Regular readers, friends, cousins and other relatives that have been around this blog for some time must have noticed the rather recent, yet complete and utter, lack of MMO Gnome updates. How very perceptive of you dears. Probably you are also wondering about it too. Well, thing is, after playing the truly excellent Lord of the Rings Online MMORPG for what must have been 7 months straight, I felt inexplicably tired of the genre. Or of playing MMO games with people that aren't actual friends. Heck, even Half-Life 2 Deathmatch failed to ignite the spark and make the prospect of online gaming versus opponents that constantly type nonsense appealing.Then, I sort of metaphorically bumped into Savage 2 - A Tortured Soul and things got interesting again, which frankly is quite odd as the original Savage (available for free here) had failed to enthrall me. It was interesting, yes, fresh, innovative and polished too, but it lacked a certain, uhm, a certain thingy I guess. Apparently Savage 2 miraculously came up with said thingy and I am once again feeling all normal and gentlemanly in my enjoyment of all things MMO.
Now, as this definitely is not my review of the game (guess you'll have to wait for this a bit more; gotta put the hours in you know) all I can say is you absolutely have to try it out for yourselves. The free demo would be a nice start. Knowing that Savage 2 is an incredibly smart RTS/Action-RPG hybrid, with one player doing the RTS bit and several going all action-RPG or even FPS, should come in handy too. And don't get me started on the excellent melee system. Or the fluidity of the gameplay. Oh, and you might want to know that the game comes without monthly fees and will only cost you a very modest 30$ (29.99$ actually, but that's a silly price).Related @ Gnome's Lair: Lord of the Rings Online Review, Age of Decadence, Aquaria, the B-Game Competition
There is a Lord of The Rings MMO?
ReplyDeleteYes, and it's just brilliant! Better than the half-arsed movies...
ReplyDeleteWhat was wrong with the movies?
ReplyDelete"I felt inexplicably tired of the genre"
ReplyDeleteNo wonder. You've played a MMORPG, you've played them all.
By the way, talking about MMORPGs, I think by now my WoW character just got deleted. Haven't played for more than 6 months...
I must respectfully disagree with your opinion about the LOTR movies mr Gnome. I find them thoroughly whole arsed and the best effort anyone could give to blow life in Tolkiens magnificent works. Having said that, I haven't tried the MMO so far as I'm afraid that it will ruin my perception of Middle Earth forever. By the way, talking about films with half a butt, have you seen the Dragonlance animated movie? Now that flick doesn't have an arse at all!
ReplyDeleteWell, funnyman and singapura dears,there were so many things wrong with the movie, I'll stick to what was right: they looked brilliant! The actors were (bar the dreadful Legolas) ;)
ReplyDeleteAs for the LotRO MMORPG it's much more faithful to Tolkien's work and incredibly detailed. They have incorporated even bits of Chris Tolkien's "History of Middle Earth" in it. I wholeheartedly suggest everyone tries it.
Well, Nebacha my friend, it seems you're very correct, as the basic formula of the MMORPG is virtually the same no matter what you play. Wouldn't like to have my LotrO hobbit deleted though...
I think the movies are not a good interpretation of the books. That doesn't make them bad movies per se, though to be honest, I'm tired of both the movies and the books. It seems that all fantasy books must be a trilogy (at least) with a somber tone and an exhaustive list of irrelevant details to show off the writer's ability to create whole worlds.
ReplyDeleteQuite honestly, I think the problem with many MMOs is as much the hgih fantasy setting as the game mechanics.
I'd like to see a good revival of the sword and sorcery pulp myself.
Well, you do have a point regarding fantasy literature dear guttertalk, but you have to admit that the world of Arda is indeed a brilliantly crafted world, complete with its language and intricate details, that's well worth showing off. As for the LotR movies, well, they actually failed to do just that. BTW, for a (very) low fantasy setting that's al plot and vitriolic characters do have a look at George Martin's Song oof Ice and Fire.
ReplyDeleteA steampunk MMO woldn't be that bad me thinks, but still I believe the mechanics are a very limiting core...
Actually, I'm in the middle of A Game of Thrones. It's more about the individual stories, though it suffers somewhat of the extraneous details, like a couple of paragraphs repeating all the sales pitches in an open market. That said, I like the focus on the characters and the plot so far. It has my interest for certain.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking after a book or two in the Song and Ice series, I'm going to reread some Elric stories.
Well, I guess you are right, it does stray at times, though admittedly I think that the descriptions of the world is usually kept at a bare minimum. And every character (well, except Cersei -you'll see) is so well written...
ReplyDeleteAnyway. Guess I'll have a look at Elric. Heard so many good things, even though -shocking as it might sound- fantasy is definitely not my kind of literature.
What? There are books of LOTR? I doubt they'll sell too well, but I hope they stay faithful to the plot of the films...
ReplyDeleteMMORPGs eh? There's only one member of my house that has played them, and that's my littlest, Ted.
He's quite obsessed with WOW and plays for about three hours a day...
No wonder I'm so late turning up to this post...
Free demo you say? Dare I bring another one of these beasts into the house?
Ah Father, you funny, funny you, pretending like you don't about the LOTR books written by Tolkien ages ago which were finally turned into movies at the beginning of this century...
ReplyDeleteLOL @ Father... :) Oh, and I say you should dare... It's only a 5 hours demo after all. What harm can it do? Besides it is so much cheaper than WoW it should be worth the attempt...
ReplyDeleteBTW, Nebacha, did yu know that dear Guillermo will be directing them Hobbit movies?
Who is this Tolkien of whom you speak Nebacha? The stories were written by one Peter Jackson, I think you'll find. Interestingly enough, one of the central characters, erm Gandalf I think, was actually based on an English actor called Sir Ian McKellan...
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting little factoid that you may not know, is that the actor Frodo Baggins, who plays the part of Elijah Wood, is actually only 30cm tall, and lives in the trouser pocket of his father, the actor Bilbo Baggins, who once played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz...
(standing ovation)
ReplyDeleteAhaahahaha!
Man, that post made me rotflmaoweb...xD
ReplyDeleteApparently the whole oddyssey was based on an English soap opera called 'Gourd of the things' it centralized about an English housewife who grew exotic egg-plants...
ReplyDeleteI'm stretching it a bit aren't I?
Frankly? I really wouldn't know. Is said sitcom any good? I'm always on the look out for decent humour...
ReplyDelete