Friday, February 1, 2013

Checking back in with Asheron's Call 2

I posted some weeks back that Asheron's Call 2, the MMO with an unexpectedly premature demise and a far more unexpected rebirth seven years later, was back.  AC2 true believers were ecstatic about the news, but would we be able to turn back time?

I know in my case, seven years later, a lot has changed.  I'm admittedly not as spry as I used to be, staying up till 2 AM to play games is a much rarer occurence.  I've got two young kids I didn't have the first time around, and many more responsibilities.  I feel like I have no free time to begin with, so the question is, even if the game is back and ready to pick up where we left off, are we who loved it capable of doing so?

So far, I would say the answer is yes.  I am feeling the same drive and desire to play that I felt back in the day.  Does the game hold up?  Yes, it really does, and it's a constant thrill to see familiar character names roaming around, or to come across a dungeon or vista and have the recollection hit of the times I'd been there before.  I'm also enjoying the discussions in general chat.  New players are present, and those experiencing the game for the first time frequenly comment that the lack of "everything being handed to you on a silver plate" is actually refreshing.

What that suggests to me is that probably more modern MMOs have gone too far trying to please the lowest common denominator.  The game is probably a bit harder than intended in that sense, too, because documentation is in short supply. On the positive side, players are extremely helpful to each other, and for the most part, general chat is actually fun to read, and that's unheard of in most MMOs.

The server stability issues that came up around Christmas seem to have been solved, and while you still can't add people to a friends list, that's certainly being worked on. 

In any event, I have suddenly found myself actually doing one or two of those 2 AM game sessions, and my carefully crafted blog article pipeline has evaporated.  Oops. :)

No comments: