A Week in Guild Wars 2

As I mentioned a week ago, I finally made the leap from Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2.  I have also been able to log in to the game and play some almost everyday (with the exception of Monday, that day sucked).  And I have some initial thoughts on my time spent in the game thus far.  My stats as of this writing is a level 16 Necromancer with a focus on minions (build 1) and a focus on AoE attacks (build2).  Let me say first hand, I absolutely love this game. Now read on and find out why.

Probably my first half hour to forty-five minutes of playtime were a little familiar yet a little confusing for me as well. The character creation portion of the game is pretty awesome. The character is pretty much customizable from head to toe. You pick from a set of preconfigured parts and can tweak them from there. For example, you pick from a set of faces for your toon. Then you can make adjustments to things like the chin size and angle of the eyebrows, etc. This system allows for a greater range of design than Guild Wars offered.

The confusing thing for me had to be the way the skill system works. In Guild Wars, you would unlock skills by gaining experience points (like a traditional RPG). Then you would visit NPC characters and purchase more skills. Elite skills were often captured from instanced bosses during your adventures using a Signet of Capture right after the battle. Not in Guild Wars 2.

Here is the just, you do unlock Utility Skills using Skill Points earned during play. You gain skill points by completing Skill Challenges and from leveling up. Your Combat skills are directly tied to your weapon set. Meaning if you happen to pickup and equip a new Ax or Mace, they new weapon will equip your character with a different set of skills for combat. And without equipping a particular weapon, you never know what skills you will get.

If the skills have not been used yet on a particular weapon, only one skill for that weapon will be available. As you use that skill, the second skill in the set will slowly unlock. This unlocking happens across three of the four combat skills. It's not a bad system, but it takes a little getting used too. I am used to picking what skills I want in my builds. Instead of "micro-managing" skills you will mange your inventory. Because obviously, if you had a nice skill set that you liked; you'd not want to discard or sell that weapon.

You Utility Skills cover things like buffs, healing skills, and in my case summoning minions and other Necrosis based monsters. These skills can be swapped on the fly as long as you aren't engaged in combat. Remember in Guild Wars, to make any skill or weapon changes you would have to map travel back to a city and make the necessary changes and swaps. Not both gear and skills can be swapped any time other than when in combat.

Speaking of gear, we can now swap between weapon sets. We three sets of weapons (2 slots for land based and three slots a piece for water based). This covers a primary and off hand weapon in each set. Which gives you additional options when trying out new skills. I like to use new weapons on one skill bar that I am unlocking. And my primary bar has a full, working set of skills. That way I am never stuck with just one skill on each bar.

The majority of the game world is no longer instanced. Meaning you take part in dynamic events that happen in real-time with other players. Kind of like Warhammer Online has. These events often become daily tasks as they pop up frequently and are a lot of fun to play.

Let's chat about loot. In the first Guild Wars, it seemed that I didn't come by crafting materials in loot drops from combat quite like it does in GW2. From my first fight, I have been collecting things like leather squares and Iron Cores. Which is nice, because crafting feels much more fleshed out in GW2. Forgive my ignorance on crafting, as I have only been at it for about two days now. Essentially you get the crafting recipe and the crafting materials and craft away. Unlike my brief time Aion where you could special d forever trying to successfully craft a single, simple item. So far I have bee  crafting in the leather working g profession to  make my 8 slot bags. And it has been a blast.

The Trading Post is another endeavor I have just started playing with. I have purchased some crafting materials with in-game gold with much success. And I have sold probably 50 or 60 silver worth of the items with success. And I love it. It's like a virtual eBay for your unwanted items and loot and craft materials. Included as part of the Trading Post is the Gem Store. Admittedly, I was concerned when I first heard about this. But it seems to be a nice complement to the core game. Essentially the Gem Store is for the much dreaded microtransactions we have seen in other games. But this one reminds me of "Lord of The Rings Online" and "Runes of Magic" in that you don't have to use real world money for the microtransactions. In LoTRO you could gain Turbine Points to make purchases by doing tasks in the game or buying the Turbine Cards and using those.

