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. 

Abandonment issues

Things are feeling very sparse on my WAR server at the moment. The zones feel very empty, there are generally no open parties and Public Quests have nobody there to fulfill them. My memories of open beta and the first week of play contain the joy of moving from one crowded public quest to the next, or for variety heading up to the open rvr area in Nordland and fighting for hours. In between this I was doing a bit of questing, and a few scenarios. Now it seems that all the options I have are the later two, and as I am just into tier 3 and pretty much useless in scenarios, all I can do is quest alone in empty zone, looking longingly at the public quest and captured keep markers on my map and wish there were other players about to tackle them with. Progress if you are just questing is very slow. I hope the situation improves. I really like the game, but it really only works if you have other players around.

Caught in the grasp of icy fingers

I was convinced I was through with World of Warcraft. Any info I saw concerning the upcoming expansion seemed either boring or ridiculous. So why on earth did I download the new content patch, re-activate my account and log in last night? I wish I knew, I just suddenly had to have it. And now I feel like an addict who has fallen off the wagon. No idea how long it will last, but I have now ordered Wrath of the bloody Lich King, which I never thought would happen. 

Maybe it is a passing madness, and I will snap out of it in time to cancel the order, but at the moment, damn it I am really enjoying the game. So that means I am currently subscribing to WoW, Eve and WAR. Hmm. I can happily justify 2 MMOs, but 3? Trouble is, I am enjoying them all, for different reasons. I wonder where it will all end up.

Blown up!

So, much sooner into my new Eve career than I expected, I had my chunky old Vexor destroyed by a filthy pirate scumbag in an asteroid field. This was my first taste of Eve pvp, and I was feeling slightly dazed by the whole experience, mostly because it never occurred to me that I was in the sort of space that these things happen. A mighty slap to the face. I was in the final stages of a very heated battle with an npc pirate leader, out in a remote part of 0.4 security space, when suddenly a very large looking player ship arrived, flashing red. Soon I was targeted and watching my shields go down at an alarming rate, and of course the were jamming my warp drives. (Is there any way of escaping from this?) I tried to run away, but the Vexor is such a clunker, I didn't really have a chance. Also factor in the general sense of panic and "What do I do? What do I do?" Turns out what I can do is watch my beloved ship (named Fat Duck) blow up. I zoomed away in my pod, docked at the nearest station and sighed. So that's what it feels like, I suppose. I am not sure of the etiquette involved in these situations. I checked my combat log, found the name of the player and added them to my 'friends' list, in a special new folder I made entitled Grudges. Perhaps one day I shall have my revenge, who knows.

So now I am flying around in my smaller faster ship, salvaging wrecks and killing a few npcs in asteroid belts. I have enough money to replace Fat Duck (Fat Duck II), but I am not sure how I feel about another Vexor. Maybe it will be a good mission running ship, but I really feel that speed is important, particularly after my pirate run in. I shall spend some time harvesting wrecks and looking into my options.