Monthly Archives: October 2013

Magicka: Wizard Wars Now Playable via Steam Early Access Program

Magika: Wizard Wars

 

Paradox Interactive, a publisher of games with an excess of access, today announced that Magicka: Wizard Wars had joined the Steam Early Access program, allowing players to purchase and play an early version of the game before its official release. Magicka: Wizard Wars, the upcoming spellcasting action PvP game from Paradox North, can now be played during its Alpha phase, giving players a look behind the magic at the equally baffling world of game development and a chance to see the title take shape via their own feedback and suggestions.

Three tiered packages are available for purchase during Early Access, all of which—in addition to accessing the Alpha itself—will include something special that only early supporters of the game will receive. No purchase is necessary during Early Access to play Magicka: Wizard Wars when it launches in 2014, Early Access adopters simply get a head start on the fun.

 

 

Purchasable packages provide players perks pertaining to powers of prestidigitation, including bonus robes, in-game weapons, extra Alpha invites, bonus games from Paradox, and even the ability to name an in-game Imp. For full details on the packages available for Magicka: Wizard Wars, visit http://access.wizardwars.com.

In Magicka: Wizard Wars, two teams of four wizards each will do their best to incinerate, refrigerate, and defenestrate one another in chaotic combat, utilizing the versatile, element-combining spell system of Magicka. With friendly fire in full effect, wizards will have to think on their toes and mind their aim as they contend with imps, enemy players, and each other. With short battles, skill-based spellcasting, and flammable friends, Magicka: Wizard Wars explores all the ways that teamwork can go horribly wrong.

The developers of Magicka: Wizard Wars will conduct a Q&A during a live streaming event on October 17, where players can ask which elements hurt the most and/or taste the best as tart filling. Join the stream at twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive at 9 p.m. CET (12 p.m. PDT).

Shotgun News 10/15: TSW, Rift, Warface, and Much More!

The Secret World Previews Upcoming Augment System

Issue_8_Cover

With Issue 8 development coming to an end The Secret World has taken some time to look at the new Augment system. The Augment System is a new level of customization for experienced players who have most of the skills and abilities they want. Augments offer four new skill lines, Damage, Support, Healing, and Survivability. Find out more on the official website for The Secret World.

 

Rift Server Merge Announced

Trion has announced that next week several server mergers will be taking place in Rift for North American and European audiences. Characters from the seven servers will automatically be moved to other servers to help increase the population of them. In addition the servers will be truly international for the first time. The architecture will now allow players to experience content in French on a German server as an example. The server merge will take place on October 23rd for North America and October 24th for Europe.

 

Warface Launch Date Approaches

Crytek’s free to play FPS Warface will be launching next week on October 21st. Registration is going on now. And to get a taste of what’s to come check out the official launch trailer below.

 

BigPoint Closes Universal Monsters and The Mummy Online

Today Bigpoint closes two of their online games. Universal Monsters, a MOBA and MMORPG The Mummy Online will shut down today. In both cases a drop in players is being blamed for the closure.

 

Solstice Arena Launches on Steam

Solstice Arena, the cross platform MOBA has arrived in Steam for PCs. It is now available on PC, Mac, and iOS. Each match in this speed MOBA lasts from 5 to 12 minutes. Players can play with others on other platforms and current iOS players will be able to transfer to progress from Mac and iOS.

SNOW – An Early Look

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF)

 

 

SNOW is a realistic freeskiing simulator in the making, being brought to us by the 3-man team of Poppermost Productions. The game is powered by CryENGINE and is currently available on Steam as part of their Steam Early Access program. The game features beautifully hand-crafted environments designed to explore and compete it. The goal of the game is to translate the thrill of skiing into a virtual environment, to offer players an as authentic experience as possible. With its free-to-play model, unique gameplay experience, and gorgeous graphics, I doubt SNOW will have trouble making an impression on the gaming community as something fantastic.

 

 

The Graphics

The graphics in SNOW are quite beautiful. I suppose we have a combination of the CryENGINE and Poppermost’s artist to thank for that. The mountain still needs some polish and work in some areas and there are some little details that are missing from the game as a whole, but it is already breath-taking in its alpha state. It’s hard to comprehend what it will be like when everything is ready for release, as it already looks so good. I can’t wait to see the finished product with all the details added in.

 

SNOW Early Access Graphics

 

Character Customization

Currently the Early Access is still using Alpha Code, so I was surprised to find the beginning of the clothing customization already implemented. It was neat giving my character a unique look before jumping into the game, and can only imagine what the finished product will be like. If you’re a fan of winter sports and the big-name brands that cloth it, you’ll enjoy this feature a lot. Otherwise, you’ll just enjoy making your character look however you like. I’m usually not the type to care much about clothing or looks, but I am definitely interested in seeing this fully functional in SNOW.

 

SNOW Early Access Store

 

Free To Play

The game will be free to play, available to anyone who has Steam. From my understanding, the game will make money from micro-transactions, mostly from selling the many character customizations and clothing they plan to have available. It’s possible that there will be micro-transactions for other things, but I can’t really figure out what at this point. I can’t imagine how it would be possible to make this game “pay to win”, however, so that’s something that players won’t need to worry about. At the least, you’ll get a completely free virtual skiing experience, and at the most you’ll have a completely immersive simulator that you can pour as much money into that you want.

 

SNOW Early Access Clothing Brands

 

Exploring

One of the big selling points of SNOW is its massive mountain that is full of stuff to explore and experience. Even in this early stage of development, you can see some of the great hand-crafted detail that has gone into it. You’ve got complete freedom while skiing, so it’s possible to see everything on the mountain. I had a lot of fun finding ramps, fun places to just go as fast as I can before I inevitably crash, or even finding incredible rock formations. Game updates are planned for the future, which will add new content to the mountain, so even if you explore everything in Sialia (which is hard to do), you’ll get more stuff to experience as time goes on.

