Yet another MMORPG goes Free-to-Play!

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Some of you may, or may not be aware, that Sony Online Entertainment recently released a free-to-play version of their extremely popular MMORPG “Everquest II”, which of course is part of the EverQuest series of games. The Free-to-play version is called Everquest II Extended, and is currently in Beta. If you haven’t played the game, you really should now! Seriously, there’s no excuse. 

For those unfamiliar with how the new batch of premium MMORPGs going Free-to-play work, let me explain; The game really is free-to-play, however if you want access to certain features or quest packs, then you have to purchase them with usually some game points. Not in-game gold, but with points which are purchased with real cash! That’s how they make their money, however you aren’t obligated to purchase anything, and can fully enjoy the game without ever plopping down a cent. 

Everquest II isn’t the first premium MMORPG that has adopted the micro-transaction method of gaming. Other games include Dungeons and Dragons Online, as well as Lord of the Rings Online. 

So, why are companies switching to this method? I honestly don’t know, but I do know that times are tough for everyone, and these games are great for people who might be struggling with financial issues, because they have the option to pay as much or as little as they want from month to month, and can still participate in the MMORPG craze that has literally swept across the face of the planet.

The wait for DCUO

Image by randomdialogue via Flickr

Have you ever really looked forward to the release of a highly anticipated movie or game? I know that I certainly have! When I am looking forward to a game or movie, I tend to watch other movies, or play other games that are similar to the one I am waiting on.

For instance, When I was waiting on Mafia II, I went and replayed The Godfather: The Game. When I was waiting on the last Indiana jones movie, which was a major disappointment by the way, I watched the previous Indiana jones movies, as well as several of the clones, including Romancing the Stone, Allan Quartermain flicks and even that lame one with Chuck Norris and Louis Gosset Jr. called “Fire Walker“.

Now, I am doing it all over again! I am waiting in anticipation for the release of DC Universe Online, and in doing so I decided to get another Super Hero MMORPG to hold me over. However, there wasn’t a whole lot of Choices. In fact, there were 2 choices really. I could get and subscribe to City of Heroes, or I could get and subscribe to Champions Online.

It was a hard choice at first, I mean on one hand City of Heroes has a ton more content! I mean, you could be playing for years and never experience all that the game has to offer. Champions Online however has much better graphics and sound! See? Not an easy choice! Well, not an easy choice for most people.

I do admit, I was leaning in favor toward Champions Online. The better graphics and sound was more important to me than the content. Only because I hadn’t planned on playing it but for a few months! Remember, it was just to hold me over til the release of DCUO. I didn’t need a game with a plethora of content. I didn’t need a game that will keep me occupied for years to come.

However, what really pulled me over to champions Online was the fact that it was compatible with the Xbox 360 gamepad for the PC. I don’t mean that it supported it, but you had to calibrate and configure it. No! I mean it is fully supported and integrated right into the game! If you have your 360 controller plugged in, and start the game up, it’s ready! Just pick up the gamepad and begin playing! Even the onscreen commands tell you what buttons to push on your gamepad! For instance when you start the game up, and you are on the character selection screen, it tells you to press the green A button on your gamepad to begin playing.

I am a huge fan of gamepads, because I have been using them since I was 6. Using a gamepad to me, is about as natural as using my fingers. Is it any wonder that I went with the one that had full gamepad support?

After playing Champions Online for a few days though, I came to realise that this game truly does kick ass! It is an incredibly enjoyable game, and while I might have only planned to be playing it up until the release of DCUO, I have decided that I will most likely keep it as well as DCUO and play them both, assuming DCUO is even half as enjoyable as Champions.

Lord of the Rings Online becomes free to play??

As many of you are fully aware, not too long ago Turbine adopted a free to play method for their MMORPG Dungeons and Dragons Online. Apparently that plan worked out really well for them, and they decided to give it a go with their other more popular MMORPG, Lord of the Rings Online.

Yes, you heard correctly! Lord of the Rings Online is going free to play! It’s not free yet, so don’t get your panties in a wad! However this fall it will go free! Now, not a whole lot is currently known, there is some information on their website which you can access through this handy dandy link! aww the miracles of the interweb!

