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Great game to play solo or group

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 54 / 58
Date: April 14, 2000
Author: Amazon User

First off, I've played Ultima Online as well as EverQuest and found Asheron's Call a very refreshing change. I feel the game creators actually learned from their Beta testers and from the mistakes made by the other two previously mentioned games. The game does not FORCE you to group with other players, but you can CHOOSE to group and gain experience either way. You can become an expert alchemist or fletcher and you do gain experience doing these and other skills. There are no annoying zones unless you count dungeons. Your character CAN actually outrun most monsters provided you decide to 'run' soon enough. I like the numerous spells and sophisticated spell system and do not mind purchasing components as money is fairly easy to come by in this world. The game is huge and the background graphics are beautiful. At first, I was disappointed with the character graphics but quickly got past this misconception and realized the graphics are just...different. There are no blatantly provocative-looking female characters running around scantily armor-clad as in EQ, which definitely got in the way at times. Even though the servers are crowded, I have not had the usual problems associated with overcrowding as in 'lag' or 'camping', although the dungeons are often full of people during peak gaming times. Also, you can choose to be a casual player or a power-gamer and either way, find that perfect balance of enjoyment suited to your needs. Lastly, the world itself has an actual ever-changing as well as fascinating storyline which I find definitely enhances my gameplay experience.

Excellent Initial Effort by Turbine/Microsoft

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 49 / 51
Date: November 30, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Positives? Allegiance system (higher level characters help lower level ones), lush 3-D graphics (I'd recommend a 3D card to get the full effect), evolving world, wonderfully complex magic system, customizable characters, huge variety of monsters, weaponry, armor and locations of interest, massive world, oodles of opportunity for expansion, great interface, very helpful admins, lots of player support (websites, lists,etc.), non-player killer worlds.

Negatives: Large emphasis on hack and slash, occasional lag.

I've looked at all the online RPGs and AC is without peer. The point of online RPGs are two-fold (imho): (1) immersive world experience and (2) online interaction with real people. AC delivers both of these objectives more effectively than any other online game.

IMMERSIVE WORLD EXPERIENCE

The graphics of AC are quite simply beautiful. They are fully 3D based polygonal rendering (not the sprite-based cartoons of other online games). The scenes are so beautiful I often screen capture various scenes and use them as my background in Windows. The sounds, the environment, the variety of perspectives (including first person) allow for a wonderfully beguiling experience.

ONLINE INTERACTION WITH REAL PEOPLE

Again, AC delivers like no other. The Allegiance system of AC is a master stroke. Other games are plagued by "gods" who are on 24/7 and roam about in gloating elitist snobbery. On AC, the high-level characters help you out! Why? Because they want vassals to advance in allegiance rank. Vassals (low-level characters) get help in the form of money, items, spells, etc. Patrons (high-level characters) get experience points based on the amount of experience points their vassals generate. Its extraordinary. Rival allegiances produce grand challenges. An extensive communication option allows for communication with friends online, allies, and enemies.

AC is the only game I play. I thank the makers of AC for creating a wonderful game and raising the bar for all the other developers to have to rise above.

Best of the current crop of MMORPGs

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 42 / 42
Date: January 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

When EverQuest came out it was clear that the developers from Verant had learned from the mistakes made in Ultima Online. Now with Asheron's Call, it's clear that the developers at Turbine have learned from the mistakes made in EverQuest.

The evironmental graphics are superb, easily better than EverQuest's eye candy. Unfortunately the character/monster graphics aren't quite as well done.

Sound is wonderfully well done. You can actually identify many monsters by the sound of their footsteps, something that can't be said for EverQuest with a few notable exceptions. There's no repetitive midi music to get on your nerves every time you go to town.

Unlike EverQuest, Asheron's Call won't force you to group with others. That means that you can still play even when you can't find a group to join. In EverQuest I almost never ventured into dungeons because I was usually playing solo and dungeons just weren't viable. In Asheron's Call I've spent a lot of solo time in dungeons with no trouble at all.

Camping is not as much of a problem in Asheron's Call as it is in EverQuest. It still happens because people know they can get certain items in certain places but you can actually get better items off of random kills.

Kill stealing also isn't as much of a problem. Whoever does the most damage to the monster still gets primary looting rights to the corpse but at least you earn experience as you fight monsters instead of when you kill them, which means you'll at least get your fair share of experience.

Derath is a huge world compared to Norrath so overcrowding isn't as much of a problem. If there are too many people where you are now, just pick a direction and run off a little ways and you'll be all by your lonesome.

When you die you temporarily lose some hit points and stamina, but you get them back as you gain more experience. You also only leave behind half your money and one or two of your most valuable items on your corpse so if you can't get back to it for some reason, it's no big deal. That's a lot better than EverQuest where you lose increasingly large chunks of experience and leave all of your gear on your corpse, losing everything if you can't recover it for some reason.

Customer support is good. I've actually seen advocates wandering around asking people if they need help with anything. Turbine also announces planned updates well in advance giving full details and explaining why the changes are being made. And Turbine plans to have monthly developer online chats so the players can make their opinions known.

Turbine also plans to have a special event every month that will advance their ongoing storyline and so far the special events have been designed so that everyone can participate in some manner. Thats a lot better than EverQuest where a special event is defined as letting the GMs see how many 10th level and lower players they can kill with an army of 20th level warbone skeletons before the high level players step in to help the newbies out.

Asheron's Call does have some drawbacks, which is why it only gets 4 stars instead of 5. As I've already mentioned, the character/monster graphics aren't all that great. The interface is a bit clunky and could definitely be better. The chat system also needs work to make it easier for players to communicate with each other. Monster AI isn't all that good, often making monsters easier kills than they should be. Since the game is being bankrolled by Microsoft, you have to play it on the Zone which means you're getting lag from people playing other games and you have to use Internet Explorer instead of Netscape Navigator or another web browser.

On the whole, though, if you're looking to get into a massively multiplayer online role playing game, Asheron's Call is the way to go. At least until another MMORPG comes out that's learned from AC's mistakes. ;-)

Travel the World .. Meet new Friends .. Complete huge quests

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 35 / 36
Date: January 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Asheron's Call, the latest addition to the Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game Arena offers more then any other game in its marketplace. ONE: The World Feels HUGE. They did a good job here and made "Teleporting around" a very difficult skill so to get from place to place you must use the limited portal systems, or you must simply run. Running is a pleasure in this immersive environment, and the adrenaline caused when a pack of mean critters chases you off their land, is an added bonus to the lush landscapes and incredible skys. As you traverse the land, you can actually see the sun slowly setting or storm clouds roll in. Again, these effects make you feel like you are really in a large, mystical, distant land. TWO: The allegiance system in the game is unique, and a very fun experience. With the allegiance system you can gain vassals and followers or a mighty patron who will aid you in your adventures. From your vassals you gain extra experience points so you grow faster in the land, and from your patron and Monarch you gain valuable aid and teachings. The best thing about the allegiance system is it forms an extended family. People within your allegiance will come to your aid at any time, and are always fun to fellowship with when you are going out on new adventures. THREE: Unlike the other online RPG games, Asheron's Call's character development system and combat system are relatively complex and exiting. It really does matter how you develop you character, and in battle you must think quickly as the enemy attacks .. "what type of armor/hide does that enemy have .. should I use my Mace or sword, or perhaps the mage should use Fire against it? Wait, how will it attack me? With a fierce blade, or a cruel bludgeon?" It makes a difference and forces you to THINK .. not just Hack and Slash. FOUR: The Forts and Dungeons are a pleasure as taking on a fort with 100 monsters may require a large party, or several partys, and it will certainly need a good strategy. Other games in the category just don't offer the same mental challenge. FIVE: Server Events and large quests. Recently a strange happening occurred in Dereth. The entire world is covered in snow. No huge patch was necessary, I simply logged on and the world was snowing. After a couple of weeks of searching for information, I found that a party traveling north had not been heard from and was feared to be lost, and the word was out to aid them. After an extremely fun quest with a few dead ends and strange twists and turns across Dereth, my small party discovered what happened to the lost adventurers ( I wont give away more, but it was related to all the snow) I spent at least 100 hours on this quest, and there are countless others like it in Dereth, and they add at least one new one ( like this one was added) each month.

SUMMARY: I have Played UO and Everquest extensively, but I feel that Asheron's Call is by far the most immersive, enjoyable Online RPG experience to-date.

A breath of fresh air!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 34 / 37
Date: January 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

After countless hours of frustration and disappointment with Ultima Online and EverQuest (although UO still retains a great deal of potential), Asheron's Call was a great relief.

One of the best features is that the monsters aren't "typical" sword 'n sorcery fare. In other words, don't come looking for orcs, goblins, giants, etc. While the bestiary of AC obviously derives from these fantasy fiction archetypes, it develops them differently, adding to the strong sense that one is truly in an "unknown world."

AC is a bit quiet as far as ambient sound goes. Honestly, I like that. I usually listen to music while playing and this arrangement suits me just fine (and for any veterans of EverQuest, it's certainly nice to not dream about that incessant and irritating gnoll barking).

