EVE Online

 PC
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 22
  3. Negative: 3 out of 22
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  1. Gaming Nexus
    95
    A robust tutorial. Classless character builds. Overwhelmingly open-ended gameplay. Ship designs you’ll need to wear a bib for. And a breed of PvP that’ll make adrenaline junkies sign up for rehab. Sci-fi worshipers: This is your Mecca.
  2. Game Chronicles
    89
    A massively complex economic and life simulation set in the expansive universe of unlimited possibilities.
  3. Next Level Gaming
    88
    A game of epic proportions.
  5. Warcry
    87
    The best praise I can give it is that it honestly and successfully appeals to the casual gamer. You don't have to kill 932,592,461 Lesser Bats to level since your skills train while you are logged off.
  6. Game Revolution
    83
    You could play this game for years before you really started to feel like you might have seen everything it had to offer. If you can just get past the rough beginning, the difficulty, and the steep learning curve, Eve Online is the biggest game you could possibly hope to play.
  7. PC Format
    83
    A fresh breath in the MMORPG genre. In some respects it's ELITE on steroids.
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  8. Edge Magazine
    80
    As expectations are put aside and the game is explored for its own merits, it begins to provide a vast sense of potential that few games can muster. [June 2003, p.97]
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  9. Armchair Empire
    80
    An enjoyable game. It emphasizes teamwork and really gives a lot of character tweaking to sink one’s teeth into, but you really need to be patient individual to deal with the mining aspect of the game.
  10. IGN
    80
    This game is for anyone who wants to be able to truly affect the game world around them, and be a part of the force that shapes the story of EVE.
  11. Game Over Online
    80
    The quintessential difference between this title and its competitors ("Earth and Beyond" and "Freelancer" come to mind) is the detail. There is so much detail and so much planned to expand on those details that you could literally be enthused on tangents for months at a time.
  12. Yahoo!
    80
    Hardcore opportunists and lone-wolf types have a vast cosmos to win here, but more casual gamers are advised to tread cautiously... to research, manufacture and carry a big stick.
  13. Jolt Online Gaming UK
    80
    Despite its flaws though, EVE is deeply, deeply addictive.
  14. GameSpy
    75
    It is possible to have fun in this game. The bad news is that there are some underlying structural problems that make the game horribly unfriendly to new players and will probably keep the game from being as popular as it might be.
  15. Adrenaline Vault
    70
    You must have patience and be excited about non-structured gameplay in order for it to be worth the price of admission. Action hungry thrill-mongers will do themselves a favor by steering clear of this one.
  16. Game Informer
    68
    Probably the best looking, worst playing space-based MMO I've ever spent time with. [Aug 2003, p.101]
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  17. GameSpot
    66
    EVE offers little in the way of instant gratification, and progress in the game is slow and often unnoticeable.
  18. GamerFeed
    60
    Both space travel and mining - two of the biggest time-consumers of play - are so boring after the first time through that they are referred to a "time to make a sandwich".
  19. PC Gamer
    55
    A beautiful universe with a sophisticated interface, but it's essentially a desolate wilderness of constellations, space debris, and guesses. [Sept 2003, p.92]
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  20. GMR Magazine
    50
    Little more than an exercise in monotony. [Sept 2003, p.77]
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  21. Computer Games Magazine
    40
    It all comes down to you and a rock, floating together in space, with all the action and serene beauty of the docking sequence from "2001." Play some Strauss and go make another sandwich. [Sept 2003, p.78]
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  22. G4 TV
    40
    While it's not the unplayable mess of the "World War II Online" debut, Eve is still firmly in the beta stage in all respects except monthly fees. [19 June 2003]
  23. Computer Gaming World
    40
    This stunning mood is crushed by an interface that has all the charm and convenience of a TPS report. [Sept 2003, p.95]
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Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Most Discussed PC Game of 2003
3
#3 Most Shared PC Game of 2003

User Reviews

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User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 350 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 236 out of 350
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 350
  3. Negative: 92 out of 350
  1. marc5477
    Dec 31, 2014
    1
    A MMO designed specifically to be a troll/zerg fest. He who has stuff or tons of friends, goes around picking on the weak and yes, they canA MMO designed specifically to be a troll/zerg fest. He who has stuff or tons of friends, goes around picking on the weak and yes, they can detect and come after you no matter where you are. Some find this fun, the problem is that its mindless. A few reviewers write that the game has a hard learning curve, but it really does not. You can learn how to fly anything once you learn what the equipment does then its just a matter of quick min/max depending on functionality but its moot and the game boils down to he who can afford better stuff = win. New players are at a huge disadvantage and are reduced to fodder for everyone else or are forced to join gangs (I dont call them guilds in this game). Thats basically Eve in a nutshell, if it were not for trolling/zerging weaker enemies, there is not much to do. Mining and missions are insanely boring and not well implemented. PvE is not done well as enemies are dumb as door knobs and easily defeated by re-configuring your ship or using a different ship as needed. The AI does not work together even when they have numbers and frankly... its embarrassing, and soooo boring due to how slow it is.

