Yearly Archives: 2011

World of Tanks Open Beta Launch Date Announced

World of Tanks Open Beta Launch Date Announced

 

Wargaming.net announced today the official open beta launch date for its highly-anticipated free-to-play action-MMO game World of Tanks, scheduled for January 27th, 2011.  

 

World of Tanks Open Beta date MMORPG

Over the past six months more than 260000 players took part in the closed beta fighting around 2 million battles and destroying 40 million vehicles with peak concurrent users number surpassing 20000 people. All the data and feedback received from beta-testers helped the developers detect and address important technical and gameplay issues inspiring the team to add new features and making the game one step closer to the final release.  

 

During the open beta players will have a chance to test unique game modes and explore new maps and vehicles.  

 

“We’ve been very pleased to get such a response from our players that means the direction we are moving in goes in line with the views of our community”, said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming.net. “I’d like to thank our fans for their crucial contribution to the development of the game and remind that there’ll be a lot of new stuff added in the open beta”.    

 

If you are interested in trying out World of Tanks click here to join the beta. 

Conquer Online: Sign Up For The Monk PvP Championship Now

Conquer Online has announced that players who want to take part in the Monk PvP Championship can sign up for the contest from Jan. 20th until Feb. 10th. The registration NPC will be released after the server maintenance on Jan. 20th.

Players will be able to choose to battle on a European Server or on a US Server. The TQ team will open a EU server if there are more than 500 players that select this option.

Now, let’s check out what’s in store for the contestants!

Equipments

Headband – Level 130 Super Cap of Nirvana
Frock – Level 130 Super Frock of Heavenly Bless
Beads – Level 125 Super Arhat Prayer Beads
Boots – Level 129 Super Blizzard
Necklace – Level 130 Super Tornado
Ring – Level 126 Super Thunder
Talismans – Super Heaven Fan
 – Super Star Tower

Sign up for the Conquer Online Monk PvP Championship Now!

Skills
Whirlwind Kick – [Fixed] Send a spinning whirlwind outwards from the caster, to strike targets within a certain pace. Targets will not be able to move when hit. It is also effective against flying targets.
Radiant Palm – [Fixed] Attack all targets within 4 paces in a row to inflict certain damage on each target.
Fend Aura – [Fixed] Add Critical Strike & Skill Critical Strike immunity to team members within 30 paces.
Tyrant Aura – [Fixed] Increase the chance of Critical Strike & Skill Critical Strike for team members within 30 paces.

Recovery Items
Vanilla – + HP 2000 / Amount: 20
Soul Pill – + HP 1000 / Amount: 20

The competition will take place around the end of February, 2011. The exact date will be announced later, on the official site! More information will be coming up soon! Stay tuned!

Drift City Re-Review: Cell Shaded Awesomeness

Drift City Re-Review: Cell Shaded Awesomeness
By Umar Farooq (Kluey), OnRPG Journalist

 

Drift City, now owned by Games Campus is a Cell Shaded Online racing game combined with RPG elements. Its unique play style gives it variety while still maintaining the racing game aspect. Drift City is also known as Skid Rush in Korea. The game offers a lot of unique content, some of which are: Leveling up your character, customizing vehicles, racing with other players, doing missions, and doing quests, a delivery service, instances and much more.

 

Story:

Drift City, unlike most MMO racing games, has a story. You are in the future and you have no oil. You magically find a new island with this amazing resource on it. It’s called… Mittron!  This new resource powers every mode of transportation. You try it out in a car and it you realize, that its pure steroids for your car. Your car is running faster, cleaner and longer! The world leaders are taking advantage of this resource and decide to start importing it.

 

Like every good story, there are some bad guys. In this case they are the HUVs. They terrorize the streets of Mittron Island and are disrupting the flow of things on the Island. You are then hired as an OMD driver. At the start you might be delivering doughnuts but later on, you might find yourself hunting down HUVs.

 

Starting your career!

Drift City has one world with two channels. They are both equally busy unlike most games where the first channel is much more populated. You have a selection of 4 different cars at the beginning along with a character picture. The tutorial is very easy to follow and takes you through a lot of content. Getting into your first race is also part of the tutorial. Getting into a race is extremely easy. You head to the Battle Zone and choose a race. To avoid experienced players stomping new players, there is a lobby system. It starts with Tutorial and goes onto Amateur and so on.

