Eve Beckons, Again

I mull over the thoughts and memories from my first time in Eve, and I can’t help but think I failed, Eve failed. I really wanted Eve to capture my imagination, it doesn’t help that I still read mmog blogs discussing the harrowing complexities Eve offers, or the thrilling tales of woe and adventures unfolding in the never ending wars and skirmishes inhabiting Eve that are so intriguing, tomes are being written and stories spoken. Eve is a story teller’s dream compared to most other virtual worlds, but you have to put in a lot of effort before you’re written in the history books, becoming a traitorous scoundrel helps. I didn’t make it past the two week trial, but I stuck through until the last few days where I languished and my trial period expired.

Herein lies the problem: I’m jaded, with a few pinches of bitterness still bottled inside. I lost a lot of passion I once had for massive games - my desire to play waned. A former uber hardcore gamer to an extreme casual gamer, soft to the core. I find it hard to log into a mmog, unless I’m motivated to play with someone I already know and consider a good friend. My good buddy compares mmogs to football. It’s the same game with different players and uniforms in a new stadium. It’s sort of true; I can only take so much. I start a character, I kill monsters, I save the princess, I get levels and in return I’m rewarded with carrots and other people do it too and you can all get together and have bash and farm carrots together. Super!

Exploring a world is alright the first time through, but even the best dungeons become old and before I know it, I’m clawing my eyeballs out, devising plans on how to destroy the install discs, hatching some vendetta. It doesn’t help that everything that isn’t a player is so fucking static and every npc is living out their own groundhog day. It’s been two years and nothing has changed since I completed those 10,000 quests but my levels and gear? Alright, bring on the expansion! Next.

Almost all of the stories in mmogs suck, there are only so many plots, but the mechanics have really destroyed what has become questing in modern day mmogs. Over 200 books on my books-to-read list, most of them filled with stories that are better than any “Epic” or “Elite” quest you will find in a mmog. (hell, most players don’t even read the quest or give a fuck about lore, but lore players such a big role in the setting and theme) And I won’t get started on combat mechanics, let’s just say, you are pretty much stuck to one of three roles as any class: dealing damage, preventing damage, sustaining damage. Yea, fireballs and backstabs can be fun, but give combat some depth, at least Eve has that.

Maybe, I will last for a full 30 days this time….

Oh, what convinced me to give Eve another shot? My good buddy, he passed his two week trial with flying colors. So, let’s see if this lasts us longer than EverQuest II did. For anyone wanting to upgrade from a trial account without having to pay the full twenty dollars, purchase a time card (average price is 15), save yourself a few clams.