Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

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• Microsoft Flight Needs Beta Testers
• Seven Mascots That Won’t Make the PlayStation All-Stars Cut
• Dishonored: An Assassination Sandbox That Doesn’t Penalize Sociopaths
• Import Play Test: Rocket Slime Brings Happiness to the Third Dimension
• Phantasy Star Online 2 Impressions: Towards The Future
• Madden 13 Improvements Call Into Question the Franchise’s Current Model
• War of the Immortals
• Torchlight II – Pre
• 5th Cell Heads into Unconventional Territory with Hybrid

Microsoft Flight Needs Beta Testers Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:10 AM PDT Unless you were specifically looking for information on it, you may have thought Microsoft Flight had been killed given how quiet things had been. Instead, the development team has continued to give occasional updates on its status through its official website and now it’s turning to gamers to beta test the game beginning next month. Those who are interested will need a Windows Live ID and an Xbox Live/Games for Windows Live Gamertag to sign up. Not everyone who applies will get in, and the information you’re asked to provide isn’t especially specific, so it doesn’t sound as if it matters how fast your computer is or what beta testing experience you have. The beta will begin sometime in January; testers will be bound to an NDA and therefore disallowed from sharing any impressions, screenshots, or anything else. Microsoft Flight was one of three games, along with Fable III and Age of Empires Online, announced last year as an indication that Microsoft still supports PC gaming. Many would say those three games don’t prove anything, and the way Games for Windows has been downplayed since its Marketplace was integrated with Xbox.com would only back that up. Regardless, development on Flight is clearly progressing. And while the game still doesn’t have any sort of a release date, at least some gamers will have the opportunity to play it before long. Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/news/microsoft-flight-needs-beta-testers

Seven Mascots That Won’t Make the PlayStation All-Stars Cut Posted: 27 Apr 2012 04:34 AM PDT This was Posted: 04/27/2012 by  VeryMadMage the first thing I though of too. So wrong, yet so funny. Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/features/mascots-won-playstation-all-stars-cut

Dishonored: An Assassination Sandbox That Doesn’t Penalize Sociopaths Posted: 26 Apr 2012 10:32 PM PDT Remember the Halo Reach sniper rifle shot heard (and bounced) around the world? The one that ricocheted in such a crazy way that it actually went through the head of the very fellow who fired it in the first place? Bizarre as that situation may sound, it can serve as one of many crazy ways to assassinate someone in Dishonored. During the tail end of a recent hands-off demonstration, co-creative directors Harvey Smith and Raf Colantonio briefly went quiet as a Bethesda staffer playing showed off a particularly slick method of taking out multiple targets: Having the player character, Corvo, slow down time before laying down a spring razor trap and using his Blink ability to teleport a short distance away just in time to see the trap detonate when time resumes flowing at a normal rate. To get back to Reach’s unintentional suicide, Smith explained, “Sometimes, when you activate Bend Time, you can actually see the bullet in the air; you can actually then Possess the guy who shot it and walk him around to the front. When time resumes, the bullet kills him and he has this very shocked expression on his face.” Smith has previously described Dishonored as an action-stealth title in terms of its overall genre, but he cites titles like Far Cry 2, Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Thief, and Deus Ex as examples of what he, Colantonio, and the rest of the developers at Arkane are going for with their new creation: An open-ended game driven more by systemic interaction than by scripted spectacle. In other words, they want to simply provide a suite of tools, and objective, and then let players go at it. Corvo has a number of tools — including gear such guns, daggers, traps, grenades and weird steampunk treasure detecting devices as well as more supernatural abilities such as Bend Time, Possession, and Windblast — and his task is simply to find his targets and neutralize them. This can be as simple as stabbing someone in the face; as odd as possessing fish and mice to navigate through the sewers below until you find said target before possessing him to make him jump out a window; or as elaborate and non-lethal as arranging to have his identity stolen in order to condemn him to work in the very same salt mine that he owns. Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3187040

Import Play Test: Rocket Slime Brings Happiness to the Third Dimension Posted: 26 Apr 2012 07:10 PM PDT EverQuest II kind of reminds me of a town I lived in for a few months and then never expected to come back to. Returning after this much time it’s disorienting to see both how much and how little has changed. Most notably, EQII recently joined the ever-growing club of semi-free MMOs, and now relies on sales of expansion content and non-essential perks to make rent. It’s even got one of those nifty streaming clients that allow you to start playing before the full download is finished, so if you’ve ever harbored even the slightest hint of curiosity about the game, there’s really no excuse not to at least pop your head in there for a few minutes. Next week, December 6 specifically, EQII will be getting its 11th expansion: Age of Discovery. Among other things, this one adds a Beastlord class from the first EverQuest that players have been begging for pretty much since EQ2′s release. As one might expect from a “Beast Master” type class, they can tame cats, wolves, birds, and other critters found all over the world. One animal (or “warder”) at a time joins its master in combat, where in addition to making standard attacks they can notice enemy weaknesses and open up opportunities for more debilitating strikes. It’s a class that offers more complexity than most along with providing an imaginary friend for solo players to talk to. Speaking of, NPC mercenaries are being added in this update. For a regular salary, hirelings can fill a tank, healer, support, melee DPS, or caster DPS role just like a regular member of a party. They take up a group spot and even insist on a share of the loot. On the plus side, they’re less annoying to play with than the average pick up group, and can be given silly names if you don’t like the one they have by default. Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3186320

