Mythic entertainment has made some amazing games over the years, but I found their first entry into the free to play (F2P) market was just sad. When compared to how much was put into Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, Warhammer: Wrath of Heroes (see Source 2) is dismal in comparison. When compared to League of Legends or Heroes of Newerth, it's also lacking. The game had a lot of potential, but honestly, in my opinion the designers were lazy and the game has little to recommend itself in the current market. It simply feels like a cheap cash grab, even for a F2P title.
I'm pretty sure I understand what their goals were with this title; what baffles me is why. The issue I have is that the game targeted a very small demographic of the gamers out there. To say that "...the project could not meet its financial goals to be sustained" (see Source 1) just makes me think that whoever originally told them how much to expect this game to make was perhaps smoking something they shouldn't have been smoking while at work, and the bean-counters might have been a little high themselves to give it such a green light.
In all honesty, the game was just sad. It had massive potential, but it fell well short of what it could have been because the designers chose to only have very limited gameplay. It was basically a small arena deathmatch game in a Warhammer Fantasy setting. For the amount of money put into the title, limiting it to such a limited gameplay style was like shooting themselves in the foot. I've seen similar style games come and go over the years, all with the same results - not enough people spending money. Why on earth Mythic thought that putting a Warhammer Fantasy coat of paint on an old and outdated gameplay style would make any real difference.
Frankly, this is becoming a sad trend throughout the industry: big name publishers licensing popular IPs then shoving out pathetic excuses for F2P games in an effort to turn a quick profit. Do these people actually bother to do any market research before jumping the gun like this? Okay, I admit that I did get giddy at the announcement of a F2P Warhammer Fantasy title. But when I tried it out, both before and after Beta, there was just nowhere near enough to keep me playing. Okay, I may be another drooling fanboy and easy to make geekgasm, but even I have some standards. Really, I do. Honest. You can stop laughing now.
I honestly worry for Mythic. If this was their first foray into F2P, especially when F2P has been so well established by so many, I'm reluctant to see what they try next. I'd come to expect more intelligent design from them by now; is this a new precedence for quality that they are setting for themselves?
Only time will tell, I guess.
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