A Change of Heart =)

To be perfectly honest... I'm not fond of RPGs. I'm what some consider a brainless FPS player through and through. I like seeing things blow up when I hit a button, running around mindlessly jamming down whatever key fires my strongest weapon. Therefore, it is a testament to how great Dark Age of Camelot really is that A) I love it to pieces and B) it has kept my attention for more than a week.

Demographics for this review would probably be those who are just getting into the world of online RPGs. People who play a lot of console games, and who aren't quite sure if games requiring the level of commitment most MMORPGs demand are for them. I say to these people, Dark Age of Camelot is worth a try. I admit, it was my first online game, so I don't have anything to compare it to but reviews of other online games I've read, and the scary guy in my Math class who talks about nothing else. :) I do have to say that DaoC gave me a very positive first impression of online gaming.

Dark Age of Camelot has a number of servers, and they are divided into two groups: Role-Playing (your character name and all chatting must be in character for the period and your surroundings) and Normal. By complete accident, I created my first character on an RP server, but I have yet to regret it.

On each server you can play as a member of one of three realms: Albion, created from Arthurian legends and ancient Britain; Hibernia, Celtic/fairytale magical for all intents and purposes; and Midgard, which is based on Norse/Viking mythology. You cannot cross-Realm on a single server, but not to worry, you're not forbidden from playing in other Realms. You simply have to create characters in that realm on a different server. This is a sensible way of making it very hard to act as a double agent. :)

When I logged in for the first time, I was astounded. It was so much more complex than any FPS/console game I had ever played, and - and this weirded me out - there were characters running around me that were actual OTHER PEOPLE. It took me awhile to get my head around that. (That's what years of N64 and PSX do to a person.) I took a few steps... and almost fell off a flight of stairs into a moat. It was my bad for charging out the door before fully testing keys that controlled viewpoint and motion. Despite my idiocy, the default setting for controls is excellent, and can be made to better suit your tastes through the options menu on the main screen.

Once I familiarized myself with the keyboard setup, I was ready to head out and see the sights and meet my Realm mates. I swam the moat, climbed up onto the opposite bank, and made my first kill, which was a tiny scum toad. The combat system was decent - I don't like turn-based fight systems, but it was entertaining enough that I wasn't immediately turned off. A great triumph for Mythic. I made some newbie mistakes, such as trying to kill things that con'd orange or red to me... but very quickly figured out which enemies were in my range and which were not. Mythic makes it easy for those of us not wise in the way of online RPGs. Enemies con different colors based on their level in respect to yours. Gray enemies are weaklings, far below you in skill, and will give you no exp or loot if you kill them. Greens are a little better, but don't expect to get much exp because they're still pushovers. Blues provide the best exp you can get while putting yourself in the least amount of danger, Yellows give great exp but can be tricky, Reds are to be attempted only in a group, and Purples are for kamikaze players who like dying for nothing.

That first kill was a really long time ago. My character has worked about halfway up the ladder. There are only 50 levels for characters at the moment, but the different between a level 7 character and a level 50 are huge. It is a comfortable number of levels.

What is also comfortable is the amount of space you're given to run around in. You're not restricted to any part of your own Realm, but there are places your instinct for self-preservation tells you not to go. Basically, you CAN journey to the badlands where the high-level mobs roam, but whether you SHOULD is another matter entirely. I admit to having made suicide runs just to see what's out there. That's half the fun for me - exploring.

A great thing about DaoC, and one that I've learned is not shared by other online games (or any first person shooters), is that when you die, your items, armor, and weapons stay with you. When you attack that monster that's just a little too high-level for you, or you get ganged up on, it's okay. You die, and you type /release and get sent back to your bindstone. You do lose a percentage of your exp, and that is a major pain because the higher you get in level, the more exp you lose for dying... but you can regain some of the lost exp by praying at your gravestone. It's sort of a consolation prize. Also, if a Realm mate resurrects you, you don't lose as much exp. You don't get a gravestone, but not having to run all the way back to your current battlefield is a sweet thing.

