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Long time DAoC players opinion...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

1,000 words or less...

I've played DAoC since the day of it's release and I have tested the Shrouded Isles expansion extensively. I've logged over 2000 hours playtime and am a serious gamer. However bear in mind that the few following points are one writers opinion.

When choosing a game you must see it in relation to the other games available. Because this is a mmorpg, there are only a few competitors, and soon to be more. Do some research first, you will be putting your precious time into the game you choose.

Advantages of DAoC over other mmorpgs:
1. The company listens to the player base. This is genuninely unique in this game genre.
2. There are 40+ classes to play. Each class can be built in a variety of ways.
3. You have three realms to choose from. There is so much to see.
4. It looks great, and with Shrouded coming out, nothing else really compares.
5. The engine is very stable, and speedy.
6. Customer service is extensive and far superior to that available in competing titles of the same genre.
7. Changes are frequently made, and oft sweeping. You can combat changes if you are vocal, organized and back it with data. I have made changes in how things work in this world, you can too.
8. I don't know why this is, but the player base is more nice in general than in any other game I've played. It's my #1 reason for playing so much. You won't find this kind of quality playerbase in any other game. Especially on the roleplay servers.
9. Mythic takes risks. I like to reward ingenuity and risktaking in business. It keeps changes coming to us, the players.
10. The game is well designed, feature rich, fun and a blast too.

Disadvantages:
1. Mythic is small, though growing. They can only accomplish so much at once.
(This first comment is double edged. While small, the company does it's own bidding. There is no Sony or MS giant pulling puppet strings.)
2. Sometimes the vocal playerbase has forced changes that were not in the best interests of 'balance'. Balance and fairness among classes can be trying and difficult. Waves upon the beach.
Remember: 40+ class each building 3+ ways. Balancing 120 builds in PvE and RvR both is no small task. I wouldn't wish it upon an enemy.
3. Hibernia was rushed out in production last september and the realm lacks. However in SI Hibernia is gorgeous. They made up to us.
4. If you just want to RvR, levelling is slow to get to 50.
5. At level 50 (consider 250-500 hours to get here!!!) those who like PvE or have become accustomed to it may be bored by RvR. RvR is why I play however, and leveling is a chore for me.
6. Some classes are superior to others, and it can be frustrating dying repeatedly, or being so often victorious due to a given ability. Changes do come however.

The game is considerably more humane to your time than any other current mmorpg. I love humane companies.
The game is fun and well designed. There are many quests. Player crafted armor etc is fully viable. PvE is extensive and fun for a variety of levels. RvR is fun - but it is much too fast.

All in all I give this game a 7 of 10. As a mmorpg I give this game a 10 of 10. It's hands down the best mmorpg out there. Best company, best customer service. And it's a small company that broke into a market by doing cool things their big competitors didn't care to do, like giving us a role-play server.

The company continually adds new changes that are better for the player. Speeding up leveling, etc. /applaud.
Additionally, I'd like to add:
It can be very trying playing a game when it is first released. They are all buggy and difficult. DAoC launched MUCH more smoothly than any other 1st person mmorpg I've played, and I've played them all at launch.
More than a year into it's life, DAoC is feature rich, well built and kind. Many changes still need to be made and there are still buggy things (interrupt coding for casters) that need work. Some of these things deeply bite into fun. All in all, the company has proved itself over this past year. They have shown they have courage, they listen, the continue to strive to better the world. They have shown outstanding customer service in all of my interactions (let me tell you 'Godsend'!) with them.

It's not a perfect experience. It's not a perfect game. But if you look at the competition, it's no competition. Some of the upcoming mmorpgs may be better than DAoC, but they will all be bug ridden beta launches for 6 months. That's just the nature of the industry, and the complexity of creating an online pc mmorpg.

All in all. Dark Age of Camelot and more superiorly Shrouded Isles, is the best game I have had the privelege of particpating in. This is largely due as well to the many, many fine people I have met and come to know in Hibernia, Percival.

Enjoy! You really can't go wrong with this buy.
~Davina of the Percival Server

WARNING - Please Read

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 30
Date: October 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Fantastic MMORPG. For those of you who don't know that means Massively Multiuser Online Roleplaying Game. And yes it is online. There's no single player version of the game. A lot of people get confused by that.

The basic concept is that you pick a server on which to play (typically the best is to choose a server that is low population at around 5:30 - 6pm EST. You'll see what i mean once you go through the account setup). After you pick the server you pick your realm:

Albion - The Camelot in DAoC. This realm is based on Arthurian Legend and a lot of the class based 'epic' quests deal with the rising forces of Morgana LeFay and the like.

Midagard - Norse legend here. The hulking Trolls, the bulky Norse, and the vertically challenged kobold are teamed up in defense of this realm.

Hybernia - More of the 'Fairy Legend' somewhat celtic in nature I suppose. Here you have the Elves, Humans and Halflings (called Lurikreen) fighting to defend the realm.

Each realm has its strengths and weaknesses for example Midgaard has the better Fighter Classes, Albion the better Healing classes and Hybernia the better Wizardly classes.

As you work you're way up in level they have dungeons and mini 'RvR' (realm vs. realm) areas to play around in. RvR is fun in that you encounter people's characters from other realms (i.e. you're a Midgardian fighting Hybernians and Albionians).

The game is rich with quests and encounters and I've found it to be much more friendly than Everquest (the other players are nicer).

Excellent game if you like or would like to try the true on-line gaming experience.

Also, in comparison to EverQuest, this game caters to everyone from the powergamer to the 1-2 time a week player. I often find logging on with only 15 minutes to play just as fulfilling as when I have 15 hours =)

Excellent add on to the great MMORPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: January 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Shrouded Isles is the first expansion for the massive multiplayer role playing game "The Dark ages of Camelot" or DAoC for short.

To understand a bit about the game's back story, DAoC makes wonderful use of three seperate mythologies: English, Celtic and Norse. You can create a character in any one of these lands.

Mythic, the company behind DAoC, made a wise decision in basing their game on actual mythology, as it has both an accessibility and a richness and resonance not found in the competitors. Those people drawn to the role playing elements of the game, have more to work with, and it's easier to fathom what constitutes an acceptable name, for example.

The lands reflect the research and forethought which went into the design of the game. For example, each of the lands has a capital city. Obviously there's camelot for Albion (aka England), but in Hibernia (Irish/Celtic mythology) the capital city is Tir Na Nog, or the celtic land of the fairies. If you've ever travelled in Ireland or england, you almost can't help but smile to see landmarks on the map like the cliffs of Moher or the Salisbury plain, with a dungeon entrance inside a strange but familiar set of stone monoliths called Stonehenge.

As for game mechanics, this is probably one of the most hotly contested issues within the DAoC community. DAoC has a large number of classes spread amongst the three realms, and one of DAoC's innovations was the design of the game as a player vs. player environment.

As a new player you choose a realm, and a character class and proceed to age or level your character via combatting NPC creatures alone or in groups, or by doing quests and tasks. You could if you chose to, never leave the safety of your home realm, and avoid ever having to deal with the unpleasant prospect of being attacked or preyed upon by other players. In general home realms feature a lot of cooperation and esprit de cour, and DAoC offers enough guild functions to support the concept of persistent player organizations within the realms.

Eventually, most people want to taste combat against these other realms, and DAoC provides an ingenous mechanism which allows players to enter these dangerous frontiers when they choose to, yet still retreat safely to their homeland when they want to continue to gain experience or engage in the local trade economy.

In many ways Guild features are the backbone of the RvR system, since the guilds and alliances of guilds really are the engine which drives the ebb and flow of player vs player combat. DAoC does feature large scale combat, and in fact, really requires that substantial numbers of people work together in forming armies for sieging and attempts to steal and hold enemy relics.

