Chaos: 1, Me: 0

So, it's been over a month since my last post.

Sometimes, the chaos wins.

Quite a bit has happened in the past month; I'll go into more detail about one thing in particular in the next post. But the rest of it, well...

On November 1, I did something I haven't done in over 20 years: I bought a video game (for my PC) on the day it was released (the last time I did that was with Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 back in 1. The game was Star Wars Battlefront II, and I played it quite a bit the first few days. Being a Mac user, it's a refreshing change of pace to be able to experience a new game when it first comes out (since we usually get games months or years later, if at all). There is one exception to that rule, though, and that is...

...Blizzard, the publisher of games like Diablo, StarCraft, and WarCraft. Blizzard actually figures pretty heavily into the events of the past month, because I got my first taste of World of Warcraft a couple of weeks ago, and I'm hooked. For those of you who don't know, World of Warcraft (WoW)is a Massively Multiplayer Online RolePlaying Game (or MMORPG). The game retails for about $30 - $50, but there is a monthly subscription fee of about $15, as well. Along with many game fans, I knew about WoW for over a year prior to its release in late 2004, but the subscription model was a turn-off for me, so I never actually bought the game. That is, until I ran across a free trial period for the game, which I fell for hook, line, and sinker. I'm very glad I did, though, and here's why:

The production value of the game is incredible. The online world (called "Azeroth") is quite large and detailed, and the social aspect of the game alone is worth the subscription price. I found myself creating characters to play on several different servers (referred to in the game as "realms") to play with different groups of friends (or in some cases, just to have different affiliations of characters). Players can advance their characters by completing predetermined quests given by NPCs (Non-Player Characters, or "bots," in a sense), by developing and practicing a profession (like mining or cooking), or by simply running around and killing all the monsters they can (much slower than the quests). There is another aspect of the game referred to as PvP (Player vs. Player) that allows for players to battle each other, as well. Additionally, there is a built-in IRC-like chat client, and a "buddy list" so you can keep track of your friends in-game. It looks like Blizzard is constantly upgrading and improving the game (during my trial period, the game was updated with a patch), and they closely police the activities of their players to minimize cheats and exploitation of newer players. I am now a believer in the subscription game model.

The downside of WoW is that it is extremely absorbing. I found myself neglecting chores, ignoring family, and staying up way too late just to log in more play time. When my trial period ended, I felt like an addict needing a fix...but I held off buying the game (it's only been a couple of days, but even that has helped curb the compulsion to play). I still want to buy it, and I probably will soon. It fills in a gap that was left when I "retired" from my day-to-day involvement with the running of Clan MacAddict (a gaming clan affiliated with the magazine of the same name). I enjoyed my time as one of Clan MA's officers, mostly due to the social aspect of what I was doing. When activity tapered, so did my level of involvement and enjoyment. WoW looks to be able to fill that gap. I just need to be sure I play in moderation.

On a related note, I hear that there is currently a Star Trek-based MMORPG in development. God help me, please (after that comes out, good luck finding me!).

As far as Star Wars Battlefront 2, it's a fun game, but there's almost no social interaction. There are a few flaws with it, as well...most notably that the characters can no longer go into the prone position, which kinda sucks if you're using a sniper (since that's the most effective position for a sniper). The space battles are a great addition, but there are some bugs to iron out with regard to bombs not rendering properly in some instances. The interface for the game is also somewhat cumbersome. Oh well, it was fun to play for a while...but it's time for it to find a new home.

In other news, since my last post, I've passed my A+ OS exam, which (along with the previous A+ Hardware exam) makes me an official CompTIA A+ Certified Professional. Not a big deal on the PC side of things, but coming from a Mac perspective, that was one confusing test to pass. In fact, I failed the OS exam once prior...in studying for it (and in my job of the past 10 months), I was reminded that I made the right choice in OS. Speaking of Mac OS X, I also passed my Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist (ACHDS) for Mac OS X 10.4 exam, so that's a big relief. Apple Certified Desktop and Portable Technician exams, here I come! (Hopefully, I'll have those by the end of December).

The other big thing that happened to me is something that I've been documenting in the MacAddict forums, and something that I'll write a comprehensive post on for next time. Think "too good to be true," only...it's not. ;)