My poor WoW toons sit gathering dust. It has been months since I felt any discomfort with their sorry state. However, today I had no appetite for the games in my Steam library, and complete disinterest for my still unfinished playthrough of Mass Effect 2. Perhaps it is the heat. For that matter, there is Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion to complete (xbox360); I really do need to get that out of the way as ES5: Skyrim looks yummy. Intellectually, I know WoW offers nothing; my schedule still does not allow for raiding, and the rest of the game tastes of dust without it. Do I just need an MMO reset? We’ll see what unfolds when Stare Wars the Old Republic finally comes online, but I have my doubts.
Speaking of SWTOR, I nearly canceled my pre-order. EA’s online gaming service, Origin, had a seriously user hostile EULA. Gamer outrage over the EULA has actually resulted in EA releasing a less evil sounding version. I know I should be mollified, but I’m still annoyed that we can’t opt-out of all data collection. I know, this may not be so different from what I endure with both Steam and Battlenet; but Blizzard and (to a lesser extent) Valve have earned a measure of trust that EA has yet to earn. In fact, as some may recall, EA is in negative karma territory with me; hence the antipathy. If I could sandbox Origin on my PC, I would. If SWTOR disappoints, I’ll re-image my gaming machine and exorcise this foul demon . . .
So, what do I have on tap with Steam?
- Dragon Age (still have some of the original DLC to complete)
- Civ 5 (kind of burned out for now, DLC notwithstanding)
- Portal 2
- Fallout 3
- Universe Sandbox
I’m thinking of adding the following to my Steam library:
- Witcher 2 (when it drops in price)
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (encouraging reviews)
- Dragon Age 2 (if it ever comes back to Steam . . . so glad I passed on the initial release of this game!)
I read a review that said something to the effect that DEHR is what Mass Effect 2 should have been, and that is tempting me to buy now.
Sharing the Pain