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My opinion as a retail player

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: October 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I did not participate in the BETA test, I bought the game retail. I want to talk about some immediate impressions that already have me feeling like this isn't the game for me.

First of all, with all the MMORPGs that are now flooding the market, the expectation of serious MMORPG gamers is set pretty high. I expect a lot from a game that wants me to keep paying monthy fees to play. Here is some instant criticism.

Right off the bat, the user interfaces is horrible. What do I mean by horrible? Specifically, I mean that it is graphically lacking. At 1280x1024 the interface looks like its 640x480 quality from something like Doom. The buttons are choppy and pixilated, everything is terribly, terribly over sized, it feels sloppy and disorganized. I just came from playing the Asheron's Call 2 beta -- their user interface is exceptional. E&B's interface is so bad it seriously takes away from the fun factor.

Next, the graphics in terms of execution are pretty good. I've hear a lot of fans screaming about how they are outstanding but I strongly disagree. They are not outstanding, they are adequate. The only reason some feel they are "outstanding" is because there isn't any other space MMORPG to compare with. The graphics engine itself feels about one generation behind the times, and for a game that is just releasing and hoping (ha ha) to compete with SWG in the future, that's one generation too far behind! On top of this, everything has a very childish feel to it. I'm not sure why it seems impossible for game companies to create a sophisticated space combat game, but inevitably it seems like the end up making games for ages 10-17.

Unfortunately, I think part of the childish feel is due to the navigation and the lack of true three dimensional movement. What I mean by that is, the game really takes place on what feels like a 4-way axis -- when you go to pitch your spaceship down you do not eventually go in a loop, instead you level off after you pitch so low -- your maneuvering exists in a kind of 2-D plane, and while its possible to get around this more effectively when using the mouse, it still ends up feeling very 2-d, VERY dated, and very sloppy, slow, cumbersome and disappointing.

Next, I don't know if this company has any experience with MMMORPG or what, but the character interaction with NPCs (i.e. on starbases)is extremely un-fun. Popping up a text menu for the dialogue, followed by a list of three optional lines I can respond with makes me feel like I am either reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book from the 80s, or I am playing Hero's Quest II from the stone age of computers --- neither of which I want to be doing.

Worse still, the player avatars are choppy, the movement is awkward and un-fun, which is what I was afraid of in a game devoted mainly to the space sim. There are not enough control customization options for either the player movement or spaceship movement. For example, there is no control over the mouse or mouse looking. It's very frustrating to play a game that feels like its controls were out of games three generations ago, when there are so many better ways the controls could be configured. I don't mind of the default control settings are not what I want, but to not have options AT ALL, like mouse looking or making weapons fire on mouse click, is just plain wrong.

I want a sci-fi based MMORPG that allows me to have my own ship with tons of customization options, that isn't cheesy or childish, that has a dark and serious atmosphere with cutting edge graphics technology, completely control customization, excellent and mature character interaction and a strong user interface that is crisp and clean.

I guess that means I'm waiting for Star Wars Galaxies with the Space Expansion.

I give it 2 stars instead of one because I think this game would probably be a blast for people of the right age group OR people looking for some casual entertainment and not a serious long-term MMORPG commitment (so, no offence to anyone who likes the game). I also give it 2 stars to acknowledge its biggest positives:

1. LOTS of character customization options
2. Ship creation and customization is FUN
3. The idea itself may be enough to make some serious sci-fi fans enjoy it.

This Game is Worthless

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: September 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I played the Beta Test for 5 days and that was enough!

In this game you do the same basic tasks over and over again forever. You approach an enemy and you shoot it as fast as you can. When you get better, you have better guns and missiles and you attack stronger enemies/objects. But, it's still the same "basic experience" over and over again...

Avoid Like the Black Plague

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 15
Date: September 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I started beta-testing this game in April. It was fun then, but now its just become a tedium.

Gameplay is seriously lacking in that it consists mostly of dock, refine (if an explorer) each item piece by piece, sell, undock, open map, click waypoint, hit warp, hope no enemies in your exit point, repeat ad nauseum.

Your appearance can't be changed once you make your character nor can you change ships (other than slight modifications caused by limited number of hull upgrades).

Combat is a joke that consists mostly of hitting one button once. The winner is usually the person with the bigger shield and guns, not the better tactics. The player is ALWAYS handicapped with the enemies having every advantage.

In-game support (from what I've seen) is close to non-existent.

