Full Loot PVP with a Twist.. greatly improving servers and client performance!

User Rating: 7.5 | Earthrise PC
First off the game is full loot PVP as its focus... no lame quest lines, no 10 min cut scenes mid game. The full loot PVP may scare some people off especially if you don't plan to PVP at all..

Insurance is the addition to this that makes the potential losses not so bad.. for 800 credits.. (not much work) you can insure your entire equipped inventory. If you die then you lose the 800 credits.. IE someone else can loot 400 of it(400 going to the computer). Die again and you can drop what you have equipped.. unless you insure again.

Dieing even being looted isn't the end of the world.. all gear is crafted and mats are not the issue in crafting. Example if you craft your own rocket launcher.. die and lose it.. since you already know the pattern the cost of making another is minimal. This gives the game world a real sense of danger.. it brings me back to my EQ days.

Class/Skill system is another unique feature in ER.. its based on 10 tiers for weapons and armor. Each tier increases dmg / dmg reduction/ health/ stamina/energy. Each weapon has its own set of abilities some activated others passive abilities that are always active. Once you done with that you roll to tactics.. these are skills that you add to you weapon skills.. IE.. one tactic reduces energy cost. You add that tactic to any activated ability and you now have a reduced cost ability but in return the cool down is now a few seconds longer.

So how do I gain levels in this skill based deal? Its all based off the gear your wearing so if your in t6 armor and weapon your Battle Rating (level) is 60. You un-equip the gear you lose the levels. Every character has a set of tier 2 thats free and un-lootable. If for some reason its lost you can talk to a vendor and get a new set.

The PVP its self is very satisfying and the potential for large battles with territorial warfare. Some weapons seem overpowered IE rocket launcher however this is not true most of the perceived imbalances come from tier differences. I can one shot a Tier 2 with my assault rifle(T5) ability the same someone can with a rocket launcher.

Sandbox, is it? The definition of sandbox started for me at Daggerfall.. its evolved since into about 40 different definitions. The world is open and beside the 2 factions Noir /Cont alot of the game will be decided by who's playing it. There is no need to manufacture enemies because the world has real enemies that want all your loot. The PVE side I enjoy its mostly grinding and exploring.. its better then it sounds basically once you find a secluded grind spot maybe no one knows about you hunker down and grind. Everyone keeps there special spot to themselves and since quest givers lack the lame yellow guide arrows you learn the world and where things are.

Crafting is complicated taking several parts and requiring lots of CP.. which is the experience equivalent for crafting. You break down loot from mobs into resources you craft with. Just like skills you also have tactics for crafted items that can increase weapon dmg / hit points etc.

Is it worth 50? It all depends on how your looking at it.. must the game be polished bug free for you to enjoy then probably not right now. This is a indie developer making a game with a in house engine and a unique vision. Do you want to support something thats trying to be outside the box then this is a good place to be. I personally have had my fair share of ps3/xbox shooter clones, wow clones ( see rift/star wars). Masthead studios has communicated well after the rough start providing client and server patch notes. Several new improvements and exploration feature coming March 11th with a planned roadmap posted detailing future changes.