EVE Online

My favorite gaming IP/franchise of all time is probably Wing Commander.  I remember playing the first Wing Commander, reading the Claw Marks instruction manual, and being drawn into a game universe in such a way that I probably haven’t come close to since.  And that was a long time ago, probably 1993 or so.  Since then I have played every Wing Commander game … Wing Commander and WC: Secret Missions where I got to destroy the Kilrathi Command base in Vega Sector, then Secret Missions where I followed the Sivar dreadnought deep into Kilrathi space and destroyed it following the slaughter at Goddard Colony, then Secret Missions 2 where I provided cover for a commando strike on Kilrathi leadership on Firekka during the Kilrathi Sivar Eshrad ceremony.  I played Wing Commander 2 and its two “Special Ops” add-ons, Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger, Wing Commander IV: Price of Freedom, Wing Commander Prophecy, and the spinoff games Privateer and Armada … I even played the offbeat Privateer 2.  Armada was just weird.  Privateer was outstanding … lifechangingly so.

What made Wing Commander special to me was in equal parts outstanding story, immersion into that story, deep and fun space combat mechanics, and an x-factor that I still can’t quite put my finger on.  One of my greatest frustrations in gaming is how Wing Commander has been neglected and abanadoned as a franchise.  It really is too bad.  I even read every Wing Commander fiction novel.  Some were good, some were awful, but I loved the immersion because I loved the property so much.

Privateer was a freeform style sandbox single player game set in the Wing Commander universe.  The Kilrathi War was still raging, and the game itself took place in the remote Gemini Sector (WC1 was in Vega Sector, WC2 was in Enigma Sector).  Every so often you would run into deserter Kilrathi pilots in Kilrathi spacecraft in addition to Terran Confederation military craft and local militias.  The setting was so well done.  The game was totally sandbox and it was years ahead of its time.  You could basically do whatever you wanted.  You could run combat missions as a mercenary for hire or a freelance pirate.  You could be a merchant and buy and sell goods (buy low and sell high).  There were different types of ships to fit with the different activities you were interested in.  I loved this game and I have often looked back fondly on my time playing it in the mid 90s.

So, the other day I walked in on a guy I work with and he had an EVE Online website on his work computer (we are allowed 30 minutes per day for personal web browsing and I am certain he was within his alloted time).  I asked him about it and he suggested I try a trial account with him as a referrer.  I did a little research on the game, then I downloaded the game client and created an account.  Ever since then, I have been enthralled with the depth of this game.  It is not a twitch game for sure … quite to the contrary it is a little slow and requires massive amounts of patience.  However it is deep … VERY deep … Marianas Trench deep.  My head spins when I try to wrap my mind around all the things that can be done in this game.  And the damn thing is, it totally brings me back to my days sitting down playing Wing Commander Privateer.

So now I am hooked on this game.  I like how I can log in and kill stuff or alt-tab out while mining.  I like the many options I have and the different paths I can take.  Will I aspire to be a resource collector?  Prospector?  Businessman?  Combat oriented mercenary?  Or a griefer pirate?  Or will I do numerous paths in no particular order?

The time sink factor in this game is different than anything I have seen.  There is a passive skill-up system that works even when you are not logged in so traditional grinding as it is known in MMOs doesn’t quite apply in this game.  Some very high end skills take months to complete … and you basically just wait for it to complete … and while it is going, that is the only skill that is training.  Definitely different.  This game definitely requires some commitment and direction.  Otherwise I can play as much or as little as I want and still progress.  There are a lot of things I am still learning, but the basis of this game intrigues me and I really do like it.  This is also the kind of game I could play concurrently with another MMO if I chose to do so … and eventually I probably will once I start with my next MMO … whichever that may be, but probably SWTOR.