The impossible has been done - World of Warcraft undone

If you are one of the millions that play or have played World of Warcraft then you know the game is filled with content. Like all Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMO) there is more than enough to keep anybody busy for years. And that does not include the time to reach the next level up once you get past the first easy 10 levels.

If you are not familiar with these types of games I'll help you out. In an MMO a new player can go from level 1 to level 5 in generally 3 - 5 hours. Reaching level 10 requires another 8 hours of time to be invested in the game. To reach level 15 could take a week more time. To get to level 30 or more than several months of gameplay time. And since the max currently in WoW is 80, well you are looking at perhaps a year or more of hardcore gaming time, and far more than that for a casual gamer.

Obviously that's a huge investment of time. But for all of that gameplay, I have never heard of anyone out of the millions that have played the game, that has done everything the game has to offer. Such is the nature of an MMO. They can become a life of their own.

Of course I need to correct something I have said. I never heard of anyone essentially beating an MMO before today. It seems that a Tiawanese man has in fact done it. He has completed every mission and acheivement the game has to offer. That's 986 seperate items that involve the most difficult and obscure things offered in the game. Like gaining a complete outfitting of all epic gear (very hard to find each piece as they are rare), or eating 50 different kinds of food from across the entire World of Warcraft game world.

To some it may not sound like a big deal. But to gamers it is amazing. To my knowledge this is the first time anyone, EVER, has done everything a game has to offer. I honestly cannot imagine the time it has taken to get all of it done. And out of over millions of people playing the game currently and likely tens of millions that have played the game since 2004, only "little gray" has made this milestone.

Just thinking about it, finishing the unfinishable, completing the incompletable, it makes me wonder what else is possible. Maybe a President that could complete all of their campaign promises? Maybe a Congress that could balance a budget? Maybe a world without nuclear weapons?

Nah, that won't happen unless it's in a game. But then again anything is possible.

World of Warcraft or Dad: The cause of boy's collapse

I can hear it now. The horrors of video games, the internet, and Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMO). And the fuel of this latest round of the fire comes from Sweden. Thanks to a 15 year old and his obsession with World of Warcraft (WoW).

It seems that the kid, and several of his friends, spent 20 hours straight playing the game. They barely ate or slept, and the kid in question collapsed after the 20 hour mark. When brought to the hospital he was diagnosed with lack of sleep, lack of food and over-concentration - but he will be fine.

The father in question said

"...he now plans to limit his son's computer time and urged other parents to do the same."

Well isn't that jumping into the fire and saying it's hot. Where was he during this 20 hour period when his son was playing? Watching television? Asleep?

The game is not the problem here. Like a weapon, tool, or anything it exists but its what people do with it that makes it potentially dangerous. If this father was paying attention to his kid we would have seen what was going on long before there was a need for the hospital. If he was an involved parent he would have checked in on his kid, maybe watched the game and been involved in the playing. Maybe he would have come in at 10pm and said it was time for bed and made sure his son went to bed. And in the morning looked in on what the kid was doing.

As I said in my post Danger for kids on the internet

"It's not enough to just watch what children are doing on the internet. We all, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents, need to be involved. We all need to explain why some things are wrong, and what the history of these things are. Because if we don't kids will use them, act on them, to their detriment."

The detriment in this case was a child that pushed himself beyond limits his body could stand. That's not the fault of the internet or WoW. It is directly and solely the fault of the father in this case. And blaming anything and anyone else is just trying to deflect the responsibility of the parent on someone else. It's seeking sympathy when none is deserved.

In this case the MMO is no different than a gun in the house. A parent that takes no precaution, that has no involvement in their child, is asking that child to shot themselves. That may sound harsh, but it cannot be more harsh than having to take your unconscious child to the hospital.

Let's not look for scapegoats in this holiday season. There are many things that are inappropriate for children on the internet and in some video games. But the real danger comes from a parent that is uninvolved and uncaring enough to let that child get access to, and abuse, the tool in question.

I remember being told as a child

"Don't run with scissors"

Today it seems that everyone wants to blame the scissors, not the child running. And god forbid someone blame the parent for not telling the kid to not do it.

Age of Conan - MMO review

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the Memorial Day holiday that is provided to us by those servicemen and women that have given up their lives for our freedom and comfort. As for me, this year the holiday was marred by news of the death of a friend, and another very good friend’s parent.

But let me not dwell on that. Let me discuss Age of Conan, the massively multiplayer online game (MMO). This is the latest major MMO to come out and was much anticipated. It’s based on the artwork and original storylines of Conan the Barbarian. I don’t mean the movie starring the Guvernator Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the original source that inspired the movies.

Like the source material the game is for adults, and very dark. When I say adult I mean just that. Bare breasted NPC characters and decapitating foes in battle are just a few of the things that make this game not suitable for kids. So don’t say you weren’t warned if you let your kids into the game.

Now I’m running the game on a modified older computer. With 2.5 RAM, and a Raedon 1600 Pro video card this is not the fastest computer out there. If you have similar configurations expect to drop several of the video options below the low default setting to garner a framerate of 10 -15 on average. And that’s with a cable connection.

But the graphics are very good even at this setting. And you can fight without much difficulty; though in an area with 5 or more characters fighting, expect to have problems.

The sound quality is nice. Though the voice track for quest givers really can’t be heard unless you max your volume, but then the background music will be staggering when you’re done. Other than this glitch the sound is good and not distracting from the game.

But how is the gameplay?

Addicting, like most good MMO’s. Conan starts you off with a simple storyline of a slave surviving a shipwreck and losing most of your memory and skills. The basic movements are straightforward, and reminiscent of all MMO’s. The GUI is similar to WoW and others in that the main skills are on the bottom of your screen. All the HUD boxes are of decent enough size to be seen and used but not obtrusive. There is no side skill bars but that really isn’t important (at least as far as level 25 that I can speak of).

One of the first major differences you will notice is that there are 3 directional buttons between the ability and fighting combo buttons in the skill bar. They are important and vital. Unlike any other MMO fighting is not just mashing button but it’s also about selecting direction of attack. Thus the arrows. And it makes a difference.

When facing an opponent you will be faced with shields surrounding the target. The more shields, the less damage and vise versa. Depending on your foe, and the level they have, as the battle goes on the shields shift – thus necessitating different combo attacks and style. Several targets will have similar styles in this defense, but the early game is pretty easy to lean and obvious. Questing and searching is easy enough, as is gaining new abilities and skills. Feats become available at level 10, and I’ll discuss that later.

The tutorial for the game is essentially the beginning section of the game. In this part you will be alone in the world during the daytime. You will have a NPC companion, but don’t count on her to do anything for you; she’s only there for looks at this point. Still you should have little difficulty getting through this section if you’ve played a MMO before. If you haven’t expect a couple of deaths before you get the hang of it. I doubt if it would take more than 5 unless you try to go Rambo about it.

Once this section is finished you will enter the game world, sort of. You will enter an area (at level 5, possibly 6 if you get lucky) that is the staging area for your character. A small island that you cannot escape (sort of) until you reach about level 20 is you are strictly soloing (which most seem to be doing). There are several fetch quests here, and more than a few kill X number of this guy quests. Leveling goes pretty fast up to about level 15.

One thing that is of note is that quests provide better experience than power killing in my opinion. In fact it’s hard to camp an area, though respawns are even-paced. There just are too many people in the zone to let you really hold a spot. And since the main quest areas are not instanced, be careful running too far into an area that seems extra empty. You may find that the respawns will set you beyond your capabilities quickly. And don’t expect a lot of help from passerbyers, most will leave you to your circumstances (and more than a few I noticed used my impending death to help them capture quest items).

I believe you have an option to skip the main portion of your progression in the staging area, called Tortage Island, but I have yet to take this option. And as I mentioned above this is not the main game, because you will need to pursue the night time option to advance your characters path off the island. And when you get to the end of that path, you will be given the option to go to the final stage. This is an instance, and enemies will not respawn (except in one section). But once you enter this stage there is no retreat. Any unfinished quests are unavailable, as is returning to the daytime zone, so keep that in mind.

Once this path is done you will be transported to the appropriate zone based on your nationality picked in character creation. In each you will find a few easy fetch quests, as well as several that will require you to travel to several zones far away. And at about 20 you can start to collect resources to be used for eventual crafting (which is only available at level 40+).

So what are the problems? Benefits?

