Yearly Archives: 2014

NYCC 2014 Day 4 Recap – Quick Finish

By Michael Sagoe (mikedot)

 

Missed the Day 3 recap? Catch it here.

So the last day of NYCC 2014 had arrived, and today I just wanted to have the day to myself, so I decided to hop around towards the Capcom booth to see what they had in store this year.

This year, they were promoting two games: Resident Evil Relations 2 and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Since I wasn’t much of an RE fan but used to be an MH vet, the choice for me was obvious. I hopped into the line and ended up waiting for a good hour or so, even though the line was fairly short. I stayed defiant hoping to eventually try out a multiplayer hunt with a live group.

While I considered myself a “Jack of all Trades” type, fighting from a distance was clearly the more natural playstyle to me. After experimenting a bit, I went with the heavy bowgun for this hunt, while my teammates used another heavy bowgun, a long sword and the new “insert staff.” After our selections we went off to hunt some kind of lizard creature that could inflate its neck and belly like some kind of frog.

While the monster didn’t seem all that tough, it was really difficult for me to combat against it, even from a safe distance, mostly due to the 3DS control scheme. Since most of my Monster Hunter experience comes from playing the handheld versions on the PSP, it just felt weird having to pull off an “upside-down claw grip” on the control since the D-pad was on the bottom  and the slide pad was on the top. Regardless, my team was doing just fine without me, and they were able to take it down fairly quickly using some new moves and abilities that are exclusive to MH4U, such as mounting!

Players can now get up close and personal with boss monsters by jumping on their backs, either by jumping on their backs from a great height, or by vaulting onto its back using the new Insert Staff, a cool new double-bladed weapon that can perform quick attacks like the Long sword, as well as summon inserts to attack. Besides from the mounting and the new weapon type, everything seems to be same old, same old for this upcoming MH title.

Afterwards, I started looking around for other gaming exhibits that I could scope out, preferably anything related to MMOs, F2P or Mobile gaming that looked promising, but aside from Brave Frontier and a showcase for the new upcoming Skylanders game for mobile/tablets, there wasn’t really anything else here.

Simply speaking: It seems that gaming took a much bigger backseat this year at NYCC then it did last year, as there was only a few gaming exhibits available. There wasn’t even an eSports tournament being held at the convention this year like the Intel Masters series competitions. Instead, a DOTA2 tournament was being held at the Madison Square Garden this year by ESL One, and a few flyers were put up to inform NYCC attendees when and where to see the competition. Granted, DOTA2 is a very popular game with a large number of fans, so they probably decided it would be best to host the competition in a bigger venue, but they weren’t even giving out free seating (or at least discounts) for NYCC attendees that would have to take time out of their convention day to go see it. You always end up losing more time than you expect when you leave the convention center to see things that should be AT the convention, and it’s doubtful many made the trip due to the inconvenience.

Even outside of the pc gaming realm, many big name companies I expected to show were no where to be found. Nintendo was the biggest example of this, who I thought for sure would be showing off Super Smash Bros Wii U, considering that its launch is mere months away. Instead not even the 3DS version was playable at the show. Carbine Studios was also absent from NYCC this year, as well, and while I understand that they probably have a lot of crap to deal with in the current state that Wildstar is in, but promoting the improvements recently made to the game likely would help now a lot more than when it was super hyped at launch. Sure maybe they’re holding off until Drop 3 hits, but it doesn’t hurt to start up sooner than later, since most of the game’s problems come from the endgame, and new players will most likely not be experiencing any of the problems that the game is facing by the time Drop 3 arrives. Or at least that’s how I see it.

But of course… there was plenty more cosplayers for me to snap photos of, and these cosplayers were just as good as the last bunch.

 

Anyway, that’s all the time I spent out at the NYCC 2014, so I’d like to thank you all for reading and following me through this yearly journey.

See you later, NY!