 

Drift Battle Zone Lobby MMORPG

 

Graphics and Audio:

The graphics are amazing. They are very different from the best selling racing games like Gran Turismo or Need for speed. They have more of a cartoon feel to them rather than a realistic feel. You can easily run Drift City on almost any computer. The only complaint for graphics I might have is the time change in the game. It goes from day to night in nothing.

 

The music was actually pretty pleasing. I don’t think you have the ability to change it as you would in a game like HEAT online but the default music is nice. The sound effects aren’t too shabby either. Although there might be some glitches in where a little touch brings up a sound of a huge crash.   

 

Drift Racing MMORPG

 

Gameplay:

The gameplay is easy to get use to. There is a lot of ways to earn Mittron (the currency in Drift City) and XP which insures that you will always have something to do. When I started this game, I thought it be a “Do as many races as you can in a day” kind of game but I was proven wrong. You can drive around in the city getting quests from different stations. You also get hired as a Delivery Person early in the game. Each delivery you make gives you XP and Mittron. Some deliveries are actually very challenging. You have a time limit and sometimes even a crash limit. If you crash more than a certain number of times, you fail the mission.

 

The races in Drift City are very different than your usual race with a ton of laps. The highest amount of laps I have ever had to do was 3. Each race only lasts about 4 minutes at most but is full with suspense and action. Every so often there is a checkpoint gate. Once you go through it you have a chance of being rewarded with some sort of boost. Some can be as low as 50% boost or as good as the Invincible Rush Boost (In the picture below). Sometimes these rewards can even change the outcome of a race.

 

Drift city Invincible Run MMORPG

 

The RPG Element:

Drift City has a decent RPG side to it. It is more of a single player mode but still very enjoyable. There is a huge world outside of the tiny battle dome you start in. The world has traffic, street lights and even some places you can access. Around the city there are 4 stations. Each one has different missions and objectives you have to complete. Some are a breeze while some are extremely difficult to get a gold medal on. You are rewarded from each mission/quest with Mittron and XP. Mittron can be used to buy better parts or cars while XP is needed to be able to buy more advanced items.

 

 

Drifting Like a Boss:

The drifting in this game is awesome. It is extremely fun to do and easy to pull off. There is not a certain car you must have or a certain amount of practice to pull off a drift. You learn the move in the tutorial and in every race you see you are drifting more precisely and much more quickly.

 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Drift City is an awesome game if you like an easy to play game. If you are looking for an extremely competitive game, Drift City is not for you. Its unique RPG elements give it a different feel from normal Racing Games. The graphics are not super realistic and detailed but are fun and appealing. If you are looking to kill some time and relax, Drift City is the perfect game for you.

 

Pros:

Fun Graphics

– Easy to play, get familiar with.

– No lag/choppiness at all. Very smooth gameplay

– A nice storyline

– A lot of things to do. You’re always busy.

 

Cons:

– Later levels you don’t get too much more to do. The quests usually have the same objectives but are a bit harder.

– Not much to customize and call your own.

– Apart from clans and guilds, there’s not much things that require teamwork.

Witching Hour Comes to Dungeon Fighter Online on January 26

Witching Hour Comes to Dungeon Fighter Online on January 26  

 

Dungeon Fighter Online, the classic side-scrolling arcade-style beat ’em up MMO from Nexon, will experience the Witch Awakening with the highly anticipated Act VII: Witching Hour update, coming January 26.  

 

As a subclass of the Mage, the Witch is a gifted student of the ancient art of alchemy. The highly intelligent Witch makes battle decisions based on probability, which allows her to analyze the most likely outcomes for success.

 

The Witch awakening hones in on this proficiency with new specialized skills that maximize attack durations, such as the Witch Machine, a device that unleashes an assault of multiple attacks that immobilizes and deals intense damage to foes. Additionally, as a special event for the awakening, parties grouped with an awakened witch will receive a 10 percent XP bonus for a party of two and a 20 percent XP bonus for a party of three or more.  

 

In addition to the Witch awakening, the January content update will feature the brand new Hellkarium Quest, which can be received at level 47. This quest, accessible from the Tower of the Dead, bestows a variety of high level Hellkarium weapons, crafted out of the ore of Hell, specific to each class awakening. These hell-spawned weapons contribute a significant +1 skill point to players’ awakened skills.  