Now, I am going to assume that it uses a similar method as their DDO game, of course that’s just a guess, and I could be totally wrong! Either way, the games going free, which should be exciting for any MMORPG gamer, because playing LOTRO free is better than second breakfast!

Star Trek Online

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a total geek, and also that I am a major online gamer. These two traits are what led me to try games like Star Wars Galaxies and The Matrix Online. All of which left me very disappointed.  Although those two traits also led me to try Lord of the Rings online, which I am not at all ashamed to say that I truly do love, and the people that I have convinced to try it with me, have fallen in love with it.

The point is, I love the idea of games built on the backs of established  franchises, however those games rarely work out! Needless to say when I first heard of Star Trek Online, I knew right away that I was going to be trying this game, and I also knew i probably wasn’t going to enjoy it, and that I was going to regret buying it. I all this before it was even released!

The game is then released. I decided to hold off on getting it, because as I said I knew it wasn’t going to be enjoyable to me. Also, other games like Mass Effect 2 were coming out, and quite honestly? Mass Effect games take priority over any other games coming out. However, after I finished ME2 and had no other games to really play except old unfinished games, I decided to go ahead, bite the bullet and get STO.  I went ahead and actually bought the game from direct2drive for instant gratification, plus if you bought it from there you got some in-game weird wonky personal shield contraption unit thingie. I then installed it, and began playing it, and after awhile I realised that i was 100% correct! The game stunk like a skunk caught in a sweathouse! I then turned it off, and went off playing Secondlife, since that is actually a game that I do enjoy.

That was my first impression! However, I didn’t uninstall it. Call it fate, call it karma, call it pure laziness! Whatever you call it, the fact remains, that I most certainly did not uninstall it. A few days pass and I am bored, Nobody I know is on Second Life and I have finished all my good games. I then remember, that STO is still installed on my hard drive. It also still has it’s initial free gametime. It’s there, it’s not going to cost me and I am bored! So, I log in and play it a little bit more. Then it hits me, the game is actually kind of fun. The begining is slow and boring, but as you move along the game gradually pulls you in, and it’s like you are becoming tangled up in this epic Star Trek world! In fact as time went on the game went from kind of fun to freaking great!

So, I continued playing I thought I had only been playing for 30 mins, an hour at best. Then I noticed the clock. To my surprise I had been playing for 4 and a half hours! Not only that, but I litterally had to FORCE myself to quit playing. This is one of the better franchise games I have ever played, though in all honesty, it doesnt hold a candle to LotRO, but that’s not surprising.

What I am saying here is, that if you are a trek fan, or a sci-fi fan in general, you REALLY should look into the game! You won’t be disappointed! Now, there’s no DEMO or TRIAL currently available, however if you are someone I know, and you are wanting to check it out, let me know, because STO does allow me to send out a 5 day buddy key or buddy pass or something like that. It lets you trial the game for 5 days!

Second Skin

Have you heard of a little documentary called “Second Skin”? It details the lives of on-line gamers, and how their MMORPG of choice affects their lives and the lives of those around them.

I decided to start watching Second Skin this evening. I however did not finish watching it. I do plan on finishing it, but after about a half hour I decided to take a break, because it was actually making me feel bad. Not because I felt for the people in this Documentary, but because I could not stop laughing. What’s worse, is the doc is not intended as a comedy in anyway. That’s what was making me feel bad. It was talking about how a gamers life was nearly destroyed, how he was completely and totally addicted to World of Warcraft, and how his addiction shattered his real world, and in the end he ended up going to a half-way house for WoW junkies.

Hardly laughable material right? Yet I could not stop laughing! I’m not talking about giggles, I mean loud boisterous laughter that echoed throughout the house. So, why was I laughing? Well, the whole thing seemed stupid to me. Last time I checked, there weren’t any chemicals added to WoW or any other game. Can you REALLY be such a bad junkie that there’s an actual need for a boarding house? It seems not just silly, but outright ridiculous.

