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Recession Strikes Hyboria

Merte — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:06:55 +0000

Not really, but its Norwegian developer Funcom is having a hard time making ends meet. With a breathtaking loss of $9.6 million USD, things could look brighter. Not too long ago the company sacked a big proportion of its employees due to financial problems.

Why all these bad news for a MMORPG that not too long ago seemd to be a thrill? Perhaps because it turned out to be the biggest disappointment in MMORPG history!

Reviews were good, and the experience seemed pleasant. Sadly, most reviewer obviously didn’t care to play for more than the first 25 levels before, hastily, scribbling a review recommending Age of Conan to the ignorant masses. This is about the state where the game really starts to hit the fan.

I did play it, and along with most other players I got bored with it when I saw what a piece of rubbish this game really is. The lead designer fled the sinking ship, along with the rest of the sane world.

No wonder Funcom is losing money.

Funcom: Revenue, Outsourcing, and More Dissappointment...

Omali — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:11:03 +0000

If Funcom's money was gold backed.

It has certainly not been a good few months for Funcom, and according to the company, the situation is expected to get worse. After September’s notice of layoffs of 20% of the company’s workforce, we received further news that the upcoming MMO, The Secret World, would also be delayed by at least several months. Age of Conan and Anarchy Online are allegedly unaffected by the downsizing.

Age of Conan, alongside several other titles, is in the middle of a furious campaign to gain long term subscribers to their title (Because, as I say time and time again, it’s all about retention rate), bringing in heavy discounts for multi-month packages, veteran rewards, and more. Age of Conan has an expansion pack in the works, while Anarchy Online has its major graphics upgrade.

More after the break…

In my last article, about Funcom developing yet another MMO, I briefly alluded that Funcom may not be handling their priorities correctly, and by the grace of news it didn’t take long for me to be proven right:

Funcom’s financial reports for quarter 3 of this year were released, and those of you with weak stomachs and a terminal case of Funcom Fanboyism may want to turn away from the screen. With a revenue drop of 68.5%, Funcom also reported last year an operating profit of $3.3 million, as opposed to today’s $9.6 million loss.

Despite Age of Conan gaining some subscribers during the re-evaluation campaign, the financial report also notes that

“the launch of two major competing MMO-games during Q3 led toa subsequent reduction in subscriber levels.”

The report goes on to throw a cheap shot at Funcom’s own title, that the expectations for Funcom’s The Secret World are much higher than those for Age of Conan at the same point in development, either a blessing for The Secret World or a damning for Age of Conan.

Funcom’s upcoming Free to Play MMO, Pets vs Monsters is set to go into limited beta in December. Funcom is also in the process of lowering costs by outsourcing their positions to lower cost countries (Such as the 50 employees in Beijing, China).

news from games

xollothnews — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:27:58 +0000

Κυκλοφόρησε ο editor του Torchlight – Gameover.gr

Η Runic Games έκανε διαθέσιμο τον editor του Torchlight (PC), ο οποίος έχει μέγεθος 384 MB και μπορείτε να τον “κατεβάσετε” από εδώ. Χάρη στον “TorchED”, έχετε τη δυνατότητα να δημιουργήσετε επίπεδα, quests, τέρατα, αντικείμενα, ακόμα και να τροποποιήσετε textures.[next]

Μεγάλη προώθηση για το Age of Conan – Gameover.gr

Λίγο καιρό μετά τη μείωση του κόστους των συνδρομών του Age of Conan, η Funcom ανακοίνωσε νέες προσφορές, οι οποίες έχουν σαν στόχο να κάνουν όσους έχουν σταματήσει το παιχνίδι να ξαναγυρίσουν σε αυτό, αλλά και να δελεάσουν νέους παίκτες. Όσοι ξαναγυρίσουν στο κόσμο της Hyboria, θα μπορούν να παίξουν δωρεάν για δύο βδομάδες, ενώ για το ίδιο χρονικό διάστημα όλοι οι παίκτες θα κερδίζουν διπλή εμπειρία[next]

Πληροφορίες για το νέο WiFi adapter του 360 – Gameover.gr

Η Microsoft ανακοίνωσε ότι το νέο WiFi adapter του Χbox 360 (δηλαδή η συσκευή που επιτρέπει ασύρματη σύνδεση με το Xbox Live), θα κυκλοφορήσει στη Μεγάλη Βρετανία στις 20 Νοεμβρίου και στην τιμή των £59.99 (περίπου €66).[next]

“Πιθανές” οι μοτοσικλέτες στο GT5 – Gameover.gr

Σύμφωνα με το δημιουργό της σειράς Gran Turismo, Kazunori Yamauchi, το Gran Turismo 5 είναι πιθανό να διαθέτει και μοτοσικλέτες. Σε σχετική ερώτηση, ο Yamauchi απάντησε: “Αν είναι αυτό που θέλουν οι παίκτες, πιστεύω ότι είναι πιθανό”.[next]

Ρεκόρ πωλήσεων για το MW2 στο Ην. Βασίλειο – Gameover.gr

Η ELSPA/GfK-ChartTrack ανακοίνωσε πως το Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 της Activision, έθεσε νέο ρεκόρ πωλήσεων βιντεοπαιχνιδιού στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο, πουλώντας 1.23 εκατομμύρια αντίτυπα και αποφέροντας συνολικά 47 εκατομμύρια βρετανικές λίρες σε μία μέρα.[next]

Έρχεται το “Medal of Honor: Modern Warfare”; – Gameover.gr

Με το Modern Warfare 2 να κυκλοφορεί ήδη και να αναμένεται να πραγματοποιήσει μεγάλες πωλήσεις, η ΕΑ φαίνεται πως θέλει να γευτεί λίγη από τη δόξα του. H σειρά Medal Of Honor θα ακολουθήσει κατά πάσα πιθανότητα τα χνάρια του τίτλου της Activision, προσφέροντας έναν «σύγχρονο» τίτλο.[next]