In GW2, if you decide you don't want to use your hard earned, real world cash. You can convert your in-game silver and gold into Gems to use instead. So what is for sale in the Gem Store? Mostly things like extra character slots, XP boosts, locked chests, and mini pets. You can also upgrade your copy of the game to the deluxe version and get the special skills and Rytlock mini too. There are also armor skins and cosmetic items up for grabs too. But who needs those right? lol

I have heard some complaints about leveling so far. I haven't had any complaints myself as the leveling feels pretty balanced to me. Not really having to grind much helps this out a lot too. Here is my progress so far:
-Levels 1 - 10: Flew by quick and painlessly.
-Levels 11 - 14: Took a little while longer than the first 10. And a little grind was necessary.
-Currently a Level 16 Necro and should hit level 17 pretty quick at this rate.

Overall, I have no complaints about the game. Is it perfect? No, it's not. Does it feel entirely original? Not 100%, as you can definitely find inspirations gleaned from the likes of WoW, LoTRO, and even Warhammer Online. But it feels seamless and they manage to keep it very interesting. One complaint t I have been following on their forums and in-game is balance within some of the classes (like the Necromancer) where people are complaining that the class feels to weak and unbalanced. Personally, this hasn't been an issue for me. But I'm sure AreaNet will address it in due time. On my second day in the game I had already been invited (and joined) a nice, active guild that is a little shy of 400 people strong as of this writing. It took me months to find a decent guild in Guild Wars. The inclusions of Points of Interest, Skill Challenges, and Vista's are awesome as well.

It looks like AreanNet has done it again. And with sales for Guild Wars 2 breaking the 2 million units sold mark. Looks like the rest of the world likes it too.

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Guild Wars 2: Eager Anticipation

So last night my wife and I went on an adventure in our area trying to find the retail copy of Guild Wars 2.  And I was rather surprised that it was pretty difficult to find.  Since the games launch I have found the retail box version of the game at both of our local Walmarts, our local Best Buy, and both of our local Gamestop stores.  However, last night I looked up our local Gamestop stores online (which showed neither had in store stock available - which I know is sometimes not accurate) so I avoided wasting time stopping by those stores.

Hit up my local Best Buy (so I could the last couple points on my rewards card) and there were no copies of the game to be had there.  So as a last resort we dropped by both Walmart stores only to find two copies of the game on the shelf at the last Walmart we stopped at.  Feeling almost as good as if I won a lottery, we ate dinner and went home where I would start the installation process.

Upon cracking open the case, I found little in way of documentation (the original Guild Wars included pretty details booklets on the lore of the game) and there were two game installation DVD's.  Installing from the DVD's took a little bit, but nothing major.  Then the patch process started.  And continued to run... For several hours.  As of this writing, the patches are almost complete so hopefully I'll be in the game soon.

The patching process wasn't unexpected, I just hate that part of the installation of any MMO.  Because it takes so freakin' long.  Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that the game is being improved and updated.  Because in the end, the players benefit from this.  But it has been a while since I had sat through the MMO installation for any game.  And the original Guild Wars seemed to be a fairly quick installation, but the game was setup a little differently from my understanding.

In either way, I have no qualms with how the installation has moved along, and have yet to encounter any errors or issues.  After I get a little time in-game, I'll post some of my initial thoughts.

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App Review: Dark Legends by SpaceTime Studios

Last week we mentioned that SpaceTime Studios has rolled out their newest title in the line of their "Legends" mobile games.  The significant point to be made with this game is that this marks the first time an MMO has been simultaneously released for both Mobile Devices and the Desktop Computer.  Pretty cool!

If you are familiar with SpaceTime Studio's other games (Star Legends and Pocket Legends) you kind of know what to expect as far as character design is concerned.  But let me go on the record to say that this game is nothing like it's previous two namesakes.  For one, this title is a great deal more violent than their previous titles.  Sure, Pocket Legends and Star Legends involve a great deal of fighting and combat.  But neither of them dump buckets of blood during a session of gameplay.  This title does.  Enough with the intro, let's jump in and see how this game stacks up.

