Let me preface this by saying that I've been playing the game for under a year now and have generally enjoyed my time. Nevertheless, this is my attempt of an unbiased review of CyberAssault and not as a fanboy.
Let's start with some of the negative things CyberAssault does wrong so we can get those out of the way and focus on the positives. Many of these negaives are also positives, as I'll explain.
1. No organizations or clans. While the playerbase may not be large enough to support such a feature, it would still be nice to have the option as I have talked to several players that have been interested in the feature.
2. No vehicles. This is a post-apocalyptic world and the perfect chance to ride around in motorbikes or even tanks. No such mechanisms exist, but it's possible one is in the planning stages.
3. Taxi Cabs. Taxi cabs are a very nice feature and it gives the illusion of riding the taxi to many different areas of the mud, negating the need for directions (it's not a vehicle you can drive). Unfortunately the time it takes to hail a cab is excruciatingly long. Player complaints of this feature have fallen on deaf ears, the reasoning being the taxis are a luxury,and they really are since you don't have to walk to places. It would still be nice to cut the wait time in half and it wouldn't lessen any of the fun.
4. Immortals. The immortals are generally laid back and cool. They follow the spirit of the law, well until they decide they don't want to any more. Then you just have to hope your punishment is light and fair, and sometimes it's not.
5. Progression skills. A while back, the class and skill system was completely revamped into more of a skill tree. While great in theory, this gave many classes the same skills, limiting the uniqueness of classes to a few select skills and class-specific equipment. For examples, borgs are almost identical to mercernaries, save a few skills and pieces of equipment. To combat this, there was a plan to create progression classes and progression skills. While I'm sure this is still (hopefully) in the works, this has turned into a 'vaporware' type situation. At the moment, the only reason for remorting is equipment (and a few stat points).
6. The world. The game employs many exit loops to give the appearance of a larger area, which I'm never a fan of. The world in general is small. This is a work in progress as they are adding new areas all the time.
7. Cities. The main city's name is Motown, as in R & B music Motown. To this day, I have no idea why they decided to put a musical name on a post-apocalyptic sci-fi town.
8. Map. The ascii map is the standard tbamud map and is buggy, but it's better than no map.
9. Money. Money is fun to collect and easy, but there's not a whole heck of a lot to spend it on after you make your first half of billion.
Positives
1. Taxis and transporters and scripts. For people that don't know directions, taxis and also transporters (and rift tower) can help teleport you to the area of your desire. This can save time and frustration. As I said earlier, taxis are also a good feature. LOFTCO vending machines are your best friend starting out. I absolutely LOVE LOFTCO vending machines.
2. Equipment. The equipment system with all the different stats make for very interesting equipment combinations. This is probably one of the greatest features of the game and has a real 'wow' effect.
3. Holiday quests. Holiday quests occur just about every holiday, an attestment to the immortals' dedication and fondness for players. Most of the quests are creative and enjoyable.
4. Quests. While some regular quests offer no clues on how to complete them and have harsh penalties, many of them are also very good.
5. Quest points. Probably my favorite form of currency, questpoints are hard to come but they buy the best equipment in the game. Gather enough qps and you can create custom equipment to really deck out your character. Most players shoot for custom equipment.
6. The areas. The areas are pretty creative.
7. Restrings. This is now an automated feature that players can perform if they find a rare restring ticket. This allows you to change the name of any equipment.
8. Immortals. Generally laid back and very helpful to new players. Gahan is a riot to talk with, Bossstone is probably the friendliest, and Warblade is the most helpful to new players.
9. GUNS GUN GUNS. One of the coolest features, the ranged combat is complex behind the scenes, yet simplified when it comes out on the screen. Guns and ammo are very cool.
10. Explosives and sniping. If you have a sniping gun, you can snipe a mob in a different room. Likewise, you can lay mines on the ground and trigger the mobs to walk into them and explode. You can also drop grenades, just leave the room before they explode! Every now and again a player will step into your mob trap. It's a complete riot.
11. Coding. When the coder gets going, he can put in some of the best features you'll find on any mud. The trick is getting him motivated.
12. Bionics. Bionics are implanted pieces of equipment that give your character additional bonuses.
These are just a few features that I enjoy and the game contains many more that I haven't mentioned. Overall I can declare CyberAssault to be an enjoyable ride. If you're looking for a different flavor than the standard fantasy dwarf slashing mud, give CyberAssault a try. You may just find guns to be more fun than swords.
Use the following form to submit your comment. Please keep in mind these guidelines: