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Finding the 'world' in Prime World

Andrew Ross — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, Classes, Culture, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, New Titles, Previews, PvP, Opinion, Hands-On, First Impressions, MOBA

Welcome to my Prime World castle! Enjoy the mountain air, the multiple residential buildings, the fountain and bench I decided I had room for, and the general atmosphere. No, really, enjoy them now because you sadly can't even see them in the game. While a few of my mates and I had the pleasure of experiencing Prime World via the English client on the live Russian server, there were a few oddities that popped up during our prime-binge, and I'm not referring to my Russian comrades.

For those who haven't heard of Prime World, let me giver you a primer: It's set in a fantasy world where a new material called "prime" has revolutionized both the scientific and natural world. Players are tasked with building their own little base to gather resources, make friends, hire heroes, and fight for more prime against the other faction (unless your side currently heavily outnumbers the other faction, in which case the game allows you the option to fight other people of your faction in order to speed up the queues). Really, it's like StarCraft and League of Legends had a baby and asked Facebook to raise the kid, except that you needn't make use of the Facebook integration to play the game and can opt to use an email address instead. However, you'll still find a need for a social network when it comes to the non-MOBA part of the game.

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Finding the 'world' in Prime World originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Why can't MMOs and consoles be friends?

Andrew Ross — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Launches, MMO Industry, Opinion, Consoles, MMOFPS, Miscellaneous, Defiance, MMORPG

I remember once being excited about the idea that Defiance wouldn't just be a game and a TV series but a cross-platform MMO. Though the game is on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 and was originally intended to be fully cross-platform, Microsoft's unwillingness to play ball with Sony ensured that gamers on each platform are now playing on totally separate servers. You might think the game is just another victim of the console wars, but this is supposed to be an MMO -- nice big worlds, tons of players, and hey, a third party willing to try to bring everyone together!

MMOs and consoles just usually aren't considered a harmonious pairing. Maybe it's because MMOs are seen as PC games, and some PC gamers and console gamers have their own rivalries. Whether it's because of controllers, interfaces, or failed corporate negotiations, we're usually segregated, but I wish we weren't, and I know we don't have to be. The Final Fantasy online games allow for cross-platforming. They may not be perfect, but I personally like the idea of bigger worlds filled with players. That's the point of MMOs, after all.

So what about you, Massively readers? Do you think MMOs on consoles should keep us separated, as in DC Universe Online, or should console MMOs take a note from Final Fantasy XI and let us play with our controller-loving allies?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Why can't MMOs and consoles be friends? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guild Wars 2 chat with game designer Mike Zadorojny

Andrew Ross — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Interviews (Massively's)

Earlier this week, ArenaNet's Mike Zadorojny was in Los Angeles conducting interviews for the upcoming Guild Wars 2 beta event. We sent local freelancer Andrew Ross to conduct the interview. This is largely a preview piece with opinions that may not reflect that of Massively as a whole.

Guild Wars 2's final beta weekend is here, and we had a chance to talk with game designer Mike Zadorojny about what we can expect for the upcoming weekend event and next month's launch. We got a sneak peek at the Asura and Sylvari starting experiences and asked a few questions about beta, release, player retention, and the future.

Whether you're a die-hard fan or still sitting on the fence, we've got some information that's sure to turn your head.

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Guild Wars 2 chat with game designer Mike Zadorojny originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2012: CJ Games Global's arsenal of games

Andrew Ross — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage)

At this year's E3, we got a bit of time to sit down with CJ Games Global, part of CJ E&M, to talk about everything from its origins in Korea to its transition to the states and some of its MMOs, including work with Uncharted Waters Online, the re-release of Prius Online, and upcoming games Sin Streets, Bloody Hunter Online, Monarch, and Hounds.

CJ E&M's main focus has actually been in the movies, owning theaters and distributing films. It's also gotten some KPop stars for its music division, but... well, you're at Massively to hear about games, right? That's where Netmarble comes in. CJ E&M bought Netmarble and opened eight studios, six of which focus on PC gaming. Oh, and of course, the company publishes just a few hundred games. This also led to the opening of CJ Games Global in April to help bring over Korean games and publish others, such as Uncharted Waters, with 64 more games to be published in the next three years. One of the main goals of CJ Games, though, is releasing games that aren't as well represented in the current market, such as Uncharted Waters.

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E3 2012: CJ Games Global's arsenal of games originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2012: Age of Wushu dresses to impress

Andrew Ross — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Business Models, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Guilds, Previews, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Hands-On (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage), Dungeons, Crafting

Sandboxers and Hollywood script writers, keep your eyes on Age of Wushu. If you've ever wanted to run up walls, align yourself with a game's boss mobs, kidnap and ransom off your fellow players, or write about it into a television script to include your gamer audience, then Snail Games has something that's sure to grab your attention.

We got some hands-on time with the game at this year's E3, so follow along after the cut for our impressions.

Continue reading E3 2012: Age of Wushu dresses to impress

E3 2012: Age of Wushu dresses to impress originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2012: Runes of Magic details chapter 5

Andrew Ross — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events (Real-World), Expansions, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), Runes of Magic

Runes of Magic is only three years old, but the game has added an impressive amount of content for a free-to-play title. As we've reported previously, it's happening again on June 12th, when Frogster will add the Dwarven race, Warlock and Champion classes, and a few other goodies.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Frogster to talk about the new content at this year's E3. Will it be attractive to veteran players? Is it made specifically to attract new players? Read on to find out.

Continue reading E3 2012: Runes of Magic details chapter 5

E3 2012: Runes of Magic details chapter 5 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2012: InnoGames talks pirate MMOs, strategy titles, and games for women

Andrew Ross — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Historical, Business Models, Events (Real-World), Interviews, New Titles, Previews, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Hands-On, Casual, Hands-On (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage), Sandbox

At this year's E3, we had a nice long chat with German studio InnoGames about its MMO repertoire. The company actually started out quite small with three college buddies, who released their first game only to their close friends. That game, Tribal Wars, and its original servers are still around, albeit with some updated graphics to keep things looking fresh, but we wanted to focus on the team's more recent offerings.

While InnoGames has several titles under its belt, including Bounty Hounds, we focused primarily on Kartuga, a pirate-themed strategy MMO; Lagoonia, a social building game created by and aimed at women; and Forge of Empires, which is similar to the Age of Empires series. All three games are free-to-play browser games, and we even got a pinch of hands-on time.

Continue reading E3 2012: InnoGames talks pirate MMOs, strategy titles, and games for women

E3 2012: InnoGames talks pirate MMOs, strategy titles, and games for women originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2012: Perfect World's RaiderZ isn't Monster Hunter Online

Andrew Ross — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events (Real-World), Previews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Hands-On (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage)

Action combat seems to be the name of the game for MMOs at this year's E3. While tab-targeting is nice for eating pizza and raiding, sometimes you want something more visceral, so we have some top contenders for you today. RaiderZ is Perfect World Entertainment's newest action-based MMO, and while some people have an issue with its name, I've heard others note, in both positive and negative lights, its similarity to another game series very dear to my heart. I say that the comparison is a bit unfair to Perfect World, since what the studio has created isn't just different -- in some ways, it's better, especially if you're a fan of MMOs, which, if you're reading Massively, you probably are.

Since I know some console folks (even me!) have been thinking it for a while, let's just say it out loud and get it over with: RaiderZ is a Monster Hunter clone! Got it out of your system? Good. Now go wash your mouth out with soap.

Continue reading E3 2012: Perfect World's RaiderZ isn't Monster Hunter Online

E3 2012: Perfect World's RaiderZ isn't Monster Hunter Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2012: Hands-on with Neverwinter combat

Andrew Ross — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Previews, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Hands-On (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage), Dungeons, Neverwinter

Neverwinter MMO. Action-oriented combat. Free to play. How perfect does that sound? Pretty perfect, which is probably why Perfect World Entertainment's handling it. In fact, Perfect World and Cryptic Studios are doing such a good job that some of the game's art and lore is being worked in as canon! Go on, you can use that as a talking point to get your friends to read this article at your next pen-and-paper Dungeons and Dragons game.

Massively's own Eliot Lefebvre took on the game at PAX, so follow on past the break and I'll try to work off of his observations based on my experience at this year's E3.

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E3 2012: Hands-on with Neverwinter combat originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2012: RIFT 1.9, Storm Legion, and beyond

Andrew Ross — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events (Real-World), Expansions, Previews, Events (Massively's Coverage), RIFT

RIFT players, Trion loves you. You thought you knew that, but you haven't seen developers champing at the bit trying to figure out whether marketing will allow them to spill all the cool beans that are in store for you. Trion works very hard to crank out quality content at a quick pace, and RIFT players are going to see it in spades.

At E3 this week,we got some information not only on 1.9 but also on RIFT's first full expansion, Storm Legion.

Continue reading E3 2012: RIFT 1.9, Storm Legion, and beyond

E3 2012: RIFT 1.9, Storm Legion, and beyond originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2012: Gamigo shows off Grimlands and Otherlands

Andrew Ross — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:15:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), Interviews, New Titles, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Interviews (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage)

Yesterday, we spoke to Gamigo about its upcoming titles Grimlands and Otherland. Grimlands was, admittedly, not quite on my radar until Gamigo's Anthony Guzzardo said the magic word: sandbox. I'd heard a few things about Grimlands already, such as skill based over levels, lots of customization, intelligent AI, vehicular combat, and yes, something about owning clan territory. Oh, and it's supposed to be free-to-play.

Sadly, E3 was having internet issues at the time of my interview, so while I couldn't play the game, Anthony was able to answer some questions for me.

Continue reading E3 2012: Gamigo shows off Grimlands and Otherlands

E3 2012: Gamigo shows off Grimlands and Otherlands originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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