Some people go to the Poconos. Me, I thought I’d take a few days to revisit some of the many MMOs that are cluttering my hard drive…see how things are shaping up, how they’ve changed.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

Then: at launch, I really loved this game. Great graphics, beautiful world, classic–if kind of hardcore–MMO gameplay. Sparsely populated landscape but helpful, mature community.

Now: 6 months later. Still looks very good, runs well. Chaining spells into combos is still cool. After LOTRO and WoW, though, death’s sting is a little too harsh. If it was empty before, it’s truly desolate now…and you can’t solo this game. How about some AI henchpersons? My guild up and left. So have I.

Everquest 2: The Echoes of Faydwer

Then: I rejoined the EQ2 fold when this expansion came out. Huge selection of races (including the Fae), classes, and subclasses. UI very much improved over the original EQ and EQ2. Graphics and design quite beautiful and detailed but hampered by stuttery performance and over-the-top system requirements, that still don’t guarantee smooth framerates.
Now: At high graphic settings it’s a sludgy slideshow, made more frustrating by the fact that other MMOs look good and still run well. Textures and camera controls not so impressive. Battles seem limp. Why do spiders drop coins when you kill them? Must my magical flying pet be a beetle?
more after the jump

Sword of the New World

Now: this one just came out. Plusses: free to play, interesting setting and design, no orcs and trolls, player controls three characters so grouping isn’t essential. Minuses: terrible UI and camera, costumes straight out of Victoria’s Secret, characters run bent over and look like they’re imitating the Blue Angels. Typical Korean MMO aesthetic: Lineage 2 in The Age of Enlightenment.

Now-er: Already off the hard drive.

Lord of the Rings Online

Then: I jumped onboard at the start of the beta and still play a few hours a week. Looks incredible and runs well. Great design, very easy to get into. Character models not very customizable but many choices in character development. Richly imagined world respectfully recreated. Community almost always polite.

Now: recent content update tweaked the UI, added a large new zone, various weather effects, and beefed up the music system. Like all MMOs, you hit the upper 20s and you either make it your life’s work, or progress is slow. Still a winner.

City of Villains

Then: this dark side companion to City of Heroes disappointed some people, including me. Gameplay was virtually identical to COH, as were many of the enemies, NPCs, and most of the missions. You couldn’t really be much of a villain.

Now: Seems dated. Textures are very plain. Combat feels slow. Once you get past the character creation screen, it all goes downhill.

World of Warcraft

Then: I’ve never gone more than a week or so without playing at least a little bit of this game, but I’ve also never warmed to the aesthetic of it. Still, there’s no denying it’s fun to play, it’s addictive, and it is a brilliant example of design and marketing, and a genuine cultural phenomenon. I just wish I cared about the backstory or could feel a little more sense of immersion.
Now: I’ve never been anything but a casual WoW player, but even I’m tired of the same spell effects, audio clips, environmental textures,etc. What must it be like for the truly hardcore?