Hellgate London is that bad/mediocre?

Remus

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It's one of the games in my holiday game list. But most reviews dished it as so-so or mediocre... It also voted as most unfavorable 2007 releases at voodooextreme
http://ve3d.ign.com/
Anyway, so i ordered The Witcher instead and should arrives tomorow or so.
 
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I have only played the demo, but IMO it isn't that it's a bad game, I think it just didn't live up to all the hype.
 
My cousin has it and says it´s pretty good. Just nothing he has to play every day.
 
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I think it's pretty fantastic, actually.

However, the launch was horrible and only recently did they fix it up to a point where it can reasonably be called stable.

Patch 0.7 is out, and seems to have fixed the vast majority of serious issues as well as introduced some new content and various additions.

If you're a fan of the genre, you should definitely look into it.

Some reviews out there are extremely biased, but I'd have to admit that most are pretty fair overall. It's primarily the case of huge hype and a disastrous launch, which combined almost destroyed it on arrival. It's still uncertain if it will survive, but I think it will - and they might even turn things around.

The big content patch (subscriber thing) is out on Test Center, and it almost seems like a regular expansion. Several new tilesets (a new very different "act"), tons of items, animation overhaul, and other significant stuff. It's supposed to be out in less than a month, so all things considered I think it's a very nice deal - considering most MMOs take much longer and provide much less content for a mandatory subscription. Even WoW struggled with the content during the first year, and they have nearly infinite resources in comparison.

However, I must warn people against expecting the wrong thing. This is NOT an MMO as most people understand them, nor is it a traditional CRPG. It's a hack and slash rogue-like, and it's basically just Diablo 2 with upgraded visuals and a much more visceral combat experience. I think there are several innovations in terms of gameplay within the genre, but you'd have to be a fan of it to appreciate them. So, for the love of all that is holy, DON'T expect the next WoW like so many wrongly did. It's just not that kind of game.
 
The big content patch (subscriber thing) is out on Test Center, and it almost seems like a regular expansion. Several new tilesets (a new very different "act"), tons of items, animation overhaul, and other significant stuff.

I have a question about this. If you subscribe, does the extra content get added to the single player game as well? Or does it only apply to online? I am thinking about getting this, but I do not play online. I am trying to decide which is worse, not getting any expansions or having to pay 10 bucks a month for them.
 
I have a question about this. If you subscribe, does the extra content get added to the single player game as well? Or does it only apply to online? I am thinking about getting this, but I do not play online. I am trying to decide which is worse, not getting any expansions or having to pay 10 bucks a month for them.

I believe the developers have said that a SP patch will be released with this 1.0 content, but I seem to recall hearing it would NOT be standard practice and I'm not entirely certain they were talking about the subscription-only content with this SP patch. This is mostly because they have no way of handling local data, and as such you could simply subscribe - download - and cancel. That way, you would get all content at any given time for only one monthly payment, and would theoretically not have to pay again. I don't know if that's the only reason, but I'm pretty sure it's a big factor.

Also, in my personal opinion, the entertainment value of this kind of game increases many times over by playing it cooperatively. I know tastes vary, and that's great, but I think the gameplay focus is too narrow for a truly satisfactory experience in singleplayer. But, to each his own, and if you enjoy something like Diablo 2 in this way, I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy Hellgate.

That said, there is even less emphasis on a storyline and interesting narrative than there was in Diablo 2, so it's really about as far as you can get from the adventure part of a traditional CRPG.

There are basically 3 things to this game: Killing, Looting, and Growing. Luckily, these parts are done EXTREMELY well, especially the first two as the last part (character skills) have been the target of much critique, though I personally don't share that perception.

In my humble opinion (backed up by 26 years of passionate gaming), the game is better at the core hack and slash gameplay than any other game before it, including Diablo 2 itself.
 
I used to play cooperatively online years ago, but the blatant cheating and people acting like 10 year olds totally turned me off. I may try again sometime though.

But another thing I am concerned about is the level 50 limit on characters. How fast can you reach that? My concern is what good is all the extra content if you've reached the level limit already.
 
I used to play cooperatively online years ago, but the blatant cheating and people acting like 10 year olds totally turned me off. I may try again sometime though.

But another thing I am concerned about is the level 50 limit on characters. How fast can you reach that? My concern is what good is all the extra content if you've reached the level limit already.

FSS have taken a very aggressive stance against cheating, and I'd be surprised if that ever became a big problem for extended periods of time. The moron factor is unfortunately part of any online experience, which is why I play exclusively with my GF, family, or friends. I'm not a particularly social individual unless I'm in that zone, and I require decent behavior as a minimum at all times.

As for reaching the level cap, it depends on your playstyle, but I find that it's somewhat slower than Diablo 2 was after the first 15-20 levels. However, it's not WoW/EQ2/Vanguard, so it's not about extending the experience or scraping butter over too much bread, Bilbo style. It's about fun before longevity, at least in theory.

You should also consider that at the core of the design is replayability. That's really the whole philosophy behind the game, and the reason they randomized so much of the content. It's not meant as a one-time playthrough with a single character.

Even so, it would take most players several weeks of normal playing to get to 50 with just one character, and even for the hardcore players who optimise and level as efficiently as possible, it'd take at least a few dozen hours to get there. Furthermore, they've already talked about raising the level cap to 60 relatively soon (though I wouldn't expect it until the next content patch scheduled to be released 3 months after the 1.0 patch).
 
I think it is a blast to play, but very mediocre as an actual game. It is definitely overshadowed by Titan Quest, for example. I still love grabbing quests and killing everything, though.
 
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Olnigg doesn't consider this game being too good.
 
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Is it better than 2 worlds?
 
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Is it better than 2 worlds?

If you're talking SP, that's tough to say as they're kind of apples and oranges in that arena, i.e. open explorer versus corridor/rails shooter and RPG'ish versus heavy hack 'n slash.

If you're talking MP, HG is definately better as it's much more focused of an experience whereas 2W is kind of wishy-washy and not really sure-footed in it's design for MP.
 
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Thought the game was decent just needs a good machine to run...it does what it aims to do and it doea it well.
 
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If you're talking SP, that's tough to say as they're kind of apples and oranges in that arena, i.e. open explorer versus corridor/rails shooter and RPG'ish versus heavy hack 'n slash.

If you're talking MP, HG is definately better as it's much more focused of an experience whereas 2W is kind of wishy-washy and not really sure-footed in it's design for MP.

What he said ... except that I would say that as an experience Two Worlds SP is significantly better for RPG fans than HG:L. Personally I'd rather play Alien Shooter: Vengeance or (as I am currently doing) Shadowgrounds Survivor for the adrenaline rush.
 
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