Last night I decided to have a look at a couple of games heading to a server near me soon, and ended up joining The Templars.

Well, I was just having a look, really.

My curiosity had been piqued by Ysharros’s adventures in Tha Seekrit Wurld; it’s always fun looking at games, and daydreaming about all the possibilities that they offer. And I’m finding it really hard to call it The Secret World since Ysharros made me giggle muchly.

I’d had a look at Aion, and was mildly interested. The concept of combat in flight is nice, but I’m just wondering if it’s going to be hovering in place blasting spells off, as opposed to standing on the ground blasting spells off. I’m also somewhat wary of NCSoft’s fantasy offerings since I had a brief look at Lineage 2.

I didn’t play Lineage 2 for long. I chalk up my negative experiences in Lineage 2 to a small number of annoying players, rather than a bad game, but it was still enough to put me off playing the game for any appreciable length of time. I shall see what the reviews of Aion are like, and if any of my friends are intending to play it before I decide to part with moneys. Yes, I’m far too experience-biased. It’s one of the reasons I don’t play SOE games any more. And cry every time a good looking game gets tagged by them. Looking at you, Pirates of the Burning Sea.

Then I had a look at Tha Seekrit Wurld (heheh. Heheheh). I went on their website and took the Which Flavour Do You Like? test, and ended up with Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie: In your face, and not too subtle. Or “The Templars”, as the site called it.

One thing it did do was make me sit up and wonder about the various groups that are at the core of the PvP mechanic. Previously I’d just seen marketing artwork and dismissed the various uniforms and outfits. Well done Funcom, credit where it’s due.

I must admit to a certain amount of over-analysis when it comes to choosing a side. Like so many, I love the sure Special Snowflakeyness of choosing the least popular side. So I shall investigate the differing factions a little more. Probably in another post. Too much rambling here already.

I also like putting on my ANGRY face when doing these sorts of tests. I think it’s because I am, on the whole (and as mentioned previously) a humanist. I *like* playing the humans, so when I see a game background that talks about fighting squacky monsties bent on eating people’s faces off, my protective gene wakes up and starts looking for a shotgun. It makes me want to boot down doors, aim for the face, and laugh maniacally as I save humanity from such squamous and rugose terrors. No, the ends do not justify the means…

That makes me a Templar, it seems.

So at the very least, Ysharros, you’ll have someone to beat up.

None of this is hiding the fact that I really, really hope Funcom get this one right. I enjoyed playing Age of Conan (the bits that worked, that is) and whilst it had its major flaws, I felt that there was more to it than some pretty pictures and some awful gender politics (and a bucket-load of bugs, flaws and mistakes). Target-less healing was one of the lovely things I saw. Cones are cool, and for more than just ice-cream or roadworks.

Here’s hoping that Funcom’s attempts to change the way we look at, and play games, works this time. I’m really hoping that the class-less system works; the last time I saw that was in Star Wars Galaxies (can you see why I don’t play SOE games any more?), and I’d love to see another game where character progression is not tied to killing monsters (Oh look, having just killed this Nastypainydeathosaur[1], I’ve now learned how to make +2 Chainmail Hoodies and Plum-Cola!).

There is a large part of me that wonders if this classless concept tied to PvP will lead to cookie-cutter builds with a flavour-of-the-month feel, but I’m not too worried about that. For a start, it will mean I really stand out with my focus on healing stuff. Furthermore, those builds tend towards the solo, whereas it doesn’t matter how good your build is if:

a) You can’t play that well, and

b) I have 20 mates pounding you into the dirt.

Because I’m rubbish at looking for new games (being the instant-gratification sort, I hate waiting for that whole alpha/beta/open beta cycle to finish, yet really appreciate it when a game is not released early), I’m wondering if it’s worth checking out reviews for Aion, and possibly ordering it for Friday’s release.

I shall ponder. Tea shall be required for this one.

Cheers,

Hawley.

[1] The Nastypainydeathosaur was discovered near Preston, Lancashire in 1924, by a small child who was out walking what was soon to be a very disappointed dog.