Seismic Stan
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Posted - 2013.01.02 15:08:00 -
[1] - Quote
Like of jury of one's peers, some of the EVE blogosphere's finest scribes have passed judgement on the world's premier game of internet spaceships.
The Impossible Challenge
No single games journalist could reasonably provide an accurate and up-to-date review of any MMO - they are simply too broad in scope and content-rich for an efficient appraisal to be made in the timeframe available to your average journo.
Moreover, amongst the entire MMO genre, EVE Online is probably the greatest challenge of all to review. Any sandbox gaming environment would be a nebulous concept to pin down, but the sheer variety of playstyle options and gameplay features that have grown throughout EVE's development cycle of well over ten years makes a complete review a seemingly impossible task.
The Dauntless Few
However, who better to take on the impossible challenge than a vibrant community of avid bloggers who are never shy of ripping into aspects of EVE Online when the mood takes them. By combining the knowledge and experience of a broad section of players, we have a pool of eclectic opinion from which to draw. Some have invested years in playing, others are relatively fresh to the universe of New Eden. Each plays the game their own way, mingling with the in-game communities of their choice.
This is the second such community review, with last year's effort soliciting 21 opinions which were distilled down through the Review-o-matic BantertronGäó supercomputer to produce a final score of 82% for the Crucible release period. Of course a single number is a gross and offensive simplification of the carefully weighed opinions of our reviewers, but sadly this is the internet and people like brevity. And numbers. Coz numbers are cool.
Before we commit the same numerical atrocity so we can compare and contrast to last year, let us first get an overview of the fine minds behind this year's carnival of opinion.
Jacabon Mere
Capital Storm Corporation
EVE Experience: 5+ years
Review Focus: General
Key Quotes:
"...many aspects are still hampered by a clunky interface, unintuitive clickfests and many illogical processes that are simply annoying without adding any depth to the game."
"Eve is one of the great pillars in the MMO genre and to date nothing comes close to the depth that it offers."
Full Article: The Five Year Re-Review
Scoring:
Aesthetics 9.5/10
Gameplay 8/10
Innovation: 10/10
Polish: 6/10
Longevity: 9.5/10
Social: 9/10
Value: 8/10
Conclusion: 8.6/10
86%
Harkconnan
Extra-Vehicular
EVE Experience: 4 years
Review Focus: Nullsec combat
Key Quotes:
"Waiting for combat... It's kinda boring but also at the same time a good build up to fights... It's a bit like Corporate espionage mixed with cowboys and naval combat, but in space."
"I am going to tell you now that I have done top level raids in WoW, and nothing, nothing compares to the thrill of PvP in eve."
Full Article: Harkconnan's Eve Online Review
Scoring:
Starting assumption of mediocrity: 50
Interface & Controls: +5
Early game: +7
Entry to 0.0: +5
0.0 Life: +20
Combat: +29
Community: +10
Average play session: +9.55
Final Score: 130.55 out of 100
100% (Um, since Harkconnen's scoring system seems to have broken itself, we'll call that the maximum then, eh?)
Evehermit
Evehermit
EVE Experience: 6 years
Review Focus: Various solo - "Backwater Trading, PI, T2 invention and Manufacturing, Exploration"
Key Quotes:
"While a steady stream of patches saw [client performance] improve somewhat... there didnGÇÖt seem to be anything new in game that was interesting, and overall it just lacked cohesiveness." [On the Inferno Summer expansion]
"The sounds, appearance and effects look markedly better... the aggression system... is now more visible and easier to understand...Much shorter down times, much shorter session change timers, market order highlighting GÇô just change after change that really seemed to add up by the end of the year"
Full Article:An EVE Year in Review
Scoring: "At the start of the year I would have rated EVE at around 68%. By mid-year it was down to 45%. But over the last 5 months CCP has managed to turn that around to finish 2012 on a high. So as of now, I would rate EVE at 85%."
85%
Corelin
Mad Haberdashers
EVE Experience: 5+ years
Review Focus: Multiplayer
Key Quotes:
"If you havenGÇÖt played EvE let me tell you the multiplayer is completely pervasive. You nearly cannot play the game in any way without affecting the experience of another player, or having another player change your experience."
"Many things draw people into the game. The story of it, the graphics, the hard-edged sci-fi element, the list goes on. What makes EvE different is the community."
Full Article:Multiplayer
Scoring: None given.
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