direction. It's not bright and colorful and happy -- it's muted and often dingy. But it fits. The only complaint with the visuals is with the combat animation of the characters: A sword will come down and miss but still cause damage, or a spell effect might not appear, or an arrow won't release from a bow. The combat looks on the sloppy side at times, and needs to get cleaned up.

There's so much still to talk about: the personal journal that is the incredible Tome of Knowledge; the easy-to-read maps that show you where you need to go in a quest; the excellent Guild system that not only allows you to form groups of friends, but also earn reputation and take over keeps; the rewards that come to your character after each and every level -- Warhammer Online is a remarkably detailed game that no fan of the MMORPG genre should miss.

This still begs one important question: Where will Mythic take us next? To the Undercity of the Skaven? Maybe to the Dark Elf home of Naggaroth? Perhaps we'll cross the sea to Lustria? Or maybe Mythic will open up the area around the Empire to Bretonnia and Tilea, or south to the sands of Araby? The base game has barely scratched the surface of what Warhammer Online might become, but for now, fans should be more than content with what Mythic has delivered.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.