Don’t get me wrong, I do understand where the guys coming from. Hell, I was in his shoes actually for a good couple years. After my wife passed away I immersed myself into World of Warcraft, I was on every spare second of my life. I alienated friends and family. I cut my sleeping schedule down to just a few hours so that I would have more Gaming time. I hated sleeping, because I had dreams of my wife and her death, and to me it made so much more sense to not think about any of that and just run away from reality and escape into a fantasy realm where I could slay dragons, and become someone else. Several times I even fell asleep at the keyboard while playing WoW. I had a mini-fridge beside my desk stocked with food and drink so I never had to stop playing except to run to the bathroom. I even started sleeping on the couch in the computer room, because it was so much closer to the computer. You know, someone from the guild might need me, and I needed to be close enough to hear my Instant Messager ding a message for me.

I know, pretty pathetic right? So, what right do I have to laugh at this guy? Because, I didn’t need to go to a boarding house. I never referred to my gaming habits seriously as an addiction, because it’s not. I did break those habits, and not by struggling, going to group therapy or seeking any kind of “Professional help”. I managed to stop simply because I got bored. Does that sound like an addiction. Have you ever heard a junkie say they just got bored of getting high and waking up in jail cells or alley ways? No! You know why? Because unlike most drugs, MMORPGs are NOT addictive. It’s a choice. You keep playing because you WANT to, not because you are being forced to by some horrible addiction. You aren’t going to break into cold sweats and convulsions because you went a day without hearing some orc yell ‘For the Horde!’ and most importantly you don’t need professional help to quit playing!

Seriously, people like that make me sick. Where does ANYONE get off shifting blame onto companies like Blizzard or Sony, when the cold hard truth is, the only one to blame is themselves. Blizzard and Sony sure as hell don’t force you to play, in fact several MMORPGs have built in timers and reminders to remind you that you really should get off the damn computer and attend to life. Is it their fault that people CHOOSE to keep playing? No, it’s the gamers fault. It’s them who keeps going and going cause he wants to be all that and a bag of chips. He wants to get somewhere in the game and he wants to get their as soon as he can. He decides, that everything else is less important. So, stop blaming companies for you piss-poor judgement and place the blame where it belongs. Squarely on your shoulder.

Now, that I have ranted about that, I’m kind of in the mood to play an MMORPG. 😀

Here there be dragons

Image via CrunchBase

I’m sure most people interested in on-line gaming knows about Dungeons and Dragons Online, Also known as DDO. Most of you may have even played it, at least the trial. A lot of you might not have really cared for it either. Especially when there were games like World of Warcraft and Turbines other hit MMORPG Lord of the Rings Online. With games like those, perhaps you just couldn’t see yourself plunking down a wad of cash for your monthly DDO fix.

Well, things have changed a wee bit as of late. To begin with as of this month, DDO has changed its name to Dungeons and Dragons Unlimited. However, the biggest change is the fact that the game is now FREE to PLAY. That’s right, it doesn’t even require a credit card!

However, to experience the game in ALL its splendor, it might be a good idea to invest some cash. They do charge to unlock some things, or to buy more character slots. Yer basically getting the core game free, and if you want to add something..plunk down a few dollars here..want to add a little more? plunk down a few more bucks.

The idea is remarkable, and it’s a great idea if executed PROPERLY. It will give people the chance to actually PLAY the game, beyond the couple of days free trial. Allow them to meet new people, interact and build friendships and in doing so also give them a chance to get incredibly addicted to the game so that they will want to keep adding to their game and expanding their enjoyment.

See how this could work in their favor? Secondlife already employs a similar business strategy and it works incredibly well for them. This is however the first time an established commercial MMORPG has decided to take this route, and I am REALLY excited to see how this will work for Turbine. If it proves to be successful this could change the face of MMO gaming. If their sales and income increases greatly, could they then consider to use this strategy in their already wildly succesful LotRO? Will other companies decide to experiment with the idea, or similar ideas?

Either way, for the gaming public it’s a sweet as hell deal…so, go start playing Dungeons and Dragons Unlimited…Free of charge!

The art of comics

I have said this time and time again. I enjoy Comic book. Does this make me a geek? Yes, it probably does. However that does NOT change the fact that I honestly believe Comics are an incredible source of art. Everything from the drawing, to the inking, to the stories! Each Comic book contains a plethora of pieces of art!

