Amazon.com Product Description

Your unit is to be transported to the planet Caprice, the base of the enemy. Practice espionage and gain intelligence on weaponry and counter tactics. You are one of the finest warriors in history and your Gear equipment echoes that fact. Prove your bravery as you advance behind enemy lines to prevent future extraplanetary invasions of Terra Nova. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

What an improvement!
I owned the original Heavy Gear and was cautious about getting burnt again... but WOW!This game takes the best features of FPS games and Mech games and creates a whole new feel.

Your squadmates have adequate AI,so you won't be tempted to save the world on your own.the number of squadcommands is impressive, and the entire experience is enhanced through theuse of GameCommander (if you don't have it, buy it).

The vehicles (Gears)in this sim are smaller and more agile than the 'Mechs in MW3.You cankneel, crawl, run, jump and "rollerblade" using the secondarywheeled movement system.You also have independent torso rotation, so agood control setup is necessary, but possible.

The graphics and modelsare fairly good, but the engine really shines in the area of specialeffects.Ive never seen such good smoke, explosions, and dust trails.Itsreally something to see a grenade throw up plumes of earth and watch agentle breeze dissapate the smoke.Very nice.

The single player missionsare adequate, but the game really shines in the sheer number of multiplayeroptions-- from "kill the guy with the ball" (that's what wecalled it growing up), to deathmatch and other variations.

Worth the fairprice they ask for it.If it has a flaw, it is the somewhat combersome"close-combat", where FPS players will be tempted to circlestrafe, but will find it hard.Once combat starts, it is fast an furious. Don't be caught sleeping at the keyboard.Oh, and in in-mission save wouldhave been nice.

This is the best giant robot sim yet. ... Read more

Features

• Science fiction action combat game
• 45 progressive missions with sophisticated enemy AI
• Highly detailed 3D graphics providing an incredibly realistic environment
• Sophisticated sci-fi weapons with power-ups
• For 1 player, or multi-player over Internet

Amazon.com Product Description

The year is A.D. 29475, and the place is Rubi-Ka, a brave new world on the outer fringes of known space. As a new citizen and colonist, you are propelled into perilous and unfamiliar territory, and you will soon have to decide where your allegiance lies. Whether you sympathize with the rebel clans or with the corporate behemoth Omni-Tek, your decision will affect everyone. On this world, the future is in your hands.

Anarchy Online is a massively multiplayer Internet role-playing game featuring thousands of players simultaneously in a persistent, living universe.Players can customize their characters in a number of different ways, including choice of breeds, character classes, skin color, clothing, equipment, and more than 40 different social animations.

Inhabiting an alien planet in a distant future, players--in groups or on their own--are free to explore a stunningly detailed sci-fi environment, converse and socialize with other players, solve numerous quests, and battle strange and otherworldly creatures! ... Read more

Reviews (295)

Great MMORPG... for FREE!
This is a great game for a free MMORPG. When it first came out, it was a decent MMORPG (It was all about the Everquest and DAOC back when the game was released). But now, since it's free, everyone should download it and play it. If ya like it then get the expansions and stuff, if you don't then just uninstall it. Very simple. Most of the pros and cons have been said by the spotlight reviewers and I'm just informing the MMORPG fans that doesn't like monthly feesthat this game will be free without any purchase and there will be no monthly fees until I think about end of January 2006. While it's free, I recommend you guys should download and play it. On the other hand, Knight-Online and Runescape is also a great game to check out. While these aren't World of Warcraft or City of Heroes, they are very worth it for free.

www.gamespot.com for Anarchy Online
www.knightonlineworld.com for Knight-Online
www.runescape.com for Runescape

Game is good...but better buy the new releases and expasions
This game is excelent, i have been playing for about 3 years and of course sometimes we noticed some bugs and problems but a lot of them have been fixed by this time. Right now you can access to more expansion of this game and probably my advice is to buy those expasions, last one is Alien Invasion, which include AO Basic game or try to download online without expasion options.

last reviews i saw was april& may 2001 lots changed since
upon log in enjoyed toon creation and spending points how i wanted them to be spent.
i enjoyed the transport to the planet
newebe playground was usualy over camped over crowded even in wee hours of the night or early morning
the guards still run all through new be islies and "help kill"
there are still folks that yell at u if you take there kill
i found the learning curve to be very steep in this game
after bashing a while went to the city and started with missions.
i liked u could pick your own and see what the reward was that was a cool feature
i then went through the leveling process which seem to advance at a decent pace.
i did not find the people online at the time i was, to be friendly or group heavy/team looking
in fact i didnt have a singal person wave or say hello
i did eventualy have someone come up to me lead me to surgery clinic get inplants and another weapon ( latter i described the yellow text to my kiddo and found out it was an in game advisor) once i got the implants and armor and weapon it was allot easier to figure things out.
the loot was readily dropped and sometimes useful
oh nice thing about missions, they were usualy albe to do well and no chance of other folks 'steal killing
i did not find the areas to "open hunt or static dungeons so not sure if they are in yet??????
i still feel like a noob with this game and tried doing massive research but found few sites that had helpful information on how toos. Not going to buy another guide esepcaily since most likely going to be droping it
time played1 month
i would suggest other rpgs at this time
1 n 64 perfect dark nice first person shooter
2 counter strike
its free no montly fee and its just runing around killing other folks in teams

If you got the money, honey...
OK, so I jumped on this game when it came out in the summer of 2001.At the time, Funcom was dealing with all kinds of data issues, bandwidth problems, leaks, you name it...And, I got fed up, and quit.

