| PAX East 2014: Hands-on with Infinite Crisis Posted: 13 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Events (Massively's Coverage), MOBA, Infinite Crisis I don't know what Superman's problem is, man. I was expecting my confrontation with Doomsday to be something epic, something horrifying, but instead it turned into a pretty standard affair. Grab him with my enormous telescoping force arm, yank him over, slow him, then put up a shield while I beat the stuffing out of him. Seriously, I can only assume that Last Son of Krypton's death was largely a result of his desire for a vacation. Of course, soon thereafter I fell victim to the eternal nemesis of Green Lantern -- enormous red-hued turrets surrounded by support drones. But I did all right. MOBAs are not really my cup of tea, but superheroes are in a big way. I hadn't gotten a chance to play Infinite Crisis before now, but on the show floor at PAX East this year, I was given the chance to sit down and get a coaching session from one of the more experienced members of the team while I smashed heads. So I picked up Atomic Green Lantern and walked in fully expecting to fail left and right. To my pleasant surprise, the whole thing played out much better than I had expected, making excellent use of the license and providing a fun match all around. Continue reading PAX East 2014: Hands-on with Infinite Crisis  PAX East 2014: Hands-on with Infinite Crisis originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: Bobble heads Posted: 13 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Screenshots, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, Culture, Guild Wars 2, One Shots, Miscellaneous, The Elder Scrolls Online Did we all have a good April Fools' Day this year? Oh hush you; this is why nobody invites you to parties. I certainly had fun, especially while running around with my giant bobble-headed characters in Guild Wars 2. Giant bobble heads are scientifically proven to make any video game 75% more enjoyable. Reader HawkEye sent me in a disturbing number of screenshots with his large noggins, but I chose this one because it also tickled me that the animals had their heads enlarged. "'Sup Mister Ram?" HawkEye said. "Don't headbutt me, okay? Please?" I think that creature more wanted to end its misery than contribute to yours, HawkEye, so hopefully you survived the experience. What other strange views await you in the rest of this column? Probably nothing this strange, that's for sure. Continue reading One Shots: Bobble heads One Shots: Bobble heads originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Apr 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Did you reconnect with any games thanks to PAX East? Posted: 13 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Events (Massively's Coverage) Now that PAX East is winding down, it seems as good a time as any to take stock of the news coming from this year's convention. On a personal level, I was excited to hear about the (eventual) MMOification of one of my favorite games. I also enjoyed catching up with Guns of Icarus, an indie title already holding its own and with its eyes on a larger persistent world prize. What about you, Massively readers? Did you glean any useful nuggets from PAX East or perhaps rediscover a game you'd not thought about in a while?  Massively's on the ground in Boston during the weekend of April 11th to 13th, bringing you all the best news from PAX East 2014. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, Landmark, or any MMO in between, we aim to have it covered!The Daily Grind: Did you reconnect with any games thanks to PAX East? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Apr 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Double trouble in The Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 12 Apr 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, New Titles, Livestream, The Elder Scrolls Online, The Stream Team What happens when you throw two of Massively's crew together in The Elder Scrolls Online? Double the trouble, of course! Tamriel won't know what hit it when MJ and Shawn take on the newbie experience of the Ebonheart Pact. As a bonus, viewers can help guide the adventure as part of Shawn's Choose My Adventure series. Join us live at 9:00 p.m. to be a part of the shenanigans of two Nightblades on the town. Game: The Elder Scrolls Online Host: MJ Guthrie and Shawn Schuster Date: Saturday, April 12th, 2014 Time: 9:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Double trouble in The Elder Scrolls Online The Stream Team: Double trouble in The Elder Scrolls Online originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Apr 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Make My MMO: April 6 - April 12, 2014 Posted: 12 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Crowdfunding, Make My MMO This week a reader named TrollsRoyce (no relation to Massively Editor-in-Chief Bree Royce, we swear) brought a new crowdfunding project called Red Blood to our collective attention. The game's IndieGoGo campaign will run through May 5th and the staff, which includes former CABAL Online and Perfect World developers, could use your help. What exactly is Red Blood? It's a "triple-A MMORPG title that's based on the popular comic book series Red Blood," the project site explains. "Set in a post apocalyptic future, the world is a changed land where science and magic coexist and humans have been recreated by changing DNA. Four opposing countries have risen in an attempt to gain total control of the world using their new armies of genetically modified mercenaries." Listed features include a full pet system, non-targeting combat, and an infinite number of instance dungeons. User Games and Gorilla Banana have released a trailer, and Steparu has posted an extensive review of an early build. Continue reading Make My MMO: April 6 - April 12, 2014 Make My MMO: April 6 - April 12, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Apr 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| PAX East 2014: State of Decay eyes multiplayer, stays offline Posted: 12 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Consoles, Events (Massively's Coverage), Post-Apocalyptic, Miscellaneous The ground is fairly littered with zombie games of some sort these days. That isn't meant as a mark against Undead Labs' State of Decay, but it does raise questions of focus. How do you make a zombie game more unique? According to the studio's Jeff Strain at this year's PAX East, you focus upon building at the community level rather than individual survival. While games like DayZ focus on the personal, State