These are not my reviews just some of the reviews i found online... I will post my review as a comment below these reviews. Please feel free to leave your review of entropia universe as a comment.
--Gameplay
Project Entropia has been an ever updating game since 1995. It will have continued updating every month, and this game is free if you want it to be. You don't have to pay any monthly bills to keep playing this game online. It's all free if you are willing to work harder, but you can deposit money into the game which will make the game progress much faster and make everything much easier. The money in the game is called PED's (Project Entropia Dollars). These PED's can also be exchanged back into real money (yes, it does sound like a plan to make money off of a video game doesn't it?). The game is like other MMORPG's, you start off with nothing, build your way up, level up in many different categories. You first collect sweat which is a measly way of making money but it's one of the few choices you have. You can also be a runner for a hunter who needs some distraction on the animals that they hunt. There are many things you can do in this game, you can become a Mindforce user, a Hunter, a Tailor, or a Miner with sub-categories within each of them as well. The object basically seems to be that you HAVE to make money.
--Story
There isn't an exact story to this game but, it is still building it seems. There are animals, creatures, mutants, and robots that co-exist in this world alongside the humans. Some humans are a part of a society or protection force that helps protect others by battling robots that attack. There are alarms in some forts and cities that will go off if there is an attack, but I have not experienced this yet. This game is mainly based around what you want your character to be, and what you want to do. In the end, everything comes back to how you make money.
--Audio/Video
The game's video quality is actually quite good, it needs a video card that can support DX9 or is fully compatible with it. It is in 3D like Everquest, and I think the graphics are really close as well. The music in the game can be sometimes monotonous or just annoying, but you can go to some bars in the game and choose which songs you want to hear from the game. The graphics are pretty good, but many games now surpass it.
--Replayability
Of course, like all other MMORPG's, this game's replayability is up there, as long as you have the money, but you could play forever and still not complete what you were set out to do. You get one Avatar (character) per account. This game will eat up a lot of time and if you don't have it, don't plan on getting very far very fast. You will get addicted to this game and eventually, feel as though you have to deposit money in. Again, this game is all about what you want to do with your life inside this game. Everything is your choice if you have PED's.
--Opinions
I think that this game just tries to scam you out of your money. I have heard many things about how long it takes to actually take money out of the game. I have also heard things where people who have made over $10,000 on the game, weren't allowed to withdraw the whole amount but only a fraction of it. This game is good and all, but it it's too much about money, that people start turning on other people because of it. If you like money and have always thought of yourself as an entrepreneur, then this game is for you. Otherwise, find some other online RPG even if it means paying monthly.
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Planet Calypso is a part of the Entropia Universe, a series of not-quite MMORPGs that largely fit the PlayStation Home/Second Life suite of games that allow you to play minigames, explore, socialize and dress up your character in interesting ways. Planet Calypso, however, IS a full-blooded Sci-Fi MMORPG, but the transition seems to have caused more than a few problems. There are good points as well, of course, but it’s the limitations of the system that really stand out. Planet Calypso (and the rest of the Entropia games) label themselves as The Real Money MMOs, and with good reason. But is it just a scam? Is it worth jumping aboard a spaceship and travelling to some distant planet? We played to find out.
Landscape – Planet Calypso is designed in CryEngine 2, and it shows. Although, as you’ll see below, I was a little underwhelmed by the rather average character models, it is the locations that will really blow you away. Whether it’s snowy mountains (complete with a constant stream of fresh snow) or elsewhere, you’ll see sights that will leave you open-mouthed.
Community – Whenever I’ve had trouble with a control or with a mission, there’s been someone willing to help. I’ve really never seen anything like it. Without asking, without even looking especially stuck, somebody would pop along to see if I needed help with something (editor: too many GM's or what?). Despite everything I say below, this is an MMO worth playing for the friendly people alone.