Magic: The Gathering για PC και PS3 – Gameover.gr

Η γνωστή εταιρία Wizards of the Coast, ανακοίνωσε πως το παιχνίδι «Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers» που είναι ήδη διαθέσιμο για Xbox 360 μέσω της υπηρεσίας Xbox Live Arcade, θα κυκλοφορήσει για ηλεκτρονικούς υπολογιστές και PS3. Η εταιρία προτίθεται, επίσης, να προσφέρει δύο νέα expansions κατά τη διάρκεια του 2010 για όλες τις πλατφόρμες.[next]

Δείτε την special edition του Bayonetta | Game 2.0 blog

H Sega ανακοίνωσε ότι το πολυαναμενόμενο Bayonetta θα κυκλοφορήσει και σε πιο… εκπλεπτυσμένη έκδοση. Αυτή θα έχει ειδική συσκευασία, ενώ θα περιλαμβάνει το παιχνίδι φυσικά, ένα artbook και το soundtrack του τίτλου.[next]

Μάρτιο του 2010 το Again της Tecmo | byteme

Τον Μάρτιο του 2010 θα κυκλοφορήσει στις ΗΠΑ το Again, το επερχόμενο adventure παιχνίδι μυστηρίου της Tecmo, στην ανάπτυξη του οποίου βρίσκεται η Cing (Hotel Dusk και Trace Memory αν δεν σας λέει κάτι το όνομα). Εξ’ άλλου και πάλι τον Μάρτιο του 2010 θα κυκλοφορήσει το Monster Reacher DS (και πάλι από τη Cing), ένα παιχνίδι το οποίο θα εστιάζει στο multiplayer προσφέροντας τοπικές και online μάχες μεταξύ τεράτων –call me Pokemon darling.[next]

Fun times with Funcom

arbitrary — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:42:12 +0000

Ysharros reminded me about The Secret World, an MMO I’m totally fascinated about, I just want to see one in a real world setting. I love the idea of paranoia, secret societies, and three factions. I want to see how a classless system works. And I have faith it’ll be interesting enough to give a good shot.

But, it did remind me of my sole concern. We all had fun with the ‘what secret society are you’ test Funcom put up as marketing hype and beta sign-up. And we spanned the three factions Dragon, Illuminati, Templars. Now, you can only pick one, and you only work for that one. I can imagine some groups of friends having some real problems sorting out which faction they want to play together in. Or – will we do something more radical and all play in the same world together, and chat, but play for different factions.

I know as it draws near I’ll be having a few words with friends over which faction seems the best fit for us. Any thoughts how you’ll tackle this?

Fun times!

Wait, Wasn't Funcom Downsizing? Another MMO?

Omali — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:09:08 +0000

My encyclopedic, borderline obsessive compulsive brain allows me to notice trends and related material, even if I can’t exactly remember when it happened or what that related material is (if my brain was encyclopedic, no one bothers to put the books back in alphabetical order, and someone keeps drawing on the pages). So when I saw that Funcom has been given a grant for development on a new MMO, I had to check my own archives to make sure I wasn’t having a brain related event, or confusing companies.

Lo and behold, I find it quickly: Not only quickly, but because it happened just in the past couple of months. In late September, Funcom announced that they were laying off 20% of their workforce. The company’s move to Montreal not only resulted in a downsizing, but I couldn’t help wondering at the time if firing one in five employees would cause disruption to the company’s two live titles (Age of Conan and Anarchy Online) and their title in production: The Secret World.

The answer was a half yes. The layoffs are not affecting work on Anarchy Online, nor are they affecting Age of Conan and its upcoming expansion Rise of the Godslayer. The Secret World, not so lucky, and somehow was delayed despite not having a set release date. Current (September 2009) speculations place The Secret World somewhere between late 2010 and early 2011.

So when I heard that Funcom is now working on a NEW MMO, I had to wonder: did they rebound from the layoffs already? A fifth of your workforce is a lot of people, and considering you just delayed one project in development, adding another to your pile is nonsensical at best, stupid at worst. Not only that, but what is the product?

“social MMO focusing on the world of extreme sports”

“First and foremost we will be focusing on snowboarding, with the possibility of adding different sports later. We also want this to be a social world rich with different types of media content and pop-cultural elements such as music, video and even fashion. It is definitely exciting, and we look forward to revealing more on this later.”
-Erling Ellingsen

Now how is it that a company with two MMOs live and one in development can fire a fifth of their staff and delay a game, and then a little of a month later say “We have a new project!” Are Funcom’s priorities truly that far down the drain that they can’t get The Secret World, a game that is still on a TBA release date, out without a delay?

I’m just one person, but even I know that trying to balance two blogs, three jobs, five college classes, a book, and a different project is too much. So I quit one of the jobs and put the book on hold for a while. If there is anything Funcom should be delaying at this point, it is the free to play extreme sports MMO. In fact, find whoever proposed such a premise for an MMO, and add them to the list of layoffs from September.

Thought of the Day: "Snowbored" or "MMONorms"

Bronte — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:54:44 +0000

Funcom, developers of Age of Conan and the upcoming The Secret World are now crafting a new MMO centered around the world of extreme sports.

Makes me wonder if they will have quests that hold true to the age-old MMO norms…

<DOWN WITH THE COLD>

“Global warming has led to plummeting temperatures in the winters. Several snowboarders, despite being wrapped in warm clothing, are beginning to suffer from hypothermia. One guy even had his nose fall off! We need your help <Bronte>! You need to kill wolves around the <Snowboarder Hills>, and bring back 10 sets of <Warm Wolf Pelts> for the competitors. Hurry! There isn’t much time!

Accepting this quest will start a 10 minute timer.

You will receive: <A generous pat on the back>.

