EVE Online Review

The awareness of the size of the Universe is not accessible to everyone, for the first time many people start to guess something when watching some scenes from Star Wars - the Death Star explodes, metal flies in all directions, and then you suddenly realize that the wreckage will not sink and will never settle on bottom, because there is no bottom, the universe is limitless. This “discovery” can be overwhelming, but until you try EVE Online, you have no idea how amazing life in space can be. And do not be fooled, this is not a game - this is real life in space.

Star Trek, Star Wars, and related films allow you to take a quick look at the life of a person in the galaxy, but only EVE Online takes you to this world where you will have to fight for a place in the sun, choose your path and try leave a mark on history.

Space and EVE Online have no limits. No boundaries. No pity for the loners. The game has more than seven thousand star systems, the journey between which can take hours of real time. The universe is huge, boys and girls, and the word "huge" - can’t even close describe the scope of this game. The Sims have nothing to do with this game, but if you need an alternative life, but life in space, you have found what you were looking for.


According to the plot of the game, mankind colonized a galaxy, in which it became closely long before the spatial anomaly was discovered, which allowed the colonization of other galaxies. Fearing the closure of the wormhole (not in vain), scientists constructed a portal for intergalactic travel. An inexplicable phenomenon led to a cataclysm that destroyed the portal and cut off thousands of settlements in another galaxy that were forced to fight for life on their own. After thousands of years of isolation, five independent nations formed, each with its own unique evolutionary features.

This is where the game begins. You create a character belonging to one of four game nations. But this does not mean that you just choose a race, class and get down to business. Instead, you are offered one of the best alter ego creation systems, which perfectly shows the depth of the entire game. First you choose a race, which will give you some strengths and weaknesses, depending on your choice. Then you determine your origin, education, work, which determine your skills. You should carefully consider this process, because the choice will have a serious impact on your alternative life, at least in its early stages. In the end, expect to spend at least 20 minutes creating a character, not counting the appearance settings.

Every nuance, from the height of the cheekbones and eye color to the shape of the head and the location of the camera with which your character will be displayed, all this is completely determined by the player. The only disappointment is that you rarely see your avatar, and other players can turn off the broadcast from your “camera”. Of course, the process of creating an appearance cannot be called a waste of time, but I would like to see this face more often.


Finally, your life begins in space. And this is really life. As you might expect after a detailed character creation, EVE Online offers you unlimited possibilities for character development and endless travel space. Unlike, say, the Freelancer game, which offered an impressive, but limited set of story and side missions, EVE Online opens up a universe of vacancies, from standard to enchantingly unusual. Work for the corporation as a courier or mercenary, carry out the tasks of agents, start your production business, research and trade drawings, become a pirate or dig ore on asteroids so that even Stakhanov is proud of you. If you can imagine any work in space - this is in EVE Online. Researchers, pirates, scientists, engineers, politicians, mercenaries, security guards,

Ironically, this is where the first and main “rake” is found - for the mass consumer, EVE Online may be too large. Crowd Control Productions (CCP) undeniably created the largest, most dynamic and interactive version of outer space. A player can spend several hours on a flight from system to system, but this will surely seem to someone an unacceptably long journey. However, this is the harsh reality of the EVE universe, in which the player begins with almost nothing and it may take many hours to achieve the first serious benefits.


Fortunately, the time has passed when EVE Online newcomers had to dig cheap ore for a week to buy their first good ship. Now the game has a quick training course, at the end of which you will receive your first good “vessel”. However, this does not mean that you can’t just dig asteroids, process ore and make something useful from the materials received. Although it’s better to postpone this lesson to a more appropriate time, when you learn a number of useful skills, get good equipment and a company of assistants. For example, while someone is mining ore, another player with a large ship can take it to the station for processing, which will give each participant in the operation great financial and technological benefits, which alone would be achieved much later. This is an example of the amazing realism of EVE,

You can speed up the development process by collaborating with large NPC and player corporations. And as in any RPG, with the development of the character and the receipt of new things, the game becomes more interesting and exciting every day exponentially. However, at first it will be necessary to tolerate, though only if there are no friends in the game - experienced players are always ready to help newcomers and take them under the wing of their corporation.


By the way, about corporations of players (a topic for many volumes of research). Here, EVE Online is especially intense in blurring the line between reality and the game. Politics, wars, espionage ... all this goes far beyond the game client and makes what is happening in the game incredibly reliable and realistic.

The local economic model is also striking in its realism - a dynamic market works according to all the laws of the real economy, it is even studied by real scientists and economists. Prices at stations fluctuate depending on supply and demand, they are affected by wars and disasters, blockades and speculation. Almost all virtual goods are produced by players, and the share of NPC production is constantly decreasing.

What can I say, even a banal learning of skills (replacing the experience system in EVE) takes place here in real, not game time. For example, if a skill is studied 36 hours, it will literally be studied 36 hours. True, you can not worry, the process continues even when your character is not in the game.


EVE Online is controlled by a menu system, which is very similar to the standard interfaces of Windows-programs, a serious difference from space simulators. But, in the end, you are not a simple pilot, you are a captain and really give commands, and do not put pressure on the "pedal". Instead of the “forward” button, you indicate the destination with the mouse or configure autopilot. Windows can be minimized, and you will undoubtedly appreciate it, since you are guaranteed to want nothing to block the fantastic beauty of the game graphics.

You think that a game released in 2003, by definition, cannot please with its picture. However, it is not for nothing that CCP is considered one of the best companies in the MMO market - developers constantly release free large-scale add-ons to the game and, among other things, maintain the graphics at the level of modern standards. Therefore, regardless of whether you want to live in the world of EVE, you will certainly want to at least stay there for several weeks if you like science fiction. The game is simply mesmerizing with its graphics. From bright nebulae to detailed ships and moving anomalies - the picture in this game is one of the best available on the computer. And the fact that this beauty represents the gigantic world of multiplayer games allows you to put a monument to the creators of the most reliable and convincing world in which you believe.

The game contains details such as asteroids that begin to glow under the influence of mining rays, wreckage of a ship, jets of flame shunting engines, colorful explosions ... and, of course, planets. It's all in an adult way, but words can’t describe it - it’s better to see it once.


And where there is graphics, there is sound. All that can be said about the sound - it is made well and perfectly harmonizes with the picture. The music is perfectly matched, the sounds are realistic, and the noise at the stations allows you to feel in a crowded place. The game has the ability to change melodies, but there is no reason to do this - they are good. There are all the main genres of electronic music: Industrial, Trance, Ambient, DnB ... Since we are talking about sound, it's time to take stock.

If you work, then you may not like the fact that in your cosmic life you will have to work hard. Of course, provided that you grow your character to an adult level. However, EVE Online is the most ambitious project on the market. It is technologically difficult to surpass this game, because all the characters are simultaneously on the same server. This is the largest and most populous gaming universe on our edge of the galaxy. This simulator of fantastic life in the distant future captivates and scares with its dynamic economy and unlimited freedom of action. And the only thing that bothers us is that the game is too real. As practice shows, only the most seasoned players can fully unlock the potential of EVE. But those who are patient enough will have an unforgettable experience. And if you are married

PS: The editors are not responsible if during the game you forget about real life. For example, about food, sleep and shower.

Verdict: 9/10 (Great!)