Broadening my Horizons

In the world of MMORPG's I'm pretty much a stay-at-home kind of guy.
I've been playing WoW for years now, and apart from the brief trip to EVE and City of Heroes, I've barely even left my own backyard.

Oh, sure, sometimes I'll catch a glimpse of a sexy new neighbour, and think "I'll definitely have to pop over and check them out". And I might even stay over for a few nights to get to know them more intimately. But before long I'm right back in the World of Warcraft, safe and warm, and feeling like I belong. (Or at least that I belong there more than anywhere else).

But there's things about Warcraft that I hate.

I hate the way she limits me to spending time solely on her. I've got other things to do, and a life of my own, but if I don't put in the time with her, next thing I know she'll be happily giving all her best bits to everbody but me.
I hate the way she washes her hair at the same time every single week. And it always seems to be at times that I want to have some fun.
I hate the way she makes me spend my hard-earned cash on her, not just every now and again, but every single month. No cash, no fun. It's almost like living with a hooker.
I hate the way she changes every so often, and all the hard work I put in to making myself the best I can possibly be just becomes time that I'll never get back.

Basically, if WoW was a woman, she'd be my wife. And all the other games out there would be the mistreses that looked a lot more interesting. But no matter how often I'd get lead astray I'd 'probably' always end up back at home with her.


Ok, enough of the analogies now. Here's the more serious part:

I'm always interested in looking at new MMORPG's. I don't play many, but I'm usually willing to give them a try if they have a free trial.

WoW isn't going to last forever... I know... It's a shock when someone says it out loud, isn't it.
WotLK was a great expansion, and brought a lot of new stuff into the game. And for a few months it relieved all of the boredom that was beginning to set in with TBC.
Cataclysm could be even better. Alot of the features they're bringing in are exactly what I would have asked for... ... ... But... ... ... ...

At the end of the day it's still the same game I've been playing for years. I know it inside and out. And the challenge is definitely starting to fade. Sure, I could get better gear, and move on to bigger and badder dungeons. But they're really only as difficult as the gear you're wearing, or the level you're at.

Deadmines was a fantastic instance, and at level 18ish it was just as hard as any raid dungeon. But a couple of levels later, and with better gear, and it was simply a push-over. Raiding is no different (apart from staying the same level).
Anyone who'd mastered the Magisters Terrace in TBC could have walked back in to Kara and laid the smack-down much more easily than they could have at the same level but with lesser gear.

Sometimes I think it would be nice to experience something totally new. But there's a few things holding me back.

1) The Graphics - I don't care if the graphics look super-realistic or like simple cartoonish blobs. I'm old enough to know that 'you can't polish a turd' no matter how much you try. Graphics are a nice 'extra' to a game, but shouldn't be the focus of it.
But, on the downside, my current laptop isn't exectly shit-hot, so would struggle to cope with some of todays latest and greatest.

2) The Gameplay - It doesn't have to be WoW. But I like to see the other people around me, doing there thing, and maybe even making a mess of my plans. it all adds to the randomness. EVE, for example, felt more like a single player experience. There was very little point to the nice graphics. it would have functioned almost as well with nothing but a text interface. So it needs to FEEL like an MMO.

3) The Storyline - LotR didn't interest me at all. I couldn't care less if the Orcs were eating babies in the Shire. It's been done to death. EVE didn't even HAVE a storyline to speak of. Here's your ship, go do stuff. It felt more like a sandbox than a game. The RPG in MMORPG is important.

4) The Impact of ME - WoW has only just started to introduce this with Phasing. But even so, it's very scarcely used. I might have helped bring down the biggest baddest monster in the whole game, but give it a few days, and nothign will have changed. The Wrathgate questline is the most impressive in the game, it really feels like you're making a difference to the world. But apart from that, and the Hodir questline, I can't really think of any others.

5) The Munquis - Unfortunately, I don't think I'd be tempted enough to leave them. If a new super-game came along, and the Munquis decided to give it a go, I'd jump at the chance. But it's unlikely.

There's a few games on the horizon with the potential to pull me away from WoW. Fallen Earth looks good and the new StarWars MMO has alot of potential (although the thought of all the fanboi's puts me off a little).

My prophecy of doom sees WoW starting to lose major numbers of players by Christmas next year. It's had it's run, and I'm sure millions will still be playing it for years to come. But given the choice, I'd rather get in at the start of a new game rather than switching when everyone else is already an expert.

Fingers crossed, the super-game will appear soon. The Munquis will all agree, and we'll be off to kick some ass in outerspace, post-apocalyptic earth, or somewhere else that's not Azeroth. And plant the Munqui banner in some Hordie / Mutie / Alien scum suckers.