One Shots

The recent Riders of Rohan expansion in Lord of the Rings Online has brought out the cowboy and cowgirl in a lot of us. Must be the emphasis on horseback riding over scenic plains while savage attacks are waged on settlements. It's here that we begin our journey through snapshots in MMO life this week.

Reader Binklewyst sets the scene for our first One Shots: "Riding over a low hill on the plains of Rohan, I stopped my warhorse to admire a view of the Faldham fortification. In the distance to the right is the evil Nink-hai warcamp."

Saddle up, pard'ners. The frontier awaits us after the jump!

Continue Reading

Ah, nothing like a pile of rotting stiffs to start your day off right, I always say! So nice of considerate readers to send me such pictures in my email. Maybe it's a somber commentary on the fragility of life and the tragedies that go unnoticed around us daily. Maybe it's somebody trying to gross me out. I'm good either way.

Reader Volska clues us in: "Talk about morbid. Here's a screenshot of some piles of corpses from the Guardian starter area in RIFT. No happy welcoming party here."

With a start like that, what other pictures will we have to share? It's a wild and wooly One Shots, and it all starts after the jump!

Continue Reading

Yes, we know that Guild Wars 2 is a gorgeous and popular game. Why do we know this? Because week after week, One Shots has been swamped with GW2 submissions, far outstripping almost every other game submission put together. That's not a bad thing, as I agree that it's a lovely title that has an immense amount of eye candy. It just makes it difficult when I'm limiting One Shots to one-picture-per-game-per-column.

So you know what? We're throwing out the rule today. Today's all about Guild Wars 2 as we dig through the growing backlog of photos. Reader Jacob kicks us off with this awesome pose of his toon: "This is my Charr engineer pretending to be a statue in the hidden strawberry patch in Diessa Plateau. Rather angelic looking for such a fierce race!"

There's more where that came from, so leapfrog over the jump and let's get moving!

Continue Reading

Reader John's going to get me to actually say something nice about TERA. Are you ready for it? Because this doesn't happen often. Here's my compliment: It's a beautiful-looking game. Really. I can't deny that there's a special level of polish and eye when it comes to its visuals.

Anyway, John sent us in this captivating picture of a place that might look pretty in the daylight, but you probably don't want to be loitering after nightfall. "I just started playing TERA upon hearing about the F2P conversion. This is my Amani Berserker traveling through the low-level Valley of Titans and stopping behind a pair of rock giants. These rock giants are all over the place here -- I wonder what will happen if they ever wake up?"

Dance party? That's my guess. See John's full-color photo in all its glory after the break in addition to other terrifying vistas.

Continue Reading

You can go after a game's mechanics, a game's sound, and even a game's grammar, but when you go after a game's looks, well, then you're treading on One Shots territory. And when that happens, you'd best tread lightly, my friends.

Reader John took umbrage with Matt's take on Vanguard, especially in regard to its art design, and sent in proof to rebut it: "Having started a new character in Vanguard over the weekend, I set out to prove that, just perhaps, Vanguard isn't quite as ugly as Matt Daniel seems to think. It would be a shame if people got the wrong impression, after all."

Personally, I adore Vanguard's aesthetic, but not everyone shares that opinion, nor should he -- to each his own, right? Hit the jump to see John's screenshot in its full glory as well as many other terrific player-submitted pictures!

Continue Reading

Good games may get cancelled, but as long as we have screenshots, they're never truly forgotten! Reader John sent us in this blast from the not-too-distant past that some of you may recognize.

"While going through some old screenshots, I came across a few from Tabula Rasa," John shared. "It was taken in November of 2007 as Veracious Pearl was ready to do some fighting."

Sadly, that soldier never made it out of the war. That doesn't mean we've given up fighting, however! Knock down a few mobs in the name of Veracious Pearl today, and when you're done, you should check out the rest of today's One Shots troops.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

When it comes to winter holidays, I'm always disappointed that they come so darn early in the season. We could really use all that cheer, celebrating, and lighting come, say, February after we've been wallowing in the cold and dark for months. No matter; what's done is done, and we have a giant snow globe as proof.