<Accept> :: <Reject>

Άρχισαν οι προσφορές στο Age of Conan

xollothnews — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:56:36 +0000

Άρχισαν οι προσφορές στο Age of Conan | byteme

Η Funcom, που λέτε, «μαμά» του Age of Conan, ανακοίνωσε πως οι τρίμηνες συνδρομές για το παιχνίδι πλέον κοστίζουν 20% φθηνότερα, τη στιγμή που οι εξάμηνες προσφέρονται με έκπτωση της τάξης του 30% και οι ετήσιες με 45%. Σε περίπτωση δε που εγγραφείτε ASAP θα αποκτήσετε πρόσβαση σε ένα αποκλειστικό update που περιλαμβάνει τρία quests με θέμα το Halloween[next]

Age of Conan: Please Play Me!

Omali — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:26:48 +0000

This Article has nothing to do with naked women...

If Age of Conan could be transposed into a human being, it would probably call you up at two in the morning, drunk, and wondering why you dumped it so long ago. Whenever it phones up, it has brand new explanations for why we should take it back, new incentives we may not have had several months prior, and new tricks it learned that it can’t wait to show us.

But let’s keep this about the game, shall we? Recently Funcom launched a slew of price reductions on the game, and its subscription rate. The boxed copy currently runs you around twenty dollars USD, and multi-month subscriptions were slashed, up to 45% cheaper as you increase in time prepaid.

Is it working?

“I can’t comment on any numbers,”
-Erling Ellingson

Gee…Thanks, Erling, chief spokesperson for Funcom.

What Funcom can tell us, however, is that the updates have been a huge success at least with the current players. Funcom also launched a veteran system recently, where players accumulate points for each month of subscription, that increases incrementally the longer you sustain a subscription. Funcom is continuing to address concerns of content gaps, and the title has its first expansion pack in the works: Rise of the Godslayer.

Here’s hoping this helps Age of Conan’s subscriber numbers. Otherwise, Funcom can always make the title freemium, offer a free basic version with a paid upgrade, similar to that of Anarchy Online. Doing so might entice more people into putting a 30 gigabyte game on their system.

"Prison Break: MMO Edition" or "Michael Scoffield is a douchebag"

Bronte — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:57:34 +0000

Why is it that no prison in MMOs can successfully keep its prisoners under lock and key? Regardless of the type of prison or the safeguards put in place to ensure no untoward incident takes place, there is always a riot or an escape or a combination of the two. Do they always hire NPC guards that are complete imbeciles? Or are the walls made of cheap pixels? Perhaps the head jailor is a sado-masochist who gets off on getting beaten to a pulp by escaping prisoners every reset?

To illustrate the spread of this plot device, let’s observe some examples from a few popular MMOs.

World of Warcraft

Prisons breaks are to WoW as George W. Bush is to retarded. It just seems to come naturally.

First up we have The Stockades. This is a high-security prison complex beneath the canals of Stormwind City. The instance is home to henchmen, masterminds and diabolical villains alike. More recently, there has been a riot, and the place is under complete control of the criminals. The only problem is that they stay inside the walls of The Stockades and refuse to leave. It would be the Prison Break equivalent of Micheal Scoffield killing every guard and administrator inside Fox River so no one can stop his escape. And then choosing a new cell as his new home.

Wrath of the Lich King introduced the Violet Hold, a magical prison in the southern district of the floating city of Dalaran. It is now being attacked by the blue dragonflight under Malygos‘ orders. The prison guards, being the perpetually inept, blithering idiots that they are, need the players’ help to fend off the blue dragonflight and to keep the prisoners in check.

The biggest examples of ‘prison’ encounters would have to be C’Thun and Yogg-Saron. Both were Old Gods cast into earthly prisons by the Titans and now corrupt the thoughts of any foolish enough to get close to their prison. Why? Because the guys that designed the prisons were criminally retarded and made the prison out of marshmellows. The solution? Go into the prison and kill the pesky bastards.

Champions Online

In Millennium City, one of the first public missions you will participate in involves preventing some of the most dangerous criminals from escaping during a prison riot. Cryptic’s Producer of Naming Originality was on vacation the week they named the event, for the event is called “Jail Break”.

Next up is Stronghold, the Desert Zone prison. Unlike Millennium City’s rehabilitation center, this facility is designed to contain and keep watch over the most nefarious and powerful supervillains. A storm knocked out the power in the ’80s, disrupting the power inhibiting fields and allowing nearly 40 supervillains to escape and wreak havoc. In the early 21st century, Grond escaped with the help of a disgruntled guard, killing several guards in the process. And rest assured, the troubles of the facility are far from over.

The Nemesis system is one of the most unique features of Champions Online. But in the interest of this article, it is worth nothing that even your Nemesis can escape from prison, forcing you to hunt the guy down yet again.

Age of Conan

Conan himself founded the upcoming Iron Tower, a towering structure of heavy stone and black iron. Intended for civil confinement of the most vile of Aquilonia’s criminals, the Iron Tower continues the Tarantia Common District story arc. And yes, you get to go in, and bring the swift and unforgiving hand of justice with great force down upon the insidious prisoners and their minions.

Prison Break: The Convenient Plot Device

Prison breaks are one of the most over-used plot devices. What morally upright (experience-points-starved) MMO player would miss out on a chance to rid the world of a villainous menace of diabolical proportions? (Side note: what exactly is a diabolical proportion BTW?) What heroic (loot-hungry) adventurer would give up on a chance to bring an uncompromising and swift end to the dubious and undoubtedly evil pursuits of the scum of the earth?

I understand the twitch reaction that causes developers to build the inevitable prison break story into the macrocosm of the world. It is a classic, convenient setup that requires minimal explanation. It doesn’t take much for the MMO player to go in charging after those foolish enough to challenge the (questionable) might of the MMO’s law enforcement agencies.

What if we thought of prisons in MMOs in a new light? What instead of keeping prisoners in, there were quests that involved breaking people out? What if a prison instance was designed to facilitate the advancement of lore without being lured into the seemingly inevitable prison break quagmire? What if designers gave us choices requiring us to question our own sense of morality and justice, instead of forcing us to choose the obvious, morally upright choice regarding prison escapes?

