Breakfast Topic: A little sumpin' sumpin' on the side

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

We've all been there before -- that magical moment when we let go of our loyalties to the object of our affection and simply give in to those inner desires for something new and exciting. Before we know it, we have turned away from our first love, leaving it huddled up in the corner feeling dirty and unwanted. Even if we don't personally engage in this abandonment, we are always anticipating the next story of someone else's doing it and the nitty-gritty details that come out. No, I'm not pulling headlines off the latest celebrity gossip columns again; I'm talking about your loyalties to WoW!

From old crushes like EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies to newer flames such as Star Trek Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online, we all have games whose siren songs draw us into their grasp, away from our beloved WoW. With plenty of new and exciting MMOs on the horizon (we're looking at you, The Old Republic), now is the perfect time to start experimenting with a polygamous online gaming habit. While the frozen shores of Northrend have been nice, a trip into the Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings Online may be the perfect thing to liven things up a bit and get that passion for your first love back.

Here are a couple of things to look for when finding that pinch hitter in order to keep the flame alive until the second honeymoon called Cataclysm arrives:

• Community A trip to any game's forums can offer great insight into the political activities of the Neanderthals, but some game's player bases seek to offer something unique and exciting to their fellow players aside from Chuck Norris jokes. For instance, Star Wars Galaxies offers up an incredible community of roleplaying groups, and EVE's many corporations and their ruthless actions make loot drama look like toddlers fighting over the ball at recess.

• Game type While WoW reigns supreme as far as PvE encounters go, some argue that the PvP function is lacking in many ways. The realm vs. realm play of Warhammer Online and the brutal, open-world PvP of Darkfall each offer up different ways to sate that bloodlust, when killing Arthas doesn't cut it.

• Genre You can only drive an obscenely large sword into the skull of a rat so many times before it starts to wear on you. If fantasy games such as LotRO and Aion just aren't doing it for you, then perhaps a much larger change is just what the doctor ordered to fight off those pre-expansion blues. While STO and EVE offer up the common "space" theme, there are many other unique genres, such as the new cops-and-robbers sim All Points Bulletin and the post-apocalyptic Fallen Earth. Swapping out that broadsword for a shiny 9mm can do wonders!

While the vast majority of us will find ourselves back in Azeroth this fall, are there any games you are seeing on the side for the time being?

Have you ever wanted to write for WoW.com? Your chance may be right around the corner. Watch for our next call for submissions for Breakfast Topics via Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. The next byline you see here may be yours!