EVE Online (PC & Mac)

Ive just read a lot of good and bad reviews on this. I have played this game for a good few years and now given up, the reason being it does get repetitive.
That being said it isnt a far step from every other mmorpg, all of them get repetitve too, a lot of them quicker than Eve.
Missioning is the same as question in other mmorpg's, go here, kill this, pick this up, come back. Repeat. You can move space or stay with same agent.
PVP can be done from almost day 1, lets say with a months training. These days most people use cruisers/tech 2 cruisers(you will see these if u join) to do pvp and with a small gang of either you can take on many people.
Corporations are the same idea as guilds and clans, people join them, have fun with others and do stuff together.
Mining is the most boring in eve, its for people who want to make money while doing other stuff, can just move ore every now and then.
The market is as real as any game market, adapting to new technologies, costs of minerals, availability, etc.
Anyway, anyone who see's this game shouldnt rely on other peoples reviews, I enjoyed the game while i played although ive left now, just go and download the 14-day trial, its free so no money lost if you dont like it.

This game has sooooo many brilliant things about it. Unfortunately, it's got many bad things about it. The funny thing is that the really good things are also really bad things too, from a certain point of view.

1. The skill system. Skillpoints are everything. You set a skill training and it'll keep training until either you change it. It's time based, not grinding based. So hardcore grinders won't get ahead of casual players. While this is great, it also means that a new player will NEVER catch up on skillpoints with an old player.

2. You can make your mark in the game. Since it's one single universe, it's possible for players to become fairly famous for good or bad reasons. The bad part is that what someone builds - another person can come and take it away. Imagine investing hundreds of hours in real time, where what you build can be taken away from you permanently if you're not able to defend it. Make sure you're able to detach yourself from the game before you attempt the high level 0.0 space stuff!

3. PVP. It actually means something. When you fight and die - you lose your ship, your modules, your ammo and any cargo you had. If you're not quick, you can also lose your pod (which means your expensive implants can be lost and you'll have to pay another cloning fee (which gets high at high levels of skillpoints)). For me, this meant that PVP could really give an adrenaline buzz. If you lost your ship/pod, then it could mean a few hours of grinding missions/NPCs to replace it. You don't just respawn somewhere ready to go again. This is what made Eve pvp the best I've seen in any online game. However, because of the losses possible it gets to the point where people don't like to fight unless they'll win. Blobbing (huge groups show up on the map as a blob)) wins battles. Be prepared to spend a whole evening doing nothing because either you or your opponents don't have enough numbers for the fight - most groups will never fight even slightly outnumbered.

4. Lag. CCP will advertise that warfare in eve is epic. It certainly can be. CCP have continually worked so that bigger and bigger battles are possible. This just means that alliances have got bigger and bigger and stuff more people into systems to try and lag out the other side.

5. POS (player owned station) Warfare. This is what killed Eve for me. On the one hand it's good as you can now properly hold space. However, with POS timers the defender just times the POS to come out a time when he can bring the bigger blob to defend. POS warfare means that the biggest alliance can get to win Eve by just bringing everyone to one place at once and lagging out the opposition.

6. 2 is better than 1. Anything you can do with one account, you can do more than twice as well with two accounts. If you start out, you'll find out that it's a waste to spend industrial skillpoints on a fighting character and vice versa. If you like Eve and you can afford it, you WILL want to get yourself a second account.

7. The learning curve in the game is HUGE. Even with the new extensive help system, it's still incredibly hard to get started. Learning Eve takes time and dedication, the good thing is this weeds out the 10 year old CSS kids. Eve's playerbase was always 18+ when I played for this reason.

I still remember my first days of Eve. It was magical. If you let it - Eve is WAY more addictive than WoW. I really enjoyed my time playing and don't regret the 100s of hours I invested playing. But POS warfare has just destroyed my enjoyment of the game too much to go back. This is a beautiful game that I would encourage anyone who enjoyed Elite II or Freelancer to try. Just be aware it is addictive when you figure out how to play :)

Firstly I will say that I played eve when it first came out , I had 3 accounts when I finally stopped playing, I have done just about every aspect you can imagine. The people that play eve tend to be very passionate about it.

The game is highly addictive if you get into it, but take a step back and look objectively at it and you will find this:-

The game has never been balanced, the way all the systems work are heavily flawed with regards to ship modules and weapon damage as well as how the weaponry works (they have been trying to balance the game ever since it came out and failed at every stroke).

The numbers are probably inaccurrate due to a high number of trial accounts and the fact that a lot of players use multiple accounts simultaneously.

As a new player it will take you about 1-2 years to get 'competent'. Don't be fooled about the 'skill' playing a big part (the only skill that plays a big part are the skills that you learn ingame, these determine which ships you can fly and how well, which mods you can use, how fast you can go (just about everything in the game to be honest is controlled by which skills you have and how high they are).

I guess the skill system is the biggest flaw in the game really as you will never be as good as the older players, they simply have more experience,skill points that you can never equal or even get close to and isk (ingame money). They have grown with the game , you have a massive learning curve!

Other mmo's at least have a level cap , thereby allowing you to one day compete with other players on a level playing field. (look for new ones soon to launched is my best advice).

Well now, I just had to write a review for a game that has kept my attention for the last 7 years!

First of all Eve is not for everyone. If you are a casual gamer who likes a fairly easy fast paced experince, walk away now. On the other hand if you are the sort of person who likes a deep rich gaming experience in a fully interactive world, alongside other players from all over the globe, keep reading.

The single most important thing to understand about eve is that what happens in the game world is a direct result of an action or actions by other players/groups of players.

The economy in eve is governed by resources. Resources are collected by players and 'turned' into items for sale or use - Im not doing eve any justice by making that sound boring - but it isnt - its a LOT of fun.
PVP in Eve is the best Ive come come across for a very long time - can you fit your ship to beat the next hostile player you meet?

The big players in eve are the 0.0 alliances - hundreds of pilots fight and die every single day trying to win areas of space for themselves - for the resources. Fleet combat is bags of fun - if you have a good fc (fleet commander). Players can make themselves sought after by making a name for themselves as a good fc. Or as a good alliance leader, or just simply as a good corporation (clan) CEO.

Or if you wish you can become a notorious pirate, ganking people for their loot and, just beacuse you can :)

Away from pvp there is npc combat. Its good fun to a point but it is a means to an end - the gathering of resources.
The 4 factions in eve play an important role through the whole of the game, your own character will be a part of one of those races - all the technology in eve is tied to one of the 4 races.

Last but not least. The best thing in eve for me has been the people I have met (in game) through eve. When you have a group of you together, all working towards the same objective - whatever it may be, I cant describe the satisfaction that gives me. You get the time in eve to learn about the people you are flying with. You share the good times and the bad time, and if you are lucky you emerge on the other side all the stronger for it.

The best advice to people thinking of getting into but who arnt quite sure is, go and look at the forums. There is a huge amount of interaction with the developers CCP there. (There is also the CCP sponsored fanfest held every year in iceland)
Also on the forums, take a look at the 'My Eve' section for player created movies. In particular, Day of Darkness 2, COW The Last G Campaign and Ch1_Triolation.

Good luck and, see you in space...

I've been playing eve for over a year now, and I must say it is a very entertaining game which tests the player with new challenges every day.
At first, it is difficult to learn the complicated interface but when you master it, an entire universe opens up before you. There are so many different things going on in this game, whether you want to run missions, explore unchartered regions of space, kill pirates, mine for ores, ice and gas, fight other players. The range is fantastcic.
I would advise this game to anyone. Most of the other players are helpful and friendly with new people and will help you find your feet in such a daunting environment.
So, basically, if you haven't got this game, buy it. The graphics are extremely good, and with new patches a regular occurance, they graphics stay up to date with more current games.
With each new patch, new challenges arise for each player, new ships to fly, new ways in which to fly them
Undoubtably the best game i've ever played