WRUP: Odakyu Electric Railway edition
Operators of the Romancecar line of tourist shuttles, the Odakyu Electric Railway company began operation in 1927 with the 83 kilometer line between Shinjuku and Odawara. Originally operating as the Odawara Express Railway company, the company acquired its nickname of Odakyu as a portmanteau of Odawara Kyuku (literally "Odawara Express"), with the name officially adopted in 1941. It currently operates a total of 120 kilometers of track, with additional lines running in the Tokyo area and major construction extending in both directions from the Izumi-Tamagawa station.
Enjoying your weekly dose of obscure knowledge? Of course you are, and it goes hand-in-hand with this week's edition of WRUP, where we've asked our writers about the strangest and most obscure MMOs they've played. So if you weren't turned off by a paragraph explaining the genesis of a Japanese train line, jump on past the cut to find out what the staff is up to, and let us know what you'll be doing in the comments!
Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): I'm at GDC right now, so I will writing most of the weekend. Other than that, I'll be playing some more Pocket Legends for Rise and Shiny. The most obscure game I've ever played? There are too many to name, and half of them are so tiny that the font required to name them would be too small for human eyes.
Brendan Drain (@nyphur): It's another weekend of raiding in World of Warcraft for me. After recently beating the Lich King on our first attempt, a few fresh faces have been rotated into the raiding group to help them get the Kingslayer title before the Cataclysm expansion hits. In EVE Online, many of my alliance members are still taking a break from the game until something interesting happens or the new Incursion expansion is released. Without new content to run through, plans to scale back our operations in wormhole space continue.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): I'm in City of Heroes this weekend (shock! awe!). Is i19 here yet is it is it is it?! I also picked up the Asheron's Call trial to take a peek at how it's doing in honor of this month's Game Archaeologist. Why not!
Eliot Lefebvre: I'm heading to New York Comic Con for most of Saturday, so that's going to be a wash for gaming. Sunday, I'm hoping to get some time in Final Fantasy XIV, as I spent a bunch of money on a Dodoskin Jacket and want to put my new armor through its paces. Also, I adore the game anyhow, so that's a motivating factor. Oddly, I don't think I've played very many obscure games -- most of my choices have been fairly mainstream.
Greg Waller: This weekend is all about play-testing the new RvR in Warhammer Online and continuing to level my Zealot for the career spotlight that I will eventually, someday return to. Regarding the bonus question, I think I would have to say that Chronicles of Spellborn was the most obscure. As far as I could tell, it certainly didn't receive the kind of attention it needed to succeed and grow into a full fledged MMO. It also had some pretty interesting concepts in terms of gear design and progression, and the skill deck was absolutely unique.
Jef Reahard: Eh, probably some more FFXIV, plus the usual AoC/EQII duo for me. I've also returned to dabbling in Aion, not because I like it but because certain friends refuse to leave! As to the weirdest MMO I've ever played, it would have to be FFXIV. I can't for the life of me fathom how they managed to put such a horrific interface in a AAA game (nor can I figure out why I somehow still find the game appealing). Props to Ryzom as well (I think it was actually Saga of Ryzom then), which was quite cool but for the low player population. As for obscure, I dunno, there probably isn't room to list all the bizarre browser and f2p titles that I've logged into for laughs.
Jeremy Stratton (@Jeremy_Stratton): I won't be playing anything this weekend. I'm going to see old friends, attend a wedding and cram for school next week. There have been a few F2P MMOs that I've tried where the website either had very little English or none at all. A lot of the "new" F2P MMOs that have been released over the last year were among some. They just weren't officially published and translated for an English speaking audience at the time I tried them.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster): I will be playing the game of love. I've heard it's impossible to win and yet, everyone who plays is a winner. And in the end, isn't that what we've come to expect from our socio-economical landscape? If you agree, post the word "Booyah!" in the comments.
Krystalle Voecks (@Krystalle): This weekend means more Vanguard for Choose My Adventure. Outside of that, I'll be playing in a beta or two I can't name, and enjoying the cooler fall weather here in Florida. As for the question, I've mucked around in The Endless Forest, Neocron, Face of Mankind, Underlight, and a plethora of other stuff that I can't remember the name of just at the moment. Essentially, if it's an MMO, I'll at least take a look at it once.
Patrick Mackey: I'll be playing some Champions and StarCraft, maybe some World of Tanks. This week is my best friend's birthday too, so there is alcohol in my near future. I can't say I've tried many weird or obscure games; I've dabbled in a lot of F2P games but none of them were particularly hard to find. Maybe Starfighter: Lost Galaxy?
Rubi Bayer (@Rubi_): Minecraft has taken over my entire life. Send help. I think the creepers are AAAAUUUGH
Ryan Greene (@ThatGayNerd): I'll be at New York Comic Con all weekend, asking the tough questions you want answered. For instance: "OMGzors! Ron Garney, will you civil-union me?" And then I start a brand-new day job on Monday, so no time for games (except for hours of DC Universe Online at the convention, of course).
At the start of every weekend, we catch up with the Massively staff members and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game -- and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!
