As everyone is entitled to their opinion, the whole "WoW sux, WoW Rox" stance is a heavily played out topic. I'm sorry that people didn't/don't enjoy WoW. I was very much opposed to ALL MMO's at one point, citing that Pay-to-Play was a rediculous idea. I would use the idea that it's like buying a sandwich for $50, and paying the guy you bought it from $15 a month to eat it. You know, this was my opinion, and I shared it with people, and I never got irate with people who played anyway. I never felt obligated to tell people how the MMO has destroyed modern gaming (I don't believe this, persay, but how many people have stopped console gaming, or left an FPS unplayed for months because of an MMO?). You know why I would never subject someone to such a rant? Because it is impossible to make such a claim, with any FACT. It's an opinionated subject, and it always will be.
Allow me to explain my folly, and why I, above most people, should hate games such as WoW. Three years into my computer science degree, I decide to give into the hype, and try out WoW. I have always been a fan of Blizzard (this ain't your daddy's Diablo), and a lot of my friends were playing at the time. I got sucked in. As Blizzard continued to slowly reduce my bank account balance, I found myself leaving class early, surfing WoW sites in lab, calling into work. It was an addiction. I was always looking for my next hit. As I started making less money, as I was working less hours, my grades also began to drop. This didn't last 1 semester. It lasted going into a third. My rent was always late, my girlfriend felt ignored, and my grades were suffering. Did I blame WoW? No. I accepted responsibility, because in the end, it was all my fault for letting things get out of hand. So I changed majors to an engineering degree (go me!), started working full time at my job, with near perfect attendance, and gave my girlfriend the proper attention she deserves. My bills are still piled up, and I'm still in debt up to my eyes (cost of living FTL), but you know what is installed on my gaming rig? Just World of Warcraft. Do I still play it? Yes. You know why? Because I can't blame it for what happened to me, it's just a good game (<-- opinion). I still play WoW. In fact, I'm level 70 and I raid. Moderation was the key that set me free. If I only log in 2 hours a day, 3 days a week, and then maybe one 5 hour session on a raiding night, that's still a large amount of time, but you know, it's far less than most players.
I'm going to continue to play WoW, well into the future, you know why? Because I want to. Because to me, it's a good game. Here's the hard part for some of you. If you don't like the game, for whatever reason, don't play it. Attacking threads and comments, defending your position as to why you hate the game is played out, and in the end, nobody who can think for themselves is going to listen to you, because it's all opinionated. My advice to those who haven't tried WoW, but like the idea and concept is to try it. Who cares if someone else doesn't like it. Who cares WHY they don't like it. I don't like fish, but I'm not going to write a long ass post telling you not to eat it because it tastes bad, looks bad, smells bad, is bad. You know why? Because in the end, opinions are like assholes, in that everyone has one, and they usually stink.
WoW didn't ruin MMOs. If anything, it opened it up to more players. I never played one before it, and I look forward to my next one. It's people like the ones saying that WoW ruined MMOs, who ruined MMOs. It alienates the players who want to play WoW, but won't because of opinions, and therefore never get their feet wet into the genre. Is it the best game to start your venture into MMOs? Not really. Something free like Guildwars might make a better choice, simply because you're out no more than retail price, because let's face it, 10, 30, or 40 free days is not enough time to really get into an MMO. It gives you that first hit that makes you want to buy the next. The only reason one should consider it the downfall of MMOs, is because people like me won't pull up stop, and send my money elsewhere. I'll eventually quit WoW, and probably play another (Warhammer maybe?), but for the time being, no other MMO is getting my money, and if that ruins your other MMO, then your MMO must suck.
Allow me to explain my folly, and why I, above most people, should hate games such as WoW. Three years into my computer science degree, I decide to give into the hype, and try out WoW. I have always been a fan of Blizzard (this ain't your daddy's Diablo), and a lot of my friends were playing at the time. I got sucked in. As Blizzard continued to slowly reduce my bank account balance, I found myself leaving class early, surfing WoW sites in lab, calling into work. It was an addiction. I was always looking for my next hit. As I started making less money, as I was working less hours, my grades also began to drop. This didn't last 1 semester. It lasted going into a third. My rent was always late, my girlfriend felt ignored, and my grades were suffering. Did I blame WoW? No. I accepted responsibility, because in the end, it was all my fault for letting things get out of hand. So I changed majors to an engineering degree (go me!), started working full time at my job, with near perfect attendance, and gave my girlfriend the proper attention she deserves. My bills are still piled up, and I'm still in debt up to my eyes (cost of living FTL), but you know what is installed on my gaming rig? Just World of Warcraft. Do I still play it? Yes. You know why? Because I can't blame it for what happened to me, it's just a good game (<-- opinion). I still play WoW. In fact, I'm level 70 and I raid. Moderation was the key that set me free. If I only log in 2 hours a day, 3 days a week, and then maybe one 5 hour session on a raiding night, that's still a large amount of time, but you know, it's far less than most players.
I'm going to continue to play WoW, well into the future, you know why? Because I want to. Because to me, it's a good game. Here's the hard part for some of you. If you don't like the game, for whatever reason, don't play it. Attacking threads and comments, defending your position as to why you hate the game is played out, and in the end, nobody who can think for themselves is going to listen to you, because it's all opinionated. My advice to those who haven't tried WoW, but like the idea and concept is to try it. Who cares if someone else doesn't like it. Who cares WHY they don't like it. I don't like fish, but I'm not going to write a long ass post telling you not to eat it because it tastes bad, looks bad, smells bad, is bad. You know why? Because in the end, opinions are like assholes, in that everyone has one, and they usually stink.
WoW didn't ruin MMOs. If anything, it opened it up to more players. I never played one before it, and I look forward to my next one. It's people like the ones saying that WoW ruined MMOs, who ruined MMOs. It alienates the players who want to play WoW, but won't because of opinions, and therefore never get their feet wet into the genre. Is it the best game to start your venture into MMOs? Not really. Something free like Guildwars might make a better choice, simply because you're out no more than retail price, because let's face it, 10, 30, or 40 free days is not enough time to really get into an MMO. It gives you that first hit that makes you want to buy the next. The only reason one should consider it the downfall of MMOs, is because people like me won't pull up stop, and send my money elsewhere. I'll eventually quit WoW, and probably play another (Warhammer maybe?), but for the time being, no other MMO is getting my money, and if that ruins your other MMO, then your MMO must suck.
