Yearly Archives: 2015

Pirate101 3rd Anniversary Celebration Today

Get your pirates ready to party in Pirate101 today as KingsIsle Entertainment breaks out the prize boxes, decorations and gift codes for everyone in this family friendly MMO’s third birthday celebration!

Pirate101 3rd Birthday

“We’re celebrating another great year in Pirate101 where there have been solid game improvements like seasonal, ranked PvP and a new Captain’s Quarters housing feature,” said Leah Ruben, senior producer of the MMO live team at KingsIsle Entertainment. “Our players continue to impress and amaze us with their dedication and creativity, and we’re thrilled to offer these birthday gifts and prizes to them.”

Redeem your free Pirate101 birthday surprise by entering the code “3rdPirateParty” at www.pirate101.com/promo during October 2015. This code is good for a free Karma Chameleon pet, a birthday eyepatch, a “parrrty” hat, and two celebratory pet snacks.

The fun continues today with a special contest announcement, which will be shared on the KI Live Livestreaming event broadcast from www.pirate101.com between 5:00 and 6:00 pm US CDT. Players should tune in to find out how to enter a giveaway for 60,000 Crowns.

As per tradition, the seasonally colored birthday banners, balloons, and present boxes are once again adorning Avery’s Court and Skull Island, but this year the present boxes contain special prizes, including plenty of rental mounts and in-game gold.

Pirate101’s birthday celebration is available to pirates of all ages and experience. If you’re ready to walk the plank to more adventure, please visit www.pirate101.com and join in the parrrty!

Star Trek Online: Season 11 Available October 27

Star Trek Online: Season 11 Available October 27 news header

Following the conclusion of The Iconian War, Perfect World Entertainment Inc. and Cryptic Studios will launch Star Trek Online: Season 11 – New Dawn on October 27, 2015. This season marks the beginning of a brand new era for Star Trek Online and includes an all-new reputation, the debut of the Admiralty System and an in-game story arc lasting beyond 2016.

New Dawn begins in the grim aftermath of The Iconian War. The war has ended in the Mirror Universe and the Terran Empire has invaded the Badlands, under the leadership of Mirror Leeta (reprised by Chase Masterson from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”). Admiral Leeta has claimed the galaxy for her own and it’s up to players to defend the universe from her Mirror forces. Season 11 also introduces the discovery of a planet inhabited by a new civilization of bi-pedal humanoids and the arrival of a mysterious time-traveler.

Along with new lore and story progression in Season 11, Star Trek Online will also debut a new reputation and the Admiralty System, which allows players to send their starships on challenging assignments to retrieve valuable assets. Progress will be earned through two campaigns, representing major factions within the galaxy – the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire.

Devilian Closed Beta Key Giveaway

OnRPG has partnered with Trion Worlds to welcome a select few players into a limited closed beta test for Devilian, an upcoming demon themed ARPG with heavy focus on its MMORPG elements.

Play as a half-devil hero fighting to save your world from a fallen god and join thousands of others in a vast free-to-play Massively Multiplayer Online RPG. Spread your wings, sharpen your steel, and unleash the devil within!

Join the fray as a Berserker, Evoker, Cannoneer, or Shadowhunter. Each Class possesses a unique Devil Form you can level up – and unleash – to wreak havoc on your foes. Customize your character with advanced Skill Paths, collectible Talismans, weapons, armor, and other implements of dark intent.

Devilian combines the fast, visceral PvP of an action RPG with massively multiplayer scale. Dispatch your fellow players in 20-vs-20 battlegrounds, get intimate in 3-vs-3 affairs, and reap the rewards of wars fought between entire guilds.

Come for the action, stay for the action … and the PvP, Crafting, Quests, Trading, Cities, Mounts, Pets, Guilds, Guild Alliances, Wars, and Dungeons that make Devilian a fully-featured MMO – albeit one with a fresh perspective and devilish twist.

