MMO Updates

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• DragonSoul pries a website and trailer out of its opponent's cold, dead hands
• Behind the Mask: How freeforms work
• Maverick Studios working on Unveiled: The Supernatural horror MMO
• BioWare launches phase three of SWTOR's guild program
• The Repopulation update talks tutorials, testing
• Try the newest Flyff expansion exclusively from Massively
• Warhammer 40K planning multiple payment options
• The Daily Grind: Are you tempted by Lineage II's 'truly free' model?
• EVE Online reveals Amarr tier 3 battlecruiser, the Oracle
• Choose My Adventure: Story time!
• A Mild-Mannered Reporter: My plans lie in shambles!
• Massively Speaking Episode 171
• Guild War 2's art director illustrates cover of National Geographic
• Paradox's Björn Johannessen hosts Salem Q&A
• Runewaker Entertainment announces Dragon's Prophet
• Vindictus EU updates with Lost Artifact episode
• League of Legends spotlight introduces Shyvana, the Half-Dragon
• RuneScape sings, gobbles, and slays its way through November

DragonSoul pries a website and trailer out of its opponent's cold, dead hands Posted: 03 Nov 2011 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Free-to-play We're often asked here on Massively about what makes one start-up F2P MMO different from the others. What's the "hook," so to speak? Well, with DragonSoul the hook is easy to identify because the hook is dripping with blood and gore. It's a tad adult-oriented, let's just say. This PvP MMO with political underpinnings has reached two milestones today. Neonga AG has opened the official DragonSoul website and released the first trailer for the game (which features plenty of white blood splatter). There's plenty of information about the game that's posted on the site, including several (but not all) of the classes, screenshots, game systems, and community networking. There's even a place for you to register for the upcoming beta program. You can watch the SFW trailer after the jump and get a feel for what might make DragonSoul stand out from the crowd. Continue reading DragonSoul pries a website and trailer out of its opponent's cold, dead hands DragonSoul pries a website and trailer out of its opponent's cold, dead hands originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Behind the Mask: How freeforms work Posted: 03 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Behind the Mask This week on Behind the Mask, we'll be looking at freeform characters and how they work. This is more of a primer for players who are interested in the Gold subscription and would like to know more about how freeform characters differ from archetypes. I'm also spotlighting it to show just how archetypes are built poorly and some ways they could be improved. Freeform characters differ dramatically from archetypes. However, they follow a concrete set of rules on how they must be built. A hero can't just select Gigabolt, Ego Storm, or other high-level powers right from the start; there's a list of power restrictions that must be selected first. The power restrictions basically correlate to level restrictions, although there are some ways around that too. While this may be familiar to Gold players, it will serve as a primer for those who are not experts at maneuvering around the power selection process. Continue reading Behind the Mask: How freeforms work Behind the Mask: How freeforms work originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Maverick Studios working on Unveiled: The Supernatural horror MMO Posted: 03 Nov 2011 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Miscellaneous Apparently CCP and Funcom aren't the only development firms working on horror MMOs with sexy graphics. Upstart Maverick Studios has been slaving away on Unveiled: The Supernatural since 2009, and the game features four races (hunters, witches, vampires, and werewolves) in addition to some sort of skill-based advancement system. MMO Culture recently posted a few screenshots as well as some Unveiled concept art, and there's even a trailer floating around the intertubes that offers a glimpse into the game's brooding aesthetic (but sadly no gameplay footage). Can Unveiled satisfy our blood-lust for a horror MMO now that World of Darkness seems further away than ever? It's too early to tell, but you can bet that we'll be keeping an interested eye on Maverick Studios. Head past the break to check out the trailer. Continue reading Maverick Studios working on Unveiled: The Supernatural horror MMO Maverick Studios working on Unveiled: The Supernatural horror MMO originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMO Culture

