Graev and I just watched the newest ArcheAge trailer. We put it up on the big screen, cranked the surround sound, leaned back in our chairs, and readied our minds and bodies for what was sure to be a breathtaking journey. Let’s watch.
- Amazing music? Check.
- Breathtaking views? Check.
- What appears to be a properly proportioned world? Check.
- Drive your own boats and fish out on the ocean? Check.
- Castle sieges? Check.
- Dragon and epic monsters? Check.
… Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?
Our reaction was literally “Woah! Sweet! Oh man did you see that? Finally, a game that looks awesome! … Uh, did you just see cars? Was that just a family vacation?! The heck is going on here? The trailer started to feel like an episode of The Bachelorette, at which point we started to get really uncomfortable and avoid eye contact.
All joking aside… and pretending the creepy stuff at the end didn’t happen, ArcheAge actually looks like it’s going to be a freaking blast. I get what they’re going for with the ‘we can create a life for you here’ vibe. I appreciate virtual world, live in it and have experiences stuff. I doubly appreciate the emphasis on things that weren’t combat based which signals to me that they are at least interested in marketing the multifaceted nature of their game.
Here’s hoping Graev and I can launch our vessel out to sea and set course for an island to call our own.
An alternate reading is that the first half looks like the same cliched fantasy montage we’ve seen every MMO (including a lot of eastern F2Ps) pump out for years while the second half looks like it comes from a different game entirely, possibly The Sims on Acid.
I’ll reserve judgment until I actually get to play it but it’s fast dropping down my personal “must play” list.
What you did not see on the video…
gang? check
more gang?check
gang again? check
omg gang! check
sorry..the game is beautiful and i would really love a game that focus to create virtual world with plenty of activities to do besides combat, but no I will not take cause I know that every step of awesomeness will have 2 step of frustration. Make a pve server and you got me…I can really farm for months to create my own house, my own boat, I can ride/walk the whole map and take screenshots of the places, but don’t wanna deal with every problematic personality that will gather his friends and wait for me in the corner to destroy my enjoyment.
Here we go again, another eastern fantasy… medieval knights with ray guns… Amish girls in bikinis… yeah, no. Can’t do it.
I am not sure a PvE server is necessary and I think it would ruin the game and divide the focus. Right now it is a game that is semi social and PvP and designed around that concept. Adding a PvE server would mean content and features would all have to be re set for a PvE only game which takes time and resources away from the main games design.
I can’t wait to not play that game.
I’m definitely surprised by the response. The second half was bizarre, but the first half didn’t look bad at all. I thought it was a welcomed change from the videos of people questing, raiding, or doing dungeons like we see from every other MMO.
I am curious about this one but I have my doubts (as usual). I can’t put my finger on it but some of the games these days have this weird webrowser-like-feel which drives me nuts…Age of Wushu has it…and I wouldn’t be surprised if this has it too…it is partially the style…but I am not exactly sure…
This might even save trion .
I’ve been keeping an eye on Archeage with great interest. I think sandboxes will be the last hope for MMOs to fulfill the promise of virtual world type games.
Having said that, I’ve always worried that Archeage may have problems in translation to a western audience. And the cars and ‘modern Sims’ feel are making me worry more and more that Archeage might not be what I am hoping for.
We will see!
what the mmorpg world needs….a new age of conan korean version.
Game already bombed in Korea. Its a linear, same-old game until the cap, then it turns into activity-time. First half is traditional fantasy setting, second half is Sims Online. It’s almost like two dev teams made each piece, and then someone just decided to smash them together and call the result ArcheAge.
I’d be surprised if they do a full, open beta on this, as people will detect the flaws. What I do suspect Trion will do is limit the beta to the first half only, tricking everyone into thinking it’s like that later and just more ‘sandbox’.
It’s the same old…everyone wants to play a sandbox until one is about to come out and then it’s “wait I can do whatever I want and people can kill me? no thanks.”
For all of the complaining we do about structure it’s a fundamental need for the majority of us.
@SynCaine: I’m anxious to try it myself. I have this perfect image in my mind for how a game can be all about doing what you want while still providing the adventure.
@Jim: Sandbox and PvP are not synonymous, nor do they go hand-in-hand.