Story:
Your character is a newly sired vampire in a world where people are aware that vampires exist thanks to innovation in technology.  Now the humans are hunting the Vampire Nation using said technology and the Dark Arts (hence the appearance of all the monsters in the game).  And it is your job as a new member of the Vampire Nation to take up arms and fight.

Honestly, this is a new take on the whole Vampire legend as far as I know it.  It is a somewhat simple storyline but it's great because that is all you need to know to understand what goes on in the game.  No further explanation is needed.

Graphics & Sound:
As mentioned above, the character designs are the cartoony and fun designs that we have come to expect from SpaceTime Studios.  Unlike SpaceTime's previous two games that we full of color, Dark Legends is much darker.  Given it's source material it has be portrayed this way.  And I can honestly say the atmosphere in the game is great.  It's that dark, but not too creepy dark.  The levels are designed in a way that rewards short bursts of fast gameplay, which we will get too shortly.

Sounds is pretty good.  You get all the fanfare you would expect from hearing the sounds of the onscreen baddies to your attacks doing their job.

Gameplay:
The gameplay is pretty good overall.  The action during the combat missions is great and a blast to play through.  You will find yourself running around slicing and dicing evil fiends very quickly as this game has a pretty small learning curve and does pretty well to get you playing pretty quick.  The earlier "training" type missions are solo missions.  So they are pretty easy.  After you complete that handful of early missions you'll be able to play with other people as you run through the combat missions.  Playing with others is a lot more fun as it gives you a sense of being a "team player".

My only complaint (and it may be I just overlooked this) is that the interface feels a little cluttered and right out of the gates there was a little confusion about what certain icons were telling me.  Although it is easy enough to figure it out as you play through the earlier levels.

The game is made up of basically two types of missions: combat and search type missions.  The combat missions are pretty straight forward.  Run through a map either solo or with others and kill pretty much anything that moves.  Most of the area's have a type of boss character at the end that may take some work to kill earlier on.  But as you progress and your character gets stronger, even these enemies go down fairly quick.

The search missions aren't actually playable missions at all.  Instead you simply tap the mission icon on the map and watch an animation (or cutscene) to see what happens.  Personally, this was a little off putting the first couple of times I played through these particular missions.  Some missions involve watching your character "Glamour" an NPC to charm information from them.  While others involve watching your character look through a pile of rubble or even breaking into a tomb of vampire's lair.  Personally, I feel like the search missions could have been a little more.  Maybe something like a puzzle of mini-game to break up the monotony of fighting through every mission.  But nonetheless, these missions serve the purpose of furthering the story more than gameplay.  After playing through a few levels you get used to them and it makes you look forward to the combat missions all the more.

Energy is one of the hot topics among the players of this game.  Some like it, some don't. Here's the deal, you essentially have a limited amount of energy.  From what I gather, each mission requires a certain amount of energy points in order to play it.  Not enough energy?  Simply redeem your in game platinum for more or step away from the game for a little while and let your energy build back up for free.  Personally, I like this feature as it forces me not to burn up all afternoon playing the game.  This does prevent marathon play for those who like to play that way.  But for me, not a big deal.

Skills:
As the game thus far that I have played it plays fairly linear you level up and acquire new skills automatically as you play.  One of the nice things about the game is that there is very little emphasis on customizing stats.  A lot of people tend to get lost when it boils down to getting a better character because you have juggled stats and numbers to do so.  This free's up the player to do more playing and earn new costumes for you character as you play.

Multiplayer:
As mentioned above, the early missions force you to play solo in order to learn the game.  After those missions you can jump into playing with other people.  And that is where this game shines.  There is no bloat or crap to deal with.  You simply jump in and run the mission assisting others.  Which turns out to be a lot of fun.  This game boasts to be an MMO but it feels more like a hack & slash co-op title to me.  With that being said, there is a PvP aspect to the game as well; however, I haven't actually tried it out yet.

