A few weeks ago I wanted to try a new game out. Increasing disappointment in the MMO I was playing at the time drove me to explore new possibilities. I wanted to find a game that I didn?t have to care so (fucking) much about but still had a sense of persistence and accomplishment. Disappointingly I did not find that in the world of Tabula Rasa.
I think this game?s strength is its appeal to casual gamers. In the three day trial I made about fifteen levels without so much as having to grunt a hello in game. Take that as you will. This game also has a very easy to use grouping feature and there are only a few servers so players are forced into tighter quarters. I know that these compliments seem backhanded at best. This game does have some saving graces. The sci-fi theme is ever prevalent and there are of course big guns to be shot at mindless hoards of aliens. To fans of Battlestar Galactica and like minded media you might find the lore interesting, albeit shallower in the narrative department.
On the other hand Tabula Rasa Lacks a certain depth that other games in the same genre posses. While other games capitalize on MMO gamers being completion whores, Tabula Rasa barely even scratches the surface of crafting, and PvP. After mucking through a few forums I ended up coming to the conclusion that the ?end game? abruptly hits a wall of ?lame? shortly after achieving your maximum level. For most of us who are coming from games with lots of endgame content this is a serious detractor. There are so many games right now that provide bi-monthly or even monthly content updates. So many MMOs have already perfected the ?carrot on a stick? style of gameplay that a newcomer with so little starting content comes across as slow out of the starting gate.
More than anything I noticed that there were a lot of times when the game felt simply unfinished. You could probably write a short novel about the technical problems I found, but we both have better things to do. I am also guessing that if you enjoythis game in the first place you will be able to forgive the technical problems.
You might still be considering this game, let me just try to drive the nail into the coffin for you. The download process is complicated. The trial is short (three days long) this is barely enough time to really do anything if you have a life outside of your attending to your computer night and day. The game itself is the same old hum-drum you expect from NCsoft's Asian releases. It is a good time for new MMOs. I applaud the Koreans on seeing an opportunity to get a piece of the WoW burnout pie. This game however will only appeal to the most diehard sci-fi and Richard Garriot fans. And to the latter Mr. Garriot?s seal of approval seems about all that he contributed to this game aside from some cosmetic and lore-minded details. Skip this trial until they get some more content updates, wait a few months, if not a year. Who knows? If Tabula Rasa survives that long and the price comes down from a whopping fifteen dollars a month (US) it might be a nice casual MMO for sci-fi minded gamers.
Still don?t believe me?
By all means go to this site:
http://www.mmorpg.com/freetrials/tabularasa_trial.cfm?BHCP=1%2C1&bhcp=1
From there you will get instructions on how to sign up. This download will require you to submit your email to a third party site, and then once again to NCsoft. You will not need a credit card to play the demo. The download itself is something like four gigs and took about three hours to download on DSL in Korea. There is also a great deal of patience needed in dealing with the (overly) sensitive password scheme that NCsoft has devised. Internet savvy or not, this install takes a bit of work. Come back and tell me how wrong I was, please.
I think this game?s strength is its appeal to casual gamers. In the three day trial I made about fifteen levels without so much as having to grunt a hello in game. Take that as you will. This game also has a very easy to use grouping feature and there are only a few servers so players are forced into tighter quarters. I know that these compliments seem backhanded at best. This game does have some saving graces. The sci-fi theme is ever prevalent and there are of course big guns to be shot at mindless hoards of aliens. To fans of Battlestar Galactica and like minded media you might find the lore interesting, albeit shallower in the narrative department.
On the other hand Tabula Rasa Lacks a certain depth that other games in the same genre posses. While other games capitalize on MMO gamers being completion whores, Tabula Rasa barely even scratches the surface of crafting, and PvP. After mucking through a few forums I ended up coming to the conclusion that the ?end game? abruptly hits a wall of ?lame? shortly after achieving your maximum level. For most of us who are coming from games with lots of endgame content this is a serious detractor. There are so many games right now that provide bi-monthly or even monthly content updates. So many MMOs have already perfected the ?carrot on a stick? style of gameplay that a newcomer with so little starting content comes across as slow out of the starting gate.
More than anything I noticed that there were a lot of times when the game felt simply unfinished. You could probably write a short novel about the technical problems I found, but we both have better things to do. I am also guessing that if you enjoythis game in the first place you will be able to forgive the technical problems.
You might still be considering this game, let me just try to drive the nail into the coffin for you. The download process is complicated. The trial is short (three days long) this is barely enough time to really do anything if you have a life outside of your attending to your computer night and day. The game itself is the same old hum-drum you expect from NCsoft's Asian releases. It is a good time for new MMOs. I applaud the Koreans on seeing an opportunity to get a piece of the WoW burnout pie. This game however will only appeal to the most diehard sci-fi and Richard Garriot fans. And to the latter Mr. Garriot?s seal of approval seems about all that he contributed to this game aside from some cosmetic and lore-minded details. Skip this trial until they get some more content updates, wait a few months, if not a year. Who knows? If Tabula Rasa survives that long and the price comes down from a whopping fifteen dollars a month (US) it might be a nice casual MMO for sci-fi minded gamers.
Still don?t believe me?
By all means go to this site:
http://www.mmorpg.com/freetrials/tabularasa_trial.cfm?BHCP=1%2C1&bhcp=1
From there you will get instructions on how to sign up. This download will require you to submit your email to a third party site, and then once again to NCsoft. You will not need a credit card to play the demo. The download itself is something like four gigs and took about three hours to download on DSL in Korea. There is also a great deal of patience needed in dealing with the (overly) sensitive password scheme that NCsoft has devised. Internet savvy or not, this install takes a bit of work. Come back and tell me how wrong I was, please.