The graphics are a bit basic, but again, I find that a likeable feature. And if nothing else, it shows that the game developers and programmers are more concerned about the FUNCTIONALITY of the game than the appearance. However, the environment (and most especially the night sky) are detailed and quite stunning in their own right.

This MMORPG is also excellent for the casual player (such as myself). Other games requiring endless hours of sitting, practicing skills, fighting, etc in order to make the smallest headway. AC's rewards are more commensurate with one's efforts, and those rewards are satisfying.

AC is admittedly not for the power gaming types, although they are there. Since I'm not a power gamer, I feel more comfortable with the people online there and have a much better online role-playing experience.

Huge World, Much Variety

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 32 / 35
Date: November 26, 1999
Author: Amazon User

As this is the first online RPG that I've tried, I must say that I am fully impressed. It was a toss-up for me between Asheron's Call and Everquest. After trying the beta of AC, I was hooked. I'm using a P200 with 32MB of RAM and a 56K modem, and the game world runs quite smoothly, but sometimes gets bogged down with lag.

The world is literally 25 miles by 25 miles. It took me 2 hours to run from Yanshi to Cragstone! The fighting system is quite sophisticated, with multiple attack heights, speeds, and power. I find the magic system challenging and fun, because it's up to the player to discover the formulas to all of the magic spells. The social system is quite complex--you can swear allegiance to another player, and other players can swear allegiance to you, forming a social pyramid.

The character system is skill-based, and skills are raised through practice or by allocating experience points to them. Thus, players can customize characters to a very deep degree.

There are no 'zones'; it's one long, continuous world. Dungeons, ruins, caves, and other areas are varied, and challenge low, medium, and high level characters alike.

This game has kept me playing for hours on end, and I still haven't discovered more than a small part. Highly recommended!

Stay far away from this game!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 69 / 98
Date: February 17, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This is one of those games that you think is the greatest thing ever invented when you first load it up. However, after a while, you will realize that this game is absolutely terrible. THIS GAME IS 100% HACK AND SLASH! The quests are no fun, since dozens of people are camping them. Getting yourself equipped is no fun, since even more people camp the chests and monsters with items (which are few).

Every place that is interesting is crowded. Sure, the world is huge. But 95% of the world is completely uninteresting, so everyone ends up in the few places that are worth going to. Then, your computer slows down from all the people, you get portal stormed away, and you can't read your chat window because so many people are talking.

You see all these reviews, raving about how great the game is. I was like that too. But in a month or two, after you have wasted all your time making a powerful character, you will ask yourself, "What now?" The answer: quit; but you won't want to because you spent so much time creating this powerful character with neat weapons and armor. The only thing you can do is get more and more powerful, for no reason other than to get more and more powerful.

There are no quests to save the world, no secret items to find, nothing. Absolutely nothing. Asheron's Call is basically one big fancy chat room. After you get bored killing the monsters (which are insanely easy to kill, no monster needs more than one player to kill it), and you WILL get bored killing monsters, since they provide little XP. After about level 40 you need 10,000,000 XP per level (and that rises exponentially). But the most XP you can get is 15,000 per kill, from monsters that are very rare (level 159 Tusker Guards, etc). So think about it. You are killing thousands of monsters. And they all do nothing but run directly towards you, so if there is a wall you just shoot at it (you can shoot through the walls) as it runs at the wall. Fun fun fun. After you get bored killing monsters, then you go Player Killer and kill other players. But you will find that some loser has spent much more time endlessly killing monsters and is level 70. So even though you are level 40, you will get murdered non stop. It's just no fun. So it's a fancy chat room, with Quake 3 added in (but not nearly as intense as Quake 3).

If you want to pay alot of money for that, fine. Online 3D MORPG gaming has not reached it's pinnacle yet. Save your money, your time, and your pride. Don't end up like me: looking back at months of time completely thrown away. I am ashamed and humiliated. Watching TV would have been more useful (and fun) than playing Asheron's Call.

Also, there are no houses or insignia yet. The designers lied about that. It is buggy and you will find yourself losing valuable possessions due to lag bugs in the game, and if you lose things due to THEIR bugs, they will NOT help you get anything back. There also aren't really any people coordinating the game. Little kids run around swearing at you and stealing all your stuff. You can report them, but they must be caught 3 times in a row (and they never get caught because they keep no log of what people say, a sentinel must be there at the time of the incident, which is rare) before they are suspended for a day. You can guess how effective those countermeasures are.

Positives: The graphics are great, the world has no zones (except dungeons), and you can greatly customize the look of your character to be unique. This last thing is the best part of the game. The second best is the allegiance system, which is perhaps the perfect solution to helping out newbies. If only they took all the good parts and made it into a memorable game.

