Yep, I am lost. I’ve joined the shambling ranks of massively multiplayer online role playing gamers (a.k.a. that which has no life). But I didn’t join up with the 11.5 million other people who play World of Warcraft. Nope, I’m rooting for the underdog and playing Warhammer: Age of Reckoning (WAR). 

I’ll let you in on a little not-so secret. Sure you can trace high fantasy maintays like orcs and elves back to Tolkien and beyond, but before anyone had ever heard of Blizzard game studios a wargaming company in the UK made Warhammer which was a very dark fantasy world chock-a-block full of orcs, elves, dwarves, and men. They even spun off a sci-fi version for Wharhammer40k with space elves (Eldar) and a rampaging insect hive mind (Tyranids). The years later along comes Blizzard with Warcraft games (RTS before MMORPG) and sci-fi Starcraft games (Zerg = Tyranids) pretty much ripping off the style of Warhammer wholesale.

So I picked the muhmorpuhger that uses the more original fantasy setting that came out at the end of 2008 instead of the also-ran that’s been out for years and has may, many more people playing it. And I’m having a blast. My witch hunter on the Ostermark server is already up to level 12.

P.S. I’ll be playing WH40k’s Dawn of War II long before I’ll be playing Starcraft II.