Post by Morreion on Apr 26, 2010 7:19:32 GMT -5
A young Ranger at the gates of Tortage
My first week back to AoC has been an enjoyable experience. I started out rolling up a Cimmerian Barbarian, but rerolled as a Cimmerian Ranger after a few days. Both classes are stealthy rogue classes- a light fighter and an archer, respectively- because I am playing on the Cimmeria RP-PvP server (the only North American official RP server). This means that many zones will have a free-for-all player-versus-player ruleset, so being able to stealth comes in very handy, because I'm playing solo.
Character creation is a fairly in-depth affair. You can choose 1 of 3 races- barbarian Cimmerian, civilized Aquilonian, mysterious desert-dwelling Stygian. There are a good amount of classes, including some unique choices (any class named Herald of Xotli HAS to be cool). There is a Rest feature that all characters can use after combat, which allows you to heal up more quickly when out of combat. Sort of a universal heal feature (though you can be a sitting duck if someone gets the drop on you while resting).
The first 20 levels are a very polished experience taking place in the area of Tortage, a jungle island port known to harbor pirates. If the whole game would be like the Tortage start, it would be a great game (so went the lament in 2008!). A unique feature of the first 20 levels are a day and a night campaign. Switching over to nighttime play is a single-player solo campaign that advances the interesting storyline as well as your character's equipment and skills. The daytime campaign is the usual multiplayer MMO experience, with other players running around. There are 2 areas around Tortage that are PvP-enabled- the Underhalls (passages under the town) and White Sands. Otherwise the beginning areas are PvE-only. This gives players the option of both early PvP or focusing on building skills through PvE. The death penalty is light- a small debuff- though it is cumulative. You can respawn at areas you've previously explored.
A tense quest cutscene.
The Tortage PvE quest storyline comes in 4 different varieties- warriors, rogues, mages and healers. Each archetype has 2 or 3 classes. This makes for nice variety if you play an alt of a different archetype, though Tortage is the only starting zone, so be careful- you can burn out doing it too often (I burned out this way back in 2008). Being a rogue class had me climbing up walls to eavesdrop on sinister conversations as well as breaking and entering into the main keep in the center of town. The voice acting and soundtrack is good, and the quests are solid. There are brief video cutscenes that go along with the quests, adding to the cinematic feel of the game. Your character appears in these cutscenes, adding to the effect.
Tortage by night.
Tortage itself is well-represented as a walled ramshackle town with a nobles quarter, a waterfront, a merchants area, and a drydocked boat as a tavern. Looming over all is Tortage Keep, dwelling of Lord Strom and his Red Hand guards. The graphics are very good and are a significant highlight of the game, and the attention to detail is impressive. I have DX10 enabled, which gives glorious lighting effects to the scenery. Dwellings, foliage, the denizens of Tortage are all rendered in elaborate realistic style. This is a big plus for the game. A prostitute beckons from a balcony; drunken sailors stagger around the waterfront, occasionally relieving themselves into the water. Various unique characters await your interactions with them.
Fans of reading and following quests will like the first 20 levels of AoC. Politics, sinister plots, pathos, even a little humor abound. You are involved in the struggle against Strom, the tyrant of Tortage, and his Red Hand lackeys. As you level up, your look changes as you get sturdier equipment. Nothing incredible-looking of course, this is the first 20 levels of an 80-level game. I like the realistic style a lot- I never was a big fan of oversized weapons and too-intricate armor.
You can reach level 20 easily in a week, which is the first phase of the game. This phase is rich in immersing yourself in the world of Hyboria, not only showing you the basics of the game but also getting the flavor of the harsh setting. The game is rated 'mature' for the occasional nekkid female and adult themes. It is worth a try- it runs smoothly and is a polished experience, though it is a good idea to have at least a decent PC. This is not Farmville.
In upcoming posts, I'll discuss various features of the game to give you a better feel for what adventuring in Hyboria is like.
