Review Submitted By: Eddy Galuszka
Author Status: Player
Started on The Eternal City: Late 1999
Submission Date: Mar 10, 2006
TMC Listing: The Eternal City
The following review is the opinion of the review's author [Eddy Galuszka]
and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff.
Are you tired of stomping through Moria and battling orcs? Do you get
sick of combat that's so mundane and uncustomizable that you may as
well be playing Diablo? Well, I'd like to introduce you to a game
called The Eternal City.
The Eternal City is a roleplay enforced game which takes place in a
fictional Rome-like city called Iridine. Its culture, history, and
social structure mimic that of Rome as well. Unlike other roleplay
intensive games, The Eternal City does have a global channel, though
it is not OOC in nature. It's called the think-net, and not only is
it kept IC, the conversation is normally of extreme importance to the
gameworld.
Combat in the Eternal City is very advanced, with each individual
round of combat controlled by the person behind the keyboard. If you
want to jab with your gladius (sword) you can jab. If you want to
sweep with your stave, you can do so. And if you want to drive your
opponent to the ground, impaling through their entire body with your
spear, well you can do that too. Combat effectiveness is controlled
both by stats rolled when you first create your character, and skill
gained from the time you begin your combat training. Some weapons also
have different styles, offering you a variety of ways to fight using
the exact same weapon. Because of the depth of the combat system,
you'll never find two combatants exactly the same.
Is combat not your thing? No worries. The Eternal City also has a
number of non-combat skills to occupy you. My main character, Leafus,
is a hunter and outdoorsman. This means he can set traps, make
torches, even build crude shelters to protect him from the elements
and from animals he might encounter in the wild. There are also
skillsets for locksmithing, healing, and even tailoring. The Eternal
City also boasts the most advanced pickpocketing and thievery
mechanics on the entire web, and I stand by that. Working up your
skill in these works exactly like it does with combat, by actually
using the skills involved.
Do both of these sound fantastic to you, but you don't think you'll
be able to master all of them with one character? No worries there
either. All accounts to the Eternal City boast a number of OOC
features, including two characters per basic account. Not only that,
but for every hour you're logged into the Eternal City, you'll be
earning role-points, which you can spend on fun OOC items, in-game
skill points, items, character alterations, even custom attacks to
help you slay your foes.
Here we come to the bad news about The Eternal City. It is a pay to
play game, with a monthly cost of 12.95 USD. Keep in mind that there
is a 30 day free trial, with nothing required of you but your name and
an email address. This trial account won't only grant you access to
the Eternal City, but a whole slew of fun and intriguing games,
roleplay and otherwise. These include Grendel's Revenge, a game where
you play as a monster trying to protect your world against a human
invasion, and Ticket to Ride, a board game based upon building
railways around the United States and Europe. All in all, it's well
worth the money I've been paying in for the last few years.
I'm just asking you to stop in and give it a try. I'm sure you'll
be hooked in a matter of hours. If you want to include a referrel, my
account name is themanofwar. I'm a recruit for an organization called
the Divortium Auxilii, which exists completely to help those new to
the game. If you see me in the welcome area, or my character in game,
I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, as will any members
of the divortium auxilii. I hope you see you there!
