One Shots: Cleared for takeoff

Virtual animals exist to serve us as transportation, neutral landscape scenery, or the occasional target practice. Here at One Shots, we encourage the additional practice of harvesting as many virtual livers from them as possible on the off-chance that a quest-giver demands them.

Reader John sent in this inspiring screenshot of a new friend he made in Star Wars: The Old Republic: "While Alderaan may be long and perhaps arduous as a planet, it has some absolutely gorgeous sights, and flying on the strange manta-ray beasts that carry you from base to base can be a wonderful experience."

What other wonderful experiences exist after the jump? If you scroll past this post without clicking, you'll be driven mad with always wondering.

Reader Jaxom took time out of Guild Wars 2's recent Wintersday jumping puzzle to adopt a friendly critter. I like that these games have plenty of "minis," but why aren't there "king-sized" vanity pets for those of us with a big boy appetite?

"I was doing the Winter's Day jumping puzzle inside the snow globe," Jaxom explains, "when I spotted a minipet in a funny place. Can you find it? Hint: It's in the pile of snow balls closest to the foreground. Cute to boot!"

If there are critters in this next picture, trust me when I say that we're better off not seeing them. I've run this mission myself and jumped more than a few times throughout it.

Reader Brad stopped being freaked out long enough to capture this nightmare scene: "I took some time to enjoy the new storyline mission in The Secret World to find Tyler Freeborn. It was quite enjoyable and creepy, plus you get to learn a bit more about what's happening in with the filth and the fog. Mirinesse took a moment here to sit and relax and absorb the creepiness of the area. /me shivers."

For some, getting podded in EVE Online is a reason to rage, scream, and promise vile revenge. For reader Riseyra, it was a great excuse to take this breathtaking screenshot of the cosmos.

"This planet photo was taken deep in low-sec Syndicate space from my pod," she says. "This one almost got me killed so many times."

In space, no one can hear you scream unless you have Vent open. Then they'll just mute ya.

So... you're my best friend, right? Sure you are. And you know what best friends do? They send in awesome screenshots from a wide variety of games so that I'm not scrounging Twitter when it comes time to write this column. So be a pal and send something in, capisce?

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!