Yearly Archives: 2009
Warhammer Online: First Live Expansion
Play The Lord Of The Rings Online For Free!
Turbine, Inc. has launched the official 10-day free trial of The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO). Beginning today, players in North America, Australia and New Zealand can play the game by visiting www.lotro.com/trial.
In conjunction with the launch of the Free Trial, Turbine has teamed up with Xfire to offer players a chance to win great prizes for signing up to play LOTRO (Full Game or Free Trial) and joining the Official Xfire LOTRO Clan while signed into Xfire from January 28th to February 11th*. Thirty (30) winners will be chosen at random to receive great prizes based on the following categories:
Gold Level Prizes (10): More than 50 hours
- 6-Month Subscription to The Lord of the Rings Online
- In-Game Mount (Bree Horse)
Silver Level Prize (10): 15 to 50 Hours
- 3-Month Subscription to The Lord of the Rings Online
- LOTRO T-shirt
Bronze Prize (10): Less than 15 Hours
- 30-Day The Lord of the Rings Online Subscription|
“LOTRO brings all the excitement and adventure of greatest fantasy of all time to life with a state-of-the-art online social experience that has earned the title of Best MMO* for two years running,” said Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online. “And now we want everyone to have the opportunity to walk through the Shire, delve deep into the Mines of Moria, fight with their own fellowship in the War of the Ring and fully experience what everyone has been talking about.”
Eligible fans can participate in The Lord of the Rings Online Free Trial and play the game for 10 days free of charge. At the end of the Free Trial, players will have the option of continuing to play LOTRO, and to keep the characters created during their 10-day free trial time, by purchasing the game.
The Lord of the Rings Online is the ultimate interactive adventure. Join Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo, and many other characters in the war against the Dark Lord Sauron to save Middle-earth. This award-winning MMORPG recently expanded with the critically acclaimed launch of Mines of Moria where players can venture into the largest and most dangerous online underground environment ever created while extending the challenge to new heights with two new classes, ten additional levels and hundreds of new quests including a face off with the Watcher, the Balrog and more. The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria is available for purchase across North America and Europe.
Unforgiven War
UnforgivenWar is a FREE text based browser Military MMORPG game.
You may ask “What the “hell-o dolly” is this game about?” Well it’s not the typical game you would see, where you mindlessly go around beating up other players and attacking them in your “mobs” you have gathered together. Ummm hmmm, sorry, yea you get to do that, BUT WAIT, that’s where it STOPS being the SAME.
By registering, you’re inducted into the military. You head straight to Boot Camp. Some of you may say “forget that” and try to go it on your own, if you do that, then look out. You can be beat up, robbed, put in the hospital, you can be scammed and slammed, but will you ever have FREAKING FUN while it is happening.
In Boot Camp enhance your strength, speed, stamina and fighting skills. Do missions and get promoted. Join a Platoon get armed to the teeth with M604E Machine Gun, enhanced Camouflage War Paint and a Tank Shard Vest and you are ready for WAR. With your Platoon you then can battle taking money and weapons and even property from others and THAT is only a SMALL PART of Unforgivenwar.
BattleForge to be released on 24th March
As reported by Eurogamer, EA has said that the MMO RTS BattleForge will launch for PC across Europe on 24th March.
The pre-order edition will contain four exclusive unit-cards, as well as immediate access to the current beta test.
BattleForge allows you to experience real-time strategy in a whole new dimension. Every battle is different, every army unique. Create your own fighting force from mighty creatures and powerful soldiers.
Lead your army in epic online battles – together with your friends or against them. Fight alone in single-player missions or in a team with up to twelve participants. In addition to 1on1 duels, various tournament modes and a fiercely contested ranking list await you in PvP.
Four powers determine the balance in the world of BattleForge. Each of these powers has its own special abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Use the full array of spells, magical constructs and powerful units for your strategy. Surprise your opponents with a perfectly armed fighting force – for every battle situation.
