OT: While we wait for D3....and they kill off my Hellgate

[drinkturps]

I'm looking for something to get my teeth stuck into while waiting for D3.

Does anyone recommend any other games? MMORPG's, anything really. I badly need a game that I can get lost in.

My beloved Hellgate:London gets shutdown at end of the month so there's no real urgency to continue playing now. Hardcore Elite till I die!! :crazyeyes:
I really enjoyed Titan Quest although the characters all pretty much played out in a similar role. Is Sacred 2 worth a shot?

GTA IV is fun but my attention span diminishes quickly with it. It's the same with COD:WaW, Crysis, TF2, Counter Strike and FarCry 2. All very good fun but for limited time only. Fallout 3 was excellent but it's not got the replayability that I was hoping it would. I still highly recommend it. The Witcher is well worth a look but again I'm finished with it. X3: Terran Conflict is magic but it's scale is so vast that it's kind of put me off. It's still very very good though. Left4Dead is brilliant but it means that I have to be totally dedicated for an hour. Not good when there is a wife that needs attention. Mass Effect was good but again I got bored of it. Stalker:Clear Sky was great fun but the final stages left a bad taste from the free roaming earlier in the game.

This may sound mad but I've never played WoW! I'm downloading the trial as I write this. Having read this back to myself it sounds like I have ADHD! (Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) I've got those post Hellgate blues bad.

Which game apart from D2 keeps pulling you back in for more? I need something that gives me the fix I need and hooks me into the game. What's your fave game and what is it that you like most about it?

Hardcore mode is desirable but not essential.

[BoD Trader]

I know! someone else feels my pain. I personally loved HGL. Wish there was a way to transferr ur char from mp to sp. The least they shudve done was give us that :(

[MoUsE_WiZ]

You could maybe try checking out AoC. I prefer its gameplay to WoW's. One of the major complaints people who aren't me seem to have with it are the "boring" graphics... but coming from HG:L and D2 instead of WoW like most of the AoC player base did they shouldn't be an issue for you. At least I loved the graphics. It's funny... AoC gets criticized for being too brown. D3 gets criticized for not being brown enough ~_~

The other major complaint people had with AoC is lack of content after ~level 30... that didn't bug me either because D2 runs out of content after a couple hours when it becomes baal to 40ish, speed through NM, baal to 70ish, speed through hell, baal to 99. In other words, I have nothing against grinding, most of the WoW players did. Supposedly though they've filled in the 1-80 content a bit better since its release though so I don't know if it still plays the same or not.

And I'm not posting to sound like I'm against WoW or anything... I played AoC for 2 months, I played WoW for...um... total up my /played and it's over 200 days I think. That's over about a 2 year period. With a couple D2 breaks inbetween. It can definitely be fun, but there's certain aggravating factors (guild drama, Blizzard ignoring things that are broken and fixing things that aren't, win trading/point selling/dodging at high ratings in arenas, needing to find other good players to play with if you want to get the harder stuff done) that can completely ruin it. So long as you remain unaffected by that sort of stuff it's a blast.

Both games have no HC unfortunately. Not that HC would work in either game... group PvP + HC just isn't a combination that works. 25 people raids, 1 screw up = wipe, constant new content + HC is another example of a combination that doesn't work.

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Next on the list of things you might consider trying is Spore. It won't take up a lot of your time, but it's also an SP game with all the potential money saving implications that accompany that. I thought its play was similar to D2's in that it's very simple, you quickly get to god mode, and then you can just run around blowing up cities until you take over the universe.

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But to actually answer your question about which game keeps pulling me back?
I quit Spore in October when hockey season started due to running out of time. I play with my Wii occasionally, but other than that, nothing right now. I'm waiting impatiently for the SC2 beta to come out, playing anything else in the meantime seems blah.

