Diablo3 and Guild Wars 2 - Not a Baseball Score

First, D3. I'm approaching the end of D3 nightmare mode and I have to say I still like it. Yeah, there's some problems with gear and professions, but this is one game where, for me at least, the game is not about gear and professions. It's about killing and not being killed. I'm still leveling four toons, roughly equally, through the game. In order of enjoyment they are: demon hunter, monk, barbarian, and wizard. I simply cannot stand the witch doctor. Oddly though you'd think I'd have had enough repetition with four toons doing the normal and then nightmare modes, I still find the game fun and attractive. This is because the classes are actually distinctive. Unlike WoW where the lines have been so blurred that it's getting hard to tell them apart, in D3 they really engage with enemies very differently. I don't want to get too nerdy here so I'll let it go at that.

Like most MMO gamers I've been restlessly searching for the next good MMO. Tried RIFT and like it but not enough. Tried SWTOR, which I still play because I want so badly to like it but it's not very compelling and not very MMOish (and omg could the auction house suck any more than it does? no!). So I was reading some reviews and there were kind words about Guild Wars 2. I didn't play the original. I think because it was just PC platform. The GW2 is also just a PC game, but I have a PC now too for SWTOR so .. I thought I'd check it out. I watched a pretty interesting video on game play in the beta. The guy made a very informative video, which in itself is unusual. Here, check it out. I really like the RIFT-like public pickup encounters, which he calls dynamic encounters. I think the regional temporary re-leveling is a cool idea. I like the notion of quests that morph based on the context of current play. It just sounds like a bunch of NEW and INTERESTING game mechanics. OMG, that's what we're all looking for. So I ponied up for the game. Weirdly there is no subscription. You buy the game and play. I assume there will be some DLC that you pay for or some other means of paying for further development and expansion of the game.

Since I hate entries with no images, I leave you with shots of my four Diablo3 toons. Click to enlarge.

Sylvanas, demon hunter, 46

Kahn, barbarian, 45

Tomoe, monk, 45

Musashi, wizard, 43