Monthly Archives: June 2013

Dice Venture

Dice Venture is an online casual board game where players can join friends and family in a classic game with new twists. Players take turns buying and selling properties while traveling around the world for a chance to become billionaire tycoons. Games can be played in either four-player head-to-head mode or in two-on-two team matches, and take about 25 minutes to finish.

Gameglobe

Square-Enix presents the ultimate gaming world builder, Gameglobe. Create an avatar, explore countless player created worlds complete with missions and objectives, and then build your own. Imagination is your only limitation!

Top 10 Reasons E3 2013 is Energizing the MMO Industry

E3 2013 MMO Countdown

With E3 just one weekend away, I have a strange feeling bubbling up in my stomach. Is this excitement… for a gaming convention? I do believe it is! But I haven’t truly looked forward to a gaming convention in nearly two years as the work involved often outweighs the rush of adrenaline I used to feel when thinking about visiting a PAX or E3. Let’s face it, with very few exceptions the online gaming world has been pretty bland lately. But this E3 might just be the breaking point in which we can finally look to our fellow MMO gamers that have stuck it out through the dark ages to nod knowingly, that the prophesized ‘Next-Gen’ titles have begun to arrive.

 

Without further hyperbole, I will show you the top ten reasons I’m stoked to be leading MMOHuts and OnRPG’s E3 2013 coverage!

 

10. Command & Conquer Returns

Nostalgia is strong these days, especially with online gamers who have suffered too many back to back disappointments for so long. The Command and Conquer series can be considered one of the lesser of evils in this concept as their titles have remained quite popular iteration after iteration, but they seem to want to move before they feel the full pinch. How so? By going back to their routes and re-imagining it with more modern technology and graphics. Rose tinted glasses or not, that’s a concept that’s exciting enough to be worth mention.

9. Nival’s Prime World: The Ultimate MOBA Hybrid

Even though I’ve been spending every weekend for the past month sinking hours into building my castle in the new RPG/castle builder/MOBA/WTF hybrid title Prime World, I’m still seriously dying to meet with the representatives from Nival at E3. Why? Because lately they’ve been pushing some interesting surveys on their site that seem to hint at possible massive changes coming to the game. This worries me as I hope they don’t destroy what makes the game so unique in order to attract a larger playerbase and I look forward to confirming my fears are unfounded. Who knows, maybe I’ll even snag a preview of some unreleased heroes or modes in the process?

8.  HEX: Shards of Fate puts the MMO in iTCG

While most iTCG games are thinking small with their ‘revolution’ of gameplay by adding boards and upped animations, HEX is going full on MMORPG mode with raiding, PvP, sieges, and everything else you’d expect from a modern title all based around a trading card game. And while that alone isn’t enough to get me that excited, the fact that it’s being developed by the Cryptozoic, the crew behind the World of Warcraft Official Trading Card game means it’s going to be well balanced and creative. The fact that it’s an original IP means Cryptozoic can go hog wild with testing whatever ideas they prefer. And the fact that their kickstarter goal was $300k and they nearly reached $2.3 million means funding issues should be an afterthought. I can’t wait to learn more about their extended goals at E3.

7. Skara: High risk, High Skill Combat

Now while the above title is a tale of Kickstarter glory, Skara is a tale similar to Camelot Unchained in that it looked like it wasn’t going to fund. Thus I couldn’t be happier to use our sites to build awareness of this title with our E3 coverage because this game NEEDS to happen. It brings so many combat features to the table that you just can’t find in the industry currently. Action combat, skill-based combat, real consequences for defeat, real rewards for victory, a community that builds the story alongside the developers, and unforgiving combat unlike anything before it. If you need to know more about this game NOW, then be sure to read up on Leliah’s interview and back them on Kickstarter asap because they need all the momentum they can get.

6. World of Warships/Wargaming: It might be your grandpappy’s war, but it’s our generations’ ultimate Naval Battle

Wargaming is no stranger to being on top lists at gaming conventions. What most of the press don’t tell you is their legendary parties and massive gaming tournaments are usually just as responsible for this as their games themselves. But this E3 they may just eclipse both with the long awaited reveal of World of Warships! The initial screenshots and video suggest that we’ve never seen a F2P naval title even remotely on par with what Wargaming is bringing to the table. Combined with their constantly updated Tanks and soon to be launched Planes, their booth is not to be missed at E3.

