Tag: VG

Keeping Up With The Gamers #MMORPG

If you’re one of those gamers who likes to taste a little bit of every game, this has probably been an expensive year for you. Whether you’re only interested in MMOs or if that extends to single player, it doesn’t much matter. There’s a lot of games out there and the costs can add up.

Right now I’m reading everyone’s excited squeals for Neverwinter, the ‘early’ release starts today – for people who decided to buy the $200 package. Needless to say, I simply can’t afford to spend that much on a game that I may or may not enjoy well into the future. At this moment I have been contemplating the $60 package, but I’m still not sure if it’s a game that I truly enjoy more than anything else I already have on my plate (that comes at a lower cost). So what is on my plate?

I did get my $60 out of Guild Wars 2, and even though I’m not actively playing that right this second I know it’s not going anywhere. I’ve dedicated more than $60 worth of hours to the game, and I’ve had a lot of fun. It will still be there when my interest leans that way again.

Wurm Online is $50 a year (until the price goes up in May). You rarely ever get MMOs for that price, and I’ve certainly got a lot of played time on my characters. I think my main is over 100 days played now. Plus you can play Wurm with in-game currency, which I do for my 2nd account. I just purchased a year of game time, wanting to get that settled before the price goes from $5 EU a month to $8 EU.

My EQ account is compensated, as are all of my SOE accounts. This makes them an easy go-to choice for many genres. I’m having a lot of fun in EQ, and I still dip into EQ2 and Vanguard. Me and SOE (the company, not the people) may have had some rocky times, but they’re a solid game choice for me and have been for many, many years.

Rift is active for 30 days. I haven’t poked in yet and I’m not really sure why. I just haven’t felt the urge, even after claiming the latest expansion and a handful of other goodies.

There are loads of other games on my desktop that I could technically pick up and play at any time, and haven’t felt an inkling to do so yet. There’s Wizard 101, Pirate 101, The Secret World, Star Trek Online (I have a life time subscription to that one), and of course EVE which I still have some unused PLEX for. These are just the MMO games. There’s a whole steam library of single player games that I haven’t beaten yet, and a few that have no ‘end’ like The Sims 3.

With such a selection it’s hard for me to justify spending even more money on a game that I know didn’t exactly call to me in the beta – but – so hard to resist because pretty much all of my friends are going to be playing it. I never want to be the one left out of all the fun. So for those who ARE going to be playing today – I look forward to living vicariously through your adventures!

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Adventures Through Telon #VGD #Vanguardsoh

ScreenShot_00364Level 40. My shaman switched from bird to bear, and it’s been going pretty well. I’m thinking once my partner in crime (Hampooj, level 40 death knight) reaches level 45 I may switch back over to my blood mage. The shaman is a fun class but it’s not really my *favorite* class, they have a combination of spell and melee and you can choose to buff particular aspects. They seem more of a ‘jack of all trades’ healer. My blood mage on the other hand is a pure spell caster (cloth wearing to boot) and also my highest level crafter. Thus I have a bit more attachment to her.

I started out adventuring in Qalia but the sand there is just so bright, it hurts my eyes. So we moved back to Thestra and off to the northern part of the map to deal with skeletons and undead. While I was struggling to find quests to complete from 35-39, 40 seems to be one of those magical levels where a lot of content opens up. It should (hopefully) bring me fairly close to 50 – although like I mentioned above by then I may switch back over to my blood mage. Then there’s also my disciple who has been sitting at 50 for quite some time now (I haven’t leveled anyone to the cap of 55).

I noticed the store has gotten a few more items in it as of late, but I’ve been pretty good about not spending all of my station cash. I’ve saved up quite a bit from the last triple station cash day, although I did purchase a mount for my level 50 character – I noticed there’s also one for level 40. I’m debating picking that up for my shaman, it’s just not really a colour that I enjoy and if I’m going to spend station cash on something I want to make sure it’s something I’ll use. The mount in question is a giant flying dragon / lizard type creature, and a shade of green that I don’t particularly care for. Still, flying around Telon is an amazing action all in its own. I really enjoy being able to explore out of reach areas that way.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Vanguard Brings Good News to Members and Free to Play #VGD

Vanguard released some really awesome news this week in regards to their free to play model as well as their membership plan.

