Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is doomed. Doomed to success - not absolute, but enough to get a large army of subscribers. Destined to the comparison, and even some secondary - in every article about the game, will be referred to World of Warcraft. Least because WAR (official reduction Warhammer Online) is similar to the creation of Blizzard. Endless confrontation of forces Procedure (the people, the high elves, dwarves) and Chaos (Dark Elves, the hordes of Chaos, Orcs) are also lasts for centuries and as many more will continue. Orcs settle in the fortress dwarfs the tribes of savages who worship the gods of Chaos, Empire precipitated the people, but somewhere overseas dark elves are terrorizing the island Ultuan, home of "light" relatives. As you can see, again, the two factions and a classic fantasy world, where you can win the battle but not war.
To figure out why World of Warcraft and WAR are so similar - a thankless task. Sometime Warcraft borrowed from the board game Warhammer: Fantasy Battles style and concept of the world an endless war, but now the opposite happened: Warhammer Online mercilessly "rip-off» World of Warcraft, and so well that the uninitiated in the subtleties of neophytes can easily be mistaken for game. And there will be wrong.
 | |  | External resemblance to World of Warcraft - it is a fact, and not the result of the perception of a player | | Evolve through mutation, looter leaves a less human for the sake of power bestowed by Chaos |
Still, Warhammer Online - this is not World of Warcraft. Their similarity is superficial, but inside they are different games that emphasize different things. At the heart of creation lies Blizzard gamers clash with the environment: the monsters running around on quests, raids. Struggles with other users in it - not a goal but a means to distract and somehow diversify its presence in the world of Azeroth. And while greed pulls in raids with a few outfits or vainglory does not chase the battlefields in World of Warcraft, you can safely play alone: no friends, groups, guilds and generally anyone.
WAR from the very beginning preaches war and cooperative. You can (and, more importantly, you need to!) Chopped with enemies just like that, one specifically one point of the universe. You can go to the PvP-scenarios: with a special menu at any time to get to a single field, where before you will command the opposite side, and next - squad allies. You can do dozens of different little things to help the faction to tip the scales in their favor. By the way, for the killing other players (and certainly more than for his victories in PvP-scenarios) give experience - a lot of experience, is much larger than normal monsters. The basis of this approach on a simple and great idea: participating in PvP, a gamer gets stronger. If you prefer, you can pump the hero, never getting out of battles with other users, which makes the Warhammer Online PvP-game more than Age of Conan. In WAR, no, you must first break through the teeth on the process flow on edge to fall greedily until the "delicious» PvP-content - here it is available immediately, with the first level. At any time you can go to war with the enemies around your level, and defeating them, bring some benefits to their. Party, which is currently at war more successfully, receives bonuses (such as a larger percentage earn experience or discounts from vendors), so that there is meaning in PvP, and a considerable one. And if one faction seriously surpasses the other in battle, she will even lay siege to the capital of the enemy. The event involved a huge number of participants (a total of up to two hundred), and in case of a successful outcome for the attacking award will exceed all expectations.
 | |  | Two factions, three of the front, six races. Incidentally, the dominance of at least one of the fronts will attack the enemy's inner sanctum - the capital |
Another stumbling block gameplay - discreet, but artificially imposed socialization. Its effect on you will feel yourself almost immediately - as soon as you see the first "public quest. Starting phase of such missions typically are elementary and do not require anything but time: kill n monsters, collect items scattered throughout the area, etc. Further complexity grows, it will take coordinated action (best to take the initiative in their hands and scurrying to collect a number of gamers in the game). Do not forget that before each race several unique character classes (their total number - 20 pieces), no combination of which achieve success in any serious business will be extremely difficult. Without a hero, capable of withstanding frequent strikes, but still accepting of the damage caused to colleagues, every group will be sent quickly to the nearest town through death. Without the "shock troops" (magicians, archers, warriors melee in the middle and light armor), no one will kill the enemy, but without priestly-shamanic characters - no one to treat and strengthen their comrades.
By the way, some classes have turned out quite distinctive (to say hello to the shaman orcs, dwarves, engineers and the Imperial War Priest, for something similar to the Bear Shaman of "Conan"), although significant differences between many do not. Thus, almost all combat skills are aimed at inflicting damage (direct or deferred by the action of such poisons and curses), and the ability to control the opponent (such as whipping with legs, stunning or slowing down) is extremely small. The developers have done it deliberately, trying to make sense of the war in the mass slaughter, but in reality, this approach has led only to the monotony of combat.
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And in WAR there is sexual differentiation: choose a class Witch Elf are only female characters, but the Marauder (Marauder) and Chosen (Chosen) Chaos is available only male heroes. Do green-female biologically absent - every now orc knows his race reproduces spores, like mushrooms.
It must be perfectly clear on designers WAR one rule: the masses like to see the nose of "carrot". What in the World of Warcraft came only with the release of Wrath of the Lich King, Warhammer Online is present in the original - I'm talking about the achievements (achievements). Playing a small reward "buns" virtually any action. Visited the new location for the hero? - Here is the experience and record of the province in the book of knowledge (Tome of Knowledge). Killed 100 basilisks? - Get some experience and the opportunity to add the name of the title "Rain basilisks! What is interesting for some of the achievements are given "tactics" - standing on the character of gain. For example, for the victory, associated with the undead, you can get a "tactic" which increases the damage of undead damage.
 | |  | As a character he's closer to the capital of the faction. Fortunately, the opportunity to change the front and help allies preclude sameness flow for the heroes of one side |
The concept of permanent promotion also visible in the battle. In WAR, there is the concept of "shock cords" - in all classes of this system is implemented in different ways, but the essence is: after hitting A can cause more powerful B, then an even stronger C, etc. Special moves consume mana, but with each stroke of accumulated "morality" is spent on the most "cool" "moral" attacks and abilities. It turns as it were, several parallel scales to promote proper conduct in combat: Combos, plus properly chosen morality "tactics" makes life easier. But it is in the depths of mechanics, on the surface as you see only the teeth on nauseam point-and-click - choose a goal, hit a few times, killed him, chose the next goal ...
We have not said a word about the almost embryonic state craft, but that's because the game is not peaceful. Confessing the principle of "Amusement Park», WAR entertains us by the war and only her. There's always clear where to go and what to do next - the way to the enemy capital, invariably one and runs it over the corpses of enemies. Thoughtful balance and participate in the main action from the start bribe, though most likely, this "Carousel" tired after a couple of months, so that the project will have to constantly increase the content. But to date, Warhammer Online - a definite candidate for the title of "the best MMORPG on the opposing factions."
 | Notes on the localization |
The Russian edition will be available in early 2009. His translation is Electronis Arts, it also will, and edition of the game. Domestic gamers will get their servers, nothing to do with American or European. If you purchased the European version and want to go to Russia, will have to take more and localization - no character migration is not planned.
The positive side of such an approach can be considered that the localization apply individual pricing: the cost of the game and the monthly fee is likely to be lower than in the West. But exact numbers are unknown.
 | |  | Society of dark elves exist under the laws of "social Darwinism": Those who survived and human | | Tome of Knowledge - Reference for the game universe and its inhabitants, and along with job history and earned achievements. Pleasant and useful book |
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