Real Money MMO – Planet Calypso, like everything else in the Entropia Suite, allows you to both pay in and withdraw real money. This means two things: you can use real money to buy your way through the game, but you can also work towards withdrawing a profit. The idea of making money playing games is plastered all over the Entropia websites and that glimmer of hope is no doubt a big part of people playing this game.
I can safely say that you’re more likely to pay to play this game than you are to make a profit. While researching this game, I saw somebody explain the benefit of a real world economy: “to get the most you’ll want to spend and spend, but you’ll enjoy just spending a little as well.”
Blot on the Landscape – While there are some genuinely pretty locations, Planet Calypso also has some genuinely horrible looking graphics, mostly in regards to the character models. They look generally undetailed and a bit blocky, but on top of that the movement animations are pretty terrible as well.
Point and Click – The control system is one of the very worst I’ve ever come across in an MMO. Most of the actions you will perform are set to a menu which opens with the right mouse button. This is a result of the game being a spin-off from the other Entropia planets – things less based on the MMORPG – but it ends up being pretty gamebreaking I think, if only because it means immersion is non-existent.
Glitches Galore – Planet Calypso has crashed my system no less than three times, and I’m thinking people with lower end computers will really have a problem with this. Keep in mind that I play Metro, Crysis and more on at least almost their highest settings without issue. Add to that that sometimes missions can be a little wonky and you’re left wondering where things have gone wrong. I was sat in my vehicle when one of the crashes occurred and I haven’t had access to it since. Hmmm….
Conclusion - Planet Calypso
Planet Calypso is an MMORPG not built in an engine that can really handle an MMORPG. As a result, you end up playing something not unlike PlayStation Home, where you feel the developers have done a fairly good job putting a game together under the limitations of the system, but that those limitations don’t necessarily fit in a good game. The graphics are stunning at times, but the glitches you may face more than balance the good with the bad, and the story/quest system isn’t enough to keep you there. If you’re expecting to receive your first cheque after a few hours playing, you’ll also be sorely disappointed.
Like everything, this is a real money economy where the house always wins.
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I was staying away from Massively Multiplayer Online games because I knew that they can eat a lot of your free time. But all that changed for me on Saturday November 13, 2010. I opened Yahoo, and there I saw it: “Gamer makes a cool half-million by selling virtual property;” an article about a gamer who bought a virtual asteroid in Planet Calypso in Entropia Universe for $100,000 real US dollars, and few years later sold it for $635,000 USD. Incredibly, he made a lot of money just by playing a game.
Entropia Universe is a virtual world with a real cash economy, meaning that every item in the game cost real money and you can sell it for real US dollars. My first reaction was “crazy rich people,” but I was curious enough to download the game later that day and create my virtual mini me. Virtual property, virtual money and making money sitting on your PC may seem strange to ‘normal’ people, but trading and making money in such a manner has been happening just like this for years. EU currency is known as Project Entropia Dollar, or PEDs, and just like currency in other virtual worlds, PEDs can be withdrawn from the game, converted to real world money, and deposited into a linked bank account.
Entropia Universe is free to play (until you decide to deposit) with no monthly fee, so I elected to explore this new world right away. I was so impressed by the game that first day that I played until 3 a.m. the next morning, beginning in the starting area — an island where I had to complete a few missions designed to teach game play. This aspect of the game has been improved, but even at that time, it was enough to grab me. The graphics are powered by CryEngine 2, allowing for incredible realism, especially for a Massively Multiplayer Online game with huge areas to explore and thousands of people playing at the same time.
During my second day in EU I realized that I had many questions, so I joined a very helpful society called, “The Knights of Calypso.” The group helped me discover new towns in the game, answered all my questions, and I even received many items as free gifts. I was amazed that these people were setting me up with things that normally cost real money, yet they were giving them away to strangers. I found the social aspect of EU to be very surprising, as well as the friendliness amongst the player
While the beautiful landscapes are the first things that new players notice, the real reason I enjoy playing Entropia Universe month after month, year after year, is the complexity of the game and the freedom granted players to do whatever they want. Players can hunt creatures, kill robots, drive or fly vehicles, drill the ground for resources, manufacture armor and weapons, explore, even kill other players and loot them. There are four planets now and two more coming soon. So, with the space between them and the huge area to explore, it’s impossible to become bored. Moreover, professions within the game are an option — taxi driver, shop owner, hairstylist, medic, trader, or almost anything else that players create for the purpose of earning money within the game.
