Monthly Archives: February 2013

OnRPG Shotgun News 2/11: APB, Hailan Rising, and Everlight

OnRPG Shotgun News 2/11: APB, Hailan Rising, and Everlight

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

 

 

APB: Reloaded Sees 3 Million Registered Users

The resurrected MMO APB: Reloaded has announced they have reached 3 million registered users. It averages between 25,000 and 30,000 players every day.

 

 

Hailan Rising Opens Registration for Closed Beta

The PvP MMO Hailan Rising has opened registration for the upcoming closed beta event. Registration requires a GamersFirst account and takes place on the official website.

 

 

Everlight Announces CB Sign-Up

KoramGame today announced that closed beta registration for Everlight, an upcoming browser-based fantasy ARPG, is now available on the official Everlight Facebook Page. For a limited time, everyone who signs up now will receive their exclusive wings with the launch of closed beta. Players will be able to select from 4 classes – Mage, Oracle, Warrior or Ranger – and hack and slash your way through the lost city of Atlantis to unravel the truth behind your lineage. In-game customization features such as the Transcendence and Horoscope system lets players tweak and quest in their own desired style.

Game Journalism – Am I Really a Journalist?

Game Journalism – Am I Really a Journalist?

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist…?

 

 

 

Recently, I came across a dream job. I logged on to the forum of my favorite website and noticed that the Editor-in-Chief was looking for new writers to help fill his team. I didn’t care if I would be paid or not. I just wanted in. I love writing about games, telling people about them and how amazing they are. I advocate guilds for a better gaming experience like a politician would advocate green energy for a better environment. I love games and the chance to write about them was not something I could pass up.

 

 

So I applied and was given a trial article. I had a bunch of questions, which I asked, and I was nervous. I’ve been giving my opinion about games for so long, but this was “official”. It would be published on a website that was visited by hundreds of thousands of people and would, if I was lucky, be read by a few thousand people. It was a big deal to me.

 

 

I finished the article relatively fast. I kept it for a couple of days and read it and re-read it and edited it so many times that I was worried that I would begin fixing things that didn’t need fixed. I showed it to friends and asked them for their opinions. Eventually, I worked up the courage to turn it in.

 

 

Well, here I am, a few months after I’ve started writing for OnRPG.com and I’m feeling pretty good about myself. I get paid a reasonable sum of money to sit on my butt and play video games and then type out my thoughts and opinions on it. It’s a bit more than that, but to be completely honest, that’s the gist of it. Recently, though, I’ve began to worry.

 

 

A while back, I came across an article by Jeff Labine that discussed how “Game Journalist” are not really journalist at all. They are commentators, reviewers, and entertainers, he says. And as much as I would like not to, I cannot agree with him more. I am not a journalist. I have no formal training in journalism, no experience with it. If I were to give myself a title, it would be Game Commentator or something of that kind.

 

 

I’m not a big name in game journalism. Heck, I’m barely known on OnRPG. So all the game journalism controversy that are plaguing the industry lately seem far away from me. However, I have a feeling that someday they may reach me and it has got me thinking and noticing more things about the industry.

 

 

Popular industry figure heads are demanding change. It feels like the whole industry is about to explode and demand a change to how game journalism works. They will no longer be satisfied with people like me just giving their opinions on games. They want hard-hitting journalist that will do actual journalism. Investigate issues within the industry and demand developers and publishers to be held accountable for the lazy practices that have strangled innovation. They want bad games to be called out on their shit, rather than be praised for simply being a game.

 

 

And failure to practice proper journalism affects all sides. Games that do not deserve praise get it, games that deserve praise fail to receive it because they aren’t as popular as other games. Sometimes, writers fail to show all sides of a story and unintentionally present a biased opinion. I came across something like this today, actually.

 

 

I present the article I came across on another forum. The thread I found it in had a lot of comments about how wrong it was. I originally thought the comments were just a case of fanboyism, as the forum I found it on was the Mortal Online forum. I wanted to see if what they were saying was true, so I went ahead and read it.

