EQII Extended: Will it save or ruin EverQuest II?

Carefully avoiding the words “jumping” and “on the” and “bandwagon” here, is it true that the “freemium” business model can save the ENTIRE MMO INDUSTRY? Aside from WoW, the only MMO that doesn’t need saving? A couple of years back, you had your free to play MMOs (AKA “cheap Asian games”) and your subscription MMOs … Read more

EQ2: Toadsong, the Not-a-Bard

When I start a new MMO, I want to be dazzled — right up front. I know that MMOs want you to start out weak, with few abilities and few decisions to make, and introduce new abilities to you as you progress through the levels…. But I don’t care about all that. Drop me in … Read more

The EverQuest Consolidation Project

With the EverQuest server merge in full swing, SOE has offered free server merges for everyone for a limited time. My twisty EverQuest career has taken me from Erollisi Marr to Fennin Ro, back to Erollisi Marr, then Stromm, then back to Erollisi Marr, then Luclin, then back to Erollisi Marr…. EMarr always brings me … Read more

Assault on the Inbox

Another week, another truckload of gaming press releases. Bioware announces their new downloadable content for their Dragon Age RPG, “The Darkspawn Chronicles“. Meant as an alternate story — one where your character from Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening dies during the Grey Warden initiation — here you command the forces of the Darkspawn against the … Read more