State of the Blog

I've been more than lax about posting here lately. Here's some highlights on how things are going in various games, in as much as they affect me.

Warhammer: Still not in the beta. It's not looking promising to get in anytime soon, which is a shame, because I'd really like to ride this wave of enthusiasm before it crashes. The delay to Fall is probably good in the long run based on the beta reports, but I still was a bit disappointed.

City of Heroes: I haven't played in over a month. I like the game, but I don't like to solo, and my girlfriend, who is my usual duo partner in CoX, has been very busy, and so it just hasn't worked out lately. I like my characters, but I think CoX is destined to be my "second game" forever, even when I don't have a first.

Everquest 2: In a fit of gaming ennui, I actually bought and downloaded EQ2, complete with Kunark expansion, just to see what the talk was about. I was very excited about a lot of things about this game, and in the end two things killed it for me. One is that the client is buggy and crash-prone, which a 4-year old game has no right to be. The other is that the game is EXTREMELY arcane and not newbie-friendly in the least. I just couldn't see through the fog of war as it were; couldn't get over the initial learning curve, and it isn't grabbing me. It's very pretty for an MMO and I had fun with my Sarnak Wizard, but I won't be lasting past my free month in Norrath.

Conan: Comes out next month. I really don't care at all about this game at this point.

D&D 4th Ed.: In light of my new resolution to use this blog to talk about tabletop games as well as MMOs, D&D 4th Edition is the thing I'm most excited about. I've been reading the PHB Lite that some internet folks have compiled, lots of forum grazing and the like. I'm just very excited to get a fresh start on D&D and clear out the trash that has built up over the 7 or so years since 3rd first came out.

Do Not Adjust Your Computer

So I've been really lax about posting anything here, and here's why:

1. I haven't logged onto LOTR in over a month at this point, and I really have no desire to do so. The new patch probably fixed some things, but really, the problems I had with the game were so fundamental that I doubt they'll ever really be resolved. And honestly, they don't need to be fixed for LOTRO to be a successful game, which I'm sure it will be. It will just be a successful game that I don't enjoy playing.

2. With LOTRO falling by the wayside, I am not currently playing any MMOs. I don't really want to go back to WoW since I know I can't really raid and so there's a glass ceiling there for me, and starting fresh in EQ2 would be painful, though Legends of Norrath is a tempting thing indeed.

3. I am pretty much waiting at this point to get into the WAR beta, or failing that, for WAR to actually release sometime in February or whenever. If I get into the beta, I'll be sure to shout it to the heavens (and then promptly say nothing more about it, since I'll be under an NDA). Until then, I expect very few updates here for a few months. If amazing news comes out or the writing bug hits me, I'll be sure to spout off loudly so you can hear.

Ok, so I'm a few days late...

But this is pretty big news. It's not like I can compete with Tobold and Darren anyway, they'll always scoop me. :)

The big SOE announcement was for Legends of Norrath. Legends of Norrath is, to put it simply, an online CCG in the vein of Magic: The Gathering Online. A proven business model.

But wait, there's more. In addition to playing this game online normally, you can also play from within EQ2. Your character can sit down in-game and play LoN with other characters using a built-in version of the standard LoN client.

You can find cards and packs of cards dropped by mobs and trade in-game. Certain rare cards can be redeemed for in-game items like mounts, cloaks, and probably lots of cosmetic items.

SOE may be the Evil Empire, and Smedley may be their Darth Vader, but this is a bloody brilliant idea. I mean, seriously, an MMO with a full CCG inside of it? That's like wrapping cocaine in bacon. MMOs and CCGs have been the two most powerfully addictive gaming experiences to come down the pike in decades (much like cocaine and bacon), and to fully integrate them in both directions is insidious. I thought the WoW CCG was a great idea, and that has half the integration that LoN promises to have.

I don't play EQ2, since it came out too close to when WoW stole my soul for a year. I've never seen anything that made me want to play it, but this is tempting.