Randominity

When I'm not stressed out at work since the fourth quarter is the busiest time of year for us here in budget and finance at Ye Olde Wireless Provider Office (get better, economy, seriously, mama needs a new job!), I am gaming with NK. Or playing with the cats. Or playing with the cats while gaming. Anyway! I got into the beta for Star Wars: The Old Republic last weekend, and also bought Skyrim.

Not a lot of sleep was had last weekend. @_@;;

I went into the SW:TOR beta apprehensive, because although I love me some Star Wars and still want to wake up as Princess Leia one day (make a wish when you're four and it sticks with you), I've been really disappointed in how the MMO has been turning out, from leaked footage and convention reveals. I dislike the graphical style immensely (lovely for a Saturday-morning cartoon, but I don't want it in my game, dammit), I dislike the way the emphasis on single-player storytelling puts a damper on coordinating gameplay between friends, and, it turns out, I don't really care for the way Bioware goes about telling stories in the first place.

That last bit isn't something I was aware of until I'd had the chance to compare and contrast my abortive experiences with Dragon Age: Origins, Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, and this latest offering. I never managed to get very far with either of the single-player titles, and now I'm plowing through Skyrim excitedly and I suddenly realized, "oh, I guess I really don't like being trapped/"stranded" in a location and told I have to do any number of irritating things before I'm allowed to leave."

I never would have figured myself for a free-roaming world kind of girl, but even if I don't end up taking advantage of it most of the time (the NK is constantly stumbling upon things I've never seen, and I swear I've looked into every nook and cranny I can think of when I play), it's still nice to hear someone's plea for help, say, "sure, I'll get right to that," and have the freedom to wander the fuck off and go climb a mountain in the meantime if I want to. They and their problems will still be there when I get back, after all.

So, back to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Turns out I was surprised by how annoyed I was with it most of the time. I sent loads of feedback, not all of it scathing, but ultimately I didn't get far into any of the storylines I tried, and when the servers went down Sunday night, I uninstalled. The chatter on the server was positive coming from everyone else, though, so clearly I am not their target audience. I hope folks who shell out for it are happy with it.

Me, I'm waiting on Guild Wars 2 to end my sleep-filled nights.

If I ever get to sleep again after playing Skyrim, that is.