Each realm's frontier zone contains keeps which can be sieged and held, and castles containing relics which can be stolen and held to the benefit of bonuses for magic users or weapon yielding folk throughout the land.

The realm vs. realm or RvR combat continues to undergo constant tuning, as popularity and success in combat of the various realms and classes reveals ways in which some classes are either bugged or too powerful.

In SI, part of the value of the expansion is the introduction of two new classes in each realm, with distinct capabilities. Depending on your outlook, Mythic is either ambitious or crazy, but no one can accuse them of being complacent or risk averse.

Although not specifically a part of SI, Mythic also installed spellcrafting around the time of the release, as part of it's continued commitment to providing a robust tradeskills system and economy. Spellcrafting and alchemy allow players to train their skills in adding magical properties to the player made weapons and armor, and allowing them to compete with the rare item drops which previously often required dedication to endless hours of killing NPC creatures.

One of the quaint touches in DAoC was it's somewhat antiquated engine, and the rendering of terrain and objects. One of the things SI provides is an enhanced graphics engine, which ostensibly provides performance improvements, but also is harder on and less forgiving of older graphics cards. There's some noticeable eye candy like reflective water, but the graphics engine really isn't really the main point of interest in SI, in comparison to the new lands available for exploration, and the new classes.

SI is really an evolutionary step, and one which every DAoC player will no doubt want to invest in. It's not a 2.0 game, although I commend Mythic for working to make what in essence amounts to an unlocking of new content, a worthwhile purchase that also addresses issues with the game. They've also designed SI so that it can still coexist in relative peace with those DAoC players who don't want to spring for the add-on.

But it's probably worth noting that Mythic has continued to earn the dedication of its customers, by adding in new content, and capabilites, as well as special interest server types ever since the release of the DAoC.

In addressing the complaints and shortcomings of the RvR system, they had, prior to Shrouded Isles, introduced a massive dungeon called Darkness Falls, which also added a new wrinkle and importance to the possession of frontier keeps.

It seems to me that Mythic continues to consider itself the underdog in the MMORPG wars, and as such is working very hard to make their game the best it can be. There really is more nuance and variety to DAoC than that offered by any of it's competitors (with the excepction perhaps of Anarchy online) and that has kept players interested in the game, and Mythic's subscriber revenues solid.

Shrouded Isles requires DAoC, but someone new to the game would not have a problem finding the base game and the expansion for the price of the original game. As many people have been playing DAoC for over a year, someone new to the world of DAoC would no doubt find an immense world to explore, experiment with, and learn about. With Shrouded Isles, it's now got an updated graphics engine, new classes, and lands and epic dungeons to explore.

i have played this game for about 1 year now

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 17
Date: November 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have had the privlage to play many online games. ( I.E. EQ,UO,diablo I & II) By far DAOC (as all of us Dark Age Of Cametot players like to call it) has been the funnest and yet simplest online RPG I have come across. Your camera angle is completly under your conTROLL you can go from 1st person to a 90 degree angle above head view at the touch of a button, to make it evev better you can zoom in and out and angle it up and down as well. Movement can be proformed with both mouse and arrow keys its up to you which you like better. As for graphics... its no mario brother game for the game cube... But it sure is close. Like most online games DAOC tends to update/add stuff to the game about every 2 weeks so after you buy the game look forward to many megs of patches to download. and many more to come as they add new items, spells, monsters, quests, and even new abilities.