Fast forward Dec 2001...I gave this game a second shot, and Wow.The concept, on the surface, doesn't seem too different than any action MMORPG out there...however, as the story progresses (A 4 year long story, might I add), it certainly becomes interesting.Hate all that "Tis Art thou?" sillyness from games like "Ultima Online?"Forget about it...no one here needs no stinkin' accent.

It's fun.Action when you want.Friendly people.You'll enjoy it.Do it... give in...

At last, a game for grownups!
One of the drawbacks of most MMORPGs is the immense time amount of time they eat up. It's often necessary to take weeks or months of daily play to establish a character that can do anything useful or fun. Not so in Anarchy Online. This game is very friendly to the casual gamer. Do a mission when you get home, have a good time, and log off. Amazingly, you can advance reasonably rapidly in that fashion.

Say goodbye to forced teaming with strangers or obnoxious guildmates. It is possible to play and enjoy the game entirely solo. While there are many opportunities for trade and hunting with others, you are not forced to do so. Funcom has taken the tactic of encouraging players to team rather than penalizing those who do not. While a few nice items only drop in team missions, they are generally purchasable from other players with ease.

Anarchy Online was released to blistering reviews because of lingering bugs. Those bugs have been squashed. I frequently play the test server, and even the test material is surprisingly stable.

Others have mentioned the stunning graphics, music, and updated plotlines. However, to me the biggest distinguishing feature of AO is the designers have eliminated most of the annoying features of earlier MMORPGs. Dying is slightly annoying, but never devastating or time-consuming. Your items can be reclaimed at the nearest reclaim terminal and you're back in business as soon as a brief "resurrection shock" wears off. No more dying 3 times trying to loot your own corpse! The worst thing that can happen is you will lose experience if you haven't saved before your mission or hunt. Saving is inexpensive and highly recommended, although mission settings are so thoroughly customizable it is not hard to get a mission uniquely suited to your taste and abilities.

You will notice when playing AO that the general playerbase is more mature than in most games. This may reflect the science fiction audience, or it may be due to the solo-friendly design. At any rate, you won't be forced to endure a lot of griefers and those nasty brand-new chars that cuss up a storm, harrass all the girls, and vanish. It happens, of course, but not often. I would also note this game allows you to choose from many character appearances, of different races, ages, and there are even 3 sexes, lol. While there are some risque clothing items for women, they are balanced by equally sexy clothes and bathing suits for men.

Note to parents: I would rate this game as being best for mature kids, preferably late teens. This game is not based in America and acceptance of sensuality/sexuality is a bit more open than you may like. Example, there is a red light district in one city with a club named "Heads or Tails." However, the club is just window dressing and cannot be entered. Another example: clothing shops sell items such as "Gift Panties." There's not much sexual content going on among players that I have seen, but it's worth a mention that some of the game design may be aimed at an older-than-13 crowd. I'd guess the average age of players is 20-30, rather than the more typical 14-18. ... Read more

Features

• For one or more players using LAN or Internet connection
• Tactical combat game using futuristic armies
• Play as one of two factions
• Develop strategies as your units mature into veterans
• Destroyable terrain and unpredictable weather

Reviews (258)

great
this game has kept me busy on my free time for 4 years and trust me this is a great game. here's how the storyline goes- Premier Romanov remembers a war from his childhood, Allied tanks rolling across the streets and soldiers marching through the city. because of this he has forever hated America, leader of the Allies. now he's an aristocrat and has become the king or something of russia under the image of a peaceful man. but he's really building bases across the world in a crazy plan to crush the Americans. he and his comrade Yuri, a person with the ability to control people's minds waged war against america with tactics such as using yuri's students to mind control cows loaded with explosives to american forts and using the navy to transport tanks as they overrun New York. in the end the allies won but yuri has escaped. during the War between the Allies and Soviets and created his own army and now's trying to dominate the earth with his new weapon the psychic dominator- attempting mind controlling everyone in the world. the allies' goal is to destroy yuri to save the world and the soviets' goal is to get revenge on yuri for betraying them. the campaign is extremely difficult compared to the original one's. there's a whole new army avaliable on skirmish and new units and fixes to glitches have been created.

50% Good
All I have to say is when you order the "pack" make sure they send ALL the serial codes to load the game!Spent the money got the games but received only one serial code for the pack (Red Alert 2).Yuri's revenge required a separate code which was not included, so now I can enjoy half the game and use the Yuri's Revenge disk as a coaster or maybe a colorful mini-frisbee!

Thoroughly enjoyable
This game was not exactly what I was expecting, but for only $20, I was NOT disappointed.When it was released, I really thought about buying it, I'm glad I waited for the $40 - $50 price tag to come down... normally, I like to be the first one on the block to play one of the ones I have played in the past.

Generals is a variation on the original Command & Conquer series and is not another updated version with a new name and additional units and plays, for the most part, without any sort of a similar "storyline".The RTS aspect is solid, the ai is pretty good, and the player interface is adequate (but took a little getting used to) - it's available at a fair price and worth purchasing.If I had bought this game at the original price I doubt I would have had any further interest in buying any of the the future versions of C&C, but for another $20 I will probably pick up the Zero Hour expansion pack.... something that should probably have been a free update to those that paid the initial price.

The only complaint I would make is the "view" ... it's the type of view that drops to more of a "ground level" perspective like in Empire Earth or Total War:Rome rather than a true zoom/unzoom available in a Age of Empires/ Rise of Nations or even SimCity...Generals was quite enjoyable even though that feature is not my preference.

Other than that, I thought it was fun and challenging and well worth the $20 price tag.

Awsome!!
This game rocks!! I love Red Alert and Red Alert II, but this game is 20 times better! It's real time strategy about wars that are similar to the wars we are facing across seas. I highly recomend this game, and if u have spare money, get the expansion pack zero:hour, which expands your battle options. But overall, this game is the best game C&C has come up with!!