There are many minor problems on the game. It’s very easy to flip or delete the directional arrows in the middle of a battle. That can be very problematic. The skill bar has plenty of space for the beginning levels, but could use more space after level 20ish. The trader is inaccessible, in Stygia at least. The bank is nowhere to be found. There are no guides to pint you towards any critical area (like a trainer or bank) though they do usually show up on the map – usually. The gem cutter crafter does not work if you don’t have gems in hand (hold onto the early gems you receive if this interests you). Space in your inventory is highly limited – just one bag – and I have yet to see an extra bag anywhere. All the weaving trainers are broken except for the one in Portia which is buggy.

A bigger problem is the feats tree and armor/weapon upgrades. At level 10 you get a feat tree with several options. Some are general and some are class specific. You may note that there are effects mentioned in feat descriptions, but you can’t find out information on them. There are really incomplete answers on the feats as well.

This works hand in hand with the gear. There is no explanation of what is better a high quality low level item or a higher level low quality item. In fact there is no way to really see the difference in one item or another. Armor for example tells you nothing about its total damage it will absorb. Just that it has X additional benefits. So a high quality low level item, like a blue (high quality) chest plate, may or may not be equal or worse than a white or green (low quality) item 2x it’s level. The weapons are a bit more descriptive since they give damage output, but it’s still not overly clear.

The game manual that came with the game is very light on information. The same can be said of the in-game manual. And the chat box channels are odd to me.

Now with these annoying problems you might think I find the game unappealing. That would be untrue. I have played one character to level 25, 7, 5, and 5. I enjoy several of the areas, except the Purple swamp which is just too dark to be real useful for anything.

Overall it’s a good MMO, but it’s not WoW. But also unlike WoW it’s not overly crowded anywhere.

Is this better than Vanguard, yes. Better than Pirates, absolutely! Does it beat Lord of the Rings, yes. Will you enjoy the game and feel good about the money you spent – so far I have to say yes. Hopefully some of the bugs I mentioned, and a couple of broken quests, will all be fixed soon. The game is less than a month old so may fixes are bound to be on the horizon.

I say it’s worth the time you will invest in it. Now how I feel in 3 months is another question. Especially when Warhammer is be out about then. So we will see.

Dungeons & Dragons greatest Dungeon Master loses the ultimate battle - 3.4.2008.1

I have some very sad news to report today. While some of you may not recognize the name, others will be quite familiar with Gary Gygax. I hate to say it, but he has died at the age of 69.

Now I know gamers, most of us that are now a bit older and many are creating our own games, should be familiar with this man. For those that are not, he is one of the co-creators of the most popular gaming system possibly ever. Dungeons & Dragons. Along with JRR Tolkein he was responsible for sci-fantasy and RPG style gaming.

In fact I think you can draw a direct line from JRR Tolkein to Gary Gygax to Vampire: The Masquerade to The Witcher to MMO’s (Massively Multiplayer Online games). Without D&D there is no Everquest, or World of Warcraft. There is no Final Fantasy. There is no Resident Evil or any other game. And thus no movies either.

Some may think that D&D was simply a bad movie made by some Hollywood guy that was made into an MMO. In fact the universe of Dungeons & Dragons is enormous and highly profitable. From huge tomes regarding how to play in the 1980’s, a cartoon in the late 80’s, video games, trading cards, books, and movies the genre encompasses 3 decades and continuing.

The original game system was a real first. Before there were computers, groups of friends (yes some were a bit geeky, but it was hugely popular with the military too) would gather to pull out pieces of paper and become a Dwarven Thief or Elven Paladin or Human Mage for a few hours. Without the need of more than pencil paper and a set of 3-, 4-, 6-, 10-, and 20-sided dice entire worlds were created and enjoyed. Today those same types of worlds require years of programming and sometimes servers connected to the world.

The legacy of Gary Gygax is immense when you consider not only what he created for his friends to enjoy, but what became a multi-national conglomerate. You may not be a computer geek, but every time you play a FPS (First Person Shooter), RPG (Role Playing Game), or fantasy MMO you are living an extension of the mind of the greatest mage this side of Merlin.

Few are so creative, and touched so many. My condolences to his friends and family. He will be missed by this Dwarven Thief and many others I am sure.

Will 2008 be the year of the Greenskin, Barbarian or Pirate?

The question above does not refer to upcoming movies (of which I’m anticipating Iron Man to be very good) but about the crop of MMO’s coming out this year. Each has a huge back-story to work from. Each has a fanbase that is excited by the prospects of the particular theme of the massive multiplayer online industry. But which is best? Can any of them dethrone World of Warcraft (WoW)?

