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Vanguards review from a regular with MMORPG's

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

As someone who's played several MMORPG's (EQ2, SWG(from release until the CU) GW, DDO,FFO, DAOC)- Vanguard seemed extremely suited for someone whos missing the content from EQ1. This comes directly from the people I play with on a regualar basis. I didnt personally play EQ1 but from the people who did - they love Vanguard. The crafting system is interesting since you can gain xp without having actual resources in your inventory. You will need an extremely good comp to effectively to run Vanguard. I personally played it for 1 week and then went back to Guild Wars and EQ2. But the game was overall decent.

Awesome game with alot of potential

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The game is quite massive and time consuming to download all the game data and patches. However, once you get it all loaded up and actually start playing the game you forget all thoughs minor details. The graphics are superb and the community is very supportive. At first I thought the game was deserted, yet it turns out the lands are just so massive that its rare to run into anyone except in the towns. Yet if you do happen upon someone they'll almost always buff you without even having to ask. If you ever have a question you can just talk over the main channel and everyone will pitch in until the question is answered. The plus side to this game is many of the players are at least in there later teens (usually keeping the stupid your mom taunts and debates to a minimum)making the chats much more enjoyable then other online games I've been apart of. Overall a killer game to be apart of, just keep in mind your going to need a top level gaming console to meet even the bare req.'s of the game.

Looks too good for my pc

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: February 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game had potential to drag my away from wow. It looks so cool and seems like a better game overall. A more hardcore mmo, with mounts at early lvls, which is great. But as others have said, u need an amazing computer to run this thing, 17 frekin gbs, its insane, wow is only around 6. Error, video card doesnt meet the specs, thats what it told me, i was so pissed off. Spent 50 dollars, set up account and subscription, and it doesnt work. My computer has run every game ive tried, company of heroes works, just not great, and that looks much better than vanguard. Runs wow without a problem. I dont understand why the specs are so high, i gave my friend a free 10 day trial, who has an ati video card, doesnt look great, and a bunch of lag. Plus early on its easier to lvl than wow, my friend got to lvl 5 with a little over an hour. Its probably fun once you get a mount, but I cant even give it a try, so for now, im stickin with wow.

A HUGE bust which spite all of its problems, still has potential

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I, like many others who have anticipated Vanguard: Saga of Heroes for so long, following the game even from the Microsoft days were extremely disappointed at launch. Brad McQuaid had a vision for this game, and many hoped it would be similar to his vision when he was a developer for the original EverQuest. That dream unfortunately fell well short of expectations.

The game simply is not very fun at the moment. There are a lot of factors that contribute to this, one being the performance. Vanguard was dubbed to be a third generation game using a system demanding graphics engine yet solid gaming machines still fall short of performing well in the world of Telon. These performance issues include random crashes to the desktop, quest bugs, falling through the world, no AA support (huge bust), and frame rate issues. I for one have very little tolerance when it comes to the performance of a game, a game that has taken so long to develop, and a game that we are required to pay for monthly should not have performance issues get in the way of actually playing and enjoying the game.

The world of Telon is a beautiful one, no doubt. Some regard it as being the best graphics of any MMO game ever released. While that is arguable, the world is huge and no one can deny that. It is truly a massive world. However, there comes a problem with that. As you go through your journeys, you might quickly figure out that there are lands of absolutely nothing. Just nonstop running through the outside world with nothing but the same grass, plants, trees, and animals. This was a similar problem with Star Wars Galaxies and really, it is quite a problem in most MMORPG games.

The game simply is not complete. It probably fell well short of when it actually should have been released and from what I've seen, should have been at least another 8 months of more beta testing and fixing. The quests are same old boring quests found in most other MMO games that require you to kill or fetch "x" of this or travel a certain distance to talk to someone. Nothing new, nothing innovative in that. It would have been nice to see some immersion and real lore put into the questing. Crafting is rather ridiculous as it is nothing but a clicking grind which is no fun whatsoever. Diplomacy is a simple card game which has some potential whereas if it has an effect on the actual outcome and story of the game which is what Diplomacy was originally meant to do.

The population is extremely low which is very displeasing to see for a game that has only been out for four months now. However, even with all the problems with this game, I will stick by the game and say that it has potential to be good especially with the recent acquisition of the game by SOE from Sigil. EverQuest II is fully run by SOE and they have completely turned around the game from its own horrible launch with every expansion adding more polish, content, and performance enhancements to the game. Overall, I am very displeased with how a game I have anticipated for so long and have had such high hopes for has turned out but I promise to re-review this game after a while to see how much has changed and what effect SOE's direction will have on it.

Great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Vanguard is a great game. Yes, there are some bugs as it is relatively new. Yes, the population isn't what it will be and at times finding groups can be difficult. But I have noticed a steady increase in population and I am finding it now less difficult to group. Sony keeps releasing updates on a regular basis which is resolving bug issues. Aside from these 2 negatives, the positives in the game far outweigh them. Being able to build housing, level in crafting or diplomacy outside of the sphere of adventuring adds dimensions to the gameplay unseen elsewhere. The graphics are awesome! You will need a decent vid card and some system ram (I currently have 2GB) but these are trivial upgrades (which will enable you to play other great games in the process). Fun, this game is. It isn't for the impatient or those that want to play a game like WoW. It is a true MMORPG - don't forget the RPG part. It's not a cartoon nor does it try to be cheeky. If you want more of a challenge and want to immerse yourself in a fantasy world, Vanguard will take you there.