 

SNOW Early Access Rock Arch

 

Skiing

This is the important bit, as SNOW is all about skiing. In the future, snowboarding is also planned, but for now they’re focusing on skiing until they perfect it. Honestly, I’ve never been a big fan of winter sports games so I don’t have much experience with them. And I’ve never been skiing in real life, so I can’t comment on the realism too much. I can say that, even now, the skiing seems to respond how you feel it should. There are definitely some bugs that need to be worked out and some polishing to be done, but I had a lot of fun with what was available.

 

SNOW Early Access Skiing

 

I was able to do tricks, which I honestly wasn’t expected at this point in development. I initially thought I’d just get to go done a few slopes and enjoy the scenery. However, the first time I accidentally went off a snow ramp and found myself doing a front flip was spectacular. I had a lot of fun learning areas of the mountain so I could get as much speed as possible and jump off the outcropping of rocks that were smooth enough not to make me crash, or the various snow ramps and buildings. Trying to figure out how to do all the possible tricks while landing perfectly was a great deal of fun. I’m starting to gain an understanding of how people can find skiing such a fun and thrilling experience, something that I didn’t have previously.

 

SNOW Early Access Mountain

 

The mountain has a lot of different types of areas to ski. From the competition grounds that have ramps and rails, to the wide and open areas where you can leisurely ski down a slope. My favorite areas are the ones that have a lot of opportunity to pick up speed, as I find my favorite thing to do is just to see how fast I can go without crashing into something. If you like, you can be dropped towards the top of the mountain which is full of obstacles to traverse. There’s basically something for everyone, and with more to come in the future.

 

SNOW Early Access Competition Slope

 

Conclusion: Great

SNOW seems to be shaping up into quite the experience. This is what gaming is all about, in my opinion – allowing you to try things that either wouldn’t be possible in real life, or allowing you to experience things that you normally wouldn’t try. Sialia is a beautiful place and I can’t wait to see how it’s further developed. I can’t comment on the realism of the skiing too much, but I can say that it felt right and I can’t wait to see how it evolves as the game is further polished. Currently the game is available on Steam Early Access for $15, but once it’s released it will be available to play for free and multiplayer is a planned feature. I would highly suggest you check the game out once it’s released, as I plan to.

9Dragons Second Anniversary Epic Giveaway

OnRPG and MMOHuts is partnering with GamesCampus to celebrate their second anniversary operating 9Dragons in a big way! Not only do we have a sweet code to unlock in-game goodies, but you have a chance to enter our raffle to win some awesome hardware!

9Dragons Second Anniversary

9Dragons immerses players in a martial arts world, where might makes right and only the most skilled survive to train another day. Set in ancient China, players immerse themselves in a world distant from modern society, where legends are born and crumble depending on their actions. Train skills, craft new equipment, band together with likeminded fighters, tackle wily dungeons and crush foes with intense PVP action. Your actions will reflect upon your clan Black or White and dishonorable actions will not be tolerated. Begin training today!

Anniversary Package includes the following:
Drop Card (no trade) (QTY:5)
Experience Pill (QTY: 5)
Fruit of Fortune (QTY: 5)
9Dragons Premium 1 Day (QTY: 1)
A Man On A Mission Epithet (QTY: 1)

Raffle Giveaway:

Post a picture of your in-game character showing off your Anniversary Pack items on our official forum event page to be entered for a chance to win one of the following items:

1x  ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 16gb ($539)
3x  Ipad Mini 16gb ($329)
5x  Logitetch K740 Ultrathin Keyboard ($59)
15x  Logitech g230 Headset ($44)
50x  Logitech Marathon ($49)

 

  • If you are not yet a member of OnRPG please sign up here.
  • Enter your OnRPG username and password below to get your key.
  • The key will appear at the bottom of the page. Copy & paste it to a safe place as you may not be able to retrieve it once closing your browser!

To Redeem your Key:

  • Register or log in to the GamesCampus Website
  • Click the ‘Coupon’ on the drop down menu in ‘My Account’
  • Click ‘Use’
  • Choose the character/server you would like to send the package to.
  • Log into 9Dragons and snag a screenshot showing off your gift pack items.
  • Post it on our forums here by October 28th at noon PST to be eligible to win physical prizes.
  • Note physical prize raffle available for North American players only.

Equilibrium

It’s the 53rd century, and time is collapsing. Through a series of targeted attacks, warring factions have caused alternate realities to spin off from the primary timeline. This has resulted in strange races, alternate histories, and an unstable universe that is collapsing in on itself.

As these fissures in time are detected, entire civilizations, races of evolved species, and hand-picked mercenaries who are in danger of being erased from time forever pledge their lives to stop the impending destruction of the universe. Or, worse yet, to destroy it in a bid for ultimate control.

Lindbergh’s America, a triumphant South in the Civil War, the assassination of Adolph Hitler, the modern Roman Empire, the A.I. Wars. They all await you to repair or to ensure.

Gunslingers, Zen Assassins, Pyromaniacs, WWII Troopers, Cryomancers, and Crusaders. Oh, my!

Just a taste of the 27 classes awaiting you in this Kickstarter-funded MMORPG.

Ninja Scuffle

Ninja Scuffle lets you experience the exciting world of ninja wars in a browser-based setting. Featuring dynamic quest systems, powerful beast summoning, exciting arenas, and mysterious ninja transformation features, Ninja Scuffle promises players a combination of freedom and challenge.