It’s a pretty exciting time to be a gamer. There are a whole lot of games and expansions all releasing around the same time. I don’t keep as up to date as I should on the non-mmo gaming front, so my list is probably a bit more sparse then some others out there. What am I looking forward to? Well, there’s the EQ expansion, Veil of Alaris that releases in November. I’m really excited about this expansion, it’s just beautiful. EQ2 is also putting out their ‘expansion’ (I use the term loosely) Age of Discovery. I’m a lot less excited about this update then I am about the EQ expansion. There’s not a lot of actual content coming with it, although with mercenary and a new class I will say that casual players should be pretty happy. I’m holding off on any other comments until I can actually get my feet into it because until then it’s just speculation. I’d be much happier if this was coming as a free update rather then a paid expansion. World of Warcraft has their 4.3 patch coming out (supposedly) some time in November, which I am also pretty excited about. I’m looking forward to new dungeons, new gear sets, and I’m really looking forward to appearance gear for once. I’m even looking forward to the raid finder tool, which I think will be fantastic for casual players who don’t have the time to devote to finding a raid guild – or those of us who are in tiny little 3-people guilds who haven’t been able to raid yet.

I did decide to sign up for a year of WoW in order to get Diablo 3 for free, along with the mount that will be released in 4.3. The game has enough casual aspects to it that I find it quite relaxing along with my adventuring in EVE Online. SWTOR release date is just around the corner, but not being a fan of sci-fi I haven’t pr-ordered and I’m not really sure if I’ll play. I know my other half will be picking up the game and I’ll probably just live vicariously through him and his adventures. Until the peer pressure becomes too great, of course.

Skyrim is one of those non-mmo games that are certainly on my radar, and I do plan on picking up once it releases. The game just looks beautiful and it’s been a while since I’ve played a single player. I don’t really think the sims 3 counts. Speaking of, I’ve been having loads of fun with their latest ‘pets’ expansion that released this month. It’s a great game when I’m not in the mood for anything multi-player.

So what are you most excited about? Perhaps nothing coming out tickles your fancy at all? Let me know in comments below!

©2012 MmoQuests.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Yesterday was the release of The Sims 3 Pets expansion, highly anticipated by all lovers of Sims and pets. I bought the digital version from EA, and downloaded it without any hassle at all via their Origin program. I even received two codes, one for a free “stuff” pack and another for some skins. For registering the game on the Sims 3 web site I also received some IAMS pet kits and some space-like pet beds. It was a good deal all around.

Believe it or not my biggest excitement didn’t come from any of the pet related things initially, but from the fact that EA had FINALLY fixed the photography bug. This broke with their latest ‘stuff’ addition, and rendered the skill useless. Photography plays quite a large role in the Sims, so having it back was important to me. Once I had gotten over that little excitement I decided it was time to adopt a new pet for my home.

Players have multiple methods of obtaining pets, which I really appreciate. You can adopt one from a shelter or find out if anyone in your neighbourhood has one up for adoption. The three basics are cats, dogs, and horses. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and even ages. You can adopt an older dog with their traits already defined, or a young puppy. You can keep their given name, or choose to name them yourself. Each pet comes with a memory book of their life, and their first ‘memory’ is of being adopted by you, their wonderful owner. There’s a huge selection of interactions available for Sims to take advantage of and not only can you interact with the pet, but because technically they are a member of your family (much like a child would be) you (the player) can control the pet and decide what they are going to do. There are some really amusing options for both the pet and the owner. Your pet will also start to adapt to your actions, for example if you praise them for grooming themselves they may adopt the neatness trait. Right now my dog has the lazy trait, go figure. It means when I take him for a walk (such as in the screen shot above) he runs out of energy really quickly.

A bunch of new lots also came with this expansion, dog parks and places to ride your horse. Of course players also get all of the typical animal goodies, scratching posts, food dishes, and litter boxes as well as some fancier items. So far I’m having a lot of fun playing this expansion, I think it’s quite well done and really appeals to a large audience. I’m not sure if you can take your pet abroad yet, but if you can I think that will be a lot of fun. I don’t use any mods at all in the game and I haven’t come across any glitches since yesterday, but the forums had a few complaints such as spiral staircases not working. Hopefully EA is a bit quicker about updating their bug squash list now that the expansion is live, but I wouldn’t really hold my breath.

As always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself!