 

To Redeem your Key:

Dying Light: The Following Launch Window Confirmed

Dying Light: The Following Launch Window Confirmed news header

Today Techland announced that its highly anticipated expansion Dying Light: The Following is set to launch in the first quarter of 2016. The reveal was made via a special video and accompanied by a message to fans from producer Tymon Smektala:

So since Gamescom 2015, we revealed quite a bit about our upcoming expansion: the vast countryside map, the customizable dirt buggy, a new story and more. What we couldn’t say before though, was the release date. Today we finally know that Dying Light: The Following will launch within the first three months of 2016. This gives us enough time to put in all the content and surprises we have planned for you guys. So keep your eyes peeled for some sneak peeks into what we have in the works for you all. And we promise to share the exact day of release as soon as e get a final decision.

One of the key features of Dying Light: The Following will be the upgradable and customizable all-terrain dirt buggy. In connection with the expansion Techland has launched its own automotive brand SILAS® Motors – outlining its car manufacture philosophy in the reveal commercial. Dying Light: The Following will be priced at $14.99, while all Season Pass holders will receive the expansion completely free.

Triad Wars: Enforcer Beta Updated Look

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

 

Triad Wars Review

United Front Games rescued the Sleeping Dogs franchise from certain disaster (when it was lumped in with the True Crime IP), and made something truly fantastic. Sleeping Dogs, for the uninitiated, was known as True Crime: Hong Kong originally. It took around four years to get Sleeping Dogs on the market, but despite what many critics have said, it was a terrific look at crime in Hong Kong. It’s action packed, the slow-mo takedowns were amazing, and it shows off the Triads in a pretty spectacular fashion. Triad Wars is not a sequel, so much as it is set in the same universe, with the same Triads/Events unfolding. Triad Wars is easily one of the most unique online games coming to the market in that it is an online, PVP game, but you do not actively play against the other players in real time.

Admittedly that was one of my big worries. I figured going in this would be one of those games where I would set up a nice hideout for my character, build my empire, and leave it alone for a half hour, only to come back to see it all destroyed because I didn’t buy a cash shop protection charm. Instead it takes more of a Mighty Quest for Epic Loot approach, in that it plays out as a strategy game when building your hideout, and a half shooter action game when raiding others. Thus the layout of your hideout, your NPCs and guards, and your enforcer will determine how hard of a time attackers will have.

Triad Wars Review

My skepticism was quickly dashed as I got hooked on the tutorial alone. It showed off all the important things you need to see in the game. Driving/shooting, setting up and succeeding in a raid on a rival Triad, and starting your own territory up, thanks to your “Uncle David.” Everyone must have an Uncle David in Hong Kong. . . that kind of irked me, I was hoping it would have a different name for other characters, but I kind of see why; it is an MMO anyway, so concessions must be made for playability. But you do work against other Triads/Rivals (and in character creation you join one of the three major Triads to work for), raiding their territory and building your empire of crime, using whatever illicit activities you choose to go for. Of course you have a Safehouse, where you can perform tasks like Money Laundering (turning cash into gold, which can be used in the online store in a variety of ways. I feel like it’s also important to note that yes, gold can be used to buy clothes, cool fast cars, and packs of cards that give you a variety of useful boosts and abilities. But fear not! This is a f2p, not pay-to-win. You can accrue gold through in-game play to buy the cars and clothes with, and items like favors can be gained through play as well. So far not!

Triad Wars Review

You can buy items on the Black Market, and attempt to flip them and make even more money/face by Exporting them. This is quite risky, as you might not even make back what you invested; that’s a distinct possibility, but it is definitely a way to move ahead in the crime world. Remember, this is a Crime game. You’re going to do bad things to people that probably don’t deserve it. But I’m willing to bet some of them do. One thing I did inquire about was the notion of “How will I know if I’ve been raided?” You will see your face number be lowered, and there’s a bar on the right side of your screen that informs you of recent happenings you’re involved with. If a player raids you, you lose less if it’s a lower tier raid (1 star versus 3 star). And if a player raids you and fails, you gain face, so that’s definitely a positive. It won’t ruin your whole empire to be raided, and honestly you should expect it to happen. Someone’s going to be on a map with you and be just as hungry to get ahead on the leaderboards. I’ve been throwing around “Face” a lot. But what is it? Face is dignity, pride, honor. It’s how and where you stand in society. It can be gained, lost, and given.

