Archives for Sep 15th, 2011
The MMO Report: Unwanted guests from Connecticut edition
This week's MMO Report finds host Casey Schreiner in fine form despite the disconcerting presence of another neck-bearded nerd crowding the camera during the show's opening monologue. The interloper turns out to be Schreiner's cousin Dave, who is apparently taking our intrepid host up on last wee...
Champions Online lets you vie for the kingship on a hill
Who doesn't want to be recognized as the king of a hill? No matter where you go, as long as people can see the hill, they will know that the hill is all yours. That's probably not quite why Champions Online has added its brand-new King of the Hill PvP mode to the game, but it's certainly on the l...
Lord of the Rings Online still not available in China
When it comes to mammoth western themepark MMOs and the Chinese gaming market, apparently there can be only one. And that one isn't named Lord of the Rings Online (or Highlander Online, sadly). CDC Corporation initially entered into an agreement to distribute Turbine's Tolkien-inspired MMORPG ...
Ask Massively: Ham edition
Readers, today is a sad day indeed. Having exhausted my longstanding well of topics that were either based in Dadaist absurdity or random personal anecdotes, I'm left to unveil my most desperate weapon -- an edition based entirely on ham. Consider the ham. Within the ham there could be the answer...
Caravan security missions marching to Final Fantasy XIV
The list of features being added to Final Fantasy XIV in patch 1.19 just keeps growing. Not only will players be able to ride on the back of a chocobo, but a new set of missions for caravan defense will let players beat marauding fiends away from those selfsame yellow birds. And there are even Gr...
Behind the Mask: Fictional guns are lame
Out of all my issues with modern roleplaying, the inaccurate portrayal of firearms is very near and dear to my heart. Champions Online is a pretty big offender in this regard. One of the most important things that we forget to realize about games in modern settings is that in the real world, guns...
Functional improvements coming to the store for Lord of the Rings Online
The store for Lord of the Rings Online is probably not the sort of epic adventure you think of when you consider Middle-earth. But it's an integral part of the game's setup now that it's moved over to free-to-play, and so it's in the best interests of Turbine Entertainment to make the store as ea...
The Guild Counsel: Can GW2's multiple guild feature work for other MMOs?
Guild Wars 2 caused a stir recently at PAX when its devs announced their concept of multiple guilds. According to the news, guild membership will be account-wide, and players will be able to log in and browse the chat for each of the guilds to which they belong. In a recent installment of Flamese...
First WildStar Wednesday dev diary takes fans through creature creation
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first (of many, we hope) WildStar Wednesday. The magnificent Robert "Robeardo" Land and the fabulous Andy Cotnam from Carbine Studios have collaborated on a short dev diary to kick things off after WildStar's recent official announcement and convention circ...
Yoogames yoinks assets from EVE Online and others, faces retribution
Let's get ready for a lawsuit! Yoogames has been called out on the EVE Online forums for using images from EVE in order to promote its own game, Planet War. But it's not just EVE Online getting ripped off here; keen-eyed forum-goers have spotted pictures of StarCraft 2's Protoss Yo-Mommaship an...
One Shots: Starting slow
There's a lot to be said for a game that throws you right into the heavy action straight from character creation, but it's good to have an option for those who favor a slightly more peaceful beginning. City of Heroes player Clark is one of the latter: This picture is of Galaxy City. When you f...
Captain's Log: Class spotlight - Engineer
Captain's Log, Stardate 65205.7... Hello, computer (and players)! As you may or may not know, the Star Trek franchise celebrated a momentous birthday last week as it turned 45 years old. While humankind first set out to "boldly going where no one has gone before" in the late 1960s, its legacy ...
Aventurine publishes Darkfall siege system dev notes, manual
Yes, yes, Darkfall's getting a new siege system. You've heard this many times before, amirite? Well, today we're happy to report that the details are now public knowledge. Aventurine has jumped the gun on its usual Friday update window and posted the dev notes for the siege patch (as well as a le...
Clone Wars Adventures announces eight million users, upcoming content
The other day, we announced Clone Wars Adventures' one-year anniversary celebration. However, it seems more celebration is in order. According to a press release today, the game is also celebrating over eight million registered players. On top of that, the press release gives us a sneak pe...
Hellgate expanding to Tokyo on September 22nd
If you were wondering why HanbitSoft and T3Fun rechristened Hellgate: London as Hellgate: Global prior to resurrecting it as a free-to-play title earlier this summer, now you know. The action-horror MMO is expanding to a new burned-out husk of a metropolis, and on September 22nd, you're invite...
MMO subscription dollars in decline for the first time since 2002
With all of the free-to-play MMOs coming onto the market and the F2P conversion of formerly subscription-only titles, it should come as no surprise that the subscription model is losing its grip on the industry. Eurogamer reports that starting in 2010, the money brought in from MMO subscriptions ...
Voyage Century Online introduces new Crete instance
Voyage Century has been around for four years now, and the dev team is always searching for new ways to freshen up the free-to-play nautical title. To that end, the latest game update includes the isle of Crete, which IGG calls a "primary instance." Accessing Crete requires players to be sea b...
Gamebreaker's This Week in MMO: John Madden edition
Video game enthusiasts, pay attention. Each week, Gary Gannon and the crew at Gamebreaker.TV bring you the latest MMO news with their weekly show called This Week In MMO. The show rotates through a panel of personalities to bring you the latest news and opinions from MMO gaming. Sometimes these p...
75% of MapleStory's marriages suffer the heartbreak of divorce
Monogamy isn't in the cards for most MapleStory players, and neither are faithfulness, silver anniversaries or alimony-free lifestyles. You see, MapleStory boasts an incredibly high rate of divorces with its marriage system, as a whopping 75% of players who get married in-game end up getting thos...
Allods Online announces October update
This October, Allods Online will introduce new content to its already extensive free-to-play MMO. This update will include "a brand new zone for high level players, the ability to customize Astral ships, and enhanced leveling to improve the new player experience." To help alleviate the usual g...
Guild Wars 2 Asura week continues with new video and web page
Day four of Guild Wars 2's Asura Week brings the thing that many fans look forward to the most: a new video and the official web page for the race. The web page gives a rundown of the Asura race's history (which can be seen firsthand in the current Guild Wars game) as well as information on th...
Massively Exclusive: EverQuest's City of Tides unveiled
EverQuest is beginning to gear up for its 18th expansion, Veil of Alaris. Along with raising the level cap to 95, introducing new AA options, and a providing a smorgasbord of other new features, the expansion includes a whopping 12 new zones. One such zone is known as Sarith, the City of T...
The Daily Grind: People still play that game?
You know the one. That one game. The one you quit since you're so ahead of the curve. The one with the dated graphics and the vintage writing and the mechanics from at least a bajillion decades ago. The one that treats polygons like a precious resource. The one that patched out the obvious perfec...
Off the rails: Star Wars Galaxies introduces atmospheric flight
If you're still on the fence about reactivating Star Wars Galaxies in order to participate in the sunset events from now until December 15th, today's news just might push you over to the dark side... er light side. One of those! This morning, Sony Online Entertainment published Game Update 21,...
Jagex offering last chance to sign up for RuneScape Classic service
Get ready, nostalgia fans, as Jagex has a treat for you (assuming you also like RuneScape, of course). If you've ever heard your clanmates talk wistfully about three-hit combat and other aspects of the good ol' days, you can now experience them for yourself, thanks to RuneScape Classic. You'll...
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