First Impressions

I'm doing Darkfall Unholy Wars wrong.

See, I'm one of those sandbox carebears who could not care less about PvP. I'll attempt to defend myself if attacked, and I'll add another body to the zerg if I'm in a clan or whatever, but I don't seek out conflict with other players. I mention this because that attitude obviously informs everything I write about Darkfall, which, at its core, is a great big high fantasy murder simulator.

Yes, the game has crafting, harvesting, player housing, and better PvE than it's given credit for, but on some level all of this stuff exists to power the FFA PvP meatgrinder that in turn attempts to satiate the bloodlust of Aventurine's target demographic.

And would you believe that despite that, Darkfall is still one of this carebear's favorite MMORPGs?

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Darkfall Unholy Wars' April 2013 launch was quite a bit like Darkfall's February 2009 launch. For me, at any rate. One crucial difference was that this time I was actually able to purchase Aventurine's fantasy sandbox title even though I wasn't able to log into it.

Four years ago, finding a digital copy of Darkfall was damn near impossible. Fast forward to the present and AV has improved its billing apparatus but certainly not its delivery mechanism. After nearly three hours, DFUW's patcher managed to pull down 90 MB out of 6487. I switched to the torrent download, and while it was faster, I still had to leave it overnight. So technically this is day two impressions even though it's day one for yours truly.

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I have to admit, I felt a combination of excitement and fear when I was tasked with covering the newest RaiderZ expansion, Broken Silence, because I knew that I would be challenged in a few ways. First, I had to get used to the game again. I've played it off and on and have enjoyed it until around level 10, but I am no expert. I had already experienced the fantastic non-instanced combat that the game is known for, but I still had a long way to go. Second, I knew that the game would physically punish me. After years of playing games, painting, and drawing, I can easily be forced to soak my forearms in icy water after a session of action-based gaming. Lastly, I knew I would be given a higher-level character and needed to get used to how that particular character performed. The brilliant thing about action-based games is that the person behind the keyboard matters as much as amazing armor or incredible spells. I'd have to sharpen up.

I logged into my character and discovered just how fun this game still is.

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It's been a couple of weeks since I've had the opportunity to write about some of the new features in the upcoming expansion for Star Trek Online called the Legacy of Romulus. Due out on May 21st, 2013, the expansion will boast a new playable Romulan faction as well as additional Klingon content, a new "adventure zone," and some tweaks to existing systems.

Among those tweaks is a new look to the game's user interface, a revamp to the trait system, and an overhaul to the Tholian zone on Nukara Prime, which will be converted into a reputation faction similar to the systems already in place for Task Force Omega and New Romulus. Hit the jump to catch a glimpse of what I was able to glean from the Star Trek Online's Tribble test server!

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How much of an expansion can you really get from one new planet and five new levels?

I've been subscribing to Star Wars: The Old Republic since launch day, so buying Rise of the Hutt Cartel wasn't exactly a difficult decision. I like the game, I'm pleased with it, and I'm going to pick up the expansion. But the pre-launch marketing for the expansion looked pretty sparse. A new planet was nice, and a level cap raise was great, but it seemed very low-key even for the price point. Ten bucks for one new area and more leveling felt thin.

After a week on Makeb, I can comfortably say that it was worth the price of entry. There have been a lot of changes made to the game with the expansion and its connected patch, and with only a handful of exceptions, those improvements make the game universally better. And it all starts with a reversal of the game's status quo.

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I've been covering Star Wars: The Old Republic for going on three years now. My first full-time MMO was Star Wars Galaxies, although I had played a bit of Ultima Online before that. I have also played nearly every major MMO after SWG's launch, ranging from World of Warcraft to Lord of the Rings Online to City of Heroes to DC Universe Online. Although all those games had aspects that I really enjoyed, I was not able to stick with any of those other MMOs for more than a month.

But when I first started playing SWTOR regularly during beta, it had me hooked. Sure, there were many aspects that I didn't like; some areas made me question the strength of the game as an MMO, but I continued to play. Some people would say that it's the lightsabers that have kept me there. I would agree the hiss and buzz of a laser sword is part of the appeal. I have played through many of the class stories to a high level, and I've also watched every class story multiple times on YouTube to catch all the endings. I have personally played through the Sith Warrior and the Sith Inquisitor story twice -- not just to level up but to watch the story again. Some of the dialogue is shaky, but in my opinion, there had never been this level of storytelling in an MMO before. And I will continue to play as long as there is still story to experience.

Today, BioWare launches the next chapter in the story of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Rise of the Hutt Cartel. The majority of the story takes place on the Hutt-controlled world of Makeb, but we have also been given two major quest that take us all over the galaxy. Today, I would like to talk about one of those: the Shroud.

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By popular forum-rager demand, I present to you Massively's "real" Defiance launch week impressions. I guess some folks aren't satisfied with the general contentment expressed in the diaries I posted Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and they need a chance to vent. So for those people: Defiance is the worst launch ever! It's worse than Anarchy Online! My pet peeves from alpha/beta haven't been fixed, and worse yet, Trion has not called me personally to apologize! Boo-hoooooooo!

