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I dunno about the rest of you but I flit from RPG to RPG when it involves online play, I can't seem to dedicate myself to one title permanently (unless you count 3 years of Final Fantasy XI Online as permanent).
Being this way, I find myself constantly looking around for the next 'big thing' to immerse myself into. I've done the World of Warcraft, Everquest and Lineage tours of duty, I've dabbled around in others that didn't quite live up to expectations, but all the while I've kept an eye open for something 'perfect', something that will suck up my gaming hours.
Perfection, of course, is subjective and the closest in my book to the perfect online RPG was Everquest Online Adventures on the PS2. The only slight flaws were that bugs went unfixed, it ran off the game disc so was prone to crashing and, probably an obvious flaw, they pulled out of Europe so that you can only now play it on an import setup.
Aside from that it was a cracking game, all the addictive checkboxes were ticked, and I was immensely happy when playing it.
So I've been looking for something similar ever since my sojourn in the land of Norrath ended, and there are basic minimum requirements that a new game has to meet:
1. RPG - Character creation and customisation
2. World - Has to be big enough to get lost in
3. Itemfest - Killing stuff has to have benefits, loot is a good one
4. Combat - I can deal with turn-based or realtime, just as long as I get to kill monsters
5. Fantasy - RPGs set in Slough just don't do it for me, has to be a fantastical setting
You'll note that 'Online' isn't one of my 5 minimum requirements, because there are so many great RPGs that you can lose yourself in where you don't necessarily have to go online, examples include Phantasy Star Universe, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, most Final Fantasys, Enchanted Arms, Skies of Arcadia, Fable, Oblivion and their ilk.
However, 'online' is a considerable plus, as is the option of being able to play with my feet up at the expense of the cat being able to claw at my headphones cable, so I'm looking more and more these days to console based RPGs. Also the ability to just get on with stuff solo rather than being forced to party to get anywhere is a major factor in deciding if I want to sign up to any new game, and usually a major reason for leaving previous ones if truth be told. (I recently decided to knock FFXI on the head because their latest expansion requires parties for every single new Assault Mission added).
Hence my considerable anticipation of Two Worlds on XBox 360. It dots all the i's and crosses all the t's on my checklist and, although the online component looks a little 'tacked on' at this stage, (it's free online, so don't expect a lot), the offline looks considerably immersive. So you can see what I mean, here's a little map:
Two Worlds Map
Just thinking about travelling from Yamalin in the North to GorGammar in the South, wondering about what I'll encounter along the way, fantasising about going 'off road' for a little exploration here and there, discovering new teleports and how to use them, imagining what kind of creatures live in those camps dotted around the map, calculating what level I need to be to get past them without a scratch, looking forward to discovering out-of-the-way dungeons and raiding them for rare artefacts... all these things get me checking my wallet to make sure I can grab the game on release day.
I don't think it'll be my next 'big thing', being on the 360 these days I'm still limited to FFXI and Phantasy Star Universe as my genre-fix for proper online RPG gaming. But it could be, and that's what is so exciting about it!
Being this way, I find myself constantly looking around for the next 'big thing' to immerse myself into. I've done the World of Warcraft, Everquest and Lineage tours of duty, I've dabbled around in others that didn't quite live up to expectations, but all the while I've kept an eye open for something 'perfect', something that will suck up my gaming hours.
Perfection, of course, is subjective and the closest in my book to the perfect online RPG was Everquest Online Adventures on the PS2. The only slight flaws were that bugs went unfixed, it ran off the game disc so was prone to crashing and, probably an obvious flaw, they pulled out of Europe so that you can only now play it on an import setup.
Aside from that it was a cracking game, all the addictive checkboxes were ticked, and I was immensely happy when playing it.