Reader Trevor sent in the following picture from Guild Wars 2's Wintersday, as he took a photo of a world within the larger world and wrote, "Happened upon this giant snow globe amongst the flurry of gifts, giant flying colorful snowflakes, and Wintersday cheer. If you listen closely, you can hear my computer screaming in pain."

Oh, we'll make more than your computer scream in pain before this column is done!

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched? It's because you are, fool. Everything has its eyes on you, even the mountains themselves. Case in point: this screenshot from reader Chris, who found himself amazed at the artistry of Guild Wars 2 and the slight creepiness of mountains with facial features.

"In a quest during Guild Wars 2 around level 60," Chris writes, "you are asked to go up a big hill into the face of the mountain (literally) and shutdown the machine. I took the screenshot at the start of the quest because the world is so beautiful."

If our games are going to look at us, we might as well return the favor! Hit the jump for more excellent screenshot submissions.

Continue Reading

Even in the midst of bloody war, the resplendent may persist. Even though our MMOs are endless battlefields that have seen no end to death and corpse desecration, they also can be places of stunning sights.

Reader Connor, fresh off a tour in PlanetSide 2, found that a particular location made him pause and reach for the screenshot button. "I saw this while maneuvering my Sunderer into position. Beauty on the battlefield!"

Check out Connor's oasis as well as plenty of other gorgeous war-torn locales after the jump!

Continue Reading

Today's One Shots will be a more somber one, as we strive to honor two MMOs that are passing into history. First up is the dearly departed City of Heroes, which Reader Michelle apparently loved quite a bit. She sent us in several screenshots, including one of her supergroup, Part Time Heroes.

"Here's a group of my friends during the Mortimer Kal Strike Force," Michelle writes. "My character is Astral Black, a Warshade who should be my last level 50. She's the one in the purple and black crop top."

Head onward for more personal dedications, but be warned: You may be misty-eyed by the end.

Continue Reading

What do you imagine the end of the world looking like? I'm willing to bet it's nothing like the following technicolor nightmare ripped straight from the finale of the first version of Final Fantasy XIV.

Reader Focant delivers this haunting image with a description of the videopocalypse: "The Garlean forces held nothing back in their battle against us, and attacked with their most destructive weaponry. The most powerful enemy we saw on the battlefield that night was the level 100 (the player cap is 50) Imperial Juggernaut, an enemy that is only seen one other time in game. I made sure to include a player character in the shot as well for size comparison. These things are massive!"

And with that we're off to another wild and wooly edition of One Shots! Please put your tray tables in their full upright and locked position.

Continue Reading

Closing down a game like Glitch is like beating up the big-eyed orphan from down the street for his last two cents; it just feels wrong to anyone with a soul. Massively's One Shots department did its best to counter the situation by taking an angry protest nap, but nothing doing. The next best solution is to ask all of you with great Glitch screenshots to send them our way.

Reader Jeremy submitted this haunting picture that works on a couple of different levels in light of the recent announcement. "Kids," he warns, "this is a warning of the harmful effects of No-No Powder. One day, you're sitting in your pleasant home street, admiring the view. Next, you're waking up naked in a tundra with nothing but your quickly diminishing dignity."

Let's go on a cold, naked adventure together through the rest of this week's player-submitted pictures!

Continue Reading

As Justin is out of town this weekend, I have hacked into the One Shots email account and replaced all user submissions with screenshots of Tabula Rasa! Shh, no one tell him.

But I am happy to take control of this regular feature for the week and show off a few of the shots you lovely readers have sent in. This first one is a testament to the amazing artwork we can expect from PlanetSide 2 when it launches on November 20th. As reader Lovelycarrot explains, "In this image, I'm all alone in a frozen wasteland in PlanetSide 2, pondering the next base to capture."

Check out the full image and more submissions just after the cut.

Continue Reading