Doesn't suck balls anymore!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 31, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It's true, this game was launched far too soon and was a bug riddled mess (blame Sigil for imploding).

That was a long time ago, and the game seriously doesn't suck balls anymore (like it arguably did).

There are still bugs and things that needs fixed, but the game is very playable at this point and on par with other MMORPG's out there right now in that they all have bugs and issues and area always going to need constant updating and fixing, it's the nature of the genre.

The performance is much improved, though still has hitching and lag issues (what game doesn't though). The skeleton dev team remaining have done a wonderful job getting the game playable and adding enough polish and content that it's having a rebirth right now and populations are on the rise. The important thing is that the game is finally very playable.

There are three spheres of advancement, all of which you can gain levels:

The classes are unique and fun, and you'll never get stuck with a class that 'sucks' as all the classes are viable and fairly well balanced (more balancing and revamps coming very soon).

The crafting I'm told is amazing, I don't personally craft much, but I know many people that ONLY craft in the game, it's that good.

Diplomacy needs some work, but is fun. It's a sort of mini card game where you argue/discuss with different npcs to gain buffs, learn a lot of lore. It's not for everyone, but you can get a free horse doing it in the early levels, so it's worth trying ;)

Nobody ever doubted the world is beautiful and amazing. It's non-instanced and doesn't have zones to load into (though there are chucks that can make you hitch a bit crossing). There are actual dungeons, with actual other groups and players fighting things, so the world feels alive even with low populations because everyone isn't couped up in one of a hundred different versions of the same instance.

The best thing is the game is dirt cheap right now, and the first month of play is free if you buy the box. As well, in a month or so a free trial is going to be released. If you go to the official website there are also a lot of people giving away free buddy keys that will let you try the game out too. Basically at this point you can try it for free (or less that 20 bucks easily), so why not give it a shot?

It's still not perfect and has it's issues, but it's finally playable and a lot of fun, and even with a skeleton dev team a lot of new content and fixes are in the works.

Worth checking out

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ive played Vanguard since day 1 and enjoyed it from the beginning.

It had a rough start and lost many customers, but it has come a long way and is currently experiencing a resurgence of players. Performance is literally 100%-300% better for most players, with thousands of bugs squashed and quite a bit of new content.

Its about the only major MMO on the market now that can be considered a bit more 'old school'. If you enjoyed Everquest, this is about the only game out there that has the potential to make give you back a bit of that feeling. The huge open world is a big plus, and there is so much content that you have to play through multiple characters to ever see it all.

Its absolutely worth trying out now that it is ship shape, and there is going to be a free downloadable trial coming out in about 2-3 weeks from this date (august 10, 2008). Check it out!

Good enough to pull me away from the console wars/

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: January 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I write this review with the disclaimer that this is my first mmo since FFXI. I also am a great supporter of console rpg's, due simply to the fact that I can pickup and play whenever I want without having to depend on anyone to advance. That being said...

I have been playing this game for about a week and a half now, and I must say it is rather addicting. Even on mid settings, the environments look better than anything I have seen (and yes, I have seen WoW played before when I say this). The community is top notch so far, and everyone seems willing to help out someone in need of assistance.

As to the gameplay itself, well, it is "role-playing" to the max. Just like in life, things take time, and this game is no different. Adventuring I can tell is going to be a grind (took a whole day to get from 1-11, where I am now), but the battle system is pretty good (my only gripe is having to indivdually target a mob that your party aggros, kind of hard to do sometimes), and the animations are above average, imo. Crafting, once I figured it out, was a joy. You actually have to pay attention to what you are doing, and there are options that allow you to take a greater risk for a greater reward. It takes about 2 mins to craft an item (for work orders anyway), and as you move up in the tasks you do, experience comes easily. Harvesting is a joy as well, especially after killing a mob in battle. Kind of gives a realistic frontiersman vibe to the whole game.

Anyways, that's my rant at this point. The only complaint I have is that it is a quite addicting experience. A must play for all mature mmo lovers out there (WoW kids need not apply. Leave Chuck with your teddy bear at home).

Best MMO in a long time for some folks

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: May 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Finally another game where everything isn't just handed to you! Death actually means something and you want to avoid it! Not every race can be every class, and that's as it should be IMHO, and yes I know not every race can be every class in WoW, but see the first two comments. If you played EQ original, and DAoC and would like to try a modern game of that type give Vanguard a go. Now I will say you need an up to date machine, or be willing to scale the graphics way back to run this game. There are still lots of bugs, but even with that I prefer this over WoW, Guildwars, or EQ II. The core gameplay is there and the bugs will be ironed out.

Read Carefully!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 14
Date: March 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Please read the system requirements carefully. If you do not have a video card that meets the requirements the game will NOT run. There is no option to bypass the lowest setting. I have a laptop with an Intel on-board video card that meets ALL of the requirements except Vertex shading 2.0 and the game will not run. And since the game is opened, the game store I purchased it from will not take it back.

Again, if you do not have a video card that support pixel shader 2.0 and vertex shader 2.0, this game will not run AT ALL on your system.

For me this has been $50.00 down the drain

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