Wow, I had not realized how long it had been since I last wrote an entry! Even though I haven’t written in awhile, it doesn’t necessarily mean I have not been gaming. Granted its not always as much as I want, but I have been gaming whenever I can squeeze it into my schedule.
Strangely enough, even though almost half a year has gone by AND A Shantotto’s Ascension has been released for FFXI… I haven’t felt a strong urge to come back. I have contemplated it several times, but the strong urge to do so hasn’t really hit me yet. On the other hand, I have dropped Aion due to lack of time and frustration during the first month when RMT shouts and whispers were frequent (I am told this isn’t true anymore, but I am still reluctant) but have taken a stronger interest in WoW. Yes, WoW.
Even though it isn’t as sociable as FFXI was for me nor as eye catching and technical as Aion, I think just being able to do things for a short amount of time or just being able to insert myself wherever has really pulled me into it. Not to mention the lore which has gotten me interested in replaying the Warcraft series.
Because of this, I have started to think about FFXIV and how I hope it will fill in some gaps I experience in MMOs. FFXI has honestly fit the bill nicely with the way it handles socialization (forced groupings and flexibility with joining multiple LSes) and story telling. But WoW provides with more flexibility in how you can play, such as being able to log in and out without the guilt and burden of inconveniencing the 5 other people you are partying with. Battlegrounds is also great in that it pools together people from different servers/worlds to play with in Brenner like games of Capture the Flag or Tower. Which could seriously help when you really want to play those games S-E put in, but there aren’t enough people on your server who are interested in playing. Aion just… damn. It looks so damn pretty and will look even better with their upcoming expansion. Besides that, Aion also has a much more interesting fighting system than FFXI and WoW put together and will only get better with their new expansion.
Even still… 2010 looks like its going to be a very good year for MMOs! FFXIV and WoW’s Cataclysm is looking so :Q worthy right now. Then there is Star Wars: the Old Republic, which I know a few friends are dying in wait for it to come out. So I am really looking forward to 2010, but I am not quite sure my wallet is. ;o;