I was initially optimistic about the advantages of playing as a hunter in Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO), but I soon began to realize that the very aspects that had been so tempting as a solo player were beginning to hurt my gameplay experience. I was too proud and impatient to consider joining others, and I soon ran out of quest content for my level. I kept dying more and more often, and it seemed that joining up with others was becoming inevitable.

While MMOs are often meant to be social experiences, my favorite MMOs are those that provide plenty of solo content for when your favorite buddies aren't around. The developers of LotRO took this into account, and each level seems to have a fair number of solo quests. However, the solo content is more limited at the higher levels (around level 35 and higher). When I played with friends, this balance felt great. Most quests could easily be completed with two players, and we could afford to wait on or skip the quests that required a larger party. As a hunter, I ran into problems, as I was constantly completing quests above my level in an attempt to avoid the fellowship quests. This system worked well for awhile, until I entered higher-level areas like the Misty Mountains and Angmar. I soon found myself running out of solo quests, leaving me frustrated. My attempts to complete lower-level fellowship quests often failed, due to the swarms of enemies in many of those quests. Hunters are ill-equipped to handle large crowds, as they are best at ranged attacks, they wear light or medium armor, and they have few AOE attacks.

Perhaps it was my own stubborn desire to avoid grouping that led to my downfall as a solo hunter. I was so determined not to be tied down to a group that I tried to find other ways to become a better hunter. A good friend helped me reorder my abilities to develop a battle strategy. A large part of my strategy included taking the time to set traps before I attacked, which may seem simple to some, but it was not for me. I was too spoiled by the hunter's powerful ranged attacks; I became impatient. I was convinced that I could do more damage by running into fights and dying half of the time. My friend was patient enough to show me how traps could actually save me time, and I began the slow process of unlearning my impulsive attack habit.

Sadly, an improved strategy could not help me. At the suggestion of that same friend (who had a hunter as an alt), I began to attack more enemies as I traveled so I would level up more efficiently. This helped, but my search for quests caused me to fast travel from location to location, missing out on enemies between the areas. I became restless, feeling like the enemies weren't providing enough experience for the time I spent killing them. I wanted more quests, but I had burned through the content earlier.

Solo questing in LotRO was no longer fun. I lost interest in my hunter, and realized that I would learn more and find a more satisfying experience playing in a group as my main, a lore-master. After all, I didn't want to become like the hunter in our fellowship, who had very little understanding of his role in a group. After so many hours of solo questing, he failed to understand his role in the group. While our tank worked tirelessly to pull aggro in one particular boss fight, this hunter carelessly used a powerful skill that immediately pulled aggro and got him killed in a matter of seconds. That was clearly the type of hunter that I was becoming, and his mistake made me realize that I didn't want to devote my time to solo play.

I haven't played as my hunter for some time, instead indulging in some fantastic single-player games. It's nice to explore other types of games again. My obsession with LotRO is far from over, but I think my experiences will be contained to group questing. I had been lured by the temptations of a hunter to take shortcuts - ensared in the hunter's trap. I am glad that I have friends to help me see how I lost my interest in solo questing as a hunter – not because of the faults of the game, but because of my own impatience.  

When I was growing up, my family had a Mac. Games for the Mac were hard to find, so I played very few computer games as a child. The few I did play, such as Super Munchers and The Dig, are a treasured part of my past. I was excited to hear about the recent re-release of The Dig on Steam. For just five dollars, I could revisit a classic from my childhood and see how much my perspective has changed.

Fourteen years after its release, I was surprised how much I still enjoyed The Dig, and not just for the nostalgia. I sat down at my computer was so engrossed in the game that I didn't get up until I'd finished five hours later. The game took me on an adventure to an unknown world and encouraged me to explore every aspect of this new land. However, I required some aid to fully enjoy the game.

