@Sqwegee, slapshotshield, and whomever else:
It's definitely not quite the same game that it used to be, but it's still pretty fun, and if you rrreally enjoyed it when you played before, I'd bet you'll still like it now. I returned recently and have been having plenty of fun with it.
Search around on this site as well as the soe forum (when it's back up) and you'll find lots of info on what the current state of the game is like. Here's are a few observations that you won't need to go searching for: The CLW server has a decent population. All other servers are desolate, at least from what I can gather. On CLW the vast majority are high level players, and you'll likely have a tough time finding groups below level 45. That's not as bad as it sounds though...in every starting city there are signposts where you can purchase a potion that grants you 4 times the normal experience. The potion lasts for a very long time and you can use it at all levels. Also, there are several hunt and gather quests that will help you level quickly without a group to work with (I'll not explain these further, time to do some searching fellas).
I was able to make it back to level 45 and pick up a were form in less than 30 days, solo-single box pretty much the entire time, and I've got plenty of other stuff going on in my life, so I wasn't devoting all of my weekends to gaming during that time frame. I'm in the middle of my second 30 day sub now, and I'm close to level 55 and an master class tag, again without playing every day and all weekend long.
One more comment I'd like to share is that help is not hard to find if you go looking for it. There's plenty of players (at least on the CLW server) that will help you out with some spare change for one of those xp potions, and maybe more if you're lucky. I've been fortunate enough to run into a few players that were very generous, all I had to do was ask.
I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble of picking up a new console and game disk (I just dusted off my old PS2 and Fronts disk in the closet), but my experience so far has been pretty decent, and I could see myself dabbling with this game for quite awhile.
Cheers, and Good Luck
Edited, May 3rd 2011 3:40am by AvySavvy
Edited, May 3rd 2011 3:41am by AvySavvy
Edited, May 3rd 2011 3:42am by AvySavvy