Mystic Worlds

SimCity 5 Here I Come!

Not too shabby for a new Mayor

Launch nonsense aside, I’ve decided to join the masses playing SimCity 5. I’ve never played SimCity of any kind. For several years, I was a huge The Sims fan. I’ve played and owned every version and the accompanying expansions through The Sims 3 Apartment Life. I even played The Sims Online and was in the beta no less. Oh how the fall of that game broke my heart. It was like the designers had never played The Sims. *Cries big splashy tears*

A couple of years into playing MMOs, my love of The Sims slowly waned. The attraction of micromanaging a bunch of Sims in a solo play environment was less than appealing, with each new MMO adventure. Gradually, no one in our household or any of our immediate friends played The Sims anymore, having opted for massive online experiences instead. Most of my gal pals ended up in Second Life - *hurl*. While my immediate and extended family fell head over heels for fantasy MMOs and co-op console titles.

On a break from Guild Wars 2 and not wanting to burn out on Tera Online, I was in the market for a casual friendly game when I saw Gary Gannon’s play through of SimCity 5 on GBTV. I just noticed a second play through that I'll watch tonight.  

Tera Online: Tim Burton Called

Tera Online
Mashup Video of my Priest in Popolion

  

 

My favorite game zones lean toward shire-like or Germanic folksy landscapes. I typically despise frozen zones and desert wastelands. In my experiences, they often lack imagination in their visualization – icy empty or parched empty…blah. Rift’s Shimmering Sands was a desert exception and GW2’s snow covered Frostgorge Sound delighted me and was the end-game zone I enjoyed best. 

Until recently, the only dark/haunted zone I’ve enjoyed was WOW’s Darkshire. Tera Online's Popolion replaces it as my favorite spooky zone.  When I first arrived I thought, “Ugh, the gratuitous spooky zone.” However, I was pleasantly surprised when I exited the township.

I think Tim Burton must have called to ask for his imaginings back. The area is so deliciously Burton-esk, it was love at first sight. Not to be left behind, Johnny Depp was there as a Blood Lord and Helena Bonham Carter, a Blood Maid. Well, not really or intentionally identified as such but could have been them all same, right out of Sweeny Todd. Popolion is perpetually twilight, something else I’m not fond of but this is hands-down my favorite Tera zone so far.

GW2: Taking a Break

I am officially on hiatus from GW2. Although I love me some Mesmer, what I was doing became too repetitive. I was crafting, saving up money and doing monthlies for no real reason. I had all the gear I wanted, maxed crafting and amassing gold just cuz. I need some dings, places areas to explore or new skills/specs to entertain me. I think my days of deep end game are over.

My patience and tastes have changed. If it’s not player housing or fun RP themed gear and items, I can’t be bothered. Running instances over and over to obtain gear with a few more stats or different skins doesn’t appeal to me anymore. My son is also moaning about not having any new gear to obtain or a bigger variety of weapons to chase. He has all the dungeons sets he wanted, Ascended items and WvW sets. My nephews have returned to their console games, only logging into GW2 occassionally.

Just as well, fair weather days are coming with other hobbies and activities. All the more reason to rejoice that GW2 has no monthly subscription. Neither my son, nephews nor I have to make that hand wringing decision to unsubscribe. We're F2P on when the mood strikes.   *Smile* I haven’t been back on since I started playing Tera Online. It ain’t no GW2 but it has new areas to explore, classes I haven’t played and dings to be had.

 

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