Warhammer Online
Posted By: Chris on Dec 08 2008

A bright red fireball flies past you from behind. To your right an automated gun fires at approaching enemies. You look to your left and then right, warriors stand beside you, ready for battle. The horns of battle sound and you begin to charge the enemy lines. Savage Orcs pick apart a lone human. Blood splatters your face as you and your friends tear into a goblin. He goes down, and suddenly the scenario is over. Your side has won this time, but perhaps next time you won’t be as lucky. This is WAR.

Whenever we talk about a massive multiplayer game, we have to look at the competition. The competition in this case is the ever present World of Warcraft. Many MMOs strive to set themselves apart from the beast that is WoW, and in doing so, usually shoot themselves in the foot. Warhammer, better known as WAR, seems to have done the opposite. The environment feels very much like Warhammer, there is no mistaking it; however there is a slight bit of familiarity with the game. In the back of your mind you are always thinking that Warhammer is quite unique, but oddly similar to World of Warcraft. This isn’t a problem, more of a welcome for many gamers. Most would choose play something familiar to them with unique elements, rather than a game that touts how it is as far from what is now known as the standard.

In a game full of player versus player combat, the key to success is balance. The designers at Mythic seemed to have dosed off a few times during this class in school, and it certainly shows. Ideally, you want all classes to feel very powerful in some regards, and weak in others. This doesn’t seem to be the case with Warhammer. Some classes are all around weak, where as others are over powered. This is seen quickly in the PVP scenarios, where one healer can prevent a mass of players from taking down an enemy, or where one class of player is firing away at enemies, only to see minimal damage. Mythic has promised an overhaul of the classes, known as careers, to fix the problem of balance. Time will tell with this one. As the game gets patched and fixed, some careers will become too powerful, as others are under powered.

A gamer rarely enjoys a game that crashes on their system, and this will hold true for Warhammer. The amount of bugs and ways to crash the game client are atrocious. While anyone can agree that there are going to be problems with a game of this magnitude, especially when it comes to a new release, the time it is taking for Mythic to fix these issues is equally disappointing. Simply put, if your game is messed up in a way that subscribers cannot play for an extended time without crashing, you either need to fix it, or your subscribers will leave. Mythic is slowly seeing the light with these, but for some, it is too little, too late.

The claim that Warhammer Online is all about PVP is quite true. While there are plenty of quests that one can accomplish, most of the time played will be in scenarios. Scenarios differ depending on what level bracket a player is at, but most have about the same objectives. Capture an item, hold on to it, or hold certain key areas. As the player levels, and eventually moves from bracket to bracket, they will change scenarios. This is a welcome pace, as the player is always introduced to new and exciting areas to do battle; it also prevents players from playing in areas once they have surpassed the level restriction. Scenarios are exciting, not only because they are different, but because they offer the player a chance to level their character, without the tedious work of questing.

Any MMO player can tell you that questing is the backbone of most massive multiplayer games, and Warhammer Online is no exception. Player versus player scenarios are always available, however for those interested, questing has its rewards. Public quests, which involve all players in an area, are a great way to meet new people, as well as gain valuable rewards. Soloable quests are littered throughout each town, as well as quests to complete in PVP scenarios. The choice is giving to the player on how he or she wants to level their character.
Warhammer Online is a welcome addition to the massive multiplayer scene. The unique blend of PVP oriented game play, as well as familiar user interface settings, options, and areas allow for anyone to pick the game up and be ready to play. Plagued with numerous bugs and crashes, as well as a lack of career balance may turn off those eager to play. As stated before, only time will tell with this title. Can it be something to compete with the major MMOs, or will it fall by the wayside like other games on the Massive Multiplayer battlefield.