I've been re-playing some of the games I played years ago - mostly out of nostalgia and with intent to experience them whole. On the first try I probably played for few hours, thought it fell short compared to classic RPGs and hack'n'slashes. Now I played it to verify if my opinion wasn't unfounded. I'm not really the type to write reviews but this time I feel obliged toward potential players. The best thing about the game is the setting. Back in the day it was quite unique and a welcome change from typical fantasy. Music is good (though repetitive), SFX are fine, world and areas design is alright, and at first it really seems like it has that classic RPG/HnS feel. Unlike a lot of other games of that time, SoE has a crafting system that looks really promising. But all of that pales in comparison with the cons of the game. Fighting feels very sluggish, it drags on for too long and isn't satisfying at all. Mobs are too tanky, most of the time you just wait for the party to finish them off with autoattacks, because skills cost too much mana, and the regen is too slow. Most of the fights with groups (3-4 mobs) last for nearly a minute and there are over thousand of them. Bosses feel irrelevant, because they're not really harder to beat than common mobs. Far cry from the likes of Diablo 2, Icewind Dale, etc. Then there is character building, levelling up and so on - in this game you never feel powerful and stats doesn't seem to matter too much. For example you give a lot into Fire, so you think you have good hitrate and dodge? Let me tell you - it doesn't make apparent difference whether you have 10 or 70 into the stat (other than maybe Wood - HP). The promising crafting system I mentioned earlier is an abomination, don't bother with it or you'll get angry. At first it looks fine, but later on you can't really refine any of the equipment because apparently you need higher level (sometimes even 8 more) and you can buy better equipment anyway. Don't waste your time.
