EQ Nostalgia Picture
Every now and then I post a nostalgic screenshot from my gaming days of old. Here’s one from 1999 in the South Karana zone.
Everquest’s 10th Anniversary
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the game that changed the MMO world. It is difficult to believe that it was more than 10 years ago since I first logged into EQ’s beta server, and in doing so, changed my gaming world forever. I have said it before, but no other game gave me such enjoyment and satisfaction. Playing Everquest introduced me to an amazing game world filled with amazing people, both good and bad. I still enjoy many of the friendships that began while playing EQ. The accomplishments, failures, good times, and bad all add up to the best times of my gaming life.
Sony is celebrating this anniversary with special events, media, and stories. You can see what they are offering at the official 10th anniversary site. Check it out if you feel the need for some good ol’ nostalgia. As a bonus, here are a few old school Everquest screenshots of my own. Click the thumbnails for a larger version.
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Gaming Again
My 17″ Macbook Pro finally arrived and I now have it setup the way I like it. It has been a long wait, but I can now get back to gaming. I decided to start with Lord of the Rings Online. Since LOTRO requires the Windows operating system, I had to setup a dual boot configuration on the Macbook Pro. I decided to install Windows XP, even though it won’t use all 4GB of RAM that is available to the machine. The game runs great on high settings at 1920×1200, even though the 9600GT 512MB video card isn’t all that great of a card these days.
I have a level 37 Champion on the Windfola server, but I decided to start fresh, so I rolled up a human Guardian that I named Strongg. I wanted to try out a class in the game that I had not played yet and Guardian was one of them. Humans start in the Archet area, so my game introduction had me escaping from a cell and then helping a Ranger named Amdir to rescue some kidnapped hobbits.
Once the introduction is complete, I found myself in the town of Archet, eager to find some quests and get to work. I didn’t have far to go. Amdir was wounded in the battle, so I had to help him with defense of the town. The first few are you typical newbie quests that have you go out and kill wolves and boars so that the town’s sheep are kept safe. Once those are done, I was sent to a hunter’s lodge where some things needed to be done. Seeing this lodge brought pangs of nostalgia to my heart because the lodge reminded me of my beloved Everquest’s Surefall Glade and the lodge that can be found there.
One of the farmers outside of Archet had a boar problem that he wanted me to help him with. A boar named Old Bloodtusk needed to be killed. I remembered this boar from the time that LOTRO first went live. There was a line of people waiting to kill this boar and each time he appeared it was a general free-for-all contest. This time, however, there was not another player in sight and he was waiting for me when I arrived.
After running several other quests, none of which were very challenging, I came to the last quest in the “game introduction” line. Brigands were attacking Archet and I had to help Amdir defend it. The town was in flames when I arrived and it was filled with battle. I worked my way through the town, finally arriving at the final showdown, which culminated in a fight with Eogan, a servant of Angmar who was responsible for all the problems in the area. I dispatched him with ease and ended the quest line.
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What To Play?
Yeah, I am still waiting for my new computer to arrive. Not being able to play any game for more than a month is making my fingers itch. I have, however, had plenty of time to think about what games I want to play going forward. I am a litle torn on the subject.
My World of Warcraft subscription is still active, even though it is not being used right now. The easy road says to go back to playing it, but I am getting urges to play other games. I have a lifetime subscription to Lord of the Rings Online, a game I have not logged into for a long time. The urge to play LOTRO has been heightened lately by the fact that I have been listening to the LOTR audiobooks again. I do this every couple of years because I love the books so much. My only complaint with LOTRO is that I grew weary with all the quests, but if you are not questing, you are wasting your time. The experience gained from grinding mobs is a pittance compared to what you receive from a quest.
Another option is the Sony Station Pass. As you probably know, the $30 a month Station Pass allows you to play any of Sony’s MMO’s that you own the software to. Everquest will ever be my first MMO love. I played Everquest 2 for awhile, but none of my friends followed me there, so I gave it up. I also played Pirates of the Burning Sea for a short while. It grew stale fast. Star Wars Galaxies is another that I played from launch, but the game destroying NGE update had me running for the exits. I tried Vanguard again, but as I mentioned on this blog earlier, it still is way too buggy for me.
It could be because I am older now, but nothing in the MMO space gets me very excited these days. After playing so many of them, it all seems like I’ve been there, done that. I don’t see much innovation anymore. Are all the great ideas used up? I don’t think so, but you can’t tell that from the latest crop of games to be released. Conan, Warhammer, and Darkfall are more of the same tired ideas that have been used over and over again. The only thing that sets Darkfall apart is the fact that it is so hardcore that most people will never want to play it.
So what is a veteran noob supposed to do? I think I will start from scratch in LOTRO and see how it goes. I still need to decide if I stay with WoW or go with the Station Pass. My computer isn’t due for another couple of weeks, so I have plenty of time to decide.
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