So, what're you playing?

[Stormwaltz]

You still have to pay for Secret World, don't you ?

Pay for the client, play forever free. Subs get you a store discount and points towards buying the post-release quest packs.

While TSW probably has the best atmosphere and writing of any MMG, it also has the most confusing and poorly-documented skill system. You WILL need to hunt down player guides to figure out how to make a character.

[Sky]

Rift is the best mmo that they completely screwed up the content for. It astounded me how little they listened to the testers in that, I had already bailed by beta. Dev bubble.

[Rasix]

I would have loved to see that atmosphere and writing in a single player game.  The MMO bits and the clunkiness of the systems detracted from the overall product.  Plus the "LOLFUNCOM" factor was extremely high early on.  The variety of content could have been OK if they executed anything but the "kill this shit" quests well.  The stealth was.. ugggh.  

I actually liked the combat and dungeon bits when I was able to use a fully realized kit.

[Tannhauser]

Rift is OK, but for some reason after about 5 minutes, my eyes get fatigued like there is some squeezing of perspective or something.  Gives me a mild headache.  I know this sounds weird, but it happens.

I cheated and looked up an investigation mission solution for TSW.  Yeah, I'd have never, ever figured that mission out on my own.

I am not a smart man.

[Ingmar]

You still have to pay for Secret World, don't you ?

Pay for the client, play forever free. Subs get you a store discount and points towards buying the post-release quest packs.

While TSW probably has the best atmosphere and writing of any MMG, it also has the most confusing and poorly-documented skill system. You WILL need to hunt down player guides to figure out how to make a character.

Maybe it was just the horrendously bad voice acting in places but I don't think I'd go that far. They did nail the atmosphere though.

[Threash]

Rift is OK, but for some reason after about 5 minutes, my eyes get fatigued like there is some squeezing of perspective or something.  Gives me a mild headache.  I know this sounds weird, but it happens.

I cheated and looked up an investigation mission solution for TSW.  Yeah, I'd have never, ever figured that mission out on my own.

I am not a smart man.

Some of them are nice puzzles, they do expect you to look stuff up on the internet and since the game is on our timeline it makes perfect sense.  Some of them though would require Sherlock level deduction powers without a walkthrough.

[Jeff Kelly]

I've been playing Final Fantasy VI (PSN Version) and I'm seriously considering to wait until the iOS port hits EU or switch to play the SNES Version via emulator. Good god is the PSN version an awful awful port.

They haven't changed anything from the PS One version except one aspect of the game, they even kept the load times between screens something the SNES version doesn't have. The only thing they changed is the aspect ratio because the game runs at 720 by 576 making it even more ugly to look at.

The iOS ports of the FF games get a lot of hate because they change sprites, graphics and fonts but at least they try to overhaul the menu system and controls to make the game 'flow' better and reduce the clunckyness of the original interface and they improve the graphics a little bit. I regret paying €10 for the fuglyness that is the PSN version.

Game itself is great though, combat seems to be pretty mediocre and lacklustre so far but I already like the story and characters quite a bit.

Also heads up: The next two SqareEnix ports to hit iOS and Android will be Final Fantasy VI and Dragon Quest VIII (I'm looking forward to the latter, especially)

[Falconeer]

While TSW probably has the best atmosphere and writing of any MMG

Maybe it was just the horrendously bad voice acting in places but I don't think I'd go that far. They did nail the atmosphere though.

Since I would love to play something like that or even better, what would you say has the best writing of any MMG?

[satael]

MMX:Legacy - while it's uplay and there's alot of reasons not to recommend it to anyone I'm loving the nostalgic feeling of grid-based movement (and maps). 

[Paelos]

Since I would love to play something like that or even better, what would you say has the best writing of any MMG?

Tallest midget sort of thing, isn't it?

[Maledict]

Hmm, Secret World has some of the best writing in any game I've played full stop, never mind MMOs. I didn't mind the voice acting either. The one thing the game does absolutely right and better than anyone else is story and setting.

[Sky]

I guess I didn't get far enough to see good writing. I just remember mediocre mmo quest nonsense and VO. I think I was toward the end of Blue Mt, but it's been a while.

I know it's not the popular opinion, but I enjoy SWTOR's dialogue much more, especially once I got into a better storyline (the sith assassin). There are some absolutely awesome moments in that story, and I don't get jazzed about that kind of thing often. And I don't need a website to build a character, TSW's skill wheel thingy was inscrutable.

[Merusk]

I guess I didn't get far enough to see good writing. I just remember mediocre mmo quest nonsense and VO. I think I was toward the end of Blue Mt, but it's been a while.