A big dissapointment
Buying this game when it came out was a mistake i think to this day.C and C previous titles were ones to marvel at, this one is one to chuck in a garbage can.The missions are somewhat amusing and the terran is ok, but the subject of the game that really mad me, dare i say, cry, was the game's shortness and terrible unit graphics.In Generals, you play in 3 campaigns, terroist, chinesse, and AMERICAN, however, with only ten missions, +or-, you can get through the game, quite quickly.Also, being in 3D, i expected some quality of the game sprites, or on ground units, however, they dissapointed me greatly.With its extreme shortness, lack of modes, and basically, i came to conclude that this game, fell far short of reaching the shrine of C and C games ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Taking the standard conventions of a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game--such as character creation, monster combat, special abilities, and spells--and combining them with a persistent and always changing online virtual world, Sony Interactive's EverQuest creates an experience like no single-player personal computer game. In fact, EverQuest features no solo or story-oriented game; EverQuest requires, and certainly encourages, interaction with the tens of thousands of other players online. (As an online-only game, EverQuest requires the use of your Internet connection.)

Players begin by creating their EverQuest alter ego. Elements such as race (12 in all, including Dwarf, Ogre, Troll, Halfling, Gnome, Barbarian, Dark Elf, Human) and class (14 in all, including Bard, Magician, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Warrior, Wizard) determine your character's statistics and special abilities. For instance, the Warrior class of any race is inherently strong, though the Warriors of the Troll race are much stronger than, say, the Warriors of the Halfling race. Other races and classes favor intelligence or dexterity. Players can also customize their character's clothing, face, and name to further personalize their alter ego.

Vibrant graphics (particularly spell effects) and crisp monster and player models bring the EverQuest world to life. Game play consists primarily of combat against dozens of different creatures; defeating the varied beasts of EverQuest earns your character both coins (for the purchase of better equipment) and experience points (for improving skills, abilities, and power).

There's plenty of satisfaction in watching your virtual alter ego gain experience, power, and wealth. Though it takes an enormous amount of time to improve your character, EverQuest's addictive, easy-to-learn game play makes the effort worthwhile.

EverQuest's sense of community shines in the quests and battles you'll partake with other players. Taking on the more powerful monsters alone is suicide. But team up with a Troll player in Chicago and a Wizard player from Seattle, and you've got a monster-stomping gang sure to earn everyone fame, fortune, and friends. It's the sense of trust and teamwork that creates EverQuest's most endearing quality--and its most stressful: you never know if that Cleric you picked up in the local tavern is a talented healer or a worthless coward until you're mixing it up with a group of Minotaurs.

Most players find EverQuest's community atmosphere its best quality. Speaking with and questing alongside the thousands of players online provides good gaming, interesting conversation, and perhaps even real friendships. Verant Interactive listens to the community of gamers and constantly updates and changes the EverQuest world. Filled with monsters, dungeons, and fabulous treasure, and supported by an active developer and fan community, EverQuest is sure to live up to its name. Players will be adventuring in this rich online world for many years to come. --Doug Radcliffe

Pros:

• Sharp 3-D graphics
• Easy-to-learn game play
• Excellent sense of community
• Well-balanced and varied mix of race and class

• Monthly fee (approximately $10 for unlimited use)
• Improving your character requires a serious time investment

Reviews (65)

Don't Waste your money!
I'm thankful I was given this game as a gift, because I would be seriously upset if I had paid money for this.First off, Sony was too cheap to actually give you all the discs you need to install this software and you have to spend hours downloading the rest of the program from their website.Second, you have to pay $12.95 per month to have the honor to play this game, NOT a small fee.And when you finally get to the point when you can play the game, it lacks direction and has akward controls.But don't worry, you'll be disconnected every fifteen minutes so you won't have to waste your time on this game.

What I don't understand is how Sony expects people to buy this game when you can purchase many other similar games (Diablo 2, Baldur's Gate) that you can play online for no additional cost (or play wihtout having to log on at all).Spend your money on something else.

Commiting suicide has never been easeir!
This game is unexplicably fun, it drives you insane when your character dies, it makes you go into tears when you acquire your spells. THIS GAME IS EVIL...First off you do one thing, kill, kill, and kill. Sure there are quests and of course tradeskills, but those two things are only possible by killing, and get boring and pointless. SO then you just end up killing everything, you keep going and going until it sucks your brain dry. DON'T buy this game...

Give this game to someone if you dont want to see them again
I'd say it's actually 3 and 1/2 stars but they don't have that option so whatever. When I first played Everquest I was an extreme newbie. I had never played a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). It took me awhile to get used to it. Like a month or 2 maybe. Everquest is not very newbie friendly but once you get the hang of things it can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It can result in you dancing around the room and cheering in happiness having gotten your epic weapon after months of doing those massive quests. Or it can have you slamming your head against the keyboard as you get ready for another CR (corpse run as it's called in game) after dying once more and losing experience. However, I made GREAT friends playing Everquest, you can join unions of players called guilds and I still talk with some I met today (I recently stopped playing). EQ is extremely addicting, in other words if you're a husband than prepare to invest in large amounts of flowers and other gifts for your wife for neglecting her for several months.

