Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Dungeons And Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited Review

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited (abbreviated as "DDO") is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Turbine, Inc. for Microsoft Windows, and originally marketed as Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach. Turbine developed DDO as an online adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) based loosely on the D&D 3.5 Rule-set. The game is set in the Eberron campaign world.

DDO is set on the fictional continent of Xen'drik, in the world of Eberron, a D&D campaign setting. Players can create their characters following the revised edition of D&D 3.5 rule-set fashion, and play them in both indoor and outdoor environments, including dungeons.

Although the game is based in large part on the tabletop D&D 3.5 rule set, it contains changes from the tabletop game, some which were introduced due to differences in the dynamics between the media of computer game combat and tabletop gaming. For example, Turbine wanted DDO to use a real time combat engine, whereas tabletop D&D uses a turn-based system. This brought about considerable changes in the handling of combat, character skills and feats; situations where Turbine felt the turn-based combat system and real time combat did not mesh. Notable differences are: increased hit possibilities in a round (as much as twelve times more), increased spell casting resources over rest periods, and the use of a spell point system instead of spell slots. Magical items are underpriced (they average 1/8 of the tabletop D&D prices), characters have higher stats, and offensive effects created by characters do not harm their allies. A list of other differences between DDO and tabletop D&D is on the DDO Wiki.

The core of the game is set in the city of Stormreach, a giant-scaled city built ages ago, and recently settled by humans. Areas in Stormreach are: The Harbor, Marketplace, and four Dragonmarked Houses (House Deneith, Jorasco, Kundarak and Phiarlan). There are adventures beyond the city walls into other areas across the continent, each home to quests.

Review

Even a space pirate has to roleplay a bit in the endless time of waiting between missions or even during missions, while waiting for a cargo ship to get to my ambush point, and the best way to roleplay is a D&D game ;)

For everyone that doesn't know what D&D (short for Dungeons And Dragons) is I have to say this: go find out by playing ! Seriously guys I can describe it as a pen and paper role playing game but if you don't play it you will never understand why it is cool.

Now this game is the mmorpg version of the pen and paper game with a small twist, roleplaying has vanished and the leveling system is completely fucked. Also you can go and do the same mission over and over again that makes no sence in a RPG game but makes perfect sense in a mmorpg. For example you are to save a princess that was abducted by a band of ogres. You go there, raid their camp, slay their boss and save the princes. Then if you talk again to the princes father he will tell you that his daughter is abducted, again and again and again, by the same band of ogres you killed minutes ago, that sucks in an rpg...

Graphics: The graphics aren't extrordinary but they are pretty good for a mmo. Also one of the good things about this game is that it comes in a low quality version for low end machines and a high quality for high end machines, so you won't need a system upgrade to play this one.

Story: As a proud member of the mmo community this game has only a theoritical story that has no effect on the game or the gameplay, and this sucks.

Gameplay: It is the classic mmorpg gameplay, point and click or with the wasd keys for movement and pressing the numbers all the other duration of the game to cast spells or to perform skills. It has some familiar skills such as tumble, spot and bluff but they are only used in battle or in trapfinding, you can't, for example, use bluff on an npc to lower his prices.

FTP VS PTP: The game started out as a Pay To Play (PTP) mmorpg with monthly fee to play it. This went on for some years and then they decided to turn it into a Free To Play (FTP) game. Huge mistake. To cover their expences they locked 70%-80% of the game areas and missions and they unlock it only if you buy them with a credit card or if you get a VIP status by paying their still existant monthly fee. So the game is free to play and to download by their site (here) but this is only the 20%-30% of the game experience so you can say it is a glorified trial version.

To sum up, if you want to try it download it and play it, it's free, but if you want to seriously play the game you have to pay them, and it is worth the pay only if you play it with friends, if not it is just another borring, farming based, mmo.


17 comments:

  1. I never realized how diverse your reviews were. I am so excited to see a game review! I don't actually play D&D, it's always just seemed to long ;). I will most definitely be checking in for more reviews!

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  2. oh I do game reviews for over 2 months now and I get noticed with DDO... I feel invisible ><

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  3. .....i do reviews for games since the start of the blog....ok now I am both offended and depressed. What the hell does ANYONE read my posts? :P

    Not you Silvestro I know we read each other's reviews

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  4. Ermmm..guys...she is a new to the blog. So it's obvious why she was surprised with the game review. She hasn't seen any the last couple days.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Relax Yiota, its not like we are attacking her
    *hides the knife while shifts his eyes from side to side*

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  7. All I was trying to say is that I am a gamer and am stoked by game reviews. I read the review which is why I commented! I never meant to offend and I am really sorry I did. I was simply excited about the review.

    Thank you Yiota for your comment, and thank you JohnnyB for the reviews. I will be watching for them now.

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  8. @TheGirlOnFire: Don't worry about it, we were just kidding, it's not that we got offended :D

    And why no thank you for me :'(

    P.S. my comment wasn't about not getting noticed, i'm a covert ops operative, I like not getting noticed, my comment was about getting noticed on this specific game because I don't really like it XD

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  9. @TheGirlOnFire: Dont worry we are just teasing. A lot. You wont find the game reviews because yiota sabotages them. You will see every post I do will be buried by 11 million posts by Yiota. She does not like us gamers. I say we kidnap her

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  10. I am so sorry I skipped you Silvestro! I have to stop commenting on this post or I will just keep putting my foot further in my mouth! Some one needs to save me from myself!

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  11. @TheGirlOnFire: You are doing great! Don't mind them!

    And i do not sabotage anything you mean ppl!

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  12. @TheGirlOnFire dont worry as the captain it is my duty to save people, even if that means destroying a planet in the process....for the last time Silvestro it was an ACCIDENT!

    @Yiota yeah you do!

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  13. This is getting beyond hilarious, I feel much better now!

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  14. So I have been checking constantly, when is the next game review coming? I have been trying to guess what the next review will be since this whole comment bash started!

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  15. I dont know about Johnny but I do reviews when the divine inspiration from the creator gods of Baldur's Gate comes to me in form of voices and visions from the great gaming beyond :D

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  16. @Silvestro: i'm wondering how more cryptic you could be :P

    @TheGirlOnFire: just to destroy Silvestro's epic line :P I know Johnny has a review for this week to do. And Silvestro just told me that he decided what his next game review will be ;)
    So i think the answer is "pretty soon".

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  17. @TheGirlOnFire: I WILL GO DO THE REVIEW WHEN I AM DONE LOOKING AT THE REPLIES, HURRY AND SEE IT BEFORE YIOTA SABOTAGES IT...TAKE COVER! SHIELDS UP! PROTECT THE COOKIES, TEA AND WOMEN FIRST! FETCH ME MY BOW!

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There is lot of spam lately at the posts, so for a while i will put up the comment moderation. Sorry for that, i really don't like it but i thought it might stop the spamming. It will be down soon enough! Thanks a lot :)

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