[TheDarkSide]

If you are a fan of Dungeons and Dragons I highly reccomend Nwn 2 + the 2 expansions .... The original campaign was a bit buggy but they got that worked out and its a really fun and quality game . The Multiplayer game is where it really shines though and thats what I venture into .. I can highly reccommend the Pw The Sword Coast Chronicles ---> http://theswordcoast.proboards89.com/index.cgi ... I know the the guy that started this PW and he's one of the best Module makers there is for Nwn 2 ( he won a Module making contest by Bioware ) and they are constantly making updates to the PW .. I haven't been on there in a while but I know its a quality place to game and you can get deeply involved in the lore of the Sword Coast ...

[Dahkar]

I would check out LOTR online if your looking for a casual game. It can be bought for 10 bucks for the original game. (Expansion is 40) but the content is quite good and it is very exciting if you are a LOTR nerd like me :)

It also has a free trial.

[Jack Carael]

Have you ever played The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind?
I still love that game.

There's lots in it not to love: it's buggy, it can be unclear what you're supposed to do, etc..
But the possibilities are endless! I can't explain it any differently - this game is just massive. If you really get into it, you can find it's quite time-consuming. And not in the Diablo-way, where you just keep doing the same old thing every time. Personally, I've played this actively (say, 25 hours a week if I wasn't busy) for months on end, and I still haven't even touched upon so many parts of the game.

Also, instead of just bluntly killing whoever you see, and taking whichever items you find.. Think twice! Pick up an item that belongs to someone else, and you'll have the town guard chasing after you. Kill a person that was important for a quest, and you're pretty much screwed. You can still play on, but you won't be able to finish certain quests, for example - there's some Hardcore element in that, right? Console commands can take care of this, by the way.

There are zillions of mods for this game, some official and lots unofficial. It can be a pain to get the right mods working without conflict and all (in fact, if you install the 2 Expansions in the wrong order, the game won't work properly.. that sorta stuff), but there's plenty of people over at the Morrowind forums (won't post a link, Google it or PM me) who are more than willing to help.

Once again, this game is so big, it's overwhelming.
If this turns you on, check it out.
If this intimidates you, I wouldn't start.

Cheers,
-Jack

Ps. if you decide to get this game (should be in budget bins everywhere) don't be too focused on the Main Quest.. Just explore and have fun. In fact, even though I've played it for ages, I think I've only gotten about half-way through the Main Quest..

[jafrick]

You could play Mythos.. It's by some of the hellgate people I believe, and it's probably still free, got HC and all that stuff.. I haven't played it in a while but I bet they have fixed some of their balance issues.

[MoUsE_WiZ]

You could play Mythos.. It's by some of the hellgate people I believe, and it's probably still free, got HC and all that stuff.. I haven't played it in a while but I bet they have fixed some of their balance issues.

Unfortunately Flagship Studios has exploded. The future of Mythos is unclear, but it seems likely that it will not be completed and as such it no longer has servers on which to beta test it. Even if the current owners of the IP decide to complete it, it would be done with a new team of devs which would likely result in it going a different direction from the one it was going... especially because D3 has been announced since the time of FSS's collapse, any further work on Mythos would likely involve attempting to make it seem like less of a diablo clone instead of more of one.

[drinkturps]

Thanks for the replies. Elder Scrolls 3 has potential, NWN2, LOTR too. It's given me food for thought.

I must say I've tried WoW for 3 days now and it's ok. Not great but I guess I am only scratching the surface. Combat is a bit naff though.

It's a shame AoC hasn't got a free trial as the combat sounds more involved. I may give it a whirl. I'll crack on with WoW until the free trial ends, see if it picks up then look at alternatives.

[Baranor]

LOTR online is excellent. I'm playing it atm, and am not too fussed about dishing out monthly cash anymore.

[drinkturps]

LOTR online is excellent. I'm playing it atm, and am not too fussed about dishing out monthly cash anymore.

Hello hairy, long time no roar.

LOTR has also got potential. It also has a free trial to download. I think I'll look into it.

I must say I can't see what the fuss is about in WoW unless I'm totally missing the point. Standing around in fields waiting for monsters to spawn is not really that fun. Loads of walking from place to place without much happening.