BioWare launches phase three of SWTOR's guild program Posted: 03 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Guilds, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic Those of you looking to get a leg up on guild creation in Star Wars: The Old Republic will want to head to the game's official website this morning and have a look at the latest news blurb. It seems that phase three of the pre-launch guild program has begun, and BioWare says that "any guild that meets the pre-designated criteria [will] be transferred into the game for launch." You'll also want to make sure that at least four members of your guild have pre-ordered the game (and redeemed the associated code). BioWare notes that it has removed the requirement for the guild leader to log into the website and confirm an active guild. Finally, each guild page has been given a status indicator that shows the number of member pre-orders as well as whether or not your guild meets the deployment criteria. More info is available via the Guild HQ page and the official site. BioWare launches phase three of SWTOR's guild program originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Phase 3: Deployment

The Repopulation update talks tutorials, testing Posted: 03 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Sandbox Development on The Repopulation is moving right along, and Above & Beyond Technologies has updated fans with a lengthy October recap. The lion's share of the work during the past month went towards preparing the sci-fi sandbox for testing, and the news blurb mentions a new tutorial system that focuses on repeatable training scenarios. While many sandbox MMOs have simply thrown players into the middle of the action and expected them to figure out complex systems as they go, The Repopulation looks to be placing a premium on educating new users before turning them loose. Also on the testing front, the devs are targeting "early 2012" for beta, and the exact date will depend on how quickly the team can develop content and stockpile enough of it "to keep players busy during the initial months." Finally, there are quite a few patch-note-style updates in this month's recap, and you can find the full post on the official Repopulation website. The Repopulation update talks tutorials, testing originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: October recap

Try the newest Flyff expansion exclusively from Massively Posted: 03 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Flyff, Free-to-play, Giveaways The open beta for Flyff's newest expansion has gone through a brief delay, not quite meeting its original set date of October 28th. While that's definitely not abnormal -- most MMO players prefer a polished product over one hustled out the door -- Flyff players are certainly looking forward to the day when they can get their hands on V18:Rennaissance. That day has arrived, and you can download the open beta exclusively through Massively. It couldn't be simpler; just use this download link and you're on your way! If you're looking for something to do while the beta client is installing, we've got you covered on that front as well. We've received some gift packages from gPotato, each containing seven event gift boxes, a pair of angel wings that last for three days, and 10 Scrolls of Amplification. Those can be used in the current live version of Flyff, so grab your code, apply it in game, and have fun! Try the newest Flyff expansion exclusively from Massively originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Warhammer 40K planning multiple payment options Posted: 03 Nov 2011 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Warhammer 40k Despite being one of THQ's biggest projects, the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online won't be hemmed in with a single subscription option. Instead, the company said that it is investigating a wide range of possible payment options to be as flexible as possible for players all over the world. Speaking at a recent earnings call, CEO Brian Farrell addressed what model WAR40K would adopt. "What we've done is make the business model within Dark Millennium Online flexible so we can use different business models in different territories and exploit the game on a worldwide basis," he said. "We will have not just one business model, like subscriptions. There will be other monetisation mechanisms in the game... The team there is being very thoughtful about how we maximise monetisation in this game." Seeing as how WAR40K is costing the company over $50 million to create, it seems wise to offer multiple options in order to draw in the largest amount of players possible. The title is being developed by Vigil Games and is slated to release in 2013. Warhammer 40K planning multiple payment options originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GamesIndustry.biz

The Daily Grind: Are you tempted by Lineage II's 'truly free' model? Posted: 03 Nov 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, PvP, Endgame, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind NCsoft recently announced its new "truly free" free-to-play model for Lineage II. This is interesting for two reasons. One, the title insinuates that all those other free-to-play games aren't actually free. And two, well, I just ran out of excuses for not returning to the world of Aden. The new press materials highlighted some 400 hours worth of content, and as a former player, I'd say this estimate is probably a bit on the conservative side. L2 is truly a massive title, and getting to endgame is really the halfway point since you've still got all kinds of EVE-like territorial PvP and metagaming shenanigans waiting for you after you've maxed out a character. For today's Daily Grind, we'd like to know if the recent announcement piqued your interest. Will you be checking out Lineage II when it goes free-to-play? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind! The Daily Grind: Are you tempted by Lineage II's 'truly free' model? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Online reveals Amarr tier 3 battlecruiser, the Oracle Posted: 02 Nov 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Patches, Previews, News items, Dev Diaries Last year graphic designers and EVE Online fans from across the world competed in CCP Games' huge Design-a-Starship contest. The ultimate contest winner was the incredibly impressive Minmatar Tornado, which was meant to be implemented in the game shortly after winning. The ship's implementation was delayed until earlier this month, when CCP announced that the Tornado would be one of four new battlecruisers hitting EVE with the winter expansion. The new tier three battlecruisers are designed to use battleship-sized weapons and are specialised for mid range to long range combat. In a new devblog today, CCP Guard revealed the Amarr tier three battlecruiser: the Oracle. Originally named the Mentor by its creator Alexey M, the Oracle appears to quite literally be a stripped down forward section of the popular Armageddon. The ship joins the Minmatar Tornado and Gallente Talos as yet another entry from last year's design competition to be implemented in the game. The Caldari battlecruiser is still to be revealed, but we got a first glimpse of the ship from yesterday's In Development video devblog and can confirm that it is also a player-submitted design. EVE Online reveals Amarr tier 3 battlecruiser, the Oracle originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: EVE Devblog

