Saga

Post Date: 20:08 21-03-2009
Rating: 9
Author: beagle
Comment: Fair Reviews all round (except for Karahandras" review which is outdated).

-> The game is made by an Indi company, but it is constantly updated and patched.
-> There are also upcoming planned free expansions and the developers listen intently to players.
-> On top of all that, the Forums are great and active
-> The game is Free to Play with an option of buying Singles from 3rd Party Resellers or buying Online Boosters

Post Date: 02:57 18-03-2009
Rating: 7
Author: Soulurker
Comment: I'm currently playing this game and enjoying it quite much, however it comes with quite a few problems.

Graphics - pretty poor detail on units, but I do have to turn them all the way down and can't have any landscape settings turned up or else the application will crash, that's on my Windows XP lap, 6800Go, Same on my Windows Vista desktop, 8800GT. They don't support Vista, that's their official line.. ouch.

Sound- it's okay but you get pretty tired of it, but that's about the same for any game, especially an RTS, Sins of a Solar Empire come to mind.

City Management - pretty simplistic here, any experience with any sort of nation management in another game qualifies you in this one, there's nothing complicated here and building layout is meaningless outside of territory pvp (get to that later).

PvP - Skirmishes, matches games, you get some rewards for losing and more for winning, also there is a number ranking system, which appears meaningless at this point, unlike some other games, Atlantica Online for example where your pvp rank shows nest to your name (div 1 baby), nobody in Saga can see your rating... and you get access to nothing new for it.

The mission battles againt the AI are fairly simplistic for an RTS, good variety in units among the different nations makes the play for each one quite a bit different, WAR nation for example focuses on damage quickly, Machine focuses on high defense, some nations have more air units than others etc etc.
The AI isn't complicated and will foolishly always attack the enemy nearest, making it easy to keep tanks in front and damage dealers in back. Of course the light cavalary unit running around in circle while your ranged attackers pelt the enemy while running in circles chasing your cavalry is always a good laugh, although I'm not sure how much of a strategy that is.

Territory PvP is enabled when you build a certain building on that territory and can move some of your troops to defend it (which the AI controls when your'e attacked with the same weaknesses). YOu can build defenses in your territories as well, walls and towers to defend your production building... of course if you put gates in your walls your AI troops can't open them to get out... what? you say.. your own troops can't open your own gates to get through your wall to defend your land? yes... sad but true, your own men are that stupid and will get stuck behind your own walls. So.. that means that you can't really enclose anything behind walls, oh well, it's honestly way too easy to knock down walls anyway, and it'll cost you an arm and a leg to build them. As far as defenses go, you put in troops, some towers and suck it up with everyone else. Either join the big boys and keep low and don't offend anyone and you'll be alright.

Getting troops is how the game makes money, there is an in game market, where you can trade troops for troops or resources back and forth. resources are recieved in game from your production buildings in real-time (albeit they come really slow) or through the missions, higher level missions start to pay out pretty well. YOu can get some troops for in=game resources although it's usually prohibitive for new players to acquire that many resources.
Best way is to buy troops for cash from third party resellers or buy the 10 troops packs from the site or other retailers.

They say this is a trading card game but I was a bit bummed to find out you can't actually physically get the unit cards, if you find a store that actually sells the real retail booster packs it's simply a card with a code you enter in on the website... not something you'd play with, not something you'd trade somebody.

All that being said I do enjoy the game a lot, if I want some real hard strategy I'll go play Empire TOtal War but the intermixing of the card trading adds a lot of enjoyment for me to this game. It's always satisfying to make a good trade with another player and both feel like you're walking away a winner. Of course as a new player you're open to a lot of explotation by more experiences, and while I'd say the majority of the gamer community is nice, there are plenty of people who will gladly prey on new players taking their best cards for junky ones. Third party sites also offer some value guides and there are plenty of nice people to ask, but I just recommend you educate yourself before hitting the market or the trade channel. Seller beware.

Lots of free account to pick up and try the game. Hopefully more bugs will get fixed and more features will get finished (added?). Indy shop or not, they charge people for this game, I'm glad I didn't pay for it and picked up a free promo account. Lot of potential and I'll stick with it awhile.

Post Date: 20:31 17-03-2009
Rating: 10
Author: bluhoteyes
Comment: Sound - awesome music if i might say myself :)

Graphics - if you have a capable graphics card it has awesome graphics of tree leaves swaying and lush grass when zoomed in can see the reeds of grass moving n the wind.
Strategy Gameplay - you are started with a variety of units to start off with that will counter the enemies not one unit has super abilities all have their weakness and strengths getting to know the game is a challenge , but reading some to understand the mechanics of the game is necessary.