of Decay is much more focused on the idea of putting society as a whole back together and trying to accumulate resources and structures for survivors as a whole. Of course, most of our readers are more interested in what comes next, specifically Class4. That's the proposed sequel to State of Decay, previously codenamed Class3; it's meant to be a full MMO according to previous statements, a game in which you can worry about rebuilding not just a local community but the world as a whole. And Undead Labs certainly isn't hurting for talent that's familiar with online games, especially with the acquisition of ArenaNet co-founder Patrick Wyatt in January. So what's happening? Continue reading PAX East 2014: State of Decay eyes multiplayer, stays offline PAX East 2014: State of Decay eyes multiplayer, stays offline originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Apr 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| PAX East 2014: Guns of Icarus Online's expanding environment Posted: 12 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Game Mechanics, Opinion, Hands-On, MMOFPS, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding, Steampunk PAX East taught me that I am apparently not the right person to pilot a ship in Guns of Icarus Online. In my defense, I was trying to do what my ship was designed to do. The co-op mode on display is all about delivering supplies to a final point on a map, and I was flying the fast scoutship. So I figured, why bother slowing down? Why not just jink left and right and avoid anything in my way? As it turns out, the reasons to not do that are quite simple: The boss encounter at the cargo dropoff requires two people, and you need to actually retain control of the point rather than just wing to it at full speed. So I may have sent my ship crashing to the ground in a tumble of burning wood and broken steel. (By "may have" I of course mean "I definitely did this.") This isn't a failing on the part of the game, just a failing on my part for trying to bull-rush through something. But it's still fun; the game gives players a variety of things to do while they're busy crewing the various stations across the ship. And it's just one place the developers are going with the game. Continue reading PAX East 2014: Guns of Icarus Online's expanding environment PAX East 2014: Guns of Icarus Online's expanding environment originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Apr 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| PAX East 2014: The Repopulation's Josh Hall on the future of the game Posted: 12 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Interviews, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, The Repopulation If you're looking for Kickstarter success stories, The Repopulation definitely qualifies. While the game hasn't yet been released, it's managed to run not one but two successful campaigns looking to fans for funding, and it's managed its development carefully to keep itself on track for release. The game feels like a well-managed professional affair. And it's been a bit more quiet, but that comes down largely to the focus on getting the game out of its current alpha state and into its first beta. At this year's PAX East, I sat down to talk with Josh Hall, one of the core team members on the project, about where the game is in development and what it's heading for in the next few months. While the final alpha stage has taken slightly longer than originally planned, the team is on track for launching the first beta phase at some point over the summer, and it's eyeing further release plans. Continue reading PAX East 2014: The Repopulation's Josh Hall on the future of the game PAX East 2014: The Repopulation's Josh Hall on the future of the game originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Apr 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Game Archaeologist: The danger of expecting lightning to strike twice Posted: 12 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: City of Heroes, Opinion, Champions Online, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous, Camelot Unchained, Star Citizen, Shroud of the Avatar, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen It's no secret that many of the more successful Kickstarter projects over the past few years have heavily capitalized on player nostalgia, brand names, and former dev gods who are back for another round. The formula for drawing in the big bucks seems to be the following: Take something players hugely loved back in the day, dangle the concept of a sequel (spiritual or otherwise), and promise some measure of iterative improvement. I once wrote about how we really can't go back again to recreate a particular game experience because it was usually a confluence of several factors that were related to where the industry was then and where you were then. I'm not saying that there isn't value to retro gaming, playing classic MMOs, or involving the past in future development! But there is a danger in how we as gamers become so beholden to our nostalgia that we dare lightning to strike twice -- and we're paying big bucks to see that happen. But can we? Will it? Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: The danger of expecting lightning to strike twice The Game Archaeologist: The danger of expecting lightning to strike twice originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Apr 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Exploring Origins of Malu's alpha with devs Posted: 12 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Video, New Titles, Livestream, Housing, The Stream Team, Player-Generated Content It's been quite a while since we have heard about Origins of Malu, the upcoming sandbox from indie developer Burning Dog Media. That definitely makes it a good time to sneak into the alpha and take peek! Massively's MJ is joined by devs today to show you what's been going on since the team pulled back from beta and started reworking things. Of course, MJ plans to give the housing system a go too! Join us at 2:00 p.m. EST for this jaunt through the unique wilds of Malu. Game: Origins of Malu Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Saturday, April 12th, 2014 Time: 2:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Exploring Origins of Malu's alpha with devs The Stream Team: Exploring Origins of Malu's alpha with devs originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Apr 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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New feature dampens the sound of typing
A Mouse with a 12,000DPI sensor