Blue Mountains sucks ass and is terrible.  I quit the game once I realized I wasn't powerful enough to move on past the early part of Egypt and had to slog through the entire 2nd half of that bull.

Egypt got a lot more interesting than the zombie/ dead of the deeps stuff in Maine.

[Nebu]

Egypt got a lot more interesting than the zombie/ dead of the deeps stuff in Maine.

Some of the puzzles were a real bitch in Egypt.  Fun zone.

[Nightblade]

The iOS ports of the FF games get a lot of hate because they change sprites, graphics and fonts but at least they try to overhaul the menu system and controls to make the game 'flow' better and reduce the clunckyness of the original interface and they improve the graphics a little bit. I regret paying €10 for the fuglyness that is the PSN version.

They did more than "change the graphics", the game looks downright horrendous. Like it was made in RPG maker VX. A cheap android cash in port loaded with typos and a game ending bug that stops you progressing passed the General Leo vs. Kefka scene. Save your money.

[Jeff Kelly]

Thanks for the heads up. Seems like they don't really care about their ports then.

[Rasix]

Some are OK.  The Final Fantasy 1 port is OK.  But the targeting has some flaws, and it really is easy to get lost in that game as there was no journal at that time to let you know where you were if you take a long break.  Chrono Trigger is a disaster.  The controls are completely shitty, and you miss-target a lot.  FFT is OK, but expensive.   I got it on the holiday sale.  Seems to be a good game for the format, but it does take a long time to play. 

I also, due to getting a gift card, was able to purchase "The World Ends with You, Solo Remix" on sale.  This, I actually kind of like.  It works very well as a mobile game.  The combat isn't fantastic, but it's kind of interesting and there is a decent story to it all.  It's unique and somewhat of a departure from what else is available from Square-Enix. 

Their ports are not good enough to justify anything over $9-10, so wait for sales if something really catches your eye.  I was hoping their price reduction over the holidays would be permanent but it wasn't. Their pricing is really not indicative of the quality of the games.

[murdoc]

Picked up Blackguards yesterday and started a game.  Haven't gotten very far, which is good since it is looking like a restart is in my near future, but there's some real potential there.

[Ingmar]

While TSW probably has the best atmosphere and writing of any MMG

Maybe it was just the horrendously bad voice acting in places but I don't think I'd go that far. They did nail the atmosphere though.

Since I would love to play something like that or even better, what would you say has the best writing of any MMG?

For me, it's SWTOR, though I don't expect a lot of agreement from this particular crowd. For the previous generation I'd give it to LotRO.

The total lack of interaction and the mute protagonist really hurt TSW for me from that perspective. (I don't mean mute as in unvoiced, I mean mute as in ACTUALLY MUTE and staring like a creeper as other people have conversations around you all the time.)

[PalmTrees]

Yeah, that's what killed TSW for me too. All these things happening around you and to you and no response at all. You can't even thank the lady that gives you magic powers via oral sex.

[Rasix]

SWTOR has made it difficult for me to play quest heavy MMOs that aren't voiced.  Some of the voice acting/writing is kind of bad, however.  I liked TSW better in that regard, but both are an improvement over clicking on a NPC and getting a wall of text.

In contrast, GW2's voice acting is hilariously bad.  The Norn voices.   

[Jeff Kelly]

Now I'm bummed because I was really looking forward to Dragon Quest VIII on iOS.  I loved that game.

[Rasix]

Well, it'll be $19 minimum, maybe $30 due to the hype. It'll control like shit, run poorly and take up a ton of space on your phone/tablet.    But, not a fan, as I remember playing DQ8 and turning it off after it wanted me to grind before even beating the first boss.

[Sjofn]

The slacked-jaw-mute thing in TSW killed me. Killed me. It probably wouldn't have bugged me as much if I had played it before SWTOR, but I felt a complete lack of agency in TSW and it was depressing. Everything just sort of happened to me, I don't even get a "hey, thanks for killing all those horrors from the deep on the local beach" from anyone who might care I did it (I mean, some of the quests you get because you creepily listen in on other people's conversations, sure, but there are other times you get specifically asked to do things by horribly accented sheriffs, and you don't get so much as a pat on the head from her after doing all her bullshit), long, long, long scenes of people just talking at me instead of to me. It was basically what everyone said SWTOR would be (and why voice acted stuff would suck), yet for some reason people here didn't care when it was in TSW.

