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Planetside Next

Leeman — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Planetside, from back in the day

In 2004, while studying at college, myself and a few friends got into a game called Planetside.

For me, Planetside was the best game I’d ever played – being an MMO, the world was persistent, so every inch of ground you fought for and every base you captured actually meant something in the grand scheme of things. Specialisation in the form of Certifications granted as your character leveled up, meant that all players could find a role which suited their play style.

I was lucky enough to join a big outfit (Planetside’s term for Guild/Clan) from the outset, and my desired role of Dropship pilot was available. The memories are still pretty vivid of our exploits, and my time spent ferrying squads to and from battles, hearing our Teamspeak channel go mental as battles were won and lost.

Of course, the news of a sequel being in development is fantastic – I can’t wait to get back into it! I guess I’d better buy a new PC then, even though I’m a Mac user… Unless they decide to put it on PS3 as well, in which case I’d better get one of those, in addition to the black Wii I just picked up… So many options!

Get It All: Star Wars Galaxies $10

Omali — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:39:49 +0000

Is that Kyle Katarn?

I often try to keep people informed of various sales for MMOs they may be on the edge of purchasing, as I did with Direct 2 Drive’s small selection of MMOs during their 5th year anniversary sale (You will remember Age of Conan, Planetside, and Eve Online were five dollars for approximately a week).

Star Wars Galaxies is on sale for $10 on Steam this week, and includes every expansion pack for the game: Empire Divided, Jump to Lightspeed, Rage of the Wookies, and Trials of Obiwan. Even so, you will receive the Star Wars Trading Card Game, a digital trading card game, some of which can be redeemed in game for free items. Players in good standing will also receive a free booster pack each month with their Star Wars Galaxies subscription.

Desperate cry for help? Perhaps. I can’t say no to ten dollars.

The sale can be found here, and is available until November 26th. The free month is only for new accounts, and is not a cheap method to obtain play time.

Video Games and Discrimination

Bevan Sabo — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:08:40 +0000

While Tommy became the pinball wizard by his intuition, flipper fingers, and acute sense of smell; another disabled gamer is attempting to use tort law to rise to the top. GamePolitics.com reports on the discrimination lawsuit faced by Sony:

A disabled, visually-impaired gamer has filed suit against Sony Corporation of America, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony Online Entertainment claiming that the defendants are denying people with disabilities equal access to their goods and services.

The suit was filed by plaintiff Alexander Stern on October 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Stern seeks to “put an end to systemic civil rights violations” allegedly perpetrated by the defendants.

Stern notes that other accessibility features are available and have been implemented by “companies whose resources pale in comparison with Sony’s.”

Among other actions, Stern is seeking an injunction to prohibit Sony from violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, a declaration that Sony owns, operates and maintains equipment that discriminates against the disabled, unspecified damages and to have his lawyer’s fees and expenses paid for.

As ridiculous as this case seems, it is not that far-fetched once one considers the premises of “justice” commonly accepted in today’s society. Individuals and corporations are regularly forced to act against their own interests to compensate for the disadvantages of another. Corporations that are too successful are deemed “monopolies” and broken up so that less efficient firms can “compete”. Affirmative action laws force employers to favor one candidate or employee over another due to his race, gender, or other immutable characteristic. Even seemingly noble initiatives, such as legal requirements that companies facilitate customers with disabilities, are an infringement on individual rights. If a private individual or firm chooses to discriminate against a group of people for any reason – no matter how ill-advised and immoral this discrimination is – that individual or firm has the right to do so, provided the discrimination visits no positive harm on the group discriminated against.

And note the last line of the quoted text, which clearly implies that Sony’s resources impose an extra obligation. Once again, our society punishes production as a vice and praises need as a virtue.

Sony Online bị một game thủ đâm đơn kiện

baogame — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:34:51 +0000

(baogame.vn) – Luật pháp sinh ra là để duy trì sự công bằng trong xã hội. Điều này lại đặc biệt đúng ở Mỹ, nơi người dân luôn được làm chủ những quyết định của họ. Vì vậy không có gì ngạc nhiên khi Sony Online đã bị một game thủ đâm đơn kiện lên tòa án quận vì những chính sách bất lợi cho người khiếm thị.

Việc một game thủ khiếm thị chơi game và có sự liên hệ với nhà phát hành không phải là điều gì đó quá bất bình thưởng ở Mỹ. Trước đây, đã có một game thủ mang tên Brandon Cole gửi một lá thư đến nhà phát hành THQ. Trong thư, anh bày tỏ nguyện vọng muốn nhà phát hành này thay đổi làm cho Smackdown thuộc series WWE có thể dễ tiếp cận hơn với những người khiếm thị, và anh ta đã nhận được lá thư phản hổi có nội dung cảm ơn từ nhà phát hành này.

Nhưng bây giờ, khi mà một game thủ khiếm thị không nhận được những yêu cầu đơn giản cho những thay đổi, anh ta đã đâm đơn kiện. Tháng trước, game thủ Alexander Stern đã nộp đơn kiện Sony, Sony Online Entertainment, và Sony Computer Entertainment America lên một tòa án quận thuộc khu vực trung tâm bang California. Các cáo buộc trong lá đơn này chỉ ra rằng Sony đã vi phạm luật dành cho người khuyết tật Mỹ khi không thực hiện việc cải tiến các chức năng cần thiết giúp người khiếm thị có thể nhận ra giao diện và đồ họa của trò chơi.

Luật dành cho người khuyết tật tại bang California quy định, “Không một cá nhân nào có quyền phân biệt đối xử với những người khuyết tật trong những yếu tố như sự hưởng thụ, quyền bình đẳng trong mua hàng hóa, dịch vụ, sự tiện nghi, quyền ưu đãi, sự thuận lợi, hoặc dàn xếp bất cứ khu vực công cộng nào thuộc về cá nhân, thuê (hoặc cho thuê), hoặc điều hành một khu vực công cộng.”

Theo bản tố cáo, Sony đã bỏ qua không sửa đổi những yêu cầu gửi mail, check mail lặp đi lặp lại, mà điều này lại không phù hợp với những người khiếm thị. Bản tố cáo đã không chỉ đích danh trò chơi mà SCE đã phát hành mà chỉ tập trung chủ yếu vào các tựa game MMO.

Bản tố cáo cũng đã nêu lên những cách thức mà những công ty khác đã làm để giúp game của họ dễ tiếp cận hơn. Chẳng hạn, World of Warcraft của Blizzard Entertainment cho phép sử dụng những bản chỉnh sửa add-ons dạng như phần mềm bên thứ ba (chẳng hạn một bản mod giúp thay đổi giao diện theo hướng dễ nhìn hơn với người khiếm thị), điều này sẽ giúp tạo ra một vài chương trình hỗ trợ đối với người khiếm thị trong game. Hay tựa game hành động phiêu lưu Terraformers của Pin Interactive, bản tố cáo nói rằng với đồ họa 3D có độ tương phản cao, âm thanh có tính định hướng, và những đoạn lồng tiếng riêng biệt cho tất cả các item thu thập được trong trò chơi đã giúp game này dễ chơi hơn rất nhiều.

