Pre-purchase the Orange Box over Steam and start playing Team Fortress 2 on the 17th.

I SIMPLY CANNOT CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT. THIS GAME HAS BEEN MY LIFE FOR SO MANY YEARS!

It rocks my socks off, as they say.

I've progressed from Rank 1 to Rank 14 in just under (or just over) 2 hours. Probably not much of an achievement, but hey, i've really enjoyed it so far.

Comments?

(EDIT) I've already ranked up to 16 (maximum). Now I just need to play around with some other weapons I haven't tried out yet.

I played some World of Warcraft, moved from level 28 to level 31.

Spent the rest of my time digging up soil and moving rather heavy mounds of concrete we found underneath the soil, along with some bricks.

I think I need some Call of Duty 4 MP Beta action to cheer me up tomorrow, along with a new Team Fortress 2 video (Meet the Engineer, my favourite class) and 'big announcement' by Valve.

Well, this fine afternoon after school, I preordered Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Halo 3: Limited Edition. Both for the 360, of course.

This pleases me greatly.

Well, if you didn't already notice, i'm now Level 21. Go me.

Also, today was my first day of school. I'm in my last year now, so I should be buckling down to work soon enough. Walking around in my new jumper instead of a blazer was quite a change, strangely. I looked at the back of my peers and said to myself that I didn't know them, thinking I was still in the year below.

It was great to see all my friends today, I got hugs galore, and a friend of mine from years back returned from his home in Florida. His family came back to live here in sunny North West England, and what a surprise that was.

Thanks for reading once again, GameSpotters!

Blizzard's vastly popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft, has over 9 million players world wide since it's first release onNovember 23, 2004. It is Blizzard's fourth game in the highly acclaimed Warcraft series, and the game has won numerous awards and recognitions, including GameSpot's very own Game of the Year 2004. There's even a board game and trading card game based on World of Warcraft, so it's success is widely known. Despite all of this, the game is despised by many people of the gaming community, and i'm going to talk about just a few of these reasons. I've asked the loving players, and the angered haters, to see both sides of the story.

Subscription
As many MMOs do, World of Warcraft has a set subscription fee. This varies between currencies, obviously. But as GameSpot is a US based website, i'm going to use dollars here. According to my sources, WoW costs $13-$15 a month to play. Now, straight away, this price throws many gamers off. People find this game "too expensive" if they pay per month, and even find the pre-paid subscription deals you find in retail, quite a bit of money. To what I see as the main age group for games, say, 12-25, for example, this can be quite steep. Here in the UK, you can only get a proper job at the age of 16, and even then, you won't be payed as much as older employees are. To spend most of that money to play a game online, that is quite a forfeit. I myself am in a situation like this. I do not have a job, but I am soon elegible to get a job. I pay for the game via pocket money that my parents kindly give me for doing my bit around the house. Even with this money, I find myself ona metaphorical see-saw of whether or not to subscribe. Some people simply think that to play a game online and paying to do so, is simply not worth it, as "...there are many, many games out there that I enjoy playing without a second price tag."

Popularity
Strange as it may sound, some people refuse to play World of Warcraft due to it's mass popularity. Now, to me, that sounds like a reason to want to play the game. If it has that many users playing on it day in day out, then it must be really good. But this isn't the case for some people. They wish to steer clear of massly popular games for a small number of reasons. One is that they do not want to be involved with other people, and wish to continue playing games that aren't as popular, so that they feel "...like i'm different to the rest - I want to be part of a smaller community and feel like a valued member of it". Some don't want to be "...squeezed in between a load of sweaty nerds with their swords and staves." Yes, someone actually said that.

Gameplay
Many who have tried World of Warcraft, believe that it's gameplay is either weak, or too simple. "All you do is sit there and press different buttons on the keyboard, you don't even have to use the mouse. Where's the skill in that?" I can sort of agree with that, but only to a certain degree. At lower levels, you do merely sit there and tap the number keys, and click the mouse a few times. But as you delve deeper into the game, into PVP and such, it takes a bit more thinking and planning. Well, to most. Many also think that WoW has "...a false sense of achievement, which makes you want to continue on your 'quests' in order to get the next best sword, or shield, or whatever." That I can totally agree with, maybe without the 'false' part. A well constructed game gives you achievable goals, not too easy, and not too hard. Once you finish that part, you move on to the next one, seeking out the next reward or the next level up. You find yourself doing this frequently, but that's what makes the game fun. Logging on witha few goals in mind.

Rumours
You hear all these stories, true or not, about people being involved with serious addictions, resulting in involuntary self harm, or neglect of dependant others, such as children. "WoW is like a drug, or like Pringles. Once you pop, you just can't stop." Quite the analogy there, but to a minor extent, addiction is what keeps people playing this game. Like I just said, it's that sense of achievement that keeps you playing and playing...and playing. I personally do not believe such tales as children dying because of their neglective parents and so forth. Sadly enough, these tales are pushing people away from the game.

Look at the time!
When people begin to play WoW, they soon realise that this is a game that will take a lot of your time up if you want to enjoy it to it's full potential. Casual gamers will be helped with such features as gaining XP boosts while they rest at a city or inn, but that's not enough. They've got jobs to do, people to take care of, and general things to do with living. Many people simply don't have enough time to play this game and enjoy it!

Man, it can't be that good
Finally, members of the gaming community who won't get involved with WoW simply believe that a game simply cannot be this good. They've read the reviews, heard their friends opinions, and simply ignored them.

Conclusion
All in all, choosing to play a game all comes down to opinion. Whether you've played the game or not, if you don't like it, then fine. Surely everyone can't enjoy the same thing to the same degree. We're all different, and that's what drives the community forums, people.

Please do comment on this blog entry. If I feel more reasons need to be posted, i'll either update the post, or simply make another one. Goodbye for now, GameSpotters!

I've updated my profile and blog with a renewed Team Fortress 2 theme. For you who don't know, i've been waiting for this game like many have since it's first announcement in around the year 2000. I used to be completely addicted to TF2's predecessors, and as its release nears, I feel the need to get so excited (yet again - I had a short break from excitement which lasted around 2 months) that I might actually blow up like some of the unfortunate combatants in the following video. Meet the Soldier.

[video=ICQ3w2T85b8IuDLc]

I just knew that a C&C3 expansion was coming, and that it would be Kane orientated. But I decided to sit there and say nothing, because of the possibility that I was wrong. Now I totally regret doing that. C&C3 excites me, and i'm a nod player, so a Kane orientated expansion will do me lots of good.