MMORPG News

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• Rift: Tempest Rising to Lead to Storm Legion
• Knight Age: A Good Age Overall
• PlanetSide 2: Esamir Unveiled
• Silkroad Online: Silkroad Online's Historic 15 Years
• Elsword: Pet Lovers Unite
• Pirate 101: Head Start Begins
• General: MMOFTW Episode 19: Are Auction Houses Killing Community?
• PlanetSide 2: A Veteran's Comparison - Part One
• General: Gamers in the Game Industry
• Guild Wars 2: The Future of Tyria
• World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria: Patch v5.1 to Arrive on PTS Soon
• General: The Dead Linger: Entering Alpha Testing on Halloween
• Knight Age: Social Network System Detailed
• Heroes Of Newerth: Updated Mac & Linux Clients Released

Rift: Tempest Rising to Lead to Storm Legion Posted: 09 Oct 2012 08:09 AM PDT Trion Worlds has announced that Rift v1.11, Tempest Rising, will be arriving on game servers soon. Tempest Rising is the official lead up to the expansion's release in November and will bring several big changes to Rift including a new world event and the overhauled Ascended Soul System.

Knight Age: A Good Age Overall Posted: 08 Oct 2012 04:44 PM PDT Knight Age is a new game from JoyMax that sports cute graphics and more. We've put Knight Age through the wringer to find out how it measures up to today's MMOs. See what we think and then leave us a comment!

PlanetSide 2: Esamir Unveiled Posted: 08 Oct 2012 04:27 PM PDT PlanetSide 2 has PvP players around the world excited for its non-stop action. In an exclusive interview with PlanetSide 2's Trammel Ray Isaac about Esamir, a new never-before-seen map. We've got the goods about Esamir including screens and concept art. Check it out!

Silkroad Online: Silkroad Online's Historic 15 Years Posted: 08 Oct 2012 04:33 PM PDT Silkroad Online recently celebrated its 15th year of MMORPG goodness. In today's Free Zone, we take a look at Silkroad Online and ruminate about its past and its future. Read on!

Elsword: Pet Lovers Unite Posted: 08 Oct 2012 04:14 PM PDT Elsword developers have partnered with MMORPG.com to bring our readers first-look developer diaries. In today's installment, we learn more about pets in Elsword. See what's what and then leave us a comment or two.

Pirate 101: Head Start Begins Posted: 08 Oct 2012 03:32 PM PDT Kingsisle Entertainment has announced that head start access for Pirate101, the free-to-play pirate-themed followup to Wizard101, has begun!

General: MMOFTW Episode 19: Are Auction Houses Killing Community? Posted: 08 Oct 2012 03:13 PM PDT In this week's episode we cover a slew of news from WoW's, War Z's beta and pricing, Daniel Erickson's departure from BioWare, and more. Plus, in our community spotlight, we talk about whether Auction Houses are killing the sense of community in our MMOs. Check it out!

PlanetSide 2: A Veteran's Comparison - Part One Posted: 08 Oct 2012 09:49 AM PDT In this two-part article, MMORPG.com's Derek "Cymdai" Czerkaski takes a look at the two versions of Planetside and compares and contrasts the two different designs. Read on for part one, and leave your comments below. Part two will come later this week.

General: Gamers in the Game Industry Posted: 06 Oct 2012 07:01 PM PDT It may come as a shock to some that there are actually people out there making games who don't actually *gasps* play them. In this week's Pokket Says, she takes a look at that notion with quite a bit to say. See what you think and then leave your thoughts in the comments.

Guild Wars 2: The Future of Tyria Posted: 06 Oct 2012 06:55 PM PDT Last week, ArenaNet laid its cards on the table about the various live teams and how each will leave its own mark on Guild Wars 2. In our latest column, we take a look at the future in Tyria. See what we think before leaving your ideas in the comments.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria: Patch v5.1 to Arrive on PTS Soon Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:25 PM PDT Blizzard Entertainment has updated the World of Warcraft blog with the news that the first major content update to the recently released Mists of Pandaria expansion will be arriving on the public test server in the near future. The blog signals Blizzard's intention to provide more content more often and lays out a few of the details of the forthcoming patch.

General: The Dead Linger: Entering Alpha Testing on Halloween Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:18 PM PDT Sandswept has announced that its zombie-themed PvE MMO, The Dead Linger, will officially enter alpha testing on October 31st. Folks pre-purchasing the game will have automatic access to alpha, beta and final versions of The Dead Linger upon release.

Knight Age: Social Network System Detailed Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:12 PM PDT Joymax has announced that the new "social network system" has been released for Knight Age. With the new features, players earn "social experience" by participating in communal activities including joining a guild, adding players to a friends list and more.

Heroes Of Newerth: Updated Mac & Linux Clients Released Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:06 PM PDT S2 Games has announced the release of updated Heroes of Newerth clients for both Linux and Mac users. With the release of the new client versions, the team expands the potential player pool for the recently detailed HoN Tour, a competitive multiplayer tournament.

