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[Felon]

Originally Posted by Vocenoctum

Like in the other thread, I'd point out that a lot of games are like that really. Sure they generally have tighter plots, but a lot of times it's as easy to ignore as anything. Oblivion was a great game IMO, but could easily be described as a central quest chain of most MMO's.

A lot of games are like that, true. But a lot of games offer maybe 20 hours of gameplay before you shelf them or return them to Blockbusters. It seems thant an MMO ought to offer something to keep you coming back for months and years.

What I loved about Oblivion quests was that there was a lot of variety. Thief quests, for instance, could be completed without ever drawing a blade. Give me some quests like that, where I have to make decisions and solve problems rather than just slice my way down a chain of enemies, and I'll give MMO"s a second look. But as far as I can tell, MMO's have largely dropped the notion of characters having anything other than combat skils/powers.

There was also a lot to explore and discover in Oblivion. Contrast that to the latest crop of MMO's, where they try to make sure that all content is easily accessible (e.g. Warhammer's Tome of Knowledge).

I still remember all the hoopla in WoW that there would be mini-games, where you could go into a bar, for instance, and play cards with other players. It'd be nice to see some kind of casual play elements like that in a MMO. The original idea behind a lot of them was to make the player feel immersed in a persistent world, but I think that goal has kind of fallen away.