My Dilemma

[Zylx]

I began playing this game over 2 years ago, fiercely playing for the first year, then slowly but surely my interest began dying down. The reason why, is what I've only just recently realized.

Back then, the gameplay was so new and fresh to me. It seemed so cool, coming from a past with no internet for the first 17 years of my life, to be able to play a game with people not in the same room as I am. Meeting new players and seeing real, intelligent life through pixels a programs. Knowing that every movement is a human gesture, there is human thought behind everything I see, all the way around the globe, in the palm of my hand. Being able to hack-and-slash my way through brackenridge with someone in indonesia was the coolest thing ever.

Before April of 2013, I considered myself a hardcore gamer. Being able to complete nearly any game within a week. Walking into AL, I had the same mindset. Reaching level 30 within a month, I thought I was among the elite of the elite. But then, I went into end game. Last year, shortly upon elite tindirin release, I went into elite tindirin solo. I died 5 times and still didn't make it through the first mob. Is this hardcore gaming? I had no idea. I did the best I could as a busy young adult to catch up to those high-class hardcore players with no luck. My determination diminished faster than a happy meal for a fat kid. I realized I've went months without touching my xbox 360 console. Have I outgrown video games?

For the past year, I've only ran elite maps less than 10 times, solely because I just don't have the energy to run around dying and respawning. I have wasted countless amounts of cash only to be adding fuel to a fireless pit of ash. After really only one year of hard work, and another year being laid-back, my assets total only around 5m. I've recently gone back into the game with a determined mindset of fiercely playing, but then my will died down after 5 minutes. When the game grows in favor of those very well geared, the casual gamers get left in the dust.

Once the novelty of the primitive gameplay diminishes, what is there to keep me glued to the game? The storyline appears nonlinear, optional and fragmented. I don't understand the main quest of the game, if there even is one? It appears more of a discover this, complete that, complete that again, and again, and again, and again; over and over again. There is no direct goal of the game, no recurring element or enemy. To quickly put it, the story sucks!

So if it's not the story and if it's not the gameplay, what's keeping me in the game. Player competition? I WISH! Again, as a busy young man, I don't have the time tk dwindle away farming the same hard maps multiple times a day to be able to compete with those with all the time in the world. Nor do I have the money to spend to plat-whale myself to the top. So I cannot compete with other players.

So what is keeping me in the community? Aha!! The community! I've met so many cool people here. But now, I have other ways of keeping in touch with everyone. So, I've decided to take a break from AL. Possibly for a month or two to rebreathe and let the gameplay possibly become a novelty again, or likely never to return at all for the reason that I have no point to waste my time in AL anymore.

All in all, here's my review of AL as a long-time player:

Gameplay: 5/10. Classic button mashing combat and running around with others. Smoothe animations and overall the combat makes sense. Amazing sorcerer skill graphics. Sorcerer gameplay is still exciting for me, too bad they can't compete with rogues. The direction of the game depends too heavily on the hard-hitting mobs. Dodging one-hitting attacks takes no skill as there is no way to control yourself from getting killed, redzones feel bugged as the lag prevents players from getting out of the way in time. After a while, the game grows dull, but so does every other game, so its really not cause for concern.

Graphics: 9/10. Great graphics for a game that runs smoothly on virtually any device. Stunning visuals give the environments such a lively spectacle. As a mobile mmo, the graphics are surprisingly outstanding!

Story: 2/10. The storyline is far from immersive. While the overall idea can be picked up from the environments and enemies (goblins vs humans, blue things vs black shadow things, orcs vs gnomes), the game severely lacks an overall goal. The storyline appears fragmented and repetitious. Explore this, kill these things, explore that, kill those things, etc. Nothing runs together and it appears as a absent-purpose game.

Social Interface: 10/10. AL makes it so easy to meet new people. Compared to other mobile mmos I've played, communicating with others seemed to be a headache, and meeting new players seemed impossible. AL knocks sociality right out of the park! Friends, organizable parties, and simplistic guild structure, this is clearly an mmo.