Disclaimer: I am a null-security space player, but to ensure the most objective and unbiased review I will be writing about EVE: Online from the new player perspective.
About EVE: Online
Trailer for the Citadel expansion
EVE: Online is an MMORPG set in the distant future. Players pilot spaceships in a sandbox-like environment, interacting with other players, NPCs, and the galaxy’s natural resources all in the same instance. This unique premise of having every player on the same instance has led to some records of truly epic proportions, with thousands of real people showing up for battles like those seen at the system M2-XFE, known for totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in space carnage.
The Story of EVE
Artist's Rendition of the Capsuleer
The EVE Universe has lots of depth to its lore, both in-game and in external publications. From everyday occurrences like abandoned relic sites and mission agents to existential dealings with the formation of the empires, there’s a little bit of wonder to be found in every nook and cranny of the game. That’s not even including the extensive history of EVE’s player-led groups over its two decades of history!
According to EVE legend, humanity’s necessity for expansion beyond Earth led to the discovery of the EVE Gate, a giant wormhole connecting the Milky Way to the in-game universe New Eden. Expansion followed rapidly, and humans began their (slow but sure) colonization of New Eden.
Unfortunately, all good things must eventually come to an end. The collapse of the EVE Gate severed the connections between the colonies and the homeworlds that sustained them, plunging the survivors into a dark age of chaos and calamity. From then on, only those with the most superior technology would truly be able to lay claim to any group or territory.
Enter the capsule: a miracle-like piece of hardware introduced by the Jovian race that allows its encapsulated commander, the capsuleer, to control all aspects of the ship through thought alone. Capsuleers operate through clones, giving them the ability to operate in the most dangerous of situations and battles without fear of death. Players of EVE: Online play exclusively as Capsuleers, the undisputed rulers of the galaxy in the modern age.
EVE: Online’s Gameplay
Official gameplay and feature showcase
As a capsuleer, players control their ship by giving it commands through the user interface and interacting with their surroundings using sensor panels. The ship then flies itself, activates modules, and controls a myriad of other on-board functions according to these commands. Capsuleers train “skills” to be able to pilot the increasingly advanced lines of spacecraft and operate the massive selection of modules, which they may freely fit to their ships in its module slots. Skills are learned and accumulated through time-gated passive training.
New accounts begin with character creation, a customizable process that consists of picking and molding your capsuleer’s visual characteristics, as well as choosing their race and trade. (Don’t worry, your choice will not lock you out of training any skills or specializing in any field.)
But here comes the catch: EVE is infamous for its daunting learning curve. While there has been some improvement to the early tutorials offered by the game, the new player experience remains a decidedly independent slap on the back and push into the unforgiving expanse of the universe. Thankfully, there are many player groups that dedicate themselves to providing new players with the resources and environment to grow into the full depth of EVE.
Newbie Career Guide, with Skill Point rewards
Being a sandbox-like game, players are given full freedom to conduct any of the activities they wish in the 8000+ accessible systems of the EVE universe. From mining and pirate slaying to commanding huge fleets, EVE is an experience that can be as simple or complex as you shape it to be.
In fact, EVE has one of the most realistic economies of any video game; nearly all of the ships, modules, and items available in-game were at one point built by a player (or group of players).
There’s an endless list of things to do in the game, so everyone will be able to find their calling—even I haven’t been able to do everything yet in my more than four thousand hours of playing EVE.
EVE Combat
Example of large fleet combat with 600+ players
Because EVE is a sandbox game, combat can take many different forms depending on the people you fly with and what you’re trying to achieve. Are you hunting NPC pirates for bounty money, defending your mining ship against gankers, or accomplishing strategic and territorial objectives for your alliance?
Many forms of combat see the capsuleer as a solo operative, but where EVE really shines is multiplayer fleet combat. Up to 256 people can gather in a single fleet under a fleet commander, still piloting their own ships but following the fleet commander’s orders. EVE is well known for its large-scale fleet combat and geographical wars between player alliances, regularly having hundreds to thousands of players duking it out in space for strategic objectives.