For all its flaws, one of the greatest missions in Champions Online involved getting defeated by VIPER forces on purpose. You wake up in a lab, and escape your captors, making your way to the inner depths of the instance searching for an evil genius who was otherwise inaccessible. It was a brilliant concept, well-implemented and flawlessly executed.

Can you think of ways this device can be improved or altered that challenges the norm and expands on the classic paradigm?

Champions Online -

"She got no Class!" or "Tørnquist is a Funny Name!"

Bronte — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:25:45 +0000

One of the upcoming MMOs that I am very excited about is The Secret World. It’s not fantasy, it isn’t set in space, you don’t get to be a superhero, and the world hasn’t destroyed itself by firing a couple dozen nukes up its own ass.

The Secret World is set in our present time, in the real world. The twist? Ancient prophecies are coming true and all manners of beasts and monsters that are the stuff of children’s nightmares are coming to life in alarming numbers. And it is up to a few individuals, ordinary human beings initially, to save the world. Players then assume the role of developing supernatural heroes who fight the textbook battle against the rising evil. It is being developed by Funcom, developers of the popular Age of Conan.

If you have not heard of the game at all, I would recommend you watch the following two trailers first. And perhaps read up a little on the game.

You can play as one of three factions, The Illuminati, The Dragons or the Templars. The game incorporates pieces of ancient mythologies, real and false history, urban legends, and pop culture, and ties them into an original back-story.

“We have three playable factions: The Templars, who are based in London and who are on a crusade against evil. They don’t let anything stand in their way, and they’re willing to raze a city to the ground if it means defeating the evil within. Then there are the Illuminati, based in New York, and these guys are more interested in gaining occult power and wealth. They’re more secretive and prefer working behind the scenes to control the world. Of course, they’re also fighting evil, but their motivations are different from their mortal enemies, the Templars. Finally, the Dragon is the joker in this deck of cards. They’re based in Seoul and appear quite innocuous on the surface, but they like playing the other guys up against each other, and they believe in creating chaos in order to achieve balance.”
– Ragnar Tørnquist, Producer and Director, The Secret World

Universal Gaming Database’s Evoker recently had an interview with Ragnar Tørnquist, the producer and director of The Secret World. While Tørnquist was careful not to divulge any significant information, he did elaborate that the game will not have any classes or levels. Additionally, you don’t have to grind to get through the game, but you can if you so choose. Tørnquist insists that you get to create your own experience, but doesn’t conclusively say how.

“You’re going to have fun! Our goal is to make sure that players can sit down and play this game and enjoy themselves from the very beginning. You don’t start out fighting rats with a rusty sword. You get cool firearms, black magic, occult weapons from the outset – and you’re fighting demons and the undead, not wild boar or petty criminals.”
– Ragnar Tørnquist, Producer and Director, The Secret World

You can find the full interview here.

Funcom's New game - The Secret World

Xzion — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:10:06 +0000

Funcom, most known for their game’s Anarchy Online, and Age of Conan, are up to it again…This time, they are going for a more futuristic feel. The game is called “The Secret World” ( development started in 2007 ). It will be based around conspiracy, myths, secrets, and factions.

The Secret World is not in beta yet, but the site boasts “Win Beta Access” by taking their test to determine which order / faction would suit you best. So one can only hope that the beta testing will commence soon, however there has been no official word.

As of right now, there are three factions which have been released which are the ”Dragon, Illuminati and Templar”. These “Orders” are said to not affect race, or skills, but rather intertwine to make one heck of a story line.

Based on the game site, the graphics, and concept seem to have much potential…but will this be another Funcom flop? Need we all remember the hype in regards to their recent fail Age of Conan? It was plagued with many of the same issues as AO (Anarchy Online), such as memory leaks, random lag, and broken promises.

So far the buzz is up about Secret World, but will Funcom make with the goods this time? Lets hope so, because this looks like a “Can’t Miss”.

Keep up to date on this mmo, and check out some of these sites :

Official Game Site

MMORPG

1up

The Secret World Wiki

Would you invest in MMORPG stockmarket?

Marion — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:57:35 +0000

Last year and a half has been a bitter year for most companies in the financial sector. When the credit bubble went bust last year, there was a lot of discussion as of whether people with turn to virtual worlds more than before so that they can escape a harsh reality of their every day lives or whether people will stop playing RPGs because they wont have any more to pay for the subscription, Internet etc…

In any case, it seems like the game producing companies have been doing well so far and supposedly the reccession is already over. I am not here to offer advice one way or the other, but I am curious — would you invest in MMORPG stockmarket? A bit of research discovered a number of stocks from companies producing MMORPGs:

Activision Blizzard (ATVI) – World of Warcraft, new secret project
Atari (FR:ATA) – Champions Online, Star Trek Online, etc.
Electronic Arts (ERTS) – Warhammer Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, etc.
Funcom (NO:FUNCOM) – Age of Conan, The Secret World, etc.
NCsoft (OTC:NCSCF) – Guild Wars, Aion, etc.
Sony Corporation (SNE) – Free Realms, DC Universe Online, etc.
THQ Inc. (THQI) – Dragonica Online, Warhammer 40k, etc.

Based on that list, who do you think is the best investment and why?

The Secret World - Dark Days are Coming

Chani — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:41:49 +0000

Very interesting indeed.

I took a look at Funcom’s upcoming MMO The Secret World’s webpage. I have to say that it looks impressing. I love the fresh angle of the game, and that is a present day alternative universe in which the secret societies rule the world. From outside Funcom sources i gather that there will also be action in different timelines like ancient mythological times and during long gone civilisations.

There isn’t much info on the website yet but you can check out the artwork section that looks very good and also there is a beta test invitation that gets you throught a quizz in order to determine your matching society. Being all devious and sneaky i got into the “Dragon” that is a sort of a stealth assassin club .

The screenshots look great too but i learned to not trust screenshots from my many many beta-test dissapointments.

Take a look and see for yourselves.

