Tabula Rasa: Not *quite* Totally Rad, but not Totally Rotten, either.

So as I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been playing TR where and when I can.  Given that I’m currently studying for 2 exams at work, that’s not always the easiest proposition in the world, but I do manage…  And my experiences so far have been 90% positive, with one glaring negative.

I’m currently about level 22, so about 1/2 way through the content at this time. Everything’s been fun so far.  It does take a few hours to get used to the controls and the style of gameplay, but the near instantaneous action that pops up everywhere is downright addicting.  You may be off just questing away, and the next thing you know, 2 Bane dropships drop down, and you’re in the middle of an intense firefight.  Suddenly you have some AFS guys come help, and the Bane bring more people, and in the space of a couple of minutes, it’s a pitched battle right there.  I thought it’d be hokey, but it does suck you in.  Same thing with the Control Point bases, although those happen a BIT too frequently for my taste… it’s a bit much when the Bane seem to raid every hour on the hour… you’d think the AFS would get smart and lay about 200 kilos of C4 at each of the likely assault points and just nip that in the bud.  But I digress.

The instances are very very well designed, with good scripting and pacing.  They’re a good challenge for solo or group, although to date I’ve soloed almost every one.  It is a loot based game, like every other;  the experimental guns are orders of magnitude better than the stock stuff, to the point of almost excluding everything else if you can.

My biggest issue with the game is a 2 parter, the total lack of an effective economy, and the abysmal crafting system.  I’m willing to cut the game some slack in that it’s only a little over a month since launch, but… currently the only thing money is good for is… ammo… and consumables.  There’s no real reason to craft, when everything can be bought.  And the crafting system… sweet zombie jesus, what a catastrophe.  like Auto Assault, you run around “collecting” tons of shit from dead mobs, holding on to it in the slim hope it’s what you need.  And then, the blueprint you get is good for ONE use… then you either have to buy another one, or hope another one drops.  Honestly, let’s just cut the fucking game here.  Crafting as a game mechanic has always sucked.  It’s a time sink made to be a time sink, nothing more.  Loot drops are ALWAYS better than player made in 99.9% of all situations, and farming the mats for the .1% when it is better is such a waste of time you’re betting off sticking with the lower tier stuff.

So if they can get the economy going, and either revamp or kill the crafting system entirely, they’ve got a good game… but for now, I’m going to reserve judgement… while I continue to use the Electric Cannon to 1 shot as many Bane as possible… I love the smell of cooked Bane in the morning… it smells just like… chicken.

~ by trollonfire on January 8, 2008.