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Anarchy Online is fairly old, so don't expect to see
anything
groundbreaking or miraculous coming from this game in this day and age,
where EverQuest 2, Lineage II, and World of WarCraft reign supreme. The
only
thing that Anarchy Online has going for it is the fact that it can run
on
older machines, and also it is one of the few MMORPGs out there that has
a
plot that is based purely on science fiction. The plot is beautifully
done,
with story-driven missions and games that draw players in and
hook
them for a very long time. When I started playing, I kept on for almost
two
days straight.
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The game mechanics are phenomenal, using the style
of
missions that can be either solo or team instead of the fantasy-based
quest
system that most other MMORPGs embrace. The big thing I have against
the
controls is that they don't use full advantage of the mouse. While you
can
use it to move the cursor around the screen and all, you have to use
the
keyboard directional arrows to move and you have to click the fire
button
every time to hit something.
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The graphics are wonderful considering its age, not the most detailed
polygons in computer history, but it does give adequate amount of
detail
and a lot less lag spikes than other games using the same polygon
count.
The professions for the characters are a wide array of choices, though
to
get some of the cooler ones you have to purchase the expansion packs to
the
game. There is a nice "academy" session at the start of the game to get
players adjusted to the controls and the feel of this world because it
is
totally different than any other MMORPG on the market today.
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While the
music is nothing memorable, it does go well with the theme and the feel
of
the game. I have found myself turning off the sound and playing
my
own music in the background just because the tracks do tend to get
monotonous.
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Most of the aforementioned missions are very "zelda-like"
quests where you have to find a specific item to gain a specific item.
However, there are missions, both solo and team, that allow you to go
searching for a particular NPC, destroying a specified item or the
lovely
sniper missions. While these do not make up for the entire basis that
the
game can get tedious going back and forth between Old Athen and West
Athen
(the two main cities on the clan side), they do give it a nice break
from
it.
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Overall, I would recommend this game to someone who has an older
computer
and does not mind the outdated mechanics and graphics. The price is
fairly
reasonable and Funcom gives a lot of specials on the expansion packs,
should you be inclined to purchase those. If you are still not
convinced,
they are even offering a free playing time for one year for the original
game
(NOT the expansion packs). So if you are one of those who want to see a
different MMORPG, or are just looking for one to fill time, you should
give this one a shot.
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