 

Players are also encouraged to enter the Screaming Cavern, a brand new dungeon shrouded in the haunting screams of the ancient Nugol. Found beneath the lush forests of Elvenguard, Screaming Cavern is a level 54 dungeon that challenges fighters to battle through Nugol worm offspring and ultimately face Giant Nugol, Queen of the dungeon.  

 

For more information on Dungeon Fighter Online, click here.

War of Legends

War of Legends is a real time strategy game based on famous Chinese mythology. Players rule and build cities, harvest resources and command armies to conquer their enemies for glory and reputation.

As players build their empires they are quickly encouraged to form multiplayer alliances with others around the world to work together and reach eternal glory and secure their Legend status in history

 

Key Game Information:
– Raise an Army using a variety of unit types from Swordsmen to Charioteers, each with their own unique attributes and strengths

– Train your legends – send your legends into battle, and watch their XP start to grow, making them more powerful and stronger

– Go head to head with other players and the environment in one off Duals and Arenas to discover additional content and rewards

– Unlock over 300 items, giving you more of an advantage over your enemies and helping to ensure success in battle

– Complete daily tasks, to receive rewards and goals

– Manage your resources, grow crops to feed your troops, gather stone to keep your defences strong and mine for copper to provide weaponry for your military

– Grow your empire with sub cities and by invading your enemies to become a true Legend!

City of Heroes MetaÂ’s Verse: Citizenship

City of Heroes Meta’s Verse: Citizenship

 

This week the player base of City of Heroes got some pretty exciting news about stuff to come. As a thank you, and present for the seven year anniversary of City of Heroes going live, we the players are in for a big treat. A little something new, something old and maybe the best and most talked about gift of all, a sneak peek at things to come.

 

City of Heroes Angel Wings

The New

The first part highlighted in the announcement was the creation of a new chest symbol which consists of seven stars. It is stylish and a great change from the other star options already available for use. Using that same seven star design we have a new badge that will also be available to us. Its titled The Constant. Along with the newly designed badge and chest emblem we will also have a new emote which shows off our alignment. There are four of them in total, each one featuring the alignment circle. These don’t seem to be available for Praetoria unfortunately. Though at the same time this is understandable. Going around Praetoria showing off your Resistance pride is a good way to get yourself thrown into the Behavior Adjustment Facility.

 

City of Heroes New Symbol Meta MMORPG

The Old

Easily the largest part of the rewards is the release of the Vanguard Pack. What is this pack of which I speak? Well its all the Vanguard costume parts, including the weapons which you can buy with Vanguard merits already along with the Vanguard costume change emote. This will leave only a few things for you to buy with the Merits. Though I would argue that they are more than enough to keep the Merits alive and well. They include everything from extra storage to the Gr’ai Matter Component for the new Incarnate system and a power core for the Heavy Vanguard Assault Suit (HVAS). Which leads me into the last part of the Vanguard pack. Included in the pack will be a Vanguard noncombat pet. I can only imagine the MVAS will be the most adorable thing ever and everyone will be wanting one. I certainly want one!..

 

META City of Heroes Old Vanguard

Sneak Peak

The most talked about part of this announcement is the sneak peek at some new animal costume parts. Is this a peek at the new animal booster people have been asking for? Is this a peek of the “wild” things to come that were mentioned the Producer’s Letter? Is it both? Either way I think its very exciting and the official boards are showing that the people agree. In the pictures of the alignment emotes the last one shows a snow leopard in it. This is a new head and a new pattern to put on clothes. There are also rumors that the feet of the dragon creature in the third picture are new. This isn’t something I know much about as I’ve never played a reptile. Even though I’m currently pondering over an idea for a sewer monster. I just can’t convince anyone to join me.

 

META Most Talked about City of Heroes MMORPG

 

So now that I’ve told you all about what will be coming for our seven year celebration I’m sure you’re wondering how to get it. It’s a fairly straight forward loyalty based reward. Just keep your account active from February 1st 2011 until April 18th 2011. If you do that then on April 28th the Vanguard pack and all the new things will be unlocked on your account. As is the nature of people some just aren’t satisfied. Some people are saying that while this is an amazing reward it should only be available to people who have been loyal to the game for the full seven years. I do agree that at some point a small reward of some kind, maybe an extra badge should be available for those (crazy) people who have played since City of Heroes went live. On the other hand I have only been a loyal minion for three years now. And if a thank you of this size was only given to that very small group of people I would feel like my time has been unvalued. I can only imagine how others would feel. Those friends who have played so long they’re only missing one veteran reward. I can only imagine they would feel outraged. So to those people crying out for rewards for life long loyalty I say: “I hear you but it isn’t going to happen”.

