The Brain Fart

I’ve been playing the game World War II Online (Battleground Europe) for about a month now. Considering that EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies are the only other MMO’s I’ve played saying that WWIIOL is like no other MMO I have played may not mean much. However, this is like no other MMO I have ever played.
The game is PvP only, meaning you will only fight against other players. There are a few exceptions, mainly the machine gun and AAA emplacements around towns and bases. Also, there are no enhancements or “buffs” like you will find in other games. In SWG it was not uncommon for PvP encounters to take 30+ minutes due to various enhancements, armor, regeneration rates, and generally low damage output. Not so for WWIIOL. A PvP encounter (which is all encounters) is counted is seconds, sometimes microseconds. Many times my personas have died without even knowing what hit them.
There is no character development in this game; there are no professions or classes. Instead, you have “personas”, one for each branch of the three sides’ militaries. The only real character advancement is through gaining rank, which allows you to use more advanced equipment and weapons. For example, at Recruit (the very first rank) just about the only thing you can use is a rifle. But, at Sergeant you can use Sub-Machine guns, be a sapper, and drive just about all the available tanks or airplanes. For many players this lack of character development will be too limiting. But, if you’re looking for a straight PvP fight do you care if you’re a level 90000 Mage who can make his own potions, build his own armor, and still wield a sword, or do you just want to go kill some shit? If you just wanna kill stuff, then this is the game for you.

Cornered Rat Software, the people who make the game, are re-releasing the game this month in Europe and in the January – February time frame in the US. I strongly urge anyone that may read this to get this game and give it a try. You may just like it. Only, if you do get the game, play allied and join the 101st Airborne. Ahem, a shameless plug for the squad I joined. Just tell ‘em rlnolan sent you. And that you want to be an Airborne Ranger and live a life of danger…

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