The cards represent your tools of war: units, buildings and spells that are conjured directly onto the battlefield. Assemble the perfect fighting force before the battle, choosing from your ever-increasing collection, and lead it into the battle. Rare cards open up completely new tactics for you and are highly sought after for swapping at the in-game market place!
Maple Story Review: Great Mix Of Cuteness And Gameplay
By Vincent Haoson, Onrpg writer
Maple Story is a 2D side scrolling MMO from Nexon, the company that brought games like Audition, Sugar Rush, Mabinogi and Combat Arms to the MMO industry.
In Maple Story you take a role of as a brave adventurer protecting the Maple World and you have five job paths to choose from, you can opt to become a warrior, magician, bowman, thief and the newly added job class, the pirate.
Each job class would branch off to their own set of second job class. Some job class like the bowman, thief and pirate only have two choices while the magician and warrior are given more second job options.
Maple Storys controls is what sets this MMORPG apart from the conventional point-and-click gameplay. Your keyboard is your primary movement tool while the mouse only serves as the interface tool. Think of it as playing an old school arcade game in your PC.
At first glance, it may seem weird that an MMO is using this kind of system but the controls really suit Maple Story. The game is 2D and that it would be more awkward if you play it with the mouse.
Gameplay Elements
Maple Story Is more action oriented, but, the game is still heavily influenced by RPG elements such as stats. Your attacks wont be always successful even if you hit a monster. If your accuracy is way below 100% youll see a big fat violet MISS as you hit monsters who have higher evasion rate than your hit rate.
Maple Storys gameplay is not its ace in the hole though, the cuteness of the game sprites and the ability to customize your character as you want are the main reasons why a lot of people play Maple Story.
Monsters in Maple story range from the cute mushrooms and blobs to the weird walking one-eyed tree stumps. Even the supposedly hideous monsters have their own cute charms. I think the best way to describe the cuteness of the monster in Maple Story is imagining that you are inside a Digimon game or television series.
Furthermore, the game also enables you to see what you equip to your character. If you equip armor to your warrior you get to actually see your character wear that armor you bought. The customization feature in Maple Story is one of the good things the game has. You can actually say that the character you have is yours and that could make you keep on coming back.
Huge Community
The community in Maple Story is also huge. With players ranging from kids to adults playing, you can actually go to a map and have it full of players. Dont be afraid though, yes a community this big would have cliques and (as I have experienced) in games with such a following, there are groups who are not newbie friendly. That problem also applies to Maple Story, still there are still a lot of players who would welcome you even if you are new.
Maple Story has a lot of things going even if you are playing it for a while now. You can make your own little home in-game and make it as your goal for playing.
The Cute Factor
Maple Story is an MMO where the mixture of cuteness and a serious RPG feel has harmoniously mixed itself into one interesting game.
The cuteness factor of Maple Story is the games strength and its weakness. How? Well, it is true that the mix of your characters cuteness can attract people, those who have more of a serious taste when it comes to MMOs would surely be turned off by it.
Still one must not judge only with looks alone. Maple Story has not survived this long if its only cuteness without any solid gameplay. In fact Maple Story has one of the most solid gameplays in the MMO scene to date. There is a balance between the difficulty of the levels and your capabilities as you play along the game. You dont sweat bullets as you begin your journey into the Maple World.
Also, there is always something to do in Maple Story, though this remains to be seen in your higher levels. Players who are more into leveling, pvping and just getting to the top level tier can get bored with the game easily. Maple Storys more community oriented even if its an action MMORPG.
Another good thing about Maple Story is that the game doesnt impose you on what to do in the game. Though the story line of Maple Story does in fact say that you are supposed to be a protector of the Maple World, anything goes when you plunge yourself into the game.
Conclusion
The apparent lack of linear gameplay helps you enjoy the game in your own way and in your own pace. Also the game can encourage you to play more and even at a higher level you can in fact enjoy the game just by chilling inside it. You can create your own home in Maple Story and even have your friends hang out in it.