 

City of Heroes Real World Hero

 

Oh…wait, you’re still here? Yeah, I’ve said everything there is to say about the anniversary rewards. But now I have a bit of an update on an article from a few weeks ago. You may recall my article at the start of December about Real World Hero. The charity drive being run by fans of City of Heroes.

 

Well now the totals have been added up, and the announcement has been made. The charity drive for 2010 raised just over $12,000. This is up from last year by a couple of thousand of dollars. The top raising server was Virtue. Each of the four charities received over a thousand dollars, Child’s Play getting the most at $4,380. The auctions themselves raised over three thousand dollars.  I’m truly amazed at how generous  this community is, even during these tough economic times. I can’t wait to see what 2011 has in store for us.

 

Meta

Meta’s Verse is written by Meticulous Meta who lives in Atlas Park with her dog Snuflé

Under The Wire: Freedom Force

Under The Wire: Freedom Force
Neil Kewn (Murxidon) – OnRPG Journalist

 

In a new column, Neil Kewn trawls the archives for the obscure, underrated and forgotten role-playing games from yesteryear. 

 

It wasn’t the recent Batman craze or my interest in in the Marvel universe that attracted me to Freedom Force. My knowledge of comic books can be written on the back of a postage stamp, the majority of it coming from the blockbuster movies that rake in millions at the box office each summer. Spider-Man is my favourite superhero because I thought Toby McGuire was extremely likeable in the role, so I couldn’t tell you who the X-Men are or why Christian Bale’s Batman impression is so wrong. Freedom Force is a highly original and extremely funny tactical role-playing game. It doesn’t licence any of the characters seen in print, so it’s up to you to mould your own team of overly powerful physics-defying misfits.  

 

Freedom Force Logo RPG


Although fallen by the wayside in recent years, Freedom Force received universal praise for its innovative gameplay and comic book inspired visuals. You take control of up to four superheroes and complete a series of missions in Patriot City, a crime-ridden urban centre infested with thugs and the odd super villain. The further you progress, the more characters you can add to your entourage and the stronger they all grow. Issuing orders to your squad is a breeze, and the game can be paused at any time to dish out orders to individual heroes and to contemplate your next move. It isn’t particularly difficult to grasp the main concepts of the game, and you will be more than comfortable controlling your heroes, issuing orders and using abilities less than an hour in.

 

Stopping Time In Real-Time

Combat happens in real-time, but you will often find yourself paused in order to keep afloat of what is happening. Often, your squad will be split up and pausing the action is a great way to control what each of your heroes is doing. The majority of your powers drain your hero’s energy bar. The more often you use powerful and specialist abilities, the quicker your team’s effectiveness is reduced in battle. It’s a challenge keeping your team alive, well rested and ready for the next wave of bad guys, as a low energy bar leaves your squad vulnerable to more powerful enemies. Cleverly you can set the intensity of powers whenever you use them, giving you complete control over your team’s strength, helping you to plot the best course of action to take in any given scenario.

 

Freedom Force Stunned


There are a large number of abilities that can be assigned to each of your superheroes, each having a profound effect on how battles pan out. It’s up to you to pick a well-rounded team for each scenario, as it’s not hard to become overwhelmed with enemies then watch helplessly as each of your heroes is picked off in quick succession. There are powerhouses who can lift cars and sustain large amounts of damage, smaller heroes who can get from point A to point B quickly and members who have specialist abilities that can change the course of confrontations. How you spend your Character Points to level up your squad is an important decision after each level, and you can truly customize how each of your rogues fight, manoeuvre around the world and what role they play in your team.

 

The visuals in Freedom Force are inspired from traditional comic books. Terms like “POW!” and “BOOF!” emanate from your enemies after each crushing blow, and cut scenes consist of beautifully drawn comic panels. A comically overexcited announcer narrates each of the games missions, which themselves tell a typically over-the-top comic book storyline about justice, aliens, magic and world domination. The visual style will be an absolute treat for fans of the medium, and it does a great job at creating a sense of style and humour throughout the game.  The game’s insistence on harking back to classic comic books, even parodying it at times, hammers home the over-the-top slapstick tone Freedom Force has.

