Monthly Archives: April 2013

Guild Wars 2 Goes 8-Bit in April

 

 

Hi, my name is Shannon and I’m an altoholic. I’m also completely addicted to Guild Wars 2 at the moment. So I’m taking over! A huge thank you to Merry who previously wrote the Guild Wars 2 coverage for OnRPG called Tyrian Times. If you’re a fan of Merry you can still catch her weekly WoW articles every Wednesday. I’ve decided to make the transformation complete with a name change! I just haven’t thought of a name yet. What would you call a weekly article about GW2?

 

 

Anyway, enough about all that lets get to the topic on everyone’s mind right now. The Super Adventure Box!

 

 

Now I don’t know about anyone else but I have been logging in and playing through it at least once every day since it came out. And I’m pretty sure that is going to continue all month.

 

 

What’s that? You’ve been on Mars all week and not had internet access so you have no idea what I’m talking about? Well let me get you up to speed. On April Fools Day Guild Wars 2 went retro. Complete with a rendition of the Guild Wars 2 theme that sounds like it came straight off an NES. Along with it for 24 hours (give or take some) 8-bit style chests littered the word which when opened unleashed little 8-bit creatures. Why were the chests there? A little Asura in Rata Sum named Moto. Who is named after Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, and you know just about every other awesome old school game out there. They even made Moto look like him! Well, sort of.

 

 

 

 

He invented a new educational tool called the Super Adventure Box. Best of all he’s asking you to test it out! Ok, that may not actually be the best part. The 80s style commercial really…well, it’s totally righteous!

 

 

Ok, so the point is the Super Adventure Box is a limited time dungeon which takes place in a 3d 8-bit style world where you have to save the Princess. It is available to play in Rata Sum but only for the month of April. In it you collect baubles which can be used to buy tools in the Super Adventure Box, or if you take them outside the box with you and talk to Moto you can get anything from Obsidian Shards to awesome weapon skins. But, I warn you now. The skins aren’t cheap. It costs 250 baubles to make a bauble bubble. And the weapon skins cost 50 bubbles! Thankfully we have all month to get them.

 

 

Now, I have seen a few people complaining on various forums about the Super Adventure Box. I have a theory about them. They were most likely a child of the 90s. So for them its “ghetto” instead of the awesome nostalgia trip for anyone older. This theory is mostly supported by the amounts of times I’ve heard/read someone saying the SAB is based off Minecraft. It reminds me of all the Twilight fangirls who freaked out when The Wolfman came out. They screamed that it was ruining what “real” werewolves were like, pointing to Jacob Black as a real werewolf. (Though amusingly wiki doesn’t list Twilight as a movie with werewolves in it.) Then on the other side of the coin there are those of us, of which there are many more, who love it! I would love to see the Super Adventure Box become something like the Fractals that is left in all year and becomes a regular part of Tyria. Of course, if that happened it would kill the potential uses for it in future April Fools Day jokes. But you know, I’d be ok with that.

 

 

Have you found all the secrets yet? I haven’t! I only found out about the warp worm yesterday. And I’ve only seen one of the Queen Bee Dogs though I’ve read that there are more. I also haven’t completed world 2-1, Rapids yet. I have been digging up a ton of the secret digging spots though to get those baubles. And I plan on investing in the bombs this weekend to get at the secret caves.

 

 

How about those rumors that the next levels will be coming in the next month?

 

 

Sadly, ArenaNet’s Josh Foreman has shot those rumors down. They will be coming though! But there are no promises on when. And it has been said that they would like to do more weapon skins for when they are released because not every weapon type has a skin. And this is something that annoyed quite a lot of players, especially anyone who plays an Engineer. They get enough hate already don’t they? But that’s a subject for a future article.

 

Have fun in the Super Adventure Box. But keep in mind there is more going on in Tyria. Centaurs are still marching into Human lands, the danger from the Molten Alliance is growing into what may turn into an all out war, and the Risen are always a danger. You may leave Rata Sum on May 1st to see that Tyria has been handed over to the forces of evil because all the heroes were trying to save a digital Princess.

 

 

But don’t let that deter you. Enjoy the SAB while you can. It is a great trip down memory lane with many jokes and nods to games gone by that only someone who played them would know. And don’t let the naysayers get you down. Every party has a pooper.

Empire Universe 3 – Conquer the Universe from the Safety of Your Computer Chair

Empire Universe 3 – Conquer the Universe from the Safety of Your Computer Chair

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Empire Universe 3 is the third game in a series of Empire Universe games, brought to us by Looki Publishing. It is a browser-based empire-builder with focuses on RTS-style elements. You can choose from a selection of species and planets to start your empire on and expand by conquering, researching, and building. It aims to be the ultimate in browser-based sci-fi games.

 

 

Features

Empire Building – Build your empire from the ground up and expand.

 

Resource Management – Conquer new plants and construct resource facilities to build your fleets.

 

Deploy Fleets – Build and control space ships, group them in to fleets and use them to expand and maintain your empire.

 

Tech Research – Develop your empires technology by training scientist to research.

 

Rich Sci-fi Setting – Choose from many different races, each unique to the Empire Universe lore.

 

Empire Universe 3 has every feature you could want from a space-themed empire builder. Resource management, conquering, tech advancement. It’s all there. The good news is that with Empire Universe 3, you are getting the refined and polished features tried in the previous two games. The only feature I did not like was the long wait times when doing certain things, such as upgrading buildings or some advanced research.

 

 

Customization

Customization in Empire Universe 3 was actually nice for a browser-based empire builder. You get to choose from one of the many available races/species and you get to choose how your starting planet looks. Beyond the initial empire creation, you are given plenty of options to choose your own path in the game. Of course, there is a pretty linear research path, at least at first, but you are still presented with a lot of freedom in choices.

 

 

Graphics

Empire Universe 3 has a lot of great art. It’s got a fully functioning interface that allows you to quickly and easily access many different features. There is a tiny bit of animation to give the otherwise stale scenes a bit of life. Despite everything being text-based at its core, the game offers graphics for everything to make it a lot less of a headache to sift through the data. Overall, the graphics are OK for what the game is.

 

 

Controls

I was surprised by how fluid and smooth the interface in Empire Universe 3. I am used to clunky controls when it comes to Empire Builders. Everything is displayed in an easy to reach place, so you don’t have to go through menu after menu just to figure out some tiny bit of information, yet at the same time it’s not over-packed. Every button I clicked on responded quickly. I would say the controls were good overall.

 

 

Community

I found the community in Empire Universe 3 to be extremely helpful. I had all my questions answered and received help and tips from vet players. I was invited in to a powerful alliance by a helpful player as soon as I got my government building up and functional. This is a game of alliances, so you will want to make friends. Interacting with those in the community will be important for expanding your empire.

 

 

Gameplay

With Empire Universe 3, you get your typical empire-building elements: City building, resource management, army creation, alliances, conquering new cities. However, it is given a new sci-fi skin and some new and neat features are thrown in to the mix. I’ve got to say that this was one of the more well thought-out empire-builders I’ve played. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on your perspective), the game takes a lot of time to accomplish things.

 

 

What I mean by the above is that the game has very long timers to accomplish objectives. An example is when I leveled by resource facility to level 2. That alone took over thirteen hours to complete. Luckily, every player is given access to the build queue for free. While I was talking to a vet players, who originally played Empire Universe 2, he said that a majority of people who quit the game do so because of the long timers.

 

 

Speaking of timers, there is only one way to shorten them, and that is with the cash shop money. Using real money, you can buy a special type of “crystal”. Using these crystals, you can greatly reduce, or completely eliminate, the timers on actions. In a game such as Empire Universe 3, this means that those with the bigger wallet could (potentially) have an advantage over others. I understand that the game needs to make money, though.

 

 

Like most empire-builders, you choose a race, start a city, and slowly build your empire from there and then expand out. Also like most empire-builders, you expand your available buildings and “troop” types by research. This game does not do it as linear as some games do, but there is a recommended “path” that most vet players will suggest you take so that you will not be at a complete disadvantage when you become vulnerable to attack.

 

 

To be honest, I was put off a lot by the long wait times, and it was hard for the game to hold my interest because of it. Sometimes it made sense, other times it did not. I have to admit that it does extend the lifespan of the available content though. It also means you need to play a decent amount of time before you can start doing some of the more fun things.

 

Conclusion

Empire Universe 3 is a decent game. If you do not mind the long timers and are looking for a game that only requires a small time investment each day, this could be what you are looking for. If you are looking for a game that is non-stop action, you aren’t in the right place. I really enjoyed the deep sci-fi lore that the game has, and the game was easy to use thanks to the innovative user interface. This is great for what it is and I suggest anyone looking for a solid empire-builder check it out.

 

 

Features: 3/5

Customization: 3/5

Graphics: 3/5

Controls: 4/5

Community: 5/5

 

Overall: 3/5 – While a lot of the game is familiar if you’ve played empire-builders before, Empire Universe 3 still manages to build on the existing series and improve past most of the competition in this MMO niche.

Empire Universe III

Empire Universe 3 is the third game in a series of Empire Universe games, brought to us by Looki Publishing. It is a browser-based empire-builder with focuses on RTS-style elements. You can choose from a selection of species and planets to start your empire on and expand by conquering, researching, and building. It aims to be the ultimate in browser-based sci-fi games.

ChronoBlade

Raise your weapon and fight for more than your own dimension; the survival of all realities hangs by a thread. Battle through the many strange realms of the Multiverse, seek out the truth behind the Chronarch war, and unleash the power to save all worlds!

 

 

Features

Real-Time Multiplayer Game Play: Players can team up with friends to play synchronously in Co-op Mode or competitively in PvP mode.

 

Competitive Combat: Each character has over 30 punishing ground and air attacks that can be used together to perform powerful chain combos. Attacks can be dodged, blocked and countered so skill and timing are key elements of competitive game play.

 

Hyper-Accessibility: ChronoBlade will launch on the browser as a Flash-based free-to-play game so there are no large files to download and players can hop in and start playing instantly.

 

Graphics & Technology: Characters, enemies and combat are displayed with stunning 3-D visuals using Adobe® Flash® Player’s Stage3D hardware accelerated graphics. Proprietary back-end tech enables minimal player lag and a streamlined player lobby system.

 

Open-Ended Character Progression: Players can choose from a variety of characters, as well as build up offensive and defensive skill trees to create characters that best fit their playing styles.

 

Eden Eternal Releases Latest Content Update

Eden Eternal Releases Latest Content Update

 

 

The world of Eden Eternal just got a little brighter with a new content update! Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games, has announced the latest patch for the fan-favorite massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), bringing new features and zones to the ever-growing world.

 

 

The most prominent addition, the Arcane Box, brings a brand-new fusion system to Eden Eternal. The Arcane Box has several functions for upgrading characters, such as the ability to fuse five existing costumes together to create a stronger one with increased stats. Players can also disassemble weapons for raw materials, then use those materials to shift around the stats on their gear or upgrade their newer weapons.

 

 

Players will of course want to take their upgraded items into fresh areas. The new PvP-specific zone Elysian Island has opened up for those interested in doing battle with fellow players. On the PvE side, two new dungeons—the hazardous Vingot Lab and the enigmatic Destruction Dimension are available for brave parties to venture into and conquer.

 

 

Learn more at Aeria’s Official Site!

Elder Scribe: Goodnight Mundus, Hello Cyrodiil

Elder Scribe: Goodnight Mundus, Hello Cyrodiil

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

 

 

In the great green tomb
There was a chaurus
And a draugr that had been dead since Sundas
And a picture of…
A guar jumping over the Mundus
And there were two netches sitting on benches

And a frost troll with a sweet roll
And an Orcish oaf with a horker loaf

And a storm atronach with the Wabbajack
And an old Moth priest who was whispering, “magicka”

Goodnight Mundus
Goodnight chaurus
Goodnight guar jumping over the Mundus

Goodnight draugr that had been dead since Sundas
Goodnight frost troll
Goodnight sweet roll
Goodnight Orcish oaf with a horker loaf
Goodnight atronach
Goodnight wabbajack
And Goodnight to the Moth priest whispering, “magicka”

Goodnight ogrim, Dremora, clannfear
Goodnight Daedra everywhere

 

 

A lovely bed time story for the children of Tamriel told by Loremaster Lawrence Schick. It may have been lost in the excitement and confusion that is April Fools Day, but I saw the video and now I pass it on. It may not be the most child friendly night time story but then again we have lullabies like Rock-a-bye Baby.

 

 

From the looks of it this is just the first in a new series of youtube videos made by ZeniMax called Bedtime Tales of Tamriel. Or maybe that’s just me and my wishful thinking.

 

 

But if bed time stories aren’t for you there is plenty more to be found. There have been two combat related Ask Us Anything sessions. There they tackle questions from the hardcore to the random. Important questions about taking arrows to the knee and sneaking around. You can find the questions and answers on the official ESO website by going here and here.

