Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

 PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 124 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 82 out of 124
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 124
  3. Negative: 30 out of 124
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  1. ACM
    Jan 9, 2007
    5
    Playing VGSoH beta 4: not excited about it yet. Rain is incessant. It seems dull and grey a lot of the time - at least in area I'm in. Hard for me to see any thing more than incremental upgrade from EQ1 & 2. I'd call it EQ2.5. However, character classes are interesting and this may pull people sick of the conformity and lack of selection in WoW character classes. Landscapes are Playing VGSoH beta 4: not excited about it yet. Rain is incessant. It seems dull and grey a lot of the time - at least in area I'm in. Hard for me to see any thing more than incremental upgrade from EQ1 & 2. I'd call it EQ2.5. However, character classes are interesting and this may pull people sick of the conformity and lack of selection in WoW character classes. Landscapes are beautiful when it's not raining but it takes quite a travel time to see any significant variation in landscapes. Towns are well customized to race/location (eg., little round hobbity houses, sweepig curving elven tree house city. The game seems to be designed for the Asian market - with Asian buildings and Confucian titles all over the place - they're fun but a little all-too-pervasive for me. I'm going to try the game again soon when next patch release happens because, as you'd expect in a beta, a few matters are still being worked on. I think EQ users will love this game. WoW users will be less...wowed.… Expand
  2. Mekon
    Feb 7, 2007
    5
    For a game with so much hype, I was extraordinarily underwhelmed. More of the same (in no way would I consider any of it's features next gen, believing the marketing tagline), high system requirements and repetitive gameplay (especially combat). I have better things to do with my time.
  3. CosmoC.
    Feb 9, 2007
    6
    Seems like Vanguard would probably be fun on a brand new computer with a state of the art video card. Otherwise, don't bother.
  4. MMOCritic
    Feb 1, 2007
    5
    Vanguard is an attempt to bring back the glory days of what made Everquest such a fun game. It is a huge world that is largely empty. It has some amazing ideas, not quite fufilled. It has some amazing system concepts, that never quite make it to "fun". It borrows a lot from recent MMOs, and of course it's spiritual successor, Everquest. Graphically, when it was started, it was well Vanguard is an attempt to bring back the glory days of what made Everquest such a fun game. It is a huge world that is largely empty. It has some amazing ideas, not quite fufilled. It has some amazing system concepts, that never quite make it to "fun". It borrows a lot from recent MMOs, and of course it's spiritual successor, Everquest. Graphically, when it was started, it was well ahead of the curve. But after numerous years in development, the graphics really don't reach the photorealism that was attempted, nor come close to the charm of the lower res, but highly stylized graphics of games like WoW. Given a year or two on the market, Vanguard could reach a 7 or 8 for MMOs, but.. it has a lot of competition, including WoW, and suprisingly, EQ2, which has become a very strong contender, at least in the US market. I've been working on and playing MMOs for almost 10 years, and I still have hopes for Vanguard, but it's not there yet. Cheers.… Expand
  5. E.R.
    Jan 28, 2007
    7
    About the same as any other high-end big budget mmorpg, like wow or EQ2, and its certainly not revolutionary like they claim it is. Much of the game is like any other mmorpg, mostly fetch and 'kill this many baddies' quests, and the fighting is absolutely uninspiring and average. The graphics range from very good to poor, but you have to have a decent to high end computer to About the same as any other high-end big budget mmorpg, like wow or EQ2, and its certainly not revolutionary like they claim it is. Much of the game is like any other mmorpg, mostly fetch and 'kill this many baddies' quests, and the fighting is absolutely uninspiring and average. The graphics range from very good to poor, but you have to have a decent to high end computer to play it at all without tons of framerate issues. Some towns are worse than others. The character models look terrible and ugly, but once you start putting armor on them, they don't look as bad, except for the animal races, which look like mascots. The world is huge and open, and is in my opinion the best part of the game. It really feels enormous. Unfortunately, a lot of it is very empty and boring right now. The grouping system is difficult to use and needs an overhaul, as they claim the game is mostly for grouping and not soloing. The crafting and diplomacy spheres are something to do, but they aren't on the same tier of completeness as the adventuring sphere at all, and I can say with confidence that many people will avoid them for the most part. Game needs a lot more work, it has potential. But right now, its not worth buying and paying fifteen bucks a month for. It will probably be much better at a later date, I would recommend waiting.… Expand
  6. UnzarJones
    Mar 10, 2007
    6
    Hoping for nex-gen, but this is not it. Can't shake the feeling I'm still playing Everquest, even the "preparing camp" logoff is the same. Could use more things to do. The first Everquest let you go fishing. Disappointingly choppy. Could designers please do some work on real world physics? A 40 foot treant can barely move my tiny little halfling. Will play out the 2 month Hoping for nex-gen, but this is not it. Can't shake the feeling I'm still playing Everquest, even the "preparing camp" logoff is the same. Could use more things to do. The first Everquest let you go fishing. Disappointingly choppy. Could designers please do some work on real world physics? A 40 foot treant can barely move my tiny little halfling. Will play out the 2 month subscription and see if they add anything. If you already play EQ there is no need to go here.… Expand
