FREE TABULA RASA

12/17/08 UPDATE: I have TWO (2) Tabula Rasa codes left! Please leave a comment on this post and I will contact you through e-mail. Then it's time for some Yultide Bane extermination!

I don't really think NCSoft is "the devil" but for some reason I can't really place my finger on I have never really had a good impression of their company. I'm not sure what the deal is, as they publish at least two solid games, City of Heroes and Guild Wars.

Maybe it is because I am back-lashing against the grind-and-level MMO model which their flagship title, Lineage 2, could be a poster child. Maybe it is because (even though I think it is an excellent game) I just can't get into Guild Wars or perhaps because (while I think it still has game mechanics that are innovative 4 years later) City of Heroes is kinda bland. Or maybe it is because they allowed the stillbirth that is Tabula Rasa to be released.

So what is up with Tabula Rasa? I feel pretty depressed about that - I mean it was a crappy game on the surface, but still it always felt like it some kind of hidden potential lurking just below its plastic facade. Oh well, it will be gone soon now.

While my feelings for Tabula Rasa were love/hate I have to admit I did have some feelings for the game, so I am going to activate a new account on December 20th 11th and play it out until they kill the servers.

Why December 20th 11th? Tabula Rasa will become a free-to-play game on January 10, 2009 so making a new account on the 20th 11th will result in being able to play the game continuously with no monthly payment until the servers die on February 28.

And here is the best part: I have 5 Tabula Rasa boxes left over! Nobody wanted to buy them (lol) so I want to use them up before they are completely worthless. So I HAVE FOUR TR NEW-ACCOUNT CODES TO HAND OUT to whoever wants one. I'm not sure how to hand them out, so if you want one leave a comment below and I will get back to you through the e-mail address you leave. I'm thinking I will just hand them out to the first four people that ask, but if I unexpectedly get a gazillion requests I'm going to have to break out the 100-sided die.

So if you are lucky enough to get a code, I will e-mail it to you and you can use it to make a Tabula Rasa account at NCSoft and take advantage of the initial 30 free days. In fact, if you would like to play together we can roll on the same server and group up. The TR client can be downloaded directly from your NCSoft account after it is set up.

Speaking of free stuff City of Heroes is offering a free play all weekend ending on Sunday (Dec. 7). I'm considering giving it a whirl for a few hours to see what it has become like over the past few years.

Even though I found it lacking in depth of immersion I have always had a soft spot in my heart for this game, probably because I could fly around the maps. CoH also has some other features (like side-kicking) that I think should be as standard in an MMO as mail or an auction house.

(But I probably won't play CoH - I haven't logged in to LOTRO in like five days or so, which means I will likely spend time on that. After all I would like to eventually get at least one character to level 50 so I can enter Moria, lol.)