Darkfall - a typical "niche game". Complex, shall be punished for any blunders, it is confusing for most players and the wild delight of the so-called "hardcore" audience. Very difficult to explain, for what it praise - just a game you like or not.
Darkfall initially produces an unpleasant impression - an outdated schedule for five years with the unprepossessing muddy-brown palette, silly sound effects and gameplay, the basic principles which have long otzhili her. While the world tries to imitate World of Warcraft, have Aventurine SA in honor other names - Ultima Online and Shadowbane. Say that the authors Darkfall something borrowed from there, to say nothing - they are quoting these games up to the comma, almost giving links to primary sources.
 | |  | Standing in the middle of the central town square a giant safe - a bank, how it sees the developers Darkfall. | | In Ultima Online first opponents were cats, rabbits and rats. Here, the goblins will get a chance to dance the jig on your grave out of turn. |
Fear Factor So, all residents of Agona (namely the so-called peace Darkfall) depending on the race belong to one of three factions. Orcs and volkopodobnye mahrimy oppose union men, dwarves and elves, while the Alfar, dark elves, act immediately against all. But in reality, where most players are guided by the policies of their clans. Not only that interferes with elf elf slaughter, and after - to treat running through the orc. Because of this, the player the player here - by default an enemy, and even greeted a stranger one of your faction is better to prepare for the worst. Gape? Sat down in an ambush the enemy, certainly not miss the chance to chop off your head. Dead? All equipment will be worn on the body, and if it does not pick up a killer, it really pass by rookie vulture-like snitches. Greed and fear of losing their own heritage make players in natural enemies, causing the strike in advance. Seeing a passerby, much safer to attack him first than to figure out the intentions with which he approaches. The majority does so, and it is difficult for gamers is to blame - after a while even the author of these lines was developed with serious paranoia.
But not only the principles of PvP moved from Ultima Online. Character development takes place in a very similar pattern. Classes in the game, not the levels, too - but there are a hundred variety of skills.The more often you perform an action - mine, waving a mace, or just run around - the better developed the appropriate skills. And although in the future, you can learn and level up all the skills at least one character, seasoned fighters Darkfall still recommended to focus on the ten most needed, rather than spraying power.
 | |  | This raft - the most primitive watercraft. But compared to the full court, he is mere penny. | | Bending slightly forward in the saddle, the character can at full tilt and cut off heads of enemies on foot. |
The game interface tied to the drag (drag-and-drop), can hardly be called easy, or at least functional. When the corpse had just killed a character must take more than a dozen items - very much that the man who sketched interface and forgot to add the button to "take all", never born. The only reasonable explanation for the fact that Darkfall is used exactly this scheme - the desire to please veterans nostalgic for Ultima Online. But at the UO with every subject, whether it's a spoon, a side table or a candlestick, you can interact and, more importantly, they can combine. Such an interface was not only justified - is necessary. Here, the entire entourage - cardboard scenery, absolutely not interactive environment, and drag the items you can except from one bag to another.
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Darkfall was first announced in August 2001. Developing a game dealt by the Norwegian company Razorwax, later moved to Greece and fused with local Aventurine SA. The assets of the studio - the enthusiasm of fans UO and no finished project. Goal - to make MMORPG in the vein of Ultima, which wanted to play himself. In September 2004, at the official site Darkfall message appears on a set of wanting to take part in a closed beta test, which promised to run a couple of weeks.
However, it has not started any in two weeks or a month or even a year later. It took a long five years for which the game has earned a reputation «vaporware» - pacifier that never leaves, a kind of Duke Nukem Forever from the world of MMOs.
So, in January 2009 - 8 years of development, 10 million euro budget and the beginning of a long-awaited Beta Darkfall ... Although, rather it was an alpha version - implemented only a general prototype of the game, virtually nothing is done, but that in any way is done, it is still not working. It is unclear what followed in Aventurine, but a month after the beginning of "beta" game went on sale.Needless to say, that in the first week of the game server worked about as much time as spent reboots and urgent preventive maintenance?
 | |  | Load screen. Logo something similar to Doom 2, is not it? | | Hexen 15 years later. Creators of Darkfall are out to cause gamers bouts of nostalgia. |
Aquarium Darkfall is not binds players to any restrictions - first and foremost it means that you yourself have to entertain themselves. Do you want to - go through the proposed game starting quests or go explore the world, until you find something for the soul. However, traveling on Agon you will encounter another hallmark of Darkfall. It seems that the monsters here and there, caught, and wild animals sometimes run around, but quite often the soul of the reviewer creeping suspicion that this world is empty and dead, as if nobody but the players here and there. It is difficult to explain the reason - that is, that the world is already too large, or in a tightly driven into the ground NPC - they are able to gesticulate, move the body, turn his head, but move them from their seats and not be bulldozed. Even for the safety of the cities here do not correspond to the guards-NPC, a soulless guard tower, which also did not play revives.
