I played the demo for 1,5 hours.....
Well, I'm really REALLY disapponted.
The environments are empty and repetitive, monsters act like stupid robots, quests are all the same (go, kill the monster, take the item / go, kill this number of monsters, come back).
My impression was this is a MMORPG playable also in solo mode.
I found no atmosphere, no story, no sense of terror or other.
Alla the yhing resolves in killing and looting... without any other bonuses.

Diablo was far better, Sacred was far better...... sig.

And there are a lot of bugs....... The engine seems not well optimized, with gfx running slower or faster with no reaseon (I play the game all maxed out). There's no music (but perhaps this is a demo feature). I noted some pieces of the inventory interface stay on screen also when you close the inventory interface.
When leavin an area, the loading screen seems to freeze or stutters and I can hear my audio device changing from stereo to 5.1 like if it would be trying to resetting the audio.
The character locks on some moves or starts to slash his sword without stopping unless you exit and re-enter the game.
Teleportation device doesn't work..... if you use it you can go back to the base station but it's impossible to use the coonsole at the base station to go back to the place you were teleported from.
The skill system is terrible. I find the use of shift key often not so easy to use.

This game is still in terrible shape if we consider it should be released in 10 days.

Sorry but I wont buy it.
Really a DELUSION.

Ookay, so how many points you give it from 1 to 10 ?

Does this surprise you? And since its a mainstream game and gets tons of hype it will sellion tons of copies to the kiddies. Everything I have seen about this game points to it being a First Person Shooter and not an RPG so I have pretty much ignored it.

I'd say..... 4/10.
And yes, it's a FPS - hack 'n slash - with rpg elements.
But it lacks atmosphere. It's a big colored commercial box for kids, I agree.
Well, we'll wait to see The Witcher then

I'm happy they have released the Hellgate demo so I can save some money for something better.

Hmm, it seems that the phrase, "with rpg elements," is nowdays used for nearly every game that has at least a little emphasis on storytelling and has some character advancement (and it seems getting better weapons and maybe a few special powers is enough on this mark). I'm getting really tired of marketing people using "RPG" as a buzz word of sorts - "an FPS with RPG elements" or "an RTS with RPG elements" - especially as more often than not, these mythical "RPG elements" aren't really much from an RPG point of view (if there at all).

EDIT: Just to clarify. Gragnak, I was NOT talking about you in any way. I was talking about the computer games media and marketing reps. Just so you don't get me wrong.

Grue

No problem.
I understand perfectly.

I agree with you 100%.

Just noticed on RPGDot that the EULA states that they reserve the right to pretty much record any and transmit any information about your computer. http://www.rpgdot.com/index.php#55513

I was in beta it is very shallow and get old very quickly, trouble is after Oblivion they all want to jump on the bandwagon.

Yeah, I fear that Oblivion is going to be used as a model for "good" CRPGs by the big companies. The key words being easier and faster, which can be translated as dumber and shallower. This all IMHO, of course.

HGL isn't as bad as some might lead you to believe. I normally hate shooters, but I found this one compelling enough to finish.

You're right, the demo sucked. Well, its not so much that the full game is any different, its that the first 2 hours of HGL is boring as hell. You don't have enough time to figure out the system. You don't have enough time for the character progression and loot system to hook you.

I'll give you a list of reasons and facts about HGL that are often not considered.

1. The game has 5 acts. Each new act adds 2-3 new level tilesets. In the beginning, there are only about 3 tilesets. That can make the game seem a big more boring than it is later on.

2. The first 10 levels of any class are boring. You don't have enough skills to play the class as it was designed to be played. Most classes get their strongest tier of skills at level 10.

3. The game was released too early. Its a buggy mess. As of today patch 0.5 is being released. That should address most of the problems people are having. Bugs are bad sure enough, but at least they can be fixed and usually are fixed. The core game is still fun as hell.

4. A lot of people don't understand how the different systems in this game work. The skill system is not terrible. The use of the shift key is perfect (as is the context ctrl key). The inventory and craft system are very well done (despite what some reviews may claim). For example, the OP didn't understand that there are three different types of portals, a party portal that opens straight to a party member, a one way portal to town, and a town portal with return (PRD).

5. The story is awful. Ignore it completely and just play the game. Character progression, loot, and "fun" core gameplay is what HGL is about. If you expect more than you will be disappointed. The biggest thing this game suffers from is people's expectations.

I hadn't a clue this was even an RPG. While I don't follow PC gaming all that closely, I've seen many an ad for this in several magazines and watched a few videos over at IGN and I was under the impression this was a FPS ala modern Hexen or something.

While most of my gaming is on consoles, I usually only play RTS games and a smattering of RPGs on my computer (mainly sticking to Mac versions at that) it seems to me this game must have been marketed terribly (or maybe it was their intention) to have impressed apon me that it was solely another FPS. Now that I've investigated it some more, I can say my interest still isn't peaked all that much. The graphics look meh for todays big 3D games, and the free single pay MMO system is confusing as Phantasy Star's was. I'll go back and play some more diablo II thanks.

HG:L is a great game, if you like action RPGs. And the FPS view is only if you have a gun/guns equipped, and zoom all the way in. Playing as a guardian or blademaster (using melee weapons), the view is 3rd person.

It's got some bugs, (that it's getting a bad rap for) but the devs are working diligently to fix them. I believe a lot of people misunderstand what HG:L is supposed to be... it's basically Diablo 3 in the future. Anyone who knows Diablo knows it's all about the combat, loot, and character progression. Story and roleplaying are very secondary.

I am VERY much enjoying the game, primarily because I love first person shooters, and I love RPGs. In all my years of gaming, I can't think of a single game (aside from Deus Ex) that has so successfully combined the two.

I personally think it's even worse than that. Fallout 3 will set a new trend not likely to be welcomed on boards like these.

The new business model will be to release the game engine with a demo-length game (est. 20 hours for F0:3), then start pumping out the DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT! Whippee! I'm playing an RPG by subscription! And it's not even that good!

Obviously, Bethesda realized they didn't need to spend all that money making a 100 hour game. Work hard on the engine and set yourself up a cash cow that you can milk for 4 or 5 years.

The other Flagship Studios game Mythos. It's currently in closed beta but it's much more fun than I had playing HGL.

I really like the fast pace of the game.