Posts tagged Game-Mechanics 
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: How Champions Online could get its groove back
It's hard to be a fan of Champions Online right now. The game has not been in a good state for pretty much any of its life cycle, but as I've discussed previously, its woes have really come into focus lately. It's been a long time since the game really sat down and advanced any sort of story, and ...
The Daily Grind: Do you like the increasing trend of active combat in MMOs?
Back in the day, combat in MMOs was nice and sedate. You had a weapon, the other guy had a weapon, and you both walked up and hit one another with weapons until one of you died. To ensure that you succeeded at that goal, you had huge bars of abilities filled with various tricks to make the other ...
Roguelikes inspire EVE Online's revamped hacking minigame
June 4th is coming up fast, and with it EVE Online's new Odyssey expansion. The content drop will feature improved explorer pursuits, with particular emphasis on removing the "'sit and wait' aspect of exploration gameplay" in favor of "something interesting to do." In the case of today's dev ...
Cutting to the heart of extraction in The Repopulation
If you want to craft items in The Repopulation, you're not going to go down to the science fiction equivalent of Ikea and buy the Martin Plasma Rifle. You're going to get out into the wild and get the resources you need. There are two systems for gathering items in The Repopulation, and the newest ...
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV beta phase 1 and 2 - gathering
We all like to stop and smell the roses. And then we like to pluck those roses, bring them home, and melt them into component enzymes that will allow us access to a temporary attack power buff. Final Fantasy XIV is beautiful, sure, but you need that attack power bonus. If it isn't obvious, this ...
Drinking and fighting are encouraged in Age of Wushu
Sobriety is overrated. Sure, a lot of games give players the options to get characters plastered, but Age of Wushu takes it one step further by incorporating the pop culture notion of drunken fighting into the game. A character with a high alcohol tolerance won't just be able to fight after tipping ...
The Daily Grind: What abilities do you find the most fun to use?
Hitting 51 on my Scoundrel in Star Wars: The Old Republic meant getting what is probably the greatest ability ever, the ability to quickly roll forward. I absolutely love any sort of quick movement ability like that, especially rolls -- anything that lets me dart around the battlefield without ...
Collect all the things in Star Wars: The Old Republic's 2.1 patch
The downside of picking up some special items and drops in Star Wars: The Old Republic is that a lot of them are limited. Sure, you might be able to buy Revan's Mask, but you have to decide which of your characters will get to wear it. But that's changing in patch 2.1. A recent interview sheds more ...
Celebrating Guild Wars' 8th anniversary
Today is Guild Wars' eighth anniversary. Depending on which tradition you follow, I should be getting the game either bronze, salt, linens, or lace as a gift. Since I don't happen to have any of those handy, I'd like to reflect upon the rich life that Guild Wars has led so far. The game didn't ...
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV beta phase 1 and 2 - combat
I've mentioned in the past that sometimes plans get changed dramatically between when I plan my next column and when I actually write it. This week, it turned out that I could stop being mum about the Final Fantasy XIV beta. So that meant throwing out plans and starting back over. In fact, it ...