The answer to both of these questions depends on the player and the expectations they have. Let’s take a look at what they are each proposing to provide.

In Age of Conan, we get a slice of the classic barbarian tales that have endured in comic books/magazines and much later in movies for decades. This one character, and the world he inhabits has inspired movies such as Krull (bad but strongly influenced anyway), 2 Schwarzenegger movies, The Beastmaster and countless copycats in comics (especially Cerebus the Aardvark). The MMO plans to live up to that rich history providing an adult themed game. This one isn’t for the kids.



Finally there is an MMO that has a bit more than the watered down, ultra-kid friendly formats that are the industry today. There is nothing wrong generic MMO’s, and I enjoyed WoW as much as anyone (I had a lvl 54 Dwarven thief among several others), but sometimes you just want more action. You want to really be involved with the fight. And you want to crush the opponent. Lopping of the head of your enemy definitely fits the crushing experience.

The one thing that could be a bit unnerving for some players is the ‘twitch’ factor that is involved in the combat. The reward is that you get to target specific areas of your opponents’ body. The downside is that casual gamers will find this a bit more involved than just clicking a button and watching the results. Then again, that just makes winning a fight all the more enriching when that hit to the leg cuts it off and you win.

Looking at the other side of the coin we have Pirates of the Burning Sea (the first of these 3 MMO’s to be released). Again we go back to the family-friendly, casual gamer friendly format that is so common today. But we are talking about the chance to live out fantasies of being Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, or Captain Blood for the Errol Flynn fans. Of course since this is family-friendly, I expect many to cry “Why is the rum always gone?”



Beyond the liquor of favor among these sea-faring ruffians, there may not be a lot of depth. Of course there will be a need for shipbuilders and other support characters. But the real action will be getting out to sea, representing either a parent nation or independently, and blasting the deck out of poopdecks of other ships on the waves. Pillaging ports of call is also an option with the naval equivalent of sieges giving you the option to take over the area and claiming it for your own faction.

It’s not the pounding action of Conan, or perhaps even WoW, but it definitely is better than Disney’s miserable foray into the same genre. And you can be sure that it will be ‘twitchless’ fighting. The real question here is, once players have their sea legs will they want to keep going? Personally I just don’t see how this can work.

The last big MMO of the year is Warhammer. Not the 40,000 series, but its fantasy counterpart. Chaos, including corrupt humans, Orcs and undead, fight the forces of good and humanity. A common theme in most RPG and MMO games. But this theme is backed by a hugely popular miniatures gaming system, and looks to take the MMO industry to a new place by having PvP on a huge scale and not just as a raid. It’s a direct and constant struggle of good vs. evil that isn’t secluded or regional but pervasive and right next door.



I think that this fundamental battle, on a constant basis, give a fresh perspective to the genre. Plus there are many fans that are dedicated to growing their faction’s position. If you have never seen the miniatures game I suggest you check it out. People, who spend hundreds of dollars building up armies, and tens if not hundreds of hours painting miniscule details on each figurine, are invested. I’d expect no less dedication in the MMO, and that makes it lively. It’s that fanbase that can give new players a boost and a reason to come back and join the cause.

So which video game will be the big winner? WoW will continue to be the big dog of the yard, but I think Age of Conan will be the runner up. It’s been too long since adult gamers, a growing population, have had anything that satisfies their tastes. Something a bit more sophisticated and darker. A more rewarding experience for the experienced gamer.

But the casual gamers will flock to Warhammer. Name recognition will capture newbie’s, and fans have been waiting for this kind of experience.

WoW may still be the king, but several others are coming up the hill fast. Change is not only a Presidential race campaign speech; it’s a reality of the evolving and growing MMO video gaming genre.

When the MMO joy ends

For all the fans of MMO’s (Massively Multiplayer Online) out there, some potentially bad news. The same can be said to fans of all things Star Trek. Of course this means that I can only be speaking about Star Trek Online.

It’s been reported that there are going to be massive changes to the up-coming MMO, and the end to the equally in development Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising. The creators of Star Trek Online, Perpetual has been sold to new owners and they want a new focus on the game. Those changes include a move to become a more casual gamer friendly format. I would call that a horrible move.