There is far too much to recount in a single review. :) I've barely scratched the surface of Mythic's diamond. Adding to the overall greatness of the game are the specialized chat channels, which means there are fewer people running around yelling to everyone in a zone, most of the people I've met are friendly and helpful, and there's no stealing of dropped loot because you can only pick up what is yours. Kill stealing has been an issue only a very few times in the five months I've been playing, but it is easily taken care of with the /appeal command, which will put you in touch with Mythic employees/customer service people. I've never... actually... had to do this, but friends of mine have, and they say they get good and quick responses.

The downside... as a hardcore FPS addict, I find the fight system to be somewhat lacking. I'm sure people more attuned to RPGs would disagree with me, but I hate turn-based fighting in all its forms. I like ducking, weaving, and hacking on my own terms, not 'you swing and hit for such and such damage, the mob swings and hits you for such and such damage'... It annoys me, because your success doesn't rely as much on your skill as it does on how well you pick your target and dumb luck. I have taken down oranges out of sheer luck, they miss an attack at a critical moment... and I have been killed by things I can usually solo with no problem because I can't control exactly when I swing my blade and whether I hit or not. I'm just your standard FPS player... I want to have total control. :) Nevertheless, I find killing mobs to be awesome most of the time. And when you get bored, you can always wander over the hills and far away. You can do tasks and quests... and quests (essentially, tasks with more steps that take you farther from their initiation point and take longer to complete) will give you some cool armor and weapons, and the occasional magical item as well.

One of the best features of Dark Age of Camelot is the organization of guilds. (This probably isn't new, but it is to me, so I'm going to go on about it for a paragraph or two.:) I'm in a good one at the moment, it's not huge, but there are usually at least four or five others on. It makes a huge difference in game play when you have a steady, familiar group of people on hand to converse with on the guild channel. Without a guild, unless you group constantly or are a true loner (as I sometimes am), you might grow bored and lonely. Joining a guild is an easy affair, most guilds recruit actively and often. I myself just happened to be running down the same dark road as one of my current guild's officers, and got a completely random invite. One of the best things that's happened to me in-game thus far. Another good feature is the friends list, which allows you to bookmark players as friends and see when they are in the game. It's just another tool that helps players connect and keep in touch.

In the "Con" box I put 'weak sound'. Before the latest patch, there was a lot of dead silence except for your crunchy footsteps following you everywhere you went, and the occasional sound of a caster launching a spell. This has been improved greatly, the newest patch added wind, birdsong, wolf cries, and generally more ambient noise. There was always rain, and just as in real life, it's a fairly soothing sound. :)

The only real issue some might have is the lag that grips your computer when you enter the main cities. The main cities are often crowded, many people bustling about on business, and you will be running in almost slow motion at times, your screen will jump awkwardly, leaving you completely disoriented. This also happens in dungeons, occasionally, but less often than the population centers. Very rarely the open lands can lag a bit as well, but these are not common occurrences and can be forgiven.

My last complaint just has to do with my personality. I never had the patience required to get through Final Fantasy and the like, and the higher in level my character gets, the longer and longer it takes to build up enough exp to level. I don't group very often, which makes it even slower. But that has to do only with my personality, and not anything to do with the game itself. Just giving a heads up to others like me: you'll love it, but sometimes, you'll get frustrated.

In summation, Dark Age of Camelot has won over the heart of at least one who before that had loathed RPGs. My advice is to give it a shot - the first month of server access is free, and then it's about 12 dollars a month after that. If it's just not for you, you can quit after the free period, and you won't have wasted much more money than buying that CD that sounded a lot better on the radio. Even if you're not into online gaming, Dark Age of Camelot is sure to be pretty fun, and it just might change your opinion of that scary man in your Math class. :)