Journeys End.

I am sure my millions of readers will be dismayed to learn that this is the final post of this blog. As the diminishing post count shows, my interest in the current crop of MMOs has been trailing off recently. I will probably return to Eve at some point, but nothing else seems capable of holding my interest at the moment. I think I am just utterly bored of the WoW approach, and crave a more sandbox experience. Perhaps Darkfall, who can say? 

So I have decided to start a new, less MMO focused blog. There are enough dull self important MMO bloggers out there anyway, so one less certainly will not be missed. So, thanks you all, and why not come join me at the new place?

*bows*

Settled

After some ridiculous weeks of MMO hoping, I am now happily back in Lord of the Rings online. I have resolved to stop being tempted back to games I have stopped playing for valid reasons. The passage of time makes me forget those reasons, and reading new info about those former loves can be very enthralling and tempt you back, then you return and maybe have fun for a bit, until all the reasons you left become apparent once again, and you leave again, until the next juicy bit of news about a patch, or a tempting expansion appears, and you are drawn under once again. And of course when I say you, I mean me. It is like MMO quicksand, and I want out. The amount of money I must have wasted on reactivating an account, paying for a month but only playing for one or two evenings does not bear thinking about. So my new plan is to write down a series of "Reasons I will not re-subscribe to..." articles about all the MMOs which are stacking up on my shelves. Won't that be fun for us all? Hmmm?

Nomadic

Still moving from game to game depending on my mood. The cracks are really starting to show in Warhammer, I am just not sure there is enough there to keep me interested. I enjoy getting lost in virtual worlds, and I am not feeling this at all there sadly. I wonder if a decent guild would change my feelings for the game, but so far I have had no luck on that front. I have had some great RvR there in the last few days, but I just do not think that will be enough to keep me playing.

Difused

The overwhelming power that an MMO can have on my gaming time is still a curious thing to me. World of Warcraft was the first MMO that did this to me. I had played a fair amount of MMOs prior to WoW, but it was the first that totally sucked me in and took over my gaming life. (as a brief aside, I just joined a kinship in Lord of the Rings online, at this precise moment. Wonder where THAT is going to end up?). Lately I have not really had a main MMO to get my teeth into. I had hoped that would be Warhammer, but the joy really seems to be draining from that game to me. Still not given up, but it is certainly on the back burner. I am trying to stay away from World of Warcraft. There is so much that annoys me there now, though it is also extremely comforting and familiar, I fear it muchly. My brief time there last week felt like falling off the wagon, and I am glad to be free again. Lord of The Rings online is keeping me pleasantly occupied, but I feel I am dabbling in it, not sure if I have put down any roots as such.

So it has been very refreshing to be playing other games, and not be totally obsessed with one. I am still enjoying Wizardry 8 hugely, it really is everything I want out of a CRPG. I have also been dabbling a bit in Wizardry 7, which I have never got too far in, but I love it dearly, there is a particular mood to the Wizardry games which is unique and which I have a great soft spot for.

Also, I have spent a fair bit playing Fable 2, and so far I can say that it feels like everything I had hoped Fable 1 would be. It is such a rich, believable world, I have been happily exploring and taking it all in, so far so wonderful.

And then tomorrow I shall pick up Fallout 3, really looking forward to some post apocalyptic shenanigans.

There and back again

Things continue to be hit and miss in Warhammer Online. I am progressing very slowly, and the game is feeling very restricted to me. Less of an online world, and more of a series of empty battlefields. I really ought to try to find a nice guild there, I am sure that would help.

My rekindled interest in World of Warcraft had fizzled away, which I am rather relieved about. I actually cancelled my Lich King order today, I wonder if I can stay away.

As for Eve, seems I have run out of steam there too. I am putting it on hold, but I shall certainly be back.

This has all led me back to Lord of the Rings Online once more, which I am enjoying. New start(yet again), new character, lots of fun. Can I make it beyond the level 20 slump? Hopefully. Will I reach level 50 before the expansion? No way. But at least having 2 new classes should mean there will be a flow of players through the low level content, so I might benefit, assuming I am still going. I am sort of coming to terms with being an MMO bee at the moment, flitting from game to game. I guess I am looking for something which is not there at the moment, sadly, and I think Lord of the Rings Online is the nearest thing to it. (actually, I suspect that EQ2 or Vanguard are nearer, but I am not sure how healthy a community I can find there).

So for now, mostly LotrO, and a little bit of WAR when I am feeling extremely patient and forgiving. I subbed for 3 months to WAR, and I hope that something happens in that time to inspire me to carry on.

In other gaming news, been playing some Wizardry 8, a great classic ending to a very fine RPG series. Tomorrow Fable 2 should arrive. I had massive hopes for the first Fable, but found it very linear and lacking the depth I had been hoping for. I have less grand expectations for the sequel, and I have been actually avoiding any previews. This is pretty much my new policy regarding games, I try to grab enough info to get a feel for whether it is something I will be into, then avoid the endless details given in previews. I was reaching a point where it felt like I had already played games I was playing, as they had been written about so much. So I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised by Fable 2.

Then Fallout 3 at the end of the week. Again, avoiding any previews, I am very excited about this. Despite their flaws, I am a huge Elder Scrolls fan, I actually finished Arena and Daggerfall, really ought to do the same with Morrowind and Oblivion. I am also a huge Fallout fan (though thankfully not the scary sort), and I am confident that Bethesda can make a compelling and ambitious RPG in that particular universe.