Vượt ra khỏi biên giới của sự giải trí, lá đơn tố cáo này cũng đề cập đến những mất mát tài chính mà Sony đã gây ra cho những người khiếm thị. Vì Sony đã khởi động một trang web đấu giá, nơi người chơi có thể bán những tài sản ảo bằng tiền thật, nhưng Sony đã không cung cấp các hỗ trợ cần thiết giúp game thủ này tham gia vào thị trường như những người bình thường.

“Sony đã xây dựng các sản phẩm theo cái cách mà tôi (nguyên đơn) không thể tiếp cận được; duy trì các sản phẩm theo khuôn mẫu không thể tiếp cận được; và đã không có bất cứ hành động cụ thể nào để sữa chữa những rào cản ngay cả khi nhận được những thông báo liên tục về sự phân biệt đối xử được tạo ra,” trích từ bản tố cáo.

Đại diện của Sony và Sony Online Entertainment nói rằng họ không có bất cứ bình luận nào về vụ kiện đang chờ giải quyết này.

Source: Sony Online bị một game thủ đâm đơn kiện

Magic:The Gathering - Tactics Heading To PC And PS3

xxg3n0c1d3xx — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:09:30 +0000

Sony Online Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast have teamed up for Magic: The Gathering – Tactics, an online, 3D turn-based strategy game coming to the PC and PlayStation 3 next year.

SOE’s fascination with card games finally comes full circle. After years of creating collectible card games based on their popular MMO properties like EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies, now the company’s Denver studio is creating a strategy game based on the inspirations for those games – Magic: The Gathering.

Magic: The Gathering – Tactics draws on the Planeswalkers lore of Magic, putting players in control of 3D figures and spells from the popular CCG. The game will include both single player scenarios and online PVP multiplayer. As with any Magic-related product, fans can expect regular content expansions and strong tournament support, along with achievements and rankings.

“By collaborating with Wizards of the Coast, we’re able to combine the strengths of both companies to develop an innovative, online, 3D game based on an extremely popular IP,” said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. “We’re going to be taking the Magic: The Gathering Multiverse places players have never seen.”

Since Magic is also available on the Xbox360 platform too but still I’m glad to see Magic: The Gathering is heading to the Playstation 3 platform.

Look for Magic: The Gathering – Tactics to hit the PC in early 2010, with a PlayStation 3 release coming soon after

Νέο Magic: The Gathering για PC & PS3

xollothnews — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:17:36 +0000

Νέο Magic: The Gathering για PC & PS3 – Gameover.gr

H εταιρία Wizards of the Coast ανακοίνωσε την κυκλοφορία του παιχνιδιού Magic: The Gathering – Tactics, ενός διαδυκτιακού 3D turn based τίτλου στρατηγικής, βασισμένου στο επιτυχημένο ομώνυμο παιχνίδι καρτών. Η Sony Online Entertainment Denver είναι η υπεύθυνη εταιρία για την ανάπτυξη του τίτλου και έχει εργαστεί στο παρελθόν πάνω στο EverQuest Online.[next]

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Asheron's Call Celebrates 10 Years

lunchtimegamer — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

10 years ago, I stepped through the portal into the lands of Dereth. As a beta tester, I remember spending hours chatting with friends, watching sunsets/ the virtual sky, and adventuring forth into the unknown. Asheron’s Call (AC) marked my first introduction to the world of the MMO.

In the years following AC’s launch, much has changed in the virtual landscape. EverQuest is no longer the reigning MMO champion, the Warcraft universe has expanded into World of Warcraft, and the sequel to Asheron’s Call, dubbed Asheron’s Call II, has come and gone.

With all the changes in the MMO landscape, Asheron’s Call is still the only game—to my knowledge—that features an allegiance system. This system introduces the unique concept of vassals and patrons. In this system, a vassal swears allegiance to a patron. The patron then acts as a protector, item giver, and basically a guild leader. The reward for being a patron equals a daily award of experience points based upon a small percentage of experience that the vassal makes while playing. The allegiance system ultimately encourages the formation of miniature kingdoms, much like guilds found in today’s more modern MMO.

Unlike a fine wine, MMO’s do not age well with time. MMO’s are all about refinement. Each new MMO takes (hopefully) the best ideas from what has come before and melds them together with new ideas. Sometimes this creative process works on an epic scale (World of Warcraft) and other times fails tragically (Star Wars Galaxies). In the end, I think we can all thank Asheron’s Call and developer Turbine for helping to blaze the trail to bigger, better, and more forgiving online experiences.

Happy 10 Years Asheron’s Call!

May ye die eventually and honorably.

Amen.

Have a memory from Asheron’s Call you’d like to share? Post in the comments.

To MMORPG Or Not To MMORPG, That Is The Question: Commandment 1

lunchtimegamer — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:00:49 +0000

Saying you’re thinking about trying out a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) is akin to saying, “I think I’ll start a crack addiction today.” Well, maybe its not all that bad. Certainly the media has overblown the woes of ex-Everquesters and WOW (World of Warcraft) fanatics who flushed their jobs or marriages down the toilet for more “raid time,” but there are a few things to consider before getting knee deep in all the virtual hack ‘n slash fun.

Being an ex-WOW addict, an ex-Everquest 2 addict, an ex-Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) addict, and a casual user of a myriad of other MMORPG’s has instilled in me certain commandments that should always be followed before shelling out that monthly fee…

.: The MMORPG Commandments :.

Commandment 1. Know Thy Parent Company and Its Track Record…

I don’t care how flashy the graphics are, or how much “phat lootz” may be attainable, if you don’t read up on the company that is producing the MMO, you are doing yourself a major disservice. Case and point: Star Wars Galaxies.

What started out as a wonderful rock solid “sandbox” type MMO became an uber turd fest within three years of its initial launch. Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) realized it couldn’t support the innovative character classes, and instead of doing something logical (like hiring more designers and developers) they simply ditched half of their professions. Instead of listening to the growing tide of criticisms for this move on their official message boards they deleted and locked posts. As expansion packs were added, more and more bugs crept into the basic game play, many of which are still unresolved, and then right after their last major expansion, The Trials of Obi-Wan, they reworked the entire combat system and nerfed the remaining classes. These nerfs were given official names like “Combat Upgrade” and “New Game Enhancements.” When asked about these changes, Jon Smedley (henceforth known as Satan) simply replied, “We went for more iconic and Star-Warsy game play and characters.” Nowadays SWG is a wasteland only occasionally frequented by level 1 Jedis and retarded Wookies.