MMORPGs, a Brand War

darleya — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:20:40 +0000

Now some of these are classics, and aren’t really in the war but, I wanted to review them anyway because they deserve to be mentioned here since they made me appreciate gaming. I’ve posted the approximate dates I played these games because content in MMOs is always changing and I wouldn’t want to tarnish any games if they’ve improved on something I’ve mentioned. Please feel free to comment if things have changed; I always welcome feedback. My guesstimates could have been longer or shorter, but it’s hard to specifically recall. My thoughts are random in that I’m writing as I’m recalling past experiences for the most part.

What you should also note about me is that after Anarchy Online, my main has always been a healer class in every single game. My perspective is always as a priestess. Hah.

Anarchy Online (2003 -2004) (for around 3-4 months)

Anarchy Online (AO) published and developed by FunCom was my very first MMO. It was released in 2001 but I played it a few years in. My then boyfriend now husband finally convinced me to give gaming a try, and am I ever glad I did. Anarchy Online was an eye opener; I realized just how much I enjoyed levelling up and improving my skills and defences. The game is very different from other MMOs due to its futuristic science fiction theme. It took a while longer to figure out the whole technology implants system, but it was cool. The game runs mainly on instances, and there isn’t a whole lot of exploring, but their instances were good enough to keep me interested from what I can remember. We decided to move on to different things because my husband had already played AO and wanted something new. We thus moved on to Everquest 2.

Everquest 2 (2004- 2005 for around 6-7 months or so)

Everquest 2 is a beautiful game by Sony Online Entertainment. This was my first character customization experience. I loved it! It’s practically my favourite part about MMOs. Clearly I’m a female, lol. Everquest’s sceneries were very picturesque, they never failed to amaze me. It’s basically a fantasyland, as it should be. Aside from my character’s beauty, and she was beautiful; the game was a lot of fun. There was always somewhere new to explore at least in the time that we played. I still wish we’d played it longer because there were still some unexplored areas. I also enjoyed the random gambling this game presented, and at far off places, such as on a boat- a random peddler offers you to gamble your hard earned money away. FUN. The quests in EQ2 never felt like grinds, at least not to me since it was so new. I loved the themed holidays in main cities. It gave the game a personal spirit of sorts. You knew the game developers played and were proud of their programming skills. I would be! As I recall they were good to rely on for help. Player housing is accessible to players from level 1. The more I write about EQ2, the more I want to play it again. It was a great game. Did I mention I love loot? Well, there’s a whole heck of surprising loot in this game. The music of this game is part of the whole experience. Well done Laura Karpman! – I can actually relate here due to 10+ years of piano playing and a tad of teaching. Beautiful sounds, you get drawn right into the themes. There is a lot of character races and classes which can really make your character an individual. What we found lacking at the time of our play was a good guild, or rather the means to find a good guild or talk to people. This is possibly due to the stage at which we joined the game, which was right at its inception. There didn’t seem to be a large presence, or perhaps we were on a non-busy or off-timed server. We never made it to any expansions. Overall this game holds a special place for me and I miss it.

World of Warcraft (2005 – 2006 for around 9-10 months)

I think the most fun I’ve ever had with Player vs. Player (PvP) was in World of Warcraft (WoW) by Blizzard Entertainment It is what drove me to play it as long as I did. The PvP arenas were so much fun to me. I loved it. Even as a priestess I still like to think I played very well. The setting of WoW is quite similar to Everquest, in that it involves similar mythical creatures, but with definite differences. WoW was must first experience with VOIP and with joining a guild. VOIP was still done by using an outside program such as Ventrilo. I’m aware they’ve added in-game VOIP like LOTRO now. The questing in WoW was a lot of fun. As in all the MMOs I’ve played, I never bought any expansions. Either computer upgrades or school would get in the way of gaming and I’d have to stop playing. Not that I’m addicted or anything. I won’t get into too much details since this is the most known MMO. WoW was a great game and I would play it again some day.

Lord of the Rings Online (2006 – 2008 for a good year and a half)

I still hear that lute! If you know, then you know.

Lord of the Rings online by Turbine was a game that I was the most excited about playing prior to its release. I just loved Lord of the Rings Online. I knew the whole background of the story, and this is what really helped me get into it. They did a great job creating backyards to the storylines. The story was always ambitious, and challenging. I love challenges. As a healer you have to multitask to the fullest; and Lotro allowed me to do just that. In addition to the excellent gameplay and in-game VOIP from the start, Lotro had an excellent guild creation, likely due to VOIP. You automatically talk to people and form groups. What I also enjoyed about Lotro were its books and how you had to fulfill additional tasks or feats. This was fun and made helping lower leveled people worth it. I’ve always played MMOs as a duo, but with Lotro I knew I could always count on good groups.(gg!) I also had the most amazing guild in Lotro called Ring Guards of Rivendellon the Elendilmir server. Those people were a lot of fun, and most of them still play. I felt like part of a team. One thing that was lacking was great PvP and I do not like Monster Play. I always play good characters, and I don’t want to be a monster. Again, it must be a girl thing. I would most definitely play Lotro again. It was a tease when I played for 3 free days last May or June, and I was welcomed back with open arms. I will play this game again.

Age of Conan (2008 for 3 weeks)

Age of Conan by Funcom was the next promising game that I wanted to try. My husband’s computer had pretty much kicked it and that’s why we stopped playing LOTRO. We upgraded and bought new computers for AoC with Direct X10 and superior graphics. I gave AoC a very valiant chance because I was informed that its combat methods were very quite different and more involved than other MMOS. This considering that my character got stuck in the lower level realm for an additional 48 to 72 hours because of a technical quest glitch. So here I was all levelled and prepared for the next part of the game and I had to wait and roam the dark night streets aimlessly. So we had to wait. That did get solved though, and I did play a while longer. Why did I only play for three weeks? One word: instances. I dislike gaming solely or mainly based on instanced play. It’s boring, I like to explore and run off to do my own thing.

