WildStar Review In Progress

**Note** Reviewing MMOs isn't like reviewing other types of games--MMOs take time to review. We wouldn't feel comfortable reviewing any game without partaking in the majority of the content it has to offer, and MMOs (likeWildStar) have more content than your average video game. So, we'll be sharing our initial thoughts onWildStar'sfirst 20 levels, and will update with thoughts periodically until we at Den of Geek are comfortable with slapping a rating on the game as a whole. Thus, the star rating at the bottom of the post is only PRELIMINARY!**

It's rare that any major video game release lives up to my expectations. Games nowadays have teasers for their full trailers, posters, commercials, swag, and every other marketing ploy you can come up with to create unprecedented hype for whatever game their trying to push out the retail doors. With that being said, we've been following WildStarhere at Den of Geek very closely for quite some time, and I can't remember any other game I've personally been so excited for in my life. More importantly, I can't remember a game I've been so excited for in my life that has actually lived up to the hype behind it. WildStarmight be the next game to do so, if the first 20 levels are anything to go by.

There's a lot to love with Carbine Studios' new lovechild, but the most notable aspect that separates it from other MMOs on the market is its character--and it has TONS of it. From little quirks like having "nom, nom, nom" fly over your head while you eat to cool-looking mobs to fresh, new lore, WildStarcertainly brings much needed uniqueness into the crowded MMO space. The story is intricate and unique, and you'll have to piece it together with lore books and datacubes you'll find scattered about Nexus, the planet on which the game takes place. But, basically, you're placed on Nexus as part of the Exiles or the Dominion to fight for your faction's rightful ownership of Nexus as you also attempt to unravel the secrets behind The Eldan--the race that was on Nexus before you bozos arrived--and what exactly happened to them.

I fought for the Dominion as a Chua Esper all throughout the beta, and really loved my Chua character. But now with the retail release of the game, I really wanted to play as a warrior. Unfortunately, there is no option to play as a Chua Warrior, so I went with a Draken Warrior, whom I named Stout. Say hi to Stout and his awesome Raiden hat I found in my travels, everyone:

Stout is also on the Soldier's path; he's a stone-cold killer that likes to use powerful weapons on their foes. These paths (soldier, settler, explorer or scientist) add more quests for you to complete based on your preferred type of gameplay, complete with an XP bar of its own. Level up this specific path XP and you'll earn yourself certain abilities and items that wouldn't otherwise be available to you.

Combat feels great. Defeating your foe is more gratifying than your typical MMO baddie, since you're not just standing there and mashing buttons. No, instead you have to avoid enemy telegraphs while lining up your own attacks to do the most damage, while avoiding other mobs around you as to not attrack too much attention to yourself. It's action packed, and a much welcomed breath of fresh air into the MMO space.

Also noteworthy is WildStar'sfantastic soundtrack, which helps to musically paint the chimerical extra-terrestrial paradise that is Nexus. The game is loaded with incredible battle hymns, marches, theme music and some lighter-hearted scherzos. Kudos to composer Jeff Kurtenacker for creating an unprecedented high-quality soundtrack.

Nexus also looks pretty great, although it still has a few bugs to work out. I usually have no problem getting at least 60 fps in my time on Nexus, but when taking a taxi my framerate would drop to 1 or 2 fps--clearly, it's a bug of some sort. Aside from that, the only other bug I ran into was random minimizing to Windows. No quests were bugged that I noticed, which is quite an achievement with so many quests.

And, there are so many quests. Basically, you'll get two handfuls of quests in each area, and for the most part, they're all completed in the same proximity. There is quite a grand variety of quests, but for the most part it is go here, kill this, take their fat lootz, and then return it to the quest giver. There are some truly great quests on Nexus, though. For example, one of the most enjoyable quests I've come across so far puts you in an outerspace mine that has been overrun by some sort of plague, and you're forced to navigate the mine and clear it out. It's delightfully spooky--as spooky as an animated MMO could possibly be. Which reminds me--another one of the great things about WildStar is that you don't always have to return to the quest giver to turn in your quests. Many of the quests can be turned in remotely, thus reducing the necessity to travel back and forth to the village.

There are a number of options for travel, including by foot, taxi, teleporting, and eventually (at level 15) a mount. Unfortunately, the mount isn't much of a speed increase at this point; you feel like you're moving in slow motion compared to mounts in other games. Apparently, the need for speed is satisfied at level 40 via a speed increase that costs 50 gold.

As far as the game's economy is concerned, it's very healthy at this point. I haven't noticed things being too cheap or too overpriced on the auction house, nor at the commodities broker (which is what you'll use for crafting supplies). I'm not sure why Carbine decided to separate the two buying hubs instead of just having one, but it's working wonderfully so far. At the commodities exchange, you're able to sell off your stuff to the broker for quick cash, or place it in a 7 day bid war to get the most coin for your product. Again, more options.

Player housing in WildStaris the best and most customizable I've seen in the MMO world. Housing is unlocked at level 14. This is the main reason I was interested in the game, and it certainly lived up to its expectations. You're able to purchase (or craft) items to place in your house, some of which can even provide an XP bonus for you (assuming you teleport back to your house for extra rest XP before logging out each time). You're even able to name your digs; I named my housing plot "The Stout House." I'm not very clever, I know. You'll also find FABkits scattered about the world that allow you to place special "plugs" onto your land. For example, I placed a crafting table in my yard so that I don't have to wait the full 24 hours to teleport to the main city (Illium) to craft. Instead, I'm able to teleport back to my house just about any time I want outside of the 20 minute cooldown. You can buy items to fill your house with, including a completely badass throne, giant booze cabinet with a bar, and weapons.

I also started delving deep into crafting in the last few levels. You're able to choose two different professions from quite a number of options (and undoubtedly more will be added with content patches and expansions). I chose to be a survivalist and architect so that I can build items for housing and eventually sell other materials as a moneymaker. You're also able to acquire crafting quests that are specifically for your profession. You can grind for the necessary materials as you come across them while questing, or you can simply by your materials on the commodities exchange, if you've got the dime.

Costumes and dyes are also a very welcomed aspect of WildStar. Sure, dyes have been done before, but WildStar allows you to dye costumes for you to wear over your gear, so that you can get the style you want without having to lose your awesome stats. Or, you can dye your awesome gear. Dyes can be crafted, found in the world, or bought. Again, options.

Although newcomers could easily become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content, quests and ideas WildStaroffers, all of the ideas work wonderfully once fleshed out and if things are taken slowly. So, take things slowly. This isn't an MMO where you'll want to rush to max-level (50) and call it a day. So, be sure to read those tutorial pop-ups and quests and you'll do very well on Nexus. I've yet to attempt any dungeons or raid content on account of the fact that I've been super busy doing other things on Nexus. So much to see, so little time. I'll check back in once Stout reaches level 30 (I'm averaging 2-3 levels per day with all of the XP rest bonuses that housing provides now). Feel free to give me a shout if you see me running around Nexus--I'm on the Pago (PvP) server.

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