In addition there is the rumor that the subscription based fees will be removed. Now most games that do this tend to instead offer perks to the game that can only be gained by purchasing those perks in real cash. While that has been a huge hit in some games (like Second Life as I recall) it’s not something I like. Then again most Americans I would say are against that format. But in Korea this is a very popular idea.

In my opinion, the game is dead. Any potential that might have been there has been hit by a full force phaser blast. So it’s warp speed onto another MMO. That means Conan. So far expectations are that we can see the game out in 2008.

As for Tabula Raza, which you may recall I reviewed recently, the joy has subsided a bit. My review covered the first 5 levels to the game. The initial feeling of constant action and improvement has lasted beyond level 5. But it seems to be waning fast.

Now at level 15, I have to honestly say that this is not a long term MMO. At least not for me. While I still maintain it’s a nice change from WoW (World of Warcraft) it is not a keeper. The higher level stats and abilities are only slightly different than early levels. Weapon strengths do improve, but not quite as quickly as most opponents. The scenery of post-early stage lands are still well detailed and inviting, but somewhat still the same.

I’m playing the game as a solo character, no guild or groups. That makes most of the instances very difficult. Sadly that’s where the best gear is of course. Still several can be beaten by one character (at substantially higher levels and better gear). But the meat and potatoes of the game still leave me less than enthused.

Bugs are still present, and the latest patch was a while ago (pre-Thanksgiving).

And the difference in ability between my newbie and my level 15 ranger is sparse. The different abilities just don’t seem too relevant. And the logos still make little sense.

Probably the main thing keeping me going is the desire to reach Sniper at level 30.

So if you have a month or 2 to kill, or want to blow off some steam from work, Tabula Raza is ok. Otherwise, look for Conan in March 08.

**this can also be found at Video Gaming Blog where I am a contributing author.**

Review of first 5 levels of Tabula Rasa

There are many Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games out there these days. There is the now classic Everquest, the hugely popular World of Warcraft (WoW), the movie and book inspired Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO), and several others as well. In the near future this genre, once thought a fad, expects to add 3 more major titles and one has just opened for the holiday season. I will discuss the MMO that just went live – Tabula Rasa.

Tabula Rasa is a new idea in the MMO genre. This computer game is similar to standard MMO’s in that it has thousands of players from around the world on at any time. Player can customize avatars, receive fetch missions, and kill lots of computer controlled baddies. But there is a major twist in the now common theme in this game. Unlike the majority of MMO’s in this one you are in the not-to-far future.

The game takes place after an alien race called the Bane has attacked the Earth. Relatively small portions of the planet’s population are able to escape, with the aid of an ancient benevolent race of aliens, and we are fighting to regain our home planet. That’s the simplified back-story.

There is a huge amount of shooting in this game. In many ways it is a FPS (first person shooter), but it never feels to individualized. While soloing is possible there are times when a team makes life easier, but I’ll get to that.

In terms of installation, expect to spend about 2 ½ hour to get everything and to be up to date. The software downloads relatively quickly; you only need 1 CD, but the updates after that will take quite a while. You can spend part of that time creating an account so you can play the game (which is not mentioned where to go for the account or that registration is separate of the installation process). You can also get a chance to read the relatively average sized rules guide. I would have preferred a larger book, with bigger fonts, but it’s not terrible. The booklet is also not that informative, but with MMO’s they never really are.

Once you’ve set up the game and gotten an account you can jump right in. There are only 4 serves so far, and all the US servers (3 of them) are moderately full. You may need to try more than once to get a connection. It took me 2 tries and about 3 minutes to get in, which is not terrible (I have a cable connection). From there you create your first character.

Character creation is simple and easy. Note that the last name you use will apply to all other characters you create on that server. There is a decent about of diversity in skin tones, facial looks, and size of your character. I am upset that there was only 1 option for hair for African Americans, braids (at least for a male character). I doubt every Black guy in the future will have braided hair; some of us will also not be bald. Another option in there would have been nice. That aside the system was fairly decent.

And then you are in the game. The tutorial is decent, and you figure out the basic shoot and duck basic that is essential for the game. In very little time you will be in the middle of a firefight (with support thankfully) and that will answer more questions than most anything else. Experience is easy to get overall, with little questions about kills. Helping others is fine, and indeed often welcomed. Before you know it you will be out of the training area and in the game world proper in no time at all.