Overall:
If you are looking for a fun coop style game to play on either your mobile device or in your web browser.  Than Dark Legends is a must have.  It is free to play.  Although there are plenty of opportunities to swap real world cash for in-game items if you so choose.  But it is not forced to shell out your hard earned cash, which is nice.  Also, a lot of free to play games (especially on mobile devices) are riddled full of advertisements that get in the way.  And so far, nothing like that has popped up for me.

If you don't mind having limited access to energy points to delegate you play (which I don't mind at all) you should have a blast in this game.  So far I have, and I am not that big a fan of vampire related games.  But this one does it right.

One side note that I'd like to make is just some simple advice.  I would recommend this title to the older crowd as some of the source material is a little too mature for children.  With this being said the Google Play Market page for the game shows "High Maturity" for the Content Rating.

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars!




Pro's:
-Fun multiplayer
-Great gameplay
-Easy to find people to play with.
-PvP is available
-Character customization is basically equipping crystals and costumes.
-It's Free to Play!

Con's:
-There are missions that are only for progressing story involving no gameplay whatsoever.

Get it at:
Google Play: http://bit.ly/IyXeVO
Chrome Web Store: http://bit.ly/HMLHJg
Apple's App Store: Not available yet, according to their forums the game is pending Apple's approval and should be available in a few weeks.

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Dark Legends is Out!

For all of you mobile gamers out there, a new title has hit the web from the likes of SpaceTime Studios.  That's right, they are the great folks behind the much loved "Pocket Legends" and the newer "Star Legends" titles.  Their newest title is called "Dark Legends".  And after having some hands-on time last night with the game, I can say it is definitely a lot grittier than their two previous games.

Here is the deal, you play a newly sired vampire in a gothic/urban city setting where normal humans are aware of the vampire's existence.  You have to fight to survive.  And you are fitting off all kinds of creatures from zombies to demons, it's the full gamut.  It has the feeling of a SpaceTime Studios game in the character design.  It has a cute but dark feeling about it.  And at times it feels a lot like a cooperative hack-&-slash game.  Which is pretty cool.

One of the big deals about this game is that it is the first MMO title that was released simultaneously for mobile and desktop play via Google Play for mobile devices and the Chrome Web Store for desktops.  And the game is a free to play title.  So don't hesitate to jump in and have fun.

Look for a review next week!

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Guild Wars 2 up for PreOrder Now!

This week was a big week especially for gamers!  Not quite sure what I am hinting at?  Let me expound, this week pre-sales started for the much anticipated Guild Wars 2!  This game has been a long time in the making and ArenaNet has been teasing those of us who cut our teeth on the first Guild Wars with screens and videos and even beta testing for some (but unfortunately no beta testing for me).  So how much is it? What do you get for preordering? Is there a Collector's Edition?  And when does it hit the street?

Let's break it down.  For $59.99 you can preorder the standard game.  All preorder customers get the following perks:
-Beta Access to ALL GW2 beta events.
-A Three Day Headstart Access when the game releases.
-The Hero's Band ingame item.

For $79.99 Digital Deluxe Edition you get the above three perks and:
-The game.
-Summon Mistfire Wolf Elite Skill (ingame).
-Miniature Rytlock pet (ingame).
-Golem Bank (lasts for 5 days - ingame).
-Chalice of Glory (earns extra Glory and it a one time use item - ingame).
-Tome of Influence (guild stuff - ingame).

And the ubersweet Collector's Edition ($149.99) will include all of the above goodies, perks, and ingame items, as well as:
-10 inch Rytlock figurine.
-Book: "Making of Guild Wars 2"
-Custom Art Frame
-Art Portfolio and 5 Art Prints
-Best of Guild Wars 2 Sountrack CD

Sounds pretty freaking sweet!  As an avid fan of the original Guild Wars, I can honestly say I have been awaiting the arrival of it's sequel for some time now.  And I have a renewed desire to jump back in the original and try to finally fill up my Hall of Monuments (which is a little on the bare side).

Here's the kicker, there still isn't an official release date other than they are aiming for a 2012 release.  I have been burned in the past on game preorders.  So it is unlikely that I will partake of the preorder process.  However, seeing the preorders being opened up is huge news for a game that we have waited on for so long now.

