PC Gamer - Latest Review of ESO

Mordria

I really don't see how he can say Nightblades are in a pitiful state. This was solo. Link

Rodario

Gamestar, the most respectable German game review magazine, and the only one (in any language) who's reviews I trust to base my purchase decisions on, because they are very transparent with why they give the ratings they give and because I almost always agree with their opinion, gave ESO a 84%.

They lowered it from an expected 85-90 after a thorough playthrough, because of the still-needs-work state it's in. Still 84% is a great rating in Gamestar terms. Hardly any game ever gets above 90.

My point being: If a neutral and transparent review entity with tons of experience rates a game, then that's the only rating I care about.

raglau

I like the game, but the review is fair. The game needs a lot of work and has issues in all the areas PC Gamer called it out on.

I am sticking around in the belief\hope ZOS will attend to those issues in time.

Phantax wrote: »

Wouldn't like to choose if this is a fair review or a sneaky attack, but either way this certainly isn't going to do ESO any favours !

Magetroll

And I quote:

Forget about that in ESO. Random groups actively turn away damage-focused Nightblade characters, as the class' DPS is in such a pitiful state right now (particularly for stamina builds) that bringing them would likely result in a lower ranking or outright failure. Balance as a whole remains a problem, and it's not uncommon to see trial groups composed almost entirely of players equipped with destruction staffs and clad in light armor regardless of class.

'nuff said.

mndfreeze

I'm an avid reader of Pcgamer and they gave TESO a horrible biased and unresearched review the first time around when it came out. I mean it was bad. However you could tell the author got his research from whiners on forums and not actually playing the game. Just the problems he listed and described. It almost looked like the writer was perhaps one of the people who had it out for TESO from the get go for whatever reason, so the review was going to look negative no matter what.

Compared to the original, this is a near glowing review. hrmph.

Grim13

Kulthax wrote: »

I wonder why the site felt the need to give a 3 month review? I am not familiar with PC Gamer, so I am not aware if this is common practice for them or not.

Seems to me to be a deliberate attempt to persuade potential buyers from purchasing the game and at the same time, attempts to talk those who have cancelled subscriptions to come back. The article is a bit contradictory in my opinion.

edit: grammar, it's late.

Excuse me?

This is exactly what ZOS need to be hearing.

The state of the game, as of this date, July 5th 2014, is absolutely bloody abysmal!

They need some kind of wake up call. They really do.

If they, and we, want ESO to survive... they need to get their poop together... and fast.

Grim13

mutharex wrote: »

PC Gamer MMO "reviews":

WAR: 86%
SW:TOR: 85%
Wildstar: 89%

Nuff said

Are those the after 3 month reviews?

..because, if not, you don't have a point.

Grim13

Mordria wrote: »

I really don't see how he can say Nightblades are in a pitiful state. This was solo. Link

Go level a NB up to V12 by playing through both Vet areas.

..then get back to us on that.

Dekkameron

The review seems alright tbh.

The comment underneath however....

and i thought the nay-sayers on this forum were bad! Sheesh!

mndfreeze

Haven't you heard, it actually is trendy to hate on TESO even if you have never played it.

ESPECIALLY if you liked the other ES games.

Enkil

it's a positive review on the whole.. WTF are you all talking about like it's a negative review???

Grim13

..I'd like to read his take on the fps issue.

Laura

AlienDiplomat wrote: »

Laura wrote: »

its a bitter sweet review and reflects what a lot of us feel.

Its a mess but its the style we want and we cling on to hope. Somehow we see a light at the end of the tunnel and only time will tell if its a train or if its something glorious.

No offense intended, but for some reason your post makes me suspect this entire industry is just one big Facebook style social experiment in manipulating people's emotions and mob-think for kicks, or to see if they can predict the next profit opportunity.

But I digress. A lot. XD

No offense taken, but I don't know why you would feel that way. I'm not some sheep hanging on a thread to agree with everyone who writes an article.

I have felt pretty much like he does for a long time and my posts reflect that. The game has more problems than I have been willing to deal with in a long time but the game is so appealing to me I can see past them for now.

I love the game but I have the right to see its flaws and look past them in hopes that the game will improve. It has a huge amount of potential but it will take some time I have honestly pretty much done everything in the game at this point and I am just waiting for its future.

