The Old Republic - Why I Stopped Playing It.

I've been reflecting a bit on my time with The Old Republic.  This is a just a copy/paste from my The Old Republic guild's member forums.  Not exactly very topical, considering I wrote it a year ago.  Maybe all these issues were addressed when the game went free to play.  I doubt it, though.  Anyway, without further ado:

WHY I CANCELLED MY SUBSCRIPTION TO STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC 

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - First Impressions

Square-Enix finally partially dropped their nondisclosure agreement regarding the ongoing beta for Final Fantasy XIV:  A Realm Reborn, which means that I can finally talk about it (though I'm still not allowed to post video footage... for some reason).  As per the usual, this was a work in progress, and things I talk about may not end up in the retail version.

Neverwinter Beta Weekend 3 - First Impressions

            Last weekend I was able to get myself a beta key for weekend three of the upcoming free to play MMO, Neverwinter.  Before I get started, it needs be said that the build I played was very much a work in progress, and anything I talk about here could end up entirely reworked before the game's release.

            So then!  I have to confess that I entered into this beta with very low expectations.  I've spent a substantial amount of time playing both the pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons edition 3.5, and its MMO spawn, Dungeon and Dragons Online.  Additionally, I'm less than a fan of the most recent iteration of D&D, 4th edition, so I didn't have very high hopes for an MMO based on that ruleset.  Did last weekend's beta prove me wrong?  Well, yes and no.

The Next Big Thing

I claimed that this blog will used to cover all manner of topics, but here's another one about MMOs anyway.

            So I mentioned in my previous post that for years now, different upcoming games have been touted as "the next big thing," and by that, of course, I mean that game that will supplant wow as the go to MMO.  It's a given that eventually something will come along and unseat WoW... eventually.  During a bout of insomnia the other night, I embarked upon a brainstorming session, reflecting upon what exactly this hypothetical wow-killer will actually do that other would-be challengers haven't.  I came up with the following list of thing that I think a next gen, big name MMO will have to successfully pull off.  So first on my list of things that I feel the next great MMO will have to address is...