Lots of Love went into this game. A First Impression, both good and bad.
It becomes the real form of a rpg, and thats not to say role player game, rather, the old-school definitions of the genre itself and not a literal translage of abreviations. When World of Warcraft, Burning Crusade was released, i reactivated my WoW account after a year break. I wasnt sure what i was expecting, but i was looking for a role playing game worth investing time into. Needless to say within a short while i had already reached level 70. I thought to myself, this couldnt be what i was hoping for, and it wasnt. It lacked the depth and immersion really needed for an alternate world. This drove me to take a risk with Vanguard.
I'm glad i did. Vanguard has blown me away. Immediately i was overwelmed with options, I felt like i was just one in a huge world. The visuals are stunning, and the art direction was well concieved.
The game had potential, and lots of it. I have read the skeptism, the attacking of this game. And I now realise that people should give it a break. It was released early by the publisher, and with that, the developers did an amazing job at making a product that is still playable and fun.
From my laptop at high settings i get a good 30 fps easily, but there are lag hiccups. This happens regaurdless of the settings i chose. So far, the initial first impression was good. The crafting system is amazing and complex, frustrating at times when you are unskilled but thats expected. The Collectable Card Game like diplomacy minigame is exceptionally entertaining and requires strategy and thought. The world, detailed and beautiful. I recommend using the bloom effects, which creates a glow around all lights, windows and objects that are tagged as light sorces. Combat, is fun. Simply that. When casting spells or doing abilitys, you can move and do them at the same time, some slow you to a walk, however it is a nice change from standing in one place all the time. Its fluid and smooth. My only gripe with combat, and i know it will be fixed in an upcoming patch, is that the range in which melee attackers npc/player can hit is about 10 yards away from your character, which gives the look of them punching air. I have no doubt this will be fixed however as its as easy as changing the melee radius. First person mode, what can i say. Its amazing. It feels like your playing a fps, you see the hands, the feet if you look down, your weapons swing out. A really nice touch. The music and sound effects? Ok they could use some help. The music is limited but good, and some of the sounds are... well.. interesting. The deer for some reason sound like an elephant in a vaccuum. And the crafters or when crafting, make these noises that sound more akin to .. porn.. than crafting. But its more humorous than game breaking. There is an Auction House function as well, in which players can sell their harvested resouces, magical loot, or any sort of object. Money, is not easy to obtain at first, and really carries weight. Meaning, its not an easy resource, so obtaining wealth is also one of the many challenges the game gives you.
The game features are impressive as well, many forms of player housing, boats and ships (player controlled), mounts and flying mounts, many crafting options and a card game. Along with the promise that more minigames, pvp cardgaming, options will be added. The game is plain out fun, and it carries with it a lot of depth. Its not a shallow game, but its worth every penny. I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys an rpg with depth. Its less of a grindfest than most rpgs out there. Lastly, remember its still being patched to completion, its still a playable and fun game, which means with added content and bug fixes, it can only get better.