After logging in my first impression was Diablo with Legend of Zelda graphics. I went through a relatively straight forward orientation process only to be utterly confused by the interface. Even after reading the on-line manual I still had problems figuring out some things, you know, nothing important, just movement, how to attack something or equipping items. Wandering around town I came to find out some of Dark Ages strong points. The first was roleplay with most people trying to talk somewhat in character. Another thing that caught my eye was the vast array of colors, clothing and weapons everyone was walking around with. There are enough unique items in the game to make your character stand out and even recognizable to others.

So this led me to my next dilemma. Here I am a warrior with a stick and ragged shirt, this outta be fun. I wandered out into the woods finding nothing to kill. I did end up eating a rotten apple and losing half my hit points, so I guess you could call that combat. I eventually found my way to a small crypt and was quickly trounced by a rat. Joy... Luckily I came across a fellow who game me a shield and sword and then I beat up some spiders and rats myself. Woohoo...

Now I'm sure I didn't get to experience a lot of things that the game has to offer, but my interest was slowly waning. Heck, I could walk outside, grab a stick and chase around some squirrels and have more fun than I was at that moment. Sadly Dark Ages just couldn't deliver in my mind anywhere near as much they are capable of. You add in a $14.95/month fee and you've lost me. I'll go play Asherons Call or EverQuest and at least be able to figure out how to hit something and have some pretty graphics to boot. Another sticking point was just how hard it was to actually move around, not only does regular movement pose all sorts of challenges, but trying to find the spot to move from one area to another along a long edge of black almost drove me batty.

To sum up, the game has promise as a Roleplay environment, but the graphics and interface is just way too dated to make it very playable. If you are an old time Mud player who would like to add some graphics to your game this is probably your game, otherwise I'd pass.

Final Rating: 5 out of 10.