Scott of Pumping Irony was chiding me and other bloggers today on Twitter for getting totally excited about a game, writing loads about it, then dropping that game the moment something new came by. I was all defensive, pointing to my long-term coverage of W101, STO, DDO and, when I played them, EVE, EQ and EQ2 when – I remembered Fantasy Earth Zero, Dragonica, Dream of Mirror Online, Dragon Oath and so many other games I played heavily for a few weeks, then totally forgot.
I can fix this! So I logged into FEZ tonight. Couldn’t figure out how to rest – sitting, which used to work, no longer seems to. A guy in red started teabagging me. His friend apologized for his behavior. I went to a beginner field and killed some stuff… meh. Just can’t go back.
Will I be the same with Rift? I dunno. I guess it depends on if I can find a good bunch of people, get in a nice guild. I have really good friends who hate guilds, but me, I think they shape and define your experience with an MMO. My best MMO memories have always been shared with friends.
Big news today is, of course, the dropping of the Rift NDA. Read about that and more, after the break. No, this post isn’t going to be JUST about Rift.
Rift… sigh.
I wrote my rather rambling thoughts about Rift earlier today. I really enjoyed it, but not everyone had such warm feelings about the game.
Beau of Epic Dolls thinks it has a strong sense of deja fail about it. Keen liked the dungeon he tried, but considers the game a tired variation on the WoW theme. Chris at Level Capped thinks Rift and Warhammer are two halves of one really great game.
Tramell of Steel Harmony (got it right this time!) has a great writeup of the good-guy Guardian area and a matching write-up of the bad-guy Defiant area. Well, neither side considers themselves evil, I guess. The Guardians think of the Defiants as evil, and the Defiants think of the Guardians as interesting subjects for experimentation.
Ravious of Kill Ten Rats likes the game, but feels it could take a few more ideas from its clear Warhammer inspiration. Pete of Dragon Chasers feels it will be the Rift mechanic itself that makes or breaks the game. Justin of Massively wrote a heroically detailed guide about the first starting levels in Rift. In his secret identity as mild-mannered Syp of Bio Break, Justin gives his quick hundred foot overview of Rift’s commonalities with other recent MMOs.
Everyone remarks that the starter experience is very linear, but there’d be complaints if it weren’t. (Everyone seems to be googly-eyed crazy about WoW’s very much more linear starting experiences). Once you get out of the newbie zones, things tend to open up, and grinding mobs or chasing rifts become viable alternatives to quest hub hopping.
Some people are taking this way too seriously…
EverQuest $$
Stargrace has long been one of EQ2’s staunchest and loudest supporters. If EQ2 has done something to turn HER away, that can only mean they REALLY fouled up. According to a post linked to by Feldon at EQ2 Wire (also the source of the comic above), the new Vampire race is being put out in bits and highly profitable pieces. You can get your basic Vampire. Want scary Vampire moves? That will cost you. Want scary Vampire bat form? That will cost you. Want scary Vampire lair? That will cost you.
You’d almost forget you were playing a game that charges a monthly subscription! But, they do love their cash shop. Lovelovelove it.
DC Universe Online
Get ready to don your tights and prowl about the rooftops of Gotham City in just a couple of weeks! Massively reports that DCUO’s release date is just a handful of weeks away! The Green Armadillo still needs some questions answered about the game – such as, why is the price for the PS3 version higher than the PC version?
Some see this sudden movement of the ship date earlier to be a sign of some sort of imminent disaster for the game. I don’t agree, but I also don’t think the game will have a very long life on the console. It’s the nature of the console to move from game to game. And when the PS3 users finish with the game, will the PC users remain behind to keep the game alive?
Black Prophecy
Action Space Combat MMO Black Prophecy dropped it’s NDA today as well, but nobody was talking about THAT on Twitter. (Compare the equivalent Rift search).
Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale
Daggerdale… the Sword Coast… what is this unhealthy obsession for D&D locations to be named after weapons? It’s like a 70s/80s cop show. “Tonight: Cannon, followed by Bullit, Magnum PI, Matlock and the premiere of Colt & Wesson…”
Anyway, via Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Atari announces its newest entry in its D&D license, Daggerdale, a fast paced action combat thing which is absolutely as far from the original game as you can possibly get. Back in college, we could take an hour to resolve a single battle…
Craft of Wowwar
Loved Spinks’ article on the Women of Cataclysm :) Represent!
Divine Souls
Joystiq reports that Korean MMO Divine Souls will use Microsoft’s Kinect to provide controller-less control for their game on the PC. This is the first I’ve heard of the Kinect being used “officially” on the PC. I guess I better clear 12 feet behind my chair and get a 42" monitor.
Lucent Heart
No, I CAN’T GET ENOUGH LUCENT HEART NEWS! The sexy dating sim/MMO just rocks my world. Gaming Blend has details on the Lucent Heart character classes which, judging from the videos, probably include Sexy Nurse, Sexy Schoolgirl, Sexy Teacher, Sexy Policewoman, and Sexy Catgirl.
infactifeelanothervideocomingon….
The Daily is gonna be a little spotty through the end of the year. I have a LOT of family and work obligations, but I’ll write them when I can :)