The game is great fun though, but you need to watch your standing with the many different factions in the game. Killing a certain thing may give you good standing with some factions, but bad with others. There is a complex in game economy, including a zone called the Bazaar where more than 300 players can be found at any different time selling thousands of different items. I liked to go to that zone and stare at all the cool armor and weapons and stuff lol. The customer support people are all very nice. There's even a volunteer customer support program called the Guide Program for those over 18. I spent a couple of months in it before quitting EverQuest (had been playing for about two and a half years). The game can get boring however. Endless hours of camping (killing monsters and waiting for them to respawn to kill them again) can be tedious, especially if you keep dying. However, expansion packs keep the flow going with new zones, quests, items, and playable races and classes. The variety of classes and races in EverQuest includes classes such as Warrior, Wizard, Shadowknight, and Druid. As well as races such as Barbarian, Wood Elf, Troll, Human, and Dwarf. Sometimes you'll hear arguments being shouted in a zone and they sometimes can get nasty, that's what the Guides are there for, to handle those issues and issue warnings to offending players. But parents should keep in mind that this is an online game with real people and kids sometimes may hear things they're not supposed to hear.

But, all in all this is a good game and I recommend it for it's fun value and the aspect of making good friends like I did.

A truly memorable game
EverQuest is the kind of RPG that more old school gamers would want to play, but it is still very appealing to those who play the newer RPGs. It plays similar to the text-based MUDs that developed over the past few decades, but it is much deeper and enriched with eye-pleasing graphics and a fantastic player base (2000+ per server).

The base game world of Everquest is enormous. there are at least a handful of 'zones' (areas of play) for every character level. With the release of Kunark and Scars of Velious, there are at least 20 zones for high level characters alone. the character customization is very good: after choosing name, you choose race and class (some races cannot become certain occupations) and allocate statistic points. you can also customize the face of your character, but not the body (the equipment you wear further alters your look). finally you choose from a range of deities; necromancers have to worship the more evil deities while paladins and clerics worship the good deities....

Great game!
Well, it might not be the best game in the world but EverQuest has a lot of expantions, and a lot of people play it.If your looking for a good time and don't have a lot of money Sony's EverQuest might be the way to go! ... Read more

Features

• 80+ different characters and creatures; 500+ objects and structures
• Exciting RPG and RTS adventure in a mystic, fantasy world
• Take control over heroes and lead them to victory and honor
• Fully 3-D game environment; breathtaking graphics and effects
• 20+ varying and thrilling missions with hundreds of quests

Features

• Fight along with the Third U.S. Army as they slice through the German Wehrmacht, engaging the enemy in famous battles
• Use strategic tank & air assaults to defeat the Germans in Leningrad, the Kasserine Pass, the Bridge at Remagen, and D-Day
• Practice your maneuvers offline, or connect to fierce firefights with players around the world
• Customize settings to make it a new combat experience every time!

Features

• Fast-paced action as you race on tracks around the world
• Variable weather effects and multiple track obstacles add to the challenge
• Up to 18 course challengers on multiple levels of play -- rookie to pro
• Exciting LAN play for multiplayer action
• Pull off death-defying tricks and pileups in multiple game modes -Time Trials, Championship, Single and Quick races

Features

• Fight your way through 28 deadly maps filled with crazed junkies and other deranged, well-armed lunatics
• Go into full-out shooting action with multiple shooter game -- deathmatch, capture the flag, and other favorites
• Or take your game to the net and blow your fellow players away -- graphic violence in all its full FPS glory

Reviews (2)

War Game Lover
I loved this game from the first moment I tried it.I grew up playing (and really enjoying) traditional board games like Avalon Hill's Squad Leader.This game is just as fun and it eliminates all of the difficulties that result from playing by hand (i.e. no messy counters, etc.).The play system is very realistic.It also has great sound effects.

I would recommend this game to anyone that enjoys war gaming.You will not be disappointed.By the way, try the Talon Soft East Front game as well.It is the version based on battles in Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe.

a nice continuation to the saga
As a person who absolutely loves East Front, I had to purchase West Front.As one may understand I was satisfied and more: storming the beaches of Normandy and with Operation Sea Lion storming dear old England.Twowords-worth getting.Better than any Close Combat game. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The game takes place in the year 2161, after Earth has colonized Primus IV to exploit the rich deposits of a new element, called SL18. After some skirmishing with scattered indigenous life forms, the colonists take hold of Primus IV and begin mining SL18. Fast-forward 40 years--the colonists have been consistently used and abused by Earth, as SL18 turns out to be a valuable military-grade material. Using their newfound wealth from controlling the only known supply of SL18 in space, the colonists of Primus IV declare their independence from Earth, hiring an elite mercenary force, the WarMonkeys, for the assault they know will come from Earth.As expected, Earth retaliates by sending a contingent of its veteran Imperial Order division to quell the rebellion. And, after 40 years of breeding, the indigenous Mantai emerge from their subterranean lairs to erase humanity from the face of their homeworld. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Terrible
I thought this game looked excellent, because the screenshots on the box are very good looking. I was very disappointed when I started playing. There is no action that's worth marveling over. And finally, if you hate strategy games, you'll hate this. Stay away. You'll be glad you did. No wonder it sold for $1.00...

I'd rather be beat!
I can probably sum this game up in a few words. First however, i will warn you of the game itself. This game is nothing more than a hole in your pocket. There are no positive attributes to this game unless you want to be thought of as a crackhead. I hate this game with a passion and decided that I would rather be beat with a wire hanger. The second day I bought it my mother beat the life out of me due to its horrible gameplay. As for the words to sum it up.......its a waste of life.

I'd rather be beat!
I can probably sum this game up in a few words. First however, i will warn you of the game itself. This game is nothing more than a hole in your pocket. There are no positive attributes to this game unless you want to be thought of as a crackhead. I hate this game with a passion and decided that I would rather be beat with a wire hanger. The second day I bought it my mother beat the life out of me due to its horrible gameplay. As for the words to sum it up.......its a waste of life.

