I've been puttering around in Free Realms since shortly after it launched, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the game.

Up front, I want to point out that I'm a Station Access subscriber, so all the Members-only content is open to me. This post is written from that perspective, so if you're not a Member, realize that not everything that is mentioned below applies to you.

First of all, I'm having an absolute blast. I've only got one character so far, but that's really all I need at this point! You can do anything in the world — literally; every single occupation in the entire game world is open to any character at any time. I've unlocked most of the jobs, although there are only a few that I've leveled up in to any degree.

When I initially heard about some of the mechanics in FR, I thought for sure they would be deal-breakers for me, the die-hard EQ2 fangirl. The opt-in combat system sounded really flaky: where's the adventure in that?? Having multiple jobs (or classes, if you will) available at all times for a single character seemed pointless: is it really better to be a jack of all trades than a master of one?

Let me just allay your fears now: there are NO deal-breakers here.

I find the opt-in combat system to be a relief, actually. I love exploring and questing, and if I don't want to fight, I'm actually kinda glad that I don't have to. In EQ2, I do most of my exploring in zones that have greyed out to me, so I'm not sure why I thought FR's combat would rub me the wrong way.

I'm also happy with the fact that I have so many different career paths open to me. They're all leveled up separately, so in a way, it's like have a whole bevy of alts rolled into one character. I can tell right up front that there will be a few that I favor over the rest, but they all have their usefulness and they're all fun in their own ways.

For those who would pooh-pooh the "cartoony" style of the game art, keep in mind that this is a game geared toward young folks. Being an artist myself, I personally find the graphics really pretty and very appropriate for the genre. There are lots of sophisticated subtleties thrown in there, so don't ever think you're just looking at a hole in a dead tree trunk; you might get a nasty surprise:

While there are plenty of polygons, the only real pixels you'll see is when you're fact-to-face in dialog with an NPC of the larger variety (like trolls.) The smaller races are quite charming, and the humans are very attractive. There's plenty of humor for us grown-ups too: quest names have been the main source of my laughter so far, such as Peavey's Big Ad Venture, as well as the odd EverQuest homage, like an NPC named Murdunk.

This game won't appeal to everyone, but I believe SOE has done an admirable job. It's beautiful, clever, and most importantly, fun. If you haven't given it a try by now, I strongly encourage you to.

We moved into our new guild hall (tier 2, in South Qeynos) on Friday, and I've been busily decorating since then. There's still a lot to do, but I wanted to toss up some screenshots of what I have accomplished so far.

Anyone on the Lucan D'Lere server is welcome to drop by for a visit! (You can see pics of our old guild hall here.)

Bunny Day in Animal Crossing: City Folk was this past Sunday, and it was a hoot. From Zipper T. Bunny (the obviously underpaid and insincerely enthusiastic mascot) in front of Town Hall to the gazillions of bunny eggs he'd buried around town, it was easily an all-day event. I found great relief in the fact that each player in each town has his or her own "set" of bunny eggs to find, and the locations of remaining eggs change every time you login, making it easier to find those you may have missed before.

In the spirit of being festive — you all know how much I looove to be festive! — I redid my second floor bedroom in the Godawful so-cute-it's-hideous Egg furniture series (or is it a set? I get them confused!). Clockwise from top left, we have the Egg Wardrobe, Egg Toy Set, Egg Bench, Egg Lamp, Egg Table, Egg Chair, Egg Clock, Egg Dresser, Egg Stereo, and Egg Bed, all of which is complemented by the Egg Wall and Egg Floor. EGG!!

It was a load of fun, and that's no yolk. (*bah-dum-ching*)

This NPC's name made me LOL, especially after Monday night's Big Bang Theory ("The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition"):

The long, long, LONG-awaited GU51 has hit EQ2's live servers this morning. Lemme tell ya, I've been ready for this thing for a couple months now. My Inventory and Inspect Player UI mods have been ready for over a month now, and I've been itching to try out the new Lavastorm content. The Bristlebane day event is also now live, and I'm looking forward to digging into that as well.