Take it from an experienced player, don't listen to people who just bought the game.

Don't let this game pass you by!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 25
Date: November 11, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Asheron's Call is a very immersive, addictive game. Its beautiful 3D terrains are captivating to say the least. Characters are unique in appearance and ability. There are no set "classes", you make your character and improve it however you wish. There is no player killing for those that do not want to harrassed, yet they have a server set aside for those that do. The three human races and many monsters are unique, and do not follow the traditional fantasy standard, but instead it is a refreshing creative world.

There is a political system like a pyramid. A monarch is at the top who has vassals under him. He is their patron and generally looks after them with help, gifts, etc. while his vassals generate extra experience for their patron at no extra charge to the vassal. These vassals may in turn have vassals under them, and that's where AC gets interesting. If all this sounds confusing, or you prefer to play solo, AC makes it easy to do. You can team up with other real players, or you can go off by yourself. The world of Dereth is huge! It is detailed in real-space 3D with a 26x26 mile map!

Whether you are a solo adventurer, or are looking to conquer the world and vie for power in a virtual world with real people, Asheron's Call is for you. *infomercial fades out, money exchanges hands* :-)

Halken the Bold, Harvestgain server

Here are the facts.. and a bit of opinion!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 21 / 21
Date: May 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Asheron's Call *IS* a massivley multiplayer game that will suck you in and keep you in! It is the BEST(or worst) enemy of resposibility ever invented. But, as with everything, there are pluses and minuses.

My system recommendations: Windows 95/98 3D graphics accelerator (I use ATI RagePro) Run a Pentium II at 333 mhz or better with at least 96 MB of RAM. Connect at 56k via modem, or go with DSL or cable, otherwise, you'll pay the price! I also recommend a nice sound card. (The game comes with Direct X 6.1.)

Visuals: The developers at Turbine paid attention to the details... at the expense of your system. The 3-D graphics and texturing are fantastic, but you must have a 3D graphics accelerator to enjoy them.

Ambience: No annoyingly repetative soundtrack here! Unlike other games, there is no background music. A wise decision by MS/Turbine. There is no MUZAK running 24 hours a day where I live... and I like it that way. The sounds that you do hear are birds chirping, bees buzzing, and monsters coming at you! With a good sound card and 3D speakers or headphones, you can tell where a monster is before you even see it.

Playability: Laughably simple interface. Your hands do move from the keyboard to the mouse, but only when wandering around towns and talking with other players. In battle, you can use the mouse by itself or go strictly with keybaord commands. (Thank you Turbine!)

Game features include:

Constantly evolving world: The game is ALIVE. New Quests come and go, world altering events happen, new monsters appear to plague the human element.
Fully customizable characters: Well, you can't adjust hieght or wieght, but you can choose eye shape and color, hair color and length (or no hair), skin color, clothing, armor, weaponry, skills, abilities... You can have a nicely unique character.
New Monsters: No standard orcs and dragons here! Lots of different monsters with different attacks and weaknesses. You have to learn what works well on which beasties.
No Player Killing: There is a specific game "world" for player-killers. You won't get bumped off by someone who wants your armor! Helpful game staff: Have a question? Ask an Advocate! Stuck on a hillside? Ask a Sentinel! The HELP line is built into the game interface. A PLOT: Yes, there is an ever-evolving plot on Asheron's Call. In so many other online games, there is no plot. How can you have a RPG with no plot?
MASSIVELY Multiplayer: A blessing and a curse. There are lots of people who are willing to help you and answer any questions you might have. But, there are lots of people who are just waiting to trick you. AND: there are LOTS of people. If you find a nice spot to hunt, chances are you won't be alone.

I love this game. It rates so much higher than EQ or Diablo in my book. So why did I only give it 4 stars instead of 5?
1. Too many other players.
2. To enjoy the true beauty of the game, you need a top-of-the line computer.
3. Lousy pre-made character "classes". You don't have to use them, but they are a good place to start. Just don't use the template as-is. You'll hate your character.

Don't bother with those other online RPGs... Asheron's Call is the ONE.

Superb!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: December 14, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Asheron's Call is an incredibly addictive game. From the moment I started playing, I was immediately drawn into it, with its deep backstory and unique features. The allegiance system, as described in other customer reviews here, is an interesting aspect found nowhere else. The magic system is also unique, creating an incentive for secrecy. The graphics are beautiful, but I would definitely recommend a 3D card (make sure it is compatible). Also, Turbine has promised to hold monthly events, involving the whole gameworld, adding new monsters, items, and quests. Many things make AC different from Ultima Online and Everquest (such as the non-traditional monsters..nothing from Tolkien), and I heartily recommend it! See you in Dereth!

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