I give you... The Mongol Horde!

by: Kiara

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Okay not really, but I was watching Gladiator the other night. Anyone who knows me, knows that Russell has funny affects on my brain.

The latest Adventure Pack, Fallen Dynasty, went live this past week. It had an open beta on the Test server, so everyone and anyone was able to preview it and play around with it, should they have so desired. I didn't.

I avoided it like the plague. I went on a press tour (nicely done by the way, dears) but I kept my eyes closed the whole time. Autofollow is my favourite thing ever.

So the question you're asking right now is probably something along the lines of: Why?

Answers forthcoming, I promise.

I was very, VERY, excited about this AP. It's Asian themed. For all of you who missed that: It's ASIAN themed. How cool is that? I about fell out of my chair when I found out about it. So, why is this a big deal? Well, for a lot of people, it isn't. It probably shouldn't be for me either, because regardless of my heritage, I'm not a drop Asian culturally. Despite this (some might say lack) deficit of Asian culture in my life, I dig Asian stuff. A goodly portion of my stuff has an Asian feel to it. So, I wanted to really savor my first views of this new content.

I was so not disappointed.

Visually, this AP is stunning. It's quite literally some of the most beautiful artwork in the game. I wandered around the starting village in awe. The detail is exquisite. The ambiance is fantastic. There are RICE PADDIES. * swoon * There's even an NPC who bears a striking resemblance to Mulan. How hot is that?

I have two words here. Player. Housing.

Please?

Okay, so looks aren't everything. Not even remotely. There's content too. And this AP is chock full of that as well. The story line is very involved and interesting, and I had so much fun running the initial village quests, that I did them a good four times. (This of course led to the pink panted one saying "Good, you can do the guide!" * sigh *)

There's a monk clan. (Have I ever mentioned that I really love martial arts movies? Even the really bad ones? And Kung Fu? Oh yeah.) They have a tower. IT KICKS YOU OUT!!! No, I didn't run into the tower eight times just to get booted out giggling like a maniac. Would I do something that silly and childish? I also didn't tell all of my friends to run in without warning them of the effects. * adjusts her halo *

You have to take a test to get into the tower. You have to quest to be allowed the privlege of testing. You have to sit and listen to an old guy tell stories to pass the test. I think I died and went to lore heaven right about here.

Oh, and there are pirates. For one quest, you even have to pretend to be a pirate. Yes, you get to say YAAAARRRR. I'm already packing my bags to travel to San Diego, find Blackguard, and kiss him for that. Consider this your head start, BG.

Did I mention the monkies? There are monkies. Not terrifying space monkies, either. They're adorable. And they're crawling all over yet more amazing artwork. At this point I felt like I was crawling through some Cambodian jungle thingie a la Angellina Jolie. Once again, anyone who knows me knows my feelings about her. Rawr. Just slap my hiney and call me Tomb Raider, baby.

At this point I'm having way too much fun. Every few seconds the guild hears, OOOOHHHH!!!!! Yeah, it's like that.

So, we're in Mystic Lake following the quests, and we find a bridge, and fishies that want to eat Dark Elf, and little bubbles of water that make you fly. How cool is that? I have yet to make it across the bridge, by the way. My jump fu is weak. I always fall through at some point. But one day... I WILL beat the bridge. Forget the mobs, it's all about me and that stupid bridge.

Are you ready for this? There's a forgotten underwater city. Oh yeah. True, the city itself isn't a watery zone, but you go through all this lovely underwater grr nasty to get to it. (I have high hopes for more underwater stuff by the way, please, thank you much!)

My groups haven't gotten past this sunken city yet. We're still exploring the inside. Let me tell you, this place is amazing. Emphasis on the maze part. Who designed this place? Daedelus? Yeesh. I half expect to find a frelling Minotaur when I finally find the middle! But it is cool. Oh my gods, it is COOL.

We actually ran into a room where the mobs just never stopped coming. I don't know from where in the zone they were coming, but they just sort of never ended. They were all triple ups, and I think there were twelve or so by the time we finally finished. Yes, for those of you wondering, I was in fact singing the song that never ends to my guild. I think they muted me...

There's another zone we haven't made it to yet. If I'd been watching on the press tour, I'd know that there are many big scary grr nasty snake women who like to eat Dark Elf, but since I wasn't, I'll be pleasantly surprised when we make it there and I get smeared. I can't WAIT.

All in all, this is by far my favourite of the three current Adventure Packs. I'm sure that everything the SOE team puts out is going to get progressively better, and on that note, I'm already anticipating the Echoes of Faydwer like I looked forward to Christmas as a kid.