It's interesting watching the duals and raids take place so maybe I should just go PvP. But I have rubbish kit. I probably need a buddy to guide me though as I'm on my lonesome.

Come to think it Mr Bear, you've reminded me of something.

[Baranor]

Well, I've found a good kinship to hang out with and that's really nice to have, and I managed to pull in my wife as well :)

the kinship pretty much adheres to GAT policy: take your time, do what you want, be polite and be friendly and have fun. Of course there are som ehigh-end raiders in there, but there are also people who don't want to rush. And of course LOTR-O has LOTR as backdrop... :D

[virgol]

Heh, you will get stuck with WoW for a long time...

[Last Starfighter is Dead]

bah! I'm still getting juice out of my old copy of BG2:SoA ROFL!
All good suggestions though...

[drinkturps]

Heh, you will get stuck with WoW for a long time...

It's started. Got to bed at 1.00am last night. Wife not too impressed. :whistling:

Some of the add-ons should be part of the game, it makes life so much easier! Just realised I can mule by emailing things. It's hooking me in........

On a sad note, Hellgate: London is officially dead. Website has gone and the servers are offline. Not even a final goodbye, NAMCO switched the lights out.

RIP Hellgate: London

[BoD Trader]

I still think it's silly they wont let people host their own servers....

[Baranor]

Yeah, Hellgate was quite nice in ots own peculiar way.

Shame you tried WoW before LOTR-O... in the end, im guessing its more of the same, but I won't touch WoW.... LOTR-O has a better setting imho ;)

[BoD Trader]

Hanbitsoft have taken a U-turn with the action RPG Hellgate London and revealed the game will continue.

Hellgate London was set to close down at the end of this month with Hanbitsoft pulling all online support. This evening Hanbitsoft issued a statement announcing the game will continue with full server support and future content updates.

Hanbitsoft are now citing the developers as Redbana US Studio following the demise of Flagship Studios and they will be in charge of developing future updates.

Focus will now be placed on "strengthening community features while maintaining the speedy and thrilling action game elements"

A large patch is planned and HanbitSoft plans "to combine the two game play modes, unifying the split two communities into one. Also planned are class balance improvements and differentiation of each of the 5 acts. Gamers who attended the conference applauded this announcement".

Sensibly Hanbitsoft will be turning the game into a free to play model. This will please many players who thought the game should always have been based on a free to play model but may upset those who paid for a lifetime 'Founders' subscription when the game was originally released.

Check out our forums here:

http://hellgate.incgamers.com/forums/

Please do not reply to this email. If you have feedback or questions please PM me at http://hellgate.incgamers.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=312 to ask any questions about this email.

Thank you! See you online!

Dacar92 and the entire Hellgate: London team at Incgamers.

Saw this in my email inbox this morning. There is hope!!

Edit- NVM got my hopes up there

http://redbanaus.com/company/company.html

It's just gonna continue in Korea.....

[MYK]

Has anyone here played Fallout 3?

[drinkturps]

Has anyone here played Fallout 3?

Yep and it's superb fun. Highly recommended. My location says it all.

[Dahkar]

Fall out is a great game! Definitely recommend renting it as well. Not sure if i'd buy it though, but I don't buy single player games!

[Jetman]

I played wow since Beta and just recently quit before the LK expansion with like 6 level 70 chars. Its a great way to waste just nasty horrifyingly huge amounts of time. My biggest problem was, that the game requires large blocks of time without interruptions to get anything out of it (Raids/instances can require 2-5 or more hours of uninterrupted gaming) and with my son being born I cant do that anymore.

Does anyone that play LoTR Online have comments about how that game compares? Unfortunately this is usually part of MMO's, as group play usually warrants large chunks of play time, but I was just curious.

Been back to D2 for the last 4-5 months rolling HC SP (With our SPF here which is awesome) but that MMO itch is always back there wanting a good scratching.