That said, the atmosphere was amazing, and as someone who loves all sorts of goofy paranormal shit, there were so many great little touches beyond all the Lovecraft stuff, and I really enjoyed those parts. But I'm a big lore nerd, you know? So it's probably not a tribute to their writing and/or quest giving system if I'm thinking to myself "oh god, this guy has four quests he wants to give me, blaaaaaaaaaaah."


edit: If you play in a duo, though, unless they massively changed things, TSW is one of the most annoying possible experiences. I got split up from Ingmar CONSTANTLY for no good reason. That was the thing that actually made me quit.

[Sjofn]

And yes, GW2's voice acting is hilariously awful. I still can't decide which norn voice is the worst.

[Rasix]

And yes, GW2's voice acting is hilariously awful. I still can't decide which norn voice is the worst.

Easy.   Every male is a close second.

You and Ingmar were insufferable in TSW.    We explained the lack of pat on back like 100 times.  You refused to accept that explanation! Still do, I guess.

[Stormwaltz]

When I play SWTOR, I see a bunch of animations recycled from Mass Effect (which is fine and cost-efficient, but it's become a game to me trying to predict which one they'll use for a given line). And I've mostly played the Trooper, which is Jennifer "Awesomesauce" Hale in full FemShep mode, but given very little of interest to say. Most of the NPCs I've interacted with (I just finished Alderaan) have been fairly bland. I'd actually say my Protocol Droid has been the most consistently entertaining character in the game thus far.

For GW2, it wasn't the voice acting that killed it for me, but the decision to write "my" character as a compilation of stupefying good-guy tropes. I'm a commoner thief, I don't want to be spouting mealy-mouthed heroisms to the noble knight of Divinity's Reach - I want to tell that smug son of a bitch off.

When I think of TSW, my mind goes to Sam Krieg, Daniel Bach, and the Carter / Annabel Usher / Hayden Montag trio -- NPCs whose every line is drenched with dialect and character.

And if you take all those things together - I'd rather have an avatar who says nothing eloquently than one who says boring or stupid things.

[Ingmar]

Fordel's opinion aside, Trooper is maybe the worst story and I don't think Hale turns in a performance that rates in even the top half of possible protagonist options in that game, male or female, so I wouldn't necessarily judge it based on that one.

[Sjofn]

And yes, GW2's voice acting is hilariously awful. I still can't decide which norn voice is the worst.

Easy.   Every male is a close second.

You and Ingmar were insufferable in TSW.    We explained the lack of pat on back like 100 times.  You refused to accept that explanation! Still do, I guess.

It's not a good reason. It's not a good reason for half the quests I did, anyway. Sheriff specifically asks me to try and murder a bunch of the walking dead. Specifically asks me. Not a case of me creeping along being creepy and mute and overhearing some American Indian dude ask me to murder sea monsters in the most round about way possible. Don't show me actually interacting (for small values of interacting) with someone and then never getting to follow up with them on it. It makes my scene with them even more pointless. I'm not asking for more cut scenes from them (god, no), but there's no reason I can't get texts telling me "death-by-zombie as decreased by 5% since you blew threw here, thanks" or whatever from them too.

As for Norn dudes, I think I actually like the PC Norn guy a little better than Main Norn Lady Whose Name I Cannot Be Bothered to Remember. But pretty much all the norn are horrible. Maybe it's a racial trait they forgot to list!

[Rasix]

You never gave them your cell phone number.     You're really not in it to actually help anyone directly.   And here we are again..

I think in the MMO space I'll be sticking with GW2 for now, although returns to TSW or SWTOR are tempting.  2.5 hours of garrison defense + keep sieging with Mance commanding last night was good fun.  We only got called retards maybe 5 times.   With Fordel gone, however, we lack in token Rangers.

[MisterNoisy]

Nidhogg.  Seriously, this simple little PoP-style fighting game is amazingly good times.  Lots of shouting will ensue if you play it locally with friends or even over the intertubes - the simple gameplay lends itself to amazing highs and lows and huge comebacks.

[Lantyssa]

Easy.   Every male is a close second.

She's like my favorite NPC.  Every time I think of her I can feel bear's little tail wagging in my heart.

[Falconeer]

Picked up Blackguards yesterday and started a game.  Haven't gotten very far, which is good since it is looking like a restart is in my near future, but there's some real potential there.

I was super pumped about this. Love the setting, love Das Schwarze Auge and loved the hex map turn based game! The... voice acting killed this one for me so far. It didn't kill the game actually, but it murdered the atmosphere to the point I wasn't caring about anything anymore after 10 minutes.

Intro movie is great, THEN your character starts talking and everything goes to hell. Sigh.

[rk47]

I wish they adopted a different swing to it - like adding a touch of Oglaf to the storyline. 

[Sky]

One does not simply add a touch of Oglaf.