MMORPG News

MMORPG News

DOTA2: RTSGuru.com | Lamentations of a Support Hero Player

Posted: 20 Mar 2012 08:25 AM PDT

RTSGuru.com | Lamentations of a Support Hero Player

The life of a support hero is not always rainbows and butterflies, it's compromise and - well, you get the picture. What bugs you most as a support player? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours. Check out this provocative new editorial at RTSGuru.com.

EVE Online: Closing a Chapter

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 11:39 AM PDT

Closing a Chapter

Change is an inevitable part of life in general, and of EVE Online specifically and big changes have been ongoing since the close of 2011. In today's One Jump Home, we take a look at some of the momentous alterations in EVE Online. Keep reading!

Order & Chaos Online: UnboundGamer.com & MMO2Go

Posted: 20 Mar 2012 07:35 AM PDT

UnboundGamer.com & MMO2Go

In the latest edition of MMO2Go, UnboundGamer.com editors take a look at Order & Chaos Online, a traditional high-fantasy mobile MMO. If you're inclined to take your MMO out in your pocket, head over to UnboundGamer.com for a look.

ArcheAge: CBT 4 Wrap Report

Posted: 20 Mar 2012 07:16 AM PDT

CBT 4 Wrap Report

This is Game has a terrific write up of the fourth closed beta event for ArcheAge. The dev team has committed itself to over three months of closed beta testing in order to ensure that the most bug-free version of the game is released in its time.

Guild Wars 2: The Collector’s Edition

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 11:26 AM PDT

The Collector

Last week, Arena.Net announced the details for the collector's edition for Guild Wars 2. The CE contains some really impressive stuff that we take a look at in our latest Guild Wars 2 column. Read on!

TERA: Fyremount Fly-through

Posted: 20 Mar 2012 06:30 AM PDT

Fyremount Fly-through

En Masse Entertainment has partnered with MMORPG.com to bring our readers a first look at Fyrmount. As the name implies, the area is a lava-filled place filled with equally fiery looking monsters, BAMs included. Check out this exclusive first look at Fyremount. Enjoy!

Allods Online: Screenshot of the Week: Allods Online Edition!

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 05:05 PM PDT

Screenshot of the Week: Allods Online Edition!

Everyone loves to take screenshots of their favorite games, and we want you to share them with us and the rest of the MMORPG.com community! To that end, we're back with our latest Screenshot of the Week feature, and we're looking to give out some cool swag. This week, we'll be focusing on Allods Online screenshots.

Guild Wars 2: Narrative & Personal Story

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:10 PM PDT

Narrative & Personal Story

The personal angle in Guild Wars 2 has been one of the big points of interest for many players but little beyond its revelation has been discussed. That breaks today with the update to the GW 2 blog by content designer Leif Chappelle. Chappelle has written a new post titled "The Evolution of Narrative in Personal Story".

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures: SOTW: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Winner's Announcement

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:25 PM PDT

SOTW: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Winner

Sony Online Entertainment recently announced a 10 million registered users milestone for Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures and we were lucky enough to partner with them to bring you a special Screenshot of the Week contest in celebration! After poring through your entries, we've selected our 10 winners. Check them out below!

General: RTSGuru.com | Adventures in Necromancy: Crowdfunding

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 12:52 PM PDT

RTSGuru.com | Adventures in Necromancy: Crowdfunding

RTSGuru.com editors take a look at crowdfunding via Kickstarter and other methods and how it might or might not help restore some of the classic feel to the modern range of games. Check it out at RTSGuru.com.

Spirit Tales: Be One in 40M

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 12:17 PM PDT

Be One in 40M

The Spirit Tales team has sent along a pretty informative little "info-graphic" that shows the odds of running into another character of the exact same look as compared to things like finding a 4-leaf clover or being struck by lightning. Now that's creative!

Elsword Online: Harmony Festival Offers Upgrades & Bonuses

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:09 AM PDT

Harmony Festival Offers Upgrades & Bonuses

Elsword Online players will want to check into the game for the recently added Harmony Festival. Players participating can take advantage of costumes, increased stamina and special items that help recover hit points.

Posted by Shri Krishna

General gaming

General gaming

Yakuza: Dead Souls Review: An Undercooked Zombie Casserole

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:58 PM PDT

A great number of Japanese games rest on the time-tested foundation of plagiarism; heck, who knows where Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima would be without the combined works of Ridley Scott, John Carpenter, and James Cameron? But there comes a point when imitation is more of an act of desperation than flattery; and in the case of Yakuza: Dead Souls, the flagrant borrowing seen throughout doesn't come from a place of sincere affection, but rather, a desire to graft an undead angle onto a series desperately in need of a reboot.

Granted, it's tough to innovate within the overplayed zombie game genre, but it's equally difficult to forgive a game that offers up not one, but four distinct ripoffs of the iconic special infected from Valve's Left 4 Dead within their own game. The Yakuza series is known for featuring an abundance of ideas borrowed from many different sources -- which is why many refer to it as "the Japanese Grand Theft Auto" -- but in the case of Dead Souls, Sega chose to pilfer concepts from a multitude of zombie games without thinking much about what these individual elements added to their respective packages. The result is an experience that provides the basic thrills of zombie-killing within the strangely addictive lite-RPG Yakuza framework, but one that never forges its own identity amid a sea of clunky combat.

The Witness is One of 2012's Greatest Mysteries

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 02:52 PM PDT

witness

It's hard not to marvel at Jonathan Blow's chutzpah. Braid, his 2008 XBLA puzzler, played with the concepts and consequences of time travel through its mechanics as well as narrative. After high sales and quite a bit of accolade, Blow used most of the money he made off of Braid to help finance his next project, a first person exploration game called The Witness. While a decision like this would seems cripplingly frightening, you have to applaud the confidence that Blow has in his art. This confidence is part of the reason why The Witness is my most anticipated game of 2012, and after sitting down with Blow during GDC, it remains at the top of my list. Although the game still has a ways to go, Blow is confident that the final portion of the game is the single best thing that he's ever designed. Coming from the man who created one of my favorite video games of this generation, it's safe to say that my anticipation for The Witness grows with every new look. In preparation for its release, I've compiled a list of five ways to ready yourself for the title, some of which Blow himself alluded to while others contain connections that I've made from what we learned about the game.

Dear Esther

Upon first viewing the screenshots for The Witness, the immediate comparison to Myst sprang forward. They're both environmental puzzle games played through a first person view and set on an enigmatic island. Blow even admits to drawing inspiration from the PC classic. But instead of replaying Myst for the dozenth time, try something a little more modern. I suggest Dear Esther, a Half-Life 2 mod created by British developers thechineseroom. The mod was first released 2008, but just last month received a full-fledged remake that improves on the original in every way possible. The game places you in the role of a nameless wanderer who explores the expanses of a dreary island. Narration in the game is delivered via snippets of letters sent to a woman named Esther. There are no puzzles or combat scenarios whatsoever, so the game ends up becoming equal parts ghost story and walkabout. From what we've seen from The Witness, both games share a similarly lonesome tone that emanates from a mysterious island lost in time.

Dictionary of the Khazars

OP-ED: Online Passes Should Change How and When Online Servers Are Shut Down

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:30 PM PDT

EA Sports MMA

Electronic Arts shutting down the online servers for some of its less recent titles is nothing unusual; it's happened numerous times, just as it has with other publishers' titles. Games like Burnout Revenge and Need for Speed: ProStreet will no longer feature online play come April 13, and in light of how old the games are (Revenge has been available for six years on Xbox 360), it's hard to be surprised. Not all of the games getting the shutdown treatment are quite so old, however, and age is not even the only problem with what's going on here.

EA was the company that spearheaded the online pass movement. Although the motivation behind it is often said to be something else, online passes help publishers to make money off of used game sales. Certain features -- typically online multiplayer, though that's not always the case -- are not accessible merely by popping in the game. Those who purchase a new copy of such a game are given a code that can be redeemed for access to these features, while used game buyers are forced to purchase the online pass (usually for $10 or $15) in order to gain their hands on the content.

Posted by Shri Krishna
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Total Pageviews

statcounter

View My Stats