In an attempt to get folks to return to their two Everquest games, Sony has re-enabled all old accounts for six weeks or so, ending at the end of July. I’ve played Everquest 2 on and off since it launched in the fall of 2004 (I think?) but irregularly enough that my highest level character is still in his 30’s (cap is currently at 80). But I figured I’d give it another go. Angela is a long time fan of the game and is always trying to get me to come back anyway, so why not do it while the free-clock is running.

So I’ve been following my usual lackadaisical pattern of puttering around and not really accomplishing much up until last night. That’s when Angela and a couple of old friends who I’ve been gaming on and off with since Ultima Online broke out their low-level alts and dragged me off on an adventure. And what fun we had!! I was rusty as hell and got us killed more times that I’d care to recount, but the gang was ever-patient and gave me tips as we went along and I slowly got the hang of things. We started at, oh, 7:30 pm or so, and it was 11:30 before the demands of my belly (we still hadn’t had dinner!) and the need for serious equipment repairs, forced us to retire for the night.

I’m generally awfully antisocial in MMOs, oddly enough. I have a weird combination of personality traits, shyness and impatience, that make it really difficult to do well in any kind of a group. But last night really reminded me of how great these games can be when you’re with friends. I haven’t had so much fun since my days with the Blood Ravens of Kirin Tor in WOW.

I might just have to extend my Everquest 2 sub past the free time period now!