 

 

And finally for this week the conflict in Cyrodiil, Part 1. War rages between the Alliances of The Elder Scrolls Online. Cyrodiil becomes available at level 10 though there is plenty of PvP going on there is also a little something for everyone. Desperate towns who will accept assistance from any Alliance willing to help. And though the townspeople will be neutral the streets will be patrolled by soldiers from the local keep, who may or may not be friendly. And between the repeatable town quests you’ll be able to rummage for crafting resources in the vast and diverse landscape. And if you’re very lucky you may run across some valuable materials which can only be found in Cyrodiil. And crafting tables will be available in the safe areas near the entrances of Cyrodiil. And for the explorers amongst us there are ruins and caves filled with unknown treasures. If you’re interesting in something a little more long term you can take part in campaigns. These campaigns run for months and are a battle for control over Cyrodiil. How well your alliance performs in the campaign will affect bonuses players can get across the world. If you do take part in the battles in Cyrodiil you’ll be rewarded with Alliance Points which can be used to buy armor, weapons or even advancing skills that are specific to Cyrodiil.

 

 

This sounds a lot like WvW in Guild Wars 2 but expanded. As someone who hates PvP I’ve found this sort of set up very inviting. And it thrills me to see that there will be something similar in ESO.

 

 

In part 2 the discussion will move to securing and defending keeps, resource objectives and the siege weapons that will be used to do so. So be sure to keep an eye open for the next article on OnRPG. And just in case you missed it, I teamed up with my real life partner in crime fighting Jonathan “Ardua” Doyle to cover our ESO gameplay at PAX East. Between the two of us we had three hours with the beautiful game and we wanted to share that experience with everyone. Check it out here. But before I sign off for the week I want to ask you which you prefer to use. Is The Elder Scrolls Online shortened to ESO or TESO? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

OnRPG Shotgun News 4/4: Neverwinter, WildStar, Darkfall, and Much More!

OnRPG Shotgun News 4/4: Neverwinter, WildStar, Darkfall, and Much More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

 

Neverwinter Announces Open Beta

Perfect World and Cryptic Studios have announced the date Neverwinter will go into open beta. Break out your calendars and mark April 30th! And if you’ve bought a Founder’s Pack you’ll get an extra weekend in before then starting April 12th. There will be no character wipes, and no restricted access after the start of open beta at the end of the month.

 

 

 

ESL and Nexon Europe Team Form eSports League

Nexon Europe, the publisher of Combat Arms and the Electronic Sports League (ESL) have joined forces to create an eSports league for Combat Arms. Total prizes for the league will amount to $50,000! The first weekly and monthly cups are already taking place and the final will be held later in the year in ESL’s TV studio inCologne.

 

 

Darkfall: Unholy Wars Announces Launch Date

After delaying the launch of Darkfall: Unholy Wars several times Aventurine has happily announced that the launch would be taking place in less than two weeks. The date, April 16th was announced on the official forums by developers yesterday.

 

EVE Looking for Player’s Stories

CCP has launched a new effort to collect stories from EVE. It’s called True Stories from the First Decade. They’re looking for stories from the players themselves about their favorite moments in EVE. Some may even be used to inspire future books, comics, TV or film initiatives set within the EVE universe.

 

 

World of Tanks 8.5 Incoming

New German and Soviet tanks will come to World of Tanks with Update 8.5. As well as more changes to the in game economy which includes allowing players to buy premium consumables with silver credits. And all players will be able to create three member platoons and companies. And finally there will be a new map called Pearl River.

 

 

WildStar Dev Diary Discusses Arena PvP

A new WildStar Dev Diary has been published talking about the Elder Game option, Arena PvP. It goes into the size, why they chose arena style, and things outside the game like leaderboards.

 

 

Digimon Masters Gets Huge Update

Joymax has announced a huge update is coming to Digimon Masters on Tuesday, April 9th. The update includes three new maps as well as three new raids to go along with them. And to celebrate the update players will have until May 7th to complete the Guard the Fire Island questline to get several rewards which include Miracle Fruit, Backup Disks, and Evoluters.

 

 

Vendetta Online Coming to iPad

Guild Software has announced that they were bringing groundbreaking space MMO Vendetta Online to iPad on April 17th. It is currently available on PC, Andriod, Linux, and Mac. It will cost $.99 and have a $1 a month subscription fee.