 

 

Honestly, I’ve got to agree that the writer has forgotten to include a lot of key facts about the donation goals. Such as the interview being only one of many rewards the guy got for his $1,000 donation, a rare collector’s edition of the game signed by the developers, life time subscription, some in-game titles and cosmetic rewards. He even got to name an NPC in the game. Some people were in the thought process that lawyers should be involved because of the article.

 

 

On the Mortal forums, another donor who had won the right to an interview prior to the interview mentioned in the article said, “This is media at its absolute worst. Whoever wrote this article should lose his job. He apparently did little to no research, or he is incredibly biased with an agenda. I was the first person to receive an interview, and I will flat out say that this writer is making things up, and trying to misconstrue facts. The interview is a minor bonus to being a top donor. The biggest satisfaction from donating is knowing that this game is very much alive, and moving forward in a good direction.”

 

 

Another user says that donations were something that the community asked for, and thinks the writer of the Massively article should have included that information.

 

 

Of course, if we take a look at the other side, such as the comments made on the Massively article itself, people are praising the writer for calling out SV on this. Others are saying they will never trust Star Vault because they believe that they ask for money just to talk to the developers. Is this the hard-hitting journalism that people want?

 

 

Personally, I’ve had a similar occurrence when the anti-SV posters at MMORPG.com wanted to have me fired because they felt I had one too many nice things about Mortal Online. Was I in the wrong with my review of the game? Was the Massively writer wrong with their article?

 

 

Stuff like this, it all makes me wonder. Will I be needed as a writer anymore when this change in what people want from game journalist occurs? If it occurs? Perhaps it will all blow over and will be forgotten. When I write an article, I sign it: Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist. But I can’t stop thinking that perhaps I shouldn’t be. Perhaps we all shouldn’t be using that term so lightly without accepting the responsibilities that come with it.

 

 

-Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), Game Commentator, Reviewer, maybe even Journalist, and perhaps even Entertainer

Camelot Unchained

Camelot Unchained is Mark Jacob’s ultimate vision of the evolution of RvR MMORPG combat. With features all built around the central concept of Tri-Realm combat, those seeking a game without confrontation need not apply. Crafting, raids, housing, and more will all orbit around this central theme. The game also is promised to operate around the concept that death is meaningful or else PvP can’t have meaning. Fast Travel is also likely to be non-existent as a strategic design philosophy for better RvR. Classes are likely to exist but skills will be leveled through use. More features to come.

AlphaBeta Soup 2/8: Neverwinter, Eldevin, Legend of Edda, and More!

An exciting weekend is ahead with the first Neverwinter Closed Beta, the second Closed Beta weekend for Defiance and many more ongoing beta events. There is certainly something for everyone this weekend. So get out there and have some fun!

As ever any new additions are highlighted below in orange.

OnRPG Giveaways

These are all the beta giveaways currently running on OnRPG. There’s no guarantee that we won’t run out so grab them quick.

Broken Realm Beta Key
Chrono Tales Open Beta Pack
Empire Universe III Closed Beta
Godsrule Beta Key
Legend of Edda Closed Beta Keys

Dates Announced:

Below are the MMOs who have announced upcoming beta events that haven’t started yet.

NavyField 2 Closed Beta January 31-February 28
Legend of Edda Closed Beta Next Week
Defiance Closed Beta February 8-10
Neverwinter Closed Beta February 8-10, March 8-10, 22-24
Radiated Wasteland Open Beta February 11
Eldevin Closed Beta March
Origins of Malu Closed Beta March 30
Dragon Nest EU Closed Beta February 27
ArcheAge Chinese Beta starting May 2013
Age of Wulin: EU Closed Beta 2013
The Aurora World: North American Closed Beta First Quarter 2013

Alpha:

These games are currently in Alpha. Signups are available via the link.