Funny quote from http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/egrr_4446_668336 :

“Well you are a woman so of course you do 25% less DPS than a male, that is why you’ve got boobies although what happened to your nipples? Surely a girl your age has bigger ones?”

Too funny, but I had no clue about the decreased DPS. How horrible! I always tried to make my tits realistic to me. Even if women are less strong than men in RL, healers are not realistic thus this should not be allowed. This game was sexy, if you’re a male or if you’re not offended by it; but the game was not fun enough to keep playing. The graphics weren’t even that impressive; and it wasn’t a stingy upgrade.

Warhammer Online (2008 for 2-3 months or so)

Warhammer Online (War) by Mythic Entertainment was initially not a game I was very inclined to play because it seemed dark and dreary. I of course gave it a chance anyways. Warhammer was very cool. It was different in that there was a lot more cooperation required. Unfortunately, this may have been the game’s downfall; at least in our case. I really liked the fact that you could enter the forbidden zones of your enemies and strike from behind like a coward, lol. I’m really not this evil. The problem was that there just weren’t enough people online for us, and we’d have to wait around or die trying to fight difficult quests alone when they’re meant for 10. It was a great idea though, and I’ll give them their credit. It would have been really neat to have really big battles. There were a few, but it was a rare chance it seemed. I’ve heard they’ve had to downsize their servers, so we might give it a chance again.

Aion (2009 work in progress, too tired)

One of my favourite songs that’s related by Basshunter!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OzWIFX8M-Y

~Darleya~

Marvelous Team Up: GameStreamer meets Funcom

socialgame7 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:04:07 +0000

Digital distribution provider GameStreamer partners with Funcom to bring entire catalog to GameStreamers’ network. PR Newswire article here

Funcom: Age of Conan Unaffected

Omali — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Earlier this week I did an article on Funcom laying off 20% of their workforce. While the layoffs have officially delayed Funcom’s upcoming MMO, The Secret World, by at least 3 months, I questioned how this would affect Age of Conan, namely its upcoming expansion: Rise of the Godslayer.

I can happily say that, in this bad news, there is good news. Rise of the Godslayer has not been affected by the layoffs. There is still no news on the Xbox360 version of Age of Conan, or a release date for either the upcoming new MMO, or Rise of the Godslayer.

More on Funcom and their upcoming titles as it appears.

GoG Thursday: The Longest Journey

delsyn — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:56:03 +0000

Adventure games have always occupied a weird netherworld between movies and actual “games.” That’s because the level of interactivity and actual gameplay in most adventure titles is actually pretty minimal. They are, after all merely a collection of brain teasers and often-arbitrary and maddening puzzles that act as roadblocks between cut scenes. Despite that, the best adventure games offer incredibly compelling experience despite their inadequacies as actual “games.” Maybe it’s because as crude as they are, they come closest to the now-scoffed at idea of “interactive movies,” in which you actually get to live through a well-told tale. Maybe. I haven’t thought about that deeply actually but that does seem like a good idea for a future “Angry Bear” column.

This is about GoG Thursday and one of the finest examples of adventure games in our hobby’s brief history — Ragnar Tornquist’s the Longest Journey. If you’ve never played it, head over to Gog.com and pick it up. You won’t be sorry.

The Longest Journey is the story of April Ryan, a young woman at a crossroads in her life who discovers she’s a “Shifter.” Shifters are a very rare breed of human that can shift between our technological Earth and it’s magical twin that exists in a parallel dimension. The two earths were split thousands of years ago to prevent humanity from using the powers of both magic and science to destroy themselves. To keep the two worlds apart, a series of Guardians were set up to keep the worlds separate and monitor the balance between them. Now, however the twelfth Guardian has gone missing and the 13th Guardian must be found before the balance between the worlds collapses and the magical and scientific Earths reunite — violently.

The journey that follows is an amazing trip into two separate worlds that ask some pretty profound questions about a lot of stuff. Is science just magic that works? Is there a destiny for all of us and can it be changed? Does free will have any meaning at all? It also does a lot with the theme of duality and unity. It deals with the clash of faith and reason, logic and instinct and order and chaos and why they’re opposite and whether they can be combined in a single healthy universe or person. Indeed, if there’s one thing I love about this game, it’s how often it chooses to take the unexpected path in its storytelling. The character of April Ryan is really on two quests — one to save the world, one to discover herself. She succeeds at the first but utterly fails at the second, something that has profound consequences in Dreamfall, the second game in the series.

In fact this is one of the few stories of this type I can remember that doesn’t end with some preachy homily about “coming together” and uniting the disparate halves of our souls. It points out that certain things are diametrically opposed for a reason and that attempts to unite them may be an example of human hubris. Perhaps it is better to leave magic and science in different universes. Being a grown-up sometimes means we have to make agonizing choices and decide what we’re going to leave behind. The Longest Journey doesn’t shy away from that nor from showing the consequences of those people who insist on having it all.

Highly recommended.

The Secret World delayed and jobs cutting at Funcom

Tahitoa — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:41:43 +0000

Just when you were thinking everything was going fine, here the latest news from Funcom’s Headquarters in Oslo. The Secret World has now officially been delayed and around 20% of the Funcom’s staff will lose their jobs , mostly in Norway O.o Am I surprised by this news? No. Am I sad about this news? Immensely! I worked for Funcom as a volunteer for over three years, I have many friends that still work there and I am worried about them. I know most of the staff in Norway may be ask to re-locate in Montreal, my heart and thoughts are with them and their families at this difficult time.Re-location in a different country is no joke , especially if one has young children or family connections . Thinking about you guys

Cost reductions and forced leave in Funcom (official site)

Games news

xollothnews — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:46:07 +0000

το Secret World καθυστερεί

Η Funcom διώχνει κόσμο, το Secret World καθυστερεί | byteme

Καθυστερεί το Secret World το οποίο αναμενόταν να κάνει την εμφάνισή του μέσα στο 2010. Αιτία οι περικοπές που αναγκάστηκε να κάνει η Funcom η οποία και απέλυσε περίπου το 20% του δυναμικού της, με την δημιουργό εταιρεία του Age of Conan να μετακομίζει προσφάτως στο Quebec του Καναδά σε μια προσπάθεια να γλυτώσει τουλάχιστον τους φόρους.[next]

