Tuesday, 16 June 2020

Albion Online....


I'd seen a lot of adverts online for the game, pretty much straight after I viewed The Lazy Peon's review of the game. Cookies and marketing eh.


Between seeing the review, my need to play that type of game and seeing constant adverts reminding me about it I took the plunge this last week. Free is free after all. I tried it though steam on PC; As well as on Android to check out the multi-platform angle.

It's a game that really does have an older MMORPG feel to it. It reminds me of vanilla WoW. Specifically Albion's starter area reminds me of a busier if smaller cross between Elwynn ForestWestfall. Crossed with the playstyle of a Torchlight / Divinity game.

It's graphical style is one I really like. But the static camera angle is not my favorite; Objects that get in the way of that view become cut-away or see through.




The game is a good MMO; Like other games that are cross platform things are more basic. That lowest common denominator to cater to both PC and mobile players. So limited to abilities that fit on screen etc. It doesn't feel bad because of it. The game has some great systems and the UI is clean. Good as a quick game to get into, not overly complicated; Then as you level, your options/abilities open up. It does get more complex in a draw you in kind of way. Instead of having diect abilities more options are added by having the likes of weapons have a few bonus options that can be selected.



Starting off as an experienced MMO player I foun the tutorial fun and comical. A great tutorial that takes you through everything but not in an oppressive hand holding kind of way.
I'm not got a massive role player lean as MMO's go. Most of the time I'm clicking past the text to see the objective. I don't need to know the backstory of the forest when I'm being told to go cut down trees, skin foxes and mine lumps of ore. I'm glad it's all there as an option. The good thing about this game is that it knows most players are like that; So while it has some tongue in cheek moments, it's honest about it and role play's it as a professional while not breaking the 4th wall... Just bending it a bit. Which is nice to see.

The game is like a day one expansion for WoW, packed with so many players runnig about it's funny to see. Your not alone on that wrecked ship, apparently there were a few hundred survivors as well. Just funny to see.

What got to me the most was the grind. Even just the basics needed at the start of the tutorial. I found myself sighing at the chopping of those trees, skinning of those foxes and hammering of that ore. That's a me thing and probably still a holdover from WoW.... WoW has a lot to answer for. I guess I'm overly sensitive to game resource grinds. MMORPG is MMORPG after all. Maybe my need for such a game is really pointing me back to the Divinity and Torchlight style of games(hmmmmmm).....


I really like that you can wear any kind of armor. True mix and match.

Even with all the players about the respawn of the mobs and material generation was quick. No one that I saw was lacking anything to gather or having to camp spawn spots. Move from one tree to the next and by the time your done with the second the first had regenerated.
So a tree might have a total of 9 logs, you harvest 3 with one gathering action. The longer you leave (and it really doesn't take long) a resource(like a tree) the more it regenerates. So in the end a fully regenerated tess makes for less running about, it's a nice touch.


As is the resource processing. Not like WoW where you need to smelt all the ore one by one(at least in my day); here you go to the NPC and it all gets smelted down in one go, in a second. All resource processing cab be done that way. Really handy.


Which leads me back to the gathering and the amount of 'things' you need to reprocess to make items..... Grind is a grind no matter how it's presented.

I found myself being pushed away from the game because of the grind but pulled back to it because of it's broader gameplay; Which I found enjoyable. Swings and roundabouts as the saying goes.

The mobile version is not on the google play store and has to be directly downloaded from the official site as an apk file. At just shy of 1.4 GB it's not a small file(for some it is).
While the game is made for screens of 7" or larger I stayed with my phone which is 6.5" rather then try it on a Chromebook. Which was not a problem. Once downloaded it asked for an additional 743 MB of data to be downloaded. These things happen. Thankfully I have more space than I can shake a stick at so downloading all of  this was fine.


A few minutes later and it was working. Like most 'larger' more demanding games on phones it makes the phone run hot but noting out of the ordinary as far as I could see. Battery life seemed unaffected. That is until you whack up the video settings to Ultra; Then you'll need to move to the arctic circle and play outside..... OK maybe not that bad but it was noticeable in hand.



Going ultra would be for bigger screens and devices that can run it at +7" screen sizes.
Normal and medium settings were perfectly fine in both looks and gameplay for me.

On a phone where I'm going to be playing for short periods of time I really don't need that much fidelity in the graphics.

PC(day time):

Mobile(night time):

I can't see myself staying with the game on PC. I've too many other games on that platform that I'm more keen on. However as a mobile title I can see myself playing more of this. Stuck in a queue, travelling somewhere or just 'waiting' I can whip out the phone and adventure. I've probably just  jinxed that now.


While it's a game to mix and match what would be considered my standard classes; I still feel the need to create a more class specific character as a 'wizard'. More alts incoming. Then again I might get used to the mix and match.

I'm more comfortable with a keyboard and mouse but control options on the go work well. I've had no issues with it so far after an ever so slight adjustment to it.



Everything going from PC to mobile works the same, which is impressive in it's own right. Nothing felt different or out of place when changing platform.




One other thing I like is the open world looting system. If someone leaves their unskinned kill on the ground give it a minute and a timer will wear off and you'll be able to skin it. Another good system.


Of all the free MMO games this one strikes a cord with me in a traditional sense. Not to mention one I feel I can play on the go without PC. Not many of those about imho. It's a fun time filler that can be played super casual or as hardcore as you want.

Like I said at the start, free is free. It's worth a try at the very least.

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