City management Gameplay - with the option of freebuild you have the choice of where you want to place your housing, farms and other fixed structure in game. Also with this being a strategy you need to keep up with building farms and houses to keep your peasants happy. If not they will riot against you . Also another feature is when you do build you need to place the peasants on build/repair to actually build them.

Pvp Gameplay - Actually i want to say i have not pvp'd much as i am not good at playing against other players. You can however play against other players even at level 1 although i wouldn't advise doing this as your units need to gain levels to be stronger. Once touraments are established in game will be a different story as you will have random troops that you will have to choose a faction from them units so with me having played half of the factions available it will be awesome as my competitor may not have the knowledge i do on the other factions there is available:)

multiplayer questing consists of either cooping with another person in pve or when you battle in pvp it can be set up 3 players against one or 2 vs 2 .

As a "real life" card trading game you are limited on the retail cards you get but they include the regular standard card, nature, machine, light, magic, war, siege, double rare, dragon. The cards are actually pretty cool lookin too:)

As a virtual card trading game its awesome as you are able to trade or sell your cards for real money. You have several ways of getting cards, using the market where you can filter out what exact card you are looking for.The trade channel in game where you can trade cards you have for other units with other players in real time or for resources that you earn in game questing. Buying virtual boosters which have 10 cards placed in your army after redeeming them. The cards are random so some you will be able to use and some you will need to trade for units you can you . This is the part I do need to say is study the market guide that one of the 3rd party resellers has made available like www.sagaunits.com/sagaguide cause cards vary in price drastically .

As a Real Time Strategy is awesome and innovative your tactics include charge, melee, range, normal and agressive. Guess that player that reviewed this didnt really pay attention to all the icons on the right. As for flanking you need to position your enemies on both sides of a unit for them to flank not just click a button for it to do so.

As an MMO this game far exceeds any game I have played, but take into consideration this is the first MMO i have played since getting upset with diablo back in the days and then FFIX with monthly fees.Personally I like the pay as you play you never will have a monthly fee in SAGA and boosters are reasonable of less then $3.00 each .
I say give it a try each faction has its own unique game style and think maybe the first reviewer didn't give more then on faction a try. I have tried 3 of the 6 factions available and I like them all but for different reasons just wish I could borrow cards from one faction to play in another.

One thing I have noticed with Silverlode Interactives is their superb ability and to listen to what their players want in the game. From reading the forums you will see all posts are considered and a lot have been implemented into the game and many more to come. So if you have ideas and like to give input they do listen and do act on what is given. I have given this game a rating of 10 but would have given then a 9/10 also as beagle for some issues the game does have with some things that arent corrected as of yet like the filter of items, but with time I am sure I would give this game a 10 as they care for their player base to make this the best game in the industry.

Post Date: 18:44 17-03-2009
Rating: 10
Author: beagle
Comment: Clearly the reviewer: 'Karahandras' is a moron and has no idea about what hes talking about.

I would have given the game 8/9 out of 10... but since he ridiculously gave the game 1 out of 10 lowering the average rating I'll have to bump it back up...

Saga is a great game - Free to Play with no Monthly Fees.
It's an MMORPGPRTS(or whatever the order is)
(Multi-player + Online + RPG + Persistent + Real Time Strategy)
The gameplay is mostly strategy, but there is an RPG aspect to the game because you can level up your Units and your Nation. You also have to purchase cards for your army, but you can use the virtual currency gained from questing.

It is constantly updated by an enthusiastic team who listen to the players.
The Forums are really active and there is a nice mature community.

Post Date: 23:24 03-03-2009
Rating: 10
Author: bluhoteyes
Comment: This is my first MMO since FFIX which doesn't compare to this game IMHO. I have played many other games though and like how they have come up with a new concept in gaming of incorporating game play of fighting and managing your army and building your fortress. I have played several factions and each play so differently it isnt like a lot that even though you play on faction it is so similar to the others. That isn't the case with this game. The storylines make you get into the game a lot more and the option to play by yourself or with someone is something I really enjoy. Its a great game even for a 43 y/o mom:)

Post Date: 07:57 03-03-2009
Rating: 9
Author: reviewthis
Comment: -=-=-=-=-=-
the first reviewer karahandras referenced an issue concerning game balance. the developers implemented the fix he referred to as means to address an issue of game abuse and imbalance. players were not playing yet were still reaping excessive benefits. nobody would ever lose anything they spent actual $ on.
-=-=-=-=-=-

Best Thing About Saga - the best thing about saga is that the game has no monthly fee and does not require the purchasing of 100s of dollars of units to create a competitive army. some players go this route buying many booster packs early while others play the game and buy cards with in game gold. i've known many players who have developed their entire army without the purchase of any boosters. some of these players joined with promotional deals and received the full version of the game for free. they have never spent a single penny to play saga. the independent developers don't need huge fees to keep their game running and the purchase of every single booster really does help them with the game.

