Old School and Proud of It

Does Shayalyn lack objectivity as a gaming journalist because
she's a long time fan of EverQuest who's also drawn to Vanguard: Saga of
Heroes? Nah. She believes that all games have their merits, and that every
MMO that succeeds sets a new standard for the up and coming ones. And yet,
Shayalyn is still unabashedly old school when it comes to the games she
chooses to play.

"I've spent a good bit of time in the process of writing about MMOs
and posting to MMO forums considering what I like in an MMO, and just what
it was about EQ that drew me in. It always comes down to depth and
challenge. EQ brought us factions, deities, the planes, epic weapon quests,
rich and deep lore, and a world so vast that there are still places in
Norrath I haven't seen after nearly 5 years playing. And EQ wasn't easy.
Dying resulted in experience loss; sometimes to the extent that you would
lose a level or, at the very least, what amounted to a few hours of playing
time if you couldn't find a cleric to perform a resurrection (which resulted
in recovering most of your lost exp). Leveling took some serious time and
effort. (Anyone remember hell levels?) But when you succeeded-when you
finally felt that you'd made it, and that you knew the game and how to play
your class well-you felt a strong sense of accomplishment."

Read more of Shayalyn's thoughts and head over to Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer to let us know what you think!