| Mail |
You might also like: WoW Insider, Joystiq, and more

Previews

Bungie's Chris Butcher talks about Destiny's public areas

Sci-Fi, Video, Interviews, Previews, News Items, Consoles, MMOFPS, Destiny

What you really share are the memories.  And the high-velocity projectiles.
Is Destiny a shooter with MMO elements or an MMO with a lot of shooting elements? According to a recent video interview with Chris Butcher, it's the former, and seeing as he's the Engineering Lead at Bungie he probably knows what he's talking about. But there's also some more nuance to the game which Butcher explains, and while it might not fall comfortably within the MMO header it's got a lot of persistent options.

Butcher explains in the video how the game's many public areas work -- there's no UI elements to let you know that you've entered a shared space, just the sudden sight of other players alongside the announcement of dynamic events in the area. It's certainly an interesting take on shared spaces, and it's more than you might expect from a straight shooter. If you're looking forward to the game, the video embedded past the cut is well worth your time.

Continue Reading

Wings Over Atreia: Exclusive peek into Aion 4.0's new zones

Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Aion, Expansions, Previews, Free-to-Play, Wings Over Atreia

Wings Over Atreia Exclusive  Peek into Aion 40's new zones
I have a pretty standard M.O. when it comes to my MMOs: Regardless of how various tutorials want to direct me, I wander off and explore the new world I find myself in. I love to poke around, look into corners, and see all there is to see. The same goes for any time a patch or expansion opens up new places to meander through. That's really just how I roll/run/fly/shamble/hop. So it should come as no surprise that I am excitedly awaiting the new lands of Katalam and Danaria when Aion: Dark Betrayal launches on the 26th.

I know that I am not alone in my anticipation, so for all those who are also looking forward to taking off into Aion's new realms, I've got something special for you. No, I can't let you into the game early (but if they ever open the door early for me, I'll prop it for you!), but I do have the next best thing to a first-hand experience: a visual tour.

I've gotten a hold of -- legitimately, I swear -- a video and a number of screenshots showing off all three (yes, I said three) new zones, and I want to share them with you. On top of that, I also have some highlights of the story behind these new areas that Daevas will soon be soaring into. Join me to take a tour and learn the lore of Katalam, Danaria, and Idian Depths.

Continue Reading

E3 2013: World of Tanks is blasting its way to the 360

Betas, Historical, Business Models, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, Previews, PvP, News Items, War, Consoles, Events (Massively's Coverage), World of Tanks, World of Warplanes, World of Warships

E3 2013 World of Tanks blasting its way to 360
Good news, tank fans! World of Tanks is heading to the Xbox 360 soon. Wargaming.net's partnership with Microsoft has been a huge milestone for both companies, as there hasn't been a large library of F2P games to grace the console's life. Although it's particularly late in the game's life to see World of Tanks hit the console market, transition to a controller-based system has actually been a good thing for the game.

At this year's E3, Massively talked with Wargaming's Jeremy Monroe a bit about the company's growth, World of Tanks on the 360, and future plans for game releases.

Continue Reading

E3 2013: Warframe is coming to a PS4 near you

Betas, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Previews, PvP, Opinion, Hands-On, Consoles, MMOFPS, Events (Massively's Coverage)

E3 2013 Warframe coming to a PS4 near you
Nestled deep within the Sony booth at E3 amongst a horde of gamewatchers was the Warframe demo. It's a PC title from Digital Extremes that will be released on the PS4 platform at launch. Free for anyone subscribing to PSN, Warframe is a third-person shooter that is definitely undertaking some experimentation in the graphics and control departments.

The PS4 demo was graphically superior to plenty of titles, running in full 1080P without a hitch or glitch in performance. Controls were responsive (although they took some getting used to), and playing with a handful of players was exhilarating at the Sony booth. I'm used to more of a keyboard-and-mouse control setup, but console fraggers will feel right at home.

Continue Reading

The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV beta phase (E)3

Betas, Fantasy, Events (Real-World), Previews, News Items, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

u see wat i did thar
The third phase of Final Fantasy XIV's beta is here, and with it, the NDA is summarily gone. Images from phase 3 can be posted; video and audio cannot. This is the fast track to finally being back in the game for real, to play your old characters once again, to enjoy the game again.

Am I excited? Of course I am because I haven't been able to play yet. I'm writing this from the past, and by the time you read this, I will be awash in Eorzea.

There was also a major industry event this week, one that's known officially as the Electronic Entertainment Expo and known more colloquially to everyone in the world as E3. Final Fantasy XIV was there making an impression, revealing jobs at long last, and generally carrying on as if it owned the place. So let's talk a little bit about what we saw from E3 if you can tear yourself away from the beta client for, like, five minutes.

Continue Reading

E3 2013: DUST 514 and EVE's virtual reality demo

Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Game Mechanics, Previews, PvP, News Items, Opinion, Hands-On, Events (Massively's Coverage), DUST 514, Sandbox, MMORPG

EVE
To an outsider, CCP Games' focus on EVE Online's player panel, comics, incoming television series about player adventures, and museum induction show just how much the company works to earn its players' respect, which might sound weird for studio running a cutthroat PvP sandbox. But I've always felt as if I made stronger personal attachments through high-stakes PvP than through most other gaming activities. I don't play EVE or its console cousin DUST 514, but after stopping by the CCP booth for my interview and hands-on at E3 yesterday, I feel as if I should be doing more than reading and writing about it.

Continue Reading

E3 2013: Taking another look at HEX

Fantasy, Business Models, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, Previews, Trading Card Games, HEX

E3 2013 Hex, an MMOwith trading cards!
HEX. It's a difficult concept to grasp: a massively multiplayer online trading card game, combining elements of roleplaying goodness and the thrill of building a deck of powerful cards to combat the next evil underlord monster.

At this year's E3, Massively sat down with Cory Jones, president of Cryptozoic Studios, to get the skinny on what HEX is all about.

Continue Reading

E3 2013: Stealing cabbages in The Elder Scrolls Online

Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Previews, PvE, Opinion, Hands-On, Roleplaying, Humor, Events (Massively's Coverage), The Elder Scrolls Online

Stealing cabbages, hands on with The Elder Scrolls Online at E3
I eagerly consumed about 45 minutes of The Elder Scrolls Online during E3 this week. I stayed glued to my keyboard and headphones until the expo hall closed and I was told to clear out. Part of this time was spent interviewing the nearest willing Bethesda employee, and every other second was hauling Orc butt around ESO.

My character of choice, an Orc Dragonknight, loaded into the game on the other side of a polygon-rich bridge from an equally polygon-rich town. The Bethesda employee standing nearby mentioned I could go into the town for some guided content the team had prepared. I made a sharp right turn into the stream and killed a deer instead.

Continue Reading

E3 2013: The Division, Ubisoft's MMO shooter

Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Interviews, New Titles, Previews, Consoles, MMOFPS, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous

E3 Tom Clancy's The Division
Ubisoft's claim that its new MMO shooter The Division will have a "persistent world" piqued Massively's collective interest. At E3, we chatted briefly with Game Director Ryan Bernard, who has previously worked on EverQuest, EverQuest 2, and Warhammer Online. I asked what about the game and its persistent nature would appeal to MMO players and was told that actually, the team doesn't plan to make it "too persistent" at all. Each player will have his own little chunk of the world. Everything in that part of the world is persistent for him, and his friends can come over and help him out, kind of like Animal Crossing without the talking tanuki. The developers believe this will allow for a strong single-player experience while still having a visible impact on the player's slice of the world. There are places in the world that are persistent for everyone: the PvP areas. You won't want to travel around them without friends, but unfortunately, Bernard couldn't reveal more.

The game is being released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but Ubisoft hasn't ruled out other platforms or cross-platform play just yet.

Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 10-13, bringing you all the best news from E3 2013. We're covering everything from WildStar and Elder Scrolls Online and ArcheAge to FFXIV's inbound revamp and TERA's latest update, so stay tuned!

E3 2013: Chatting with Team WildStar

Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Guilds, Interviews, Previews, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Events (Massively's Coverage), WildStar, Dungeons, Housing, Player-Generated Content

WildStar
Massively returned to the WildStar demos at E3 on Thursday to chat one last time with the team from Carbine. As we noted in yesterday's Q&A article, Carbine had already declared it wasn't making any big announcements at E3. It always intended a low-key presence, sharing a booth hosted by Alienware and offering the same demo gamers are at PAX East, just brought to the west coast.

Why Alienware? WildStar runs really great on a laptop.

Good news, though: Carbine plans to have a big WildStar presence at Gamescom and PAX, and the team is working on demos that will show new content, new races, and new classes.

Continue Reading

Hearthstone offers a peek at more content under development

Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, Casual

Death Knights to be added when anyone cares.
If you've played the beta for Hearthstone, the virtual card game based off of World of Warcraft, you might have thought to yourself that you could use a little more World of Warcraft in your Hearthstone. As it turns out, the development team was apparently thinking the same thing, because now you've got quests, gold, leveling mechanics, and dueling. Pretty much everything other than arguing over raid wipes and peeking at Gearscore, in other words.