Good, but a mixed opinion
I bought this game a few days ago.Its been out for a while so I got a good deal and frankly for the price didn't expect much.Let me tell you, the graphics in this game are amazing.The detail is just stunning.The theory of what the game proposes to do in the environment it has is a very tantlizing idea. And for the most part, the game does deliver what it says it will. But... (there is always a "but") My biggest complaint is that the combat moves so fast that its virtually impossible to control very many troops at the same time.All the different types of troops have advantages and disadvantages.And not small ones, some CAN'T engage certain other, some CAN'T do damage to some units, while those units can lay waste to them.So the ability to be able to control each and every unit in battle efficiently is VITAL.But the pace of things are too great to allow that.It also has a tendancy to claim you failed to complete a mission...just as the mission begins to load (but this has been nothing more than a minor annoyance).

Now with all that said, I'm not giving up.There is always a learning curve.I quite possibly can over come this one.But I've already gotten [price]worth of enjoyment out of this game, which is what I paid for it.So I'm not disappointed.

If you like strategy, first person games, RTS games and you have time to learn this and the patience too.This game is for you (and for the price, you don't have much to lose).

Beyond the realms of digital fantasy.
Best game i've played in years, a must for any strategy gamer out there.Blows Ground Control out of the water, varied landscapes including; Cities,deserts, snow filled levels plus many more. Especially love the firstperson control of the units, i spent all night just running around as amarine sniping the enemy. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Everything you need to begin adventuring in EverQuest comes in this box, which is both an expansion pack and the core EverQuest game.

EverQuest: The Planes of Power introduces EverQuest players to an arching story line through the Planes of Power, home of the gods of Norrath. Hundreds of new items, quests, and encounters will keep even the most revered players challenged and enthralled.

In The Planes of Power, a portal has been unveiled that leads to a world unlike anything anyone has ever seen. Players can share in the knowledge of this extraordinary discovery as they fight to bring justice to Norrath. Veteran players will face fresh challenges in each of the 18 newly discovered planes, while novice players will benefit from the Plane of Knowledge that hosts scores of new and challenging quests along with open portals to Norrath, making travel faster and easier than ever. Players will fiercely battle the minions of Rallos Zek in the Plane of War, join arms with Karana to regain control of the Plane of Storms, and overcome vile pestilence in the Plane of Disease.

EverQuest is a multiplayer online game you play via the Internet. A stable Internet connection is required to play. Sony Online Entertainment charges a small monthly fee for this game, separate from your Internet service provider access charges. The first month of this fee is included in the purchase price of this package. You must provide a valid credit card to register and play. After your first month, you can use your credit card or a prepaid game card to continue to play.

Features

• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Genre: Strategy
• Mission: Get ready for more in this pack that includes EverQuest game and Planes of Power expansion
• Platform: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP

Reviews (33)

The end of an era
First off, my ratings are based on EQ as a whole. The greatest game ever created as far as I'm concerned. Once POP came out it made travelling too easy. I enjoyed the game when it was a vast, mysterious land, and I'm just talking about ther original continents. The books ruined it for the team servers. Back in the olden days it would require great effort for someone to make a toon to pk with and travel up to Qeynos and wreak havok in the outlying areas. Once the books came out it ruined the team servers as far as I'm concerned. I still have had more fun playing EQ over any other game. Hopefully EQ2 will bring back some of the challenges of the early game.

Probably the worst thought out Expansion to date
This is quite possibly the worst thought out expansion to the game to date. The addition of character flags has effectively cut off 80 percent of the players from even accessing the upper planes. Come play our game with your friends! Oh wait you can't because you can't get into the same zone with them..so sorry!
This addition and the relative decimating of older zones in the game by the additions of higher levels, overbalanced players and spells, and bad experience modifiers has cause this game to become even more elitist than it previously was. Add to that the rediculous twinking and destruction of game balance in general through overpowered drops useable by anyone, and rampant exploits/powerleveling and you have a wonderful game to be enjoyed by any 10 year old haxxor who has no regard for others.

EQ: Planes of Power: Where do we go from here?
Note: This review is ONLY about the "Planes of Power" add-on to Everquest, and not the game itself.

In many ways, "Planes of Power" (PoP) is one of the best of the Everquest expansions, raising the level limit, bringing in more planes (extradimensional homes of the gods) than in the rest of the game, spectacular new enemies to fight and a single overarching storyline that spans 19 levels and puts the most powerful characters in a battle against the forces of creation, freeing Norrath's equivalent of Prometheus, the god who gave magic to mortals and who was imprisoned by the others for his crime in a place no one would ever be able to find him ...

This all sounds pretty good, but for an expansion not designed to be the finale for the most successful American MMORPG, it has painted the rest of the game into something of a corner.

For starters, where does the game go once players have gotten more power than other (enough that some players are now soloing dragons that normally up to 30 people to kill) and have defeated almost all of the gods? Fighting a really, really, REALLY tough orc who happens to be as tough as the God of War strains credulity -- more than that, it's just plain silly.

Secondly, the expansion also includes the Plane of Knowledge, a plane every level 1 character can reach by clicking on the bookstand outside starting cities. And because all such cities are included (along with a few other locations in Kunark, Velious and Luclin), travel distances in the game are all but a memory. Instead of evil characters having to suffer the consequences of their evil, all characters may now use the factionless Plane of Knowledge as a home base without consequences, and may skip past barriers to go anywhere they want, almost at will. While this is inarguably a convenience, part of the appeal of Everquest was its wealth of content. PoP turns EQ into a Readers Digest version of Norrath, with players able to skip between the highlights, and now any zone more than two zonelines away from Knowledge is a back water where many players simply will not go. The game has been forever changed, and this is one genie unlikely to ever be put back in the bottle.