The best outfits for the characters produce craftsmen, so the hunt for the monsters here has much less significance than in other MMORPG. If desired, it can not do at all. But fights with other players can not be avoided. Truly safe areas do not have anywhere - even in the cities of their own race, where you're protected by towers, you can still kill.
Nearly every village, whether small or large village, with high walls City, built and managed by players themselves. Heads of clans, feudal lords like the real thing, dreaming, as if to seize the land neighbor. Clans are regularly carried out raids, besieging castles and looting villages. In different parts of Agon may pass through several sieges during the day. If the land battles you are bored, try to participate in sea: save up some money or take the city with the yard, build a ship out there, type the command of the players, and you can go to conquer the seas and pillage coastal cities. After the release of content-update «Conquer the Seas» one of the main entertainment in Darkfall become permanent siege "sea fortress" - the two huge structures located in the northern and southern seas Agona. In the battle for control of them converge entire fleets, numbering dozens of different courts.
 | |  | During the closed beta test a settlement in the valley Hammerdale belonged to one of the largest Russian-speaking clans. Since then, the city has repeatedly passed from hand to hand, have repeatedly collapsed to the ground and rebuilt. | | Located in a peaceful mode, you control a character from the first-person.At such moments, the sensations Darkfall is close to the Might and Magic 7. |
Instructions for Survival Generally Darkfall - an excellent example of what happens when light and lofty dreams are facing a rocky expanse of reality. Here is everything what you dreamed, thinking about the perfect MMORPG, - to quietly sneak up to the enemy, have to walk on his heels, turning on his heels from stone to stone. You will not give any bar life, nor the sparkling overhead nickname of the character - to see them, you'll first need to restore sight. No avtoataki or capture objectives - here archers and mages playing first-person shooter, and the soldiers were fighting a system that remotely resembles Mount & Blade - with broad, sweeping strikes, blocks and dynamic battles between riders.
 | In each city not controlled by the players you will find Clan Station - Monument, translating the names of the clans that hold the sea fortress. |
Content in the game very much, and the volume of paper can not cover everything. But. Read again the first paragraph. With a reserve of great ideas, the authors created Darkfall is not a perfect game. Freedom - a strange thing to want it all, but not everyone is able to dispose of it, and few people will like totally free of any restrictions gameplay. And very much a unit will be able to put up with a technical imperfection. Even a year after the release of a no-no and even come across a non-critical, but rather unpleasant bugs. Interface, as well as graphics, can hardly be called good, and the soundtrack - acceptable. Although specifically with the sound there is a caveat. Yes, landing after a jump, a character rattles like a bag of nails, but you have this rumble with anything else is not confused. Audibility of the game is very good, the characteristic sounds, whether bryakane after the jump, or hooves, you will always recognize the distance of the approaching enemy. No other MMORPG rumor helped to survive.
As already mentioned, the games of this type are usually called "sandbox", but Darkfall is somewhat different associations - a stone castle on the playground. And do not care what its dilapidated walls, hardwood floors under the roofs of the towers were never completed builders, migrant workers, and in the evenings there are smoking teens - until there are kids and these kids have fun, it justifies its existence. Already have Aventurine has a small but dedicated group of subscribers, and hence, the game still failed.
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In April last year, Ed Citron, a member of the site Eurogamer, Aventurine received from the two press account, published a review assessing the Darkfall 2 out of 10 points. Scandal, Producer Tasos Flamburas said at the official forum of Darkfall, that, according to records of the server, the reviewer spent playing no more than four hours. The irony is that, no matter how many there actually any played Ed, at the time of his assessment was very accurate.The author of these lines for many years followed the project, participated in a closed beta test and receiving a press account, after the official release, he knew that a review of the Darkfall he soon would not write - because it is impossible to evaluate the game, which actually has not.
It is important to remember another. EVE Online, too, did not immediately won the hearts of gamers and critics - CCP took years to turn his creation of no one misunderstood outsider into one of the cult of online games today.
A year ago on Darkfall was painful to watch now - it is already possible to play. Progress is evident, and perhaps even score a year to grow by point or two. Maybe.
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