Our mission as gaming bloggers is to seek out innovation and fun. ~ Rowan Blaze
Another year of playing or wasting time playing online games for fun and entertainment soon comes to and end. Probably allot cheaper than catching 2 movies at the Movie Theater every week for a year. Surely cheaper than the average weekly Date in cost playing MMO’s overall. Sometimes it can be good to get away from a main game your playing for fun and somewhat recharge your batteries. At other time just to get a feel what new games are really like that may be new out there.
After all I’m not married to any particular game. I play MMO games for my own fun, enjoyment and cheap entertainment and to at least have some fun playing it with everyone else. I don’t mind playing or trying out some new games, its part of why I enjoy playing games and to find new things to appreciate as gaming keeps evolving. As well I like to remind myself from time to time, I’m a MMO gamer! Overall it was only a few games I really tried out in 2012, some games new titles and first time played. One title was a revisit from the past.
Diablo 3
The first game of 2012 I bought in the spring. It’s one of Blizzards games I was already familiar with somewhat having played some of their other game titles. I had never previously played any of the Diablo titles before.
Was a lot of hype about this title before release as well. Having never played the previous title versions, I had decided I was gonna try it out regardless and have some fun playing it for however long it was to last. Bought the game on release. I played a Monk and found that somewhat appealing. Played for about 2 weeks, made it to level 24 or so and have never played it again since. It was good mindless fun while it lasted and didn’t regret spending the money. For the most part I’ve almost completely forgotten I even bought and played the game, though it’s still on my PC.
The Secret World
Second game up was The Secret World (TSW). It was a game I had heard of way back in 2010 and found it interesting and intriguing a game, it sounded different. I figured I’d try it out if it ever got made. I never kept up with the game since that time… I’d completely forgotten about it. Then when I heard it was going to be released in Summer of 2012, I remembered thinking about trying it out. I got a Beta Invite to play it but decided not to play the Beta so not to spoil ever really giving it a real play through on release. As well I decided not to care about reading any review about the game or Beta impressions. What I had already decided was, I was going to play it regardless of any review impressions. I like getting my first hand impressions on things. If I had taken the vast majority of other people’s impressions about EVE Online, I’d likely would have never played it either.
Bought TSW on day one and played it. I didn’t try it out, I played it. Played the game through starting in Solomon Island. I found the game more interesting than vast majority of MMO’s on the market in its story and lore as well modern-day setting. It felt more original that most other MMOs with allot of outside the box thinking required. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of having to figure things out with a rich and engaging story to play through. That was a great part of the appeal of the game. And so I just didn’t play for a few hours starting on Solomon Island, killed some zombies from an Invasion, quit and say yeah I played The Secret World and knew what it was all about.
It was more interesting, intriguing and cerebral than most games I’ve ever played. It was also interesting to be playing the game with my new multi gaming mmo guild of a few other mmo gamers and bloggers. So I made it past the Mysteries of Solomon Island starting the game. Journeyed and explored the deep Mysteries of Blue Mountain, sifted through and revealed the mysteries that lay hidden deep in the Sands and Tombs of Egypt, Time shifted tracking down and apprehending Rogue Agents, explored and solved mysteries in the farmlands of Romania. And at the end unearthing the mysteries of the Shadowy Forest and Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. I made it through to the max level with full GL10 gear. I picked up playing GW2 at launch about that time.
That was back in September and paying a TSW subscription. And though I haven’t really played TSW much since I still have a running subscription all this time. It was my way of showing support for the game. TSW has a fascinating game story and rich story telling in a game with complex mysteries that run deep, its more compelling a story than just about almost any other MMO games out there in my opinion. What was disheartening to see was that not that many gamers really tried it. Some players that did, didn’t find TSW like WoW or other countless MMO’s out there with more of the same thing. As many players found that TSW required some brains and quickly quit. The game launched at not the best of time with heavy competition from GW2 and WoW MoP expansion and maybe not the best payment model for the game by Funcom to compete.
All the Funcom game payment model issue for TSW aside, it turned out to me to be one of the best games I played in 2012. And though I haven’t played TSW much in a while hitting the max level well ahead of many that played, I miss playing the game. I’ve kept the game content up to date and can’t wait to soon return for all the new content that Funcom has delivered to the game since that time last played to dive into. This game will remain for me a keeper to play as a MMO game, what will happen to its future though remain unclear. But as long as Funcom keeps it alive, I’ll keep playing it as they aren’t any other MMO games like it. TSW takes my pick for the best new MMO I played all year!
Guild Wars 2
I had never played GW1, but I had some interest in trying out GW2 from a few years from way back in Game Plans a blogpost a bit way back. I guess it was one of the biggest MMO to have launched this year and to years of hype as well. But I had already decided one way or another I was going to try it out. Never played the GW2 Beta, just bought and played it on game launch day joining up again with my multi gaming mmo guild of a few fellow gamers, bloggers and friends.
GW2 was a fun casual game to play and just relax playing for fun. Really not all that much different compared to if you had ever played WoW or others like it. But it was just more casual laid back fun game to play when felt like doing something a bit different with my time playing a game. Tried out a few races and eventually felt that playing Human felt more fun. I played a Guardian. Played it enough I made it to level 42 or something. Haven’t played it much since those first few months after launch. It still felt like more of the same thing that almost every other MMO have been doing for years and not all that much different to me. I’m sure I will continue to play it from time to time when I feel like.
World of Warcraft – Mist of Pandaria
After playing WoW for several years, its hard to ignore the fact that the game exist, that I once played it and that it had a new expansion with Mist of Pandaria. This very blog only exist and still exist after all these years because I played WoW where I started blogging. After rejecting all of Blizzard previous invitations to return to the game for quite some time I decided to use one the free trials and see what was happening around Azeroth with the latest expansion.
My characters still exist, so it was like old times revisiting some my old characters that I used to spend countless hours playing. Played my old Paladin through the new continent of Pandaria and made it to lvl 90. My old guild which I was still in was barely active, except just one other person an old friend and GM. Though I had fun playing my character through the content from lvl 85-90, wasn’t much point to keep playing after considering all the gear grind, reputation grind and all that. The though of it all wasn’t that entertaining either to have to do all that. It was fun while it lasted, it was like remembering old times, but after about 2 months subscription I called it quits. It was like again, more of the same MMO stuff nothing unique. Back to being one of the many millions Retired from WoW.
EVE Online
Really what’s there to say. I’ve now been playing EVE Online for now almost two and half years. It’s the one MMO I’ve played for almost all of 2012, despite trying out other games and while doing so. EVE remains my main MMO game. It remains the most interesting of all the games I’ve played.
EVE Online also remains the game I absolutely Hate & Love the most! And I guess for me it’s that weird mix of emotions about the game that keeps me attached to it like a bad addiction habit. The day will come when I’ll eventually move on from EVE, but that wasn’t to happen in 2012 apparently. And so it remain my main MMO and the one most played by wide margin of countless hours played in 2012.
Ardent Defender 