Loved the two-parter. It really gave you a chance to talk a lot about the history of the genre as well as dive into specific details about the game.
I have not played World of Warcraft or Everquest or any other MMO. The reason? Because I don't want to get addicted. Sound familiar?
While I do not believe that would be as possible due to my schedule these days compared to days past, I am sure I could make it (an addiction) work if I wanted. The closest I have ever come to ridiculous amount of gaming addiction would be Diablo II. I spent way too much time in that game. Despite the fact I was in the game along with friends (that is...friends I knew in person), I still feel like I should have hours of my life back.
I think these types of games are easily - EASILY - addictive due to their very nature of improving one's character. I am mostly speaking from the point of Diablo II. While that game is certainly not an MMO, it has a lot of the same characteristics of it. Diablo II has a very finite amount of quests compared to these MMOs, but that is irrelevant. The game practically never ends. You create a player, seek to make them better, can nearly ALWAYS make them better, and strive to hit level 99. When you hit level 99 (this takes....a ridiculous amount of time), you can always start a new character and repeat the entire process. Unless you had some sort of clan or something, the hours required to obtain all of the goods you want as well as level up was just ridiculous.
I never hit level 99, but I did get up to around 93-95. I had a friend or two that played more than I did, and they would help me with equipment. It was pretty tough to get some of the primo items to drop in the game, and you usually had to trade for them.
So I am not talking about WoW, but this should give you enough background to know that I do not want an enhanced experience of Diablo II (Read that as "more quests and more hours"). That is a lot of my life I cannot get back. Did I have fun at the time? Yes. Would I consider the experience "too much of a good thing?" Definitely.
Hey Matt -
Loved the two-parter. It really gave you a chance to talk a lot about the history of the genre as well as dive into specific details about the game.
I have not played World of Warcraft or Everquest or any other MMO. The reason? Because I don't want to get addicted. Sound familiar?
While I do not believe that would be as possible due to my schedule these days compared to days past, I am sure I could make it (an addiction) work if I wanted. The closest I have ever come to ridiculous amount of gaming addiction would be Diablo II. I spent way too much time in that game. Despite the fact I was in the game along with friends (that is...friends I knew in person), I still feel like I should have hours of my life back.
I think these types of games are easily - EASILY - addictive due to their very nature of improving one's character. I am mostly speaking from the point of Diablo II. While that game is certainly not an MMO, it has a lot of the same characteristics of it. Diablo II has a very finite amount of quests compared to these MMOs, but that is irrelevant. The game practically never ends. You create a player, seek to make them better, can nearly ALWAYS make them better, and strive to hit level 99. When you hit level 99 (this takes....a ridiculous amount of time), you can always start a new character and repeat the entire process. Unless you had some sort of clan or something, the hours required to obtain all of the goods you want as well as level up was just ridiculous.
I never hit level 99, but I did get up to around 93-95. I had a friend or two that played more than I did, and they would help me with equipment. It was pretty tough to get some of the primo items to drop in the game, and you usually had to trade for them.
So I am not talking about WoW, but this should give you enough background to know that I do not want an enhanced experience of Diablo II (Read that as "more quests and more hours"). That is a lot of my life I cannot get back. Did I have fun at the time? Yes. Would I consider the experience "too much of a good thing?" Definitely.
Chris Kennedy, Editor
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Email: chris@armchairarcade.com