Dragon Nest EU
Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn Beta Sign Ups Now Available
The Repopulation
Xulu

Closed Beta:

MMOs which are in closed beta require application and often require approval before access can be gained.
Age of Wulin(EU, Asia) EU in Early 2013
Age of Wushu(US)
Ascension: Arenas of War 
Black Prophecy Tactics: Nexus Conflict
Born To Fire
Bounty Hounds Online Closed beta server closed until further notice.
Chrono Tales
City of Steam Currently between betas
Defiance
Dust 514
Firefall
Grimlands Between Betas
JollyGrim
Legend of Edda Vengeance
MechWarrior Tactics
Marvel Heroes
Patterns
RF Online EU
Salem
The Showdown Effect
SMITE
Starlight Story
Strategoria
Transformers Universe Now accepting applications.
UFO Online
The War Z
Warface
World of Warplanes

Open Beta:

Games in open beta require an application but often it is little more than signing up for an account.

Absolute Force Online
Auto Club Revolution (Russian)
Broken Realms
DK Online
Dust 514
End of Nations Open Beta delayed until further notice, refunds have been issued.
GUNS and ROBOTS
Hawken
MechWarrior Online
Path of Exile
Oversoul
Raceroom Racing
Ragnarok 2
Real World Racing
SmashMuck Champions
Universal Monsters Online
War Thunder
WorldAlpha
World of Dragons (Russian)

Special Forces: Team X – Let me show you REAL Action!

Special Forces: Team X – Let me show you what action REALLY looks like!

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Special Forces: Team X is a third-person shooter with an emphasis of intense action combat. You are given many options to form your character to your own style of combat. Choose from many active and passive abilities, as well as lots of weapons options including attachments. The options available extend so far as to allow you and your fellow players to dynamically generate the game map before the game starts. Zombie Studio has brought another great title to the market, so let’s take a closer look at it.

 

 

Features

Lots of Customization – From characters, to weapons, to the game map itself. There is a lot of customization in this game for a Shooter.

Active and Passive skills – Choose from several different active and passive skills you can use to give yourself and your teammates an advantage.

Dynamic Maps – Use the in-game voting system before each match to decide the layout of the map you will be playing on.

Take cover – Use objects to take cover and protect yourself from enemy fire while dishing out your own onslaught on to unsuspecting victims.

Level Progression – Unlock new abilities, equipment, weapons and attachments as you progress through the levels.

Fast, intense actions – Everything in the game is designed to give you an intense experience.

 

 

Special Forces: Team X has a surprising amount of features for a shooter. A lot of them came as a surprise to me, too. My mind was blown when I realized what was happening at the start of my first game. The combat was fun and it had a great feeling to it, something that can be hard to achieve. I really appreciated all the available features and a majority of them works perfectly.

 

 

Customization

You are given a decent amount of options for making yourself unique in Special Forces: Team X. More than I am used to getting in a shooter, actually. You are able to customize your characters clothing, your weapon attachments, abilities and more. It seems like the current trend for shooters is to give players a lot of options in how their character looks or how their equipment works. I am glad the genre is moving in this direction, and this game is a prime example of this change.

 

 

Graphics

Special Forces: Team X features a very stylized graphic style to fit with its action-packed combat. The animations and effects were great and I enjoyed all of it a lot. The style used is similar to that used in Borderlands, so while it’s not quite ‘serious’, it does try to keep semi-realistic dimensions. It all adds up to enhance the intensity of the game while keeping it fun and light hearted.

 

 

Controls

For the most part, the controls in Special Forces: Team X are smooth. You have your typical shooter control scheme – WASD movement, shift to sprint, Ctrl for crouch, right mouse button for aiming, left mouse button for shooting. When you are next to a wall, a fence, or something else that can be used for cover, you can press space bar to have your character press itself against it. I was a bit put off when I initially learned that I could only use my mouse to control which direction I run while sprinting, it just felt very restricting. Once you get past that and get used to the movement while taking cover, things worked very well.

 

 

Community

I didn’t notice much talking going on while playing Special Forces: Team X. This gave me the impression that people were spending more time playing rather than talking crap. Whenever I had a question, however, it usually got answered. Something I found really weird was that Zombie Studios does not provide a forum (at least not that I could find) for discussion of the game; if you want to discuss it you will have to go to a third-party forum. Overall, however, I would say that interacting with the community was a pleasant experience.