One thing that you should keep in mind, always look for some form of cover if possible. Cover reduces damage you take and is critical when you have multiple enemies (which are normally the case). While initial enemies are dumb enough to stand in the open, further up the line they are getting various types of cover and attacking in groups large enough to kill you if you just stand in the middle of a clearing.

There is a lot of tactical thought to this game that you do not always find in a FPS. Cover, flanking, weapon types, inherent weaknesses, and back-up are all critical in this game. There are several types of weapons in the game from the start. There are EMP weapons for mechanical targets, fire, cold, bullets, electricity and more. Thankfully you have an easily identifiable and selectable weapon array. You can switch on the fly between 5 weapons of your choice. I advise picking up an EMP, and at least 2 pistols. I prefer the rifle, with longer range, but the shotgun gets a lot of use too.

You will need to pay attention to range, as it affects damage (as does moving and shooting or crouching). Targeting is simple and range is included in the target information. The HUD interface is pretty simple, though not quite intuitive. You won’t be lost on what ability or weapon you are using, though you may wind up switching weapons by accident. Also be aware of overheating your weapon and reloading. Once you forget you will know it and probably not encounter the problem again, with proper attention.

The crafting system takes work, seeking the proper ingredients for an item. I have yet to get everything I need to make anything yet. But that is more random luck than anything else it seems. The abilities are useful but not a major item for me so far.

Gaining the first 5 levels of the game should be pretty easy, taking around 3 hours of play. Leveling the character is pretty straight forward and decisions on what class you ultimately will take on does not occur until level 5. Thus you have time to figure out what you like and prefer without locking in at the start. As you progress you ultimately start to lock into certain types of class but you have several options along the way.

Money is based on kills, and looting. There is no huge shortage on that end. And you should easily have enough money after a mission or 2 to afford all the ammo you will need (buy several thousand at a time, it gets used up fast) and still have plenty left over.

Missions are the basics you would expect, and most are of average difficulty. Occasionally you will have a mission or 2 where you need to make moral choices, but at least the early effects of these choices are not significant. EXP rewards for the completion of missions is good as well. Death has not been a major issue, but these are low levels.

The biggest problems with the MMO at this time are the lack of servers and glitches. The game is buggy. My system has 250Mb or disk space and 2 Mb Ram and I am still glitchy, running about 95% of CPU. There are geometric pixel flashes, and problems viewing water. This is at normal settings. Lag is occasionally bad, but not deadly depending on what you are fighting and where. Some of the missions are bugged as well.

All of the technical issues are known and being worked on. It’s nowhere near the initial issues WoW or other games had when they first went live. Considering all that is happening on the screen at one time, it’s no surprise at the difficulties. A lot more his happening at any given time than most raids on other systems. Expect that there will be down time as well because there are matches being made on an almost daily basis right now. Most are short and take about 20 minutes to 1 hour.

Overall this is an enjoyable MMO, with several differences that make the game look interesting. It’s playable and definitely different each time you play, even in the same area. The early levels are straight forward and fun. There is a lot of strategy for those who want it, and enough explosions and shooting for those who don’t. The community is intelligent and mature.

As long as you have patience, and willing to ride out the initial starting problems (that happen in every MMO for the first month or 2) you should have a nice time, and enjoy a very different change of pace.

I would not recommend the game for young players (under 15). Everyone else can have a great time.

Thoughts on Pirates of the Caribbean Online

**This can also be seen at Video Gaming Blog, where I am a contributing author**

Just in time for the holiday buying season, a slew of MMO’s (Massively Multiplayer Online games) have come out. From fighting demons, to undead pirates and sci-fi action several choices are now available in the genre that has quickly become a staple of computer gaming. One of the more anticipated games has been Pirates of the Caribbean Online.

PotC is not the average MMO. Unlike many games in the genre it is family-oriented. That designation normally indicates a sub-standard and unamusing game, in my experience. Another warning sign is the fact that this video game is based on a movie, which virtually guarantees failure. But there have been exceptions to both of these rules.

PotC does not appear to break the rules, which is sad considering the enormous returns the 3 films generated. Still there is only so much that can be expected from Disney, and considering play (with limitations) can be free you get what you pay for. And you get a lot for the all the limitations in the game, even if you do pay ($10/month).

Disney has failed to follow the standard of most MMO’s these days. Poor execution of forming crews and friend management are only part of the problems. Being very kid friendly, battles are limited. Pirates can only fight each other in PvP areas, as cursed pirates only, ship battles can only occur against NPC ships.

Experience management is horrible, with groups not benefiting from kills, and the ease of being dropped from a battle and place in jail being high. NPC enemies can often be multiple levels higher than the player, regardless of the area encountered.

The game has issues. Does it look good? Yes. Is it family-friendly? Definitely. Is it cheap and highly affordable for subscriptions? Check there. But as I said before you are getting what you pay for.

In my mind, would I play this? If I was paid. Very young gamers may well enjoy this, and it can be cute for a distraction for a day. But if you enjoy LotRO (Lord of the Rings Online), WoW (World of Warcraft), or several other MMO’s you may want to wait for Conan or Tabula Rasa.

Laurence Fishburne, Sealand, Disney and Iwao Takamoto - 1.9.2007.2

Here is some recent good news for Mr. Laurence Fishburne. It seems that he is expecting a new child with his wife Gina Torres. Mr. Fishburne is a father already, with 2 other children, so I’m sure he’s well prepared for the task of fatherhood. I wish their child a health birth and great success.

In odd news I think I know what you can do if you win the lottery for XXX millions. If you think it’s too crowded where you live, or disagree with the government you can always just buy your own nation. I’m serious. The principality of Sealand is now on the market according to Prince Michael Bates. It seems the family took over a platform that’s 7 miles off the coast of England and claimed sovereignty. Already the miniscule nation has fended off a hostile takeover and the British Navy. So you get a little history with you nation. And a currency as well as a national anthem.

I wish I had the money. Though the view is a bit parse, and it’s hardly self-sufficient. If it comes with a seat at the U.N. (and thus international aide) I think it’s a steal. I could really have some fun with this. So what would you do if you had your own country? Talk about a dollar and a dream.

In other odd news is the announcement that a sequel to a 43-year-old movie is now going forward. Yes it’s only taken more years than I have been alive. The demand must be intense, the money has been rolling in. Or so you’d assume. In fact is a sequel to It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. This is a genuinely funny movie. It’s filled with an ensemble cast (which is virtually impossible in the current environment of mega-pay for top entertainers) and a decent script. It made me laugh at least. But the plans have been made to continue the story with stars from today. Considering the quality of most sequels and re-makes these days I don’t have high hopes. Since most stars will not forgo their pay to make a movie, lesser stars are probable and I doubt a top notch comedy director is available at a discount (though most comedies these days makes me wonder who is a top-notch comedy director). Lastly the story is a bit dated, without a solid comedy writer I don’t think the idea grabs today’s generation. Essentially all the reasons why Rat Race was such a failure. Let’s hope this try is better.

Another thought that scares me a bit is the fact that Disney seems determined to enter the MMO space. If you aren’t familiar a MMO is a massively multiplayer online game. You may have heard of, or seen commercials for, Everquest and World of Warcraft. These are not a niche game genre, many games boast millions of players. And they get to play together in real-time. So you begin to see the attraction for Disney.

While the current efforts to bring a Pirates of the Caribbean MMO to life may be interesting I’m just afraid of a trend. Disney is know for running amok when it goes in a direction. I base that observation on Disney Europe and 42nd Street in New York City. Some may enjoy the mini-Disney that is now on west 42nd, I tend to feel that all the character has been sucked out of the area. When I’m there I don’t feel like I’m in NYC, I feel more like I’m in some kind of corporate vortex. So news that this corporation plans to try to map out world’s of whatever vision it would like to sell to our kids, terrifies me. My only hope is that they lose enough money to prevent any other mega-corp from following. If not I fear the gaming landscape that will appear.

Lastly, I wish a sad goodbye to Mr. Iwao Takamoto. His name may not be familiar to many but his creations are known world-wide. Mr. Takamoto created one of the most loved dogs ever, Scooby-Doo. Mr Takamoto was an animator, a career he started on due to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. His legacy far outstrips the deplorable conditions that gave rise to it. In multiple decades his animations have brought joy to millions. Whether it’s the humor of Alexandra from Josie and the Pussycats, or Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web (which he directed), to Astro from the Jetsons. The artistic that provide us such wonderful gifts always go too soon. Any time we lose them it’s always too soon.

This is what I think, what do you think?