Besides taking care of your in-game home, you wont get tired on trying to customize your character. As I mentioned before, you can see what your character wears so trying to make your character look good can be one of your reason why you continue on playing Maple Story.
Maple Story has created a niche for itself in the MMO market and those who are into the online gaming scene would know the game even if they havent played it. Thats how big Maple Story has become. True the game can be too kiddy with its cute character and monster sprites but behind it is one solid MMO.
Maple Story is a prime example that a game doesnt have to be 3d or must have an engaging storyline. All it needed was to be a fun MMO and people would come. That has been proven by Maple Story many times over.
Pros
– Easy to understand controls
– You can see how you customized your character
– Cute sprites and solid gameplay
Cons
– May be too cute for most players
– The game is in 2d
– The game is more action packed rather than RPG-ish
Barack Obama Hits the MMO Scene
Gamezig.com is reporting the following news:
President Barack Obama is well known for his technological prowess and is a popular landmark on the internet super-highway. Now hes making an appear in the MMO scene in the form of a unique MMO called Rumble Fighter. No, hes not really showing up in person to play the MMO but the folks over at OGPlanet, the makers of Rumble Fighter are showing their support for our President with a new in-game item.
Players in Rumble Fighter will now be able to purchase a new in-game T-Shirt to wear while they pounce on their opponents with President Obamas famous slogan, “Yes We Can”. On the back of the shirt you will find Baracks likeness imprinted for all to see. The shirt can now be bought at the in-game item shop for you Rumble players using Astros, the games currency.
About Rumble Fighter
One of the most unique fighting games around, Rumble Fighter allows up to 8 players to battle it out online in simultaneous melee action. Featuring an advanced combo attack skill system with multitudes of real fighting styles to choose from, Rumble Fighter allows players to build the fighter theyve always wanted to be.
(source: gamezig.com)
Warrior Epic to be published in Europe by GOA
Global online game publisher True Games Interactive announced today that it has signed an exclusive deal with GOA, Orange’s Games Unit.
GOA will exclusively publish, distribute and operate True Games and Possibility Space’s upcoming MMORPG, Warrior Epic, across Europe.
Earlier this year, True Games and GOA also partnered on True Game’s and Petroglyph’s upcoming MMORPG, Mytheon, which will be available later this year.
“GOA is a giant in the online publishing space in Europe and we are thrilled to be building such a strong relationship with them,” said Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games Interactive. “Warrior Epic has been getting great buzz and is highly anticipated in the US and we have no doubt that gamers across Europe will also embrace it emphatically.”
GOA currently operates one of the largest casual gaming portals in Europe and also publishes EA Mythic’s hugely popular MMO, Dark Age of Camelot and has launched last September EA Mythic’s, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning in Europe.
“Warrior Epic is perfectly aligned with the GOA offerings and, in particular, our plans to expand services in 2009,” said Ghislaine Le Rhun, Executive Director of GOA. “True Games Interactive are forging a great reputation within online gaming communities, and we look forward to working closely with the team to ensure Warrior Epic’sEuropean success.”
WoW accounts for half of Activision/Vivendi earning!
According to a games industry analyst, World Of Warcraft accounted for half of the earnings for the giant group Activision/Vivendi in the last fiscal year, as reported by edge-online.com.
According to Edge, Arvind Bathia of Stern Agee has estimated that WOW subscriptions and sales added up to earnings per share of 30 out of 60 cents, or USD 400 million, in the company’s fiscal year which ended in December.
WOW’s subscriber base rose to 11.5 million last December, in the wake of new expansion Wrath of the Lich King.
Age Of Conan: Xbox 360 version still in development
In an interview with Eurogamer, Age of Conan game director Craig Morrison has confirmed that Funcom is still working on an Xbox 360 version of the MMO.
Here’s what Morrison said: “There is a small, dedicated team working on the Xbox platform at the moment. We still plan on having a 360 version of the game at some stage but I’m afraid I can’t go into specifics beyond that at the moment.”