Triad Wars Review

What sorts of things can you do in Triad Wars? Other than raiding other players, stealing their hard-stolen gains, and making them your own? You can terrorize innocent folk by driving around and shooting them, steal cars, fight against the police (or run away from them! I highly recommend that), and drive around admiring the beautiful city that has been built. There are missions too. You can stick people up, hustle other gangs, convince people to keep their mouths shut through violence, you name it. There are a plethora of shady dealings you can get into, in your headquarters or not. In your HQ, you can set up buildings dedicated to dealings like Counterfeiting, Extortion, Gambling, and Smuggling. Each of those has specialties you can work on, such as Cockfighting, Pork Bun Vendors, and whatever else you do in Hong Kong that ticks off the cops. There are so many cool things to do, and as your base of operations grows, the options keep rolling in.

Triad Wars Review Base Building

So far, I’m focused on Extortion, because my character just… kind of looks like the type of thug that goes around waffling people with a baton for money, or to make sure they don’t snitch. These buildings in your base can be upgraded, and also turn a profit that you can click on for more cash. It happens in intervals, so you can come back later and get more money! The higher tier it is, the longer it will likely take.

Triad Wars Review

Honestly, Triad Wars is a refreshing change in the Multiplayer world. It’s got all the fun things that made Sleeping Dogs/GTA style games fun, with PVP that isn’t going to force you to stay online 24/7 to make sure nobody gets at you. Now that the game has most of its planned launch features implemented in some form, they’re even branching out to start introducing fun holiday events to net you rare rewards (such as the Halloween event I’m going to cover next week!) It’s action-packed, it’s pretty violent, the dialogue is in the native tongue between characters, but thankfully folks like Uncle David speak to you in English so you can understand the narrative/current situation in the game. And it has full controller support! It’s okay with a keyboard and mouse, but this is definitely a title I want to play with a controller in hand. Makes driving infinitely better, I won’t lie to you. Driving on a keyboard is absolutely damn insane. It’s currently in beta, but another thing I want to point out, is that it’s not going to wipe. Players who get in to the beta phases get an early start, sure, but do be aware that it’s not going to pair level 1s up with level 25/6s. No, you’ll be on a map with people that are your rank, so things will be pretty balanced. Triad Wars is a seedy, shady, explosively violent game; just the way it should be!

Want to check the game out for yourself? Jump into beta today or check out our livestream with the devs later today at The Bottom Tier!

Devilian First Closed Beta Runs October 22-26

Devilian First Closed Beta Runs October 22-26 news header

Trion Worlds today published a producer’s letter announcing the first closed beta period for Devilian, a fiendish new breed of action role playing game launching later this year. The beta test will run from 10am PDT on October 22 until October 26 at 10am PDT. Players with Alpha access will be able to join the Beta, and the Alpha servers will continue to stay online barring weekly maintenances. An Open Beta phase, requiring no invite to join, is planned to begin shortly before Head Start kicks off, with all servers being wiped clean between Open Beta and Head Start. More details about the testing period can be found on Trion’s blog here.

Devilian combines the frantic nature of an action RPG with all the depth and social aspects of an MMO. Gamers play the role of the last guardians of Nala – unique half-devil heroes battling to save their world from a fallen god – and experience fast-paced, visceral action combat paired with MMO features like crafting, quests, trading, cities, mounts, pets, guilds, alliances, wars, and dungeons.

Players can take up arms as rampaging Berserkers, harness destructive magic as mystical Evokers, wield heavy weapons as keen-eyed Cannoneers, or stalk their enemies as Shadowhunters brandishing bladed chains. Each Class hides a unique Devil Form with infernal powers they can master and unleash against their foes.

Additionally players will take part in epic and chaotic 20 vs. 20 PvP battles, lose themselves in crafting and quests, explore fully-fledged cities, form guilds with friends, and join multi-guild alliances.