Hellgate: London Review

The Escapist Magazine has reviewed Hellgate: London, noting that the harsh reception caused by the too early release might be too harsh as the game, stating “it’s an appealing, rewarding, and addictive game”.

A number of common MMORPG headaches are mercifully absent from Hellgate. Its instanced structure ensures that you’ll never have to wait in line for a boss or item to respawn. Monsters who drop key quest items apparently have 100 percent spawn and drop rates, so there’s no tedious wandering and farming to complete quests. Though not all item drops are worth equipping, every single armor, mod, and weapon can be broken down into component parts and traded for high-level crafted goods in stations. And multiplayer loot distribution is handled by the game, so there’s no quibbling over important drops.

There’s plenty to love about Hellgate. Unfortunately, it has its share of inexplicably bad design choices, mostly related to the interface. Other players can only be added to your friend list if their character is logged in at that moment, for example. There’s an aggravating lack of inventory space, necessitating constant reshuffling of items. In addition, the immovable, ugly chat panel covers up a key portion of quest windows when open.