WildStar Preview

VG247 has published a new preview for Carbine’s WildStar, and just as it happens with every new MMO, it doesn’t just get analyzed on its own, but compared to the undisputed king of the genre, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft:

The first ten levels of an MMO can be crucial, and I fear Wildstar’s inconsistency here could hold it back. There is a lot more that this game has to offer Player Housing, Warplots, Battlegrounds not to mention the more advanced paths. Due to NDA reasons, I’m not allowed to talk going beyond level 15, but it can take you about that long to get to some of this stuff, which is a shame.

Tradeskills are unlocked at level 10, but these are especially forgettable. You have all your stock trades mining, hunting, gathering but all in all I can’t help but feel Carbine missed a trick to do something really unique here, like they’ve done elsewhere in the game.

Can Wildstar take on World of Warcraft? It has as good a chance as any new IP. The influence of Blizzard is more than a bit obvious, although the blend of science-fiction and fantasy works rather well from a visual perspective. There is a hub town on the Dominion side of things that, when looked at from afar, looks like it could also be found in Azeroth, or amongst the dwelling of the Night Elves. This (perhaps deliberate) alignment of styles could make it attractive for the WoW crowd who are dissatisfied but don’t have anywhere else to go right now. Or those who are just waiting for Warlords of Draenor.