Upgrading your character is a chore and takes WAY too much time for too little gain.

Background (space, starbase, planet, etc) graphics are very good. However, not every star system should be in a nebula. It would be nice to see the blackness of space every now and then!

After 5 months of beta-testing, I'm burned out on this game. I went from playing 5-6 hours per day to 15 minutes a day at best. It had the potential for a good game, but that's pretty much been lost. I don't envision it lasting too far beyond the release of Star Wars Galaxies.

Addicted!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: August 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing this game for 5 weeks now and I'm completely hooked. My house is a mess, I have no clean clothes and I'm on a first name basis with the pizza delivery guy. Wow. The leveling is just fantastic. I can spend hours just exploring the galaxy and then when I get tired of that I can get into some good combat or some wicked trade negotiations. You get 'credit' for leveling for doing all of these things. Good fun to be had by all and super easy to get into. Buy this game!

Incredibly addictive at first, but gets old quick

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 31, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Earth and beyond is a great game at first, with many sectors to explore, very cool planets, and lots of things to do. But after a character reaches around level 40 (out of 150 levels) things start to become monotonous. One must become an intergalactic trucker to gain trade experience, ferrying the same goods from station to station over and over again for small amounts of experience. The combat system is very blah. You click on an enemy, then click on your weapons to fire them. There is a dynamic player economy, which is one of the game's strong points, but other than that players do not influence the game much. Most of the time is spent interacting with NPCs. That is the basis of the game: players interacting with NPCs, whether it be missions, combat, or trade goods.
If this game were more player-oriented, if guild wars or politics were possible, then it would be much more interesting, the content would be dynamic and ever-changing, but it is not so. You might as well be playing a single-player game with a chat interface.

Playing is believing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I've been in the beta for 9 months and can't get enough. Even after months at play I still haven't gotten to the top of the food chain. Playing for 3 hours everday, 7 days a week you'd probably 'finish' the game in a year and still be able to interct with thousands on line with you. And to that the awesome group who've been in the forums and the different guilds you can join, this game creates a superb mix of fantasy and on line friendship!
Any one who's read sci fi, enjoyed Star Trek, Star Wars and wish they were in the action must get this game. Move over Luke Skywalker, interactive sci fi is finally here!!!!

You'll see everything after about 2 weeks of play

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The title says it all. This game is pretty darn fun during the first hours of play. The graphics are good, the quests fairly engaging, the gameplay on-par with other MMORPGs.
Unfortunately, the universe really is rather small. With heavy play, you'll see and do just about everything in 2 or 3 weeks. But hey, the first month is free so paying [$] for a game that will keep you entertained for almost a month is probably not a bad deal. Just don't expect real staying power.

No Pvp?!?!?!? What were they thinking?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

In beta this game was great because it had PvP in it, but when there were a few weeks left of beta, they took out PvP. Yes the PvP system was super buggy in beta but instead of trying to fix it they became lazy and just took it out which was a very bad mistake. No PvP means a boring game once you reach the highest level cause there really is nothing left to do other than kill monsters, trade, and talk to other players which easily gets boring. If you have love for PvP like me then get Asheron's Call 2 or Dark Age of Camelot though those games aren't futuristic like this one, they have extremely good PvP. If you only want to play futuristic MMORPGs then wait for Star Wars Galaxies to come out. It's funny if how they just left PvP in this game then I would have rated it 5 stars, sadly they [messed] up because of their laziness. This is all I had to say.

don't waste your money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The title says it all.
The game itself is visually very pretty, but there is little to no content, the network is constantly lagged, and expect 0 support for any problems you have. You may think that I am exaggerating when I say 0 support, but it is no lie.
Don't waste your money on this game.

Very good, and Getting better with each new Patch

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: September 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Earth and Beyond is a very solid online role playing game. I've watched the game change considerably for the better over the last few months of beta testing. With each new patch, it seems that more graphical detail is added to the universe, and it's really starting to look quite good. It's also one of the most STABLE online role playing games I've ever played, and it runs very smoothly with no lag and no disconnects...and it's still in beta!!!

I just wish there would be some more variety in the Space stations you can visit. Also, they need to make it so you can look at your character from all sides instead of just from behind....I hate staring at my character's back, when I went through all that trouble to make her look so cool!!!

Overall though, I have to reccomend Earth and Beyond and based on what I've seen and played so far, it will probably continue to get better...

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