Good Morning Livejournal!
Jul. 21st, 2008 09:06 amSo, some of you might be wondering where I've been. You might hope to hear that I've been out having some wicked adventures with my trusty sidekick and wife Maria. Or maybe I'm her sidekick. Either way, you're hoping there's sidekicks and adventures involved.
And there is!
Only, it's not real adventure.
As you know, I recently asked for people to give me their opinions on some "MMO" video games, or "Massively multiplayer online" games. At least, I think that's what it stands for. Anyway, the request for help was a huge hit, due in no small part to
popfiend spreading the question to his rather large and generally helpful reading list.
So, after thinking about the different options out there, and realizing that they all have their own version of a 14-day trial, I decided to try out "City of Heroes/Villains," a super-power themed game based around either playing a super hero, or a super villain.
The first day I had it, I tried booting it up. Did you know I have a sort-of old computer that doesn't want to run games like that, even with the graphics slightly dumbed down?
Yeah. I almost gave up right there, because if I can't play it, then what's the point?
Maria has a laptop that's newer and much more powerful than my desktop, so I tried it on there. This, however, wasn't until day two. It ran! Poorly. What the hell was going on? Maria's computer was definitely powerful enough to run it and its wireless card was ...
Oh. Wireless.
The morning of day three on my 14 day trial, I finally found a cord long enough to stretch from my modem to the living room. Some would have given up, but so many people had told me that this was the game, and I felt as though I owed it a fair shake. I had to try my best to get on the game, and if I couldn't after everything I tried, then at least I tried and I'd know that I have to upgrade my system in order to try again some time down the road.
Thankfully, the long blue cord now stretching from my computer room to the living room worked. I've been playing the game, trying to give it as much time as I can in order to find out all the little quirks, interesting bits, and things that don't appeal to me as much.
Okay, let me start by saying that I'm really enjoying the game. I have two characters that I'm playing right now, after creating, trying, and discarding about a dozen. I like to find the right kind of character that I'll enjoy, and creating your super hero/villain is fun if you like playing dress-up with pretend dolls.
What? I'm secure enough in my masculinity to say that I find it enjoyable. Sue me.
I've learned a few very important things while playing, the first of which is that my wife is awesome at coming up with names for superheroes and villains. She's also pretty good at making them look cool, even though she doesn't bring it any further than that (as in, she doesn't play).
One of the other things I've learned is that while I enjoy the superhero aspect more than the super villain*, I'm much better at playing the bad guy. It's probably just a "powers" thing, but my villain, "Mister Chevious," is a sneaky little bastard of a rogue who runs in, kidnaps people out from under the noses of the guards, and assassinates the big bad guy without a second's hesitation. My good guy, "Captain Everyman" is fun, and awesome, but I think my villain could take him in about half a second.
It's a fun game, and I'm enjoying myself. Later I'm going to talk about the things that I'm not liking about the game, but let me say right now that I'm glad people have steered me towards playing the trial to "City of Heroes/Villains." It's a fantastic time sink during those nights when I'd just be watching TV anyway.
*Why is superhero one word, but super villain two?
And there is!
Only, it's not real adventure.
As you know, I recently asked for people to give me their opinions on some "MMO" video games, or "Massively multiplayer online" games. At least, I think that's what it stands for. Anyway, the request for help was a huge hit, due in no small part to
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
So, after thinking about the different options out there, and realizing that they all have their own version of a 14-day trial, I decided to try out "City of Heroes/Villains," a super-power themed game based around either playing a super hero, or a super villain.
The first day I had it, I tried booting it up. Did you know I have a sort-of old computer that doesn't want to run games like that, even with the graphics slightly dumbed down?
Yeah. I almost gave up right there, because if I can't play it, then what's the point?
Maria has a laptop that's newer and much more powerful than my desktop, so I tried it on there. This, however, wasn't until day two. It ran! Poorly. What the hell was going on? Maria's computer was definitely powerful enough to run it and its wireless card was ...
Oh. Wireless.
The morning of day three on my 14 day trial, I finally found a cord long enough to stretch from my modem to the living room. Some would have given up, but so many people had told me that this was the game, and I felt as though I owed it a fair shake. I had to try my best to get on the game, and if I couldn't after everything I tried, then at least I tried and I'd know that I have to upgrade my system in order to try again some time down the road.
Thankfully, the long blue cord now stretching from my computer room to the living room worked. I've been playing the game, trying to give it as much time as I can in order to find out all the little quirks, interesting bits, and things that don't appeal to me as much.
Okay, let me start by saying that I'm really enjoying the game. I have two characters that I'm playing right now, after creating, trying, and discarding about a dozen. I like to find the right kind of character that I'll enjoy, and creating your super hero/villain is fun if you like playing dress-up with pretend dolls.
What? I'm secure enough in my masculinity to say that I find it enjoyable. Sue me.
I've learned a few very important things while playing, the first of which is that my wife is awesome at coming up with names for superheroes and villains. She's also pretty good at making them look cool, even though she doesn't bring it any further than that (as in, she doesn't play).
One of the other things I've learned is that while I enjoy the superhero aspect more than the super villain*, I'm much better at playing the bad guy. It's probably just a "powers" thing, but my villain, "Mister Chevious," is a sneaky little bastard of a rogue who runs in, kidnaps people out from under the noses of the guards, and assassinates the big bad guy without a second's hesitation. My good guy, "Captain Everyman" is fun, and awesome, but I think my villain could take him in about half a second.
It's a fun game, and I'm enjoying myself. Later I'm going to talk about the things that I'm not liking about the game, but let me say right now that I'm glad people have steered me towards playing the trial to "City of Heroes/Villains." It's a fantastic time sink during those nights when I'd just be watching TV anyway.
*Why is superhero one word, but super villain two?