I’m not saying SOE is the worst online gaming company in the world but their less than stellar customer service and short term vision for games (i.e. little to no work being done on any IP except Everquest) has lost them many a customer. Reading up on the forums can save you a headache later on. Try, for fairly unbiased reviews.

Continue to Commandment 2

news from games

xollothnews — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:48:00 +0000

«PlanetSide Next» το όνομα του νέου PlanetSide;

“PlanetSide Next” το όνομα του νέου PlanetSide; | Game 2.0

O John Smedley, πρόεδρος της Sony Οnline, έμμεσα αποκάλυψε ότι το νέο PlanetSide που έχει στα σκαριά η εταιρεία ονομάζεται «PlanetSide Next».

Παρόλο που το ΜΜΟ δεν έχει ανακοινωθεί επίσημα ακόμα, o Smedley δεν διστάζει να μιλήσει ανοιχτά γι αυτό, δηλώνοντας πως το PlanetSide Next θα έχει μάχες τρομακτικής κλίμακας, που δεν έχουμε ξαναδεί σε άλλο shooter.[next]

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Ξεκίνησε η “κλειστή” beta του Star Trek Online

Ξεκίνησε η “κλειστή” beta του Star Trek Online – Gameover.gr

Σύμφωνα με ανακοίνωση της Cryptic, η “κλειστή” beta του Star Trek Online ξεκίνησε. “Είμαστε βέβαιοι πως οι φίλοι του Star Trek, και οι οπαδοί των MMOs, θα εντυπωσιαστούν σε μεγάλο βαθμό από αυτά που θα δουν όταν παίξουν το Star Trek Online” σχολίασε ο Craig Zinkievich -executive producer του επερχόμενου MMO.[next]

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Στις 4 Δεκεμβρίου η έκδοση του Dirt 2 για PC

Στις 4 Δεκεμβρίου η έκδοση του Dirt 2 για PC – Gameover.gr

Η Codemasters ανακοίνωσε ότι η έκδοση του εξαιρετικού Dirt 2 για το PC, θα κυκλοφορήσει στις 4 Δεκεμβρίου. Η Codemasters υποστηρίζει ότι, η στρατηγικής σημασίας συμφωνία με τη Microsoft για την εκμετάλλευση του DirectX11 με την EGO Engine, θα την βοηθήσει να ανεβάσει τον πήχη για την ποιότητα γραφικών που μπορεί να προσφέρει ένα παιχνίδι του είδους.[next]

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Ανακοινώθηκε το Dragon Age Journeys

Ανακοινώθηκε το Dragon Age Journeys – Gameover.gr

Η BioWare ανακοίνωσε ότι είναι διαθέσιμο στο dragonagejourneys.com το πρώτο κεφάλαιο του Dragon Age Journeys, ένα δωρεάν παιχνίδι flash βασισμένο στον κόσμο του Dragon Age. Το παιχνίδι αυτό θα μας επιτρέπει να εξερευνήσουμε το βασίλειο Orzammar των dwarves και να ξεσκεπάσουμε σατανικά σχέδια που απειλούν να ελευθερώσουν μία διαβολική δύναμη που δεν θα σταματήσει αν δεν καταστρέψει όλα τα ζωντανά όντα[next]

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Νεότερα για το FFXIII Versus

Νεότερα για το FFXIII Versus – Gameover.gr

Μπορεί μέχρι σήμερα η Square-Enix να έχει παρουσιάσει ελάχιστα δεδομένα για το Final Fantasy Versus XII, αλλά το σκηνικό πρόκειται σύντομα να αλλάξει. Σύμφωνα με τον Tetsuya Nomura, παραγωγό του τίτλου, το 2010 θα είναι σημαντικό έτος για τη νέα του δημιουργία και ο λόγος είναι πως από τους πρώτους κιόλας μήνες θα αρχίσουν να γίνονται σημαντικές αποκαλύψεις[next]

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Τα νέα downloads της Nintendo

Τα νέα downloads της Nintendo – Gameover.gr

Μπορεί να άργησε λίγο, αλλά το αρχικό Shinobi για arcade μηχανήματα, έγινε τελικά διαθέσιμο στη Virtual Console. Το παιχνίδι κοστίζει 800 Wii Points και, στην ουσία, είναι αυτό που κάνει τη διαφορά στο σημερινό update της Nintendo. Στο WiiWare, τώρα, θα συναντήσουμε δύο κυκλοφορίες. Η πρώτη είναι αυτή του Protöthea, ενός shoot ‘em up με 3D γραφικά, που έχει κόστος 1000 Wii Points. Ο δεύτερος τίτλος ονομάζεται PictureBook Games: A Pop-Up Adventure και είναι ένα ακόμη επιτραπέζιο παιχνίδι, η τιμή του οποίου αγγίζει τους 800 Wii Points[next]

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Borderlands-review

Borderlands – Gameover.gr

Το Borderlands, όπως έχουν βαρεθεί ως τώρα και να γράφουν τα previews και να ακούν οι fans, είναι ένα Role-Playing Shooter, το οποίο είναι ένας εύσχημος τρόπος να πούμε ότι πρόκειται για ένα shooter όπου επιλέγουμε το χαρακτήρα μας μέσα από τέσσερις διαθέσιμες κλάσεις (τον Soldier για όλες τις δουλειές, τη μυστηριώδη και γοητευτική Siren, τον μουλωχτό Hunter και τον ανθρώπινο μαντρότοιχο Brick) και τον αναπτύσσουμε συνεχώς ανεβάζοντας levels κατά τη διάρκεια του παιχνιδιού.[next]

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Ignorance Not An Excuse

Omali — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:07:03 +0000

October 15th has come and gone, and with it came the closure of twelve Star Wars Galaxies servers, as I reported this past September. Now, I originally assumed that once the servers shut down, all characters left on them would be lost for good. The reason for the server closures was that the already running free transfer service had been such a success that multiple servers were now dead as players flooded their characters to other, more populated, servers.

I say this a lot, outside of MMO Fallout, but the general level of ignorance in many players astounds me. Following the server closure and ending of the free transfer program, the latest brand of complaints against Sony has cropped up: Complaining about the cost to transfer. Rather than simply delete characters on the closed servers, Sony decided to keep that information just in case anyone missed the transfer. We can probably assume that this process is done by hand, because Sony is now charging for post-closure transfers: $50.