The most distinct memory I had from the first time I played The Dig was when I got stuck. At that time, I couldn't just look for help online. I actually had to go to the bookstore, locate a strategy guide, and page through it to find my answer. After two trips to the bookstore, I finally bought the guide, which started a new habit for me (which served me well once I graduated to 80-hour RPGs). I was wondering if, after many years of gaming, I would be a better puzzle-solver than I was back then. Unfortunately, I soon found that the puzzles were rather tedious and seemed to encourage just clicking on everything, constantly retracing your steps, and generally wasting a lot of time being confused. I looked up a walkthrough online and breezed through the game, much happier now that I could concentrate on the story instead of some near-impossible puzzles.

The puzzles in The Dig were often clever and interesting, with just a few that seemed designed to sell a strategy guide. Unfortunately, due to the linear nature of the game, some of the most frustrating puzzles would gate my progress in the game. For example, once the opening sequence was over, I wandered around the new planet, trying to access new areas. There was one particular puzzle where I needed to reattach a lens to restore power to the facility, and my only tools were a couple of panels. One of the panels had about six or seven buttons on it, which would light up a screen as they were pressed. I quickly filled the screen with lights, which involved pressing the buttons about 50 times. Nothing happened. I soon grew frustrated and looked up the answer. It turned out that the button was a control panel for a robot, and only about five or six buttons needed to be pressed in a sequence to get this robot to reattach the lens. I have no idea how anyone would figure this out on their own, as I saw no clues around. This puzzle was incredibly difficult compared to some others, which involved rearranging animal bones (in the shape of a fossil seen earlier), or inputting a sequence of four distinct buttons seen on an in-game item.

Despite the difficulty of the puzzles, I really enjoyed the game (once I had the aid of a strategy guide for the puzzles). The music and voice-overs were excellent, and the characters were interesting. While there was no real villain in the game, there was still a strong conflict between the crew and others that grew organically from choices the player has to make. There was no combat, and I don't think the player can actually die in the game. Also, the art style was semi-realistic and often quite beautiful. Compared to modern games, I seemed to spend a lot of time just walking through levels, but I enjoyed the journey since the levels were often lovely landscapes. The world was designed as spokes around a hub, and each spoke had a light bridge that could be easily activated. These light bridges provided a method for fast travel between spokes without going through the central hub - a clever method to save players from too much backtracking.

Looking at this game from a more modern perspective, there are definitely some aspects that I would like to see in current games. The point-and-click interface could work well in portable games, especially those for the DS. I really enjoyed the conversation menu, as it was made up of small icons corresponding to topics of conversation. This may not work well in complex RPGs, but it was great in a shorter adventure game. I loved the overarching mystery and the story in general, as it presented the player with some interesting moral issues that are often not addressed in modern adventures. I also loved how many puzzles had hints for the player to see early on and return to when needed.

I understand that my fond childhood memories of The Dig may have influenced my view of it today, but I still think there is a lot to love in the game. While some puzzles may have been far too frustrating (especially for modern players), the game is generally well-designed and seems to have been a very polished experience for the time. I hope that the Steam re-release will get more people to play the game and appreciate its strengths.  

One of the best solo classes by far in LotRO is the hunter. While I've played the lore-master and the captain, the hunter's powerful ranged attacks and cleverly-designed skills clearly make up for the lack of a pet. As a hunter, I have been able to take down elites alone and complete quests two to three levels above me.

Playing as a hunter is definitely fun. It is great to be able to take down an enemy in just a few shots and to constantly challenge myself by defeating enemies of higher levels. Hunters in LotRO don't have to buy arrows, unlike hunters in WoW. This makes it very easy to quest far from town, as ranged attacks are always available. Ranged attacks work even when close to the enemy, so I'm never limited to the weaker melee attacks. Hunters also get a 15% run speed bonus early on, making resource mining much easier.

One of the best features for a hunter is the ability to instantly travel to key locations. While other classes often have to spend 40-100 silver to get from location to location, hunters slowly earn the ability to travel instantly to almost any central hub for about 2-6 silver in traveling rations. My hunter is ill-equipped to handle large crowds, which are a central component of many group quests. Fortunately, I can use the fast travel abilities to jump between areas to find quests that I can complete alone.

