MMO News Roundup - 4-29-09
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under MMO News Roundup, News
Well, I finally got around to reinstalling the client for City of Heroes just so I could try out the mission architect tool and review it. I intended to simply grab a free-trial account so I didn’t have to pay my precious few $$$, but NNNNOOOOOOoooooo…. the mission architect tool is not available to trial accounts, not even to simply play missions other people have made. Of course, there is no mention of this limitation ANYWHERE that I could find in any FAQ or documentation, so I had to suck it up and reactivate my old account. So now as time permits, I am trying out the new features and will report on them later. But gotta tell you Cryptic, you already have a strike against you. In any event, here’s something you can enjoy right now: Samuraiko Productions has released a video featuring the in-game history of City of Heroes, and it is pretty cool. Watch the video by clicking this. Please bear in mind, children who have never known a world without a 360 or PS3, City of Heroes is running on a 5-year-old engine.
Speaking of superhero MMOs, DC Universe Online continues to look uber, releasing a swath of new screenshots. These new ones feature a certain Doomsday character. Looking positively nasty for our delight. But aside from mister spikey, the game environs look positively gorgeous. So head on over there by clicking here, and spend some time oogling the lovely screenshots.
The grandpappy of all MMOs, Ultima Online, just keeps chuggin’ after twelve years of operation. And what better way to celebrate their continued success than with yet another expansion? Well, the Stygian Abyss was hardly a secret, so the official announcement comes as no surprise at all. Check out the official website for all the features, screenies, etc by clicking here. It’s too bad that EA owns this one. As far as EA goes, anything they release for the PC is an automatic FAIL in my opinion, that is unless they are finally willing to allow me to disable their f*****g DRM on Battle for Middle Earth, and play the game that I f*****g PAID FOR YOU DONKEYFUCKERS.
Tags: City of Heroes, Cryptic, DC Universe Online, Electronic Arts, MMO, MMO News Roundup, MMORPG, Ultima Online
MMO News Roundup - 4-21-09
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under MMO News Roundup, News
If you have been waiting eagerly for more information on Jumpgate Evolution, then earlier today was a watershed moment that will be surpassed only when the game goes live. Massively has up a virtual smorgasbord of yummy screenshots and details on every ship type in the game. Click here to see the goodness.
There is a new video out for Champions Online. In addition to showing off some of the gorgeous cityscapes we will get to play in, but we get to see a new travel power. And that new travel power is…Swinging! Yes, virtual superheroes will be able to use various forms of swinging to navigate their way through the game world like that one guy, what’s his name? Boy-spider or something? Anyway, click here to see the video. It’s pretty sweet.
Tags: Champions Online, City of Heroes, Cryptic, Jumpgate Evolution, Mission Architect tool, MMO, MMO News Roundup, MMORPG, Shadowbane, Ubisoft
MMO News Roundup - 4-8-09
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under MMO News Roundup, News
The rumors of the death of Stargate Worlds has been, well, a bit exaggerated. Stargate series executive producer Brad Wright has dissed on Cheyenne Mountain, the developer of the Stargate MMO, by basically pronouncing the project dead. Not so fast, says the development team. They claim to have the funds to continue development, and are working out deals to take the entire project through deployment. Click here to read the official mission briefing. Then gear up and fall in to the gate room. Hopefully we will get a go for the mission very soon. JAFFA KREE!
Another day, another bundle of goodness from the team behind Star Trek Online. Here are some new screenies for your delight. Personally I get a little tribble in my shorts over the Vor’cha. I can’t wait to smack some Romulan pigs around with one of those. Click here to gaze at the little beauties. But since there are only 3 new screens, here is a new devblog posted over at MMORPG.com.
Let’s go for the sci-fi MMO hat trick today. Here’s some goodies on an emerging contender for your valuable play time. Black Prophecy, by German developer Reakktor Media, is looking pretty sweet. The new community forums have opened, and a wonderful gameplay video has been released. Watch the video, the whole video, seriously. The first, maybe two-thirds is BORING. But then the combat begins. Frakking awesome looking combat, and the capital ships are truly huge and give an epic feel to the whole thing. Click here to go and delight in the goodness. Looks like I might have to dust off that old joystick for this one.