$50 may seem like a steep price, but I did a little more investigation into this free transfer service and found that, although some players complained about lack of notification, that was absolutely not the case. Sony originally started the free transfer service back in January 2009, that from the start looked to extend all the way to October 15th. That gives a ten month window of opportunity for players to move their characters. In September, all players whose email addresses were in Sony’s database were sent notifications of the upcoming server closures. That email was sent again six days before the closure.

I, personally, have not had a subscription to Star Wars Galaxies since 2005, however I still received both email notifications. I did not, however, transfer my characters because I have no intention on going back to Star Wars Galaxies. For a player to ignore the ten month open window, the numerous reminders, and the free veteran weeks, it shows that they either had no intention on ever returning, or they simply didn’t check their email. In the first case, the player has no ground to stand on, as their complaint boils down to “I didn’t want to eat the lunch meat, and now it’s expired and I’m mad because I have to throw it out and pay for new meat.” You saw the opportunity, ignored it, and now it’s too late. In the latter case, that is just blatant ignorance, which brings me to the title of this article: Ignorance is Not an Excuse. The players in this group are akin to the millions of Americans who didn’t pay attention to the warnings, delay, and more warnings as to the digital television transition that took place this past June. Television campaigns ran for months, yet still a couple million had no idea why their TV went blank on June 12th.

And I know that some people are going to refute what I say, claiming that they only received six days notice: No, you just ignored the other notices. As I’ve already said, I haven’t played Star Wars Galaxies in close to five years, yet I received the notices. I have to agree with Miagisan on the MMORPG forums, who said:

People who have 0 interest playing seem to be the first ones who complain about the current developement cause they enjoy carrying a torch even though they will never touch the game again.

Star Wars Galaxies may be a much smaller form of its past self, but those who play it today are in much higher spirits than you might think. Most of the complaints are drawn by “vets” who stopped playing a long time ago, but can’t resist the urge to take a baseball bat upwards of Sony’s collective head whenever they so much as cough in Star Wars Galaxies’ direction.

When I say

More on Star Wars Galaxies’ downward spiral as it turns up.

I’m making fun of the people who have been calling the death of the title for almost five years now.

Death Troopers

twenemo — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:48:40 +0000

Das Star Wars Universum erhält Zuwachs. Es ist zwar keine neue Trilogie geplant, aber ein neues Buch wird Ende Oktober veröffentlicht (27.10.09). Wäre ja nichts besonderes. Aber der Inhalt ist doch eine nähere Betrachtung wert. Geschrieben wurde der Band von Joe Schreiber, der schon Horrorromane mit klangvollen Namen wie ‘Besessen” oder ‘Untot’ veröffentlicht hat. Daher sollte die Marschrichtung klar sein. Und wer noch nicht drauf kommt, hier vor der Synopsis (vorsicht Spoiler) erstmal das Buchcover:

Jupp. Ganz klar gehts hier um eine Art Zombievirus, der das Imperium befällt. Hier die Inhaltsangabe des Verlages:

“From the first appearance of Darth Vader in the groundbreaking movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars fans have known what terror feels like – and they loved it. But never before has Star Wars publishing ventured into the unknown territory of true horror… until now.

When the Imperial prison barge Purge breaks down in a distant, uninhabited part of space, its only hope seems to lie with a Star Destroyer found drifting, derelict and seemingly abandoned. But when a boarding party is sent to scavenge for parts, only half of them come back – bringing with them a horrific disease so lethal that within hours, nearly all aboard the Purge will die. And death is only the beginning.

For aboard the Star Destroyer, amid its vast creaking emptiness that isn’t really empty at all. For the dead are rising, soulless, unstoppable, and unspeakably hungry.”

(siehe Jedipedia)

Natürlich hat ein solcher Leckerbissen die Phantasie einiger Fans beflügelt, die Ihre kreative Energie in teils thrashige Trailer umgesetzt haben. Doch einen davon fand ich echt gut und den will ich euch natürlich nicht vorenthalten:

Das Online-Multiplayer Game ‘Star Wars Galaxy’ von Sony Online Entertainemt , greift diese Geschichte auch auf und bringt einzelne Quests raus, die auf ‘Death Troopers’ basieren. Zombies abballern im Star Wars Look? Hört sich richtig gut an. Mal sehen, vielleicht gibts ja demnächst ne Review vom Zak.

Hier noch ein wenig Comickunst, ebenfalls inspiriert von Death Troopers:

Why I'm excited for Huxley

octalblack — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:41:45 +0000

SHOOOOT HER!!!!! SHOOOOT HER!!!

So I’d post this over on Massively, but it would be met with so much Hux-hate that it would probably burn in flames the second it was released on the website. People are really bitter over Huxley, and I’m guessing it’s coming from the fact that the title has gone from a boxed release to a free-to-play game on ijji.com. Everyone wanted this big Xbox 360 release (which is pretty much dead in the water at this point, unless they release it as a downloadable title, which would be awesome) and everyone wanted this big game that would kill Planetside.

Well, after getting my hands on Huxley, let me be the first to say that this game probably won’t be killing Planetside. But let me also say the following: Who the hell cares?

People really need to stop playing rock, paper, scissors with their damn video games. I’m sick and tired about hearing the phrase “WoW-Killer” or “Halo-Killer” or “Hello Kitty Online-Killer.” I really am. Games need to stand on their own merits, and not those assigned to them by another game in the genre. If they didn’t and every game attempted to one up a prior game using the same systems, then we’d have a bunch of games that were veritable clones of one another. And if you think I’m making that up, take a look at the MMO genre right now and tell me you don’t see 20 different types of World of Warcraft clones out there. It’s silly to the point of being ludicrous, and we just keep pushing the developers into these corners by not giving credit to games that break the mold in the right ways.

Ok… that was a rant… sorry about that, but let’s get back to Huxley. I was in the closed beta test — I can say that because there’s a tag on my forum handle on ijji.com that says “Huxley Beta Tester.” What I can’t say, however, is anything about Huxley’s gameplay beyond the information that’s already known. So I’m going to be a little limited here, but I think I can still give everyone a good perspective.

Huxley is a lot like Unreal Tournament. I mean, A LOT like Unreal Tournament. This game cooks. Everyone’s heard about the freeform deathmatching that you can do at any time in the game, and that mode is pretty much UT3 with your tricked out character. The only difference is that Huxley characters have unique abilities that you can choose and level up while you play. For example, Phantoms (the snipers) have stealth. You could be shooting at the Phantom at one minute, and then bam, she’s gone for long enough to get around behind you and school you.

Then you get into the battlegrounds, which are like Battlefield style matches. They’re large, they’re full of people, and they give you vehicles. I can’t say much more about this mode because it’s not really out there, but I can say that I like it.

