2014 Gaming

2013 and 2012 I was a MMO tourist.  I couldn’t find and settle down in any one game for any length of time.  Instead, I’d play game X for a couple of months while “cheating” on it by playing a couple of other games on the side.  2013 isn’t going to be touristy for me.  I know what games I want to play and what games just hold no interest for me any more.

WOW is off of my SSD and my subscription cancelled once again.  I’m not going to jinx myself and say I’m never going to play it again but that’s how I feel.  BlizzCon left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth and I honestly don’t want to continue to support Blizzard economically via gaming.  I prefer my WOW lore in book format where actual stories can be told and finished.  I loaded up on several WOW novels when they were last on sale as an Amazon Daily Deal.  Raiding isn’t enough to keep me continually paying a subscription, hell let’s be honest it is as boring and trite as running the same five-man instance repeatedly.  End game boredom is the reason I first “cheated” on WOW and nothing has changed since I started playing the game back in 2008.  I’m a woman over forty-five who doesn’t enjoy raiding, clearly WOW doesn’t care about what interests me and thus I’ll spending my gaming dollars elsewhere.

Games that I’m “Quitting”

Guild Wars 2, Rift, and SOE games are definitely no longer on my radar. 

GW2 was a huge disappointment for me and every time I pop back in and retry it my initial disappointment is reconfirmed.  There is no one playing the game and thus the whole “events” theory of gaming is utter crap. 

Rift is still enjoyable but I still can’t stand my questing being interrupted by rifts.  I do thoroughly enjoy Rift’s PVP but that isn’t enough to keep me interested in playing the game. 

SOE has its own particular set of issues.  I love Everquest 2 but I do not love the artificial blocks they have established to character progression.  Also I’m not going to spend money on SOE games when the benefits of subscribing are constantly in flux and are detrimental to the gamer but highly beneficial to SOE.

2014 Games

This year, the MMO’s I am going to playing Elder Scrolls Online, Lord of the Rings Online, The Secret World and Star Wars: The Old Republic.  The one thing these games all have in common?  Fantastic story telling and characters I am utterly invested in. 

TSW is a game I can play for small doses at a time but I love every moment of that play time.  TSW has expanded my reading base and thus my knowledge and I cannot fault any game that pushes me to become a better read individual.

LOTRO may not be a perfect game and it may not be hundred percent pure for the lore purists, but it is more than reasonably close for me.  The cosmetic system and the stunning screenshots I get are worth minor inconveniences like purchases not being account wide from the cash shop for almost every purchase.  I admit, I lose complete track of time while playing LOTRO and that alone is an endorsement for me.

Elder Scrolls Online releases on 4 April 2014 and I am eagerly looking forward to the official release.  I fell in love with Oblivion on the Xbox360 and have been a fan ever since.  Elder Scrolls games will always hold a special place in my heart, with the exception of Skyrim, and based on developer statements and interviews ESO will be a game that perfectly fits my play style.  I will also admit the Skywind mod for Morrowind has me intrigued.

SWTOR is going to be my guilty pleasure this year.  I have characters with unfinished stories and I will admit that bothers me immensely.  I may pop in and out of SWTOR this year as a break from high fantasy games like LOTRO and ESO and I’m ok with that.  I will complete story lines and enjoy myself immensely doing so.  I am a complete sucker for anything Star Wars, Yoda slippers & Jaina Solo shirt I’m looking at you, so it shouldn’t be a complete shocker that unfinished stories in a Star Wars game is driving me bonkers.

Console & Mobile Gaming

I will still be playing games on the 360 and the One this year.  Fable Anniversary releases next month and I’m looking forward to it.  I still have several games to finish on the One purchased on release day.  I like the titles just fine, I’ve just been in the reading mood and not the gaming mood the last month or so. 

Mobile gaming caught my attention in the last couple of weeks.  Games like Dungeon Hunter 4 and Royal Envoy 2 have me engaged and interested.  It is safe to say that mobile gaming reviews and impressions will be forthcoming this year. 

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Lifestyle: I figured out why I had Burnout

So it dawned on me over the weekend why I had burnout on the MMO front and I blame Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Well, SWTOR isn’t solely to blame, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back truth be told.  I got my beloved Consular through the first chapter of the game and went from loving the story line, and therefore my character, to feeling let down and slogging through levels just to gain a level.  Then I just stopped playing all games, I couldn’t stand the mere thought of logging into any game.

Everquest 2 is just daunting, even double experience weekends can’t tempt me to log-in.  I don’t hate my characters, my guild makes me laugh, but those AA points are a roadblock I dread.  Literally they are speed bumps along the path to leveling.  I could have multiple characters to max level by now in Everquest 2 but for the AA roadblock.  I’m not looking for speed or power leveling but I was not enjoying the feeling of constantly running on a treadmill and gaining no ground.

Rift is just frustrating.  I love PvP in Rift but unfortunately rifts get in the way of PvE activities in the game.  For me, it completely detracts from the story in Rift.  It is a fun game, but I should have listened to my initial assessment when we were in the Rift beta (“there isn’t enough of a story line for me” is precisely what I told my husband).

I resubbed to WOW this morning.  I keep swearing it off and resubbing, hey it gives hubby great joy when he teases me whenever this happens.  I plan on playing at my pace and keeping chat off as much as possible.  Yeah I know, it’s a social game but hey to each their own.

So here’s my advice for those of you suffering from gaming burnout – take a couple of weeks off and do something completely unrelated.  I am making a public promise to myself that as soon as someone irritates me in game or I feel obligated to do something, I’m walking away and doing something else.

