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  • How exactly do you review an MMO?

    by 
    Lesley Smith
    Lesley Smith
    05.08.2009

    Reviewing MMOs is a tricky business, as Eurogamer learnt this week when they published a review of Darkfall and gave it 2/10. Developer Tasos Flambouras wasn't happy about this and published a scathing forum post in retaliation at the low score. They accused reviewer Ed Zitron of playing for a mere two hours (he asserts he played the game for over nine) and most of that time was -- according to Tasos -- spent screenshotting or creating characters. This prompted Eurogamer to respond and promise to do a re-review, which in turn prompted Tasos to respond to the response. This begs the question: how do you review an MMO? It's not like any other kind of game; there's no beginning, middle and end, just a beginning and an endless middle. Added to that, while video games are without a doubt mainstream, MMOs are a lot more niche. But Lesley, I hear you cry, how can games like Guild Wars and World of Warcraft with seventeen million players between them, be called niche?