Then, finally, the mode I really can’t talk about is the questing. What I can say is that the game provides quests from the city that require you to go out into areas all over the map and perform objectives. You can do it alone or you can do it in a team. I can’t say more than “it’s exactly what it sounds like” but I really enjoyed this mode too. I could see this as being fun for a group of friends who want to hone their skills by fighting side by side. It’s a great difference from having to go out and get blown up by other people. Cooperative shooting is always a good plan, especially when it plays like a dungeon crawl.

Oh, and the game has an auction house, and item purchases in-game, and crafting, and weapon/armor modifications. It’s a full item system with a crafting system. Take that, other online FPS games.

What’s the best part about this game? It’s the part that people hate — it’s free. It looks nice, it plays nice, it’s not too grindy (but there are elements of grind, trust me), but it’s free. Just to give you an idea how much that blew me away, let me tell you a story.

I threw a Rock Band party one night and just as everyone was arriving I was playing Huxley. My first friend came in, looked at my monitor, and went, “Dude, what game is this? Looks nice.” I told him it was Huxley, and it was in beta. He never heard of it, but he was shocked to see a FPS that played like an MMO. He sat down and watched me play for a bit before my next friend came in. Once again, another person who had never heard of Huxley who was now interested just by watching me play. He too sat down, and eventually I offered them a chance to try the game out.

Before long, two more people showed up, walked into my room, asked what was being played, and then they sat down as well. I now had 5 people stuffed into my tiny room, all watching Huxley. Finally, after doing a couple deathmatches and giving everyone the chance to try the game, someone asked me, “So 15 bucks a month, right?”

It was then when I went, “Nah, it’s free.” Everyone was like, “Oh sweet! Good deal! I have to grab this from GameStop when it comes out!” Another friend went, “Yeah, I’ll pre-order this.” Then I laughed and got to say, “Nah, you guys don’t understand. This game is free-free. Like free-to-play item shop free.”

It was then when everyone turned to me and said the following, “WHY WOULD WE NOT PLAY THIS? HOLY CRAP? WE’RE ALL GETTING TOGETHER AND WE’RE GOING TO OWN THIS GAME. CRAZY STATIC PARTY TIME!”

And that’s how I got a static party for Huxley with the game not even being out. That’s why I’m excited for Huxley. As for you, you should be excited because it’s a solid free game. It looks nice, it plays nice, and it will certainly be worth your time. Why? Because it’s free and running on the Unreal 3 engine, that’s why.

Free Realm: "Soccer Time" Trailer

elmundotech — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:48:06 +0000

Έρχεται νέο Planetside;

xollothnews — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:28:11 +0000

Έρχεται νέο Planetside; - Noobwars Gaming Community - Noobwars Gaming Community

Η συγκεκριμένη είδηση είναι σίγουρο πως θα φέρει ένα μεγάλο χαμόγελο στους οπαδούς των massive multiplayer FPS, αφού οι ενδείξεις είναι ξεκάθαρες: Η Sony Online Entertainment ετοιμάζεται να επεκτείνει το σύμπαν του Planetside με ένα καινούριο παιχνίδι![next]

Hello Planetside 2!

Omali — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:20:43 +0000

That’s right! Although the original Planetside downsized to one server this year, it appears that Sony is not yet done with the intellectual property. Yesterday, Sony sent out a mass email to their subscribers telling them that a new game based on the Planetside universe is being planned, and that they would like input directly from the players as to what should be put in.

This is where I admit that I looked at Planetside all wrong. John Smedley had this to say about the (soon to be) series:

John Smedley: PlanetSide fans will be happy We have big things planned in the next 12 months. Were working on something new thats really cool.

Sony Online Entertainment, as I have said, is notorious for keeping MMOs online as long as humanly possible, even if it means cutting every cost except for the electricity required to keep the servers running, as long as the title remains profitable. Although Planetside was a pioneer of its time, one of the first MMOs to bridge the gap between first person shooters on a massive spectrum, the title has aged greatly since its launch. A brand new Planetside would do justice to the game that capitalized on massive battles involving hundreds of players.

It should be noted that Planetside 2 is technically unconfirmed at this point. There is the possibility that this new game may be a complete rework of the original Planetside, reminiscent of what Jagex did with the transition from Runescape to Runescape 2.

Ok, you have no excuse to NOT get PlanetSide

octalblack — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:16:34 +0000

MMOs for 5 bucks! SWEET!

So this week is MMO week for Direct2Drive’s anniversary, and they’re offering a selection of games for five bucks. Now, normally I wouldn’t devote a post to this, but one title kinda stuck out at me on the list (aside from Age of Conan, of course. Speaking of which, you should buy that if you have 5 bucks. It’s not an amazing MMO, but it’s damn well worth 5 bucks. I’d make a mention about EVE being 5 bucks too, but you probably jumped on that like a rabid wolverine.)

You should spend the 5 dollars and pick up PlanetSide. No, I’m not joking.

PlanetSide is one of the games that has been trucking along quietly in the background for years now. Not too many websites cover it, there’s not that many updates anymore, and it kinda gets boring after months of gameplay, but if you ever want an amazing game to jump into quickly and enjoy from day 1, then you want PlanetSide. No questions asked.

For those not in the know, PlanetSide is the first (and pretty much only) MMOFPS. The game sports multiple continents that can hold 100 players from each of it’s three factions, meaning you get to have 300 person battlefields. There’s ground vehicles, air vehicles, hot dropping (first game to introduce a orbital drop as part of the action), mechs, battle armor, hacking, command abilities and more. The action of PlanetSide has the tendency to quickly escalate into feverish firefight fits of action, where you don’t even know who’s shooting you from where. All you know is that the sky is full of lead, and if you stick your head up it will probably be blown off.

Some of my best stories come from PlanetSide, and I wasn’t even a high level character. Leveling in PlanetSide (yes, killing people gets you experience) means nothing more than more certification points that you can spend on gun licenses and implant slots for specialized abilities. There’s no money in the game, just need to be certified for a gun (or vehicle) to use it (or drive it.)

The graphics, even for being a couple years old, still hold up just because the game will drive your computer nuts during intense firefights. If the graphics were any better, you wouldn’t be enjoying the 200 person sieges. You’d be watching a slideshow that ends in your character’s painful death. But, lucky for you, that’s not the case. Plus, even the smaller skirmishes are something to write home about, because the battlefield is persistent. Capturing bases gets your side special benefits for battles on that continent, and capturing a continent means that you get to warp to the next continent in the line. Every week, the map resets to neutral, and it’s once again a furious land grab.

The point of PlanetSide is to just have fun. It’s like Battlefield 2 meets Team Fortress 2 meets World of Warcraft, except no endgame. No raids. No grinding. Just having fun from day one. That’s why I recommend this game to you, my readers.

