The graphics in most zones really are breathtaking. High polygon
counts and incredible special effects that did not cause any lag on
my hardware. The zone designs, on the other hand, often left
something to be desired. I spent most of my time in the Virginia
and Washington DC zones because as well discuss getting around
in this game can be a real bitch. The George Washington Natural
Forest had an excellent, earthly feel. But others, like the
Central Park shopping district in the Fredericksburg zone, were
unaccountably ugly. And there were quite a few like Dulles
Office Park that simply seemed unfinished and
under-inhabited.
As I mentioned before, although the game promises a massive world
to explore, it turns out getting around that world takes an
extraordinary amount of time. Even entering or leaving some of the
sub-zones took much longer than expected during peak hours. I blame
this on the overly-accurate physics model, which forces you to wait
for people to move out of your way rather than just letting you run
through them. And that was just my experience moving between
neighboring zones. Longer trips are significantly more arduous,
taking days instead of hours, and cost a significant amount of
money.
Oh yes, money. This is perhaps the biggest bait-and-switch.
Although theres no monthly fee, almost everything requires
payment. Accessing many of the zones costs money. All forms of
travel above a walk cost money. Earning money costs money (theyre
called taxes) and paying for things costs extra money (also called
taxes). Even sitting and doing nothing is expensive, since you are
required to eat several times a day. And if you want to store any
reasonable quantity of food or possessions you have to get the
Inside expansion which is where most of the breathtakingly huge
monthly fees are hidden.
And make no mistake you need the expansion. In order to make
money to pay the interminable fees, youll have to find a job. Most
of these are only available inside in low-rez, poorly-designed
environments where youll do the same repetitive tasks for hours
among uninteractive npcs. Incredible NPC AI? I find the notion
that they have any AI at all questionable. Nevertheless, because of
the massive fees involved in doing anything outside you are
likely to spend most of your time inside in order to accumulate
the requisite funds. So, forgo the Inside expansion and youll
find yourself unable to participate in most of the game features.
Without the inside expansion you cannot work, store goods, or
even sleep in safety.
Speaking of safety, despite the hostility of many of the players
and the depth of the PvP system, its considered bad form to attack
anyone except under very strict, very controlled circumstances.
This is apparently because getting killed in the game actually
removes you from the game forever. What genius thought that one
up?
Aside from the constant and irritating fees the game has exhibits
remarkable inflexibility compared to other MMORPGs available. You
cannot create a new character to try out other roles or career
choices or even start over when you realize youve hopelessly
screwed up your current character. Although career change is
possible, if you want to try out Electrical Engineering instead of
Forestry and Wildlife, for example, youll be required to literally
attend years in the newbie zones at great cost and financial risk
to yourself and the rest of your guild (called a family). There
may be thousands of character types available to you, but under
normal circumstances you only get to try out one or two of
them.
So yes, Outside is amazing on a presentational level, but the
gameplay itself leaves much to be desired and its hard to stay
engaged for very long. On balance, World of Warcraft has a much
less deep but more entertaining profession tree, character
advancement process, and fee structure. Despite the excellent
graphics and audio, its hard to recommend Outside over any other
game except Star Wars Galaxies.
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http://www.thudfactor.com/world-of-warcraft/outside-mmorpg-reviewed-d/
