Category: Gaming

Any gaming post.

Joystiq MMO round-up

Wow. I knew there were tons of MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online games) coming out in the near future. Stacked on top of those already existing MMOs (in particular, the overwhelming current king World of Warcraft), this makes for a crowded market. What I didn’t realize, however, is that “tons of MMOs” amounts to somewhere close to 50. At least, that’s where I get to counting these upcoming MMOs covered at Joystiq.

For those new to MMOs, you might want to look at the free offerings first – like Bang! Howdy, Dofus-Arena (not Doofus, but Dofus), Dungeon Runners, or Planeshift (actually playable now, with some work). Veterans or those wanting to jump right in to the big names will perhaps more look at something like the Square/Enix MMO (although little information on it currently exists), Tabula Rasa (from gaming well-known, Richard Garriott), the Marvel or the DC superhero games (little information available on either, and no links to details), or, heaven forbid, even Hello Kitty online.

We can guarantee we’ll be seeing a lot of MMOs at E3, so that’s why we’re bringing you this comprehensive overview of every MMO we currently know to be in development — excluding expansions of existing MMOs. Here’s a quick summary of the trends that we see emerging from this list:

  • East meets West. Ten out of the thirty-five games listed are Korean MMOs hoping to make it in America and Europe, with several companies banking on the success of such a translation.
  • Elves and Orcs. Despite a number of fantasy-themed MMOs, there are several under development that have no sign of the fantastic about them — instead, we see themes from sci-fi to pirates.
  • Microtransactions. Pay for currency, don’t pay for the game — this increasingly common strategy allows gamers to try games for free. Those who become heavy players end up pouring in more cash than they would have paid for an all-you-can-play monthly subscription.
  • Casual MMOs. Three of the titles listed below are trying to break into the casual space, with appealing cutesy graphics and Flash-based play. Most casual titles aren’t persistent, though games like Runescape have done well out of the browser-based market so far.
  • New developers. Fifteen of the studios below are working on their first MMO, or their first game altogether. This could mean increased innovation, or more problems — MMOs are risky business.

Honestly, this is one of the most interesting gaming reads I’ve laid eyes upon lately. If you have any thought of trying out large scale online gaming, you should look through this list and see if anything catches your eye. Sadly, many of these games will likely fail or fail to launch. Of those that do make it though, there should be quite a lot of variety for those who are looking for something new.

[tags]Gaming, MMOs, E3 trends[/tags]

Top 10 worst game quotes ever

(via TechEBlog)

The folks over at IGN have put together a list of the 10 worst game quotes ever. Full list follows the break.

  1. “All your base are belong to us.” – Zero Wing
  2. “I am Error.” – Zelda II: The Adventures of Link
  3. “Jill, why don’t you, the master of unlocking, take this lock pick.” – Resident Evil
  4. “You were doomed as soon as you lost the ability to love.” – Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
  5. “Yo gangsta! Get ready to gang bang!” – Bust-a-Groove
  6. “I feel asleep.” – Metal Gear
  7. “You can’t give it up! Triumph or die!” – Street Fighter Alpha 3
  8. The DK Rap – Donkey Kong 64, Super Smash Bros Melee
  9. “A Winner is You!” – Pro Wrestling
  10. “Shine Get!” – Super Mario Sunshine

A for-pay Oblivion mod that doesn’t suck?

(via Kotaku)
I haven’t paid for any of the available for-pay Oblivion mods (and don’t plan to buy or use them – I don’t need horse armor).  I have, however, read quite a bit about how the horse armor and Orrery mods come up, shall we say, a bit short in the value-for-your money department.  But the latest Bethesda provided for-pay mod – Wizard’s Tower – seems to be worth putting a bit of money down.

[tags]Oblivion, Wizard’s Tower[/tags]

7 Days free Dungeons and Dragons online

(via Kotaku)

Man, I wanted this game to be awesome.  I really wanted to try it and like it.  But no single-player content means no RagManX playing it.

First, the write-up from Kotaku:

Love heavily instanced and overwhelmingly brown MMORPGs without enough content and require endlessly replaying the same dungeon over and over again until you jump a level from 2 to 3? Hey, who doesn’t? Nevertheless, early buzz on Turbine’s Dungeons and Dragons Online was so negative that you, like the majority of the planet’s sane, may have been reluctant to drop your hard earned lettuce on it.

Well, Turbine is trying to woo you over: if you’re a Yank and can find your way over to the DDO trial site, you too can have a seven day chance to discover the truth many of us only became privy to at the price of half a benjamin: Dungeons and Dragons Online is terrible. Period. Exclamation point. Radiation symbol! Still, it may be worth it so you can experience first hand DDO’s only saving grace: some pretty cool narration that is charmingly evocative of a real Dungeon Master’s cackling melodrama.

And, of course, the actual link to your 7 day trail download.

