It’s starting to feel like we’re getting a new, subscription-based MMO every month, and it’s becoming a little overwhelming to say the least. But for months now, the MMO world has been talking about Carbine Studios and their newest project, Wildstar Online.
As a sci-fi based MMO with almost Western feel to it - we’ve been frequently reminded of Joss Whedon’s Firefly during our time with the game - Wildstar has been on the tops of many players’ most-wanted lists since early beta began, with fans everywhere eager to get into the world of Nexus and try the game out for themselves. After numerous months of testing and beta weekends, last weekend Carbine Studios granted early access to fans who had preordered, providing a chance to get a headstart - and they were greeted with tons of presents for preordering. Carbine Studios isn’t afraid to show their gratitude to loyal fans.
Wildstar has a lot going for it, and while our review is still some way off - we like to ensure that we’re as thorough as possible before reaching our final verdict - we wanted to give you an idea of what you can expect. We took part in the numerous betas, watched it like a hawk at times, and now that we have our hands on the finished article and spent quite a bit of time with it, we couldn’t have made a better decision. Wildstar could easily be the MMO of the summer - if not the entire year.
With player housing, a unique take on combat, and a respectable amount of character customization, Wildstar welcomes you into the world of Nexus even before you start playing. There are two opposing factions that you can choose from during the creation of your character – The Exiles and the Dominion. The Exiles are just what you’d expect them from their name: a rag-tag group of refugees, outlaws and mercenaries who were all forced from their home planets.
The Exiles are composed of four races, each very different then the last: The outlaw humans, each one ready to bust skulls; the rock-skinned Granoks, juggernauts who enjoy kicking ass and drinking beer; the all-too-adorable Aurins, are forest-dwelling Exile race, but don’t let their cute ears and gentle faces fool you - they will scratch and bite their ways to the top on Nexus; and finally there’s the fearsome, nightmarish-looking Mordesh, an intellectual race who have contracted a degenerative disease they will do anything to try to cure.
Choose to side with the Dominion, your choices are equally as varied. Armed to the teeth, the Cassians are the original creators of the Dominion, and will fight anyone in order to ensure that the empire they’ve built stays on top. Fighting alongside the Cassians are the Mechari, sentient robots engineered by the Eldan. They are walking weapons, so don’t expect a joke from them. Draken are a race of brutal beasts, ready to tear apart anything that stands in their way; and then there’s the Chua - sociopathic, mischievous inventors who aren’t male or female - they’re genderless.
There are six classes available to choose from, and it’s a well-rounded selection with something for everyone. You can choose to be a warrior, and smash in skulls the entire time. Spellslingers – who tend to be bounty hunters – fight with mag pistols, guns which manipulate arcane energies and shoot magical ammunition. Then there are the much-loved Medics, who act as both a healing and a dps class, allowing them to attach probes to enemies and allies which causing various effects to everyone around them. Meanwhile, Stalkers are a rogue-like class, assassins who were injected with nanotechnology early on in their training which grants access to technological abilities – stealth, holoprojections and enhanced defenses. Espers are your spellcasters, masters of the mind who use powerful psychic energies to either destroy their enemies or help their allies. Then finally there are the Engineers, a class that can fill the role of either damage-dealing or defensive tanks. Equipped with a rocket launcher, Engineers create bots that can do everything from repair to act as artillery. Each class has their own life and their own twist that brings an interesting twist to traditional MMO roles, and each one is just as fun to play as the last.
Finally, you need to choose a Path. These act as jobs throughout the entire game, allowing you to pick up path-related quests unique to your chosen vocation for bonuses and extra experience. There are four different paths to choose from: you can choose to be an Explorer, who solves geographic challenges and platforming tasks, or a Scientist - who studies the plants and relics among Nexus, the choice of your path is important. Though anyone can choose the path of the Soldier, there will be missions that will see you overpowered quickly if you’re just a humble Medic. Lastly, choose to be a Settler and you’ll spend a lot of time helping to expanding towns and outposts to help others. Each Path gives Wildstar a great amount of flexibility, and it’s a nice way of allowing players to tailor their experience.
While Wildstar does provide the same quests that you’ll be used to, it also shakes up the formula slightly. Instead of your typical “kill ten rats” quests, progress is obtained by percentages, providing you with a bar to fill and a percentage to reach with everything that you kill. Weaker enemies won’t fill the bar nearly as quickly as a level-appropriate or higher level mob will, encouraging you constantly to challenge yourself. And while you’re out running about trying to level, killing certain enemies will start timed events, challenging you to kill a set amount before the time runs down. Success provides you with a nice piece of experience and then a loot wheel, where you get to pick one of three items before it spins, with the most attractive loot carrying a lower chance of success. Not all of the challenges are kill challenges. There are some that are more fun and humorous than your typical killing sprees; one of our favorites saw us hunting down and licking lollipops.
At first glance, the gameseems a little comical - with a pleasantly chunky, cartoon art style and plenty of over-the-top humor. But after playing for a little while, we appreciate plenty of other things, too. Wildstar has some hilarious dialogue, from the outbursts every time you level up - a fantastic heavy-metal announcement adorns the screen and your ever-present narrator constantly comments on your performance with some wonderfully sarcastic remarks - to just some of the things that NPCs say to you while you’re traveling around and questing. Even taking a ride in a taxi raises a smile, as your holographic driver talks about how his wife is always complaining that he lacks substance. The world around you in is full of great characters, and the voice acting is above average - though there could be a little more of it.
Combat is pretty similar to Guild Wars 2, though faster-paced and much more punishing. You have your standard action bar, but you have full movement and you are able to block and dodge, just by moving out of the red danger zones painted on the floor before an enemy attacks. It makes things much more brutal and positioning yourself is a constant requirement. At times though the frequent movement can become tedious. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and before you know it, you’re dead. Carbine has also provided a nice solution to the age-old problem of kill-stealing. Any player who targets an enemy will gain experience. So long as you get a hit in, you will still get your XP, your loot, and advance in your quests. This addition makes leveling and questing a lot less aggravating, and you’ll often find yourself in impromptu alliances with players as you roam around.
The sound work in Wildstar is also beautiful. From the sound of your feet running on carpet or concrete to firing your guns or swinging your sword around, the effects are crisp and clear. The music is also impressive, with plenty of memorable tunes and lots of variety on offer. Carbine Studios really has done a fantastic job with the score; every tune suits the area’s visual mood, and the result is a game that manages to effortlessly immerse you in its world. We really hope that the publisher makes the soundtrack available for purchase at some point.
We’re still a long way off being able to craft our final review - we want to spend a lot more time with the dungeons, raids and PvP, as well as player housing; but so far we’ve really enjoyed our experience with Wildstar, and we’re looking forward to spending plenty more time in the world of Nexus in the weeks and months ahead. As it stands right now, we would have liked to see a little more customization options when it comes to creating our characters and some more voice acting would have been nice, but those are minor complaints - and both of which could be easily rectified further down the road via post-release updates.
With a suitably wild and seamless world, Wildstar has a lot going for it. We can see ourselves getting hooked, and we’re afraid to admit that we may very well already be addicted to its cartoon-like style and its endless world. Sure, we’d really love to see the whole subscription-based business model that so many in the genre are still desperately clinging to, but at this point there isn’t much more that we can say other than “shut up and take our money!”
Heather Williams
@Olaris_Rhea
Latest posts by Heather Williams (see all)
- WildStar Online Review - 4 July 2024
- Rob Pardo Leaves Blizzard Entertainment - 4 July 2024
- Rift Announces the next Expansion - Nightmare Tide - 1 July 2024