Phantasy Star Online 2 Impressions: Towards The Future Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:32 PM PDT Besides looking beautiful, the original Crysis stood out for including an absolutely lovely and bizarre gameplay feature involving the local fauna at the fictional Lingshan Islands: You could use them as weapons. As part of the sandbox-driven design of the early parts of Crysis’ campaign, the player could pick up and throw practically anything – crates, corpses, and even wildlife — and chuck them with lethal force. A thrifty player could, theoretically, sneak around and sling crabs instead of bullets. As visually impressive as Crysis 3 looks so far, with its swampy streets of Chinatown and verdant takeovers of skyscrapers, it’s the presence of ambient wildlife that brings this little feature to mind. During a hands-off demo, director of creative development Rasmus Hojengaard points out that frogs now hop about in New York’s newest plumbing development, but the player doesn’t do anything besides look at them. When I had a brief chance to ask about whether Prophet (a recurring character throughout the franchise, and now the protagonist due to events in both the ending of Crysis 2 and whatever has happened in the 20-plus years between Crysis 2′s 2023 time frame and Crysis 3′s setting of 2047 New York) can use frogs with lethal force, Hojengaard became a bit more evasive. He answered, “We want to give the sensation of a living and breathing environment, but we don’t want to arbitrarily have you pick up a turtle and throw it at someone as a gameplay mechanic, unless we can execute it more elegantly.” Later on, he added, “We don’t want stuff like being able to throw frogs just for the heck of it, as that’s too much development time,” and that causes me some concern. I’m hoping he changes his mind. Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3187038