©2012 MmoQuests.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Where does the time go – I started this blog back in 2006 and have been posting fairly frequently ever since. I’ve met some wonderful people and some not so wonderful people. I’ve shared my experiences with numerous games over that period and I’ve had fun writing ‘my way’ which is typically drama free (and results in less comments but is true to my nature). Back in 2006 EQ2 was my game of choice, and while my desire to play it has faded over time I always look at it with fond memories. These days I bounce between a handful of games, at the moment the list includes EQ1, Vanguard, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Rift, and The Lord of the Rings Online, Sims 3, and whatever else happens to strike my fancy.

On the game ‘news’ front this week is pretty exciting. There were test patch notes released for 4.3 (World of Warcraft) and today 1.5 is going live in Rift which is bringing about all sorts of goodies. We’re counting down to the Sims 3 Pets release, and SW:TOR was also given a release date. I’m excited about Skyrim, which is supposed to release November 11th if all goes well. There’s a handful of other notable games releasing over the next few months that I’m sure have people pretty excited. It’s a great time to be a gamer (and a writer of said games).

I just want to thank everyone who continues to read this site, and any newcomers. While I write for myself (and always will) it’s incredibly heartwarming to know there are others out there reading about my adventures and sharing in my virtual travels. As always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself. Hugs!

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In an odd (for me) decision last night, I had no inclination to log into any MMO and so I decided to play my much neglected Sims 3 game. I own all of the expansions (the latest being Generations) and it’s a game I enjoy despite what personal opinions people may hold about it. Pictured above: my little Sim adventures to Paris, where she uncovers an ancient tomb and is sent to recover some treasures that belong to one Lucas. The tomb was fun, there were many hidden treasures and little nooks and crannies. It was a lot more involved then my previous adventures in Egypt and China, I wondered if there were some patches that caused this or if the adventure had always been ‘better’ then the other two locations. It was my first time adventuring to this location, and I’m looking forward to going back. The hidden treasure I had to recover was a baseball which I gladly returned. Maybe next time Lucas won’t leave his treasures buried under some ancient grounds. Weirdo.

I had almost a one gig patch waiting for me when I started up the game, and I noticed a lot of changes especially in the lifetime category, those little awards you can purchase for points that your Sim accumulates over time (and for completing life time objectives). There were a lot that seemed to boarder cheating in game like fast travel and clones. Those are nice options to have in the game without having to rely on mods, but not choices that I personally will take in my game play. The relaxed atmosphere of this game is something I’ve always come to appreciate (plus the creativity that comes with designing your own home of course). My sim is registered as a self-employed photographer and her life time wish is to own a magnificent gallery with pictures from all over the world. I have made little to no progress on this yet but I’m sure I’ll get there eventually. I had to sell her laptop just to be able to afford the trip to Paris to begin with.

It’s a long weekend here in Canada (and the US) and I hope everyone has a fantastic time. As always, happy gaming! No matter where you find yourself.

©2012 MmoQuests.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Since all of SOE has been shut down (going on day two) I’ve been spending some time in single player games, mostly the Sims. One of the sims expansions introduced professions, which are different then jobs in the way that they’re preformed. They include you controlling your sim for the work day, and I’ve been playing with one in particular, architecture. Basically families within your town will hire you to remodel their homes, either with a brand new addition or reworking a room. The homeowners give you a budget and a list of requirements (ie: they want a writing room and it must have 2 chairs 1 tv 1 desk 1 computer) and then it’s up to you to work that beautifully into their home. They take things into consideration at the end when they ‘judge’ you, like how much time you spent decorating it, whether the walls and floors were completed, whether or not the items placed are easily accessible.  If you do a good job you take a picture for your portfolio, and this helps you ‘level up’ in your given field. It’s not as easy as it sounds, either. I’ve remodeled three homes so far and two of them said I did a terrible job. Woops.

It’s not the easiest way to make money, but I’m having a lot of fun breaking away from the ‘typical’ sims job, which requires me to fast forward through countless hours of nothingness while my sim does her own thing. There are other professions as well, such as stylist, firefighter, and investigator. Each one has tasks and events your character will have to partake in to get paid.

Looking back over the years at the progression of the Sims franchise I’ve really been impressed with how far they’ve come. Sims 3 is some of their best work (imo) and I also enjoy browsing the store for new items to purchase for the game. I earned 2,000 free sims points by purchasing various expansions over the years and they’ve had so many sales that I’ve yet to actually spend any money in their market aside from picking up the expansions which I would have done anyhow for simply being a fan of these games. It’s easy to spend hours lost in little worlds that I create, and when my online games are unavailable, it’s a comfort to know that these single player games are not going anywhere.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

©2012 MmoQuests.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Rift – Today the 3rd Rift beta starts and runs until the 31st of December. Chances are if I were participating in it a lot of my time will be spent there.

