Written Spring 2007


Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
First Impressions

With gaming giants like World of Warcraft and Everquest II looming over the massively multiplayer online role playing game (referred from here on out as MMOs) genre, it may seem as though no other contender could make its mark. Out of the dust, however, comes Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. From the mind of Brad McQuaid, one of the original creators of Everquest, the first of the third generation of MMOs has arrived. As with most games of any genre, and most certainly for MMOs including Vanguard, first impressions are key: they show their players exactly what they are getting in to in the first moments of gameplay. Vanguard shines a new – and quite overdue – light upon the genre in its opening levels and first impressions are in nearly every category, without exaggeration, some of the best the genre has ever seen.
As with all MMOs, Vanguard opens with character creation. The menus here are straightforward and quite easy to navigate. One click of the mouse and selection begins. Vanguard boasts nineteen different races and fifteen classes – the most of any MMO to date. Each race has its own detailed history, lore, and bonuses, which makes every character feel entirely unique. From here a server is selected and character customization begins. Vanguard shines in this department, with an unprecedented sixty physical characteristics to edit and create including brow size, nose flare, eye tilt, and many, many more. There are “quite literally millions of different customization features that guarantee [a player] will never run across another character in the game that looks identical” (Brydges). Vanguard starts off on the right foot – beautifully modeled and endlessly customizable characters to fill a world befitting their fates.

Once a character is complete, it is time to enter the world of Telon. A large page is immediately displayed that explains the history and lore of the chosen character and beyond this reside a few pop-up windows which explain the basic controls. Most is self explanatory, using the ever familiar “wsad” keys, but for a player new to the genre, these blurbs are of upmost importance. The player now finds himself in a small city, a conflict, or in some other fantastical situation – each race having a very unique starting zone. This is much more fulfilling than most MMOs, which simply plop you down and tell you “go!” An ever familiar quest giver, marked with a floating shield, explains your current situation and gives you a basic quest. This is where Vanguard truly shines. Unlike most opening quests in other MMOs, Vanguard makes its players truly feel as though they are actually having an impact on the game world. There are no “kill x boars and bring back x hides” in these ever important opening quests. They instead range from having a character talk to and inspire a group of soldiers, to finding a hidden treasure chest, and to purifying a lake of its evil essences. There are a few scattered “kill x” quests, but they are – surprisingly – formidable foes, unlike other games that start their players off with rats, boars, and bumble bees (Everquest, World of Warcraft, and Final Fantasy XI, respectively). Moving from quest to quest, the player begins to learn more about his world and its turmoil. Story here is incredibly impressive, and adds tons of content and role playability. Quests are often linked and add snippets of story after each leg is completed. These are very unique and compelling, as well as different. One opening, level three quest has a player find an enemy’s secret plans. In the next leg, the player causes a distraction in the enemy’s encampment. The player then fights his way through a small dungeon, and lastly, the final quest has the player recover a poison that’s been tainting a Wood Elves’ lake – referring back to multiple quests prior to this chain. Unlike nearly every other game in the genre, Vanguard gives its players what they want early on: fun quests, a feeling of importance, incredible lore, and even dungeons – something other games only have for mid to high level players. By level seven, a Kojan Human will have completed one large, group based dungeon. By level eleven, a Kojan Raki will have participated in two solo dungeons and two group dungeons – one of which has literally hours of content to complete. Vanguard immediately starts a player in a fun, engaging, and unique environment, with tons of content and a variety of playing styles. Promise of more enjoyment, which most certainly follows, makes the player only crave more and more of Vanguard’s offerings. Vanguard’s content and game play certainly leaves its players with a grand impression of what is to follow.

Combat, adventuring, and the game’s user interface (UI) are fairly standard as far as MMOs are concerned, with a few exceptions that make Vanguard a third generation MMO. Adventuring is standard: a player completes quests, fights, and raids in order to gain experience. What differs here from your run-of-the-mill online game are the other two “spheres,” as they are called in Vanguard. Vanguard has three separate adventuring spheres, which a character will be introduced to in the first few hours of playing: crafting, diplomacy, and adventuring. A player will have three different levels, one for each sphere. This allows any player to specialize in whatever sphere, or combination of spheres, he desires. Adventures will take combative quests, crafters will fill “work orders” for themselves or as crafting quests, and diplomats will participate in a never-before-seen card game within Vanguard that handles diplomatic battles between diplomats and their adversaries. Combat, as the main sphere of focus, fits in with the online niche. A character auto attacks a foe and mixes in specialized, learnable abilities to keep combat interesting, strategic, and enjoyable. The addition of what Vanguard calls “chained” and “responsive” attacks is what makes combat so thrilling and unique. Above a character’s hot-bar (a bar located at the bottom of the screen that displays a character’s special abilities) a set of chainable and responsive abilities waits to be used. Certain attacks, abilities, and counters will allow a player to respond with these specials. Like Final Fantasy XI’s chains, chain and responsive attacks can be linked with fellow group mates to deal upmost damage or cause status effects. These abilities are made available early on in a character’s life, between levels six and eight, so they are able to get a taste of things to come. The game’s UI, which is also quite standard and comparable to World of Warcraft’s, is unique in that it is entirely customizable. This allows a player to maximize their gameplay by creating a UI that suits themselves, much like Everquest II. All this, made available in the first few levels of a character’s career, only adds to the yearning and addictive qualities that make an MMO not only desirable, but successful. So many options and ways to play the game leave the player with a solid outlook on how the game will play out.

Graphically speaking, Vanguard is simply breathtaking. The first scenes a character beholds reveal what Vanguard is all about and leave the player with the impression the game clearly portrays: Vanguard is simply stunning. The “detailed enemy skins and environmental effects such as snow and rain round off this game as being graphically enjoyable and addictive.” With the ability to see five kilometers in all directions, the chance to visit European, Middle Eastern, and Asian inspired landscapes, and the prospect of truly being able to go to whatever landmark you see makes Vanguard not only impressive, but allows it to stand out from the last-gen games. From textures to models, Vanguard stands out as one of the best looking MMOs on the market or soon coming to the market. From the moment a player logs in, he will behold the beauty Vanguard displays.

First impressions are crucial. In a world of subscription games, first impressions are doubly as important. Vanguard not only reaches out to players, but once they begin to experience what Vanguard has to offer, they will be drawn in to stay. From the graphical beauty to the multiple play styles, to the opening quests and stories, Vanguard leaves a powerful impression on its players, making them yearn for more. What IGN calls an “evolutionary” game, Vanguard is able to leave a positive impression on its audience and has achieved an amazing stance in its first few hours of gameplay (Patrizio). With “quests that are usually more than FedEx adventures, and a combat engine that adds several layers to what [the MMO market has seen] so far... it's incredibly hard not to recommend Vanguard”(Fisher). Vanguard gives its players a strong excuse to subscribe and truly lives up to its motto of “set yourself free.”