Hellgate: London Review
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There are a lot of problems with the game from a technical standpoint but perhaps the greatest failure is that it's just plain boring. Over 20 years ago, comedian George Carlin did a bit talking about how all (racket games) are just derivatives of Ping Pong played while standing on the table. Even Volleyball is racket-less team Ping Pong with a ball and a raised and inflated net played while standing on the table. Carlin was talking about why the game isn't a sport. This analogy works for Hellgate, too. Almost all modern day action RPGs can be traced back to Diablo. Games continue to use its model and some, like FATE, even blatantly take the design and retool it to fit its needs. Titan Quest same thing. Fun games, but they all go back to Blizzard's blockbuster.
Hellgate: London, when you get right down to it, is a derivative of Diablo, except it's in pseudo 3D and set in London. You work the left mouse button over and over and over again, killing waves of monsters, collecting mostly useless loot and gaining levels. It's basically action RPG 101. Where the game falls down is in its shocking lack of variety. Yes, there are several classes and they're all different and actually very well thought out, but an action RPG where the gameplay boils down to you wearing the left mouse button out absolutely depends on variety in both the areas you explore, the monsters you kill, the skills you acquire, and the loot you wear. If there's not a tasty carrot hanging at the end of the line it all seems rather pointless.