The only disadvantages to being a hunter that I have found so far are that I miss having a pet and that I get over-confident. After getting used to having a summoned pet with my primary character (lore-master), I miss the security I felt when I had a companion with me. It's nice to be able to use various pets to tank or deflect a few blows, especially when playing solo. Although my hunter deals greater damage on her own, this can be misleading and often leads me to seek out enemies that are too powerful for me. I find that I die more often than I did with the other classes, but I hope that this will improve as I find better strategies.

The hunter seems to be a solid solo class, and players seem to favor hunters. When I tried to join a random group to complete a fellowship quest, there would always be at least two hunters in the party, if not more. It's easy to see why, given their travel abilities and high damage capabilities. Hunters seem to have a lot of advantages over other classes, but they do have their limitations.  

PopCap's games have always shown a lot of charm, and Plants vs. Zombies is no exception. From clever names to a cartoon art style, the game exudes a level of polish not seen in many casual competitors. The sounds are also quite amusing, though they run the danger of annoying those who aren't watching.

The gameplay starts out at a fantastically easy learning curve. PopCap truly understands the wisdom behind the "easy to learn, difficult to master" casual game philosophy. Plants vs. Zombies starts out in a very simple manner, with few resources and a small playing field. As the player builds confidence, the game expands at a very comfortable rate, allowing the player to experiment and form new strategies without being punished. While this difficulty level may initially seem too easy for experienced strategy gamers, I found it to be perfect for a more casual strategy experience. I beat every level on the first try, from levels one to ten, but there were still plenty of challenging moments to keep my on my toes.

Although the demo is relatively short, the game promises many possibilities and an increase in difficulty. In adventure mode, there is a basic mechanic with several amusing variations. While the main game has players dealing with placing plants and resource management, simpler variations allow players to use their resource knowledge in new ways. For example, one variation no longer gives players freedom to choose what plants to place; the player must choose to place (or not to place) items available for a limited time on a scrolling conveyer belt. This variation in gameplay can be learned in a minimal amount of time but keeps players from getting bored.

Plants vs. Zombies seems to be a clever, well-structured casual strategy game. I found it to be well-worth the time I spent playing it. However, I'm not sure that I want to buy it. I typically get tired of strategy games, and I think I'll stick with the other games I already own. However, I do recommend downloading the demo. After all, this is about as cute as zombies get.  

I wasn't wild about the idea of playing Final Fantasy games on the DS. I had tried out Final Fantasy III DS a few months ago and quit after finding it incredibly difficult. I prefer to have my DS experiences tailored to the size of the console and its portable nature.

I recently found myself restless on an airplane. A friend had lent me Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, so I decided to check it out. I was soon so engrossed in the game that I refused to properly shut it down for landing, and instead just shut my DS. I picked it up a short while later and eagerly finished my level.

Ring of Fates took me completely by surprise. It was remarkably similar to one of my favorite DS games, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. The are several Zelda-inspired puzzles, and much of the gameplay takes place in dungeons. The combat is mostly real-time hack-and-slash with a bit of spell casting, which reminded me of Kingdom Hearts. There was a real sense of adventure and exploration, as I was playing as a small boy out to save the world.

While I have had my fair share of complaints about child characters in video games, Ring of Fates fortunately avoids many of those pitfalls. The child protagonists are cute without being annoying, and I actaully began to like them. There is a natural chemistry between the boy and his twin sister that rides the line between rivalry and friendship.

The art style is well-suited to the DS. Like Final Fantasy III, there are some lovely FMV videos, but most of the game is in a lower resolution 3D style. The avatars are cute in their small scale, and the artists managed to put in large amount detail on many of thier outfits. The medieval setting seemed well-suited to the story and the characters.

Gameplay was enjoyable overall, but I did find a couple of weaknesses. Although the levels were scaled well and had a good sense of pacing, the game is in an isometric perspective. This can get confusing, as the D-pad controls your movement (which doesn't always match up with the perspective) and the maps are also in a square overhead view. It took me a little while to get used to the navigation in the game.

