I’ve seen a number of other bloggers writing a retrospect of their 2015 gaming experiences and then contemplating resolutions and goals for 2016. The former I don’t plan on doing right now however I would like to take a little time to talk about my plans for 2016. None of this is ironclad, but I do have a general idea of what I’d like to be playing this year.
Goals from 2015
I didn’t set any goals at the beginning of last year, but at some point I decided to “finish” more of the MMOs I had tried and liked. Prior to setting that goal I had max level characters in World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 but nowhere else. This was due to indecisiveness every time I would start a new MMO and also due to how easily I was distracted by the next “shiny.” However by the end of the year I had reached max level in Trove, Final Fantasy XIV (pre-Heavensward), Star Wars: The Old Republic, WildStar and in three OARPGs.
With 2016 now here, the question I have is will I continue down this route, or focus on end game in one or two games instead? Since I have no max level characters (or the equivalent) in either of the two titles I’m currently interested in, for now I’m going to continue leveling in MMOs I have previously started but never finished. However that goal may change once I progress further in these two games.
The Secret World
Out of all my options, there is one MMO I want to continue playing for the majority of the year, and that is The Secret World. I bought the game for my birthday and now, about six weeks in I can confidently say that it is one of the best (if not THE best) MMO I have ever played. I would like to finish all the content currently available up through Issue #13 however until I’ve tried dungeons and raiding, it’s hard to tell whether I’ll want to stick around between Issues, or just come back for the new stories and special events like so many other people do.
The Elder Scrolls Online
If The Secret World is going to be my three squares a day for 2016, then TESO will be my coffee break; something I look forward to but don’t spend a lot of time on. I want to sample more of this game’s story and world as well as the combat and skill system which remind me of what I like about The Secret World’s style of progression. Because it’s been a while since I last played I went ahead and started a new Sorcerer and have already reached level seven and completed Bleakrock Isle. The combat feels crude compared to TSW, but I like having the typical fantasy themed weapons and adversaries as a counter point to The Secret World’s zombies and assault rifles.
Black Desert
I’m not going to spend too much time talking about this game because I only just started researching it this past week, but suffice it to say it has caught my attention. I’m going to continue to keep an eye on it and if I have the funds available at launch I will probably pick up this game and give it a try. It fits in with my apparent Buy-to-Play preference right now if nothing else.
Steam’s Winter Sale
Believe it or not I did not regularly use Steam until after I purchased TSW for my birthday during one of their sales. Previously I had two other games on Steam, neither of which I ever played. However now I’m starting to understand the appeal, and with a gift card I received at Christmas, I made a few purchases this December that I’d like to explore. Most of them are single player titles, so I suppose another goal for 2016 will be to explore other genres besides MMOs and ARPGs.
LOTRO- this was going to be my secondary MMO and I even bought all the expansions with that in mind but it just hasn’t clicked yet, however maybe if I tire of TESO I’ll place a little more emphasis here. My kids really like it though and it’s a good introductory MMO for them so even if I don’t play much myself I’ll continue to enjoy the quality time with my kids as we read quest text in funny accents and explore Middle Earth together.
Arkham Asylum/ Arkham City- I’ve never played any of the Arkham franchise games and so I purchased these two, mostly because the stories sounded interesting. I’ve started Arkham Asylum and so far so good. It definitely looks older than the latest edition to the series, but considering the MMOs I play I don’t really care.
Fallout- Here’s another franchise I’ve never played, and I wanted to start with the original RPG. I’m really looking forward to this, however with the single player games I purchased I’m going to tackle them one at a time so it will have to wait until I’m finished wearing black tights and a cape while punching clowns.
I’m Batman.
Life is Strange- This was a last minute purchase at the end of the sale, but I’m glad I picked it up because I’m hearing good things about it from other bloggers. And I’m hoping I can talk my wife into sitting down with me to play too because I think she would enjoy the story elements and it might provide her with a different perspective on video games as a non-gamer.
That’s not really a plan, Weakness…
I know, I know. I’m not committing to any “goals” per se so much as a list of games I want to play through although like last year I expect a few months in to have a better idea of where my focus will be for the remainder of the year. If I had to make a decision right now, I’d tell you that The Secret World is going to be my permanent MMO home but with so much left to try out and no guild or community ties to speak of, I think that decision would be premature.
So what are your plans for 2016? Did you get suckered into the Winter Steam Sale as much (or more) than I did?
Waiting For Rez 