 

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Gameplay

Now it’s time to discuss the important stuff. The actual gameplay of Special Forces: Team X. First, I’ll say that the game was great to play. It was fun, intense and time flied when I was playing. There is only one thing I did not like, which I will mention next.

 

 

The one thing I did not like was the match finder. It seemed to be lacking in functionality. Sure, it has a semi-decent filter, but there are a lot of important things missing that would make finding a match a better experience. Key among the missing features is the ability to have games be listed by the number of people in them or ping. In most match finders, you can click the “ping” or “players” fields and have it re-order the list of available games from highest to lowest or vice versa. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a possibility here.

 

 

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about the most important part of the game, the combat. Combat was, from my experiences, great. The weapons seemed to be balanced well and none of them seemed hyper-accurate or have too much recoil like some shooters do it. Of course, using the attachment system, you can change things like the recoil or accuracy of your gun. There are some weapons that might be considered over-powered, but these spawn on the map and anyone can grab them. Also in the game is the ability to grab the weapons of fallen enemies or allies, so all you have to do is kill someone to get their weapon.

 

 

Taking cover is very important in a shooter. Unfortunately, most games seem to forget this and do not give players the ability to make real use of it. Some games do not even give you the ability to lean from side to side. Thankfully, this is not a problem in Special Forces: Team X. All you have to do is get near a wall, or a barricade, or nearly anything else and press space bar and your character will press itself against it and take cover. You can then shoot over it at incoming enemies. This, combined with other movement options, such as rolling from cover to cover, make for some epic gun fights.

 

 

At the beginning of each match, players vote on different possible parts of the map. The three parts that get the most votes get put together to create the map for the match. I was mind blown again by this feature. I had read about it when looking up the game, but it didn’t hit me how awesome it was until I actually got to experience it. Because of this system, there is a large range of different possible maps you can play on.

 

 

Just as the name implies, Special Forces: Team X focuses on team work. You will need to work with your teammates to achieve your goals in the different game types. To help encourage this, Zombie Studios has given the game a bonus system. If you are near your teammates, you will get a multiplier that gets higher over time. This means to get the most out of the game you will need to stick with your team and complete objectives rather than going around and accomplishing nothing but a high K/D as a lonewolf.

 

 

Conclusion

Playing Special Forces: Team X was a fantastic experience. It’s rare for a game, especially in the Shooter genre, to accomplish any kind of uniqueness, yet this game does it. I am typically not a fan of third-person shooters, yet I enjoyed this one thoroughly. The features, such as the dynamic maps, make this game standout amongst its competition. If you are looking for an exciting third-person shooter, I suggest you give this one a look as you won’t regret it.

 

 

Features: 4/5 – It gave me just about every feature I could ask for in a Shooter.

Customization: 5/5 – You are given a very nice amount of options.

Graphics: 3/5 – Not the highest quality, but the style used helps make up for it.

Controls: 3/5 – Some things took a bit to get used to, but overall they worked well.

Community: 4/5 – I had no negative experience with it, but I would have liked a forum.

 

Overall: 4/5 – It’s always a great experience to find a game that you can give a good score, and Special Forces: Team X definitely deserves this 4 out of 5.

Early Access: Neverwinter

Early Access: Neverwinter

By Jonathan Doyle (Ardua), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

There are many ways I could talk about the recent Press Beta for Neverwinter ahead of this weekend’s beta.

 

 

We’ll get right to the meat of it. Have Perfect World and Cryptic delivered something you should play?

 

 

Absolutely yes.

 

 

I am not sure when that reality finally came together in my brain, all I can do is bring you through what’s on offer and see if it comes together for you as well.

 

 

New Experiences

I personally have never before played Dungeons and Dragons. I dabbled in Dungeons & Dragons Online from Turbine but beyond that, I haven’t really ever actually had the pleasure of sitting down with a bunch of people and hacking and slashing my way through an adventure. 