Madden 13 Improvements Call Into Question the Franchise’s Current Model Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:32 PM PDT EA Tiburon yesterday began to reveal some of what will be different about Madden NFL 13‘s gameplay. The big focus of this year’s title is the passing game, which makes sense both because the NFL is becoming more pass-centric and because my team (the Jets) is increasingly reliant on the rushing game. The changes sound good in theory, though as someone who still plays last year’s game a few times every week, I can’t help but take issue with the post-release support Madden 12 received. A new Madden is released each and every year like clockwork. Call of Duty may be the target of gamers wanting to lash out at annual releases these days, but Madden was doing it more than a decade before Call of Duty 1 ever hit store shelves. Years ago it made more sense; while there have always been criticisms about too little changing from one game to the next, with no better way to get new rosters into the hands of players, a full retail release was the way to go. Nowadays that feels like an archaic method of delivering content to players, yet it continues to happen — and the game suffers for it. Those concerned enough isn’t changed from year to year aren’t encouraged by EA owning the exclusive rights to the NFL license, meaning any competition has to come in the form of something like All-Pro Football 2K8. (Considering that is the most recent such title, the ’2K8′ should clue you in on how well that worked out.) It’s an unfortunate situation; ESPN NFL 2K5 was superior to Madden, and it was made available at launch for only $20. Following this, EA gobbled up the league’s exclusive rights — a move you can’t blame the company for, as it only made good business sense to do so considering it could have lost the ability to continue producing Madden — and the following year’s game, Madden 06, turned out to be a joke. Part of that can be blamed on the developer’s attention being focused on the generational leap to Xbox 360, although the past half dozen Madden games haven’t exactly reinvented the wheel. Many football game fans continue to cite NFL 2K5 as the best football sim of all time. The direction of Madden 13 is being attributed in part to Tiburon’s new general manager, Cam Weber. Weber is said to have “brought with him a new philosophy stressing the importance of gameplay,” something you would think should have already been a top priority. Regardless, Weber’s hiring has led to the studio’s Core Gameplay Team, which contributes to both Madden and NCAA Football, doubling in size. The result of this is the team being “able to incorporate the most changes to gameplay thus far in the current console generation.” Of course, every year brings with it some promise about how the latest game will be the deepest/most realistic/most accessible/etc. entry to date, so a promise of more changes than the past seven or eight games means nothing on its own. Luckily many of the changes being shared at this stage do sound good. An enhanced system for leading receivers with the left stick should provide you with a chance to complete a pass that would be batted down in the current game. New pass trajectories mean no more ridiculous, time-consuming lobs when trying to toss the ball to a wide open player in the flat. Additional control over the type of passes you throw will make it easier to loft a ball over the heads of linebackers who, in Madden 12, intercept passes at an alarmingly high rate. Shovel passes, revamped defensive alignments, improved pump fakes, receivers not always looking for passes to be coming their way, and easier user catches all sound like positives, too. Some of the changes address my and many other players’ biggest problems with Madden 12. For instance, defensive backs no longer will swat away balls or make plays if they can’t see the ball. (As it stands, balls coming in their direction are routinely knocked down even when they should have no idea the ball is coming their way.) Play-action fakes will now play out more quickly. More importantly, players will have the ability to abort the sequence in case a blitzing defender gets free and is barreling towards the quarterback. (In Madden 12, opting to use play-action is almost a guaranteed sentence to be sacked, thanks in part to an inability to break out of the excessively long animation that plays out before you assume control of the QB.) And Madden’s control scheme will no longer be at odds with NCAA’s — the pump fake and throw away buttons will no longer be assigned to opposite buttons in the two games. Many of the improvements Tiburon is talking about — 430-plus new catch animations, for example — are the sort of things you’d expect to find in a sequel. Other issues Madden 12 players will be excited to see fixed are things that should have been resolved in a patch for the current game. I play in an ongoing league where we’re forced to have rules in place so the game can’t be abused. Quarterback sneaks, which are an all-but-guaranteed way of picking up a first down in short yardage situations, can’t be used excessively. Banned outright are nano blitzes, a defensive tactic many consider to be an exploit that ensures the defense gets an unblocked player running at the QB. Keep in mind these aren’t measures put in place in the weeks after the game’s release until an official fix can be delivered. The game came out in August and these are problems which remain as we approach May. A fix isn’t coming for nano blitzes, psychic defensive backs, linebackers being far too capable of crazy interceptions, or even the illogical control scheme disparity with NCAA Football 12. It’s an accepted fact that many of the problems Madden suffers from each year will go unresolved, and at best all you can hope is for a fix to be included next year. And that’s wrong — players should not see something terribly wrong with a game and think, “Oh, I guess I’ll have to pick up next year’s game so I don’t have to deal with that anymore.” This is not some niche game made by a few people who can’t afford the costs of updating a game. Obligatory roster updates aside, only two title updates were released for Madden 12. That lack of long-term post-launch support makes it difficult to feel good about dropping $60 on the game every year. It’s a point that has been made in the past, but it bears mentioning again: in this digital age, is it really necessary for a boxed version of Madden to be released every year? Guitar Hero and Rock Band eventually learned their lesson about annual releases, and the latter is living on through the release of downloadable content. It would make a lot of sense for Madden to come out less often and be supported through downloadable content and title updates in between releases, at least from a consumer perspective. Rosters could still be kept up-to-date and each new release would be far more substantial. The reason EA doesn’t go this route is obvious: it’s far more profitable to have a $60 product out each year. The built-in excuse of coinciding each release with the start of the new real-life sports season only makes it less likely EA, or any other sports game maker, will stray away from this schedule. However, if Madden ever does move to a sort of subscription model where players pay to play a constantly evolving game, I could see that helping to make the game much better. Rather than buying a new game each year that receives fixes and improvements for only a few months after launch, we could instead have a Madden that is being iterated upon year-round — not one which is forgotten by the time the Super Bowl is over, if not sooner. Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/news/madden-13-improvements

War of the Immortals Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:31 PM PDT [Press release] Perfect World Entertainment Inc. today announced Lost Omen, the first expansion to the widely popular free-to-play MMORPG, War of the Immortals , available to download for free on May 10, 2012. Lost Omen takes the Atlantean war between gods to a new level. What does fate hold? Will humanity triumph or will mortal kind be doomed to endless suffering? “We’re pulling out all the stops for the first ever expansion to War of the Immortals. Lost Omen expands the game’s universe, creating a deeper and more immersive experience,” said Thang Phan, Product Manager, Perfect World Entertainment. “We’re catering to the wishes of our community by beefing up our already robust PvP system. With the addition of the new King of Combat battle arena, players are now faced with new challenging game modes as the war against humanity rages on.” New features include: • Harbinger Class – The Scythe wielding Harbinger is a master of psychic and soul powers. Bring pure devastation to any path, and mount the Abyss Crawler, a fierce cousin to the dragon with a short temperament. • Areas – Cross the Rainbow Bridge of Valhalla Temple and stand with the gods in the realm of divinity. Enter the Defiled Paradise, a surreal and perilous home to the toughest monsters and a new World Boss. Travel to Asgard and partake in new quests and events, now open to level 100 and above. • New PvP Modes – Enter the new King of Combat battle arena and lay waste to the opposing team. Saddle a new combat mount and fight through the four Great Wars: Osiris’ Revenge, Siege of Rites, Territory Wars and the Royal City. • Enhanced Systems – Breed more powerful pets with the new Pet Ascension System and unlock the Bloodline Systems to unleash new incredible skills. For more information about the War of the Immortals: Lost Omen expansion and to play War of the Immortals right now for free, visit: http://woi.perfectworld.com/ Find similar article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/04/war-of-immortals-lost-omen-update.html

