First off, we're going to take a look at what isn't done well in this game. This might seem strange identifying the negatives right off the bat, but there is a reason for this. The game does have a lot going for it, so its easier to just tell you what bad things you should expect. Then we can get on with all of the positives that this interesting title provides.
Good performance is key to an online game. If the game has problems running due to stutters in display or delays during a combat sequence, people are not going to stick around for long. Despite the fact that I have had really great experiences with other online games, Vanguard definitely shows some issues with bandwidth or graphical performance. I would have to attribute it to issues on the servers or possibly some tweaking necessary for this game to perform at a decent level.
Combat is another area where everything seems to be really slow. But this doesn't appear to be an issue with performance; combat just seems to happen slowly. When you get used to a more action-filled sequence, this tends to leave you wanting more. This is another area where Vanguard needs to be improved or it won't be around long enough to enjoy.
The number of servers available for logging on - at least for the United States - seems to be a fairly short list. Now I understand that servers can be expensive, but if you want to compete with the big boys (who have a very lengthy list of servers), you will have to invest some serious money in server hardware.
Now that we're through with the bad, we'll begin in part two to examine what Vanguard consists of, what unique content the game provides, and how this title is different from other MMORPGs out there.
