Monday, September 17, 2007

A Bunch of Stuff: EVE, UO, Ryzom, EQ2, Hellgate, a RenFest and More

Busy and Fun Weekend, with lots to say on a Monday. Let's start with my gaming experience.

I've tried, in the past 4 days, Ultima Online, Ryzom, and EVE... and not a one will I be sticking with. 2 hours is about all I need in a game to tell if the mechanics are my kind of thing, or not. It's not that the aforementioned are bad titles, in fact I'd say Ryzom is by far the most underappreciated MMO out there. UO: Kingdom Reborn really does give you that old Ultima feeling if you've been yearning for it (the Black Gate is still on my top 5 games of all time list), and EVE is so deliciously complex that I can't begin to explain it. But ultimately, there were reasons for each I decided not to stick with them.

Ryzom's Reason: Despite the game's very novel take on class-building, crafting, combat, and well... everything, I just feel like it's not the kind of game you'll get the most from with just a month or two of playing. It's one I wish I would have picked up sooner, basically. I'll be keeping it on my Hard Drive, because the free-trial is unlimited time wise, and there's plenty to do with it before I'd need to subscribe.

If you haven't tried Ryzom, and you're bored like me, give it a shot. Play the tutorial missions, and keep an open mind. It does a lot of unique things, and really deserves more attention than it receives.

UO's Reason: New Look = Very Nice. New UI = Also Very Nice. But the gameplay itself still feels archaic in the face of every other game you could play. It's a great game still, but just plain outdated. For my personal goals, I'd be better served finding a way to play Ultima VII on my Windows XP. So, while I enjoyed it, I won't be subscribing.

EVE's Reason: This one, as some posters have stated, is not a short-term game. It's just not the kind of game you can play for a month and feel like it was well-spent. EVE requires dedication. The kind I'm just not willing to give at the moment as I'm waiting for another game with a style more "me" (Pirates). VERY good game, with an excellent engine and incredibly deep skill system... just not for me at this moment in time.

-----------------------------

So you're probably thinking I'm just lost without being able to be satisfied, and you'd probably be right in some regard. I really just want to play, for REAL, two of the betas I'm in. One is Hellgate: London, the other I can't name. But both are due out soon, just not soon enough for someone looking for a game to play.

Between beta test sessions, I need something to play that I know will stick, that I know won't be wiped. So, for the umpteenth time, I'm back to EQ2. I bought the All-In-One set, and we'll see if I can't find the level polish that's in Darklight Woods in all the zones added with Echoes of Faydwer. If not, it's likely that in a month I'll be back to WoW, CoH, LotRO, or any other MMO I own but hop to and from.

I'm in a state of flux with my MMOs, and I can't wait until HG:L and that other beta go retail and let me sink my teeth into them without feeling obliged to bug-hunt.

On a Hellgate:London note, the beta starts today for pre-orders, provided you get your code from the store you ordered with. In-store or online, this week you should get a code and will be able to play HG:L for free until October 7th, so hop to it if you want to see how the game's shaping up. All I can say is that it's awesome and you'd do well to drop 5 bucks at your local shop.

Wednesday is "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and that signals a day when we should learn quite a bit about the release of PotBS. I'd stay tuned to BurningSea.com on Wednesday if you're as excited for this game as I am.

And lastly, I attended the Ohio Ren Fest this weekend. It was my 1st. It was Pirates weekend. There were lots of great outfits. There were lots of very attractive women (as my wife will even attest to), and the Swordsmen "Dirk and Guido" were the highlight of the day. I'll try to get pictures uploaded sometime this week.

Okay... *breathes*. That's enough for now. Had to get all that out there.

Cheers one and all, and look for me on Antonia Bayle tonight as Phero or perhaps a new character altogether.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My biggest reason for not starting any MMO that has been out for a while, is that I don't want to be the noob when everyone else has been playing the game for months/years.Hence no EVE or even EQ2 for me.
Only LotR sounds like the sort of game I could join as a newbie and not feel like I missed the boat a long time ago.
Hellgate sounds intriguing; a kind of Duke Nukem meets Resident Evil (or am I barking completely up the wrong tree?). I look forward to your reviews/experiences once you get going on this game proper.

Bildo said...

Actually, you're off base with what HG:L is, Vlad.

Think of it more like Quake meets Diablo 1/2, and you're more on track.

Learn as much as you can about it and sign up for the beta (I'm sure there will be an open beta later to stress the servers before launch) at...

http://www.hellgatelondon.com

brackish said...

Hey Bildo,
Sorry to hear about the flux you are in. I found Kelethin to be an excellent starting area in EQ2, but I dragged a couple of friends of mine over and now we are outside Freeport. Hard to know what to do there, but we finally found the Crossroads out in the Commonlands and have an abundance of quests and things to see.

If you make a char near Freeport, im on as brackishwater.

Bildo said...

Awesome, Brack. Thanks for the sympathy. I'm hoping EQ2 lasts at least until I can sink my claws/teeth/talons/hooks into PotBS.

Everything I've experienced in the early levels, since Darklight Woods and now Kelethin, makes me love the way the design team thinks now at EQ2. It's sort of hand-holding questing, but I'd much rather have that than to have no quests to do and be left to grind aimlessly until something opens up.

So far, I'm loving it. But I loved it last time until level 21 or so. This time I have EoF to hopefully keep the questing rolling for me.