The Good - saga gets top marks for music, sounds, game play, implementing player feedback and player community. the game encourages cooperative play and socializing with guilds. negative consequences do not occur from these things. the pvp aspect of the game is optional and the pvp system has significant rewards which modify the game for it's regular participants. the ability to attack another players territory and take their resources is a fun part to the game but it is entirely optional and some players choose not to participate in it. finally, the cards are worth real world $ on the reseller market, which is encouraged, so you can actually make money playing saga. a hobby which pays for itself is a terrific thing.

The Bad - this game is developed by an indy gaming company. they do not have a giant warehouse staffed with programmers. new content takes time. fixes take time. whenever they run a promotion, huge numbers of new players flood the server and stability becomes an issue. i've seen some pretty bad bugs in this game but the developers response time on the bugs is better than most other games. all games are gonna have bugs so i guess it's just something you live with.

The Unique and Special - the developers read their forum and are serious about taking player feedback and ideas. a persistent mmorts with collectible cards worth real $ is a cool new thing. the player community in this game is the best i've ever seen for a small game. saga has more potential than any game i've ever played. any review here on this game will be outdated after several months because the developers continue to create new game changing content.

were it not for the few bugs which seem to plague me, i'd give this game a 10 instead of a 9. right now, i give it a 9. in three months, who knows!

Post Date: 15:37 17-01-2009
Rating: 10
Author: pavelzap
Comment: Graphics: 7/10 Pretty good.
Music: 8/10 Nice-you won't want to turn the volume down.
Sounds: 5/10 Gets annoying "On our way!"
Gameplay: 9/10 This game is really fun and is one of the best RTS games I have ever played. It is really exciting.
Building: 6/10 I expected a build-by-brick game, but the game's building is fine the way it is.
---The game is like Travian(A browser game) but it is a download and it has graphics. There is a free version out, and it is still pretty good. This game is addicting and fun if you play with people you know. Enjoy. :)

Post Date: 17:52 09-08-2008
Rating: 1
Author: Karahandras
Comment: MMORTS/Card trading game

Sound - nothing much to speak of

Graphics - wouldn"t know had to knock everything to minimum just to get it to work(not the only one to do this either)so blobs on a screen

Strategy Gameplay - your tactics consist of basically putting you melee units on defensive up front and ranged units on aggressive behind, unfortunately melee units will disengage for no reason and range units will jump infront of your melee"s and get wiped out. Any vaguely interesting quests usually end in one tiny person coming on and wiping out every unit you can field without any trouble, that is if you can get the questlines(max 5 quests in a line) to work. I"m sure i"ve tried worse strategy games although i can"t think of any off the top of my head, i"ve definitely played better

City management Gameplay - you can build a certain amount of each type of building in every territory u control once u get the resources u build them(not exactly complex or even interesting). Territory quests are available at levels 6, 13, 17 and 20(4 more to be added in future)don"t even think of doing them at these levels unless u beg for help from a higher level

Pvp Gameplay - tbh got bored with game before i could try this so i"ll say what i know. Once u get a territory u can make it pvp enabled and from there u can attack other players with pvp enabled territories, u can also use the espionage tab to steal, kill, spy etc, but i do know there isn"t a cap of any sort to this so aslong as a player has the resources they can attack you, steal etc as much as they like.

multiplayer questing consists of getting someone else to go with u. You can"t co-op the quest pproperly(i.e. u both complete it if u win)

As a "real life" card trading game it"s non-existent as the in shop purchases consist of codes only as far as i am aware(in shop purchases only available in certain parts of USA)

As a virtual card trading game its not bad, u get a 3D representation of the units and can try them in battle

As a Real Time Strategy its mediocre to average at best, your tactics basically consist of defensive stance and aggressive stance usage there are no charge, flank, height bonuses or anything like that

As an MMO its terrible, worst i"ve ever tried

**WARNING** in compliance with guides and advice i farmed peasants(treated as a resource ingame) in order to boost my abilities, without any warning a cap was introduced and everything anyone had over this was removed/robbed from them. I"ve never heard of any MMO willing to delete/steal a players resources so please consider this may happen before u spend any money on saga

Saga is best left to the small band of people who want a bland strategy game that doesn"t require any intelligence or imagination to play