Η Apple η πιο «cool» μάρκα στον κόσμο

Η Apple η πιο «cool» μάρκα στον κόσμο | byteme

Για τη σεζόν 2009-2010 λοιπόν, στην κορυφή βρέθηκε το iPhone, με την περυσινή νικήτρια Aston Martin να πέφτει στη δεύτερη θέση και την ίδια την Apple να ακολουθεί στην τρίτη κάνοντας έτσι το… 1-3! Η εταιρεία του Steve Jobs κατέχει και την τέταρτη θέση με το iPod και θα συνέχιζε έτσι μέχρι την δέκατη αν είχε λανσάρει και άλλα brands![next]

ARMA II -review

GameWorld – ARMA II (PC)

Η αρχή έγινε το 2001, όταν η Bohemia Interactive, μια Tσέχικη ανεξάρτητη εταιρεία, κυκλοφόρησε το Operation Flashpoint. Τότε, αρκετοί gamers βασισμένοι στον αυξημένο ρεαλισμό του, μιλούσαν για ένα νεο είδος παιχνιδιού, αν και το τότε FPS δεν ξεχώριζε τόσο από άλλα αντίστοιχα του είδους. Όταν πέντε χρόνια μετά κυκλοφόρησε το «αδερφάκι» του Operation Flashpoint, το ArmA: Armed Assault, όλα έδειχναν πως η Bohemia -ίσως από μόνη της- είχε καθιερώσει ένα νέο είδος, αυτό του στρατιωτικού εξομοιωτή. Ήρθε λοιπόν η ώρα να ρίξουμε μια ματιά στο τρίτο κατά σειρά παιχνίδι της εταιρείας, το ArmA II.[next]

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To demo του FIFA 10 είναι το πιο δημοφιλές στην ιστορία της ΕΑ

To demo του FIFA 10 είναι το πιο δημοφιλές στην ιστορία της ΕΑ | Game 2.0

Μπορεί το FIFA 10 να κυκλοφορεί σε λίγες μέρες, αλλά η ΕΑ ήδη ξέρει το τί θα επακολουθήσει και γι αυτό τρίβει τα χέρια της. Με λίγα λόγια, θα γίνει χαμός.

Αυτό φαίνεται και από την υποδοχή που επιφύλαξαν οι gamers στο demo του παιχνιδιού, το οποίο έσπασε όλα τα ρεκόρ και έγινε το πιο δημοφιλές demo στην ιστορία της ΕΑ[next]

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Πάνω από 300.000 πωλήσεις για το Trials HD, καθοδόν το DLC

Πάνω από 300.000 πωλήσεις για το Trials HD, καθοδόν το DLC | Game 2.0

H RedLynx ανακοίνωσε ότι το εκπληκτικό Trials HD ξεπέρασε τις 300.000 πωλήσεις στο Xbox Live Arcade και έτσι αποτελεί άλλο ένα ’success story’ της συγκεκριμένης πλατφόρμας.[next]

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Racing mini-game της Audi καθοδόν στο Home

Racing mini-game της Audi καθοδόν στο Home | Game 2.0

Όπως ανακοίνωσε η Sony στην Ε3, η Audi θα αποκτήσει τον δικό της χώρο στο Home σύντομα.

Στο Audi space θα βρείτε μεταξύ άλλων ένα racing mini-game και ένα τηλεοπτικό κανάλι με περιεχόμενο σχετικό με την εταιρεία.[next]

Διαθέσιμο στο Live το πρώτο επεισόδιο του Fable II

Διαθέσιμο στο Live το πρώτο επεισόδιο του Fable II | Game 2.0

To πρώτο επεισόδιο του Fable II είναι πλέον διαθέσιμο δωρεάν στο Xbox Live Marketplace.

Υπενθυμίζω ότι η Microsoft χώρισε το Fable II σε πέντε downloadable επεισόδια και μόλις ολοκληρώσετε το πρώτο, μπορείτε να αγοράσετε το επόμενο όταν αυτό γίνει διαθέσιμο.[next]

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Η Rockstar “πιστεύει” στο L.A.Noir

Η Rockstar “πιστεύει” στο L.A.Noir – Gameover.gr

Ένα πέπλο μυστηρίου καλύπτει το L.A.Noir και παρά το γεγονός ότι η γενικότερη μυστικοπάθεια της Rockstar βάζει τους φίλους της σε υποψίες, η ίδια η εταιρία εμφανίζεται ιδιαίτερα καθησυχαστική. Σύμφωνα με ένα δελτίο Τύπου, η ανάπτυξη του τίτλου όχι μόνο συνεχίζεται κανονικά, αλλά απεναντίας βρίσκεται σε προχωρημένο στάδιο[next]

Την άνοιξη του 2010 το Front Mission

Την άνοιξη του 2010 το Front Mission – Gameover.gr

Η Square Enix αποφάσισε τελικά να πάρει θέση σχετικά με την ημερομηνία κυκλοφορίας του Front Mission: Evolved, μια ανακοίνωση την οποία οι περισσότεροι ανέμεναν να γίνει κατά τη διάρκεια του Tokyo Games Show.[next]

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Στις 20/11 το Pokémon Explorers of the Sky

Στις 20/11 το Pokémon Explorers of the Sky – Gameover.gr

H Nintendo επιβεβαίωσε πως το Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, θα κυκλοφορήσει στην Ευρώπη για Nintendo DSi και Nintendo DS στις 20 Νοεμβρίου. Τα Phanpy, Vulpix, Riolu, Shinx και Eevee θα ενταχθούν στο ρόστερ των Pokémon για πρώτη φορά, με τα Partner Pokémon να φτάνουν τα 21 και τα Hero Pokémon τα 19.[next]

