Wildstar’s character animation is astonishing. Not only a cut above MMOs like The Elder Scrolls Online and its clumsily vague first-person gestures, but a cut above that of games in general – better compared to the sharp ‘n’ speedy slapstick of Dreamworks.
It’s almost a disappointment when its latest trailer cuts from conversation to conventional MMO environments. But even those are run through by physical comedy – and, apparently, choice and consequence.
Meaningful decision-making seemed to be main takeaway from Cara’s Wildstar preview in the Summer – this is an MMO in which taking one path (or class) means blocking off several others, in contrast to the contemporary pick-up-anything playfulness of Guild Wars 2 and ESO.
For Steve in his more recent Wildstar hands on, however, it was hoverboards and the game’s overarching handsomeness that did the trick. What’ll do it for you, do you think? Player housing? Well-telegraphed attacks? Or – perish the thought – nothing Wildstar has to offer?