Horizons: Empire of Istaria

E3 2003- First Look

Take a former Turbine designer and let him develop his own vision with a creative and talented group of designers, then put the power of a major publisher like Atari behind him and you have a recipe for success. And if that game happens to be in the realm of massively multiplayer online role playing games, then you have the potential for an incredibly persistent world full of adventure, intrigue and great fun.

That is what is happening with Horizons, an MMORPG designed by David Bowman at Artifact Entertainment and slated for release later this fall for the PC. This game looks great and has enough unique elements to have fans of the genre salivating with anticipation and worried about the lack of sleep they may be in store for.

The game features nine races, all fully customizable characters. But these are not the stock character classes. You see, you can play a flying, fire-breathing dragon that is a bit greedy and needs a horde in order to increase its power base.

The current map size is 32 kilometers by 40 kilometers (it takes a dragon 1 ½ hours to fly across, and that is with no obstacles in the way) although there is plenty of room on the servers for that to grow.

The game is strictly PvE (Player versus Environment) although there is even intrigue in that regard. The main battle is with the undead, a nasty invading force that can battle for and occupy your lands. But don’t worry, you can put together a force and repel them and reclaim your territory. However don’t expect to eradicate them completely, and don’t expect to treadmill in a constant war with this invasion.

The crafting aspect of the game is also exciting. Players can buy land and build on it. Every structure, and every game item for that matter, can be player crafted. Producer Steve Snow also indicated that other aspects, such as changing hair styles or tattoos, will be changeable as the game develops.

This is a game that is community oriented. The world is seamless and there are no zones that require load times. The game will also feature episodes but will not require downtime for the client to update. Bowman and his crew are aiming for a generational product, one that evolves and grows and can be played on a consistent level, with exciting and new content, for many years.

The look of the game is wonderful. Environments have unique race-based architecture, the landscapes are finely detailed and the rich look of the game holds its fair share of eye candy. The game’s ambience changes with the regions, and there will be plenty to see (from the capitol city which will be home to artisans, to the floating sky islands, which can be purchased and built upon).

Horizons is in beta 2 at the moment and according to Bowman, server stability is not an issue. This game looks very good and is option rich. It promises a rich, rewarding experience for fans of the genre and may very well deliver.