Vanguard (Score 1)

I don't like that SirBruce openly admitted he didn't get a good look at Vanguard yet hazarded an opinion anyway which seems to have gotten some notice. For people who have actually been paying attention to alot of the highly innovative systems being put into this game, his review is almost laughable. Most people's concern with this game is that it won't cater to the casual gamer. That is correct. The casual gamer is not the only kind of gamer out there, yet they've been getting the most attention lately with WoW and EQ 2, two games which many gamers are already BURNED OUT on. Brad McQuaid's decision to hit up the "core gamer" crowd comes to alot of relief to us. Most of us are core gamers; people who like a challenge, but we also have a life. Don't expect this to be a power gamer's game. The reason I'm looking forward to Vanguard are many and widespread. They're going back to handcrafted content, something that developers are losing sight of lately. They're going back to group play, another thing developers seem to be losing sight of. If I want to play a game alone, I will. They're introducing alot of new fun-factored systems like their encounter-like harvesting system and crafting skill-up system. New spheres of play; diplomacy. New methods of encounter control; encounter routes. And by far the most exciting thing I've heard come from a game to date; the perception system, which will affect everything from grouping, to travel, to skills. So frankly, Sir Bruce needs to actually gain an informed look at a game before he starts spouting his opinions on them, or he's going to lose credibility.