EVE Online: A Breath Of Fresh Air
Over the past 2 decades, MMOs have revolutionized the game industry, allowing players to cooperate and compete with each other on a scale previously unheard of. MMOs come in various shapes and sizes; everything from the free small-scale indie project, to the money-hungry corporate mammoth. There are so many MMOs in existence now, it’s been said that “there’s an MMO out there for anyone willing to look hard (or spend) enough to find it,” but I’ll let you be the judge of that.
For awhile now, I’ve been on a quest to find the right MMO for me; WoW was too boring, MapleStory was too cute, and the dozens of indie MMOs I tried lacked depth. Understand that the aforementioned games are not bad games, but simply games that could not capture or keep my attention. Despite my greatest efforts, it seemed as if I might never find the game I was so desperately searching for. Recently, it seems my luck may have changed, thanks to a game called EVE Online.
EVE Online is an experience unlike any other MMO I’ve played to date; it’s diversity and flexibility make it difficult to compare to existing MMOs on the market. For example, EVE does not have classes - any player can train any skill as long as they have the prerequisite skill(s) trained to the appropriate level. What this means is players are not locked in to only being able to use specific weapons or fly specific ships throughout the entirety of the game. Another uncommon trait EVE has is it’s method of skill training. Rather than mimicking the infamous grind found in many other MMOs, EVE’s skill training is time-based, counting down real-world, including out-of-game, time.
Though differing itself from traditional MMOs is a plus, one of the things I love about EVE is its development team. EVE was developed by Icelandic company Crowd Control Productions in May 2003. EVE is CCP’s first, and currently only, game. They routinely patche and releases content updates for EVE, promising never to charge for these services. In June 2007, CPP hired Dr. Guðmundsson, an economist, to assist in the development of EVE’s economy & compile quarterly economic reports for the player community. Though CCP is very hands-on in its development of EVE, they are very hands-off when in comes to how players experience the game.
“We provide the rules and tools, but it is the players themselves who create the adventure.”
-CCP (From EVE Online Website)
EVE is a “thinking man’s” game. You could play it as a generic space game, but I doubt you would find it any more interesting such. In order to fully appreciate EVE, you should immerse yourself in it and understand that it’s not something you’ll figure out in a day, week, or even a number of months. It is very much a math-based game, as its the only game I’ve played with a calculator built-in to it. Whether you’re an ace combat pilot or a money-savvy day-trader, you’ll have plenty of stats to keep track of in-game.
For the small amount of time I’ve been playing EVE, I’ve loved it - though it’s not without its faults. I’ve had more than my fair share of lag while playing the game along with some other minor issues, but in the long run, its a small price to pay for being a part of the world’s largest in-game universe.
Note: EVE Online costs $14.95/month to play
For more information about EVE Online or the people behind it, please visit these pages:
