The graphics in most zones really are breathtaking. High polygon counts and incredible special effects that did not cause any lag on my hardware. The zone designs, on the other hand, often left something to be desired. I spent most of my time in the Virginia and Washington DC zones because — as we’ll discuss — getting around in this game can be a real bitch. The “George Washington Natural Forest” had an excellent, earthly feel. But others, like the Central Park shopping district in the Fredericksburg zone, were unaccountably ugly. And there were quite a few — like “Dulles Office Park” — that simply seemed unfinished and under-inhabited.
As I mentioned before, although the game promises a massive world to explore, it turns out getting around that world takes an extraordinary amount of time. Even entering or leaving some of the sub-zones took much longer than expected during peak hours. I blame this on the overly-accurate physics model, which forces you to wait for people to move out of your way rather than just letting you run through them. And that was just my experience moving between neighboring zones. Longer trips are significantly more arduous, taking days instead of hours, and cost a significant amount of money.
Oh yes, money. This is perhaps the biggest bait-and-switch. Although there’s no monthly fee, almost everything requires payment. Accessing many of the zones costs money. All forms of travel above a walk cost money. Earning money costs money (they’re called taxes) and paying for things costs extra money (also called taxes). Even sitting and doing nothing is expensive, since you are required to “eat” several times a day. And if you want to store any reasonable quantity of food or possessions you have to get the “Inside” expansion — which is where most of the breathtakingly huge monthly fees are hidden.
And make no mistake — you need the expansion. In order to make money to pay the interminable fees, you’ll have to find a job. Most of these are only available “inside” in low-rez, poorly-designed environments where you’ll do the same repetitive tasks for hours among uninteractive npcs. “Incredible NPC AI”? I find the notion that they have any AI at all questionable. Nevertheless, because of the massive fees involved in doing anything “outside” you are likely to spend most of your time “inside” in order to accumulate the requisite funds. So, forgo the “Inside” expansion and you’ll find yourself unable to participate in most of the game features. Without the “inside” expansion you cannot work, store goods, or even sleep in safety.
Speaking of safety, despite the hostility of many of the players and the depth of the PvP system, itÂ’s considered bad form to attack anyone except under very strict, very controlled circumstances. This is apparently because getting killed in the game actually removes you from the game forever. What genius thought that one up?
Aside from the constant and irritating fees the game has exhibits remarkable inflexibility compared to other MMORPGs available. You cannot create a new character to try out other roles or career choices or even start over when you realize you’ve hopelessly screwed up your current character. Although career change is possible, if you want to try out Electrical Engineering instead of Forestry and Wildlife, for example, you’ll be required to literally attend years in the newbie zones at great cost and financial risk to yourself and the rest of your guild (called a “family”). There may be thousands of character types available to you, but under normal circumstances you only get to try out one or two of them.
So yes, “Outside” is amazing on a presentational level, but the gameplay itself leaves much to be desired and it’s hard to stay engaged for very long. On balance, World of Warcraft has a much less deep but more entertaining profession tree, character advancement process, and fee structure. Despite the excellent graphics and audio, it’s hard to recommend “Outside” over any other game except Star Wars Galaxies.
- http://www.thudfactor.com/world-of-warcraft/outside-mmorpg-reviewed-d/
