Eric

Refreshing! I've played WOW (since it was launched and other mmos like LOTRO, Runes of Magic, DOAC, and several other free and pay mmos and FE feels like a breath of fresh air. Graphics and gameplay are very fitting for the post apocalyptic feel. Crafting is done in real time so you can queue up a bunch of stuff and go do other stuff or even log out and crafting will continue. Ranged combat can be done while mounted and your mount can also be killed or destroyed from under you. Drops are not armor or completed items but rather scraps and parts that can be used to barter or craft other items. This makes the crafted items of great value and worthwhile to make (95% of the items can be crafted). Icarus Studies is doing a great job with customer support and fixing bugs and expanding the game.....similar to the great job that Turbine has done with LOTRO. I can't wait until the 9th when the game goes live for those who pre-ordered. Welcome to the Apocalypse!

I started playing LOTRO a couple of months after it's release and it was quite refreshing after playing WOW almost since it's release. I played both WOW and LOTRO going back and forth between the two until January of this year when I got tired of WOW and stopped playing it. I played LOTRO exclusively until May and decide then to go for the Lifetime subscription. I figured LOTRO had all of the things I was looking for in order to convince me to do so: 1) it was an established game with a loyal core fanbase, 2) the company supported the game and added free content and responded to player's suggestions regularly, 3) looked like it had a large area in which to expand and improve and add to the game, and 4) had enough to do so that it didn't become a grind.
Looking back a couple of months down the road getting the lifetime subscription has allowed me to play the game at my own pace and take breaks now and then to try other games (mostly F2P ones) to avoid burnout. I wouldn't get a lifetime subscription if any one of the criteria I mentioned wasn't true so as far as getting one for a game that has yet to launch without trying it for a period of time...it won't happen. It has to be an established game for me to shell out a large chunk of change.