5. Final Fantasy XIV: Can it truly be Reborn as a Successful title?

It’s been two months now since my buddy Platypus has begun talking non-stop about the return of Final Fantasy XIV. Granted the guy is an FF junkie and I didn’t have high hopes for a successful return of this title after its initial launch two years ago. But Square-Enix seems to be willing to pay any price to not lose face on their second stab at an FF MMO and the recent videos seem to set the standard of what Next-Gen graphics should be. Check out Proxzor’s recent beta impressions to alleviate your worries that the game lacks substance behind the pretty graphics. I just need to get my hands on the game myself to confirm the hype, and hopefully grab Platy and a few of our lucky viewers access keys in the process!

4. WildStar: 2013’s Most Anticipated. Don’t let other games tell you otherwise!

I can already hear the cries. “What only #4?! It’s ******* WildStar noob!” Well unfortunately Carbine Studios was unable to prepare their planned E3 reveal in time for the show so it’s mostly going to just be a rehash of all the info we’ve seen so far. Good news if you just recently stumbled across the game and need a time saving way to learn more. Bad news if you’ve been following the title since it’s PAX Prime reveal in 2011 like me. Still I hold quite a bit of joy knowing that the Alienware Booth will have a playable demo since I only managed to sneak in 15 minutes of gametime at PAX East and have been dying to get another fix.

3. Black Gold Online: Snail’s Steampunk/Fantasy Trump Card

Most people are so focused on Snail Games nearly 10 year long dev project, Age of Wushu. But a wild title has been lurking along in the shadows, with only tidbits of it revealed at last year’s ChinaJoy and GDC Austin. Well E3 is apparently the big reveal for Black Gold Online and I’m quite excited for this merely because it looks so fantastic and so little is known about it. And if there’s one thing that gets gaming press going, it’s being the first to see something so foreign and unknown.

2. Trion World’s ArcheAge: Sandbox PvP to the next Level

My number 2 spot goes to Trion Worlds for a combination of reasons. Things have just been crazy with them lately between the break off with Petroglyph and take over of End of Nations, the announcement of RIFT going F2P, and now as if they didn’t have enough attention on them they are using E3 to make the first western reveal of ArcheAge! ArcheAge itself has plenty of controversy going on in the east with its titles going F2P in some regions while being subscription in others. I have plenty of questions that likely won’t get answered by Trion but I’ll be damned if I don’t grill them for every tidbit of information on can now that ArcheAge is finally being actively promoted.

1. Black Desert: A Title Shrouded in Epic Mystery

Pearl Abyss must be one of the most mysterious studios out there. No signs of publishers representing them. A simply English website that virtually just exists to release a trailer roughly once a year. The only real information being released is through translated Korean interviews and the occasional odd Facebook post. Yet what it represents could be a sandbox title with action combat and siege warfare unparalleled in the industry. The best way I could ever hope to compare it to something familiar is if you took the mechanics from recent Legend of Zelda games and built it into an MMORPG. So it goes without saying that I just about blew a gasket when after 5 months of trying I received a response from Pearl Abyss asking if I wanted to talk to them at E3. Brace yourselves, this game might be the sleeper hit that sweeps the MMORPG world and establishes the bar for what a Next Gen title should be.

 

1A. Cosplay!

E3 doesn’t have quite the fanbase size of cosplayers that you might expect at PAX but the ones there are usually professionals and bring their A game. You can be sure we’ll have plenty of pics to share in our upcoming day recap articles so look forward to it!

Now to be sure this is only a glimpse of our E3 coverage as we’re intending to hit up roughly 25 companies over a three day span next week and may even get a look at some awesome PC titles in our downtime like Saints Row IV! Be sure to keep an eye on OnRPG’s Twitter as well for on the fly updates and pictures from the show as it’s happening!

MMOHuts E3 Countdown

And keep a look out on MMOHut’s Youtube as James offers his thoughts on what to look forward to at E3 2013!

ArcheBlade – Early Access Review

By Michael Sagoe (Mikedot), OnRPG Journalist

 

With the MOBA genre becoming more and more popular every day, some game developers have attempted to stir the genre up by throwing in a handful of unique ideas. While some of those ideas have worked much better than expected, other titles, such as ArcheBlade, have shown that mixing MOBA with third-person action only sounds like a good idea on paper.