 

 

In my limited experience then, I think it’s safe to say that’s changed. Coming into the game you are presented with the creator and by the end of it, you have a proper character sheet. Stats are rolled up, racial modifiers are applied, you get your city, and you get your background… I end up tied to this character because well… it all bodes thinking about. Do I want more Charisma? Should I reroll everything? What about how I want to play the character? All of that and nothing said about actually crafting the character.

 

 

Custom Custom Custom

City of Heroes started out life in Cryptic land. Champions Online and Star Trek Online sprung from those self same brains. If there’s one thing you can expect from Cryptic it is the ability to craft the ideal character for yourself. They haven’t let you down here. In fact, given the realities of Neverwinter, it’s safe to say they’ve gone beyond that and are letting you craft the game that you want.

 

 

Back to the character though. Cryptic makes it easy to just go with a preset. Practically “Yeah that Dwarf looks fine, let’s go with him”. If you want to be in the game quick, it’s a matter of clicks. If you want the Dwarf, the Halfling, the Tiefling of your dreams. Well… they have that covered. I’d even argue maybe a bit too thoroughly. Do I really need to be able to give myself nails that would give Wolverine pause? Me personally almost certainly not but there’s someone out there who has a Half Elf in mind with nails that’d take your eyes out. Everyone is covered.

 

 

Walking the World

Character created, named and born into battle in Neverwinter; what comes next? Well… battle. Lots and lots of battle. The tutorial section is brief, rewarding and doesn’t threaten to overwhelm you. Between a “Level Up Wizard” that reminds you what each new ding brings and a sparkling path (that yes you can turn off) that leads you along the encounter, it’s hard to get lost in the new world as you see it.

 

The Level-Up Wizard Has Spoken

 

The combat gets laid out quickly and sticks to the action ideal. Two at will powers are bound to the left and right mouse buttons. Movement is your standard W,A,S,D and other powers are then bound to keys 1-5 and Q, E and R. Place your hands, start your engines, slay!

 

 

At first I admit, I was a little confused by the battle. Using a power (in fact you can hold down left click and just spam whatever it is) rooted my little Dwarf to the spot. Not that that was a problem, I kept the mobs in my sights and reintroduced them to their graves. Since then I have heard the design decisions and have to say I agree with them. Planting your feet, shifting your hips and hurling that bolt of energy really feels more involved to me than circle strafing with fireballs.

 

 

By the end of the short encounter tutorial you’ll be packing a daily power, some basic potions and such, both mouse powers and some of the encounter powers.

 

 

Why?

Everything else I could review… I could take you through the intricacies of character building, I could go on and on about the companion system, I could even wax lyrical about why I love Dwarfs. What’s really important though is why would or should you play?

 

 

First, cost. It’s honestly true. Neverwinter is free to download and free to play. Yes of course there’s a shop involved, you’ve seen the founder’s packs. Yes there will be other transactions to tempt you, but this is a game that is literally asking for no money down.

 

 

Secondly, the experience.

 

 

It really started to come together for me when Art Lead in Cryptic Joe Jing brought myself and some others through one of the five man dungeons, specifically the Cloak Tower.  That’s when all the little touches that I personally saw and knew to be the signature style of Cryptic studios made sense. That’s when I knew why everyone should visit Neverwinter.

 

 

It’s fun. But it’s not just generic fun. It’s as I said before – whatever you want it to be. Role-players can have the deep Dungeons and Dragons experience that they want. Lore hounds can come and see how the world is changing. In fact lore questions seemed the most popular during our dungeon run. Why certain Tribes of Orcs were here and what happened to other places and so on. It really really is Dungeons and Dragons. It really is Neverwinter.

 

 

Then there’s the Foundry and it all takes off.

 

 

User Generated content is hardly new, but it all matters what you do with it. Thinking about the Foundry is what finally brought it home for me. Do you just want to kick back with four other friends and go beat seven shades of you know what out of a dungeon? There’ll be one for you. Heck, if there isn’t, you can make one. Hop on the Guardian Fighter you love so much, chat with friends over the built in Voice Chat and let rip with the mayhem. Fight till the pansy Elves can’t keep up.

 

 

Even better, do you want to craft a story? Do you want to give those selfsame friends a treat and spin a tale for them that will draw them in and reward you all for it?