 

Holy Level of Customization, Batman!

Whilst you have a plethora of wacky superheroes to construct an almighty team with, the option to create your own genetic freak is a notable and welcome addition. You can either choose a pre-made character to edit or import a skin of your own (or choose from the many created by others). From there, dishing out stats and assigning numerous superpowers is all that stands between you and a custom hero ready to expel justice. You can even write your own backstory for the character, if that kind of thing appeals to you.

 

Freedom Force Punch


The amount of variety when it comes to designing and levelling each of your characters means that no two levels will play the same. Each mission can be approached differently, and the amount of interaction with the levels themselves means that sneaking up on a group of thugs in one play through can be replaced with a scene of car-throwing, traffic light wielding carnage the next. In addition to the single player campaign, Danger Room is a skirmish mode enabling you to replay previous missions with a team of your creation. Deathmatch multiplayer is also available, bolstering the replay value of Freedom Force (not that servers are populated these days, leave multiplayer for groups of your friends).

 

A sequel, titled Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich, was released in 2005. The game catches up with the heroes as they travel back to World War II to take on the Nazis (naturally). Although pretty much a carbon copy of the original, it offered the same excellent, addictive gameplay and customization options that made Freedom Force such a great RPG. Comic book fanatic or not, Freedom Force is an excellent addition to any video game collection.

New Achievement and Messenger Systems Come to Combat Arms

New Achievement and Messenger Systems Come to Combat Arms

 

Combat Arms, a fast-paced online first person shooter (FPS) from Nexon America, is releasing two new tactical system updates to the game’s interface: an achievement system and a messenger display. These new in-game tools are a part of the Combat Arms January content update.  

 

The achievement system tracks players’ in-game accomplishments and rewards them with medals, giving players one more method to win the respect and pride of their peers. Ranging from killstreak awards to headshot records to a tally of the total number of explosives a player disarms, the new achievement system gives soldiers a new way to enjoy the visceral gameplay experience of Combat Arms.  

 

The addition of the messenger system to the Combat Arms interface will allow soldiers to covertly establish communiqué outside of the in-game chat arena, providing an alternate method of tactical planning between players. Now soldiers and clan leaders will be able to effectively deliver privileged information to each other, eliminating the risk of calculated enemy subterfuge.  

 

Players will also be able to purchase the TRG-21 and TRG-SE, the latest weapons available in the Combat Arms arsenal. These long-barreled, high-impact sniper rifles will be available for purchase with gear points (GP), providing just one more way for long-distance combat specialists to dispatch their targets.  

EVE Online: Incursion 1.1 Launches with Leading Character Creator

EVE Online: Incursion 1.1 Launches with Leading Character Creator

CCP, today launched the final portion of this winter’s EVE Online: Incursion expansion, bringing in a new age of artistry to video game character creation and giving a first glimpse at what will be offered in EVE’s future using CCP’s Carbon technology framework.

 

EVE Ship

 

“We couldn’t give our players anything less in a character creator to represent themselves and the depth of their experience-because in EVE everything is real,” says Arnar Gylfasson, Senior Producer for EVE Online. “Do not attempt to adjust your set.”

 

The technology unlocks near-infinite possibilities of representation but still retains EVE’s “dark sci-fi” undertones, allowing players to mold their characters using 112 morph targets (92 on the head alone) with a system that mimics the art of sculpting and eschews the traditional slider-based method. Over the coming months and years, avatars will be integrated into the EVE universe, beginning with this first important step of personal customization. Many fantastic player-made videos have already surfaced on YouTube and other social media sites.

 

Incursion 1.1 also brings a revision to the Planetary Interaction system, strengthening the gameplay of extracting planetary materials by adding depletion and upgradeability. In addition, Contracts system improvements will complement the dynamic player-run market of EVE, offering better filters and a more intuitive search system. EVE Voice Beta will allow players out of game to join in-game channels via www.evegate.com, permitting them to socialize or participate in fleet ops from the safety of any browser without the EVE Online client running. Furthermore, over forty storyline missions have been added to take players on exciting new adventures for fame, wealth and power.

 

The Sansha’s Nation “Incursions” will begin in a week’s time, as epic group player-versus-environment (PVE) content joins EVE with scalable rewards and system wide effects that pit groups against deadly Sansha A.I. in random systems across known space .

 

A list of all features for Incursion’s staged release is at the Incursion page.