And now for a semi regular blog feature, what exactly have I been playing in the last seven days? Having been nominated as vampire of the year in the 5punk awards a little while back (which was deservedly won by a Mr. Hehulk) It’s become quite apparent to me that I might have slight video game addiction. Nevertheless I enjoy playing games, and this little weekly featurette might open my eyes to just how much time I have on my hands.
Trickster Online: 20 Hours
Command and Conquer 3: 2 Hours
FEAR Single Player: < 1 Hour
Dear me, Trickster Online. Pretty much a polished up version of the popular Korean grind ‘em up Ragnarok Online. Kill little monsters, gain levels, get new gear, kill bigger monsters, gain levels, get new gear ad infinitum. It’s quite addictive though. Despite the main form of interaction being clicking on an enemy sprite till it dies, playing with other people and chatting over TeamSpeak actually makes it pretty enjoyable. Shouting profanities at strangers does help a little, however.
The best thing is that it’s taken a leaf from a number of successful Korean MMO games by getting their revenue from “Micro Transactions” – Encouraging people to part with their hard cash to gain special items and statistic boosts instead of a monthly fee. You don’t feel obliged to play everyday to get the most bang for your buck and that’s a nice feeling. Having paid for items in Albatross 18 in the past, I can see myself investing in a shiny sword and shield on this game if I continue to enjoy it.