Leveling allows you to improve your favorite class through continued play, with experience points earned from wins or losses alike. The team has also added new card frames and several new cards to make the game more fun to play and prettier to look at. Take a look at a rundown of all the changes on the official development blog, along with a peek at several of the new cards that have been added to the game.

E3 2013: Final Fantasy XIV shows off the vicissitudes of FATE and the new jobs

Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

Strike a pose, there's nothing to it.
As Final Fantasy XIV dazzles onlookers at E3, those not at the convention have been getting a closer look at the title in anticipation of its relaunch. The latest official video keeps up that pattern, giving potential players a look at one of the relaunched version's major new features -- Full Active Time Events, abbreviated as FATEs. Which is a long way to say "dynamic events," admittedly, but that's just the way you roll in Eorzea.

FATEs appear all over the world, with some triggered randomly and others coming in at reliable intervals or via talking to an NPC. Once within range of a FATE, you are automatically added to the event and given a rundown of objectives and progress, with rewards being distributed based on overall participation and involvement.

Sounds kind of routine? Then perhaps rather than watching that video, you'd like to see a first look at Summoner, Arcanist, and Scholar. Because there's a new video just past the break that also gives a first peek at these as-yet-unseen classes. So even if you know all about FATEs, you'll want to take a look here.

Continue Reading

E3 2013: Warhammer 40K Eternal Crusade is all about war

Sci-Fi, Business Models, Economy, Game Mechanics, Interviews, New Titles, Previews, PvP, War, Races, Events (Massively's Coverage)

E3 2013 Warhammer 40K Eternal Crusade is all about war
Announced at E3 this year is the long-awaited MMO rendition of the Warhammer 40K IP named Eternal Crusade. There's been an overwhelming desire from the community to see a new Warhammer project come to fruition in the wake of Dark Millennium Online's demotion and ultimate demise; this version of the tabletop-game-turned-MMO is combining the races of Warhammer in an absolute no-holds-barred warfest where the tired-but-true motto is "there is only war."

Miguel Caron of Behaviour Interactive sat down with Massively at E3 to discuss his grand plans for the IP and how exactly the title will be an MMORPG.

Continue Reading

E3 2013: TERA approaches two million players, welcomes pirates [Updated]

Fantasy, Interviews, MMO Industry, Patches, Previews, PvP, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), TERA

E3 2013 TERA's pirates want you for an adventure
With almost two million active registered players (and counting!) in North America, TERA does not seem to be in danger of fading into the background just yet. En Masse used E3 as a platform to trumpet the title's success following its free-to-play conversion as well as TERA's upcoming summer content.

"We're nearing two million people playing the game, which is exciting since we're North America only," an En Masse rep said. This count is certainly higher than the 1.4 million count back in March. The reps said that the game's playerbase is even larger if you factor in the entire world, where TERA has gone free in pretty much every territory it's entered.

With the game's first anniversary in the rear-view mirror, En Masse has turned its attention to bringing out a couple of meaty updates the hot summer months. Avast, ye game lubbers, there be pirates ahead!

Continue Reading

E3 2013: Infinite Crisis super-punches MOBA flaws

Betas, Super-hero, Interviews, Previews, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), MOBA

E3 2013 Infinite Crisis' coast is toast
Are you Marvel or DC? Turbine's hoping that you are partial to the latter, especially considering that the studio wants to rope you in with its DC superhero-themed game, Infinite Crisis. Over a hearty lunch of Kryptonite stew and Flash fries at E3, Massively's Jasmine Hruschak spoke with Creative Director Cardell Kerr, Director of Digital Communications Adam Mersky, and Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel about the title's development and the IP's fit as a MOBA.

Infinite Crisis draws upon DC's entire multiverse for its inspiration. For non-comic book geeks, the multiverse consists of several often-interacting universes that feature different versions of the same places, superheroes, and events. Ergo, the Batman you know from our world also might have a steampunk alter-ego in the multiverse, or the virtuous Green Lantern of earth might have a post-apocalyptic counterpart as the Atomic Green Lantern. Infinite Crisis takes these heroes from all over the multiverse and tosses them together to see what happens. Hint: It ain't puppy dogs and sunshine parades.

Continue Reading


Featured Stories

Engadget

Engadget

Joystiq

Joystiq

WoW Insider

WoW

TUAW

TUAW