One Shots: Laser light shows

Ancient civilizations always seem to have the flair for the dramatic, especially if they were sitting on suspiciously advanced technology. We begin our trip through One Shots today with a look at Star Wars: The Old Republic's newest PvP warzone and its so-called "ancient" artifacts.

Reader John was captivated by the look of this machine: "It would be fair to say that much of SWTOR looks like either the traditional fantasy MMOs we've all played before or a series of corridors. With Ancient Hypergates, however, BioWare has delivered an incredible-looking area that feels perhaps like a cross between Mass Effect and Halo, though of course the lightsaber battles that take place across this arena add the necessary 'Star Wars' touch."

Carry on, my wayward sons and daughters, and join us as we dive further into the visuals of MMOs than any who have come before.

Twins or a strange mirror effect? It's even weirder than that, as reader Blake used foul magicks to whip up a couple of "dates" to the prom in EverQuest II.

Listen to this oh-so-innocent excuse: "My Conjuror Quaoar used a cash-shop purchased petamorph wand to change his combat pet into a sexy Lamia girl. However, something surprising happened when I took them to Butcherblock and did a quest where you tame a Kobold, turning it temporarily into a pet: The petamorph spell instantly transformed the Kobold too! Suddenly I had two hot Lamias escorting me around, though one of them occasionally shouted exclamations in Kobold. Now if only I could figure out a way to make it permanent..."

If Parent Trap taught me anything, it's that Blake is going to be in for a whirlwind of comical misunderstandings and an eventual reunion with a separated love.

Reader Kent is quite in love with the visuals of TERA and has the photograph to prove it: "This is my warrior Dravina visiting Veilka, the capital of the Valkyon Federation in the game TERA. She's mounted on her Nightmare and observing the sights of this beautiful city."

She's also only riding at one mile an hour because any faster would cause serious wind burns and frostbite to her nearly naked frame. Go sightsee yourself a cardigan, is my suggestion!

Since we're so close to Christmas, it's a great time to talk about zombies, yes? Reader Ricky wanted to immortalize his time in Glitch with the following screenshot.

"I heard you guys were looking for cool Glitch screenshots," he said. "Well, I have one I took about a week ago. I dressed my character up as Michael Jackson and had a bunch of friends dress as zombies and take a pic."

Because... it's... THRILLER, THRILLER NIGHT!

You're going to have that song playing in your head all day, aren't you?

You know the drill: Gimme screenshots and I'll refrain from haunting your dreams. For this week's dare, I want to see if I can get any of you to send in screenshots of your character dying most painfully.

Want to be featured in a future edition of One Shots? Send your favorite MMO screenshots to oneshots@massively.com, and don't forget to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of the scene. Large, colorful, UI-free shots that tell a story and really show off the game make for the best images. Look ma, we brought back One Shots!