TERA: Rising – “Revenge of the Kaprima” Halloween Event Begins Today

TERA Revenge of Kaprima

En Masse Entertainment, a player-driven publisher focused on delivering great games and exceptional service, is excited to announce the launch of Revenge of the Kaprima, a Halloween event for its popular action MMORPG, TERA: Rising for PC. Starting today and running until November 4, players can look forward to the return of the fan-favorite Fane of Kaprima dungeon. The great goat demon, Kaprima, is tougher than ever, but defeating her now yields greater treasure, including designs for the Devastator set, Unsteel weapon fragments, and broken Unsteel armor plates. Players can reach the Fane of Kaprima dungeon on Mistmoor Island or via Instance Matchmaking.

Players can also look forward to the return of the Banquet of Blood. Take on hordes of vampirs and their undead servants using a variety of special combat skills. Seal the coffins, destroy the dark altar, and bring an end to this unholy feast.

TERARising_HalloweenEvent_PetBoo

On the sweeter side of things, TERA: Rising players are also encouraged to pay a visit to the Eldritch Academy, where Titiana and other students are hard at work preparing for the Harvest Festival. Use special combat skills and siege weapons to protect giant cauldrons of candy from waves of sugar-crazed monsters. Look for Ellonia in major towns to enter the Eldritch Academy and be sure to trade your candy loot for valuable rewards, including the disappearing ghost pet, Boo!

Monkey King Online to Launch the 1st Server in GameDP

Monkey King Online

Ray Media Group Limited has proud to announced that the 1st server of Monkey King Online is to be launched at MYT 10:00 AM Oct 16th, 2014. The first server is very likely to offer players high production value and hours upon hours of fast-paced ARPG combat.

Monkey King Online was produced in parallel with 2014’s popular movie “The Monkey King” starring Donnie Yen and Chow Yun Fat. This game is based on the great Chinese Novel journey to the West. It is widely known in English-speaking countries as Monkey.

In this free browser based role playing game (MMORPG) you will choose to be one of four ancient heroes, the most hit being the Monkey King; try to bring peace to the broken world. This high end production is full of beautiful landscapes. The teasing trailer shows us lots of mysterious HD Ancient Chinese Architectures and the players will enjoy game with the classical music.

Like many other game publishers, Ray Media Group Limited has also prepared in-game events to celebrate the first server launch.

For more info, visit http://mko.gamedp.com/

Finalists for Heroes of Newerth´s Community Map Contest Announced

The Heroes of Newerth team today announced finalists for its $10,000 community map-making contest, Sol´s Theatre. Maps were selected by the community after a week of open polling was hosted on the contest´s site.

The final four maps, which represent a spectrum of genres, include: capture the flag, king-of-the-hill hybrid, The Greenlands; tower defense, Newerth Defense; dungeon crawler, Dungeon Chasers; and castle defender, CastleFight.

Now in its final phase, Sol´s Theatre will require architects to create fully playable versions of their submissions in Heroes of Newerth´s map editor. A winner will be selected on November 19 and their map will be implemented into the game early 2015. Every finalist will take home a sizeable bounty for their efforts – rewards range from $500 to $3,500.

“The creativity, dedication, and drive displayed by the final four contestants have been nothing short of astonishing.” said Sam Braithwaite, Head of Marketing for Heroes of Newerth. “These guys have put a lot of hours into their maps and it shows – can´t wait to see the final products.”

More information about the final four maps, Sol’s Theatre, and Heroes of Newerth is available at the official website.http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/

Skyforge: Orders of Aelion Developer Diary

Skyforge

My.com has released a developer diary video providing a look into the immortal dwellers of Aelion and their own personal orders in Obsidian Entertainment and Mail.Ru’s Allods Team’s upcoming fantasy MMORPG, Skyforge.

In this developer diary Alexander Mishulin, Creative Director, The Allods Team, and Eric DeMilt, Creative Director, Obsidian Entertainment, will guide you through what the Orders of Aelion are, how to deal with your adepts and why you need to have a handful of believers in the first place.

For more info, visit http://sf.my.com/.