PvP

Sony Online Entertainment has begun carpet-bombing media outlets with publicity relating to its upcoming PlanetSide 2 MMOFPS. The game has been in development for quite a while now, but up until very recently the devs have kept a low profile. Now the title's Twitter feed is exploding on a daily basis, awe-inspiring alpha gameplay videos are finding their way into the public eye, and interviews abound.

I managed to get creative director Matt Higby's attention for a few moments, and he's got some interesting things to say about PS2's upside. Would you believe that MMOFPS is about to become a new industry buzzword? Read on after the break.

Continue Reading

I've had my fill of MMORTS games. I love them, and I mean love them, but after being asked to look at the 567,386th title from the genre, I am getting a wicked case of tunnel vision. Sometimes I wish I could hit a switch and see these games with the eyes of a brand-new player, to truly judge their quality without any preconceptions. That's not possible, unfortunately.

Luckily, once in a while there comes along a title that feels fresh or does enough with design to seem new and clever. Command and Conquer Tiberium Alliances stands out from the crowd with its interesting combat and a casual approach to hardcore gaming. I have to admit that, at first, I was a bit bummed at having to take a look at yet another epic strategy game that would probably not feel that epic, but my mind was changed after a solid week of playing.

Continue Reading

So PlanetSide is nine years old this week (nine!), and Sony Online Entertainment is journeying down memory lane to look back at its ground-breaking MMOFPS. The firm is of course hard at work on the sequel, but some of the devs have taken a time-out to share their favorite memories with us.

Though the word "epic" is overused in MMO discourse, it's a recurring theme here. Due to the size, scope, and sheer ambition on display in the original PlanetSide, it's actually appropriate too. While you're reminiscing with the devs, take a stroll through our side-by-side gallery that compares vehicles and equipment from the original PlanetSide with their counterparts in PlanetSide 2.

Continue Reading

During the first 10 minutes of my time with Heroes & Generals, I killed once, died twice, and drove a tank, a jeep, a half-track, and a bicycle (not necessarily in that order). I also rode shotgun on said tank and said jeep, manning a nifty vehicle-mounted machine gun in the process.

I marveled at the visuals, took way too many screenshots of my squadmates looking at the blow-away badass in-game map (it's the little things, amirite?), and generally had a helluva good time. Did I mention that all of this happened in a browser?

Continue Reading

The Dragons, Templars, and Illuminati will have to wait two more weeks to dive into their organizations: Originally slated for June 19th, The Secret World's release is delayed until July 3rd. Early access will open on June 29th.

Funcom also announced the final two beta weekends. The first, titled "Hell Raised,'" will run from June 15th until June 17th and will include the Illuminati and Dragon starter experiences as well as allow players to leave Kingsmouth for the Savage Coast. The final beta weekend will be from June 22nd to June 24th; during this event players will participate in the game's PvP in both the warzone gameplay and the Eldorado battlefield.

DC Universe Online's fourth DLC pack is on the way. As you're probably aware, it's called Last Laugh, but what you may not know is that it's focused on PvP. New iconic characters are making their way to the game's Legends mode, including DC stalwarts like Power Girl and Amon Sur.

Up to this point, much of Legends PvP has focused on what creative director Jens Andersen terms the Bat family. Characters like Batman, Bane, Two-Face, Robin, and the Joker are all mainstays. Now, though, players can step into the tights of both Kryptonian and Lantern heroes, and they can do so on the new Fortress of Solitude Legends map. That's not all, of course, but you'll need to head to Games Radar for more details plus a nifty video.

I love spectator mode. Since the patch introducing it to League of Legends, I've had the opportunity to observe top-level players and even my own friends. If you ever wanted to learn how to play like a pro, you now have your chance. High-level games of Summoner's Rift are just a few mouse clicks away, and if you're a little mentally fatigued from playing the game, you can sit back and enjoy some high-level play. It was one of the best updates thus far for League.

Watching high-level streams or spectating high-level games can dramatically improve your game if you know what to look for. This week, we're going to cover some of the ways you can improve your game by stealing strategies and techniques from top players.

Continue Reading

Curious how the makers of RIFT are going to turn a two-faction game into a three-faction PvP brawl? Us too! But Trion Worlds has a few clever ideas to capitalize on the best elements of PvP innovation and evolution with its upcoming Conquest system.

"With Conquest we're really trying to capture the essence of open-world PvP gameplay," shares Lead Designer William Fisher in a new developer video. "This is where realities collide." He goes on to say that this new system isn't Defiants against Guardians, but instead three brand-new factions from across the planes duking it out with player assistance.

Check out the new video after the jump, and when you're done with that, catch up with our very own Karen Bryan's hands-on experience with the Conquest system!

Continue Reading

RIFT fans wracked their brains trying to decipher the cryptic message on the forums a few weeks ago, and it turned out they were right: RIFT is on the verge of seeing the arrival of three faction PvP, and the game took its first step toward that with a test session on PTS last week.

If you missed it, take heart because this week's Enter at Your Own Rift gives a recap of the event and a beginning look at how Conquest plays out. Read on for handy primer on three-faction PvP in Telara!

Continue Reading

Two new game modes are coming to World of Tanks. Encounter battle and assault will both debut with the 7.4 patch, as Wargaming.net looks to up the ante in terms of complicated combat assignments.

The patch will also expand the French tank tree as well as add two new maps to the mix. The first map is called Widepark, and it takes place amidst the ruins of a bombed out German town. The second map is called Airfield. It transports players to a Mediterranean location surrounded by temple ruins and rocky hills.

The most noteworthy 7.4 changes, though, are the game modes. Encounter battle "invites two sides to fight for one base," according to a Wargaming.net press release. Assault "sets the players in the roles of attackers and defenders where the former have superior combat capabilities," the company says.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Well-known World of Warcraft guild Method secured a world first kill on Diablo III's Skeleton King in inferno mode just a few days after launch but was beaten to the game's completion by a single person. Players have been in outrage all week as server instabilities and login difficulties plagued the game's launch.

League of Legends revealed upcoming champion Darius this week and announced huge client updates that seem set to double the game's frame rate. Blacklight: Retribution released a new Netwar game mode, combining capture the flag and control point gameplay. Heroes of Newerth released its new support hero Riftwalker, Dota 2 released classic hero Treant, and Rise of Immortals took a close look at melee damage-dealer Tzai. Upcoming MOBA Smite will be entering closed beta at the end of the month, and Torchlight II's beta will soon end for the last time.

Continue Reading

If the eeriness of the truce between the Elyos and the Asmodians in Aion's new land of Sarpan wigs you out and makes you long for a good old-fashioned tussle, you can always head on over to Tiamaranta. Although the entire zone is not open for PvP, all four corners and the center are cordoned off for your opponent-bashing pleasure. In fact, Tiamaranta's Eye is often hopping as both sides contest mobs and try to land one of the bosses.

But even if you aren't in the mood for a bloody round of patty-cake, there is plenty of PvE and exploring to be had in this ecologically diverse land with a variety of new mobs to see (and dispatch) and new tasks to accomplish. Not able to make the trip yourself right now? Join Wings over Atreia's guided tour and get a taste of Tiamaranta.

Continue Reading

Aeria Games, with numerous free-to-play titles already under its belt, just unveiled a new multiplayer first-person shooter called Born to Fire. This character-driven game is set following the Cold War, when rules of engagement are thrown out the window and the world is a free-fire zone.

Director of Publishing Tom Nichols describes the game: "In Born to Fire, players step in the boots of five distinct classes of elite operatives engaged in a global firefight for domination. With the instant gratification of one-click matchmaking and the in-depth analysis provided by elaborate replay tools, Born to Fire represents a new class of character-driven, highly customizable MMOFPS that's easy to get into but nearly impossible to fully master."

The five classes available for play are Rifleman, Duelist, Ranger, Heavy-Hitter, or Warden; each comes with unique backstory, tactics, and a fully customizable arsenal.

Sign-ups for closed beta are going on now! Players can keep informed of the latest news, updates, and contests by "liking" Born To Fire's Facebook page. Also, be sure to check out the screenshots and artwork in the attached gallery.

[Source: Areia Games press release]

The Inferno expansion is set to launch on Tuesday May 22nd, promising a complete revamp of EVE Online's war declaration system and a whole host of new modules. If you're in a wardec corp, you'll need to make a few adjustments to the way you operate when the patch goes live. The minimum war fee will increase to 50 million ISK even if you're declaring war on a small corporation, making very small corps less-appealing targets. The fee increases based on the number of members in the target corp, but it doesn't start increasing until around the 130-member mark. If you want to get your money's worth, you'll be best off picking a target corp with 100-150 members or selecting very high-value small targets.

Be very wary of wardeccing large alliances after the patch. While the previous war system swung in favour of the attacker, the new system has gone to the opposite extreme. Large corps and alliances are now significantly more costly and dangerous to declare war on, especially as the defender can now call mercenaries into the war at any time. Players have complained that the increasing war costs could be abused by getting all alliance members to add alts to the corp, but this would be a logistical nightmare to apply in practice and would increase fees by only a few hundred million ISK. If alt padding becomes a problem, CCP will undoubtedly step in and revise the fee structure.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the new modules and gameplay changes coming in Tuesday's Inferno expansion and give some tips on preparing for the patch.

Continue Reading