Bored to Oblivion

Once again I hit that mark where I start to get restless in EQ2. Kunark was a bit disappointing. We finished all content in less than three weeks. Spell upgrades were so minor that in most cases I just held on to my previous version spells rather than waste the money. No dropped armor upgrades were to be found so I purchased a crafted set. So at 80 my Mystic is only in slightly better shape than she was at 70 and I'm just not inspired to play her. Also with mob difficulty cranked up so high, it's impossible to duo any dungeons here, even those eight levels below.

So while out getting some toys for my son I took a peek at the PC single-player game offerings. I am really behind the times when it comes to single-player games. They're usually too expensive and I don't recall buying any since Civilization I (I loved that game!). I always heard good things about The Elder Scrolls series and saw Oblivion on sale so picked a copy up as a Christmas present to myself. I also saw Fear at even less cost which seemed to be more up my husband's alley so picked that up as well.

For the most part I'm enjoying it, although it's not one of those games that compels me to play for long stretches. I'm still trying to get the hang of targeting. There is no crosshair or lock on targets so I'm swinging at what's in front of me. Unfortunately, I killed one of the good guys who stepped in front of the goblin and soon thereafter I was thrown in jail. I've been arrested three times now and have since had all sorts of shady characters approach me with various offers. My poor elf, whom I thought would be a nice girl, has developed quite a nasty reputation for herself.

A few times out of the corner of my eye I'd catch my husband jumping while playing Fear. He absolutely loved it but already completed it. Another reason I hate paying for these things. That one would keep me awake at nights so I'll just stick with Oblivion.

So for now I'll be tinkering with alts in EQ2 and exploring the world of Oblivion. Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Hopefully, 2008 will bring some more MMO fun our way.

Random Stuff

PotBS - NDA is lifted and lots of reviews to be found. Not a bad game at all and definitely a change of pace from current offerings, but not everyone's cup of tea. And that is how it turned out for me. I didn't enjoy flying ships in SWG and even less so enjoyed the ship combat here. Guess I'm a landlubber at heart. Unfortunately, the land options weren't fun for me either, so I'll be passing on this one.

STO - "I personally think that MMOs need to be a better deal. Paying $200/year is a good deal for some but I don't think that is sustainable for the category and certainly rules out a lot of people who don't have the time to get enough value out of that expense." Ok I see where this is heading now. Removed this game from my radar.

Zuroth Online - This was the game that sounded very much like pre-NGE SWG and had many vets excited. That is, until they released this statement a couple weeks ago:

"One of the main things that plague an indie developer is time, money, and developers. Currently our goals are set very high (which isn't always a bad thing) but what we currently have planned is a very, very, very big undertaking (infact though any mmo is a big undertaking, what we're going for is even bigger). This leads to not enough time and it scares away potential developers.

What we're going to do to alleviate this problem is pretty simple - scale it down. Scaling it down will require many sacrifices that you all are probably here for and are expecting (all the prior SWG people especially).

So what are a few of the changes?

- Sandbox status is gone. We're moving to a more stream lined game.
- Move to a Leveling System

Some other features are getting changed to fit with the above. But... This doesn't mean we're going to become a carbon copy of what's already out there - we're pretty sure we're going to have some unique, and fun features that todays MMO's seem to have forgotten about..

Also I'd like to apologize to all the people out there expecting another SWG Pre-CU. It's just not possible with an Indie team... But you have my word if we ever get into a position where we can make a Pre-CU like game we WILL in a heart beat. But, right now we're going to work on the game, and hopefully make a game a few people would enjoy playing."

Citadel of Sorcery - Another MMO in very early stages. Will be keeping an eye on this one to see how it progresses.