So if preordering is up your alley be sure to swing by their website: https://buy.guildwars2.com/

Checkout the trailer as well:

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APB: Reloaded Has A Live Action Trailer

Remember a title from a while back that took the media by storm as a massively multiplayer game in the same vein as Grand Theft Auto.  This game was titled: "APB: All Points Bulletin".  Initially this game was released on the PC and the devs where considering a console version.  The game was short lived though due to faults of it's own merits (from gameplay to game modes disappoints were huge).  The game just couldn't deliver what fans and industry watchers had hoped it would.  In short, the game launched in June 2010 and closed down in September 2010.  Yep, short lived alright.

After bouncing around in limbo for a little while, GamersFirst picked it up and it was released by Reloaded Productions.  If you aren't familiar with GamersFirst they are a MMO gaming company that carves their business into the Free-to-Play market of MMO titles.  Titles under their label include: War Rock, Knight Online, Taikodom, Sword 2, and most recently Fallen Earth (out of which I can personally attest that War Rock and Fallen Earth are great games). With this new development in the game's brief lifespan there was hope once more.

The game went into Open Beta in May 2011 under the title: "APB: Reloaded".  One of the big positives this game has going for it is character customization.  This was one of the few things it's original incarnation did right.  And hopefully it will roll over to this version as well.  So with the news that the game is finally making it's way back to life, GamersFirst has rolled out a Live Action Trailer.  Honestly, I love watching these Live Action Trailers.  Sometimes they suck, sometimes they are awesome.  Really it's a crap shoot and one I have no way of being able to predict prior to watching it.  This trailer is pretty unique in that it shows the different character customizations in a live action form.  And it is an interesting trailer (so it definitely doesn't suck).

However, it is not for the faint of heart and should be for mature audiences only as it depicts scenes of graphic violence.  It is kind of ironic that this trailer rolls out so close to the release of 'Saints Row: The Third', don't you think?




If you're interested in checking out the game swing by their website:http://www.gamersfirst.com/apb/?fbid=wmjBHrVWu3DAnd if you'd like to see other games from GamersFirst visit:http://www.gamersfirst.com/

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WoW: Mists of Pandaria

Yesterday I mentioned World of Warcraft's troubles and a little information about the latest WoW Expansion: Mists of Pandaria.  I figured it was only fair to follow up with a little more of what is known about the upcoming expansion for one of the biggest MMO titles on the market.


With the expansion Blizzard will offer up:
- New Race
- New Continent
- Level cap will be raised to 90
- And a new class.

If you've been living under a rock for the last couple of weeks, than you'll know that the Pandaren are the new race and they hail from Pandaria (lacks a little imagination for me).  The new class is Monk.  Blizzard will also be bringing a new challenge mode, PVP goodies, and more.  If you haven't seen the trailer yet, check it out (borrowed from the WorldofWarcraft YouTube Channel).

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What's Happening to WoW?

Admittedly, I have spent my fair share of time in the past running around in World of Warcraft.  Was it fun?  Sure.  Was it creative?  Sure.  Was it worth me spending $15 dollars a month to play it when compared with my time spent actually in-game during the course of the month?  I didn't like it that much.  :)

I am not one of these "WoW haters"; let me get that out there first and foremost.  As far as the game goes, it was one of the first MMO titles to get it right.  Otherwise, it would have folded a long time ago.  Blizzard has been successful at indirectly killing off or forcing other MMO titles similar to WoW's genre into a Free-to-Play business model.  For some this alternative business model has been a success for other titles it means death of the game.  Either a game has that certain charm, flare, and gameplay worthy of such fanfare.  And yes, WoW certainly has it.


It was reported just a couple of months ago that Blizzard has lost something in the neighborhood of 800,000 subscribers from July 2011 to September 2011.  I don't care who you are, that is a huge loss.  Is this a sign of the economy?  A sign that people just aren't playing?  Or are they getting spoiled to the Free-to-Play plan?