Choose My Adventure: Story time! Posted: 02 Nov 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Screenshots, Hands-on, Humor, Choose My Adventure, Final Fantasy XIV Welcome back, Choose My Adventurers! Last week I took you on a leisurely stroll through my beginning days in Final Fantasy XIV's Limsa Lominsa and asked you lovely folks to choose what I should do next. Wouldn't you know it, you told me to go and finish up the storyline. So that's exactly what I did! This week, however, by popular demand, I'm going to be doing less play-by-play re-enactment and giving more of my impressions on whether the game is... you know... good. So strap yourselves in and head on past the cut and let's see what Eorzea had in store for me this week. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Story time! Choose My Adventure: Story time! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: My plans lie in shambles! Posted: 02 Nov 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter Welcome to another installment of A Mild-Mannered Reporter, where you've all stumbled into my trap. Yes, you thought that I was going to have a column discussing another villain group due to the end of the last column, but no. Today might not quite be the anniversary of City of Villains, but it's close enough for our purposes to look back at the impact that the first expansion had on... Wait, what? You mean I already did that? Foiled again! Of course, it's not really a surprise. It's hard to picture a world without the villains running around, even if the world conspires to give them a bad name -- not to mention the bad name they give themselves. But in honor of this anniversary, I want to look back and reminisce about a couple of nefarious features that the expansion brought with it that haven't held up quite as well, for better or worse. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: My plans lie in shambles! A Mild-Mannered Reporter: My plans lie in shambles! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively Speaking Episode 171 Posted: 02 Nov 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Humor, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous Massively Speaking Episode 171 returns this week as Shawn and Rubi are joined by Justin Olivetti to talk about the week's MMO news. Topics include DC Universe Online's jump to free-to-play, MechWarrior Online, Earth Eternal's hold status, layoffs in the industry, and our mini-celebration of Massively's 4th birthday. As a very special bonus to this week's episode, we also have an interview with Tiny Speck's Stewart Butterfield. Not only is Stewart the co-creator of Glitch, but he is also a co-founder of Flickr and was once named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. Oh yeah, he was on the cover of Newsweek, too. Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to shawn@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes. Massively Speaking is the official podcast of Massively.com. Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Shawn Schuster and Community Manager Rubi Bayer, Massively Speaking takes on the week's biggest news and dev interviews with plenty of opinion, rants, and laughs thrown in for good measure. Join us every Wednesday afternoon to listen in and see what we'll say next! Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 171 Massively Speaking Episode 171 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Guild War 2's art director illustrates cover of National Geographic Posted: 02 Nov 2011 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Guild Wars 2 ArenaNet's Daniel Dociu has another high-profile project in addition to his work on Guild Wars 2: the cover of National Geographic. In this month's issue of the magazine, Dociu provides artwork to illustrate a "magical mystery treasure" of Anglo-Saxan origin that was recently found. Both the cover and the article piece show an era soldier with appropriate armor, clothing, and weapons. Dociu currently holds the positions of both creative director and art director for Guild Wars 2. His skill and prestige certainly isn't hurting the game's profile any, as this achievement comes on top of the Exposé 9's Grand Master Award he won this past July. The National Geographic issue is on news stands (or, to you whippersnappers, the "website") now. Guild War 2's art director illustrates cover of National Geographic originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: ArenaNet blog, National Geographic