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Οι εκδόσεις του Assassin’s Creed II

Οι εκδόσεις του Assassin’s Creed II – Gameover.gr

Σχεδόν δύο μήνες πριν την άκρως αναμενόμενη κυκλοφορία του, η Ubisoft ανακοίνωσε τις τελικές εκδόσεις του Assassin’s Creed II. Πέρα από την απλή έκδοση, η νέα δημιουργία της Ubisoft θα διατεθεί σε δύο, ειδικές συλλεκτικές συσκευασίες, με τις διαφορές μεταξύ τους να μην είναι απλά και μόνο χρωματικές. Η “Black” έκδοση θα περιλαμβάνει μια μαύρη, “Master Assassin”, φιγούρα του Ezio, τρεις έξτρα αποστολές εντός του παιχνιδιού, ένα αποκλειστικό “conspiracy” βιβλίο και το soundtrack του τίτλου.[next]

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Funcom Layoffs: Delays Imminent

Omali — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:05:57 +0000

As September draws to a close, Funcom ends the month on a bad note: The developer of the MMO Age of Conan announced today that they are laying off 20% of their workforce. The developer is looking to reduce redundancies in its ongoing focus to move the company to Montreal, where they can enjoy more tax breaks and lower wages.

Funcom’s upcoming title (pictured above), The Secret World, has been officially delayed by “several months.” The title does not yet have an announced release date, and a release date of late 2010 to early 2011 is expected. It is unknown if this will affect Age of Conan’s upcoming expansion, Rise of the Godslayer.

Also unannounced is what effect, if any, will be had on Funcom’s current titles: Age of Conan and Anarchy Online.

The Secret World - Trailer

Super Reis — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:45:32 +0000

The Secret World Trailer
Produtora: Funcom
Lançamento: TBA
Género: RPG
Plataforma: X360/PC
Editora: Funcom
Website: www.darkdaysarecoming.com

This

timcycyota — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:34:49 +0000

piqued my interest. Which is odd, because it’s definitely been announced since 2007. I guess I

The Secret World - Spela en nyckelroll i kampen om världsherravälde

Hiroshimatelegrafen — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:40:50 +0000

Grafiken ser fantastisk ut!

The Secret World (Secret Societies) heter det kommande onlinerollspelet som utvecklas av Funcom till PC och XBOX 360. Handlingen kretsar kring myter, konspirationsteorier och en del ockultism. Spelet sägs även vara starkt inspirerad av HP Lovecrafts verk. Låter det lovande, foliehattar?

Det finns tre mystiska sällskap som härskar över planeten Jorden i modern tid, du kommer att få välja vilket sällskap du ska tillhöra. Gå med i Illuminati, Tempelriddarna eller Dragon – de tre hemliga sällskapen som drar i trådarna i vår värld. Arbeta dig upp till toppen, vinn titlar och belöningar, och spela en nyckelroll i kampen om världsherravälde. Illuminati är en dekadent girig organisation full med kändisar, The Dragon är politiska manipulatörer med skumma agendor och The Templars är religiösa fanatiker med en viss militaristisk fetisch. Du kan göra ett test på spelets hemsida för att se vilken hemlig grupp du passar bäst i.
Som spelare kommer du att kunna skapa eller gå med i andra spelares organisationer, sk. Kabaler(Cabals). Alla Kabaler rankas mot varandra, och en Kabals framgång kommer att tillföra berömmelse, förmögenhet och makt till dess medlemmar.

Det finns inget fastställt datum för när spelet ska släppas, så håll utkik.

Källa: Mmonly.se

The Secret World [Imágenes]

ViC — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:40:47 +0000

Funcom ha desvelado las primeras imágenes del propio juego de The Secret World, su nuevo juego de rol masivo online que prepara para Xbox 360. Esta nueva creación de los autores de Age of Conan tiene poco que ver con la fantasía medieval, sino que nos sitúa en el mundo actual, donde transcurre una especie de guerra oculta entre tres facciones diferentes. Estará en las tiendas en el año 2010.

The Secret World, MMO mit Geheimgesellschaften

Fritz — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:48:37 +0000

Templer, Illuminaten und Drachen sind die drei Fraktionen im kommenden MMO(RPG) von Funcom (Age of Conan, Anarchy Online). Alle haben ihre Hauptquartiere in unverdächtigen metropolitanen Gebäuden, und gehen dort auch mehr oder minder gemeinsam ihrem epischen Kampf gegen das Böse nach ( a.k.a. PvM, oder PvE). Wirklich interessant wird es aber erst unter der Erde. Die ist nämlich doch hohl, erfahren wir, und dort, im verborgenen Land Agartha, kämpfen die drei Fraktionen um Einfluss auf die Orte der Macht (a.k.a. PvP).

So dass man bessere Waffen craften kann, etc, usw. Vorher muss man sich in “Cabals” (a.k.a. Clans, Gilden) organisieren. Und kann nur gegen Cabals anderer Fraktionen kämpfen, was das nicht-konsensuale PvP (a.k.a. Griefplay) stark einschränkt. Funcom will eine horizontalen Charakterentwicklung statt des bisher bekannten vertikalen. Man muss also nicht erst achtzehntausend gleiche Monster weg-grinden, um eine brauchbare Wumme halten zu können, sondern kann sofort loslegen. Und erst nachher grinden. PvP soll zwar realtime ablaufen, aber mehr von den Char-Stats als dem Player-Skill bestimmt werden.

Hmm. Da bin ich mal gespannt. Aber von den Pics her sieht The Secret World schon mal grossartig aus. Ich hoffe, das wird was; schon das Setting des ganz normalen Alltags mit der düsteren Schattenwelt dahinter ist vielversprechend. Unten die beiden Trailer. Wann es kommt? Ich denke mal, nächstes Jahr. Für Interessierte: Macht den vergnüglichen Initiationstest auf der Game-Homepage darkdaysarecoming.

( via rockpapershotgun: eins, zwei, drei)