EVE Online – I’m also three days away from flying an Orca – my dream hauler. I can’t afford one quite yet but I know that will come with time. I can’t wait to fly one of these. Ever since I got my hulk and saw my friend David flying on I’ve wanted to be able to fly myself.

WoW – I haven’t been playing in the Cataclysm zones (80+) all that much. Both my priest and my warlock are at a comfortable 82 and I’ve been working on their crafting skills as well as playing lower level alts on the opposite faction. I have been having a great time with the new quests in “vanilla” WoW. I just finished Redridge mountains on my paladin and I thought it was really well done, gained a few levels even though the quests were gray and worked up my enchanting skill. I’ve been enjoying the slow walk towards 85 and I mean it’s more like a crawl than a walk. I’ll get there eventually. I’ve unlocked and completed two dungeons (Throne of Tides and the one in Blackrock) which were quite fun. Healing PUGs is always stressful but I’ve enjoyed the challenge.

Sims 3 – This game continues to hold my attention in a big way. I wish there were less bugs would be one of my major complaints. It feels like EA just likes to push expansion packs out the door and rarely fixes any of the issues that they come up with, so it’s all about me dealing with bugs from a few expansions and packs that they’ve sold. I really enjoy and appreciate the amount of options we’re given in game, and though at times it feels a little “too real” for a video game there is enough humor to keep me trucking along finding out what happens next.

Neverwinter Nights 2 – This game was on sale at Steam for $10 including two expansion packs. I own NWN but haven’t played in ages, and while I have heard there was a lot of bugs at launch for NWN2 I decided why not, and picked it up. Still a few hours left to go on the patcher, but it should be a few hours of fun none the less.

As pictured above I also got a brand new Logitech G700 gaming mouse for Christmas, and so far I’m really liking it. The fit of the mouse is perfect to my hands, and unlike my previous razor, I can very easily hit the buttons and what’s more important to me – feel the buttons while I game. I found with the razor it was impossible for me to hit the buttons because they didn’t exactly stand out to me. I don’t want to fumble along the mouse or have to look down in order to hit them. Fully programmable with different profiles, I’ve already set one up for WoW. My attempts at learning WASD are going alright. I’ve completely unbound the arrow keys as movement keys in all of my games so that is at least forcing me to use them. I own a Steelseries merc keyboard which has a special gaming pad section on the far left that emulates the WASD keys as well as a few others. It’s not something I’m used to quite yet, but my right wrist is MUCH happier with the new set up.

How about all of my wonderful readers, get anything new and shiny for Christmas? Any new games on your horizon? Let me know in comments!

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

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I picked up Night Life a little while ago, the latest Sims 3 expansion. I’ve been having a lot of fun with it, but it’s not without bugs. My little (newly created) sim attempted to join a party a friend was having, but for some reason the elevators to the apartment (there are high rises in the newest expansion) were not working so she sat at the entrance just waiting until the party was over. I was also a little sad at the way the newest town was incorporated. I had to move and import my previous sim into the new town, because other wise there’s no way to visit. It’s not a location you can head to at night via taxi.

I do like ‘city life’ though. It’s neat to run into stars, vampires, and other critters roaming the streets at night. The apartment complexes although small are quite interesting looking. You have the choice of moving to a regular house or the apartments. Having a job or a profession is nice, or even being self employed. Bouncers are fun to bribe to get into the hottest locations and there’s always lots to do at the night time hot spots.

For once I find myself taking a break from the creation aspect of the game and actually playing. Normally I just want to design new homes and venues but doing the “story” has been entertaining. Plus the graphics really are amazing. The game has come so far from Sims 1 way back when.When I want a break from MMOs and just want to relax playing something quiet this is typically the game I turn to. No killing involved, just a massively interactive world that I can adjust.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

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I’ve been a fan of The Sims franchise for a good while now. I ignore what people tend to say about the ‘type of gamer’ that enjoys these games just like I ignore the comments others make about WoW players. Truth be told there are very few games out there that I don’t enjoy and I really like the number of choices games like this one give to a player. I enjoy creating, and watching the action / reaction that goes along with it. The Sims 3 is a beautiful game. There are so many actions you can chose, and many paths of character “progression”. Sadly, there are also (lately at least) a lot of bugs. One really annoying one causes my previously created sims to bug any time they require rest. They end up sleeping like zombies through the bed, and refuse to move after that point, even if they require some other daily need like food, or a bathroom. I browsed the forums and discovered that many other people also had this new bug. Great. Creating a new family solved it temporarily, but that means my previous house hold is out of the picture.