I've really enjoyed playing Ring of Fates. I'd like to see more of it, and I hope that it can be as much fun as Phantom Hourglass. It has certainly shown promise so far, largely due to the fact that the developers understood the scale and potential of the DS.  

Despite my dislike of stealth games, I was looking forward to Velvet Assassin. I'm rather fond of strong female leads, whether they are in comic books, movies, or games. Velvet Assassin appeared to have the type of protagonist I wanted to play. Unfortunately, the game I was hoping to like wasn't forgiving enough for a newbie like me.

I understand that cover is a very important part of stealth games. I was doing my best to utilize the cover system, but Velvet Assassin didn't make it clear enough for me. I could tell that I was in cover when I was hidden in shadows, but other objects made it less clear. For example, some bushes were cover and some were not, despite their identical appearances. This led me to be spotted by an enemy while I was crouched in some bushes, falsely believing that I was safe.

I felt very limited in the game in general. There were mechanics that seemed to serve no purpose and mechanics that were missing. I could drag bodies around, but there was little point. My movement speed was greatly reduced while dragging a body, and where was I supposed to hide it? The bushes were clearly not a good place, as the cover was inconsistent. Adding to my frustration was the lack of melee mechanics. While I am no stealth expert, it was my understanding that stealth games should at least have a punch of some sort. My character was left with no way to defend herself once my bullets were quickly expended, making her seem pitifully weak.

I ended up dying three times in the tutorial, and I couldn't get past the second group of enemies. The tutorial did little to motivate me to play through the rest of the game. There was a lot of terrain but not much actual gameplay. The art style looked flat, the game had an overly serious tone, and there was a very poor introduction to stealth. The tutorial narration and tips would disappear instantly when I pressed the action button; I accidentally skipped through what little information I was given.

Velvet Assassin provided me with an incredibly frustrating twenty-minute experience. Perhaps my inexperience with the genre or my high expectations colored my view. Regardless, I didn't feel anything like the powerful female I had wished to be; I felt like a pathetic, frail woman who had no business being a spy.  

It's no secret that I have a strong preference for Lord of the Rings: Online (LotRO) over World of Warcraft (WoW). I recently began playing as a new character to directly compare the opening 10 levels to those in WoW. I quickly realized that, despite the many similarities, LotRO has a much more epic and engaging opening.

LotRO begins with an instance specific to the race of your character. The elf instance starts in the crumbling remains of a small elven village. The instance was catered to be exciting and make my player feel epic. I had to defend the town from goblins sprinkled across my path. Soon a troll stomped in front of me, and I watched from behind the safety of a gate as Elrond defeated the foul creature. I knew that I was in way over my head, but I was never faced with anything I couldn't handle as a level one character. Although I was unable to group from the very beginning (which some argue is an advantage in WoW), the brief instance immersed me in the setting of the game and the conflicts that I would continue to face each time I logged in. My character was already an integral part of the struggle, having hid precious relics, and facing a terrible foe named Skorgrim just minutes from the start. It was an exciting experience, and a great way to start the game.

LotRO contains many other elements that help to create a very polished gameplay experience. The quest flow is fantastic. The quests are centered around the conflicts between races and regions. The quest dialogue is more detailed than that in WoW, so the lore is there for those who care. I constantly felt like a hero, whether saving a lynx cub or gathering allies to defeat an evil wraith. The areas are also catered to gameplay. While an area may appear to be a wooded field from a distance, the trees are placed in clusters to allow for proper combat and gameplay space. Also, areas are often full of quests. When I left a town, I could frequently complete five quests before I returned.

LotRO is certianly more exciting in the beginning than WoW. I found that starting in an instance was a fantastic way to immerse me in the lore of the game. Although I have skimmed my fair share of LotRO quests, I am always glad that the lore is there behind every quest I complete. LotRO's world feels more real to me, and it is a place where I feel respected as a player.