Nothing says happy holidays like a shot from a 45!
In between breaks from wrapping presents, decorating trees and plowing snow this last weekend, I stopped to ponder some of the virtual Christmases I have experienced. Everquest 2 regaled me with an instance filled with rainbows, reindeer, frolicking elves and Christmas crafts. World of Warcraft (WoW) had me unwrapping gnomish toys, baking cookies and rescuing reindeer for an Azerothian Santa. Eve Online was a bit better – they had snowball launchers to replace missiles (although I always seemed to miss out somehow).
Yes, the saturation of sweetness that fills virtual holidays is enough to sicken a herd of Yak. It puts me in mind of the time that the master of horror fiction, Rod Serling, appeared on the Tonight Show back in the days when it was hosted by Johnny Carson. Rod Serling spoke of the challenge of creating the proper mood, building up the suspense to a crescendo only to have it ruined by a commercial break with “10 bunny rabbits dancing around with toilet paper.”
And then there’s Fallen Earth…
If there is no place like home for the holidays, there is no place like post-apocalyptic Arizona for the virtual holidays.
Now our listeners are used to the interaction between my co-host and I…in fact it is one of the strong points of our show. Our long time listeners have often heard Fran complete my sentences; so often that I have wondered if I have a glass head. Yet we don’t always agree on everything when it comes to gaming, and World of Warcraft is one of those places where we often hold diametrically opposed viewpoints. For example, while she may now laud the praises of the new “Looking for group” tool, it is that same tool that has (at least when I use it) become a “Looking for someone else besides you” tool. It’s bad enough for other players in a pick-up group to tell me I don’t have good enough armor, but when the system itself does as well? Let’s just say that not only does it feel like Activision/Blizzard has buried my hunter under a ton of dingo dung…now they aren’t even bothering to tell me to try and eat my way back out. Now it is as if Jeff Kaplan and Rod Pardo have personally teamed up to send me a special delivery telegram that says “We don’t want YOU. Just leave your money on the counter and get the hell out!”
But when World of Warcraft and Activision/Blizzard doesn’t want me, Fallen Earth and Icarus studios welcomes me with open arms. Not only do they welcome me, but they have give me the perfect way to feel better about not being wanted by WoW – a Fallen Earth holiday season.
Yes, there is nothing that says “Happy Holidays” like a shotgun blast in the back of the head to one of the post apocalyptic ELFS (Emissary for leaving free stuff). Or as I summed up my session of holiday revelry and mayhem
“HO-HO-HO THAT NIGHT ELF!!!”
See you online,
The No Prisoners, No Mercy team.
Artwork credit: The wonderful montage of images, and accompanying artwork is by our own Fran Kosac…note the shadow the nun casts (the nun and the elf weren’t in the picture to start with). Note the highlighting of the night elf and the oh so appropriate (in our opinion) pool of blood under the night elf!