Regardless, looks like Blizzard is pulling out the one card that not many people on the face of planet Earth can shy away from: Panda's.  I don't care who you are, but you have to be on bad dude not to have a soft spot in the old ticker for a panda.  And Blizzard knows this, so coming soon to Azeroth will be a new expansion entitled: Mists of Padaria.  This expansion will bring the Pandaren race as well.

Will the adorable pull of Pandaren Shaman draw people back?  Time will tell.

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Star Legends Chrome Store

A while back I did a review of an awesome MMO for Android and iOS devices.  The app reviewed was that of 'Star Legends: The BlackStar Chronicles' link.  It is an awesome game and it's free in the Android Market.

It was announced this past week that this game will be making it's way to the Chrome App Store.  Meaning, if you run Google's Chrome Web Browser; then you're in for a treat.  This is a great game for the casual gamer.  And yet it is still an MMO.  As MMO titles typically have the stigma that they have the ability to take over your life.  All the while, if you are one who likes to completely get sucked into a game, you'll find hours of fun to be had in Star Legends.

So what is such a big deal with this game hitting the Chrome App Store?  Easily put, the game allows cross platform play.  Meaning you can play against people using mobile devices running the game (Android or iOS) as well as other gamer's using the Chrome App version.  This in itself is a huge step and if successful maybe other mobile developers will start thinking along the same lines as SpaceTime Studios.

And this is what you can look forward to:


To read how the app played via my review, visit:Star Legends Review

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Lord of the Rings Online: Mithril Edition!

For fans for the Free to Play MMO: Lord of the Rings Online, hold on to your hats!  There is a new retail edition heading your way.  You heard that right, it's a retail version of a free to play game.  It will retail at $29.99 for the Mithril Edition of LoTRO.


So what does it include to be worth retailing at a healthy chunk of change at $29.99?
-Game Disk's
-Starter Guide
-Keyboard Map
-Bonus Quests
-Exclusive Mount
-2,000 Turbine Points for the LOTRO Store

That's a pretty healthy offering if I must say so.  Especially since it already includes the game's client installer (which can be a hefty download with a long wait time for some of us).  Of course you'll probably be prompted to download patches once the game has been installed.  I am an existing LOTRO player, and the game is truly one of the best free to play titles out there right now.  So I promise if you have the hardware to run it, you'll not be disappointed.

For more information on the LOTRO: Mithril Edition visit: http://mithril.lotro.com/

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Snowman in August?

While playing a little bit of Lord of The Rings Online today, I stumbled upon this cozy snowman stuck up on a mountain top in the Vail of Thrain.  Pretty cool.

Also, if you're into the whole micro-transaction  setup and are playing LOTRO as a free 2 play title.  Best Buy (at least in my area) carries the $10 Turbine point cards.  Everywhere else (Walmart, Gamestop, our local Target, etc.) only carry the $20 cards.  Which is great, since I'd prefer to pickup the $10 cards as opposed to locking down $20 bucks at a time into a free game.  Same damage to the wallet over time, but it seems to appear more budgetable.  lol

So keep your eyes out for them.

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Age of Conan: Unchained F2P

Well, despite everything I have been reading the last couple of weeks about Age of Conan I have decided I will go ahead and download the F2P (free to play) game client and begin a test drive of the game.  I attempted to try the game out once before and had some issues getting to that point.

Personally, the game looks like it has a lot of potential.  Once I have installed the game, my goal is to give it 30 days of play time before reporting back on my time with the game.  So check back soon.

Happy Surfing!

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New 'The Secret World' Trailer: Savage Coast

Posted yesterday on Machinima's YouTube Channel is the newest trailer for upcoming MMO 'The Secret World'.  This trailer is entitled: 'The Savage Coast'.  I'm really looking forward to this MMO being released.  I know it's going to be jumping into a steady stream of already successful MMO titles and that may make it hard to pickup momentum.  But hopefully it'll be as unique as the devs are promising.  So, checkout their newest vid of Solomon Island.

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F2P News: Age of Conan: Unchained

Fans of MMO's everywhere should be on the edge of their seats...Why?  Because another MMO has adopted a free to play model again.  This time it is Funcom's Age of Conan.  Now, I know a lot of players have their own opinions on AOC; however, I haven't personally played it.  Now that it has a Free 2 Play offering, I may check it out.  I'm an avid fan of Big Bang Theory (the geeky TV show for those not in the know).  And one of the episodes from an earlier season revolves around the guys playing AOC.  It sparked my interest then.