That being said, I must also admit that not everything you find in a comic book are top notch, in fact a lot of it can be laughable. Take for instance this epic and action packed moment:

No, this isn’t from a charlie brown comic, and no the people shown above aren’t doing some new dance craze, or a classic dance craze. n fact, this REALLY is an action packed scene! See, Punisher is escorting a woman through a building while enemies are in hot pursuit. If you look closely you can see a gun in the guys hand, so OBVIOUSLY it’s the punisher.

I know, lame! But you could also just keep on pretending it’s the punisher dancing the funky chicken. That’s a visual you don’t get every day. Keep in mind though, most comic book issues are ALL incredibly detailed. If you haven’t picked up a comic in awhile, you might want to stop by your local comic book store(Yea! Seriously! They have stores devoted to these things now a days!!) and pick yourself up a comic. Although keep in mind, most comics aren’t self contained stories anymore, they have usually 6 issue story arcs or so, that way they fit better into a graphic novel format so they can get the real bucks! 😀

One ring to rule them all

Lord of the rings Online is a great game. In fact, it’s one of my favorite MMORPGs to date. It’s got some good voice acting, epic storylines, and most importantly it takes place in a world that I am familiar with. Even when I was just starting out, I didn’t feel like a TOTAL noob. Some of the characters were familiar, The locations, the background storyline and even some of the monsters. Though i was new to the game, i still had a basic idea of what was happening, and was able to thrust myself into my character a lot more easily, than say if it was an unfamiliar setting that i had to learn every single thing about.

Anyway, so I have been trying to get my friends from Secondlife to play LOTRO as well. Why? because as good as Secondlife is, it does get boring after awhile, and im at that point, where the games a bit boring. The only reason i continue to log in, is because of my friends. If not for them, i would probably have abandoned Secondlife months ago. So, it would be nice if they were as interested in lotro as they are in SecondLife.

While on the subject of LOTRO, I purchased the expansion pack “Mines of Moria” advance order just last night, and im still not exactly sure why. my highest level character isn’t even 30 yet, so reall..the expansion pack won’t really benefit me for awhile. I have had that character for over a year….Thing is i don’t play as much as I would like to….so it’s not fast leveling. That being said, it will probably be another year before I even see any benefit from the expansion pack…but at least I get a spiffy title and (Hopefully) spiffy cloak.

Dragonlance

I’ve been reading the Dragonlance Chronicle….yea, I know…the books like from the 80’s. However I am just now getting around to reading them. Blame Television! It’s TVs fault, not airing any decent shows lately. Forcing me to read books!

At any rate, it’s actually a very good series of books, and I know there are some games based on the setting, and some RP campaigns and such, but what I would love to see is an MMORPG in this setting. I know there is D&D Online, but im not sure what world that game is set it, but i’m assuming it’s set in Forgotten Realms.

But, Yea, I would LOVE to see “Dragonlance Chronicles Online”. It could work the same way as Lord of the Rings Online works…Where you are adventuring in the world at the same time the companions are out there fighting the dragonarmy and all that…I think it would be a blast..I would buy it and subscribe to it….As long as it played like normal MMORPGs and not like the standard TSR cRPG titles. I just can’t get into those, which is a shame, because I freaking LOVE D&D stories.

Vegas?

Some friends that I met through the online game/community called “Second Life” is planning a small get together/meeting this weekend. I really want to go, but unfortunately not going to be able to. No doubt this is going to infuriate my friends, but it can’t be avoided…..exactly.

See, I recently broke my ankle, and have my ankle in a cast, which makes it difficult to drive 5 and a half hours to Vegas. I have one good foot, and while moving about a small town is simple enough, getting through a big city like Vegas, and the long drive there? Not so safe I don’t think. On top of that, I would only be there a day….two days at MAX! Which means I would be BACK on the road, driving 5 and a half hours yet AGAIN.

I would love to meet these friends, To hang out them, to shake their hands and just be like all “What’s up?” and just have a good ol’ time, however I don’t see a way to be able to do that SAFELY….And, assuming I get to Vegas and Back still alive in one piece…There’s still the fact that I wouldn’t be able to do much while im there. I mean, as it is here I have to hobble all over the place. Even to answer the phone, by the time I hobble over to the phone, the people have hung up…..and I seriously doubt anyone will carry me.