Happy days, happy days. The long-awaited mission architect tool for City of Heroes is now live. This I have got to see. Without a doubt, the most dynamic tool available in any MMO for user-generated content, the mission architect tool will make the already excellent game a lot more uber. Players can now create missions for super-powered players with everything from the environment, to mission storyline, dialogue, characters, objectives, and all theminutia that make a ho-hum mission into one which makes you pee into that empty can of Redbull because you don’t want to leave your machine. Builders will even be able to test the mission solo, or with others. If your mission scores high enough with players and developers alike, you can earn some sweet-ass rewards for all your troubles. Perhaps it is time for Brainchomper the super-zombie to re-emerge from the grave, and plague the virtuous heroes of Paragon City. Click here for details on the mission architect tool.
Tags: Black Prophecy, Cheyenne Mountain, City of Heroes, Cryptic, MMO, MMO News Roundup, MMORPG, Reakktor Media, Star Trek Online, Stargate Worlds
MMO News Roundup - 3-19-09
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under MMO News Roundup, News
City of Heroes has the long-awaited mission editor in open beta on their test server. So if you are the type who denounces the missions in the superhero MMO as crap, now is the time to put up or shut up. Get your ass on to test the builder, and create some content for other players so that the rest of us can see whether you know what you are talking about, or are just full of s**t. Click here for the lowdown on the CoH Architect, and how the player-created missions will be rated by players and devs alike.
The new MMO, Runes of Magic, should be launched by the time you read this. This free-to-play MMO looks amazingly familiar to me in its style, but I have yet to experience the gameplay. The price is right however, so what the hell? Log your ass in if you already are signed up. And if not, head on over to Massively.com for a nice first impressions overview of the game just put up, along with a gallery of screenshots. Click here to view the preview. I have to say, I am surprised to see this level of depth in a f2p MMO. This one might be worth the trouble to at least take a look at.
Tags: Cheyenne Mountain, City of Heroes, Entropia Universe, MMO, MMO News Roundup, MMORPG, Runes of Magic, Stargate Worlds
City of Heroes - Mac Client Gold
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under News
Mac users, strap on those high-heeled thigh boots, your patriotic-themed leotard, and corny mask that doesn’t actually conceal anything. But capes? NO CAPES! The Mac client for City of Heroes has gone gold. Since it is available for digital download, you can grab it now while you finish reading this post. Click here for the official announcement. Click here to see the official COH site.
If a great MMO isn’t enough to entice perspective Mac players, NCSoft is also offering a few extra little goodies for you. First, you will get Valkyrie costume changeout. Nice, nice. Not thrilling, just nice.
Tags: City of Heroes, Mac, MMO, MMORPG, NCsoft
MMO News Roundup - 12.17.08
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under MMO News Roundup, News
Firstly, the open beta for Mac users wanting to try out City of Heroes has started. So if you are a die-hard Mac user that has been wanting to play the game without selling your soul to M$, this is your chance. Read the official announcement by clicking here.
The store has finally opened over at the official site for Stargate Worlds, though I have to say the pickings are quite slim at the moment. Just stuff with the logo for the game, but I hope more will be coming as launch approaches. I want a t-shirt with an Asgard firing a minigun. That would rule. Click here to take a peek at the store.
Tags: Asgard, City of Heroes, MMO, MMO News Roundup, MMORPG, Myst, Stargate Worlds, Turbine, Uru Live
MMO News Roundup - 12.16.08
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under MMO News Roundup, News, Rants
2008 was a great year for MMOs, giving us some great fun in the way of online fun in virtual worlds. We also saw some great expansions to already existing titles. But this isn’t about those. I was going to summarize some of the ones that tanked, but someone already did. You can see a brief breakdown of those that fared the worst in this article on yourmeetingcoffee.com.
The World of Warcraft Expansion: Wrath of the Lich King, led the NPD sales charts for the week of November 30 - December 6. LINKY. What is more surprising than Spore being number 2 on the list (Really gamers? are you that bored and willing to compromise your own PCs?), is the fact that there are some WoW players out there that had not already gotten the expansion.
OK, so this one isn’t exactly MMO-related, but it is far to delicious to pass up. It seems that some hospital for “troubled” people somewhere forgot to pass out their meds and lock the doors, because the patients all escaped and decided to throw a 2-day Uwe Boll Film Fest, with the steaming horse turd himself in attendance. I was going to write some nasty things here about Uwe Boll, but I really don’t have to. The comments over at Kotaku’s post on this are worth reading.
