When will I buy AoC?

Initially I didn't buy Age of Conan because given it's high requirements, I was a little worried that it wouldn't run on my PC. I thought I'd hold off and wait for reviews to see if there were many problems with frame rates or computer crashes. To my surprise the reviews came back with very mixed opinions. Problems with frame rates seemed like small change compared to the greater issue of the game being unfinished and released with bugs. There was even mention of an exploit that allowed you to power level your character to max in less than a day! News like that is a big turn off for a major MMORPG connoisseur like myself ;)

I thought about buying the game despite it's issues, as the screen shots looked fantastic and the 'revolutionary' combat system definitely sounded intriguing. As more reviews and articles pored in, the combat system was described as a button mushing fiasco, which could be circumvented using G15 keyboard macros. This definitely didn't instill confidence. Then the nuke landed: "AoC World Siege Failure". I am a huge, repeat huge fan of PvP. Purchasing AoC would now be like asking me to buy a blind and mute guard dog with no teeth. It would never happen.

There is however still some hope. The game didn't completely die and Funcom has a good reputation for MMORPGs. Bugs can be fixed and unfinished content can be finished. So when will I buy AoC? Put simply, when they fix all the issues and Funcom drop the purchase price a bit to show that they are serious about making up for their mistakes. I can't see it happening before the release of WAR, and with Stargate Worlds and KOTOR Online scheduled for release within the next year, it may be a while before I pick up an AoC box.

Which MMORPG should I choose next?

Over the last three years I've gone from Guild Wars to Eve, to World of Craft, to Hellgate London and then back to Guild Wars. Each one consumed copious amounts of my free time trying to level up characters, find better weapons/armour, and exploring the unknown. With many new MMORPGs shinning on the horizon and Guild Wars 2 still over 9 months away, the question is which one should I choose next? I've narrowed the ball park down to three:

Stargate Worlds

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Age of Conan looks awesome and reports from the open beta have been all thumbs up, so its looking like the front runner. The only thing is that my girlfriend is a huge Stargate fan (and I mean huge), and she rarely plays video games, so Stargate Worlds could be my opportunity to turn her to the dark side. Its a dream of mine to be playing an MMORPG side by side with her, so Stargate Worlds will definitely have some weight behind it at 'money time'. As a younger nerd, I was a big Warhammer fan (still am) and an MMORPG of my second favorite fantasy universe would be awesome!! Warhammer Online has a lot of potential and if the game is well built, it will definitely make my decision harder.

All three games have different release dates, some later than others, so my decision may be made for me depending on which gets released first... although often its a good idea to hold off buying any new release MMO for a while, to read reviews and let major patches through... I can see this is going to be a hard decision, but one I'm looking forward to ;)