The point of this post is the screen shot above. My little sim is doing – you guessed it – laundry. Washing machines (and dryers) are new to the game, and if you own them any time your sim changes an outfit or disrobes (shower for example) a little pile of laundry will show up on the floor, which you can collect and bring to the washing machine. It takes some time for it to process the clothes and you can even select which cycle to use. After the wash is done you transfer the clothing to the dryer, and then after a little more waiting your sim can enjoy fresh clean clothes.

I’m not sure what to think of this feature yet. On one hand I think it’s incredibly neat and cool. The animations are fantastic. On the other hand do I really want to play a video game and do laundry?! I could hire a maid to wash it all for me but at the moment my little sim can’t afford such luxuries. I’ve already sold off every spare piece of furniture in her home and a fire in the kitchen last night put her stove out of order.

As an indication of how many choices your character has. My little sim has the environmentally-friendly trait. Any time she rides in the taxi by herself (ie: no car pool) she gets a little sad. Any time she does laundry with only one load, again sad. All of her fridge food is organic (and even says as much on it). She lives in the bayou and any time she spots any land being wasted she gets a little frown and feels bad. I find myself making choices in game that are eco friendly in order to keep her moods from plummeting. It doesn’t help that she’s also dramatic, and I shudder to think what would happen if she went out and visited the city sewage plant or dump.

I haven’t picked up the latest expansion yet, but I do plan on it before too long. I haven’t read up on it very much (It’s Night Life) but I own all of the other expansions, so I do plan on picking up this one too.Any one else a sims player?

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

©2012 MmoQuests.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Sims 3 has been my ‘game of choice’ this week before deadlines hit me hard for work and I’ll barely have time to do anything else, and I’ve had a blast playing. It started out simple enough. I created one Sim and started working on her career. When she was established in that, I started getting her out and involved with the community and meeting other Sims. She eventually fell in love and (thanks to the fertility goal) had twins, two baby girls.

Things started to get complicated after that, and it was actually the first time in any of my sims adventures that I controlled a whole household instead of just one sim. Much like others out there, I enjoyed making the decisions so much in day-to-day activities that I decided it would just be easier to control one sim and let them do their thing, instead of actually raising a family.

Having four sims to control was actually turning out to be a LOT of fun. I do allow them to have a mind of their own and so from time to time they do their own thing, but the majority of the time I’d say it’s still me who’s controlling what they’re doing. Watching sims interact with one another has been especially fun – and I have to say the way children are handled in the game are amazing. The sim children develop traits from both the mother and father, as well as appearance qualities. If you don’t raise them ‘properly’ and give them the qualities they need in life (like walking, talking, and potty training) they can develop bad traits. One of the sim babies had a particularly horrific upbringing, so she developed the evil trait, and takes sinister baths and cackles randomly. The other sim child had an ok upbringing and she turned into a vegetarian. I forgot this, and called the family to a meal of hotdogs. Woops. That poor sim spent more time in the bathroom getting sick then my mother sim did when she was pregnant with the twins.

Even the pregnancy of a sim is involved. You have a choice of giving birth at a hospital or at home. You watch your sims body change, watch them get morning sickness. They get a few days off work and you watch their back cramp in pain. Nothing like the real thing of course, but it’s fun to see just how detailed everything is.

When the twins were just newborn sims things were really complicated. Especially since all they did (literally) was eat, sleep, cry, and poop. As they’ve ‘grown up’ and developed a personality and traits it’s slowed down some what, and it’s a comfortable pace for a game (for me in any case). I couldn’t see myself having any more then two at a time though, it just gets too complicated with the decisions and choices that have to be made. As the sim children grow the quality of their homework will determine any other negative or positive traits that they’ll inherit. I can take a look at my family tree, and I like watching it grow. Eventually my two adult sims will grow old (and eventually die) while their two girls will carry on the line.

Another aspect I love to sims is how open it is with the ‘family’ concept. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, live with 5 women or any other combination of sims. You may not be able to get pregnant from your sim partner but you CAN always choose the ‘adopt’ choice from the list of services available. The game really is all about choice, and that’s fantastic.

You’ll have to excuse my messy house in the picture above, heh. Still teaching the sim kids how to clean up after themselves. Oh. Be careful with the ‘tinker’ ability, too. It’s been known to kill the president.

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