Gaming again

Got those nebulous thoughts running around in my head again.

Been playing just the one game again, which can be quite rare for me unless it's something with a storyline that I'd fixate on like Mass Effect or Deus Ex HR. (Curiously though, Mass Effect 3 broke that compulsion)

The latest game is Guild Wars 2, which is strangely compelling for a number of reasons ... Some of those are immediately apparent, although I wouldn't describe them as compelling. No - the shinies in this one are under the skin, not out front. (Yep - that includes when I'm talking about my elementalist)

Superficial pluses - the big ones here are game play and graphics. The gameplay is simplified compared to the obvious competition (Warcraft!), although I understand that the latest Warcraft updates have dumbed that game down even more.

Graphics shinies are always awesome ... except when they're so elaborate they get in the way (GW2 was criticised for this) or slow the game down. I used to have to turn the graphics shininess down real low in WoW when tanking because my machine couldn't keep up. No - graphics shininess is nice but gameplay is always far more important.

Historical point - I tried Guild Wars 1 in one of my early WoW breaks, it was a very pretty game even then (hey ! I'm talkin' environment, not characters), prettier than Warcraft's cartoony look. But I went back to WoW eventually because the gameplay was superior. Plus my guild needed me :-)

Nah - what's the real things that make it compelling ?

The big selling point of Star Wars The Old Republic (SWTOR) was the storyline. That game was utterly dependent on cutscenes. But I just stopped caring very quickly about that storyline, perhaps because I thought it should have been a standalone 3rd installment of another series with the MMO aspects being a horrendous cash in. No - I think it was more challenge ... and lack of it. SWTOR had sub-par gameplay attached to environments that just didn't shine. It looked dated. And the storyline couldn't drag it out of that mire.

But then again, I'm finding the 2 storylines I've seen so far in Guild Wars 2 to be rather compelling. I'm amused, I want to know what's going to happen with my characters. The game is making me care, in the same way I'd care what happens to my Commander Shepards and crew or my Adam Jensen and friends.

I was quite sad when I had to let Faridah die in order to get an achievement ! Dr Mordin's ascent of the tower was a tearjerker. And I have the feeling that there's a bit of storyline like that coming my way in GW2 too.

Gameplay makes a big difference too and GW2 has innovated in 3 key ways :

Dynamic levelling is genius. A problem with most online games is that only a small segment of the content is relevant for your level. If you're too low, you don't survive. If you're too high, it's way too easy. My WoW warrior can happily solo the 40 man entry instance from the original WoW. 1 character, 40 person instance. That's not right ...

What dynamic levelling does is adjust you to the content. So when my level 20 (ish!) elementalist runs through the starting area, she's effectively a level 5. It paces you back according to where you are. In pvp, it matches everyone up to maximum level. It puts the game on a level playing field. And that's way more fun. If you go back to starter zones in WoW, it's a snoozefest. In GW2, you experience it the way it was supposed to be experienced.

It's subtle ... and it works. It makes all content at your level or below relevant, not just a fraction of what's available. It means you can level at your own pace (which to me is gold dust).

Second - World vs World : Me like. It's a truly epic player vs player battle. I spent a few nights in here, fighting away. I've not been in for a while though because I'm looking for a "Most experience without dying" achievement. In pvp you die a lot.

Third - the whole ethos in the game is different. Most MMOs are competitive. The first person to hit the mob gets the credit. People don't help each other. GW2 manages to turn that on its head, I've never seen so much cooperation in beating the events. It makes it possible to play the game at the appropriate level, as a single player. Groups happen because the game encourages cooperation.

Unfortunately, it also encourages my shoulder to bitterly complain at me if I spend too long in it.

Lol :-) Warcraft got me like that too, I suspect it's the playing position which is a bit different to shooter games and strategy games. But most of what causes the pain is the lack of a pause button. It's difficult to switch off for a minute or so to go elsewhere, as a mob may creep up behind you and tap you on the shoulder if you go afk behind the woodshed.

Apart from that though, I think I'm healing again. The legs have improved, my eyes have improved a bit. Hopefully I'm on to something with that assumption that White Bread = Bad.

Closing time - Guild Wars 2 ? Or restart that epic which was the Mass Effect trilogy run ... That would sort out my onrunning game time for a couple of months :-).