For five bucks, it’s a steal, and now you have no excuse to not get it. The monthly fee… well… that’s a bit iffy, but if you really enjoy the game, you’ll find the 15 bucks a month is well spent. Plus, you can always cancel if you don’t want it past the initial month. But, for five bucks, you have to try it. Seriously.

Remembering the Classic: Everquest "Ancient Heroes"

Omali — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:25:02 +0000

An MMO is unique in its own world in the sense that, despite what some people think, you truly do live in the world. Think back to titles you’ve played for years, and you’re bound to have nostalgic moments of times that are long past. Many of us longtime players expect the company to recognize their earlier game in some fashion. Jagex, for example, continued running the original Runescape, and continues looking for new ways to publicize the, albeit currently closed to all but a few, title to players who never experienced it.

In a recent update to Everquest, Sony Online Entertainment inserted an old man who will transform you into the classic Everquest experience: A level 50 with the normal gear of the time, before even the Ruins of Kunark expansion. The only alteration comes in the form of brand new drops.

Everquest has come a long way, possibly longer than any other MMO on the market (apart from maybe Star Wars Galaxies). Sixteen expansion packs later, and the Everquest of now is day and night to the Everquest of old. Everquest Underfoot launches on its newly delayed date in December. Everquest’s target demographic is their current and previous players, a fact they have begrudgingly admitted.

Now if only Sony would bring some pre-NGE Galaxy servers up.

Στα μέσα του 2010 το Free Realms για PS3

xollothnews — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:51:14 +0000

Στα μέσα του 2010 το Free Realms για PS3 – Gameover.gr

Ο John Smedley -πρόεδρος της Sony Online Entertainment- γνωστοποίησε πως το Free Realms θα κυκλοφορήσει για το PlayStation 3 στα μέσα του επόμενου έτους. Ο Smedley υπογράμμισε, μάλιστα, ότι υπάρχει μεγάλη πιθανότητα ο τίτλος να χρησιμοποιεί και το PlayStation Eye, για την επικοινωνία μεταξύ των παικτών.[next]

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games news

xollothnews — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:45:59 +0000

Έρχεται το demo του Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 – Gameover.gr

Ανταποκρινόμενη στην υψηλή ζήτηση για ένα demo του Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, η TECMO ανακοίνωσε μέσω Twitter ότι το demo του πολυαναμενόμενου τίτλου, θα κάνει την εμφάνιση του στο αμερικάνικο PlayStation Store στις 24 Σεπτεμβρίου.[next]

Λιγότεροι servers για το SW: Galaxies – Gameover.gr

Μπορεί η Lucas Arts να ανακοίνωσε ότι σκοπεύει να συνεχίσει την υποστήριξη του Star Wars: Galaxies με νέο υλικό, αλλά φαίνεται ότι η Sony Online Entertainment έχει διαφορετικά πλάνα. Πιο συγκεκριμένα η εταιρία –η οποία και φιλοξενεί τον τίτλο στους servers της- ανακοίνωσε ότι από τους 25 ενεργούς servers, θα παραμείνουν λειτουργικοί μόνο οι 13[next]

Πάρτε μέρος στη beta του Gaikai | Game 2.0

H ανάπτυξη της νέας cloud gaming υπηρεσίας Gaikai, προχωράει με σταθερά βήματα, με την beta πλέον να είναι πολύ κοντά. Αν θέλετε να πάρετε μέρος στη beta, πηγαίνετε εδώ και δηλώστε το ενδιαφέρον σας.[next]

Γνωρίστε τους χαρακτήρες του Borderlands | Game 2.0

H Gearbox έδωσε στη δημοσιότητα ένα νέο trailer του επερχόμενο role-playing shooter Borderlands, στο οποίο παρουσιάζονται οι χαρακτήρες του παιχνιδιού. Ο λόγος για τους Μordecai, Lilith, Roland και Brick, με τον καθένα από αυτούς να έχει διαφορετική ειδίκευση.[next]

Πάει για το εκατομμύριο ο Carmack | byteme

Η Armadillo Aerospace, εταιρεία που ανήκει στον John Carmack, είναι αυτή τη στιγμή το Νο1 φαβορί για το βραβείο του 1 εκατομμυρίου δολαρίων της NASA στα πλαίσια του διαγωνισμού Lunar Lander Challenge. Η NASA λοιπόν προσφέρει αυτό το διόλου ευκαταφρόνητο ποσό σε όποιον κατορθώσει να δημιουργήσει ένα μικρό σκάφος το οποίο μεταξύ άλλων να είναι σε θέση να φτάσει σε ύψος 164 ποδιών, να πετάξει για άλλα τόσα και αφού προσγειωθεί, να απογειωθεί εκ νέου και να φτάσει στην αρχική του θέση![next]

Η πτώση καλά κρατεί | byteme

Ποιος είπε ότι η οικονομική κρίση δεν άγγιξε τη βιομηχανία των videogames; Σε σύγκριση που πραγματοποίησε το Gamasutra για τον μήνα Αύγουστο και συγκριτικά με την ίδια περίοδο για το 2008, οι πωλήσεις του hardware έχουν πέσει κατά 25% και του software κατά 15%. Η άνοδος του 2,3% που σημειώνουν τα αξεσουάρ είναι μάλλον σταγόνα στον ωκεανό αφού η γενικότερη εικόνα της αγοράς εμφανίζεται μειωμένη κατά 17% και έπεται συνέχεια[next]

GameWorld – Console News: 15/9/2009

Παρά την πτώση της επίσημης τιμής του Playstation 3 και του Xbox 360 στα 299 ευρώ, καθώς και τις φθηνότερες τιμές που βρίσκουν οι καταναλωτές στα online καταστήματα, η Nintendo δεν θέλησε να ακολουθήσει τον δρόμο των δύο ανταγωνιστών της σε ενδεχόμενη μείωση τιμής του Wii. Σύμφωνα με δηλώσεις της Nintendo, η φημολογούμενη μείωση τιμής του Wii είναι απλά μία φήμη και τίποτε παραπάνω. Αυτή τη στιγμή πάντως υπάρχουν φήμες ότι η τιμή θα πέσει στην Αμερική μέσα στον Οκτώβρη. Αν αυτό όντως γίνει πραγματικότητα, τότε κάτι ανάλογο θα ισχύσει και στην Ευρώπη λίγο καιρό αργότερα. Το αν η Nintendo κρύβει κάτι ή όχι θα το μάθουμε στην έκθεση Kyoto Cross Media Experience που θα διεξαχθεί στο Κιότο της Ιαπωνίας, 26/9 – 4/10.[next]

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Star Wars Galaxies: Server Shutdowns

Omali — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:49:50 +0000

I’ve been criticized a few times for being somewhat harsh on Star Wars Galaxies, going as far as calling it a comatose title that Sony Online Entertainment continues to hold on life support, giving it regular changes of clothing and painting pupils on its eyelids so people think it still has some life in it. For several years now, players have reported that all but the most populated of servers are faced with legions of empty player owned villages, desolate cities, and much of the world virtually abandoned. Sony still supports the title with frequent updates, such as the upcoming deathtroopers, and were it not for Sony’s attempts to keep their titles profitable to the point where the only cost is the electricity to keep the servers running, the plug would have been pulled a long, long time ago.

