Warhammer rivals Warcraft
In a market almost entirely dominated by one game, the best massive multiplayer online role-playing games can strive for is to be like World of Warcraft - but better - in hopes of taking a chunk of the game's market.
Nearly four years after Warcraft's arrival, it may finally have a serious competitor in Warhammer Online, which offers new excitement for the serious player vs. player junkies, raiders who want to battle huge monsters with 15 of their best friends and perfectionists who love showing off their achievements.
Based on the Warhammer miniatures game, Warhammer Online has an incredibly rich history to draw from that you can get as involved in as much as you like. Every quest comes with some exposition and many adventures unlock further stories to read. But if you really just want to get on to leveling and killing, the game makes that easy too.
Questing has an ease to it that can only be found by installing user interface modifications in World of Warcraft. Big red blotches will appear on your map telling you what quests you can accomplish there. If you need to go further, large red arrows will point the way. Your "tome of achievement" keeps track of every kill and can retroactively give you credit if you killed some monsters on the way to picking up the quest to kill them. Quest items are neatly sorted in a separate bag area so they don't get in the way of your consumables and equipment. There's plenty of bar space to lay out and hotkey your abilities.
Each server is divided into Order and Destruction, with the human Empire, high elves and dwarves battling against dark elves, Chaos barbarians and "greenskins." The class you play is entirely determined by your race, with each one offering three or four options that are not replicated anywhere else. Oddly, classes can also be limited by gender, with some options only open to male or female avatars. That said, the forces seem relatively balanced in terms of their class' capabilities. Because evil is always a little more fun, every single realm in the open beta test favored Destruction over Order.
War isn't just the name of the game, it's the driving force. You won't spend any time in Warhammer helping farmers scare away pests or retrieving lost items for children. The result is that even the lowest level play has an epic feel to it. At level four of the 40 level game you can join one of their public quests and bring down a hydra for a chance at some serious gear upgrades. The public quests - the closest thing Warhammer has to instances - are just about everywhere. They vary widely in difficulty.
At low levels you can also easily get into player vs. player combat. PvP is divided into scenarios and realm vs. realm fights. Scenarios are queued battlegrounds with some set objective like capturing locations or getting items from one place to another. Before level 12 there's already three open to players, including the highly entertaining Khaine's Embrace where capturing an altar sets off a nuclear-style explosion that kills everything that doesn't clear the area fast enough.
Scenarios tend to be chaotic rushes of individual players thrown into a party doing their own thing while trying to win. In contrast, Realm v. Realm combats seem to favor small, highly organized bands attacking one another. Various objectives exist throughout the game world including taking towers and keeps that push control of the game from one side to another, giving whatever side controls the zone an advantage in raising money, earning experience and other critical mechanics. The Destruction/Order off balance may be one serious weakness here as the minority faction could always be at a disadvantage. Fighting other players is rewarded at the lowest levels with gear and even statistical bonuses made available depending on how much you do it.
The game also takes a more creative tack on trade skills. Crafters brewing potions or making talismans experiment with combinations of ingredients to create a stable and functional product. Get it wrong and it could explode - costing you money - or even backfire when you try to use it. The challenge can be a little frustrating at first but experimentation will reward you. The huge variety of ingredients available can be a burden to your bag space, which is limited by level. Also the cultivation skill is just pretty lame unless you really like the idea of planting seeds and then watering and fertilizing them.
Talents are also done well, with each level giving you something new instead of many levels just upgrading existing options. While many basic spells and attacks may be abandoned for ones that do more damage as you level, the presence of so many options for different effects adds a need to skillfully manage your time and resources. And to add to the addictiveness, the game is jam packed with achievements for everything from getting killed by a shaman to clicking on your character 100 times to improving your trade skills. These give you rewards and quirky titles to show off.
Even with some graphics glitches still proving a frustration in beta play, Warhammer has been a whole lot of fun. Do you want to fire a ballista at incoming troops? Do you want to burn down forts and keeps? Do you want to take down huge monsters? Mostly do you want an alternative to World of Warcraft? If so, get ready for war.
Warhammer Online
Platform: PC
Developer: Mythic Entertainment
Publisher: EA
Genre: Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game
Rating: 4/4
New Gaming Releases
Recently Released
"Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals," PC, adventure
"Red Baron Arcade," PS3, simulation
"Namco Classic Fighter Collection," PS2, action
"LaTale," PC, role-playing
"Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning," PC, role-playing
"Naruto Ultimate Collection," PS2, action
"Speed Racer," PS2, driving
"OPERATION Mania," PC, action
"Line Rider 2: Unbound," DS/PC, action
"Star Wars: The Force Unleashed," Wii/PSP/PS2/PS3/X360/DS, action
"Igor," PC, action
"Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk," Wii, simulation
"Red Bull BC One," DS, action
"The Price is Right," PC, puzzle
"My Secret World by Imagine," DS, puzzle
"Dance, Dance Revolution X," PS2, action
"Hell's Kitchen," PC, action
"TNA iMPACT!," Wii, action
"Everlight," PC, adventure
"Pure," PC/PS3/X360, driving
"Crysis Warhead," PC, action
"Yggdra Union," PSP, role-playing
"Armored Core: For Answer," PS3, simulation
"Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility," Wii, action
"Battle Fantasia," X360, action
"B-boy," PSP, action
"Mount & Blade," PC, role-playing
"Super Pick Ups," Wii, driving
"Dance, Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2," Wii, puzzle
"Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen," DS, role-playing
"S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky," PC, action
"WWII: GC," PC, strategy
"Cabelas Big Game Hunter 09: Legendary Adventures," PC, sports
"Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleased," PSP, action
"Rock Band 2," X360, puzzle
Week of Sept. 21
"Mega Man 9," X360, action
"Duke Nukem 3D," X360, action
"Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure," DS, role-playing
"Ultimate Shooting Collection," Wii, action
"Brothers in Arms: Double Time," Wii/PS3/X360, action
"Buzz! Master Quiz," PSP/PS3, puzzle
"Lego Batman," DS/PSP/PS3/PC/PS2/Wii, adventure
"Cabelas Dangerous Hunts 2009," PS3/PS2, sports
"Pipe Mania," PS2, puzzle
"Ford Racing: Off Road," PC, driving
"Hi! Ham Taro Ham-Ham Challenge," DS, action
"Shaun the Sheep," DS, adventure
"SingStar Pop. Vol. 2," PS2, puzzle
"Pitfall: The Big Adventure," Wii, action
"My Japanese Coach," DS, puzzle
"Flight Simulator X: Gold Edition," PC, simulation
"Battle Rage: The Robot Wars," Wii, action
"Dinosaur King," DS, strategy
"Margot's Word Brain," DS/Wii, puzzle
"Dark Horizon," PC, simulation
"King's Bounty: The Legend," PC, strategy
"Dragon Ball Z: Trilogy," PS2, action
"Mount & Blade," PC, role-playing
"Time Hollow," DS, adventure
"Warriors Orachi 2," X360/PS2, action
"Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked," Wii, adventure
"Disgaea DS," DS, strategy
"Samba di Amigo," Wii, puzzle
"DropCast," DS, puzzle
"Baja: Edge of Control," X360/PS2/PS3, driving
"Wario Land: Shake It!," Wii, action
"de Blob," Wii, action
"Kirby Super Star Ultra," DS, action
"Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization," PC, strategy
"SimCity Creator," Wii/DS, strategy