Torchlight II – Pre Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:30 PM PDT [Pre-order here] A major investor in Runic Games and the owner of Cryptic Studios, Perfect World Entertainment is now cross-promoting Neverwinter and Torchlight II. By pre-ordering Torchlight II, gamers will have guaranteed access to Neverwinter’s Closed Beta phase. However, note that access might not necessarily be CBT 1, but perhaps during CBT 2 or 3. I am sure you have read about Neverwinter, the MMORPG currently in development by Cryptic Studios of Champions Online and Star Trek fame. Bought over by Perfect World Entertainment last year, Neverwinter was sent back to the drawing board for a re-development due to the Free to Play direction. Last I heard, the game will sport action combat. What about Torchlight II? Developed by Runic Games, Torchlight II is essentially a Diablo-style game, yet with quite a number of differences. The list is kind of long to post here, but you get the drift. Though a single-player setting in the original game, there is now co-op features in the sequel including LAN )local area network) and online. Unlike Diablo III, Torchlight II can be accessed offline during single-player sessions. Note that this deal is for pre-orders via the official site only. If you pre-order through Steam, you will only get a free copy of Torchlight (the prequel). Below is quote from the official press release: We’re excited to announce that pre-orders for Torchlight 2 are available today! As an added bonus to the purchase, anybody who pre-orders Torchlight 2 will receive access to Dungeon and Dragons Neverwinter when it enters closed beta later this year. Torchlight players will be among the first to receive a closed beta key to enter the realm of one of the year’s most anticipated MMOs. Players can expect to receive an email containing their beta code around the time Neverwinter closed beta kicks off. (*Beta key holders are not guaranteed immediate first access to Neverwinter closed beta but will be granted entrance dependent on testing needs*) Find similar article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/04/torchlight-ii-pre-order-and-access.html

5th Cell Heads into Unconventional Territory with Hybrid Posted: 26 Apr 2012 10:30 AM PDT Besides looking beautiful, the original Crysis stood out for including an absolutely lovely and bizarre gameplay feature involving the local fauna at the fictional Lingshan Islands: You could use them as weapons. As part of the sandbox-driven design of the early parts of Crysis’ campaign, the player could pick up and throw practically anything – crates, corpses, and even wildlife — and chuck them with lethal force. A thrifty player could, theoretically, sneak around and sling crabs instead of bullets. As visually impressive as Crysis 3 looks so far, with its swampy streets of Chinatown and verdant takeovers of skyscrapers, it’s the presence of ambient wildlife that brings this little feature to mind. During a hands-off demo, director of creative development Rasmus Hojengaard points out that frogs now hop about in New York’s newest plumbing development, but the player doesn’t do anything besides look at them. When I had a brief chance to ask about whether Prophet (a recurring character throughout the franchise, and now the protagonist due to events in both the ending of Crysis 2 and whatever has happened in the 20-plus years between Crysis 2′s 2023 time frame and Crysis 3′s setting of 2047 New York) can use frogs with lethal force, Hojengaard became a bit more evasive. He answered, “We want to give the sensation of a living and breathing environment, but we don’t want to arbitrarily have you pick up a turtle and throw it at someone as a gameplay mechanic, unless we can execute it more elegantly.” Later on, he added, “We don’t want stuff like being able to throw frogs just for the heck of it, as that’s too much development time,” and that causes me some concern. I’m hoping he changes his mind. Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3187036

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MMO Updates

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• City of Heroes anniversary letter features fun facts, videos
• TERA EU head start begins today, US to follow tomorrow
• Redeem your EVE Fanfest code for DUST 514 beta access
• Turbine extends LotRO anniversary festival
• Get into the Neverwinter beta by pre-ordering Torchlight II
• Guild Wars 2 sells out of digital editions
• The Daily Grind: Have you ever facerolled MMO content?
• Realms Online introduces the Lamai
• Iris Online opens the Lost Temple of Atlantis
• The Summoner's Guidebook: Improving our skillshot dodging skills
• DC Universe Online producer's letter explores the future of PvP
• TERA ramps up for launch with a video, an offer, and an address
• The Guild Counsel: When do you trust the new guy?
• Matt Miller reflects on eight years of City of Heroes, hands out free respecs
• Ask Massively: This hat has ruined everything edition
• Pachter says rumored Nexon buyout of EA 'cannot happen'
• Conquer Online expansion includes new pirate class