Paradox's Björn Johannessen hosts Salem Q&A Posted: 02 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox Paradox Interactive's upcoming MMO Salem has garnered a good bit of attention due to the game's unique frontier-fantasy setting and the fact that it will feature -- gasp! -- permadeath. Of course, as with any mold-breaking game that comes along, there are bound to be a lot of questions about how the game's mechanics will work. Salem's Creative Director, Björn Johannessen, realizes this, and decided to stop by Reddit for an AMA session. For the uninitiated, AMA stands for "Ask Me Anything," and that's exactly what the fine Redditors over at /r/IAmA did. A wealth of information can be found over at the thread, whether you're interested in the game's influences, the way permadeath will work, the reasoning behind permadeath's inclusion in the game, or more. So if you're interested in Salem to any degree, head on over to Reddit and give the thread a look. Paradox's Björn Johannessen hosts Salem Q&A originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Reddit -- Björn Johannessen AMA

Runewaker Entertainment announces Dragon's Prophet Posted: 02 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, Miscellaneous Runewaker Entertainment, creator of the popular free-to-play title Runes of Magic, has announced its newest upcoming title, Dragon's Prophet. Players will be able to capture a large variety of dragons, each with its own statistics and attributes. After a dragon has been captured, players will be granted a stat bonus based on the stats of the dragon. That's all the information we have for now, but jump past the cut for the game's announcement trailer, and stay tuned for more information. Continue reading Runewaker Entertainment announces Dragon's Prophet Runewaker Entertainment announces Dragon's Prophet originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMO Crunch

Vindictus EU updates with Lost Artifact episode Posted: 02 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Vindictus Vindictus may be a relatively new arrival on the European gaming scene, but Nexon is wasting no time updating the hack-and-slash game with a new episode. The Lost Artifact content pack comes loaded with a level cap increase, new bonus missions, and a new area called the Hilder Forest. Players will journey to the "icy caverns of Hoarfrost Depths and face fearsome foes," among them various Yeti clans, Formors, and new raid boss monsters. New skills are also the order of the day, and abilities like shield charge and reverse gravity are designed to decimate foes and add a bit of oomph to the game's combat visuals. Finally, new gameplay styles are coming to the EU client, and Hero Mode bumps up the difficulty level while Gauntlet Mode pits players against their "most dreaded enemies, one right after another." Surviving the gauntlet brings several rewards including a rare title. More info is available at the EU Vindictus website. If you're an American Vindictus player and all this is sounding a bit familiar, well, it should. The Lost Artifact update went live in the States back in February. [Source: Nexon press release] Gallery: Vindictus Gallery Vindictus EU updates with Lost Artifact episode originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

League of Legends spotlight introduces Shyvana, the Half-Dragon Posted: 02 Nov 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Video, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Casual, Not So Massively Earlier this week, Riot Games released details of League of Legends' Shyvana patch, including small nerfs to champion Graves and some much-needed buffs for Shaco and Wukong. Each patch is named for the champion it introduces, and this time it's the turn of melee champion Shyvana to take center stage. Shyvana excels at dealing damage to one target and scales up extremely well with attack speed, as each of her abilities modifies her basic attacks. Twin Strike causes Shyvana's next basic attack to hit twice, Burnout increases her movement speed and deals damage in a radius, and Flame Breath deals damage to a target and lowers its armour. Where Shyvana really comes into her own is with her ultimate -- a spell with no cooldown that transforms her into a dragon. Shyvana leaps in the target direction and deals damage to everything in the area as she transforms, and gains bonus armour and damage while in dragon form. Shyvana must gain 100 fury by landing enough basic melee attacks before she can transform, and while in dragon form her fury meter depletes over time. Fury is still gained by landing melee attacks while in dragon form, which can be used to extend the duration of the form. Skip past the cut to watch the full League of Legends Shyvana champion spotlight video in HD. Continue reading League of Legends spotlight introduces Shyvana, the Half-Dragon League of Legends spotlight introduces Shyvana, the Half-Dragon originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Shyvana Champion Spotlight