Technorati Tags: Star Wars: The Old Republic,SWTOR,Everquest 2,EQ2,Rift,WOW,World of Warcraft,free-to-play,f2p,PvP,PvE,burnout,MMO,video games

Lifestyle: One Father’s Solution to Gaming Addiction

You know the proverbial joke about the gamer who lives in his parent’s basement playing video games all hours of the day?  One frustrated father in China has gone to extreme lengths, he hired virtual assassins to kill his 23-year-old son every time he logged in. 

The frustrated father only wanted his adult child to get and keep a job, which isn’t at all unreasonable since his gaming habit resulted in poor grades in high school.  And this is China after all, so undoubtedly this is the only child in the family, so perhaps a better time to deal with the addiction would have been let’s say 10 years earlier?

We all get caught up in games and gaming occasionally but when those that love you are telling you that you need to step away from the console or the pc, maybe , just maybe, gamers should listen and visit and interact with the real world more often.  I’m just as guilty or getting caught up in games but I try, sometimes I have to force myself, to step away and do housework or go for a walk instead of completing that next quest or dying to the boss one more time. (Lord Vivicar I’m talking about you here smacking my poor Consular four levels below you into next week repeatedly yesterday.  Oh your time will come buddy, your time will come!)  Wait I’m sorry, time to step away and get some coffee and hit the treadmill.

 

Technorati Tags: virtual assassins,Lord Vivicar,China,lifestyle,gaming addicion,parents basement

Lifestyle: Infomercial Virgin No Longer

Last Sunday was a lazy Sunday here and when we turned on the television to veg out an infomercial was on for vacuums.  I normally mock those things and we quickly change the channel, however I was transfixed.  There before me was the vacuum I kept waiting for someone to make.  I was probably pretty close to drooling to be honest, hubby was laughing at me something fierce.  But can you blame me?  The vacuum on television was sucking up dust and crap while being maneuverable and adaptable at the same time.  And I’m frugal enough to admit that I will not pay over $500 bucks for a vacuum given the amount of pet hair that accumulates quickly here.

So we ordered the vacuum and I thereby lost my infomercial virginity.  My Shark Rotator arrived on Thursday afternoon.  I am thrilled.  The amount of dust it picks up is amazing and it’s taking me less time to vacuum the same area.  The best thing is that the unit is sealed.  No dust particles or dander escapes while vacuuming or when I empty the canister.  I can honestly say that no other vacuum I’ve used in the last decade plus has come close to the performance of the Rotator.

Now what does all this have to do with gaming you might be wondering?

 

Well, somehow my new vacuum looks eerily similar to a R4-E1 droid, a fact pointed out by hubby rather quickly.  So my new speedy, maneuverable, new vacuum is a droid that let’s me getting back to gaming faster and in a much cleaner and healthier environment.  And with two dogs, one cat, and a macaw anything that helps me get a handle on pet hair, dander, and bird feathers is a welcomed addition to my cleaning arsenal.

Losing my infomercial virginity has made my life easier and my family healthier.  Thank heavens for lazy Sunday’s!

Technorati Tags: Lifestyle,Shark Rotator,R4-E1

Gaming Lifestyle: Who We Are

My darling spouse, yeah he’ll get that, pointed out last week that the blog failed to ever do an “about us” piece and that it needed a “lifestyle” column.  Admittedly he was right, I said it in a public writing dear, and so this morning I’m going to rectify that oversight.

Who are the crazy 40-something's behind Gaming Couples?  We are Valhakar and Stitchersflock (or Val and Stitchers for short), happily married and residing in the warmth of the desert.  Unfortunately we weren’t blessed with children so that joy is missing from our gaming life.  Val works insane hours sometimes but luckily he still has time for gaming and goofing off.  I am the luckiest wife around because I’m blessed to stay home and not have to deal with the corporate grind.  We have a house full of dogs, a cat, and a Severe Macaw that keeps us on our toes constantly.  Ever tried gaming while a parrot is nibbling your earlobes?  Let’s just say it’s made for some interesting pick-up groups over the years!

Valhakar has been playing computer games for almost as long as they have been around.  His MMO adventures began in Ultima Online and carried on until Everquest was released.  He has played almost every AAA release at some point but has definite preferences.  He isn't a huge fan of Guild Wars and at this point WOW makes his skin crawl.  He was eagerly awaiting the release of The Secret World in June 2012, and was incredibly frustrated with Funcom when the game released.  Right now, Val is looking forward to the open beta of MechWarrior Online and has a WOW subscription because his wife does.  He also pops into Rift fairly regularly for PvP battles.

Stitchersflock, aka the blog’s primary author, is relatively new to computer gaming.  Valhakar had a devious plan in mind when they got married way back when and eventually his plan succeeded.  *Hey there’s a blog idea … how did the devious plan work and could it work for you?*  It backfired to some extent though, since I’ve developed a fondness (aka I actually READ quest text before running off to kill ten kobolds lol) for games with story lines.  Guild Wars was my first MMO, even though Val calls it a baby-MMO, and then I moved up to WOW.  Since then I’ve played Everquest II, Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Aion, and several of the free to play games out there.  Like Val, I looked forward to the release of The Secret World and my disappoint was far closer to anger than any other emotion.  Currently, I’m being blown away by the Mists of Pandaria expansion in WOW and I still regularly pop-in on Rift and Everquest 2.

Time will tell if this becomes a semi-regular column but it just might.  But for this morning, I need that first cup of coffee and then I am going to go work on my Pandaran Monk! 

Technorati Tags: Gaming Couples,Rift,WOrld of Warcraft,WOW,Star Wars: The Old Republic,SWTOR,Guild Wars,Lord of the Rings Online,LOTRO,Age of Conan,Funcom,The Secret World,Aion,Everquest 2,Everquest,Ultima Online