Enkil

Laura wrote: »

AlienDiplomat wrote: »

Laura wrote: »

its a bitter sweet review and reflects what a lot of us feel.

Its a mess but its the style we want and we cling on to hope. Somehow we see a light at the end of the tunnel and only time will tell if its a train or if its something glorious.

No offense intended, but for some reason your post makes me suspect this entire industry is just one big Facebook style social experiment in manipulating people's emotions and mob-think for kicks, or to see if they can predict the next profit opportunity.

But I digress. A lot. XD

No offense taken, but I think you are speaking out of the wrong orifice. I have felt pretty much like he does for a long time and my posts reflect that. The game has more problems than I have been willing to deal with in a long time but the game is so appealing to me I can see past them for now.

I love the game but I have the right to see its flaws and look past them in hopes that the game will improve.

But I digress. Of course.

HOTDAMN! A fangirl posted support for the review! Why can't the rest of you hopeless fanbois join the rest of us over here in reality and love the game while acknowledging its flaws and push the dev team to do better?

Mordria

Grim13 wrote: »

Mordria wrote: »

I really don't see how he can say Nightblades are in a pitiful state. This was solo. Link

Go level a NB up to V12 by playing through both Vet areas.

..then get back to us on that.

Oh, I will...

You'll see...

Yep...

Let me see you solo 6 mobs at once. On accident. haha

It was an awesome fight. I couldn't believe I didn't die which is why I took the screenshot lol

Coggage

Seemed like a reasonable review to me. The game came out looking not too bad.

Cogo

Coggage wrote: »

Seemed like a reasonable review to me. The game came out looking not too bad.

Yep. But kids do see what they want to see.

Phantax

Cogo wrote: »

Coggage wrote: »

Seemed like a reasonable review to me. The game came out looking not too bad.

Yep. But kids do see what they want to see.

You know you're going to look silly now if he turns out to be 63....lol

AngryWolf

It sounds much like what I see people at veteran rank saying on the forums, so there must be ring of truth, hence likely a fair review.

I haven't got there yet(veteran rank) as I'm leveling up 3 characters at once from each alliance(which I don't know if it that a good move or not), and I DO worry about what happens when I hit veteran. I sounds like game changes to dramatically to be the same game I have enjoyed playing to get to veteran. They are balancing difficulty there, not sure if this is good or bad yet and think the big thing for me will be forced too often to group, which will be a deal breaker for me, but I did know this is an MMO coming in, so can't really complain. As in all games though, you hit and 'end' of sorts and move on, just hope hitting 50 is 'hitting the end' for me.

cracker81

Wildstar 89% wow fail

Blackwidow

cracker81 wrote: »

Wildstar 89% wow fail

Why, because you don't like it?

Blackwidow

Cogo wrote: »

Coggage wrote: »

Seemed like a reasonable review to me. The game came out looking not too bad.

Yep. But kids do see what they want to see.

And adults don't throw insults at others just because they disagree with them.

williamburr2001b14_ESO

Blackwidow wrote: »

Except you are not thrown into mix with the other players of that realm. That was the sad part for me. It would have been a much better experience if you got to work with and explore with the other players. All they had to do was lower our stats in that land to match the area.

Holy cow, THAT would have been awesome. I remember waking up on the beach and sending out a tentative zone chat: "Uh, what faction is this?" It was very disappointing to hear that it was the same faction I started with.

Lowering the stats (and allowing them to develop upwards again) instead of freezing them in place would've been a brilliant move. One of the big problems with VR is it mucks up the incremental reward system that is the fundamentally pleasing/addicting psychological keystone of computer RPGs.

(edit)

I only just remembered there was a MUD, back in the mid-to-late 90's, that had a lot of proto-graphical MMORPG elements that are still prevalent today. It had 4 classes, the usual--Fighter, Mage, Cleric, Thief. Once you hit the level cap of 50, you could choose to stay there, or drop back down to level 1 as a hybrid. For instance, if you had achieved level 50 as a Thief, you could begin again as a Cleric, with access to Thief skills by, as you level from 1 again, choosing to invest skill points in Thief skills as well as your new Cleric skills.

