Betas

When I was told I'd get to attend a media briefing with Jeremy Gaffney, I ran to my closet and busted out my old "STFU University" shirt! Good old South Tenkarrdum Foundry University! For those who don't know (or have forgotten), Gaffney was a founder of Turbine and worked on both Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2, my first two MMOs. Oh, and there's that WildStar game he was talking about. That sounds pretty cool too.

Sadly, about a week before E3, I was told that Carbine wouldn't be making any big announcement at the con. This would be a catch-up conference, and from what I saw, it was mainly aimed at Korean gamers who might not already be familar in the game. I love E3 because of its international setting, and truthfully, even from "old" news you can usually find some new information if you're careful... or a selfish reporter can snag the question-asking mic two times in one briefing. Don't worry; the second time was in a big batch of "raise your hand if you have a question" end-of-the-Q&A type deals. I'm not that selfish.

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Well folks, it was an epic battle. The communities of Firefall and Fallen Earth rolled out in force to support their favorite game in last week's Choose My Adventure poll, and the contest came right down to the wire with thousands of votes pouring in from both sides. Most impressively, despite the efforts of a few bad-apple commenters and forum trolls, it was a war fought with courtesy and genuine respect for the passions of the competing community. Well done.

It's true that only one game can win a slot in Choose My Adventure, and this time around Firefall topped the charts. But let's take a moment to recognize the awesome turnout from both groups of fans. Your communities called you to action, and you responded with dedication and enthusiasm. Frankly, that's the type of stuff we love to see.

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Do you like zombies? Wait, that's a silly question, don't answer that. They're horrible undead abominations, of course you don't like them. But do you like shooting them? If so, you'll be happy to see the brand-new footage of DayZ's standalone client just past the break, because this is a game all about shooting zombies. Also stabbing zombies, incinerating zombies, and generally making the world safe for everyone who wants to have a zombie-free living space.

The video stretches for about 12 minutes, covering everything from inventory management to shooting zombies to combing houses for supplies. No word on whether or not the standalone game will include mechanics for fighting against a growing sense of survivalist paranoia or waiting things out at the Winchester, but you can still see what it's like to get your zombie-killing hat on.

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The MOBA-slash-city builder known as Prime World was an important stop during our grand E3 tour this year. We've been interested in hearing Nival's been preparing this Russian hit for a larger audience since seeing it in action in March. The game is currently in closed beta testing for a North American release.

A Nival developer was on hand to give us an overview about what makes Prime World stand out as well as to answer a few questions about the sticky issue of gender choice (or lack thereof). Join us as we stroll through a brightly colored battlefield and consider where we'll set up shop when this title lands in NA.

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It's been a little over a month since Neverwinter soft-launched as a no-wipe open beta. Perhaps some folks are holding off until the "official" launch to play it, but I wager that most anyone who is interested in this game is already leveling up like mad.

I always think that the one-month mark is a good time to pause for evaluation. There's just too much drama and over-excitement and new car smell that goes on during the first week to keep a level head, so first impressions can be tainted by an atmosphere that will soon settle down. But 30 days seems like a good span of time to get a feel for how Neverwinter is doing, how it's being received by the community, and what needs addressing.

I've been playing every day since the soft launch, although two re-rolls because of guild/server conflicts means that I haven't achieved the level cap the way that some players have. Still, there's no shortage to my opinions on what I like and dislike about this title, but I'll see if I can sum up the salient points for you today.

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ArcheAge has finally officially arrived at E3. I've personally been following this game for about two years. I've written about it on multiple websites and had a chance to play a closed beta for the Korean version. However, I'm also critical about the game (or just a pessimist), so hopefully I can balance my enthusiasm for the game with some critical commentary, but to be honest, my interviews today with both Trion and XLGAMES' producer Kyoung Tae Kim has reminded me why I've been following this game for so long.

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Fantasy sandbox MMO Black Desert has graced the internet with 13 new screenshots showing off the game's gorgeous environments, characters, creatures, and more.

As discovered and translated by Steparu, these screenshots originally appeared on the Korean gaming news site inven.co.kr. Steparu says that these shots are from E3 and the game is set for closed beta testing next month. Keep your eye on Steparu for hi-res versions coming soon.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn stays true to its name and its lineage: What was originally a failed title, at least according to some players, will soon be revamped into an MMO that harkens back to its hardcore Final Fantasy roots. At this year's E3, Massively nabbed a hands-on experience of the game's reboot in the Square-Enix booth, and as the owner of those very hands, I can say it was a thrilling experience.

My demo allowed me to choose between DPS, tank, and healer units. I myself am a lumbering tank in real life, so it felt natural to refill my virtual shoes in an epic battle against Ifrit. Action was quick, incredibly responsive, and a treat. Unfortunately, Ifrit rose into the sky and torched us all, but that's not the end of the story.

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Zomg, ArcheAge beta signups are live! In the West! How cool is that? It's so cool that I could really just stop writing this post now and leave it at that.

Seems we have this acceptable word count thing, though, so let's see. ArcheAge is a fantasy sandpark that's been in development for nearly six years by Korea's XLGAMES. Lineage creator Jake Song is the brains behind the game, and Trion Worlds is publishing the title for the western market.

The game's feature set is too long to list here, but it includes open PvP, sieges, extensive player housing, hang-gliders, sailing ships, steampunk tractors, and a whole lot more that you can learn about via our ArcheAge category and dedicated column. Don't forget to look for our ArcheAge E3 interview later this week.

[Update]: We've added the ArcheAge teaser trailer shown to the media at this week's E3. Watch it after the cut.

[Thanks Soren!]

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Back in the golden days of video games, there was no such thing as a soft launch. Nintendo didn't send out test copies of Super Mario World to special "backers," and Sega didn't ship half-finished Sonic games with promises of further content updates. Games, for the most part, were played only after they were finished, printed, packaged, and shipped. Even on PC, beta testing was more of an earned honor exclusive to players that showed dedication to a title and its community.

Here in these modern times of Internets and always-ons, however, things are different. It would seem as though developers need only make enough game content to shoot a reasonably convincing trailer before the publishing team can begin collecting money by slapping a "BETA" sticker on the webpage and offering fans early access.

Over the last few years soft launches have become increasingly common -- especially for creators of online games. The line between "in testing" and "done" is becoming blurred, and publishers are reaping the benefits while players suffer.

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Turbine has released a brand new trailer for its closed beta MOBA, Infinite Crisis. This trailer shows off the game's Coast City map, featuring a two-lane-style layout with a top and bottom lane crammed with turrets and an important middle area known as The Wastes.

The map also features control points known as Power Relays that enable a team to gain the patrol view advantage of The Wastes.

You can see the entire Coast City trailer just after the jump.

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After last week's initial open beta details for Wargaming.net's World of Warplanes, today we get a date for that open beta. Beginning on July 2nd, players will not only join the public testing but see several new features, including "in-game tactical tips to help pilots learn the ropes of aerial combat, the implementation of crews and crew skills, access to consumables and premium ammo, a brand-new tutorial, [and] two new in-game maps."

For more information on joining the open beta, head on over to the North American or European World of Warplanes websites and check out the brand-new E3 trailer after the jump.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

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Fans of indie MOBA Rise of Immortals were disappointed to learn that the game's recent relaunch has been a failure and developers have been forced to close the doors at the end of the month. Third-person SMITE is seeing more success with its own open beta, and this week it added new character Athena, the God of Wisdom. League of Legends announced its plans for DreamHack Summer 2013, and Machinima published an incredible documentary about famed tournament team Counter Logic Gaming.

Blizzard revealed this week that Diablo III will be coming to the XBox 360 on September 3rd along with the previously announced PS3 release. Path of Exile gave all players a free passive skill reset with patch 0.11.0 this week and officially started its first ever four month long Anarchy and Onslaught leagues.

David Braben discussed seamless docking transitions in a new Elite: Dangerous progress diary video this week and took on board outside investors to bolster its existing budget secured through crowdfunding. Star Citizen showed how its towering budget will be put to use with a video tour around the cramped studio that developers hope to move out of soon in search of a larger office space.

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When WildStar comes out, it is going to have raiding. It's going to have the sort of raiding and group content that is meant to be challenging. No facerolls intended here; you'd better bring your A-game on raid night, or you will be facedown in the dirt so often that people will think you're doing a performance piece on the Kennedy family tree.

I am not a lover of raiding. This is not difficult to find evidence of on this site because I've talked about the issues with group-only endgame antics on more than one occasion. Heck, I wrote about how raiding turns you into a horrible person. So you would think I'd look at what we know about WildStar's endgame and start facepalming, possibly whilst shaking my head and muttering obscenities.

But I'm not. I'm totally cool with what we've been told so far about the endgame because there's much more than just the raiding aspect in the game, and I'm intrigued by how it's working out.

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Whenever I try to summarize what it is I find so special about Final Fantasy XIV, I find myself at a loss. It's not just the game mechanics, it's not just the setting, and it's not just a history of roleplaying that's stretched for the entirety of the game's history. So trying to summarize the first two beta phases is going to be difficult.

I've hit all of the major points of the beta already, both the points of divergence and the points of similarity from my big tour back in February. But there are little dribs and drabs here and there that I haven't yet touched upon, things that I feel are relevant to the beta test of Final Fantasy XIV even if they don't fit into an individual column.

So this is the conclusion. This time next week, we'll be awash in E3 news, so there's no finer time to wrap up my beta musings than now.

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