City of Heroes anniversary letter features fun facts, videos Posted: 27 Apr 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Video, City of Heroes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Anniversary City of Heroes devs are ramping up the PR push to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the game this week. The latest missive comes courtesy of executive producer Brian Clayton, who drops a few fun facts as well as a brief address to the game's faithful. Some of the more interesting numbers include 43 million characters created, 500,000 accounts at level 50, 300,000 super groups, and "over 15,000 costume pieces which can be used to create over 10 trecedillion (10^42) costumes." Head past the break for the full text of Clayton's letter as well as a couple of before-and-after videos. [Source: Paragon Studios press release] Continue reading City of Heroes anniversary letter features fun facts, videos City of Heroes anniversary letter features fun facts, videos originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

TERA EU head start begins today, US to follow tomorrow Posted: 27 Apr 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items, TERA It's head start weekend for western TERA fans, and it's been a long time coming. The game, which originally launched in Korea in January of 2011, is finally coming to North America and Europe (on May 1st and May 3rd, respectively). Beginning today, European pre-order players can jump into the game's head start period and enjoy all of TERA's content through level 38. The North American head start kicks off tomorrow, April 28th, and it also features a level 38 cap. Players can create a maximum of eight characters per server, while any characters made during last week's early character creation and open beta events will carry over to the head start period. [Source: Frogster press release] TERA EU head start begins today, US to follow tomorrow originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Redeem your EVE Fanfest code for DUST 514 beta access Posted: 27 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, DUST 514, Sandbox CCP is being rather selective with its invites to DUST 514's ongoing beta test. That said, if you attended Fanfest 2012 last month, you can now redeem a closed beta voucher code and get on with the sci-fi sandbox fragging. You'll need one of the code cards given out at Fanfest, and you'll need to enter the numbers on the new redeem page at the DUST 514 website. Once you've done so, you'll be placed in a queue to receive your actual beta code via email. CCP says it will begin sending out said codes "very soon, hopefully as early as the week of May 7, 2012." Redeem your EVE Fanfest code for DUST 514 beta access originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: EVE website

Turbine extends LotRO anniversary festival Posted: 27 Apr 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Anniversary Still working feverishly on your Eriador Cartographile title? Take heart (and take a breather), because Turbine has just announced that it is extending Lord of the Rings Online's fifth anniversary festival. This weekend was originally slated to be the end of beer brawling and mass firework displays, but now the tomfoolery will continue through May 9th. If you're a festival newb and in need of some direction, A Casual Stroll to Mordor has a pretty extensive guide to point you on your way. You might also want to check out the LotRO wiki for a complete list of items attainable via the various festival quests and activities. Turbine extends LotRO anniversary festival originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: A Casual Stroll to Mordor

Get into the Neverwinter beta by pre-ordering Torchlight II Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Free-to-play, Promotions, Neverwinter Synergy and cross-promotion is what makes the corporate world go 'round, so try not to boggle too much as you read the following sentences. Perfect World and Runic Games have teamed up to give you a unique way to access the Neverwinter beta. All you need to do is to pre-order Torchlight II. The closed beta access comes with a couple provisions. You'll have to specifically pre-order through Perfect Worlds to get beta access, as a Steam pre-order won't reap the same results. Also, it's important to note that Runic Games says that the "exact date of [beta] access will vary." Runic Games is a subsidiary of Perfect Worlds, which also owns Cryptic Studios. We found ourselves incredibly impressed with Neverwinter after getting our hands on it at PAX East, so it's great to have a guaranteed path into the beta. Make sure to read up on our impressions of this upcoming title from Cryptic. [Thanks to Jay for the tip!] Get into the Neverwinter beta by pre-ordering Torchlight II originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Torchlight II pre-order page

Guild Wars 2 sells out of digital editions Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, in-game, Guild Wars 2 With Guild Wars 2's beta weekend event poised to start today, many procrastinating players may be rushing to the official site to prepurchase their copy of the game and secure a spot in the beta. Those who do so, however, will be in for a rude awakening, as both the standard and deluxe digital versions of Guild Wars 2 are listed as "sold out" on the site for North America. While it may seem head-scratching that a company can sell out of a digital product, ArenaNet says that this was done to ensure enough server capacity for the event. The good news is that GameStop and Best Buy are still accepting prepurchase orders, and it looks as though ArenaNet will resume taking orders through the website once the beta weekend is underway: We limit sales to ensure we have enough capacity for our customers. We're likely to have capacity available after the initial crunch at the start of the weekend. Players who purchase when we're able to resume digital sales at buy.guildwars2.com will still be able to play for the remainder of the weekend. [Thanks to FlyinBuddha for the tip!] Guild Wars 2 sells out of digital editions originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Facebook notice, Prepurchase page