So I've been looking for something similar ever since my sojourn in the land of Norrath ended, and there are basic minimum requirements that a new game has to meet:
1. RPG - Character creation and customisation
2. World - Has to be big enough to get lost in
3. Itemfest - Killing stuff has to have benefits, loot is a good one
4. Combat - I can deal with turn-based or realtime, just as long as I get to kill monsters
5. Fantasy - RPGs set in Slough just don't do it for me, has to be a fantastical setting
You'll note that 'Online' isn't one of my 5 minimum requirements, because there are so many great RPGs that you can lose yourself in where you don't necessarily have to go online, examples include Phantasy Star Universe, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, most Final Fantasys, Enchanted Arms, Skies of Arcadia, Fable, Oblivion and their ilk.
However, 'online' is a considerable plus, as is the option of being able to play with my feet up at the expense of the cat being able to claw at my headphones cable, so I'm looking more and more these days to console based RPGs. Also the ability to just get on with stuff solo rather than being forced to party to get anywhere is a major factor in deciding if I want to sign up to any new game, and usually a major reason for leaving previous ones if truth be told. (I recently decided to knock FFXI on the head because their latest expansion requires parties for every single new Assault Mission added).
Hence my considerable anticipation of Two Worlds on XBox 360. It dots all the i's and crosses all the t's on my checklist and, although the online component looks a little 'tacked on' at this stage, (it's free online, so don't expect a lot), the offline looks considerably immersive. So you can see what I mean, here's a little map:
Two Worlds Map
Just thinking about travelling from Yamalin in the North to GorGammar in the South, wondering about what I'll encounter along the way, fantasising about going 'off road' for a little exploration here and there, discovering new teleports and how to use them, imagining what kind of creatures live in those camps dotted around the map, calculating what level I need to be to get past them without a scratch, looking forward to discovering out-of-the-way dungeons and raiding them for rare artefacts... all these things get me checking my wallet to make sure I can grab the game on release day.
I don't think it'll be my next 'big thing', being on the 360 these days I'm still limited to FFXI and Phantasy Star Universe as my genre-fix for proper online RPG gaming. But it could be, and that's what is so exciting about it!
I've played Two Worlds on the PC. Its not too bad so far but it feels a bit uninspiring to honest. Seen it all before really, doesnt appear to offer anything new to genre (so far). Although not so much of an issue if you're not into PC games.
I dunno about the rest of you but I flit from RPG to RPG when it involves online play, I can't seem to dedicate myself to one title permanently (unless you count 3 years of Final Fantasy XI Online as permanent).
Being this way, I find myself constantly looking around for the next 'big thing' to immerse myself into. I've done the World of Warcraft, Everquest and Lineage tours of duty, I've dabbled around in others that didn't quite live up to expectations, but all the while I've kept an eye open for something 'perfect', something that will suck up my gaming hours.
Perfection, of course, is subjective and the closest in my book to the perfect online RPG was Everquest Online Adventures on the PS2. The only slight flaws were that bugs went unfixed, it ran off the game disc so was prone to crashing and, probably an obvious flaw, they pulled out of Europe so that you can only now play it on an import setup.
Aside from that it was a cracking game, all the addictive checkboxes were ticked, and I was immensely happy when playing it.
So I've been looking for something similar ever since my sojourn in the land of Norrath ended, and there are basic minimum requirements that a new game has to meet:
1. RPG - Character creation and customisation
2. World - Has to be big enough to get lost in
3. Itemfest - Killing stuff has to have benefits, loot is a good one
4. Combat - I can deal with turn-based or realtime, just as long as I get to kill monsters
5. Fantasy - RPGs set in Slough just don't do it for me, has to be a fantastical setting
You'll note that 'Online' isn't one of my 5 minimum requirements, because there are so many great RPGs that you can lose yourself in where you don't necessarily have to go online, examples include Phantasy Star Universe, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, most Final Fantasys, Enchanted Arms, Skies of Arcadia, Fable, Oblivion and their ilk.
However, 'online' is a considerable plus, as is the option of being able to play with my feet up at the expense of the cat being able to claw at my headphones cable, so I'm looking more and more these days to console based RPGs. Also the ability to just get on with stuff solo rather than being forced to party to get anywhere is a major factor in deciding if I want to sign up to any new game, and usually a major reason for leaving previous ones if truth be told. (I recently decided to knock FFXI on the head because their latest expansion requires parties for every single new Assault Mission added).