 

 

That’s what got me. I have never played Dungeons and Dragons, but now I can. I can be the DM over my own personal Foundry born story. I can be part of an adventuring group out to conquer anything the Devs and the players can throw at me. I can just be a random Halfling stabbing my way through the world. Barring some 5-man dungeons, anything you want to do is there for you to solo or tackle with friends. In the end it all got me because it wasn’t a question if Neverwinter was right for me personally.

 

 

Neverwinter is right for you and your mates. It’s ripe for bringing friends together and beating them over the head with fun. It’s a world poised to introduce itself to anyone who has ever wanted to hop in and dungeoneer.

 

 

Biggest selling point isn’t that it’s completely free. It’s a fun time waiting to ambush you and your friends and keep you coming back again and again.

 

 

Editor’s Note: Be sure to check out our screenshot section for more character customization images!

OnRPG Shotgun News 2/8: APB, WoW, TERA, and Webzen

OnRPG Shotgun News 2/8: APB, WoW, TERA, and Webzen

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

 

APB Gears up for Valentines

APB Reloaded is getting ready for the most romantic of holidays with loving events like the Valentine’s Week Massacre and Rev My Engine events. There will be unique gifts for those special someones, titles for participating in the events and much, much more!

 

 

World of Warcraft Subscriptions Down

During the quarterly update Blizzard announced that though World of Warcraft is the third best selling PC game in retail subscription numbers are down. Q3 of 2012 saw 10 million subscriptions but by Q4 this was down to 9.6 million. It sounds like a lot but you won’t have to worry about WoW going F2P anytime soon.

 

 

UOL BoaCompra Signs Partnership with Webzen

Latin American publisher UOL BoaCompra has announced a new partnership with Webzen. The partnership will see Webzen games offered in Brazil with the Latin American publisher taking care of the finances while offering Webzen’s portfolio.

 

 

TERA Offers Double Dungeon Drops

For this weekend only TERA is offering double the drops inside all dungeons. This comes just days after the game went free to play. Incentive to take a look? I think so.

gamigo acquires North American license for Fiesta Online from Outspark

gamigo acquires North American license for Fiesta Online from Outspark

 

Fiesta Online

 

gamigo Inc. has acquired substantial assets from the San Francisco based publisher, Outspark. The license of the successful online game, Fiesta Online, for the USA, Canada, and Mexico is to become a part of gamigo’s extensive online games portfolio.

 

 

gamigo Inc. is a 100% subsidiary of the fast growing gamigo AG, one of the leading European publishers of online games in the Free-to-Play market. Fiesta Online is already operated and marketed by gamigo in Europe (including Germany, France, Italy, and Spain). The acquisition of the North American license for Fiesta Online with over 1.2 million registered players means a substantial turnover growth as well as improvement in efficiency for marketing and game development. Fiesta Online is a very successful MMORPG and is very popular with its players thanks to its community features and gameplay. The purchase price is not to be released.

 

 

“It’s an amazing ending to Outspark, one of the earliest and greatest founders of the Free-to-Play MMO space” said Philip Yun, CEO of Outspark. “We’ve had a great time building up Outspark and gamigo will take the combined Fiesta to the next stage and build further onto the pioneer work that has been done by Outspark. We are happy to announce that also a substantial part of the team has joined gamigo, and will work from gamigo’s San Francisco office to manage and support the games.”

 

 

Due to this acquisition gamigo Inc. will be relocating its US office from New York to San Francisco and the staff will be increased. In parallel to this, gamigo will also increase its marketing efforts for its existing titles in North America. As well as Fiesta, the online games Cultures Online, King of Kings 3, Golfstar and Loong will especially be focused upon.

 

 

Patrick Streppel, Executive Board Member at gamigo, said: “The acquisition of the North American license of Fiesta Online is a big step for gamigo as part of our increased focus on our strongest titles. This will further strengthen our international position and generate further synergies. In addition, the already excellent co-operation with the Korean game developer Ons On Soft, of which gamigo AG holds a minority stake, will be further intensified.”