As for the content itself, it's good. It uses existing lore, draws us into the ongoing story of the game, and the planes are often real eye-poppers (the Plane of Innovation, with its magical clockwork robots run amok and the fleshscape of the Plane of Disease are two of the show-stoppers).

None of it other than Knowledge can be accessed by characters under level 46, and the other planes require further levels, characters to succeed in certain quests, characters to have beaten certain raid bosses (in events involving dozens of other characters) or all of the above. The vast majority of the player base will never see at least six of the zones in PoP. While most of the previous expansions had zones similar to this, they were usually a mere one or two per expansion (Veeshan's Peak in Kunark, Sleeper's Tomb and the Plane of Mischief in Velious, Vex Thal in Luclin), and six zones are an awful lot of content for players to pay for and never use -- essentially subsidizing the content for the most powerful guilds.

For what it is, PoP is enjoyable, and a lot of fun. But much of it feels like well-meant mistakes. Game balance is changed forever, much of the older content is sinking into obscurity, and Everquest's great system of faction that made player characters part of a world where actions matter is more or less irrelevant now.

"Everquest: Planes of Power" is a lot of fun (especially if you enjoy raiding), but it's hard to see how the game can continue on much longer in any recognizable form after this.

Recommended for the great deal of utility Everquest players will get from the expansion, especially players with characters level 46+.

First Of The Post-Verant Letdowns
"EverQuest: Planes Of Power" was obviously designed to cater to "Uber-Guilds," an expression used in the EverQuest online community to denote player guilds which are rather advanced in skills and prior experience, and large in numbers. The single adventurer, as well as the casual gamer or relative newcomer, will find little to no content whatsoever which is available to them in this expansion pack (past a certain point). It is all about groups and large scale raids. Solo gameplay in the "Planes of Power" zones is next to impossible, and that is appparently by design. In fact, several player class abilities were "nerfed" by Sony just prior to the release of this expansion, ostensibly to "better balance the classes." It is far more likely that those "nerfs" were enacted to prevent any possibility of traditional solo classes (such as Wizards and Druids) from being able to do any effective soloing in the new zones.

Another problematic feature of this add-on is the overpowered "gear" that one can obtain from the high-end encounters featured in "PoP." Introducing too much "uber gear" to an MMORPG game is precisely what ultimately ruined "Diablo 2" when the "Lord of Destruction" expansion was released. For many gamers, the focus becomes shifted away from roleplaying and game content, and instead toward greed for items which they can strut and show off to other players. It also tends to make player characters who *can* manage to obtain those items a bit too powerful, which hardly seems to fit in with Sony's highly questionable assertions... that several prior ability nerfs were done to "better balance the classes." If anything is true about "Planes of Power," it's that it is decidely UN-balanced in the extreme.

Painfully short on game content, all too few and sloppily written quests, overly lengthy encounters and a generally poor payoff in the "Plane of Time" endzone are what one can expect from this mediocre expansion pack. Whilst it is a "must have" for all EverQuest players, it hardly stacks up well against prior expansions such as "Scars Of Velious" or "Shadows Of Luclin" so far as actual depth, atmosphere and overall content is concerned. This is also the first EverQuest expansion set which the original game designers (Verant International) had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with, and it shows. Moreover, "Planes Of Power" is an expansion pack which 99% of all players will never see the bulk of, due to their being unable to assemble the "muscle" required to fully explore the additional zones and adversaries. Not being able to see three quarters of a game you pay for is rather disappointing (to say the least), so unless you already belong to a highly-skilled player guild, do not expect to progress past a very superficial point in this add-on to EverQuest.

Lastly, "The Planes Of Power" tends to look and play more like a Sony PlayStation 2 game than an add-on for a classic PC based MMORPG. Storyline depth and roleplaying content has been replaced in favour of eye candy, overpowered enemies, and ridiculously and unnecessarily overpowered items designed to appeal to player egos. "PoP" is not entirely without merit, but depending on what you look for in a roleplaying game, you may be disappointed overall. Defenders of this add-on have often said to me"Well, Sony knows what sells, that's why PoP is the way it is, and that's the bottom line." Naturally, I have no problem with manufacturers of PC games making a profit on their merchandise, but I see no reason why profits and product integrity need be mutually exclusive concepts.

Thumbs down overall, but a necessary add-on for all EverQuest players.

Don't listen to some of these
Whoever said that you can't go into POK before 50, is lying. Flat out lying. You can get into pok at level 1. Plane of tranquility is at level 46, and as of a month ago, Plane of nightmare, innovation, disease, justice, can be accesed at 46. Valor, Storms, Decay, Torment can be accesed at 55. HoH and bastion of thunder are accesed at 62. If you don't have a level 46 plus character, buy this expansion solely for the ease of travel. No more taking the boat from butcherblock to freeport ! ... Read more

Features

• For one or more players using LAN or Internet
• Expansion pack for demonic fighting RPG
• More than 30 adventure areas
• Two new classes and two new disciplines
• Cool new graphic and environmental enhancements

Reviews (12)

Played, conquered, moved on.
I played SB from early on in the beta til about 6 months into release. I was an inner council member of one of the biggest guilds on the Mourning server and saw my fair share of large scale battles and smaller hunting skirmishes. I think my opinion on this one is well informed.

What Shadowbane does it does well enough. I'm ruined on pvp since this game because nothing else have ever been close to as exciting and involved as the fully open pvp environment SB created. Also, the seiging system, while it needs work still, is great for the simple fact that all cities are player owned and built. You're not fighting for the same lame strongholds over and over again as in DAOC or Lineage (1&2). For once, there is something to lose.