Game play is also another plus you can set the keyboard any way you want. (I.E. If you want jump to be the [space] u can make it that way) move ment is smoth and very detailed with a desent frame rate.(the better system you have deturmens the quality of frame rate) Charactor progression at the early lvls ( 0 -20 ) is rather easy and after 20 it becomes slower and more chalenging. In each of the 3 realms there are many monsters to fight and certain places to find them. Monsters are also color coded in lettering in a little box that comtains your health, endurance,mana,exp.,and the health bar of who or what u hav targeted. colors represent the amount of lvl diffrence the monster / player is from you: in order gray as super low green,blue,yellow (your lvl), orange, red,and purple(you will die if you attack it)

If all that isn't enough... for all you ICQ, AIM, IRC (u get my point) the chating system is far above all online games. You set a friends list up so you know who in your realm is online and even set up private chats betwenn you and up to 50 of you buddies. there is also a guild system which has its own chat as well as guild officers chat. aliances can be made between guilds and an aliance chat is formed. you form groups of 2-8 people and a group chat is formed. Not to metion the brodcast chat system in towns so you may ask other players for directions and sell your goodies. and last but not least there is main chat that people in a certin area can hear. its not as complicated as it sounds... but i will tell you it is easier than ICQ.

So to say the least this is a must buy for people of all ages. It will become your Life, your world, your family, and your Fun.

oh yea this is a review for the expansion... like this game could get better... they are uptating the graphics engine! as well as new aeras of the world to explore and new classes and races to chose from.

Definitey worth the money

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: December 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This expansion, with it's new classes, races and zones, makes a great game even better. The new graphics engine has improved the frame rate in large RvR events and the starting cities in the new zones are some of the best hunting grounds for lowbie characters. You will also find new "epic" dungeons in the expanded areas and a large "outdoor dungeon" crawling with some of the most challenging PvE mobs in the game. And if you are a crafter... here, you will have access to crafting towns with *all* materials as well as forge, lathe, alchemy table and vault.

If you are serious about Dark Age of Camelot, you will D E F I N I T E L Y want this expansion.

An excellent beginning...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: October 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Speaking as one who put many hours into Everquest; the RvR aspect of Dark Age was a great break from the boredom of leveling. Once a player's character hits lvl 20 in Dark Age, he/she is able to enter a battle realm and fight two other races of characters controlled by other players. There is a central keep which each race can attempt to gain control of and this is where the real action is. Siege equipment, fireballs, swords, pikes and bows all come into play as one race defends and two vie for the opportunity to seize the keep.
This is a fun game that will only get better with time. Looking forward to Shrouded Isles and all the expansions and improvements to come.

BEST GAME EVER

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 36
Date: October 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

BEST GAME EVER OMG ITS SO COOL I LOVE DAOC AND THE EXP PACK JUST MAKES IT MORE FUNNER YEAH ITS DA COOLEST!

...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: October 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is Awesome, plain and simple. Yes there have been some problems in the past but Mythic works had at fixing them and has done a spectacular job at assimilating player input into a greater product. The quest system is incredibly detailed and is fun, even at level 50 there is plenty to do with fighting against the othert realms. Noone yet has maxed out the total amount of realm points, and with the expansion there will be a whole new dimension added to the game. This game is one that will be around for a while.

One of the BEST games of it's kind!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Don't let others discourage you! This is one of the best games of it's kind! No other game can match it's playability and variety. If you like PvE or PvP or RvR there is something for everyone here. And believe me no one can beat Mythic for thier customer service! (It's virtually non existant at the "other game")
Play, live the adventure and enjoy as I do!

MAJOR POINT TO POINT OUT

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: December 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I just have to say all those that have written negative reviews really do not know what they are saying--that is my opionion of course. Why do I say that? Well here's a few points to keep in mind:

Compared to this game and expansion, show me one game on the web that has the following:

The company actually listens to players !
The game has very good grpahics !
The game has normal servers: Which means realm vs realm (3 realms all together)
The has PVP servers: For those that get bored easily play PVP server--u get to kill anyone u fell like mobs and other people regardless of realm.
At level 50 in pvp there's tons to do such as surviving and killing other people and chill out with yer friends while u get attacked by other players at times.

Well All i wanted to point out this game and how long this game has been arround, NO GAME COMPARES ! THIS IS A MUST TO BUY AND ENJOY ! Plenty of races, and classes available !

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