RuneScape sings, gobbles, and slays its way through November Posted: 02 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Patches, Previews, RuneScape, Free-to-play RuneFest, Halloween, and Bot Nuking Day may be over, but the RuneScape team is far from taking time off for good behavior. If anything, the devs' eyes are as big as their stomachs as they detailed plans for the game leading up to Thanksgiving. Speaking of the holiday, a turkey invasion led by the fearsome Captain Turkerton is imminent and only the players will be able to negotiate a truce before the gobblepocalypse arrives. As incentive for participating in the event, RuneScape is planning to award Thanksgiving crests and turkey pets for the diplomatically savvy. Jagex has a lot more on its plate for November, including revamping elements of the interface, overhauling the website design, and introducing the Slayer-centric Polypore Dungeon. Additionally, the November quest, "One Piercing Note," is a first for the game: a fully voice-acted experience that will incorporate singing and dancing into the story! Following Bot Nuking Day and the resulting dip in population, Jagex has consolidated several servers into new multi-country European worlds. The team is also hard at work addressing some current issues with players having problems logging in and experiencing lag. A fix is scheduled for later today. RuneScape sings, gobbles, and slays its way through November originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: RuneScape #1, RuneScape #2, RuneScape #3

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General gaming

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• Cave Story 3D is a Nice, if Unnecessary, Update to an Indie Classic
• Top 5 Video Game Non-troversies
• DC Universe Online is Now Free to Play
• Gears 3's First Three DLC Maps Go Free on Thanksgiving
• Trials Developer RedLynx Acquired by Ubisoft
• Grand Theft Auto V Trailer Analysis
• Revelations and Operation Raccoon City Each Offer Their Own Takes on Resident Evil
• New Final Fantasy XIII-2 Details Reveal Bonus for XIII Players
• Resident Evil: Revelations to Cost as Much as a Wii Game
• Grand Theft Auto V's First Trailer is Here

Cave Story 3D is a Nice, if Unnecessary, Update to an Indie Classic Posted: 02 Nov 2011 04:36 PM PDT At first blush, the very idea of Cave Story 3D seems redundant at best, ridiculous at worst. Don't get me wrong; Cave Story itself is a great game. That's the problem. Created almost entirely by a one-man team called Pixel -- a shy, unassuming fellow by the name of Daisuke Amaya -- the original PC game was practically perfect right off the starting blocks. Gloriously inspired by and cast in the image of classic 8-bit platformers, Cave Story offers very little room for improvement. The world design is huge and interesting despite its minimalist nature, and the play mechanics are informed by old-school sensibilities but feel unique and fresh, with unique jump physics and guns capable of immense barrages of projectiles. The story unfolds in an almost entirely linear fashion, but its pacing manages to leave one with the impression they've just played a Metroid-esque open-ended adventure. And eventually, you realize that Cave Story has multiple outcomes both great and small determined by decisions you make, organically, within the game itself.

Top 5 Video Game Non-troversies Posted: 02 Nov 2011 03:38 PM PDT Feature Share it: Tweet Top 5 Video Game Non-troversies Remember these blow-ups that blew over? By: Steve Watts November 2, 2011 Dip a toe into any comments section or message board and you'll find the countless faceless hordes of the Internet levying their complaints and passionate arguments about the controversies of the day. This is simply how the Internet works -- outrage is the web's number one export. To a certain extent, it's healthy to vent about whatever's gotten under your skin. But inevitably, we sometimes get our proverbial underpants in a twist over relatively unimportant things; we jump to conclusions, misunderstand, or just overestimate the importance of a given problem. Of course, video games aren't exempt from this phenomenon; in fact, some of our greatest e-wars were fought over gaming controversies that fizzled out so fast, it's hard to remember why they had any fizz at all.

DC Universe Online is Now Free to Play Posted: 02 Nov 2011 02:59 PM PDT Joining in with the likes of other Sony Online Entertainment MMOs like Pirates of the Burning Sea and Free Realms, DC Universe Online is now free-to-play for good. Sony originally made the announcement back in September, just about nine months after the game launched in January. It originally carried a $15 monthly subscription fee, the same as the biggest subscription-based MMO around, World of Warcraft. Apparently realizing it could make more money by allowing anyone to play, the call was made to drop subscriptions altogether. However, not all players will be on the same level, so to speak. There are three tiers that you can be assigned to depending upon your willingness to spend money.