NCSoft is having a nice celebration of the season for the players of City of Heroes. You get some cosmetic tchochkies just for logging in, but there is also a rather long list of challenges facing players. Things such as special missions, giant snowmen prowling the streets thirsting for blood, and presents hidden in the alleys and rooftops of the city. The holiday seems to have come in between a zombie apocalypse and the next alien invasion, proving once again that things are never dull in Paragon City. LINKY.
I’ll have more later, but for now I want to look at more pictures of Marisa Miller, and think about how smart she is and how much I respect her as a person.
Tags: City of Heroes, Marissa Miller, MMO News Roundup, NCsoft, Uwe Boll, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
City of Heroes - Issue 13 Launches
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under News
The world of MMOs has certainly been kicking lately, and 2008 has certainly proven to be a banner year for excellent expansions for established franchises. There have been two huge expansions for EVE Online by the names of The Empyrean Age and Quantum Rise, and Everquest 2 players got their grubby paws on The Shadow Odyssey, the original Everquest got Seeds of Destruction, Lord of the Rings Online players got to delve the Mines of Moria, and not to be outdone, Blizzard finally releases the Wrath of the Lich King.
There are more, but none of them are the whole point of this post. The newest MMO expansion just went live, and it’s a doozie that will definitely not get the press that it deserves. I am speaking of course, of the City of Heroes expansion, Issue 13: Power and Responsibility.
The most excellent superhero MMO has gotten some innovative features in this expansion, let’s review shall we?
Tags: City of Heroes, Issue 13, MMO, MMORPG, NCsoft
Early X-Mas Present for Mac Users
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under News
For you Mac users out there, there is a super-cool present for you coming up soon. So far, you have had few MMOs that have Mac clients, but the ones that you do have are very good ones, e.g. EVE Online, World of Warcraft, and whatever you might manage to macguyver together with that dual boot thingie of yours.
But soon, as in late this autumn, you will have another option for MMO play if the whole internet spaceships and elf/orc thing doesn’t get your motor cranking. Want to know what it is? Then click the ‘more’ whatchamacallit to expand this post.
Isn’t that a lame-ass cliff hanger? Well, maybe not really if you look at the tags for this post.
Tags: City of Heroes, Mac, MMORPG
NCsoft Launches New COH/COV Website
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under News, Previews
For the longest time, there have been two distinct websites for the superhero MMO, one each for City of Heroes and City of Villains. Now there is a single site that contains all of their assets and lore under a single site. And it’s about fraking time I say.
So, take a gander at the new site here. If you’re not the type to be a lookie-loo, then let me share these other goodies with you.
Tags: City of Heroes, City of Villains, MMORPG, NCsoft
City of Heroes/Villains - Now With More Awesome!
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under News
There is news going around the COH/COV community of huge additions to the already awesome superhero MMO. They will likely make it still be able to compete with newer titles like Champions Online when that title goes live sometime next year, and easily able to pwn DC Universe Online when that one is released and quickly dies of terminal suckitude.
There was recently a survey commissioned by NCsoft in an effort to gather players’ thoughts on the upcoming content and game changes. Here is the original forum post about the survey, which is only the tip of the iceberg. This news has not been denied by NCsoft, and only confirmed by other players.
Tags: City of Heroes, City of Villains, MMO, MMORPG, News, PC
City of Heroes/City of Villains Update
Posted by HCG Dreadsorrow | Filed under News
Doctor Brainstorm has revealed to the folks at GameZone the details on a major update to the great superhero MMO. Read the details on the many new powers that will soon be available to the cloaked and leotarded denizens of Paragon City.
As if there wasn’t enough awesome stuff in the game already, now with the new additions, there is even more reason than ever to give the game a try. This game might be a few years old, but it has only gotten better as time goes on.
Speaking for myself, I can easily state that COH/COV is one of the best MMOs on the market. The grind may be a bit stiff in the upper levels, but there is so much to do and different hero/villain combos to try, you will be in comic-inspired nirvana for quite some time.
This is one of the few MMOs that I can give the coveted HCG Dreadsorrow blessing of “Definately Worth Playing”.
Get your grubby paws on the “Good Versus Evil Edition“, and you get both titles in one. This one is worth trying!
Tags: City of Heroes, City of Villains, Good vs Evil Edition, News