However, the game lacks in several other areas that simply make it not worth the money or time. There is no content. Occasionally the events team has a big event with GM driven characters, but there are no, not a single one, quests or areas to explore. It's all about mob killing, then pvp.

Also, the game is one of the crashiest and laggiest games I've ever played, beta or release. The problems go so deep there doesn't even seem to be any rhyme or reason for it. People with high end machines crash as often as people with ancient ones.

Lastly, the graphics suck. It can't compare to Lineage 2, WoW, or any number of games that came out concurrently or soon after its release.

I had some incredibly fun times, and I still wish it could have held me longer, hence the 3 rating. But it lacks too much to make it a long term pasttime.

There needs to be a negative rating
Alot of people have problems with Shadowbane due to its pvp atmosphere.Let me start off by saying that I love pvp and the realism it brings to a game.With Shadowbane you will hear hype about wars, sieges, and massive battles between dueling alliances.These are all things that can be done in this game but not very well.Any time more than twenty people start fighting ANYWHERE near your location welcome to lag central.It does not matter if you have the latest and greatest computer or a awesome internet connection it is all server lag.There have been numberous patches with the promise of fixing the lag issues.Well almost a year after its initial release the problems still exist.Even the latest installment in the Shadowbane saga Rise Of Chaos is riddled with bugs and yes the server lag issues are still there.So unless you want to play a game that promises you massive battles and delivers nothing but computer freezes and lag death STAY AWAY FROM SHADOWBANE.

My Mouth is Hung Down Towards the Ground!
Dude.Got this expansion thinking "not much is gonna be in it, might as well get the full extent so i can keep in date and fresh."Man, im glad i got the expansion.Whole new race, fresh graphics, more monsters, more lands, and a whole lot more.this game is rockin 20% more than it was!JUST BE SURE TO BUY IT SO YOU GET THE SAME FEEL AS EVERYBODY ELSE!And DO NOT listen to the reviewers who gave this game a bad grade.Shadowbane is doing well in the market and will continue to do so as long as new players who are reading forums, believe the players who are right.These players who down-rate the game have only played for about 2-3 weeks and havent gotten the full extent of the game.They arent into seige yet.So, do the right thing and join Shadowbane!The game of PvP GvG NvN !!

Note:if you are joining shadowbane and wanna know more, ill gladly right a...hmm what can i call it?introduction to it?yeah that sounds good.Ill write an intro to it to get ya started!

Much better then I expected
I played Shadowbane as a beta tester and HATED it. I thought it was an awful game so I didn't play it much past level 5. What I didn't know is the "real" game doesn't start until about level 20 when you leave the starting island. I decided to try Shadowbane again about 2 weeks after launch and have been playing it since.

The great thing about shadowbane is the strategy and the amount of difference from once character to the next. The strategy is because there are different stances that will change damage output, your defense, etc. Also if someone is sitting they will be healed for 3 times the normal amount if a heal spell is casted on them, but they will also be injured 3 times the amount if they are hit.

Another nice thing about Shadowbane is the fact the skills and spells are raisable. This makes for very different characters. For instance I could have a priest with all my healing spells raised to level 40 and my buff spells only around 1-2 trains while another priest maxes his weapons and armor skills and actually learns to fight, the downside is his healing or other skills might take a hit since he is raising other things. This makes for VERY different characters, a assassin for instance might not fight, cast, etc, the same way as all the others, so you might not know what to expect.

This game has taken great strides since it has been released. They have ALOT of things planned for Jan 2004 and are continually making the game better. There is, by far, no better Player Vs Player, Guild vs Guild, Nation vs Nation game.

WORTH THE LITTLE BIT
I would start by telling ya that if ya have played the original like I have for the past 7 months, then you will know this game is very addictive and fun or boring at times. The number of people playing have decreased but Yet people like me who have hope stay. The game really started getting boring when they started more servers but now that they have completly taken out about 5 to 7 of their servers and made new maps and new things to do there is a real reason to play. Lag is NOT as bad anymore and I have not crashed in a long time. Lets just say alot of PVP and it really is exiting to say the least. ANd hell it is only 20.00 bucks and I know people waste that much on things much more stupid so WHY NOT? I say go for it I know I am and can't wait to get it in and try oput the new mobs,zones,classes,runes, ect...... ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Mankind is a game of intergalactic strategy that takes place exclusively online with an infinite number of players divided in mortal conflict between the two empires. Your empire's victory will require strategy, tactics, and ingenuity. Colonize planets, build infrastructures in space and on the ground, use resources to your best advantage, and forge alliances to create an impenetrable fortress in the intergalactic battlefield. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

A great game for those with great imaginations
MANKIND is a great game. It allows yu to do anything you want when you want to do it. Take me, for example, i lead a clan of united mercinaries (for those who are interested, look me up in Andeth Urgee, my name is Admiral Senrab.) The posibilities are endlss.

The Best Game
This is truly the best game of all time

got better with 1.8
the game got better after vibes fixed a lot of problems and put out a new version 1.8. This version is definetly better than the previous versions 1.6 and 1.7. This game is addicting, has good graphics ONLY if you have a 3D graphics card, and you get to meet people around the world. The downfall is that you have to put up with vibes but i think they are getting better like 1.8 did. Also, if you do play join the guild UGG.

Play it for the community.... otherwise it ...
... ... ...Personally, I've been playing it for 2 years and I'm not likely to give it up anytime soon. It is technically poor... there is nothing groundbreaking about it. The graphics are substandard. It's buggy.