    Now lets talk about the worst part of this game. Skills are learned through a timer in real time... yep. You read that right. You click on the skill you want to learn, then you wait. As you move up in skills, the time to level new skills goes up significantly. Some skills take a week to level if not more (this is where I stopped). There is an obvious problem with this system. The person who has played longer will have a huge advantage over someone new because they simply spent more time in the game leveling skills. It does not matter if they are skilled or not, this system is so imbalancing that its comical. Dont listen to the zealots who review this game highly. They will tell you the game is balanced and new players have a chance, they really dont unless the veteran player is drunk and asleep at the keyboard. Veterans of the game are handed huge advantages in almost every way (dont forget they will also be very rich and can afford any ship they want) and since this game is all about PvP, you will never encounter a fair fight in this game. Thus, PvP is moot. Its like an adult picking a fight with a kid. Its trivial 99% of the time and not fun unless you are the type of enjoys this sort of thing. To that, I say, grow a spine.

    Very badly designed game.    … Full Review »
  2. Daisai
    Oct 6, 2011
    4
    After starting the game a year ago i basicly started learning everything about the game you need to know. The most important thing you need toAfter starting the game a year ago i basicly started learning everything about the game you need to know. The most important thing you need to know is that CCP (developer) claims that this is a pvp game. The whole concept however of the gameplay within eve online makes you not want to pvp. There are 3 types of systems high/low/null sec , basicly in any of them pvp is impossible. There are simple features CCP can place into their game which will improve their gameplay, however they seem to be more busy with making a 3d station while negleting pvp and pve content. If there is a chance and time you do find yourself pvping then eve online offers you the most passive and boring pvp combat you can expect from a mmo. You orbit around your target at your optimal range and you basicly let the skillpoints do the rest. The skillpoint system is another thing that really makes me give eve online a bad review, having to wait almost 40 days for 1 upgrade is a bit to much. Playing the game also doesnt help you achieve your goals faster. Now about the pve. The pve in eve online is non existent, the missions you do are boring and basicly the same all the time. This is also one of the things ccp can put some effort in to improve pve, however as i said before their priority's are messed up and making 3d stations to burn down your video card is more important. Conclusion:

    If you are looking for a pvp game look somewhere else since Eve Online isnt giving you any sort of pvp combat.
    If you are looking for a pve game then also look somewhere else since Eve online isnt giving you any sort of good pve content either.
    If however you like to piss people off and annoy people eve online could be something for you by becoming a pirate.
    If you like to spend 99% of the game afk making isk ( in game money ) then Eve online can also be something for you by becoming a miner.
    If you like to scam people in a game then Eve online can also be something for you by afking in stations and try to scam people with contracts.
    If you like to have to wait hours and sometimes days before you get into a pvp combat which isnt really that special gameplay.
    Then in this case aswell Eve online could be something for you.

    So basicly if you want to spend your time and money on a game which doesnt bring you any sort of fun then Eve online it something for you.    … Full Review »
  3. El_Burrito
    Dec 5, 2010
    5
    Pros: Free content upgrades about every 6 months, a lot of gameplay potential if you can find it, good graphical quality for ship models andPros: Free content upgrades about every 6 months, a lot of gameplay potential if you can find it, good graphical quality for ship models and stations (however the backgrounds and most of the effects are still very lacking).

    Cons: Terrible community, terrible tutorials (there are jokes about how the game has a high learning curve, how ever this is only because the tutorials are rubbish and 99% of the community are too retarded to help), boring game mechanics, scams.

    There is a point where having it possible to do scams in a game adds a new depth to the game, but when every single contract, market offer and person is trying to scam you, it gets old incredibly fast.

    The game is a sandbox, which would be good if there was a lot to do, but really there isn't. There aren't really any goals even hinted at. You can set yourself goals but chances are you'll quit the game before you achieve them. You can pretty much either go into Industry, Missioning or PvP, but they all play out pretty much the same. Lock onto target, activate modules, wait, then repeat or warp out.

    You would think that a game set in space would feel huge and open, but EVE Online is possibly the most claustrophobic game I have ever played, when warping between things, it feels like you're in a small room crammed in with a load of other people.

    Over all the game is worth a try, because 300,000 people can't be wrong, the game can be fun. How ever most PvP results in who ever has the bigger blob wins, industry is all about who can sit around in a belt wasting all day, while they make as small a profit as possible thanks to macro miners ruining prices of minerals and products. Missioning results in you asking for a room full of NPCs, warping to the room full of NPCs, killing all the NPCs in the most mind numbing combat any game has ever made and then warping back and asking for a new mission.
    The game really needs more focus. I just don't understand why anyone would really want to play EVE "Spreadsheets" Online all day, with pretty much you're only reward being more ISK, or a destroyed ship.    … Full Review »
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