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General gaming

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• Varying Difficulties of the 2D Platformer
• Cover Story: Deathmatch! Games and Competition
• Pokemon Black & White 2 Review: Single-Player Catches Up to the Competitive Game

Varying Difficulties of the 2D Platformer Posted: 08 Oct 2012 01:26 PM PDT Feature Share it: Tweet 1UP COVER STORY 1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF OCTOBER 8 | DEATHMATCH! GAMES AND COMPETITION Varying Difficulties of the 2D Platformer Cover Story: Developers discuss the art of creating a challenging video game. T he correct difficulty in video games is something that will eternally be debated. There will always be gamers who love a good challenge, and look down at the likes of Kirby's Epic Yarn for being too easy. On the other hand, some players will dismiss games such as Spelunky for being too unforgiving and difficult. And while the discussion reaches every genre and aspect of gaming, there is one genre that has been around for decades that always features that debate: the 2D platformer. In recent memory, indie games ranging from Super Meat Boy to I Wanna Be The Guy have littered the platformer landscape with immense challenges that would make casual fans of Super Mario Bros. cry themselves to sleep. At the same time, Nintendo has released several titles, such as the recent New Super Mario Bros. and Kirby games, that have been very light on difficulty comparably, sometimes even offering the ability for the game to beat levels for you if you get stuck. Even outside of Nintendo and indie developer's gaze, there are still many more platformers coming to a wide variety of platforms. Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham, the mastermind behind the well-received 3DS/PC platformer Mutant Mudds, sees those other platformers as homogenous, though.

Cover Story: Deathmatch! Games and Competition Posted: 08 Oct 2012 10:31 AM PDT Feature Share it: Tweet 1UP COVER STORY 1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF OCTOBER 8 | DEATHMATCH! GAMES AND COMPETITION Deathmatch! Games and Competition This week, 1UP explores the vast world of digital contest. Our medium is unique in its ability to instill the spirit of competition in us on a daily basis. From the inception of video games, going head-to-head against a buddy was par for the course; just take a look at nearly any arcade classic from the '70s and '80s, and you'll find a title that comes equipped with the opportunity for bragging rights. This spirit of competition only grew in the '90s with the rise of fighting games and FPS'. But aside from these obvious examples of contest, games have the amazing ability to allow players to create their own forms of competition, even when they're by themselves. Just google "video game speed runs" and marvel at the handful of people who have transformed the art of the playing into a science and truly perfected a particular experience. Then there are massive games like Skyrim which, despite its focus on delivering an impressive single-player experience, is geared towards allowing the player to create their own goals. Anyone who's touched an Elder Scrolls game has inevitably had that moment where they spot a snowy mountain on the distant horizon and make the decision to discover just what's up there. Multiplayer and competition have continued to exist as a vital part of video games over the past few generations. With mandates from some of the larger publishers insisting that all AAA titles come equipped with some form of competitive online play, you'd be hard pressed to find a game that doesn't allow you to connect with your friends in some way or another. The advent of trophies and achievements have only fueled the spirit of competition by constantly reminding you of how well your friends are doing in a particular game, and goading you into participating in a digital arms race to see who can be the first to master their ever-growing collection.

Pokemon Black & White 2 Review: Single-Player Catches Up to the Competitive Game Posted: 08 Oct 2012 10:30 AM PDT 1UP COVER STORY 1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF OCTOBER 8 | DEATHMATCH! GAMES AND COMPETITION Pokemon Black & White 2 Review: Single-Player Catches Up to the Competitive Game Cover Story: After all these years, a Pokemon whose campaign acknowledges its die-hard fans. P okémon fans essentially fall into two camps: The complete newcomer just now getting into the series because they inherited their big brother's copy of the game or became hooked on the seemingly evergreen cartoon; and the completely obsessed hardcore fanatic who quite possibly knows more about the inner workings of the battle mechanics than Game Freak's own developers. Similarly, the core Pokémon titles themselves come in two varieties. You have the "new generation" releases that introduce a never-before-seen region and 100-odd new creatures to capture, and you have the variant and remake versions that revisit the previous release with just enough modest refinements and additions to be worth playing (and just enough to make you angry you wasted your time and money on the first iteration). And then there's me. I represent an infinitesimally small third constituency of the Pokémon player base: Neither a newcomer nor a Poké-grognard, I play each new release as it arrives because, well, that's my job. I review RPGs and portable games, primarily, and Pokémon sits at the delta of those formats like a surly, money-hungry dragon. As such, I've played enough Pokémon to tell you that this metaphorical dragon is weak to ice- and dragon-type attacks, but I wouldn't have the first clue about its optimal nature or best egg-bred moves. Metaphorically speaking. I like and know the Pokémon games well enough to get by, but I don't speak it with the fluency of a true native.

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