Anarchy Online

The Good
Anarchy Online is a great game with a great premise. Firstly, it is an MMRPG (Massive Multiplayer Role Playing Game), which means it can host numerous players on one server. My favorite features of the game are it's customization options, which are near endless. I enjoy the fact that is a change of pace from most other roleplaying games, because this game takes place in the future, with all kinds of weaponry and nano-formulas (magic), compared to the relative fantasy feel with swords and dragons of most other RPGs. The graphics are extremely well done, with trees that look like trees and nicely done waterfalls, with the water splashing as it hits the river below.

Anarchy Online is a great game with a great premise. The year is 27,560, and the world is basically controlled by Omni-Tek, a gigantic mega-corporation. Recently, rebel clans have been established who oppose Omni-Tek's oppressive rule

As a "New Arrival", you begin in a small area where you must select your breed, profession, facial appearance, height and weight. This allows for almost unlimited customization possibilities, with the ability to upload custom faces sometime after release. After your character is established, you then choose who you want to side with; the Rebel Clans, Omni-Tek, or choose to remain Neutral, not disliked, but not loved by either side.

Anarchy Online will last four years with one continuing story. The story will change over the course of the game and can be shaped by YOU and YOUR actions. Omni-Tek is constantly at war with the Clans, and by doing your part, you shape the outcome.

The game is also set up to be as realistic as possible for a game set 20,000 years away. There are various stores and entertainment facilities, even a "red light district." Your player doesn't need to eat or drink to stay alive, but there are stores that sell food simply for "snacks" and also enhance your stats for a period of time.

The Bad
Like other MMRPGs, this one had quite a rough opening. When it went live, there was constant crashing, server instability and lag. It was impossible to play this game for more than five minutes without something happening. This game had the worst launch ever.

It is now one week after it went live, and most of the issues still remain. The server seems to be more stable, but during peak hours, it still can't handle too many users, and therefore crashes. What's the most annoying aspect of these crashes is you lose everything you've done since you've logged in. If you worked your way up to level five from level two and earned 2,000 credits (money), you will be back to level two and those 2,000 credits will have disappeared when you log back the game.

The most annoying problem is support related. Funcom (the developers) have opted NOT to include telephone support. Therefore, their e-mail support is congested and a lot of users are getting "returned mail user unknown" responses due to the high number of people e-mailing their support.

The Bottom Line
If you are a fan of online RPG's and want something that stands out, try Anarchy Online. But before you do, give the game a month or so for the developers to iron out the problems.

If you aren't a fan of online RPG's, but want to be, Anarchy Online will certainly point you in the right direction.

The Good
I played the free version and liked the huge assortment of different roles you can take. You have over 20 career choices. The entry point level is fairly easy and lets you learn and level up. You can wander around and kill things and gather loot and exp points. The lag and the crashing issues have been resolved and you get somewhat smooth play. The tips are handy when you're just starting out.

The music is slightly intrusive and can be set to rarely play. I really like the fact that you can customize the play window by moving and pinning the widgets. It plays well on older systems.

The levels are expansive and have detailed architecture. Plenty of places explore.

The Bad
Its pretty much deserted, once you leave the training level. Few if any NPCs that you can interact with. The few quests that do exist involve killing lizards and birds for their weird parts. Some minor quests can't be completed due to the bugs left over.

The graphics have not aged well. If you leave the missions, you have nothing to do but wander around. Its pretty linear for a Multiplayer.

The Bottom Line
For free, Its ok.

The Good
The game got my attention during it's third beta phase with the prologue "Are you tired of little elves with bows?". I like the Science Fiction genre and thus I saw myself as a fan of AO quite soon.

There is even a book "Prophet without Honour" which tells the story from now until the 30th millennium - which is a good one to read.

The homepage of AO keeps track of all bigger events, being Funcom or player based - but in game you hardly take note of any of those happenings.

The Bad
AO (as probably any other MMORPG) needs a lot of time and passion. To be on the headlines is a thing nearly impossible being one player of thousands. Furthermore the 'original' background (being told in the book) hardly affects the happenings in game - which I hoped to see. Funcom even has some digital movies, but the storytelling by movies got dropped for no apparent reason...

The Bottom Line
About one year out already, the developers had extinguished all the major bugs quite soon after release. It is quite fun to play - better in team than alone. You don't have to know the book to play; but if you do, don't expect any impacts of the story you know in game. (but there are still three more years to go...)