World of Warcraft

[Puni/Void]

There has been a lot of fuzz about World of Warcraft the last years. Seems like this Online RPG is getting more and more popular. I have to admit that I have never played it myself, being a bit afraid of the high addiction factor. Besides, I'm at the moment content with the goold old Fallout games and Morrowind.

Still I'm a tad curious about how the game is like and how it is to play. Is it as addictive as people say, is it as good or bad as people say? Are any of you guys playing it? If yes, how do you like it?

[Harrison]

I purchased WoW ages ago but have still not installed it or played it. The reason is the monthly fee. At the moment, due to working on the site and everything else I wouldn't be able to spend many hours each month playing it and it wouldn't be worth the cost.

I have played many other online MMO style RPGs over the years including PSO, E&B, EVE, FF11, SWG...

They are all similar in the nature of what you have to do and how they play. The main aim is usually to spend a long time doing runs to and from the same placed, killing the same creatures over and over again to collect specific items they drop or money. The aim of which is to buy or craft better weapons, ships, armor etc... for your character. To complete main quests to gain specific items or access to further regions. To level up and become more powerful.

The thing that makes any online RPG work well and become fun is finding some others in the game that you can play alongside on a regular basis and who will be online roughly the same times as yourself. Having a group of in game friends really does increase the enjoyment and makes the reason for the game being online come to life.

The problem with them all is that you do need a lot of spare time on your hands to get the most from them. You need to keep working at the lower level areas, collecting items, gaining gold, and moving up through the levels to become powerful enough to take on the next areas more powerful enemies. This is much the same as any traditional RPG, but with online games it requires a lot more time and effort to get anywhere.

I'm not playing any proper MMO games at the moment but I am however still playing Guild Wars and would highly recommend you give it a try. The big advantage is that it has no monthly fees. The second is that it isn't like the WoW style of MMO where you have to devote a lot of hours every week to the game to get anything back in return, instead it plays more like a traditional RPG with a story that progresses as you reach new areas, key Missions and a lot of side quests.

Guild Wars is now onto it's third chapter, Nightfall, which is so far great (from what I've played of it), but if you are new to Guild Wars and want to give it a try then the original first chapter Prophecies is the best to start off with.

[Vangar]

I have to admit that I have never played it myself, being a bit afraid of the high addiction factor.

Me too. I don't want to become antisocial. My friends have gotten the game, and now i hardly see them anymore. Probably not something i will enjoy if i play it anyway, I've always been a sci-fi fan myself. *puts on Starcraft hat*

[Harrison]

Vangar, have you ever looked at EVE? If you like Sci-Fi then you will probably really like EVE. It's a huge space trading MMORPG which is quite hardcore. I played ti for a while when it was first released and it was great, but quite complex. I have been tempted to play it again for some time.

I also used to play the online game Earth and Beyond until EA stut down the server!!! That was a very nice space trading style game.

[J T]

They are all similar in the nature of what you have to do and how they play. The main aim is usually to spend a long time doing runs to and from the same placed, killing the same creatures over and over again to collect specific items they drop or money. The aim of which is to buy or craft better weapons, ships, armor etc... for your character. To complete main quests to gain specific items or access to further regions. To level up and become more powerful.

....

The problem with them all is that you do need a lot of spare time on your hands to get the most from them. You need to keep working at the lower level areas, collecting items, gaining gold, and moving up through the levels to become powerful enough to take on the next areas more powerful enemies. This is much the same as any traditional RPG, but with online games it requires a lot more time and effort to get anywhere.

Hmm, doesn't sound like too much fun to me. I'd much prefer something that I could just dip in to every now and then. Really, I don't have time to devote chunks of hours and hours at a time, regularly, to a game.

I've always been intrigued by the basic idea of MMORPGs but put off by the actual implementation.

[Harrison]

You would therefore find Guild Wars much nicer. It doesn't require a lot fo time doing what is known as grinding (repetative tasks) to level up as Guild Wars doesn't concentrate on character levels in the same way as all other online RPG's tend to. Instead all characters max out at level 20 and you all are then equally balanced and it comes down to your skill as a player and your ability to pick the correct skills to take along for each thing you are trying to do in the game.

Guild Wars plays more like a traditional single player RPG, but with the addition of in game communication and the ability to group together with up to 8 real players in the gaming world and on the special missions that progress the story.

The thing about Guild Wars and other similar online games is that just explaining them to someone does not get across their true nature. They can sound boring and not offering anything different over a single player offline RPG. It is hard to explain, but when you play these games online and manage to form gaming groups in the game with other players you start chatting with and getting along with something special happens. It makes the game a lot more than it's parts. As I said, it is hard to explain.

Another game that is different to most online RPGs is the Phantasy Star game, and Phantasy Star Universe has just been released. These games used a structure not disimilar to Mario games. You have a central hub and keep using the same areas of the game for different scenarios, just as you did in Mario 64 and Sunshine. And like Guild Wars you can group up with other real players to complete the missions and quests you are given to complete.

If you want to try out an online game I recommend Guild Wars. I think you can get a 14 day free trial to give it a go. If you are interested I will look into the free trial for you. And if you did want to give it a try Teho and myself are in the game already.