Ekim's Gamer View: Commenting the News, Round 2

Michel "Ekim" Veilleux
2003-04-11

Since last week's little round of news commenting looked to be successful, I decided to go about it again because… well it's still dead and there's really nothing happening much these days. Anyway, this week lets look at a few titles that are either out or soon to be released.

Shadowbane

Hello? Anyone playing it? I would have expected a flood of early reviews by now, yet only one that I know of has been published! Are people enjoying it so much that they can't tear themselves away to write up a review? Have we been duped into thinking this MMORPG would not be that good when in fact it is? I vowed I wouldn't touch this one with a six foot pole, but maybe I was wrong... Anyway, it makes me think about those who usually do (very) early reviews of MMORPGs based on the end of beta and pass it off as a report on the finished game. I've always been suspicious of reviews that come out within a couple of days after the game's release. Unless it's published by a professional site with paid writers that only do that all day long. I guess they could come out with a review pretty fast, unlike us fans who have to do something else to make a living besides writing reviews for our own, and readers' pleasure, which counts for probably %85 of all the game writers on the internet, myself included... Anyway, all this to say that I doubt the general interest in Shadowbane was very high, which would explain the lack of early reviews. Maybe it found a niche and will do well in the end, who knows...

Eve Online

Looks like this one could probably be here in time for the summer. I'm actually getting very interested in this MMORPG. The player-controlled economy and corporations sound very interesting and involving too. The cluttered interface we keep seeing on screen captures kind of scare me a little though. I haven't heard too many negative comments on this game as of yet. Two theories : either players are enjoying this game very much, without being too ecstatic about it, or players don't like the game, but not enough to warrant the "EQ-esque" bashings we're used to see related to most MMORPGs. Either way, that probably means that the game has some potential.

Deus Ex 2

Hmm... Never been really a big fan of Deus Ex myself. But I was told that I overlooked it in my last article. I see Deus Ex more as an adventure game with a nice story and a first person perspective than an RPG. Still, if I could see RPG elements in Freelancer, I have to admit that Deus Ex is much more of an RPG than it, or even Diablo for that matter, can ever be. I can't say that I'm expecting Deus Ex 2 with a lot of anticipation, but I'm still curious. I guess it could be a welcome distraction if there's nothing else to play for me. Beyond that I would be very surprised if it catches my interest any further. But that's just me talking.

Morrowind: Bloodmoon

I have to say I haven't been following Bloodmoon's progress with much attention. Maybe because I kind of lost interest with Morrowind along the way. I've been getting back to it sporadically in the last few weeks to prepare for the new expansion. At first Bloodmoon didn't get my attention at all. Werewolves, snow-covered wastelands, Ice monsters... I get all those right here where I live ;) Seriously, I'm just a little disappointed, I guess. I would have expected (perhaps wrongly) that a new expansion to Morrowind would also feature enhancements like Tribunal had for the map and journal. Still, Bloodmoon should be an interesting challenge for those who've traveled the land far and wide. And it will have a refreshing (no pun intended…) change of visual setting. I guess the real question is if the new adventure will be worth the time spent playing it. We'll have to wait and see.

Conclusion

I guess that's all there is to it this week as far as I'm concerned. I'm really starting to itch for something good now... Having finished Freelancer I'm flying around once in a while, but I never play for more than a half hour at a time at most. When I'm starting to re-install my old games to try and find something to play, that's usually a sign that it's time to get a new game. Unfortunately I'll have to keep being patient for a while yet...

Let's use this relative calm to discuss games before the summer weather steals us away.