Fast forward a little while, and you'll know that they offered a free limited trial that let players experience the first 10 levels or so of the game.  Which was a cool idea, not sure how well it worked out for them, but it was a cool idea.  Now, they have changed up the offerings somewhat.  When you get into looking at the fine details you'll see that their F2P offering is basically an advanced limited trial type of deal.  See below:

So as you can see they are really trying to tease players to hop back into the game.  Will this help draw people back into Hyboria?  Not sure, will people try it out.  Hopefully they will.  If you're interested visit:

http://www.ageofconan.com/

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F2P News: Team Fortress 2

Well, it was announced the other day that Team Fortress 2 will now go free to play.  If Valve handles this the right way, this could be great for the game and it's current community.  I have been an avid TF2 player in the past.  And while I enjoyed playing through the extra content that has been included in the last year or so with updates to the individual classes.  The TF2 Fan deep inside of me is concerned about the F2P model for this type of game.  I think I speak for everyone who enjoys online games, in that the last thing we need to fill our game servers with are the flamers who try to spoil the fun for everybody else, either by interfering with the flow of a match, or by a poor attitude.

Certainly you have bumped into someone like this if you have ever played a FPS game online.  And with a F2P model it is much more likely this caliber of player will start to crowd the games.  I hope I am terribly wrong about this, because TF2 is an awesome game.  And with a title such as Team Fortress 2 being steered towards this route, it will be interesting to see what other titles may have to adapt to survive in the ever changing online game scene.

It seems almost as though every other month or so we hear word of another MMO going towards F2P.  And I must admit, I have found a lot of fun can be had with a solid F2P title.  So, we'll continue to watch these developments and see how things shape up for Valve.

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Lord of The Rings Online Goes Free-2-Play In The Fall!

One of the biggest developments in the MMO world this week happened today.  It looks as though Turbine is extending the same type of Free-2-Play Business Model that has made it's popular 'Dungeons & Dragons Online: Ebberon Unlimited' such a success.

This fall, Turbine will be applying a very similar concept to LOTRO.  It will include the LOTRO Store as well.  If you are a current subscriber, don't worry.  Turbine has included a handful of perks for you folks as well.  I have to be honest, I've heard pretty good things about LOTRO and I am pretty excited to see Turbine head in this direction.  The game will be free to download and play.  The players can then purchase character classes and character slots, expansions, etc. from the Turbine Store.

As a fan of MMO's, I love trying out games I haven't yet explored.  However, with most of the commercial games, you have to purchase the game and the subscribe to it monthly (or similar billing choices).  And more often than not, there are more games out that pick my interest than my monthly budget can support.  Not to mention the whole time issue.  I hate paying monthly for a game that I feel I can't get my monies worth of playtime.

Worry no longer, once F2P LOTRO hits, look for my review to follow pretty quickly.  You can sign up for the F2P Beta which will start soon as well.  http://www.lotro.com/betasignup/
Also for more info on the switch in business model, check out: 
http://www.lotro.com/news/709-announcing-the-lord-of-the-rings-onlines-move-to-free-to-play-

See you in the Fall in Middle Earth!

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This Month's Free 2 Play Game Review: Runes of Magic

As promised, I have spent some time in Frogster's Runes of Magic.  I had been hesitant to jump into 'Runes of Magic' for one simple reason, I had read a lot of reviews and comments on the game and everybody seemed to have the same impression, that it was attempting to be a WoW clone.  I had even tried out the game a while back (during the summer of 2009) and I just couldn't seem to get into the game.  So I left after playing for a few days.  Now I have returned to Taborea to give it a fair chance.  And I'm glad that I did.  After spending the last 20 or so days running around ingame and doing most all of the missions in the starting area and picking my second class I think it's fair to say that I have been able to actually see what the game has in store for new players.  Click below to see read my impressions of the game!

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