Oh, you did actually come here to read some day four Defiance impressions? Good. Today's entry is going to be a recap of sorts because my brief play session last night was likely my last until the TV show's debut.

I feel sorta bad typing that because ultimately I want to like Defiance more than I do, not because I spent 60 bucks on it but because I think Trion has the makings of a title with some staying power. After 20 hours of play, though, I feel as if I've seen enough until the game matures a little bit. No forum rage required.

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You know what? Defiance's PvP is pretty enjoyable. Most of that enjoyment stems from my ability to actually kill people, contrary to typical MMO themeparks where I stand no chance against gear grinders and theorycrafters who have bested me before I even manage to tab target them.

Here you have to aim, dodge, roll, reload, and do all that crazy skill-based stuff that shooters make you do, and while my K/D ratio is reminding me of the fact that I'm getting old and slow, it's still been a blast. Last night I dipped my toes into something called Shadow War, which is Defiance's answer to open world PvP.

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When we talk about getting our hands on a game at GDC for a little playtime, we don't usually get to literally grasp said game in our fingers. But that's exactly what happened when I tested out Vendetta Online on an iPad 3; instead of just relating to the space-based sandbox through the standard accessories like mouse, keyboard, or joystick, I held the entirety of the game universe in the palms of my hands. My own 10 digits were the only accessories. And the experience impressed me!

I had the opportunity to sit down with John Bergman, Founder and CEO of Guild Software, to talk about the new iOS platform for Vendetta Online while doing my best Goose impersonation (he's way better than Maverick) playing it.

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Welcome to day two of Massively's Defiance launch week diary. I've put a little over seven hours into Trion's MMO shooter thus far, so that zomg-it's-a-new-game! glow has worn off and I'm able to see things more objectively (i.e., find things to criticize). That said, I'm still having a good bit of fun, so join me after the cut to find out why.

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I'm an ark hunter, or so they tell me. They being the ruggedly handsome NPCs on display in Defiance's opening cutscene. There's a gruff military man, a captain I think, and some balding suit with trendy eyewear named Von Bach.

There's a bunch of frenzied activity on board the stratocarrier New Freedom, and I pass by a familiar roughneck and a red-haired alien girl that I've seen before in Defiance's ubiquitous television commercials. I'm a human male because I'm one of those weirdos who plays to real-world type in video games. I've got corn-rows here, though, blonde ones, and a face that only a mother could love. Much like my real face, I didn't have a lot of say in the matter because Defiance's character customization is rather bare bones. There's Human or Irathient, male or female. After that there's a choice of four origins: Veteran, Survivalist, Outlaw, and Machinist.

I have a hard time with this because if the earth really were on the edge of sci-fi post-apocalyptic alien invasion extinction, I would no doubt be some sort of grizzled Survivalist/Outlaw/Machinist hybrid. Though this isn't a class-based game from what I hear, for now I have to choose.

It's Survivalist.

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Last fall, Runewaker and SOE announced Dragon's Prophet, a free-to-play fantasy game focused on -- you guessed it -- dragons. Since then, we've been treated to various videos detailing the classes, the starter zones, and other gameplay. Just last week the game entered closed beta in North America, allowing select folks the chance to get in and test out the current stage of the game.

This week, I joined those folks in-game during my hands-on and demo at this year's GDC. I was also able to talk with senior producer Todd Carson and associate producer Rod Haza as they demonstrated different aspects of the game at the convention. What delectable tidbits of information about classes, housing, and (of course) dragons did I uncover? The answer awaits after the break.

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Last week, I reported that the first three bosses were just the calm before the storm. That storm begins right away with the Operations Chief, thunders mightily with Olok, gusts onward with the Warlords, then reaches its pinnacle with Dreadmaster Styrak.

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Last week, BioWare invited a crew of gaming journalists to Austin to experience the latest content for Star Wars: The Old Republic. While I couldn't personally make the trip, BioWare invited me to listen in on the presentation given by Executive Producer Jeff Hickman. The journalists in Austin paired up and began their journey on the Hutt-controlled planet of Makeb, while I, having already been testing Rise of the Hutt Cartel for a few weeks, began writing my impressions of what I saw on that planet.

Before I begin my report, I would like to lay down a couple of disclaimers. In order for me to tell the story behind Makeb, I will have to give some spoilers about the main game. If you haven't completed it, and you don't want to know how it ends, then you will not want to read the first section after the break. Secondly, if you are looking for Rise of the Hutt Cartel to fix all the issues and emotional setbacks you had with SWTOR in the first place, then you might be a little disappointed. However, if you loved the storytelling and overall gameplay of vanilla TOR, then you will absolutely love this expansion.

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Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is a brand-spankin'-new online collectible card game from Blizzard, announced just yesterday here at PAX East 2013. And since I love you guys soooo much, I took the time to stand in line to take a look for myself. It certainly had nothing to do with the fact that I flock to CCGs like a moth to flame. No sirree.

Of course, this isn't your traditional MMO, so it's difficult to write a traditional review, especially considering I was able to play only a single match (which I won by a landslide, thank you very much), so instead I'm just going to give y'all a rundown of how the game plays and let you draw your own conclusions. Shuffle your cards, cut your decks, and read on for the skinny on Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.

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