Gamespy have posted thier out of the box review, also note that they wil post thier review score after tackling hellgate online.
The more we play the game, however, the more it begins to feel like the very randomness that makes the game compelling and addictive also adds to the aforementioned empty-calories analogy. Randomized loot robs the game of some of its personality because there's no "uber-loot" to quest for or an orderly progression of powerful equipment that keeps pace with the player's development. As a result, there's a lot less satisfaction with killing big bosses or getting each individual loot drop when most of it will be garbage. The randomized floor plans preclude a real sense of "place." The player travels through London districts with fascinating names like "Cheapside" and "Mansion House," but upon entering them find yet another collection of generic sewers, maintenance tunnels or randomized streets with eight different copies of the same roofless English pub. The difference is even starker during the far more enjoyable set-piece story battles that take place in places like Piccadilly Circus or the Tower of London. Since they never change, the designers went all out and create a real feeling that, yes, the player is fighting in the ruins of London.There's more to explore in Hellgate: London, of course -- we've only been able to play the single-player campaign so far -- but with each level we pass through and every identical demon battle, the constant diet of Doritos is starting to wear thin. Perhaps multiplayer will offer more charms, but as of this writing, the servers just went online. Based on our experience in the beta, multiplayer looks like more of the same because the nature of the combat doesn't seem to be conducive to the kind of fun teamwork to be found in a standard MMO or even a team-based shooter. The developers are promising to add all kinds of new content to the game for subscribers, but at launch, subscription benefits are restricted to a few minor things like additional item storage and a hardcore mode that restricts a character to one life. It's roughly the gaming equivalent of going from nacho cheese to spicy nacho cheese. We'll have our full review of Hellgate: London review in a couple of days; check back later today as we kick off our special Hellgate: London blog, chronicling our team's play-testing of the multiplayer.
The more we play the game, however, the more it begins to feel like the very randomness that makes the game compelling and addictive also adds to the aforementioned empty-calories analogy. Randomized loot robs the game of some of its personality because there's no "uber-loot" to quest for or an orderly progression of powerful equipment that keeps pace with the player's development. As a result, there's a lot less satisfaction with killing big bosses or getting each individual loot drop when most of it will be garbage. The randomized floor plans preclude a real sense of "place." The player travels through London districts with fascinating names like "Cheapside" and "Mansion House," but upon entering them find yet another collection of generic sewers, maintenance tunnels or randomized streets with eight different copies of the same roofless English pub. The difference is even starker during the far more enjoyable set-piece story battles that take place in places like Piccadilly Circus or the Tower of London. Since they never change, the designers went all out and create a real feeling that, yes, the player is fighting in the ruins of London.There's more to explore in Hellgate: London, of course -- we've only been able to play the single-player campaign so far -- but with each level we pass through and every identical demon battle, the constant diet of Doritos is starting to wear thin. Perhaps multiplayer will offer more charms, but as of this writing, the servers just went online. Based on our experience in the beta, multiplayer looks like more of the same because the nature of the combat doesn't seem to be conducive to the kind of fun teamwork to be found in a standard MMO or even a team-based shooter. The developers are promising to add all kinds of new content to the game for subscribers, but at launch, subscription benefits are restricted to a few minor things like additional item storage and a hardcore mode that restricts a character to one life. It's roughly the gaming equivalent of going from nacho cheese to spicy nacho cheese. We'll have our full review of Hellgate: London review in a couple of days; check back later today as we kick off our special Hellgate: London blog, chronicling our team's play-testing of the multiplayer.
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