In the meantime, here are a few preliminary screenshots of the new Lavastorm goodies, plus a before and after of the new ice texture for frosty house items:

Here I am in my Leprechaun design with the Shamrock Hat that Nintendo sent me in the mail this morning. Also pictured is the Isiston town flag, featuring the heavenly visage of Princess Isis herself!

So I realized after fiddling with AC:WW for a day or two that I had totally deluded myself about the ability to visit myself cross-platform. The truth: By using the DS's "Download Play" feature, I can pack a "DS Suitcase" and take my Wii character on the move. I just have to remember to come back when I'm finished; otherwise, I'll lose everything I've earned on the Wii. Tabula rasa FTL.

No matter how hard I try, I can't do anything along the lines of DS to Wii play…only Wii to DS, and that's only temporary. I have to say, though, it is kinda cool that the Wii and DS can find each other in "the cloud" so easily. No flaming hoops required, just click and go.

I won the big fishing tournament in WW yesterday with a 45.5" sea bass. I got a nice trophy from the mayor in the mail this morning as well as an announcement on the town bulletin board. The AC fishing tourney is this Saturday, but it's for a specific fish, so that'll be interesting.

As promised, I'm including a little pic of my AC character! On the Wii, I'm Angela from Isiston, and my friend code is 2621-8145-4501; on the DS, I'm Mona from Mimiburg, and my friend code is 0474-3487-3779.

Today I'm expecting Animal Crossing: Wild World [Flash alert] for the DS to arrive, and I'm pretty excited about it. Not only will I have a portable town to occupy me at all hours, but I'll be able to visit myself cross-platform. How much fun is that?!

I also ordered the Wii microphone, I guess so I can talk to myself. :p Nah, I'm actually hoping my mom (who will be 61 this year!) will get into it and we can visit each other…I think she'll have fun with it too. Another goodie arriving today is a memory card so I can save (and transfer) screenshots. No more nekkid AC posts!

Can you tell I finally got paid?

This week, I've been entirely addicted to Animal Crossing: City Folk. Believe it or not, my EQ2 game time has taken a serious downturn because of this cutesy little number. I know you folks have heard me mention my love for tedium and my OCD tendencies in relation to this game before, but wow, I think even I underestimated its potential power over me.

Isiston's "town fruit" is the peach. Damn peach trees are all over the place, to the exclusion of all else, except some cedars here and there. I've taken to shaking down a half dozen or so and randomly mailing them out to the NPC townsfolk, praying all the while that my dumb "A peach for a peach!" and "You're just peachy!" letters — and their attached gift — will earn me another type of fruit. So far, it's paid off: I've gotten 1 apple and 2 oranges, which of course were both immediately planted and watered thoroughly. I did finally have a coconut wash up on the beach the other day too, so I have an almost-mature coconut palm. Just need some cherries and pears, and I'll have it made!

I've also found out that my NPC neighbors apparently like receiving mail from me, and I bet the attached peaches don't hurt. I've turned around two "friendships" already, and I intend to keep fishing for foreign fruit, so I'll have more BFFs than I can shake a stick at in no time.

I'm also on my third(?) house upgrade; I now have two floors, plus the attic, and a hefty mortgage to match. I have an idea of the kind of "feel" I want my house to have, and it's taking me a while to find the right types of furniture to fill up all the space I've got now… Wish I had that problem in real life. :p

I'm hopping in and out of the game most days, and if anyone else out there in blog-reader-land is playing, I'd be happy to trade friend codes so we can visit each other!

My first meme tag!

"This is the Sixth Screenshot Meme. The idea is to go into your screenshots folder, then into the 6th subfolder and post the 6th screenshot. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should go you go into a 6th sub-subfolder. We’re saving that for the Devil’s Screenshot Meme."

So here's my "default" sixth screenshot, straight from my EQ2 screenies directory:

That's my Kerra Mystic Ijada (ee-HAH-dah) back on 27 February 2006. She was "born" in EQ1 as a Vah Shir Shaman.

Since that's pretty boring, I went into my original EQ2 screenshots folder. This one is of my main (Riannon) way back in the day when she was still a lowbie Cleric and could only wear leather armor (19 December 2004):

And just to toss a little something extra out there, here's my sixth screenie from LoTRO:

Hmm, who to tag next? I don't know anybody!!