[tags]DDO, Dungeons and Dragons online[/tags]

City of Heroes 60 day subscription for $21.27

Yes, this really isn’t terribly of interest to anyone that reads my site, but I like this game so much I feel the need to point this out.  If you go to Amazon.com and search for “City of Heroes Subscription Card” you can find a 60 day City of Heroes (and City of Villains) subscription card for $21.27.  Since the normal subscription price is $14.95 a month, and even for a 12-month subscription you pay the equivalent of $11.95 a month, this is a pretty good deal.  I’m going to order a couple to extend my subscriptions further out.

[tags]CoH, CoV, City of Heroes[/tags]

Game based movie no good? Unpossible!

Well, Nick at 4-color rebellion didn’t like Silent Hill. Nor, for that matter, do the reviews at RottenTomatoes give much hope with a 25%. Oddly, the IMDB score sets at 6.9 right now. That does sound fishy (IMDB login required to see this link).

So, back to Nick’s commentary:

Worst movie ever. Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not see this movie. I kid you not, this is the worst movie I have ever watched. And I rented the Doom movie.

The movie is a trainwreck. The story makes NO SENSE whatsoever. The acting is horrendous. Characters do not stay consistent in their actions throughout the movie, let alone a single scene.

More in the story at 4CR.

[tags]Silent Hill, movie review[/tags]

Darth Vader game on the way

(via Kotaka)

Lucas Arts is working on a Darth Vader game.  So the article is really about the turnaround Lucas Arts has seen from the bleh game production of a few years ago to becoming a top-10 publisher (with a goal of being a top-5):

“We can do this ourselves,” Mr. Ward recalled Mr. Lucas telling him. “We will put our resources behind this.”

LucasArts is not No. 5 yet. But last year it ranked No. 8 in sales, up from No. 13 a year earlier, according to the NPD Group. And, Mr. Ward, 46, is being credited with a turnaround. While No. 8 may seem low in an industry obsessed with No. 1, LucasArts got there selling a fraction of the games its competitors did.

. . .

“The ‘Star Wars’ brand is a massive advantage, but they are going to have to market new innovation,” said John Riccitiello, a partner at the video game investor Elevation Partners, who has known Mr. Ward for several years. “It’s early. It may take another five years for their story to develop, but it is going to be interesting.”

But down here at near the end of the article, we see this tidbit that will surely be off interest to a lot of Star Wars fans.

Their excitement was palpable on a recent afternoon, when Mr. Ward, Mr. Hirschmann and Haden Blackman, the project leader of a forthcoming “Star Wars” game, reviewed all of the company’s recent projects. Mr. Blackman outlined a new storyline that delved deeper into Darth Vader’s history.

Mr. Hirschmann later demonstrated a test game, shouting and jumping each time a storm trooper tumbled onscreen, the character barely catching his fingers on the pixel ledge. And he gleefully explained how researchers had tracked down images of San Francisco buildings from 1915 for the future Indiana Jones game.

[tags]Lucas Arts, Darth Vader[/tags]

Ubisoft dumps Starforce

(via The Consumerist)

You may be saying “Why should I care?” right now. Well, there are a number of folks calling for a boycott of Starforce. Starforce is a copy protection system used by a number of recent games. It installs new device drivers onto your system to enforce its protection system.
I don’t know the truth of the claims, but here is what I’ve read about Starforce. There is talk that Starforce actually damages hardware in addition to slowing down systems on which it is installed. Starforce is installed without notification or requesting user permission when you install a protected game. It is not removed when you uninstall the game. The company that makes Starforce seems to threaten to sue people who speak ill of the product. The company also apparently assumes everyone who wants to make a backup copy of a game, a legally protected right, is a criminal or “hacker” to boot:

“According to our research those of users [sic] that do run into compatibility problems are beginner-level-hackers that try to go around our protection system.”

Yes, you are a criminal if you want to have some modicum of control over your computer. And since Starforce runs at ring-level 0 (the deepest level of the OS), any instability in the software will crash your system.

So, all this information just to build-up to the win for gamers that is the announcement that Ubisoft is dropping Starforce protection from all Ubisoft games.

“Right now, Ubisoft has decided to use an alternative copy protection system to Starforce for upcoming releases and we are investigating other possible steps at this time.”

…When we asked why they were dropping the company Ubisoft representatives said, “Ubisoft takes its customer concerns very seriously and is investigating the complaints about alleged problems with Starforce’s software. Ubisoft’s goal is to find solutions for its customers if there are problems with Ubisoft products.”

Hurray for the good guys.

[tags]Starforce, Ubisoft, consumer win[/tags]

Undead Pirate MMORPG?

(via boingboing)

How can you go wrong with an undead pirate MMORPG?  Hopefully, this will be as awesome as one could imagine.  Disney is working on a Pirates of the Caribbean MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, for those that don’t know the term).  The web site says it will be out in 2007.

The game is being designed by the Walt Disney Internet Group’s acclaimed VR Studio as a world of high seas action and adventure where players will personalize their own pirate character and organize with other players to form a pirate crew. Players will then embark on swashbuckling missions to battle both each other and the evil, undead pirates of the high seas in an effort to become the Caribbean’s most legendary pirate.

[tags]MMORPG, Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney[tags]