Hence my considerable anticipation of Two Worlds on XBox 360. It dots all the i's and crosses all the t's on my checklist and, although the online component looks a little 'tacked on' at this stage, (it's free online, so don't expect a lot), the offline looks considerably immersive. So you can see what I mean, here's a little map:
Two Worlds Map
Just thinking about travelling from Yamalin in the North to GorGammar in the South, wondering about what I'll encounter along the way, fantasising about going 'off road' for a little exploration here and there, discovering new teleports and how to use them, imagining what kind of creatures live in those camps dotted around the map, calculating what level I need to be to get past them without a scratch, looking forward to discovering out-of-the-way dungeons and raiding them for rare artefacts... all these things get me checking my wallet to make sure I can grab the game on release day.
I don't think it'll be my next 'big thing', being on the 360 these days I'm still limited to FFXI and Phantasy Star Universe as my genre-fix for proper online RPG gaming. But it could be, and that's what is so exciting about it!
Being this way, I find myself constantly looking around for the next 'big thing' to immerse myself into. I've done the World of Warcraft, Everquest and Lineage tours of duty, I've dabbled around in others that didn't quite live up to expectations, but all the while I've kept an eye open for something 'perfect', something that will suck up my gaming hours.
Perfection, of course, is subjective and the closest in my book to the perfect online RPG was Everquest Online Adventures on the PS2. The only slight flaws were that bugs went unfixed, it ran off the game disc so was prone to crashing and, probably an obvious flaw, they pulled out of Europe so that you can only now play it on an import setup.
Aside from that it was a cracking game, all the addictive checkboxes were ticked, and I was immensely happy when playing it.
So I've been looking for something similar ever since my sojourn in the land of Norrath ended, and there are basic minimum requirements that a new game has to meet:
1. RPG - Character creation and customisation
2. World - Has to be big enough to get lost in
3. Itemfest - Killing stuff has to have benefits, loot is a good one
4. Combat - I can deal with turn-based or realtime, just as long as I get to kill monsters
5. Fantasy - RPGs set in Slough just don't do it for me, has to be a fantastical setting
You'll note that 'Online' isn't one of my 5 minimum requirements, because there are so many great RPGs that you can lose yourself in where you don't necessarily have to go online, examples include Phantasy Star Universe, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, most Final Fantasys, Enchanted Arms, Skies of Arcadia, Fable, Oblivion and their ilk.
However, 'online' is a considerable plus, as is the option of being able to play with my feet up at the expense of the cat being able to claw at my headphones cable, so I'm looking more and more these days to console based RPGs. Also the ability to just get on with stuff solo rather than being forced to party to get anywhere is a major factor in deciding if I want to sign up to any new game, and usually a major reason for leaving previous ones if truth be told. (I recently decided to knock FFXI on the head because their latest expansion requires parties for every single new Assault Mission added).
Hence my considerable anticipation of Two Worlds on XBox 360. It dots all the i's and crosses all the t's on my checklist and, although the online component looks a little 'tacked on' at this stage, (it's free online, so don't expect a lot), the offline looks considerably immersive. So you can see what I mean, here's a little map:
Two Worlds Map
Just thinking about travelling from Yamalin in the North to GorGammar in the South, wondering about what I'll encounter along the way, fantasising about going 'off road' for a little exploration here and there, discovering new teleports and how to use them, imagining what kind of creatures live in those camps dotted around the map, calculating what level I need to be to get past them without a scratch, looking forward to discovering out-of-the-way dungeons and raiding them for rare artefacts... all these things get me checking my wallet to make sure I can grab the game on release day.
I don't think it'll be my next 'big thing', being on the 360 these days I'm still limited to FFXI and Phantasy Star Universe as my genre-fix for proper online RPG gaming. But it could be, and that's what is so exciting about it!