The Daily Grind: Have you ever facerolled MMO content? Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Dungeons I've recently returned to World of Warcraft and was surprised to find a much more complex game than when I left (contrary to popular lore in our comments). Several of the classes have been revamped mechanically to be far more interesting and layered, and new dungeon encounters are frequently among the best in the industry. At endgame, anyway. I realize that outside of heroics and raids and PvP, WoW (like many MMOs) aims for accessible simplicity, which is nice when you're just happily grinding away or teaming up with weekend warriors not looking for a stressful challenge. One of my mates even bragged about facerolling his way through the dungeon finder, and I had to wonder, do people really do that? Even if content is easy, I still try to play it "right." I'll still make sure I know how to play my character, probably because I'm terrified of being that person in a PUG -- you know, the one who makes people hate PUGs. But I have to admit that the idea of honestly just punching whatever buttons just to see if we'll still win has its own amusing charm (and a strange level of challenge too). Have you ever facerolled MMO content, literally or figuratively? 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: Have you ever facerolled MMO content? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Image source

Realms Online introduces the Lamai Posted: 26 Apr 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Races Adding a new race to a factional PvP game is always a dicey proposition with regard to faction balance, but Realms Online is taking a measured approach with its newest race. The diminutive Lamai have just been added, and they aren't beholden to any single faction -- they can join any realm and play as any class. That flexibility is meant to reflect their nature as an ancient race that left the planet ages ago. Of course, there's also the problem that if you're enticed by the new race, you'll have to start all over from the first level. As a promotion to help players interested in playing a Lamai, GameSamba is offering a sale on experience boosts in the game's shop. It's 25% off of level 30 scrolls, and 10 XP boosters for the price of eight. Not a bad deal if you want to level a new character, whether it's a lamai or something else. [Source: GameSamba press release] Realms Online introduces the Lamai originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Iris Online opens the Lost Temple of Atlantis Posted: 26 Apr 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dungeons Iris Online players are in for a treat today because it's patch day. And not just the small sort of patch with a bunch of bugfixes, either -- this is the big kind, the kind that opens up new areas and expands the level cap. In fact, it's exactly that kind, as today's update opens four new zones and the Lost Temple of Atlantis for player exploration. The temple is meant as the most challenging dungeon in the game and contains a variety of treasures for players braving its depths. Beyond the temple, the new zones give players new chances to strike back and liberate the land from the Sahar, complete with new quests to enjoy. Those new quests will also help as players head for the new level cap of 75, but if that alone isn't enough, the development team is doubling all EXP and SXP rates until April 29th. Players can also earn special treasure boxes for a limited time, a little extra boost for enjoying the game's new content. [Source: gPotato press release] Gallery: Iris Online Screenshots Iris Online opens the Lost Temple of Atlantis originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Summoner's Guidebook: Improving our skillshot dodging skills Posted: 26 Apr 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook Although the term "skillshot" was a new word for me when I started playing League of Legends, the concept of avoidable attacks is something that is very intuitive for even novice gamers. Skillshot is just a fancy term that roughly means "dodgable attack" in MOBA games. Although the official terminology sometimes differentiates between ground-targeted AoE and true skillshots (which are generally projectiles or groups of projectiles), that distinction is not really necessary for us. If it can be evaded, we'll call it a skillshot. Dodging skillshots is something that is fairly easy to develop skill for. It takes only a little bit of mental effort to dramatically improve your ability to evade them. It's also a skill that can always be improved with practice. We can always react to them faster or predict them more reliably. This makes it a good area to improve on because we can always get better. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Improving our skillshot dodging skills The Summoner's Guidebook: Improving our skillshot dodging skills originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

DC Universe Online producer's letter explores the future of PvP Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, DC Universe Online Another month is on its way out, and that means it's time for another DC Universe Online monthly producer's letter. This one is particularly special, though, because it's the first official producer's letter written by the game's new producer, Larry Liberty. Liberty takes a moment to introduce himself as a 16-year veteran of the industry who has worked on title such as Fallout: New Vegas, The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2, and Tony Hawk 4. The remainder of the letter pertains almost entirely to PvP and some of the recent changes made to it. One of the major changes is that the studio has "basically reduced the ceiling on how much damage output a crit can deliver," claiming that the team wants "to reduce the importance of luck and the importance of a good virtual dice roll in combat, and increase the importance of skill." Liberty then goes on to explain the team's philosophy behind the changes, stating that "the overarching goal for [the studio's] PvP system changes is to emphasize intelligent tactics and skillful play over lucky die rolls and raw stats." The post is rounded out by a list of some of the PvP features that are planned for game updates 13 and 14, showing players what they can expect for the future of DCUO's PvP. For the full, tasty details, go check out the full post at the game's official site. DC Universe Online producer's letter explores the future of PvP originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: DC Universe Online -- April Producer's Letter