So imagine a combination of these ideas:

You just finished Coldharbor. Things had been getting increasingly difficult. Levels were coming slower (let's say theoretically it took 6 hours to go from level 49 to 50). You fight through, defeat the Mad God, and, instead of waking up on a beach in a phantom zone that is clearly just beef-ed up continuation of your faction's railroad of zones, with your level permanently stuck in place, you could:

Wake up in your choice of faction zone (including your original), as a fully-integrated pseudo-member of that faction, on an alternate level track that mimics going back to the original level 1-50 system, with the option to "pretend" you are a new race and/or class. Maybe toward the end of the main campaign, a nerf came in and you started to feel let down by the Nightblade or Templar experience. Try being a Sorceror or Dragonknight for awhile, with the same character. I mean, Caldwell somehow morphs you into a different faction as is, so it's not any weirder or immersion-breaking for you to also be disguised as a different race and class.

Bam. You're having the blissful experience again of being a low-level. Gone are your class frustrations (or you liked it so much you're playing it again). Bing bing bing, turn in a quest, go from level 3 to 4 in minutes. 4 to 5 shortly after. You're dinging and cruising along again, just like what was fun in the first place.

Blackwidow

williamburr2001b14_ESO wrote: »

Blackwidow wrote: »

Except you are not thrown into mix with the other players of that realm. That was the sad part for me. It would have been a much better experience if you got to work with and explore with the other players. All they had to do was lower our stats in that land to match the area.

Holy cow, THAT would have been awesome. I remember waking up on the beach and sending out a tentative zone chat: "Uh, what faction is this?" It was very disappointing to hear that it was the same faction I started with.

Lowering the stats (and allowing them to develop upwards again) instead of freezing them in place would've been a brilliant move. One of the big problems with VR is it mucks up the incremental reward system that is the fundamentally pleasing/addicting psychological keystone of computer RPGs.

Thanks, but for some reason ZOS won't hire me.

It might be because I keep calling them names in a rageful hate, like a sweaty toothed old man.

I love ESO. I'm mad at ZOS for messing up my game.

(I know it's their game. Shh...)

Grim13

Really, the review wasn't scathing enough. It should have been much more vicious.

Orizuru

mutharex wrote: »

fromtesonlineb16_ESO wrote: »

mutharex wrote: »

PC Gamer MMO "reviews":

WAR: 86%
SW:TOR: 85%
Wildstar: 89%

Nuff said

Nothing said.

Those were initial reviews and I think it safe to say that they were valid given the lack of time the 'reviewer' spent .. and certainly the ESO score at that state was valid too.

This 3-month-later review is pretty objective, but I can see the ZOS fanboys won't like it because anything that isn't fawning over ESO is to be ignored.

No, we just tend to ignore hysterical posts and people calling 'fanboi' anyone who doesn't act like that .....

Whats the difference?

DelraelNavarre

I don't post much on the forums for several reasons, but I do read them fairly often and there is something I just don't seem to understand. Perhaps you all can help me.

I see a lot of raving over and mocking of these "fanbois", which I take to mean those who are so overwhelming in favor of and loyal to this game that they become blind to everything else and attack upon a visceral level anyone who dares to even slightly demean the game. Now in the months since nearly the beginning of Beta until now, I have seen a few of these posts, but certainly no more than I can count on one hand, two tops. Perhaps I am not reading in the right places.

What I DO see, however, is these same characteristics overwhelming evident in the opposite side of the spectrum, call them "anti-fanbois" if you will, or think up a better name. These are the posters who will spew forth a long litany of the many problems of the game at the slightest opportunity, and with rabid glee descend on anyone who even appears to suggest that there are some worthwhile things in game. These anti-fanbois are legion on this forum, and their threads and posts are equally legion.

Now, have I exaggerated a bit? Perhaps. But most of the posts I read from those who have anything decent to say about the game also usually go out of their way to acknowledge there are problems with the current state of play, that there are bugs that need to be fixed, and things that need to be balanced. IMHO, if anyone needs to stifle the bile and venom it is these anti-fanbois. Feel free to disagree.

Edit: P.S. I thought the article (since this is the subject of the OP) was extremely honest and fair, and I pretty much agree with it, whole-heartedly.

Dovel

PC Gamer is famous for handing our bad reviews to games and products that don't shell out money to their company. If Z bought a two page add every month from PC Gamer, then they would give them a great review.

hamon

i would also have to agree that the review seems fair to me

hk11

There are a couple of other pretty bad recent reviews out there too. This one isn't that bad compared to the others.

I think the article sums up the general sentiment toward ESO currently by the players.