  7. PsychoticX.
    Apr 19, 2007
    5
    The team at Sigil informed everyone that this game was only about 80% done at launch, and as such it deserves a rating 80% of what it should have got. The game holds many similarities to EQ1 because many the same people were involved in the design. The developers made the claim that the game was pushed out because of the deadline they had set and also their budget. They claimed if they The team at Sigil informed everyone that this game was only about 80% done at launch, and as such it deserves a rating 80% of what it should have got. The game holds many similarities to EQ1 because many the same people were involved in the design. The developers made the claim that the game was pushed out because of the deadline they had set and also their budget. They claimed if they "only had 3 more months to develop it, and a slightly larger budget" they would work out most of the flaws. Well, it's been 3 months, and they haven't even finished putting all the core features in, and they're adding content to keep the high level players in. They are adding raid content to keep the top 3 guilds happy but they still haven't added headgear. This is why EQ1 eventually lost a majority of it's player base, because the development team refuses to fix things. They just keep throwing content at you hoping you'll ignore the underlying problems. It held my interest a little bit in EQ1, but with this game it got old fast. Unless you came from another game with your guild or a group of friends you will probably never see the changes they have made since release. This could have been a great game if they kept it to one continent and perfected it. The only two reasons to get this game are if you're a fan of Keith Parkinson's artwork or if you are looking for EQ1 nostalgia.… Expand
  8. PrivateH
    Apr 14, 2009
    5
    This game is garbage even in 2009. Population is so bad they have added RMT so you can buy your account in game through Sony. Still buggy, still boring, still not many playing and with HORRIBLE character animations and unbalanced classes. For elitist MMO snobs only.
  9. [Anonymous]
    Feb 21, 2007
    5
    My main bug bear (excuse the pun) is the poor performance. I recently upgraded to an Athlon 64x2dual core 4200+ , Nvidia 7900gs, 2gig ram and Creative SB x-Fi soundcard PC, and the performance on Vanaguard sucks. Even in a zone with 3 people in I was gettiing all manner of lag problems, fps ranging from 60 down to as low as 1 fps for no apparent reason, adn this is with graphics turned My main bug bear (excuse the pun) is the poor performance. I recently upgraded to an Athlon 64x2dual core 4200+ , Nvidia 7900gs, 2gig ram and Creative SB x-Fi soundcard PC, and the performance on Vanaguard sucks. Even in a zone with 3 people in I was gettiing all manner of lag problems, fps ranging from 60 down to as low as 1 fps for no apparent reason, adn this is with graphics turned down below the default setting and with a lower screen res. Can't believe this is because my PC isnt up to it. So I'm hoping the problem is bug related. Reminds me too much of EQ1 on a bad day with lag and blinking graphic objects. I know there were reasons for releasing this game too early, but honestly its not acceptable to rip people off this way. if you bought a new car that performed this way you'd take it back, maybe laws should be changed for games to allow the same. Then we could buy it in a years time when its working properly. Other than this rant, the game seems interesting and immersive, but I can't believe in a world when its so unrealistic due to poor performance. I'll be back to check it in a few months, meanwhile, back to the kiddies and their wow, or maybe even restart EQ lol.… Expand
  10. Jaz
    Feb 24, 2013
    6
    A game that had potential but didn't make a difference. Part of the reason for that -besides the abundance of bugs originally- is that its old school, same game play with Everquest 1 with a few innovations. EQ1 and even EQ2 were in the same league and better. Without its bugs it would be a good game for 2007, but now it looks aged especially in characters and animations. Still, has someA game that had potential but didn't make a difference. Part of the reason for that -besides the abundance of bugs originally- is that its old school, same game play with Everquest 1 with a few innovations. EQ1 and even EQ2 were in the same league and better. Without its bugs it would be a good game for 2007, but now it looks aged especially in characters and animations. Still, has some great classes to pick from and it is f2p as well. Give it a try.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

91
#91 Best PC Game of 2007
20
#20 Most Discussed PC Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 32
  3. Negative: 2 out of 32
  1. Yahoo!
    70
    While free of crash bugs, problems in interface, gameplay, and content abound. But if you're an old-school player, or a WoW player who's ready to delve deeper into a more complex MMORPG, then Vanguard was made for you.
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  2. GameDaily
    70
    People willing to put in the effort will certainly be rewarded, since each level in every mode feels like a major accomplishment. Vanguard, with vast opportunities and size, requires time to grow on players. Patient gamers who enjoy tons of options will find many riches and glory here.
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  3. GamesRadar+
    80
    The world that it all takes place in is amazing on terms of size and beauty. However, this is a hardcore MMO designed first and foremost for devoted players with lots of time to invest - just to get to level 10 will take you a few days, whereas you can hit that level in "WoW" in a long afternoon.
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