Wildstar – Preview
There are more and more MMORPG’s on the market and Wildstar will soon be one of them. It contains quite some new elements, but will it be enough to stand out?
Wildstar gives us a good old battle between Factions. You have The Exiles and The Dominion. The Dominion is a powerful intergalactic faction that ruled over the galaxy for more than two thousand years. The Exiles are a group of mercenaries, driven away by The Dominion, and joining forces against their common enemy. Their war has been going on for ages and they both won’t want to give up.
Everything will change when they discover the new planet Nexus. This undiscovered piece of nature is a good place for The Exiles to start over again, while The Dominion think that it naturally belongs to them, because they have ruled over the galaxy for so long. This will explode the war even more, because they both want this planet for themselves.
Each Faction has its own races to choose from. The Exiles are strengthened by the Humans, Granok, Aurin and Mordesh, while the Dominion has the Cassian, Mechari, Draken and Chua to count on. Each character has its visual characteristics. Every race can choose from several classes (and not all classes). You have warriors, spellslingers, espers, engineers, stalkers and medics. Each class has its specialities and its own way of fighting.
If you’ve chosen your race and class, you can customize your character to your liking. The developers implemented four different ‘paths’. These paths are the new professions and contain special skill(s) that can only be used by the chosen ones. You have the soldiers, explorers, settlers and scientists. Some of these paths are used during quests to help others.
The graphics are very nice and have a particular, hand drawn style. Both the players as the Non-Playable Characters (NPC’s) are nicely finished and stand out in the environment. Although this sounds like the surroundings are bland, it is quite the opposite. Each area has its own style and particular elements that gives you the opportunity to explore the area and find new things. Special items are visually high lightened and accompanied by a small icon.
The sound is marvellous and fit the game perfectly. It might be a bit dramatic at times, but it gives you the drive to keep going and finish what you’re started. Each attack from both yourself as your enemies have a different sound effect, giving the game a nice boost.
The gameplay is like any other MMORPG, although there are some nice additions as well. The combat system isn’t tab-oriented. You can’t target an enemy, but you manually aim your skills or attacks. You can see the range of the attack by the visual representation on the floor. This also counts for your enemies. You can see each other’s attacks, giving but you and your enemy the chance to dodge them. This combat system is quite different than the ‘normal’ combat system, as you have to manually aim your devastating strikes.
You advance in the storyline by completing quests. These quests will give you rewards and experience. Experience is needed to level your character, advancing him/her in skills and gaining new attacks. There are, as it seems, side quests which are found in the area, although this isn’t really confirmed yet. Something else you have are the path missions. These missions are specifically designed for your chosen path, giving you the chance to experience secret missions and gaining levels in your path. If this will lead to anything new is yet to be discovered.
Feel like killing some enemy players? Well, PvP is implemented as well. You can take your rage against someone in 1vs1 or you can enter the arena, battleground, or warplot. The arena is meant to fight against the other Faction in several versus-modes. The battlegrounds are similar to arena’s as you can fight in a 10vs10 battle. If this isn’t even big enough, you can also advance to the last part or the warplots. Fight with 39 allies against 40 enemies and grab the victory! It is not completely clear yet if there are different game settings or maps in the several PvP modes.
If you’re sick and tired of both PvP and PvE, you can always chill at your own piece of heaven, your own house. You can decorate it to your own liking and you can invite friends to hang out a bit. This is something fancy that gives you the chance to let your creative mind run free.
Conclusion
Wildstar is a promising MMORPG due to some refreshing elements in the gameplay sector. The graphics and sound seem both nice and gives the game a lovely boost. The combat system is something different, but that’s a good thing as you need to focus yourself. All by all, a game to look forward to!
Wildstar - Preview,
