Launched in 2003, Eve Online is an open-ended intergalactic MMORPG. The game uses a sandbox-style, which means that the players are expected to achieve the goal of survival by whatever means they chose. All the game players are hosted on the game’s single shard server, making the game one of the most massive game universes.  Set in over twenty-one thousand years into the future, this player-driven sci-fic game occurs in New Eden. New Eden is a cluster of over 7,000-star systems located in outer space. After Earth’s resources begin to deplete so much that the human race’s survival becomes a near impossibility, Man shifts its attention to the galaxies. Strife prevailed until the New Eden was discovered. This new galactic universe became the home of mankind. With the wormhole which acted as a portal back to Earth destroyed, Man soon forgot its earthly heritage. Five new races and colonies were formed, and these great empires controlled New Eden. The five races are the Amarr, the Caldari, the Gallente, the Minmatar, and the Jove. Only four are playable; the Jove is an unplayable tribe. 

As you begin EVE, you play as a Capsuleer – a specially selected breed of humans who can link their consciousness with the ship. Capsuleers are also practically immortal because of cloning technology that transfers their consciousness to a clone in the event of death. Beautifully, the player gets to customize their Capsuleer. The first thing the game allows you to do is select what tribe to belong to, but not before giving you a detailed background story on the tribes. Once you’ve chosen your race, you choose the bloodline, as each race has 3 bloodlines. All these go to determine the physical look of your character. Regardless, the player gets to reinvent himself. It is important to note that all these are purely cosmetic since you don’t see more than a headshot of your character. It leaves me wondering why we needed to go through the stress in the first place.

For newbies to the game, be prepared to go through a step-by-step tutorial session. The tutorial takes you the basics of the game, including looting and warfare. You get to fight in simulated matches. Enjoy it while it lasts because not many things in this game are simulated and scripted.

The most endearing feature of EVE Online is that it is staged in an open-ended non-instances sandbox. This means that there is no storyline, no predestined outcomes, everything is player-driven, players can literally decide their fate. The game makes provision for any and every playstyle. There are a plethora of activities and options to explore. You could choose to be one of the good legitimate businessmen who only fight when attacked. Or you could be a violence-driven thief and pirate. Whatever personality you adopt, the game can accommodate you – it is not uncommon to see players who turn against their own alliance, Ponzi schemes, corporate theft running into billions of ISK (in-game currency), extortion. 

Being a sandbox means that the game literally has no win, no end, and no new levels. The attention of players is kept through the instrumentality of three major factors, namely: Money, Time, and Society. 

The game has an economy that is run entirely by the player. Everything that needs to be manufactured, raw materials, gathered items,  mined is done by the players. These are not by the way tasks but real-time consuming occupations. The game allows a player to specialize in any occupation. The NPCs traders trade items, such as skill books and blueprints, with players in exchange for ISK(Interstellar Kredit). The in-game economy runs a free market that is controlled by the forces of demand and supply. As with any capitalist economy, market manipulation and scams are possible on small, medium, and large scales. Corporations invest millions and billions of ISK into projects, enter into production agreements, etc. There are many paths to wealth; you could either be a trader or a producer and get paid by either selling your goods or entering into production agreements, a miner for raw materials, or a pirate or a mercenary for big corporations and alliances.

The game can be slow; even though most of its activities just require the click of a button, the processes take time to be completed. If you are looking for a fast-paced MMO to ease stress, then EVE isn’t for you. You need to make a lot of time investments to harness your skills. What’s more, you can be pillaged or scammed and lose everything you’ve worked for, you could lose a battle, or your fleet may be attacked. Whatever it is, chances are that you would have at least one moment of mental and emotional breakdown while playing this game. The good part is that the game isn’t as physically exerting, so you can play it while doing other things. 

Finally, you can’t survive long in New Eden as a lone ranger. The best you can do is take on some minor PvE challenges; it would be extremely tough to survive any PvP attack or even launch yourself. The game encourages players to combine forces to form a Corporation, headed by a CEO. Corporations can also merge to form an alliance. New players are advised to band with other players or take advantage of training institutions such as the EVE University. These institutions equip you with everything you need to survive, from free ships to knowledge. In this game, reputation is everything people live for it.

Despite being very old, EVE Online still remains very captivating. The designers have managed to keep the graphics and gameplay up to date. Apart from a few glitches in the system, the game looks good. While Eve online doesn’t have a standard villain to be slain, it is still a very competitive game within its own rights. Sadly, CCP has announced that they would be discontinuing the game and concentrating their effort towards developing a new game based on the same world. I am itching to see what they would come up with.