Inevitably, when a new year rolls around people will remark on how they can’t believe the last year is over, and how “time just flies!” Usually I nod my head and smile politely, while inwardly I’m glad just to have made it through another 52 weeks with no major mishaps and happy to move on to new adventures in the coming months. However, 2007 really did seem to just flit past me and 2008 truly caught me by surprise with its sudden arrival. This might be explained by the fact that I spent most of the year caught up playing some of the amazing games that were released. It seemed like every week a great new game was out that I just HAD to try. Then, like a marathon binge of gaming when darkness surprises you and you wonder what happened to the day, the year ended before I knew it.

Of course for me, 2007 was all about the MMORPGs. The year started off with a bang with the release of World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade, which was the highly-anticipated expansion for the three year-old World of Warcraft. Fans of the game were delighted to have a new race for each faction as well as an entirely new continent to explore and a level cap raised ten levels higher. This year also saw expansions for EverQuest and EverQuest II (Secrets of Faydwer and Rise of Kunark, respectively) which brought the EverQuest and EverQuest II storylines to whole new levels. December brought on the announcement of a new expansion for Lineage II, titled The Kamael. This expansion was particularly noteworthy for being the largest addition to the Lineage II franchise to date and offered fans a new race and new lands to play. New MMORPGs also showed up on the scene in 2007, mainly in the form of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes in February, Turbine’s Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar in April, Hellgate: London in October, and Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa in November. Many were a little disappointed with the end result of Vanguard. After all, the hype surrounding it prior to its release called it “the next World of Warcraft.” Tolkien fans old and new were immensely pleased with having their beloved Middle Earth brought to life in MMORGP form, and the popularity of the game is still growing. Hellgate: London was well-received despite being patterned after the earlier Diablo II and Tabula Rasa raised standards within the MMORPG scene with its brilliant graphics and detailed story.