The developer behind the project, Codebrush Games, describes ArcheBlade as an action game that attempts to capture the thrill of skill-based combat found in fighting games like Street Fighter and Tekken, while combining team oriented gameplay found in MOBA titles such as League of Legends. A neat idea, for sure, but the execution falls short.

Customization

First off, Archeblade currently features 12 different champions for players to choose from, including cowgirl gunslinger, a money obsessed monk, a giant berserker and more (On the other hand, the list of characters could also be considered as only ten if you count Ice and Fire Renny, plus Gaspar and Dick the Megaton as the same character.) While only a handful these champions are available to free users, champions are rotated in and out each week, which is very similar League of Legend’s bi-weekly hero rotation. Players can also make their characters stand out with special re-colors and re-skins of existing champions. However, these skins can only be unlocked by opening up your wallets and plopping down some real cash.

Outside of re-colors and re-skins, no other customization options are available.

ArcheBlade Customization

Controls

ArcheBlade uses a control scheme that’s very similar to third-person shooter titles: WASD for movement, Spacebar to jump, left mouse button for primary attacks and right mouse button for secondary attacks. You can also guard attacks with the E key, perform special actions with shift key and use power attacks with alt key in conjunction with certain secondary attacks. The control scheme can feel somewhat un-responsive at times, and this is due to the fact that all the champions have the same exact movement speed and melee attacks having a slight delay after execution, making it difficult to get a solid hit on opponents.  With many characters having to get into point-blank range before attacking, the controls end up feeling flimsy due to the game’s slow pacing.

 

Gameplay and Features

ArcheBlade is regarded as a team-based action game with fighting game elements. When the thought of fighting games comes to mind, usually one would think of modern fighting games such as Super Street Fighter IV, Tekken 6 or BlazBlue. While the gameplay certainly has the basics of fighting game elements, the gameplay (to its core) comes off as simplistic due to a lack of variety with combo attacks and skill attacks. At most, characters in ArcheBlade only have up to 5 different attack variations, so there’s not much room for experimentation here, as the combos are very short and simple. Even though I have nothing against short and simple attacks, as many modern fighting games these days place too much emphasis on combos, ArcheBlade could actually benefit from having just a few of them, along with more combat options to make things more exciting from a spectator standpoint.

ArcheBlade Skills and Balance

Also similar to MOBA games comes active and passive skills: instead of having access to four skills in combat, you only have access to two, and these skills including panic attacks, buffs, de-buffs, healing and more. These skills can help assist or turn the tide of battle, but many of them are far too situational, and others are too powerful for their own good, such as Renny’s Deathless Armor skill which revives players on death, or Renoah’s “Bullet Storm of Wailing” skill that attacks all enemies with an un-blockable 80 HP damage shot, no matter where they are on the playing field.

Character balance is somewhat of an issue here. While the game is not focused on one-on-one confrontations, as some characters can hold their own better solo than others, a lot of attacks in the game require some very precise positioning in order to land hits on enemies. For instance, while using a close range fighter such as Ridika, juggling enemies such as Danmei or Cezanne is very easy due to their large sizes and character models, but juggling smaller enemies such as Renny requires players to position themselves just close enough for their attacks to connect. Along with all the other remarks made regarding balance of active skills, some team compositions simply work better than others.

ArcheBlade Combos

The game currently features four kinds of game modes: 3-on-3 Team Deathmatch, 2-on-2/3-on-3 “Last Man Standing” Team Deathmatch, Free-For-All and Capture-and-Hold mode. Free-For-All mode seems to be the most popular mode available, which is interesting considering how much the game prides itself on team based combat. Regardless, it’s definitely not a mode that should be played seriously. The biggest and most team focused game mode available is capture-and hold mode, where players have to capture and defend five pylons on the map in order to rack up points. Unfortunately, many players do not focus on teamwork and would rather treat this mode like another deathmatch mode.

ArcheBlade Game Modes

Graphics and Presentation

Archeblade makes use of Unreal Engine 3 technology in order to give the game some colorful and solid looking environments, but the character models, on the other hand, have this weird, plastic look to them, making them seem almost like they’re a bunch of living dolls and action figures, and it certainly does not help when each character model has a dull, non-animated and lifeless face that also make them seem doll-like. The original soundtrack has some decent battle tunes that appropriately fit each available map and game mode, but they’re not too memorable.

