Horizons Review

MPOGD has tossed up a review of Horizons: Empire of Istaria, giving the MMORPG an overall score of 9.2/10. Their conclusion to follow:

Overall, Horizons has done a lot of things right, but just might have focused a little too much in some areas. While the community and crafting aspects of the game are probably some of the best in the genre, the core feature of MMORPGs is adventuring and character development, which has been given too little consideration here. On the plus side, Artifact Entertainment has announced their intention to not charge players for added content in the future, contrary to the trend in the genre right now (Everquest currently has nearly a dozen expansions) Graphically, the game succeeds and has little err. The detail of the world is intricate and well constructed; something that high-end system owners will definitely appreciate. To be fair, condemning Horizons because it is simply different than its competitors isn’t exactly just, although the resulting low player population detracts from the game’s enjoyment quite a bit. The best way to look at it is as an entirely different brand of MMORPG. So, if you enjoy dungeon crawling or leading a party of adventurers and combating terrible foes, you would be wise to look elsewhere. However, if you want a different style of game where there is a large emphasis on player-participation in world events, as well as an intricate crafting and construction system and a wide variety of classes and races, Horizons is your best bet.