So it comes as no surprise when Kotaku reported today that Sony is shutting down 12 Star Wars Galaxies servers on October 15th. The following servers will be shut down:

o Corbantis
o Europe-Infinity
o Intrepid
o Kauri
o Kettemoor
o Lowca
o Naritus
o Scylla
o Tarquinas
o Tempest
o Valcyn
o Wanderhome

Players have until 5:00pm PT on October 15th to vacate the servers before they are shut down for good. After the change, there will be 13 servers remaining, offering plenty of space for players to fight the zombie hoards in the upcoming content update. That’s right, I said zombies. In Star Wars. Zombie Wookie.

More on Star Wars Galaxies’ downward spiral as it turns up.

Recovering from Dragon*Con

octalblack — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:14:23 +0000

Hey everyone, I’m back from D*C and it was insane this year. I had a great time meeting so many people, running my fan panels, and really getting out there this year. Thanks to everyone for making it happen, thanks to the people who came to all of my panels (and some who probably got sick of seeing me :3), and thanks to track director Kevin “Grimthorn” Stallard for making all of this happen. If you guys can, surf on over to DC-MMO.org and let this man and his great staff know how well they did this year.

If I could give any one panel a special shout out, it would have to be the City of Heroes panel. Holy. Hell. That’s all I have to say about that, really. The COH community has proven, very strongly, that it is one vibrant, friendly, and amazing community. I can’t remember the last time I have ever heard of a community coming up with ways to make the game more money. Yes, that’s right, you read that correctly, the community was coming up with more ways for the game to make money. That’s how much they love this game. It’s one thing to say you want more content, but it’s entirely another to say you want more content and you want to come up with ways to fund that content.

Also, special thanks to Chooch and Viv from the COH Podcast for recording the panel, and thanks to Omnitron from the Central Nexus Blog for helping me out with the panel. Without him and his friend, I would have been so far up the creek, but luckily they were willing to help and lend their expertise. I haven’t played COH since Architect. >.<

Past that, I want to give a shout out to the SOE Community Team. Those guys put on a great party on Sunday night, and it was a great way to really end the convention. Making fun of the WoW Players was AMAZING. (Y’all can blame Kevin Stallard for that, as he’s the one who pointed out the guy in the WoW shirt to Brenlo.)

I’m sad that I missed the insanity that turned out to be the Funcom party. Apparently when I was there the party was lame, but then after I left it got all rocking at around midnight. Figures.

I didn’t miss the insanity that was the Kingdom of Loathing party, however. Those guys put on one hell of a good time — food and booze! I’m looking forward to their stuff next year (plus it was all done with the hilarity of Kingdom of Loathing, which made it 10x better.)

Past all of this, however, I’ll be putting up my Dragon*Con impressions onto Massively… and telling a few more stories about the con in later posts. For now, I need sleepies. Glad to be back!

Really? ANOTHER Star Wars MMO?

Omali — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:44:10 +0000

TenTonHammer is reporting on a rumor that Sony Online Entertainment may be working on a more casual Star Wars MMO, that might be based on the Star Wars: Clone Wars CGI film. Not much is known on the title, but it is very likely that Sony will build the game off of the Free Realms engine, delivering the MMO as a freemium, browser based game, not necessarily aimed towards children, but instead a wide variety of players.

With Star Wars: The Old Republic being released next year, will this title be launched close-by as a free alternative? Does Sony really need two running Star Wars MMOs at one time? Will players be willing to take Sony up on a new Star Wars MMO on the idea that they learned from their mistakes with Star Wars Galaxies?

More on the rumored Star Wars MMO as it develops.

Everquest: Not Going Anywhere

Omali — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:38:29 +0000

“So you can see there’s a lot to wrestle with as we begin laying the foundation for EverQuest ‘Next.’ As I write this, we have concept artists and game designers working hard in our studio-taking the lessons of the past, the best parts of the present and the most promising ideas for the future-to bring the world of Norrath to a new generation of players, as well as the dedicated legions of fans who made the EverQuest franchise timeless. I hope we’ll see you there.“

Everquest once again proves itself to be the Granddaddy who not only refuses to stop dancing, but continues to go hiking, bungee jumping, and is always ready to throw down in the wrestling ring. Fresh off of its 10th year anniversary, Everquest continues to remind us that the franchise will not be going anywhere, with the announcement of Everquest Next. The announcement is from the Everquest 10th anniversary book.

Considering the massive changes between Everquest and Everquest 2, the third go at the series can bring nothing less than innovation, a strong player base, an excellent development team, and fifty expansion packs. So cheers to Everquest Next.

Via Zam

Parallels and Portents

Wilhelm2451 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:51:04 +0000

If we look back a little over five years we can see the #1 subscription MMORPG in the US and Europe, EverQuest, and how things were going for it.

It was actually at its peak, with over 500K subscriptions.

It had established a pattern of regular expansions (7 by that point) with incremental changes to the game.

EverQuest was the game to study.

SOE studied the game and by the fifth anniversary had a successor in the wings. EverQuest II was poised to take up the standard.

Only EverQuest II never did come to outshine the success of EverQuest. Early EQ2 alienated a lot of loyal EQ players. And SOE hasn’t done as well as EQ2 since then.

Blizzard too studied EverQuest, and did a good job of it. Despite the fact that World of Warcraft eschewed many of the tenets of EQ, things like the need to group to advance in the game and frequent and regular expansions, it came to be the leading subscription MMORPG in the US and Europe with, by some counts, as many as ten times the subscribers that EQ had as its peak.

WoW became the new EQ.

But now the five year mark is approaching for WoW. Blizzard has certainly continued to study EQ and EQ2, so we can be pretty sure that the main announcement at BlizzCon won’t be World of Warcraft II.

Instead, the rumor mill has it that the replacement for WoW will be… WoW. A vast cataclysm will reshape the world allowing for the original game to be re-imagined in a new way. If this is true, Blizzard is attempting to revitalize its game by changing its core.

Of course, this is, as yet, still speculation, regardless of how much datamining people have done. I wouldn’t put it past Blizzard to lay some false clues. It isn’t like they aren’t fully aware of how people dig through their files.

