WildStar Reviews
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We have rounded up a few more reviews and review-in-progress for WildStar, Carbine's recently released sci-fi MMO. I've yet to find a truly negative review, but there doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for the title either.
PC Gamer has the second part of their review-in-progress:
Oh right, there's a whole game out there. I should play some more of it. I figure it's time to try some of the PvP modes, and so queue up for a Battleground. These are 10v10 objective-based matches, and.
They are completely absurd.
In Walatiki Temple players must fight over a Tiki mask that spawns somewhere in the centre of the map. Bring five of them back to your base and you win, providing the other team doesn't break in and steal them. It's a neat way to ensure some big team fights, but, as the above image shows, big team fights can result in an incomprehensible patchwork of attack warnings.
The second Battleground, Halls of the Bloodsworn, was ultimately my favourite. Much like in Team Fortress 2, here you're alternating between attack and defend, taking it in turns to capture three points the fastest. It's the secondary objectives to the side of each control point that give it a more structured feel. If the attackers grab these, it makes the main point capture faster, but it also requires co-ordination and often necessitates that the team split up.
The biggest thing I learned from PvP was that my build isn't sufficient to compete. My current skill rotation has served me well in solo and group questing, but I'm going to need something more tactical to be effective against other players. This, more than anything, is what's going to drive me into the intricacies of my class.
Trusted Reviews, meanwhile, already has its final verdict, 8/10.
It's early days, but WildStar has a lot of potential. It's focused on doing what MMO fans know and love about the genre that little bit better, and it has a lot of the excitement of World of Warcraft's early days. Quests are the game's biggest weakness a little more thought and variety wouldn't hurt but there's enough interest in the game's clever Path missions and structure to compensate for that. If you love MMOs, you'll probably like WildStar. If you're a recovering WoW addict, this might be the last thing that you need.
WOW247 also has a final score, 3/5.
WildStar has a charming look but plays it safe with familiar game-play. Sound hiccups, irritating grinding and the usual fetch quests hinder the experience slightly, but it remains a very decent addition to the MMO genre.
While GameRanx, perhaps wisely, only released the first part of their review-in-progress so far:
First, the good news is WildStar's launch went swimmingly. The few item-related bugs that popped up were quickly squashed, and I've yet to experience any crashes or server timeouts. The only issue, if it be called that, is the long server queue when attempting to log in during the afternoon and evening. That will likely get resolved in time as Carbine gauges the population.
When I did get in, there were three pillars of the game that stand out to me: character, combat and cooperation. WildStar exudes an atmosphere of liveliness with every stroke. It looks like a Saturday morning cartoon in action, and is just as emotive as one with exaggerated, fun animations. The music, the playful narrator and even the Unreal Tournament-style kill proclamations further add a great deal of charm to the action. It all came together to immediately invest me in my avatar and the world around him, something that's very important to my own enjoyment of an MMO. Extensive costume, dye, and housing systems - features I briefly touched upon during those first 15 levels - made that attachment even easier. It was an honest breath of fresh air coming off the gray, dead-eyed lifelessness of The Elder Scrolls Online.
The second pillar, combat, continues the recent trend of providing more engaging gameplay systems. A limited action bar of only eight abilities keeps the screen free of clutter, fingers less tangled, and offers up greater variations on builds. I haven't unlocked too many abilities yet, but I'm already planning my route through AMPs (passive perks you spend points to acquire each level) and exactly what I'll place on my bar between the assault, support and utility trees.
Finally, PC Games N also published a review-in-progress:
The actual quest content itself is another prime example of how streamlined it feels. Outside of the main and regional storylines, the majority of quests you pick up will be enclosed with their own little arcs, usually of a silly demeanor. The side quests that litter the zones are for the most part silent affairs; with only the main ones completely voice acted.
But this shouldn't be seen as a negative. I was allowed to quickly scan through and gleam the important bits from floating quest text, which ultimately led to a high tempo between multiple quests:
You want me to go lure a huge bull with a rocket launcher that fires vegetables? Sounds fab.
This unsavoury character has been caught committing treason against the glorious Dominion and needs to be dealt with? I can handle that.
I have to go and gain the trust of the local indigenous species by throwing a ball in their elders face? If you say so.
The pace in which I pick up a quest, understand the objective and then complete it is entirely dictated by me. I'm not waiting around for rambling dialogues to finish, or drawn out scripted events to run their course. I'm in control, and it feels great.
