Darkfall Online is one of the “special” games IV

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Even when you become semi-capable of operation without constant death, there’s little to enjoy. The quests are repetitive kill-X-of-Y monstrosities written with a six-year-old’s understanding of English. There are none of the intricacies of World of Warcraft or Warhammer Online, and there’s none of the charm of old-world EverQuest. The world is bland in the extreme, with no definition in areas except those where you spawn as a newbie – and even they echo with a distinct lack of life. It doesn’t even have the basic features that make up even the most lackluster and dull cookie-cutter MMOs, such as a simple experience system, or some form of tutorial.

Darkfall even lacks the basic lore that even the worst games have. There are wolf people, orks, humans, elves, and dark elves. There hasn’t even been an attempt to construct a faux-story – you pick a character, and you’re dropped in a drab town with a leaf-blade and 20 fewer Euros in your pocket.

Many avid fanboys defend Darkfall by saying that it’s ‘just not made for the average or casual player’. In reality, this is just an excuse for Aventurine’s inability to create a balanced, playable game. If you give me a sandbox, by God, give me something to play with in it.

We genuinely wish that this was a case of me not getting what Darkfall is trying to do. Sadly, it’s all too obvious. Its skill system is like a twisted version of EVE Online’s, without the intricacy or CCP’s talent. Its mise-en-sc