AkiraOfNorway

This game comes with an interesting aesthetic and several novel gameplay ideas. Unfortunately, the execution is severely lacking, and the game's incessant need to bash you over the head with what I can only describe as extremist political views, quickly wears thin. The latter is particularly unfortunate, as the topic itself is quite interesting, and would be well worth exploring if done so in a somewhat nuanced and intellectually astute manner. This game doesn't seem interested in that, and so here we are. There are also several game breaking bugs, making the game seem rushed. This is particularly strange, seeing as how it spent nearly eight(!) years in development. I cannot recommend buying this game, even if you support its strong political messaging. There are other games that do this better.

The best Harry Potter / open world wizard game every made. Needs some graphical optimization on PC still, but nothing game or immersion breaking.

Although a technically deeply capable product, the game is ultimately ruined by monetization mechanics so predatory that there simply is no way for me to overlook them when considering the game's overall merits. This has put me off buying future Diablo products, as well as anything else from Blizzard, in the near future.

Over 1,000 hours worth of custom maps work have now been rendered worthless. Thanks, ActiBlizz. May your bankruptcy come swiftly; that a better company may take your place in the industry.

Just when it seems that the world of online role playing has set into a familiar groove, The Secret World comes along and flips everything on its head, in a good way. We're not talking a complete reinvention of the genre here, but Funcom has gotten pretty damn close in their latest foray into the world of massive multiplayer games. Where the game truly strikes gold is in the variety of quests and assignments availiable to the player. Already from the get go you have access to a wide variety of locations, each with its own special atmosphere and foes. The game does a very good job of keeping the interesting boss fights coming at a steady rate, and for the hours I put into it (nearly 100 beta hours) I never once felt like the pace was getting predictable. The visuals are just about as good as one can expect from an MMORPG. As with the gameplay, variety is where the visuals really show their colors (pardon the pun). If all you've been playing the last few years is WoW you will need an upgrade, but most new-ish PCs will be able to run the game at high settings without too many hiccups. The game does need a little polish, but nothing significant is really amiss. This especially holds true when compared to previous MMORPG launches - the dreaded Age of Conan included. In closing, I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys coherent online worlds but might be a bit frustrated with the rinse-and-repeat mindset that seems to be at the core of most MMORPGs today.