If I had to choose just one word to describe Entropia Universe it will be “challenging.” While participating in games with monthly fees, there may not be as much concern regarding how a player interacts with the world; however, in EU bad decisions can potentially cost real money, or conversely, smart decisions can make real money. I believe that because everything is ultimately based upon real money, players are more mature and responsible than in other games that I have tried. My interest in the commerce within EU eventually led me to purchase two shops so I could begin to sell goods to other players, which has provided me with some valuable experience in money trading.
As far as game-play, my personal record in lucrative achievements is a $40 USD Gazzurdite Stone from one hit on October 16, 2011, on Planet Arkadia. Incredibly, there are players who have been able to kill a creature or drill resources worth $20,000 USD. Other games set goals where high scores, like one millions points, or require certain achievements in order to gain rewards. In EU, my goal is to eventually acquire $20,000 USD and buy a car — maybe even become a headline in a Yahoo news article, like “another person gets rich playing video games.” Other personal long-term goals are: create a role-playing society where everyone can take a position; own property on every planet in the game; and be able to craft my own armor and weapons.
I would encourage anyone who enjoys adventure, challenge, and online gaming to check out Entropia Universe. And keep reading the Metaverse Tribune — I’ll be providing updates and sharing my experiences here every week!
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Nice article that pretty much tells it as it is and not from the point
of view of someone that lost thousands of dollars playing the game,
It's like poker machines, if your stupid and spend all your money in
them thinking you are going to get rich then you have no one to blame
but yourself and you also can't take the views of someone who luckily scored a 20k US dollar mining claim as they are both biased for different reasons.
The way you described the game was exactly how i felt when i first
logged in around 5 years ago, yes you can play for free by sweating,
finding fruit, stones and trading once you have a nice little stash of
peds but you can also go nuts and spend a lot of money on things.
Personally i couldnt stand the free way of playing for more than a month as the time it took to build peds was long and i could earn more by working some extra hours in real life for my EU play money.
It all depends on what you are willing to pay for your entertainment and
what challenges you want from a game, if you wish to be the highest
level in a few weeks or months then this game is not for you, this game
takes years to become a legend in your own mind
but unlike most games
if you play for 3 years then someone joining later will indeed need 3
years to catch up to you if they were to play at the pace you set for
yourself and that is what i liked about EU... not everyone is a General or Maxxed level player.. infact hardly anyone is.
Most of the nightmare money losing stories are just people chasing the
big payout and if you avoid that way of playing and let what comes come naturally then you will enjoy yourself and the challenge of making it in EU.
On the other side of the coin if you have lots of spare cash you can jump a few rungs of the ladder by being able to afford items out of the reach of many players, you would be astounded at the prices of some of the items believe me, some of the amounts are insane and out of control and everyone wants prices to fall but.. at the same time they hope they loot one of these ultra expensive items.
So yes you can lose a shedload of cash in the game.. if you arent careful as with everything in life you have to have moderation and play within your means and if you do become one of the lucky ones then by all means go crazy
Hope to see you soon in the game, give it a try and judge for yourself... i did.
I havent made any money and i havent gotten rich, in fact im down on the amount i have deposited which is around the same as a family car over the five years i have played but i have items and equipment that is worth almost the same as a family car if i was to sell them (at the moment anyway) and most of all ive had a blast playing the game, met some nice people and best of all get to wander around for days never seeing anyone as i mine. hunt & craft... it's nice to have some me time
goodluck and say gday if you see me ingame if you end up trying it.
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