TERA ramps up for launch with a video, an offer, and an address Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Launches, News items, Races, TERA TERA's launch is just around the corner, and if you're not excited yet, En Masse Entertainment is going to throw as much new stuff at you as possible to get you psyched up. That starts with a developer journal by Senior Producer Brian Knox, who talks about the road to launch and the growth of the studio. As you'd expect of a producer bringing a game to market, he's quite excited to see what players will do with the game once it's live. Not interested? Perhaps you'll be more interested to know that the studio has extended the inaugural subscription rate deal; have an active subscription to the game by May 31st and you'll wind up with long-term discounts on the subscription price. Or perhaps you'd rather kick back and watch the final installment of the race videos, this one highlighting the familiar human race. It's a variety of updates to keep your energy up for the launch next Tuesday, assuming it wasn't up already. Continue reading TERA ramps up for launch with a video, an offer, and an address TERA ramps up for launch with a video, an offer, and an address originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Brian Knox on the road to launch, Inaugural subscription pricing extended, Race video series: humans

The Guild Counsel: When do you trust the new guy? Posted: 26 Apr 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous When you're running a guild, there are lots of clear, right and wrong, cut and dried issues to take on. It might not be easy to carry them out, but it's pretty easy to know what the right decision is. There are some, however, that aren't so clear, and it's hard to even gauge which variables might help reveal the best solution. One of those naggingly difficult areas is knowing when to put your trust in a new member. A good recruitment policy will help filter out bad matches, but at what point do you know that a new member really is a good fit with the guild and can be trusted? As much as I'd like to just say "you'll know it when you see it" and leave it at that, I'd like to touch on a few areas that might come into play as you evaluate new members. Read on for a few ideas in this week's Guild Counsel, and add yours to the discussion below! Continue reading The Guild Counsel: When do you trust the new guy? The Guild Counsel: When do you trust the new guy? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Matt Miller reflects on eight years of City of Heroes, hands out free respecs Posted: 26 Apr 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Anniversary Eight years is an eternity for an MMO, and Lead Designer Matt Miller is exceedingly proud that City of Heroes has flown the distance. "I love the community that City of Heroes has built, and watching it over eight years ebb and flow with new voices being added to replace departed ones, and those voices being welcomed with open arms instead of open hostility that they might find elsewhere," he writes in an anniversary address. Miller reflects on a few of the highlights of the journey for him, from his getting hired on to the team in 2003 to the insanity of the head start to the beginning of a bug hunting tradition among the playerbase. He also uses this address to promote the near future of the game, including Issues 23 and 24. As part of the anniversary celebration, Paragon Studios has handed out a free respec token to each character in the game (the tokens do not stack with other respec tokens, however). Don't miss out on our own Massively celebration of the milestone, as our own Eliot Lefebvre has shared his thoughts on what this anniversary means for the game. Matt Miller reflects on eight years of City of Heroes, hands out free respecs originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Anniversary Letter, Respec notice

Ask Massively: This hat has ruined everything edition Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Humor, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous I was having trouble coming up with a topic for this week's header, so I tried writing down a bunch of different topics on pieces of paper and sticking them in a hat. Then I put the hat on. Now I still don't know what to write for this week's header, and I have an ugly hat on my head. Plus, little bits of paper are jammed against my head, and it's itchy. I knew this would be a problem starting with the bowler hat. This week's Ask Massively will go on despite my itchy scalp and ugly hat. And in this edition, I'm talking about potential Eastern games for a player looking for new games and beta invitations. If you'd like to have a question answered in a future installment of the column, send it to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity. Continue reading Ask Massively: This hat has ruined everything edition Ask Massively: This hat has ruined everything edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pachter says rumored Nexon buyout of EA 'cannot happen' Posted: 26 Apr 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business models, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Rumors, Miscellaneous Forbes reported on a rumored takeover of Electronic Arts by Nexon earlier this morning. The magazine noted that EA shares spiked following a supposed bid by the Korean gaming giant. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter weighed in on the rumors at GamesIndustry.biz, saying that the deal "cannot happen." He guesstimates that EA will balk at any such deal because "Nexon couldn't pull off a stock-for-stock deal [...] and would have difficulty financing an all-cash deal to make EA shareholders happy." Pachter floats a few numbers in his analysis, and he also notes that EA CEO John Riccitiello isn't likely to cede control of the company to anyone outside of EA management. Pachter says rumored Nexon buyout of EA 'cannot happen' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Conquer Online expansion includes new pirate class Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Mobile You might recall that Conquer Online made the jump from free-to-play PC MMO to iPad action RPG last December. Today NetDragon has announced the title's first expansion, called Invasion of Pirates. Unsurprisingly the content drop features a new Pirate class. You can see a video of it in action after the break. The class wields pistols and rapiers, and NetDragon describes the resulting gameplay as the "most fiery, action-packed combat" in Conquer Online. The expansion pack is currently free if you download Conquer Online HD in the iPad App Store. [Source: NetDragon press release] Continue reading Conquer Online expansion includes new pirate class Conquer Online expansion includes new pirate class originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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General gaming