Gears 3's First Three DLC Maps Go Free on Thanksgiving Posted: 02 Nov 2011 02:03 PM PDT The maps included with the first premium downloadable content pack for Gears of War 3 will be made available for free after being on sale for only a few weeks' time. Along with the release of the Horde Command Pack yesterday, Microsoft sent out word on how a significant component will become free later this month. The DLC consists of three maps, new characters, new weapon skins, fortification upgrades for Horde mode, and 250 Gamerscore's worth of new Achievements.

Trials Developer RedLynx Acquired by Ubisoft Posted: 02 Nov 2011 01:21 PM PDT Ubisoft has added a developer to its stable of internal studios today as it announced the acquisition of RedLynx. RedLynx is a Finland-based developer best known for the Trials games, Trials HD on Xbox Live arcade in particular. Other, newer titles it's released include WiiWare racer MotoHeroz and iOS platformer 1000 Heroz.

Grand Theft Auto V Trailer Analysis Posted: 02 Nov 2011 12:25 PM PDT

Revelations and Operation Raccoon City Each Offer Their Own Takes on Resident Evil Posted: 02 Nov 2011 12:15 PM PDT In an industry where accessibility is king, Resident Evil's standing couldn't be shakier. While part 5 certainly didn't flop, a franchise ultimately rooted in inaccessibility doesn't really stand a chance against the Uncharteds and Batmans (men?) of the world. At Capcom's Gamer's Day this past Thursday, the Japanese developer decided to answer the common question of, "What's going on with Resident Evil?" by previewing two upcoming games in the series: Resident Evil: Revelations, and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City -- the former seeks to redefine "survival horror" for a new generation, while the latter distances itself from this forgotten genre with its immediate, run-and-gun gameplay. Through 15 years of history, Resident Evil has suffered through a few slumps, but this new direction feels like a proactive effort on Capcom's behalf to placate Resident Evil vets and amateurs alike. During the preview session of Revelations, assistant producer Tsukasa Tanaka introduced his game as a return to survival horror -- but not the survival horror you remember from the PlayStation era. In his words, this new 3DS Resident Evil is a legitimate attempt to make the series scary again, though the brief bits of game play shown to us defied this statement. The first segment of the demo featured co-op action in a snowy outdoor environment, and tasked the player with using the game's bio scanner to detect invisible hunters (the Resident Evil variety) on the tundra. Once scanned, the bantery-duo -- the characters, not the Capcom reps -- quickly dispatched the monsters with firepower not far removed from the latter RE games.

New Final Fantasy XIII-2 Details Reveal Bonus for XIII Players Posted: 02 Nov 2011 11:10 AM PDT Although you can't affect the story or gameplay in Final Fantasy XIII-2 by having played its predecessor, you can get a small bonus. A new wave of details on the sequel to Final Fantasy XIII have emerged through various Japanese publications today. According to a roundup by Game Jouhou (as translated by Andriasang), we now have word on what XIII players will get in the new game.

Resident Evil: Revelations to Cost as Much as a Wii Game Posted: 02 Nov 2011 09:58 AM PDT Many people were upset to see the average price of a 3DS game would be $40, $5 to $10 more than many DS games launched at. That $40 has become more acceptable over time, so naturally it's time to try jacking it up even further. A listing for Resident Evil: Revelations on GameStop.com, BestBuy.com, and the websites for other retailers show the game's price is set at $49.99. That's not a random guess on their part; apparently it was a conscious decision on Capcom's part due to the fact that the game is just so epic.

Grand Theft Auto V's First Trailer is Here Posted: 02 Nov 2011 09:09 AM PDT Following speculation that Grand Theft Auto V would be set in Washington, DC and a report that it was set in Los Angeles -- which made sense in light of previous indications of the game's setting -- the debut trailer for the game has revealed it is set in what appears to be Los Angeles. In the trailer we hear the game's protagonist talking about trying to become a good family man before instead deciding to go the criminal route -- we see a car being chased by the police, part of a robbery, and other criminal activities.

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