It has been a long time since I played an MMO. I just havent been able to muster enough interest to invest the time that those games require. And then there is the network effect which keeps you playing games you are tired of and conversely keeps you from playing games you want to try. The last game I liked was DDO but everyone I would play with is either playing EQ2 or WOW - two games that, well, suck.

And now here comes Vanguard.

I have heard a lot about Vanguard.

• Is is the real EQ2.
• It has been in development for 5 years, first as part of Sony, then an independent company, then Microsoft, then independent and finally Sony.
• It is a hard game, one that brings back the idea of risk AND reward.
• It wasnt ready fo be released but they ran out of development money so they shipped it - right after the major WoW expansion.

In fact, it is fair to say that most of what I have heard about Vanguard has been negative. But the game industry lives on hope (and hype) so I bought the game anyway. By keeping my expectations low, I figure I can be pleasantly surprised. And besides, I was curious.

dis-satisfaction

I hate the "carebear" world of reward & reward (as opposed to risk&reward) one finds in WoW and all the other MMO's that want to cater to the same audience. As frustrating as it was, I really miss the feelign of accomplishment from EQ1 because it was hard. Dying sucked but there were times in that game when I was genuinely afraid, which is a lot more fun that it sounds. Loss is not much fun but removing any sense of loss also removes my sense of accomplishment.

I disliked EQ2 but felt badly about it. They clearly invested a lot of effort into a game that just was not compelling to me. The graphics tried to be realistic, which is very different from WoW, but the gameplay was very cartoonish, just like WoW, with tons of explosions and such. They also tried to make it very easy, again like WoW.

Thus I decided to try Vanguard largely because I was hoping it was nothing like WoW, the MMO killer.

I am curious how Vanguard will fare and question whether the WoW competition really matters. Will anyone who loves WoW ever want to leave? Is Vanguard a game for the 5 people who did not like the kid-friendly nature of WoW? Is that enough people to create a sustainable game? (Somehow Eve Online has managed it for 3+ years now.) Or will they follow EQ2's footsteps and try to appeal to the same WoW fans with a watered down RPG experience?

Time will tell. I am curious if I will love or hate Vanguard. Since EQ1, I just havent found that MMO experience that keeps me interested very long. I am still trying to decide if the games have changed or if I have changed.