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• Seven Mascots That Won't Make the PlayStation All-Stars Cut
• Dishonored: An Assassination Sandbox That Doesn't Penalize Sociopaths
• Madden 13 Improvements Call Into Question the Franchise's Current Model
• Phantasy Star Online 2 Impressions: Towards The Future
• 5th Cell Heads into Unconventional Territory with Hybrid

Seven Mascots That Won't Make the PlayStation All-Stars Cut Posted: 27 Apr 2012 12:21 AM PDT Feature Share it: Tweet Seven Mascots That Won't Make the PlayStation All-Stars Cut Though the full roster hasn't been revealed, these guys are bound to be benchwarmers. By: Bob Mackey April 27, 2012 Sly Cooper. Parappa. Fat Princess. Kratos. Sweet Tooth. That guy from Killzone. These treasured characters comprise the starting lineup of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sony's answer to Super Smash Bros. 13 years after the fact. Of course, building a team of recognizable PlayStation protagonists makes for a more selective process than Nintendo's own; because Sony entered the console marketplace just as it underwent the final stages of mascot cancer, the company doesn't have the luxury of relying on a cast brought into being during a time when hundreds of cartoony things ran from left to right, occasionally jumping. And some mascots that once stood for Sony have since been diluted by developer change-overs, multi-platform publishing, and a parade of forgettable installments -- can you honestly name the last Crash Bandicoot release? More importantly, would you want to?

Dishonored: An Assassination Sandbox That Doesn't Penalize Sociopaths Posted: 26 Apr 2012 09:28 PM PDT Remember the Halo Reach sniper rifle shot heard (and bounced) around the world? The one that ricocheted in such a crazy way that it actually went through the head of the very fellow who fired it in the first place? Bizarre as that situation may sound, it can serve as one of many crazy ways to assassinate someone in Dishonored. During the tail end of a recent hands-off demonstration, co-creative directors Harvey Smith and Raf Colantonio briefly went quiet as a Bethesda staffer playing showed off a particularly slick method of taking out multiple targets: Having the player character, Corvo, slow down time before laying down a spring razor trap and using his Blink ability to teleport a short distance away just in time to see the trap detonate when time resumes flowing at a normal rate. To get back to Reach's unintentional suicide, Smith explained, "Sometimes, when you activate Bend Time, you can actually see the bullet in the air; you can actually then Possess the guy who shot it and walk him around to the front. When time resumes, the bullet kills him and he has this very shocked expression on his face." Smith has previously described Dishonored as an action-stealth title in terms of its overall genre, but he cites titles like Far Cry 2, Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Thief, and Deus Ex as examples of what he, Colantonio, and the rest of the developers at Arkane are going for with their new creation: An open-ended game driven more by systemic interaction than by scripted spectacle. In other words, they want to simply provide a suite of tools, and objective, and then let players go at it. Corvo has a number of tools -- including gear such guns, daggers, traps, grenades and weird steampunk treasure detecting devices as well as more supernatural abilities such as Bend Time, Possession, and Windblast -- and his task is simply to find his targets and neutralize them. This can be as simple as stabbing someone in the face; as odd as possessing fish and mice to navigate through the sewers below until you find said target before possessing him to make him jump out a window; or as elaborate and non-lethal as arranging to have his identity stolen in order to condemn him to work in the very same salt mine that he owns.

Madden 13 Improvements Call Into Question the Franchise's Current Model Posted: 26 Apr 2012 03:44 PM PDT EA Tiburon yesterday began to reveal some of what will be different about Madden NFL 13's gameplay. The big focus of this year's title is the passing game, which makes sense both because the NFL is becoming more pass-centric and because my team (the Jets) is increasingly reliant on the rushing game. The changes sound good in theory, though as someone who still plays last year's game a few times every week, I can't help but take issue with the post-release support Madden 12 received. A new Madden is released each and every year like clockwork. Call of Duty may be the target of gamers wanting to lash out at annual releases these days, but Madden was doing it more than a decade before Call of Duty 1 ever hit store shelves. Years ago it made more sense; while there have always been criticisms about too little changing from one game to the next, with no better way to get new rosters into the hands of players, a full retail release was the way to go. Nowadays that feels like an archaic method of delivering content to players, yet it continues to happen -- and the game suffers for it.

Phantasy Star Online 2 Impressions: Towards The Future Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:37 PM PDT

5th Cell Heads into Unconventional Territory with Hybrid Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:34 AM PDT You know how some games come across as the victims of an overly glib elevator pitch? How you can reduce them to a description along the lines of, "It plays like Halo meets Animal Crossing," without doing it any injustice? 5th Cell's Hybrid isn't one of those. I suppose you could try to explain it to someone as "Risk meets Gears of War meets Valkyria Chronicles meets Quake," but not only does that not make any sense, it also would make you sound pretty unhinged, too.

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