Savage Beatdown

So my wonderful, excellent, amazing wife provided me with World of Warcraft. My life will never be the same. Whether I'm a dwarf-girl trying to coax the magic world to my will or a Tauren (a huge standing bull type creature) with a huge beatstick ("That's a huge bitch!" as some would say), I am very entrigued by the entire idea of it all.

My wife also saw fit to get me a case of Bawls, as if I didn't already have incentive enough to stay up and play the game.

So how is it, you ask? Well, it's definitely better than The MMORPG That Shall Not Be Named. Why? Well, WoW is based on quests. While the former is just "Go kill bad guys!" or "Go kill tougher bad guys in...this location over here!" or "Go kill criminals...with your friends!", this is a true immersive experience that is built on a quest system. And the world...I mean, wow the actual environment itself is amazing in its uniqueness from race to race (and I've only tried two races so far, the dwarves and the Tauren), with amazing landscapes and a sense of scope that is just unmatched by anything I've seen to date.

I'm not thrilled with getting killed, as no one really deserves to be, but nevertheless I am happy that this happens infrequently and with my latest character I've really learned that the game is designed in such a way that you should take the quests given by non-player characters as you get them. Don't try to rush to the next locale, simply do the tasks at hand and enjoy the experience. Anything else will see you ambushed and bring you many, many deaths. This means you have to run back to your body or take a big experience loss. And the latter just really isn't an option.

In the end I think it will take awhile before I've truly formed a solid opinion on the game. My experiences now are like discovering Play-Doh as a kid: Right now everything is colorful and can be shaped to my liking. Now the question is, am I doing the quests to find the playset, or am I inside the playset and just can't see the seams?

Either way, I'm hooked.

Speaking of a beatdown, I learned how to play Vs. System the other night while at Friday Night Magic. What is it, you say? Well, it's another CCG created by Magic players and published by Upper Deck. The game itself, and the more I learn of it, is very interesting, and as its not quite as popular as it perhaps deserves to be I think I have a shot at getting in on the ground floor and winning a few tournaments and perhaps even prize money. You can read more about it over at metagame, which includes plenty of card links and ideas on how best to play.

I've experienced plenty of CCGs in my day, and this one is very promising. The new sets push the boundaries of the experience a little more each day, and that's a good thing. I'm excited to share the game with friends of mine, if they're willing to learn. More on this As It Develops.

Lastly, tomorrow is the first day of my new job! Woohoo! I've had quite a few stops by the office, and I'm very happy of this career move. The more I actually spend time there, the more I'm sure that this is Where I Should Be (tm). There were close calls with K-VA-T Food Stores (ie, Food City), and IPIX corporation, but in the end I think that this was the best choice out of all of them. The first one required me to move, the second might've been too stressful or too much travel. This one has good benefits, albeit with some pricey insurance, but in the end I think the small size of the company and the people there-in will make a big difference.

I'll be sure to post Day One reactions sometime tomorrow evening. Now, it's time to roam the earth as a Tauren and stomp some ass.