Current Events

The last few months have left me pressed for time, and when I look at the date of my last post. It's hard to believe so much time has passed..

Downsizing

Still ongoing. I have several large boxes of items still to sell. Things have slowed down, and I still have items on my shelves I will probably add to the pile. But the house is old, and drafty. And I think I am done until spring. When I will do a re-inventory of everything that didn't sell. And make another drive to clear it all out.

As for collecting, I think I am mostly done with it. It never ends, and retail is just absurd. I have yet to see a Vehicon the shelf. Or anything from that wave. And having to buy online and the prices being higher with shipping. I am now in the camp of whether it is any cheaper on gas or time.. But when they don't even show up on shelves there isn't any real choice.

But so much of the new stuff just looks bad (Like the new Prime Smokescreen) and I bought so many pieces that looked interesting, but not good. And I had no real personal attachment too.

So I think I will be holding to my G1s, Beast Wars, and Car Robots items. And I have yet to decide on Prime and the 3rd Party items I still have.

Warhammer

My current hobby dollars have gone from Toy Collecting to getting back into Warhammer and tabletop wargaming. Having a local group makes a big difference. And getting out of the house is always a good thing (tm) and I can't support two expensive hobbies at once.

And already having a large Space Marine force in the basement for the better part of 14 years helps. Even when I didn't even end up playing with them much. Too many people still play Marines.

Battlestar Galactica

Just finished watching the new series for the second time. This time straight through, and what a fantastic job they did with this show. Holds up very well. And I dare say I feel like going back to the first episode and watching it all again. Except I have too much else to keep up with.

Comic Book Men

Another fantastic show, funny and entertaining for the geek crowd. Although I wish it was more of the banter among the cast in the store and their antics and less Geek Pawn Stars. But at least it's only a couple times an episode.

Highly Recommended

World of Warcraft: The Mists of Pandaria

So far looks like the best expansion to date. The commercials are telling the truth it seems. Very nice terrain, and lush environments. Blizzard continues to improve quests and presentation and mini game quests.

Haven t played the Monk much. Maybe it gets better later on, but so far doesn't impress me. But then I played a Monk in EQ1 and this is very different. But then a lot of classes don't get going until 30 or more.

So much has changed since I last played, its almost like starting over.


Guild Wars 2

Played the free weekend trial that just went by. A lot to like, but the graphics being nice, look so much like GW1. And like GW1 there is just that something that doesn't hook me. And I only play it less than casually. And that's not worth the price of admission right now.

Maybe down the road if I can pick it up for $30. But WoW MoP is much better at the moment.

One thing that sounded fantastic on paper was the Siege PvP warfare. Right out of Dark age of Camelot it sounded. If its true, and as good as it sounds. It should be awesome. And something Blizzard should be ripping off right this second.

MMOs and Gaming

And the pendulum swings and I find myself returning to PC gaming. With the closure of Blockbuster and the Rogers outlets. I no longer have any good alternatives for renting. This has mostly ruined what was a good deal several years ago when I had swung into console gaming to play all the cool titles I was missing. But at $70 a title that lasts usually no longer than two weeks buying isn't a choice. I sold off my Xbox 360. And am content to hold onto my PS3 since the media capabilities of it are fantastic. And it's also my Bluray player. I don't see myself going into the next generation. I can further beef up my PC instead. And play some of these games a year or more down the line on my PC that still works. And not have a bunch of games that have no value and can't be used once their console system has been put out to pasture.

So, now I am back to PC gaming. I was enjoying Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. And Diablo 3 is right around the corner. But predominantly I find that MMOs are the titles that I usually get the most out of. Been playing them pretty much since 1999. But I find myself once again returning to Azeroth and World of Warcraft. I have always like Blizzard as a company. And maybe that is part of it.

I've been away from the game for must be at least six months or more. And in the interim I played the F2P versions of City of Heroes, EverQuest 2. As well as played the beta and launch of Star Wars The Old Republic. Which I left once I hit the cap and there didn't seem to be much left for me to do. I would say that SW needed another 6 months or so to fill out. And CoH and EQ2 even when they were pay subs didn't hold my attention that long. I would have to say looking back, that EQ1 and WoW were the two MMOs that I've played the most. Everything else were short diversions. I even played DC Universe Online on PS3 and it was only fun for a few days.

But I received one of the new super turbo charged Scrolls of Resurrection and it lured me back in. At first I played a couple hours and didn't have much fun with it. I was bored. Which was why I left in the first place. I had one 85 and several 80s and nothing I felt like doing. But now I was able to bring my Mage over from another server. And get a boost to level 80. And now I've been taking it easy fishing with my 85 and doing low key stuff. While with my newly minted 80 Mage (Who was 73 before) I find some more fun coming back. I don't find I have the time or the patience for Raids or even groups usually. Maybe with a guild dungeons wouldn't be so bad. But PUGs never seem to go well. And as a Mage my role is pretty simple. DPS. I don't have the pressure of healing or tanking. And back in the beginning days of WoW my Mage was into all the dungeons and raiding. But when I went horde I didn't recreate my Mage since I don't like to do the same things over and over. I didn't want to have to level a Mage a second time. Although it took me about three times to get a Shaman past 24.

And I guess with the single player games I have this sense of being alone, playing against a machine. And again I tend to get bored. With MMOs they seem to be like a pseudo sand box. And there are always other people around. Whether I choose to interact with them or not. I can buy, sell, trade and still feel like I'm part of something persistent. So even with my lack of interest in the main social aspects of the games (Grouping and Raiding) it still seems to be mainly a social atmosphere. This 'it' factor that single player games seem to be lacking.

So with my play style I tend to solo the game and play Battlegrounds. And this generally seems to be enough of a social interaction to keep me interested. Where single player games don't. At least when I'm not suffering MMO burnout.

But I knew that I would in all likely hood be buying Mists of Pandaria this fall. So a few months to finish up some levels and skills before that would be good. And I will be ready to dive into the expansion. And it looks like they are adding a lot of stuff to do with the 'Pokemon' aspect besides grind out another five levels. And I've been missing a Monk class since the game launched. They were one of my favorites in EQ 1 back in the day. And I still wish I had of come back for two months last fall for Brewfest and Halloween events.

Anyway, I better stop. Since this is turning into a large wandering post.