The combat system in EVE is well developed and balanced, with each ship having its own niche through careful balance of agility, effective attack range, damage/resistance types, and available weapon platforms. Capsuleers further modify each of these characteristics through the modules they fit to these ships, which will drastically change the ship’s combat effectiveness and how it’s flown.
For example, players must decide between passive buffer tanking and active HP repair. These module choices compete for limited slots on each ship. If you opt for extra armor tanking modules, you’d have less slots to fit damage increasing modules. Large ship classes often have more module slots, damage, and durability, but find it difficult to hit smaller ships due to their poor weapon tracking characteristics. Some ships are also specialized for certain roles, such as interdiction ships, the only ships able to deploy warp drive interdiction fields.
Be careful though. If your ship is destroyed, it’s gone forever. Follow the motto: don’t fly what you can’t afford to lose, because the game is very unforgiving when it comes to ship losses.
Each ship has its own purpose within the game and is highly customizable by the player for a variety of approaches to any objective–even roles they’re not meant to perform! EVE truly offers an unmatched level of customization and freedom through the thousands of modules available to players.
EVE Quest/Mission System
EVE’s mission system is where the game begins to fall behind. Aside from a few unique epic arc mission lines, missions in EVE: Online tend to be repetitive. Within each agent type, the missions available to be given out are always the same. The absence of an on-foot experience in EVE, which would have let players meet their mission agents in-person rather than through a text box, probably doesn’t help with the immersion either.
So while traveling between systems to complete tasks and challenge dangerous foes can be exciting the first time, lack of unique missions makes for very poor replayability, and the game can become grindy really quickly.
Don’t let that stop you though–create your own adventure! Whether that’s delving into wormholes or braving the dungeons of the abyssal depths, EVE is all yours to explore.
EVE Graphics
In-game graphics showcase
EVE’s graphics were recently modernized and are as beautiful as they are up to par for today’s day and age. Unfortunately, running such graphics becomes very demanding in busy systems, especially on computers with weaker hardware. Plus, the third person eagles’ eye camera means you won’t be seeing these effects much without zooming all the way into a target.
Likewise, the sound design is great at creating the immersion of a sci-fi simulator. Plus, with sound, you’ll get to hear it all the time!
New Content Updates
New content is added with every major update, roughly 2-3 times a year. These updates can bring anything from new campaigns to ships, or even sometimes completely overhauling a game mechanic.
For example, the recent Equinox update added a new line of specialized hauling ships, changed the structures and mechanics for player sovereignty, and added a custom skin designing system.
Otherwise, the game doesn’t change much throughout the year, and changes with the in-game economy and politics are largely player-driven.
EVE’s Developer
EVE Online is developed by CCP Games, a company based in Iceland.
Most of the kinks and bugs have been ironed out over EVE’s long history, but bugs still appear occasionally, especially with new content (and as is with the nature of a sandbox game). Nonetheless, the developers take care to listen to the community and fix exploits and bugs as soon as they appear.
The developers have shown their investment in EVE and maintain a presence both in the help channels and in space, flying alongside or against the players. With such a diverse player base and each alliance looking out for their own priorities, it can be difficult to make changes that please all parties. Though, EVE’s longevity over the past two decades really attests to its uniqueness in the genre and success as a game.
EVE: Online Price
EVE: Online is free to play, but capsuleers start as Alpha clones, which have restrictions on the ships, skills, and services they can use. While the game can absolutely be played as an Alpha clone, Omega clone status is required to unlock the full EVE experience.
Omega game time can either be bought through a subscription-based model, or for those particularly resourceful, purchased with in-game currency.
Multiple Omega status clones are also allowed to be logged in simultaneously, allowing users to play multiple characters at the same time, known as “multi-boxing”.
FINAL VERDICT: 7/10
Pros:
- Sandbox MMORPG with a variety of gameplay styles
- Very realistic market and economy system
- Playable as a F2P player
- Niche but dedicated community, large-scale combat
- Highly dynamic ship customization
Cons:
- Steep learning curve
- Requires a subscription or large in-game payment to access Omega clone status
- Can be repetitive depending on gameplay choices
- Third person remote control-style may not be engaging for everyone