ArcheBlade Strike a Pose

Community

Since the game is distributed through Valve’s STEAM platform, players will have access to all of its grand features including friend lists, chat-rooms and community pages. But within the game itself, there’s a huge lack of matchmaking features or player balancing. There’s always a chance that experienced players will be pitted against newcomers, as well as no-auto sorting function when the teams become un-balanced, making battles even more unfair. As if balancing wasn’t bad enough, many players will rarely ever play by a gentleman’s agreement to have players sit out until the teams get balanced up again. Trying to find teammates that will actually play like a team is fairly difficult when playing public matches, so you’ll have to make some friends and perhaps grab a VoIP program like Mumble to coordinate strategies, because the game’s in-game chat function will certainly not be good enough.

 

Overall

Since my previous look at ArcheBlade during its closed beta phase, I had high hopes that the game would improve and expand, as the idea of mixing MOBA and fighting game action is an excellent concept. Alas, with flimsy combat, character balance issues and lack of matchmaking features, ArcheBlade fails to achieve its desired goals in its current state. The game is still considered to be in beta form, so things could possibly change in the future, but as it stands, it’s not the MOBA game I was hoping it would be for action gamers.

Customization – 2
Controls -3
Gameplay and Features – 3
Graphics and Presentation – 3
Community – 2

World of Tanks Hits the Mark at 60 Million Registered Users

Wargaming, the leading free-to-play massively multiplayer online developer and publisher, today announced that their flagship free-to-play action MMO, World of Tanks, has tallied more than 60 million registered players around the world.

At this year’s E3, World of Tanks will be prominently featured at Wargaming’s spacious 10,000 square feet booth (601 South Hall) with 10 high-end gaming stations running throughout the entirety of the show, allowing attendees to get more familiar with the game or prove their battlefield supremacy. In celebration of hitting the 60 million registered player milestone, Wargaming has also released a brand-new cinematic trailer for World of Tanks, featuring the trademark action and tactical team gameplay that has made the title a worldwide success.

OnRPG Shotgun News 6/7: Cryptic, World of Tanks, and Ragnarok Online

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG European News Editor

 

World of Tanks Reaches 60 Million Users!

In the run up to E3 Wargaming has announced that World of Tanks has 60 million registered users worldwide. And to celebrate the fact we’re rewarded with a new trailer!

 

Cryptic Opens New Studio in Seattle

Yesterday they were announcing the launch of their latest MMO, today they’re announcing a studio. Cryptic Studios is expanding! The new studio is made up mostly of former Flying Lab Software employees. Their current focus is on Champions Online, though they will also be working on Star Trek Online and Neverwinter. Which frees up time for the California studio to work on their secret project.

 

Ragnarok Online Celebrates 10 Years Festively!

RO

WarpPortal has launched the latest update, 14.2 Eclage as the celebrations for the 10 year anniversary kick into gear! New Maps, dungeons and tons more can be found. As for the festivities, there are minigames that celebrate everyone’s favorite mascot, the Poring!

Panzar: Forged by Chaos

In Panzar, players command their character, chosen from 8 different classes, in fierce and ruthless combat. Each battle pits two teams of players against each other, fighting for victory in a variety of game modes, such as Siege, Domination or King of the Hill.
In stunningly beautiful combat, powered by CryEngine 3, Orcs, Elves, Dwarves and Humans all gather up to fight it out to see which team is left victorious. After every battle, players spend their hard-earned gold and experience to develop and improve their characters, making them all the more deadly for the next encounter.

 

Features:

Unique Twists to Familiar Modes: Don’t let the names fool you, the CryEngine 3 has allowed Panzar to take wild takes on standard modes, including catapulting your own teammates into the enemy in King of the Hill, placing ramps to run up walls, and plenty more!

Crafting: Win fights to obtain materials and resources used to craft useful items and potions to supplement your power in future battles.

MMORPG Mentality: Find a character and stick to it! With a strong learning curve and RPG elements, you’ll benefit from mastering a specific class.

Beautiful Graphics: This isn’t your uncle’s MOBA! Witness fluid combat and impressive animations and effects in large intense battles without worry for having to lower your graphics settings.