HG-L Great Potential and Super graphics = Better than Average Game

User Rating: 8 | Hellgate: London PC
Hellgate London has huge potential for RPGers that are tired of MMOs and want a more personal and less social game. When setting up my first toon, I realized that this was a game that one could spend years playing WITHOUT paying the subscription fees. It is awesome to find a game that has so much potential play time without having to pay a monthly fee to keep the gaming experiance going. I think that MMORPGs are great, but I think that with the coming financial problems, it is great that gamers have a viablle option that doesn't take money away from the family budget each month.
I am fortunate to have a computer that has DX 10 graphics, and I have played this game in both DX 9 and DX 10. Yes, the first thing you will notice (using DX 10) is the depth and 'shine' the toons and environments have, this is a great game to showcase the improvements DX 10 has made in gaming, However, once you switch to DX 9 you will find that the game repsonds better and moves much more freely. I must admit, that when I switched to DX 9, I was still very impressed with the look of the game and even more impressed with the lack of 'lag' and and loading times. Playing HG-L in either DX 10 or DX 9 you will find the graphics in this game are very detailed and and are not 'cartoonish' as we see in so many RPGs and MMORPGs. I think that the game developers have really worked hard, and succeded in giving this game the best that current technology has to offer.
On the 'downside', the single player game does feel more than a little bit 'linier'. Now, I am not talking Doom 3 'riding a rail' linier, but if you are used to open worlds (like WOW) you will find the game progession and exploration very limited. As well, talking with the NPCs in this game can be more than just a little confusing and anticlimatic. After the super opening movie, one would excpect there to be more 'plot' for all the talking that these NPCs are ingaged in. Most of the NPC dialoge can be skipped and one can figure out, with ease, where to go and what to do without sitting and reading each and every word the NPC rattles off to you. A few of the NPCs talk in such a way as that they do not make any sense and seem to ramble on and on about nothing of importance at all. One that I have encountered seems to be suffering from some sort of mental illness that makes talking to him slightly more fun than having teeth pulled.
I wouldn't go so far as giving this game a 'Must Buy' rating, but if you are a gamer that is trying to wean off WOW.. or are going through MMO withdrawl, this game will help to you cross back from MMO to RPG.