It one of the first Online Massive Player Parallel World
It quite a good game.Yea it don't have a lot of graphic, sounds and music.But all the features, the game style innovation and it one of the first to exist of that kind. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

the good,the bad ,and the moderated
Having played Realm for about 4years i finally broke free..
aka "gandster" my favorite mod was REDS and for the most part had very little problems until the change of the GUI...older systems had a heck of a time..but in all honesty i had alot of fun...its a turn based kinda game...unlike Diablo, or other hack and slash,pvping wasnt really to much of a problem unless you turned pvp on,Mechs there pretty much left most players to themselves and stuck /w fighting other pvpers...however..i do miss the old Devil trick bug *sigh*..the dungeons are quite interesting..and baby dragons (looking like a 50ft python) can be alil worrying facing them for the first time...townies seems to be in every town and love to gab...well there paying for it..
I left after pretty much going as far as i though i could and yes the promise of more updates just never seem to come...moderated channels have and will always be a pain..stay off them if you have something to say, most everything is turned to "offend" someone and mods pretty much make up the rules as they go...solo or groups the game for me was fun either way...
And A happy wave to all my old TrollBraggers

A Waist
This game is a COMPLETE waist of time, money, and thought.

It is mainly run by unfair GM's with a god complex, to even begin a trial acount you have to hand over your credit card number, then for some reason beond human comprehension you decide to pay for this "game" the first rule you break will result in a warning, followed 10 seconds later by a disconnection from the server, only to find you have been susspended, however breaking a "rule" is not that hard, seeing as the player policy is written so, that the moderators are always right, despite any ammount of bad judgement.

In my experience acceptable reasons for a susspension-

1. Questioning a moderators action
2. Answering a question on the "Help" channel before a guide
3. letting your 4 year old child "spam" a moderated channel ONCE with "fdgjklkdg sgfs sdfsjlk"
4. Asking the "programer" when he will fulfill his promises

And should you decide to pay for another account after being wronged so, a bannable offense is killing a guide, or moderator's player cahracter for "screaming" obscinitys at you.

Thank you, Realm Team! for my enjoyable experience on this horrendously outdated game.

The Realm - Great at what it is for.
First of all, Sirbenny and Asterix who wrote reviews here are both realm staff.(i.e. the oppressive moderators other poeple have mentioned)Now, Some people are complaining about moderation here, and some have been affected by strong moderation, but generally it is not as bad as these people make it out to be.They are most likely just people with gripes.I have played realm for about 5 years now, and have never had any problems.

The game is a lot like a throwback to an old sierra game like kings quest or quest for glory.The graphics are similar, and play is similar.(this game was actually originally developed by sierra, then bought)

Updates come sometimes.. not as frequently as most would like.

Basically what I would say is buy it and try it if you liked the old sierra games.The fee is cheaper than almost any other mmorpg's, and it is worth it in my opinion.

Keep Coming Back!
This game is a great game! i dont know how else to put it, i've been playing it for a long time. and from time to time i'll take a break from it but i always come back, and the great part is its cheap so its not costing me much when i dont play. ive purchased 3 accounts and group with myself to go hunting.the pvp isn't as great as it was but its better then any other game.its turn-based fighting is optimal for pvping because it takes strategy to win in a fight not quickness of the mouse clicking.i reccomend getting this game, more updates come monthly and sometimes weekly.another great thing is how much you can distinguish yourself from other players and feel individual in the game.the chatting is great and you'll make a lot of friends.seriously!

Moderated chat room
The Realm is a cute online game where you can watch your pixels stand and proudly show your townie items.The game really has no aim.Hunting or PvPing there is no fun.I've played it for more than a year and I enjoyed meeting people there and chatting, but with time moderators seemed to get worse and worse, always finding a reason(not stated in the Player's policy, which you can find on the Realm official website)to suspend accounts or delete posts on the message boards.

A good thing however is that you can find there people who are ready to pay with real money for pixelated items and accounts, so you can make a lot of cash even though it's against the game's Players policy.One thing you'll get quickly bored of is all the promises for good updates you'll never get.

If you want to pay for a chatroom where you'll probably get suspended for not thinking like one of the moderators, get this game.If you're smart, go to a normal free chatroom.You can have fun with this game if someone gives you an account for free or if you have a lot of money to waste, but if you care about what you do with your money, don't give it to Codemasters.I'd be careful with their upcoming MMORPG Dragon Empires too because it will have the same kind of moderation. ... Read more

Features

• You're the head of one of six different WWII-era tanks, through deadly terrain as you fight the Nazis
• Beat back the enemy by destroying & occupying villages, transporting troops and capturing territory
• Incredible realism based on real-life satellite data and historical information -- every vehicle and location is sure to impress
• Exciting offline missions show you how to drive & work with a tank, and gets you ready for the main event
• Go online and engage in real-world WWII battles like Leningrad, Kasserine Pass, D-Day and more

Features

• Supports Network & Internet play

Features

• High-speed combat where you win by smashing and sideswiping everything that gets in your way
• Get the bumper-crushing, engine-mangling action you crave in arcade or career modes
• Watch engines overheat and hoods get crunched with 8-person multiplayer races through a LAN or Internet
• Amazingly realistic special effects bring home the skid marks, dust, sparks & flares of a real demolition derby!

Features

• Today may be the last day of your life, unless you sign up for the 45th Volunteer Squadron
• The Eastern Coalition has launched a surprise attack against our Western Alliance forces, massacring our women and children
• We need men to take up the battle, so that we may live peacefully without the iron-fisted tyranny of the Easterners! Join the 45th today!
• Fly assault missions against Eastern spaceports, run seek-and-recover missions, and free POWs in 25 exciting missions
• Play in multiplayer deathmatches through either a LAN or through MSN Game Zone