“We have decided to expand and improve on the free- to-play offering for Vanguard. That means everyone can play any race, any class, to any level for free. You can also own a house, create guilds, and do a bunch of other things.”

So if you were hampered by the free to play model before (although Vanguard has quite an open one compared to most games) there’s a little more incentive to get in game – and if you happen to love it as much as I do, there are some extra perks for becoming a member.

“With that said, there will be increased XP and faction gains, discounts on broker fees, the ability to purchase additional housing plots, and other exciting benefits. You can see all the membership benefits here.”

As Scopique said on G+ “Exactly! Membership should be something that people are COMPELLED to do, not something they should be SHAMED into doing.”

I think he brings up a really good point. Games spend a lot time telling you about all the things you CAN’T do without a subscription. Vanguard has taken a different approach and tells you about the things you do get as a free to play member, and about the things you get as a member. They don’t mention what you ‘can’t’ do (and there’s very little to that list). I think this is fantastic, and I really hope it works to get Vanguard in front of a larger audience.

2012: Game Year in Review (The Year of the Wurm) #WurmOnline

January: I fell in love with Wurm Online, and my readers dropped to the lowest I’ve ever seen them. Turns out that even though I adore playing this game, very few people like to read about it. Not a big deal, since I write for myself, but it was still an eye opener.

February: My nomadic gamer senses kicked in, and I played some Vanguard along with Wurm Online and Eve. SOE was going through their first phase of ProSiebenSat.1 talks, and it was messy. I took part in the awesome Kyklops killing on Deliverance, which just reinforced how much I love Wurm Online.

March: Guess what! Still playing (and posting about) Wurm Online! A little Vanguard in there too and some Rift when they had a free weekend going on (but it couldn’t pry me away from Wurm).

April: Completely Wurm filled – along with the awesome DAW (Developer Appreciation Week) hosted by Scarybooster. I contemplated trying out the epic servers, but never did.

May: Celebration opens in Wurm Online, and I drift to Diablo 3 and World of Warcraft. Both games much neglected shortly after.

June: Back to my nomadic self. I spend some time doing dungeons in Vanguard (Greystone), play some EQ2 and get an award for the housing hall of fame, and I even manage to start playing some Guild Wars in preparation for GW2. There’s even a little Glitch in there, along with (of course) Wurm.

July: Sims 3 eats up a chunk of the month, along with EVE, and World of Warcraft where I’m counting down to Pandaria. Guild Wars 2 beta is in full swing and I’m slowly becoming addicted.

August: An odd month for me. I dip my toes into The Secret World and enjoy the game quite a bit but find it too dark for my tastes. Most of the month is spent in GW2, GW1, Vanguard, and World of Warcraft. Me? Play too many games? No such thing.

September: The nostalgia bug bites me and I head back to EQ1 to see if the planes of power gods are up. I start a new character, and am still playing GW2 but the novelty is starting to wear off because I’m max level and don’t like to dungeon grind.

October: I pop into GW2 for the Halloween event, and was disappointed. I play a few hours of EQ2 during the weekend, and I join a guild in EQ1 (that doesn’t last long). SOE Live also takes place and there’s all sorts of news and announcements going on.

November: It’s NaNoWriMo month and my posts show. I get a little Sims 3 time in, get completely bored of WoW, try some EQ2, and then re-discover Wurm after leaving in the summer.

December: I barely write. There’s only 8 whole posts which is my lowest month since I started the site in 2006. A lot of stuff not gaming related went on, most of it not fit for this blog. So. Here’s to 2013, and a better year.

The Month of Gaming Stuff #EQ2 #EQ #VGD #TS3 #Riftgame

Not only is NaNoWriMo going on this month (which I have been failing at, horribly), I’ve opened registration for this years Gamers Secret Santa, Rift released Storm Legion, Sims 3 released Seasons, EQ2 released Chains of Eternity, EQ1 is releasing Rain of Fear, Vanguard is releasing City of Brass, Planetside 2 is releasing, and that doesn’t even begin to touch on the other console games that came out this month like Halo 4.

What a month to be a gamer, hmm?