Asheron's Call

The Good
I like the fact that the game is designed for solo play rather than group play. This means that when I log in to Asheron's Call, I can start playing the game immediately, rather than spending 30 minutes or more looking for a group.

The landscape graphics are, IMHO, better than the landscape graphics in the only other 3D, 1st-person MMORPG currently available on the market (i.e. Everquest).

The continually updating storyline is a fabulous and wholly underrated aspect of Asheron's Call, and is one of the areas where it stands head and shoulders above the more popular Everquest. Each month, the developers of Asheron's Call change the game world. They add new monsters, new dungeons, new landscape features, and/or new quests, etc. All for free. This can lead to some of the most profound gaming experiences you can imagine. Example:

Asheron's Call came online in late November, 1999. To commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the release of Asheron's Call, Turbine planned on letting Bael'Zharon (AC's Big Bad Guy(tm)) run loose around the world. But to involve the players, they set up the following circumstance:

1) Bael'Zharon was imprisoned in a crystal construct called "The Shard of the Herald."
2) Destroying the Shard of the Herald would get you phat lewt. But it would also release Bael'Zharon.
3) The Shard of the Herald was located in a dungeon that could only be entered if you had activated the "Player vs. Player" flag (allowing you to attack, and be attacked by, other players).
4) There was an item right next to the dungeon entrance which would allow you to activate (or deactivate) the "Player vs. Player" flag with ease.

This setup led to a situation where a group of people banded together to defend the Shard of the Herald from those who wanted to destroy it. On every server but one, these defenders either arrived too late, or they fell to the invaders. But on one server, Thistledown, the defenders managed to hold off the attackers for the entire month. Every day you could log in to the various Asheron's Call websites around the Net and see updates on how the Thistledown defenders were doing. It was one of the most incredible gaming experiences I've ever had.

The Bad
The chat interface is REALLY bad, especially when compared to Everquest's chat interface.

Partly because of the solo-oriented design, and partly because of the lame chat interface, Asheron's Call is a much less social game than other MMORPGs on the market, particularly Everquest. It's not impossible to make new friends in Asheron's Call, but it's a lot more difficult than it is in other games of the genre.

The Bottom Line
An incredibly addicting time-waster that will appeal to a different audience than Everquest, but which is just as much fun.

The Good
At the time I started playing Asheron's Call was around 1999 during the public beta. I remember getting a game magazine at walmart and it had a article about a new game that was being developed and it came with a public beta version of Asheron's Call. I had never played a MMORPG before so popped it in and started playing. The game was interesting as the details were unlike most games, it made the world seem real and the characters and interface were very friendly, fast paced and the game made you feel like you had a lot of freedom and control in a 3rd person view.

I remember going into towns and there would be so many people chatting or trading, towns were very busy and lively. The quests were fun and dungeons were good as well. The monarch system was interesting as well as the fellowship system for sharing XP. Also I think Asherons Call had a very unique system of weapons and armor. Gameplay was a definite plus.

Perhaps my favorite feature while playing Asherons Call was the PK server Darktide. Asherons Call had a PVP system that should be aknowledged and incorporated into other games. First of all in Darktide you could kill or be killed at anywhere at anytime, you were never safe except for when you were respawning after being killed by another PK which you had 5 minutes to turn red again. You could lose your loot or loot others which made the game challenging and competitive. Perhaps the most unique about Darktide was that everything was based on a "trust" relationship and forming alliances and knowing people. I can recall many times when I was a newbie being killed by level 50's for no reason and it was a harsh existance. It's a shame very few games actually have the balls to do the same as AC did with the risk factor.

The Bad
There were a few minor annoyances, lag was always a huge issue, over the period AC has been out the population has dropped from thousands and thousands to sometimes a few hundred players. My biggest complaint was not necessarily the housing but rather mansions, when guilds were allowed to have mansions it wasn't so much a big deal until mansion recall was added. Most people left the towns in the game to sit at the mansions. Other problems were macroers and XP chains which caused people to level rather fast, also as a result many new players are discouraged which doesn't leave a bright future for AC.

The Bottom Line
It was an excellent game in it's prime, but now the magic has somewhat disappeared. It's still enjoyable to a degree especially darktide if you want a challenge, but don't expect those once populated towns or large groups of people to go on quests or hunting with you like the old days.

The Good
Social aspects - the ability to make friends and be with others -- to live, fall in love, serve, quest, achieve, die (repeatedly!). Customizable characters, player leadership and community service opportunities, allegiance and fellowship structures. But mostly the obvious commitment of the genius developers to continue to revise the game into a protracted future filled with changes in storyline, improvements in gameplay, and (hopefully) the architecture for its metamorphosis into further phases and forms.

The Bad
The only 'rub', as it were, is the sense one gets of diminishing returns as one advances one's character. When the first level could be reached inside an hour, it gets tough to take when one's 50th level can require months of play to attain. Other than that, the main pleasure of playing this game, in my opinion, is the sense one finally gets that you are in a place much more than in a game, and that many fascinating (and fascinatED) people (players) are there with you!

The Bottom Line
The only game where I ever fell in love and had my heart broken. The most fun I have ever had in a game. A game that can become much more than an alternate reality -- a place -- with people -- that can enhance one's life immeasurably. An almost miraculous development in the life and times of humanity, and one sure to presage many more such alternate realities and futures.