But if it is true, if this does come to pass, it will be interesting to see how well it succeeds. A change in place means that there is a guaranteed player base ready to give it a try.

On the other hand, a lot of MMORPG players are both conservative and nostalgic. I would expect to see, at a minimum, more calls for a “classic Azeroth” server.

BlizzCon is this coming weekend. I hope we get some answers!

SOE 2009 Address

Omali — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:53:43 +0000

Sony Online Entertainment did their Fan Faire Press release this year, and seeing as how they have the largest collection of MMO’s in the list, I just had to have a look at what is on the horizon for their titles, and for the company itself.

I’d like to note on Sony themselves. Despite what I may think about the rest of Sony, I give SOE a lot of credit for the dedication they have to their games. Unlike NCSoft that more closely resembles the guy sitting on his porch with a shotgun waiting for someone to slip up, SOE has a strong dedication to their products, and does everything in their power to make sure that the remaining population, as small as they may be, continue to enjoy what they enjoy, and supports their products long after any other company might consider them to be “dead”.

So I have a lot of respect for Sony Online Entertainment, even though at the same time I have a lot of contempt for the boneheaded mistakes they’ve made in the past, namely the NGE updates for Star Wars Galaxies, and implementing legal real world trading in the Everquest titles. They didn’t talk about many of their existing games at this conference, mainly Everquests and Free Realms, with some Star Wars Galaxies thrown in. So without further ado, here is Sony.

Current Titles

Free Realms

First up on the list was Sony’s latest f2p MMO, Free Realms. After hitting 4 million players, Sony is continuing to pump more and more energy into this free experience. While much of the focus was on recent updates, including new exclusive pets and a main storyline, SOE went on to detail updates planned for the future. Race car drivers and demolition derby drivers are set to receive full progression, including new clothing and customization.

Since Free Realms launched just this April, there is no surprise that SOE is still riding fresh on this title. Announcing plans for new jobs (classes), new areas, new mini-games, new features, new progression, level cap increase, and more. Many announcements for the micro-transaction and membership side of the game were announced, so expect this gravy train to keep on rolling.

Being the baby of SOE right now, I expected nothing less than full fervor at Free Realms, and I was not disappointed. Expect support for Free Realms for the forseeable future, and beyond. Also: Dwarf Bikers.

Star Wars Galaxies

It feels like forever ago that Star Wars Galaxies changed in a way so drastic, that it’s been called the biggest blunder in MMO history. That being said, it appears Sony is still supporting the beast, even into its seventh year of existance, and even though players report some of the lowest population ever. Taking a note off of City of Heroes’ Mission Architect system, SOE announced the ability to not only create your own missions, but injecting iconic characters into the mix. The upcoming zombie book based off of Star Wars is being noted in game with a future mission line, Deathtroopers.

All in all, it was a short presentation, a bleak look at a desperate attempt to keep a dying game alive. Much of the boasted features having been recently added, and to be added, are aesthetic (allowing you to choose what armor you see, on top of the equipment with the stats that are actually affecting you) and random attempts at increasing usability such as friends upgrades. All I can say about the SWG presentation was that it boiled down to a quick “Hey, we’re still alive.”

Everquest

The staple series of Sony Online Entertainment, Everquest was released 10 years ago, and continues to stay strong to this day. In the 10 years since the launch of Everquest, SOE has added in fifteen expansion packs, with another one on the way this November. The content continues to climb higher and higher, as the end game is pushed further and further back to accomodate the rising levels of players.

One issue facing Everquest, something the developers have readily discussed, is the fact that there aren’t many new players coming into the game. There aren’t population problems right now, although not many players reportedly can be found in areas lower than level 50. The grand majority of players are long-time players, and those same players who are returning to the game.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the graphics have something to do with the lack of new players. Everquest is the grandaddy of MMO’s, and for a reason. Luckily, Sony Online Entertainment reported that there has been a very successful resurgence of players returning to the game, as the title continues its smooth sailing through this year’s 10th anniversary events, and onward to the sixteenth expansion, and beyond. The boat may be old, but the boat is sturdy, and the boat will not fail.

Everquest 2

What could be better than succeeding one of the most successful MMO’s in history, than with full voice acting, updated graphics, and a new system? Everquest 2 is the child of Everquest, and will be reaching 5 years old this November. Since its inception, the game has seen numerous adventure packs and five expansion packs, with a sixth on the way next year, to expand and update the game. At the conference, SOE announced changes to their update system, on a three month scale, in order to bring the quality previously released in adventure packs, for free.

If I’ve ever heard of persistance and success, the Everquest duo are certainly one of the top, if not the top, contenders for the titles. SOE shows continued support, and infinite momentum for them. With Everquest 2, SOE is offering more features to the game that allow players to do more in the game, such as an upcoming achievement system. In addition, players will be able to lower their levels, to complete gray quests and instances they missed at an appropriate level, and gain the achievements and experience.

Upcoming Titles

DC Universe Online

The upcoming competitor to Champions Online and City of Heroes, DC Universe takes the insanely popular comic book, cartoon, breakfast cereal, action figure franchise and sets you in the middle of the world as your own superhero. At the FanFaire, SOE focused heavily on their own focus to making the game action orientated, and the goal of giving the player a deep connection with their superhero or supervillain of choice. The game drops you into the world, and allows you to fight with or against big names from the series, be it Batman, Superman, Lex Luthor, Green Latern (although which incarnation is unknown), Bizarro Superman, Wonder Woman, and more.

Plenty of hype for the upcoming game, which will no doubt be a viable contender for the top super hero MMO when it is released. DC Universe Online appears to be a real contender for the top of its genre, which granted isn’t very big.

The Agency

The Agency is an odd take from the normalcy of MMO’s, being an espionage-themed spy MMO, played as an action title from a first and third person perspective. The game focuses on freedom, including a class free system (You are what you wear), an in-depth customization option for your players, and join and go up in agencies (guilds). The game offers choices for stealth, assault, support, with their own takes on the generic classes. Missions in-game are expected to take nod off of spy and espionage films and books, so expect some James Bond in your game, shaken, not stirred.

When I see The Agency I think; Niche. The question is not whether people are willing to pay full price for a spy shooter, action, stealth, online, espionage game; they are. The question is whether players are willing to pay a subsequent 15 dollars a month for the ability to continue playing said title. If the current MMOFPS, Planetside, has taught us anything, it is that the answer to that question is a probable; no.

What The Agency comes down to is something of a high maintenance game. As the main feature is taking missions and playing them out, whether in a group or solo, longevity and replayability starts to come into focus. There are only so many times a player can go through similar looking mansions for generic quests before they hit the cancel button. It’s up to the developers to keep the game fresh, otherwise you’ll end up with a bunch of bored customers, and a whole lot of unfulfilled subscriptions.