Hurlshort

With WoW, I rarely have to stay in one area for more than an hour. That's why the "grind" is less evident. Advancement is very quick. I've played EQ2 as well, and I agree that it's a better product if you like a more difficult climb. EQ2 also has an incredible amount of item variety, quests, factions, housing, etc. There were only a few areas to explore pre-level 20, and that bored me. Once I hit 20 and explored the new zone, I quit because I knew I had a tough climb to get past it. Still, I might go back if I ever manage to hit the cap in WoW and get bored there. I'm super slow at levelling in any game, no matter how easy it is. I just hit 50 in WoW and I've played the easiest class since retail began. It takes me close to 20 hours to gain each level, and I only play 5 hours a week. RF Online is very artistic, but it seems to be missing the best parts of WoW and EQ2. It doesn't have housing. Honestly I haven't seen the PvP, so I can't comment. That might be the best aspect, and again, it was something people loved in Lineage 2 as well. I still think that's the closest comparison.

I played for a bit. It's very reminiscent of Lineage 2. Now I actually played Lineage 2 for a few months and enjoyed it until I hit the real grind. This game seems to have a heavy focus on grinding, but it's definitely a unique world with a variety of weapons and abilities. I can't see it replacing WoW for myself, but I'm sure some people will enjoy it.

Ah, I didn't realize that. Well, that makes me less excited.

Anyone else keeping an eye on RF Online? It's a MMORPG being developed by Codemasters (Operation Flashpoint). I just got into the beta via my Fileplanet subscription, but I haven't had a chance to play. It looks interesting, the setting is futuristic instead of the typical fantasy setting. I'll post more after I play.

This is lame. Actually the lamest advertisment I've seen. Seriously...usually advertisements have some reason to be on our forums. I don't think anyone here is waiting on the next Destiny's Child.

I would highly recommend it. I didn't think it was bland, I thought it was emotional. I don't enjoy people mourning their lost loves, but I thought this movie handled it with grace. It was also thought provoking and frighteningly realistic.

Do they really need to buy the rights? I thought Joss Whedon had control of them, as he just did a movie. Whedon doesn't seem terribly opposed to continuing the Serenity story. I would think any money they raised could be used directly for production costs.

Roar!

I prefer not to take on a certain party line. I identify myself not as a conservative or a liberal. As each individual issue is broached, I form my own opinion. That being said, I also am part of a teachers union, and that tends to be a major constituent of the Democratic party.

I think the last one got locked, but there are quite a few Firefly fans here. I've enjoyed the DVD's for the season and movie.

I thought it was 5.3 million over 3 years, I read it in the paper and already forgot. Honestly I'm not sure. He's been very mediocre this season, but he also injured his shoulder and groin early on and I don't think he's played 100%. I'm just going to have to trust management on this one. He also hasn't had a great D-unit in front all season long. They are taking shape, but we've only got 2 really experienced players back there. I still trust him more than a lot of goalies when it comes to OT in the playoffs. Being a horrible shootout goalie means squat when running for the Cup.

Wow, I'm now actually interested in visiting Paris. I kinda assumed I would choke on the smoke if I ever did visit France. Next up...Asia.

It is way harder to score a ton of points on a team like the Rangers than on the Senators. The Senators have quite a few gifted passers, and each line is a threat. That means the opponents are constantly challenged and worn down. Jagre has to do quite a few things on his own. Trust me, my point totals always go up when I have talented people playing with me. A few of the Senators would really struggle on another team.

I remember the Guild Wars developers talking about the fact that they keep bandwidth and server troubles down with the instancing. WoW doesn't even have separate instances of 1 zone, like Ironforge 1 and 2. EQ2 is doing that with the more crowded zones, you'll have Boring Desert 1 and Boring Desert 2.

I actually enjoyed Star Wars: Republican Commando. I thought it did a great job of showing a grimier side of the Star Wars universe, and it was a pretty easy to understand squad game. It got tedious towards the end, but I do wish that type of game garnered Battlefront sales.

Gah, you're making me want to load the game up again!

Elliot you EEEEEE-diot!

I watched "The Skeleton Key" I was pleasantly surprised by it. I thought it would be another lame scarefest, but it had some very interesting turns. And Kate Hudson looks better than her mother when her shirt is off.

The comment was aimed at Hades. I just didn't quote him, and we posted at almost the same time.

I definitely don't mean Xcom, that is my favorite game ever, but that was mostly centered on our own planet. It came out before Xcom by a year or two. I'll try and research it when I get home. I think it was designed by a team of 2 guys.

I'm not a genius about this stuff, but I believe instances are more stable because there are a lot less variables. You only have 5 people in a smaller area. A lot more can go wrong when you have 100 people in the same zone, particularly if you have combat going on. DDO avoids all that. It does lead to nicely scripted instances, though.

That would be awesome. Imagine taking your Merc team to different planets. There actually was an interesting game ages ago where you had a ton of mercenaries to choose from, you put them in your ship, and then flew off to do different missions. I think the game was flawed in some way, but I loved the concept. I think the word squad was in the title.

But in WoW people can come and go in combat zones without being in your group. In fact, most of the pick up groups I have done, I was out in a tough area and started working with someone else very naturally. I've met some great online pals this way. You can tell right away if someone is a decent player if you watch them fight for a few moments. In DDO you have to form your group in the chat room like game world and then enter a dungeon together. That is great for the stability of Turbine's servers, but not for the game immersion.

I don't know anyone who doesn't rely on a Microsoft product in some way or other. They are a cutthroat corporation, but they also lead the pack in most areas of software, and a few hardware pieces to boot. It's hard to hate them when they make my life easier.

The Western Conference is a mess.