Forge's goal was simple – bringing the experience of MMORPG PvP to its own game, without the grind or the open world or the leveling up or raids, or any of that. Having spent quite a few hours in it, I can safely say they have definitely done something like that. It's not exactly MMORPG PvP, and it's not exactly a third-person shooter but, instead, comes together like an oddly fascinating, confusing, but very good hybrid.
I’m honestly surprised. I’ve seen Google Chrome pull clever stunts, like music videos rendered in 3D using HTML5, or multi-player Facebook games powered with Flash; but a full-fledged MMO? I’d argue that it couldn’t be done.
It’s taken Mechanist Games to prove me wrong. Their current endeavor, City of Steam, looks and behaves just like any other MMORPG I’ve played. Sure, the character models are a little simplistic and the color palette is a little brown, but it works. The beauty is in accessibility; I can be logged in and exploring this industrial-era fantasy world in under ten seconds.
As the introductory cinematic explained how the World Machine is built from continent-sized cogs and gears, Communications Manager Gabriel Laforge agreed to guide me through the first few stages of City of Steam’s Closed Beta.
Mech combat has a broad palette of destruction to offer. At one extreme lies the city-wide carnage of skyscraper-sized robots, coated in sleek armor and bristling in laser cannon. The other holds the more personal combat of power-assisted exoskeletons, combatants glaring as they lunge with arms of steel and titanium. Both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Aliens hold dear places in the annals of explosive combat. But in a stark contrast, Hawken looks to offer a new form of machine-based mayhem.
The first title from indie developer Adhesive Games and publisher Meteor Entertainment, Hawken is placed in a bleak future where humanity’s grasp for the stars resulted in an overreach. Heavy over-industrialization has wrought havoc on a distant colony planet, causing society to crumble inward. Amid the remains of decaying cities and gutted factories, the remaining population is forced to scavenge for what few resources remain.
Our anticipation for Hawken has steadily grown since first going eyes-on, which makes this first closed beta weekend incredibly welcome. With a launch date of December 12th already announced, this free-to-play first-person shooter is steadily edging closer to the wire. That said, beta is beta and a game can change significantly before launch. While this is our first hands-on preview, we’ll be reporting in regularly as Hawken develops further.
It started with news of storms to the east. Torrential rain hammered the coastline; wind picked up the sand and etched away at your skin. No-one but the foolish and desperate would dare to sail in such treacherous weather, and yet someone did. A shipwrecked vessel, said to be indescribably alien in design, landed off the coast of Freemarch. Who would captain this craft through such a terrible storm, and why?
So began my foray into the second beta weekend for Rift: Storm Legion, the first expansion for Trion’s fantasy MMO. Since first hearing about it on the E3 Stream and going eyes-on at Gamescom, I was eager to find out if the team would meet its earlier grand vision. Would the developer create a roaring hurricane, or would it be a storm in a teacup? While it’s important to remember that this is still beta, Trion does seem on-course to deliver a strong update to its flagship game.
Even with the second beta event finished and a third one approaching, the live game refuses to stand still. What started as a simple harvest festival has shifted to an autumnal storm, as Crucia’s minions from the plane of air assault cities across Telara. It is under this dark cloud that Queen Miela Aurentis set sail from the eastern Kingdom of Pelladane, to warn both Guardians and Defiant of the impending Storm Legion threat.
From September 20-23, select players with beta keys were able to test out the newest F2P “cops-and-robbers” FPS online game, District 187: Sin Streets, published by CJ Games Global. Technically, the game is already out (in Korea), but now American servers are opening up with some limited testing. The American team has said there are three goals for this test: that it is A. Fun, B. Stable and C. Balanced. Has the game kept these goals in its sights, or has it missed the target? Read on for our review!
If traditional sci-fi and fantasy MMOs are getting stale for you, why not get out there and smell the steam? City of Steam (CoS) finished up this last Alpha test weekend on August 19th, and ZAM was along for the ride. Andrew Woodruff, the marketing manager of Mechanist Games, pulled 20 hour days during the weekend and still had time to show us around. He didn’t drift too far off topic, and his tour and our own playing gave us a chance to check out this surprisingly fleshed-out browser based MMO! Put on your goggles and get ready to dive into this steampunk adventure.
Guild Wars 2 has come a long way since we first got our hands on it back in February. Since then we’ve admired the world that the team at ArenaNet has built, and dissected the elements that make this an incredibly strong social MMO. From those initial Beta Weekend Events, we’ve gradually seen the world grow, both in the size available to explore and the depth of stories to be found within.
We’ve also examined how ArenaNet hopes to reinvent the traditional MMO, as well as some of the arguments against these plans. Our analysis wouldn’t be complete without also weighing the potential for Guild Wars 2 as an eSport.
As we close the book on the Guild Wars 2 beta, I’m left with a single question: is this MMO ready for launch? My first reaction would be an emphatic yes – everything, from renown questing to dungeon crawling - works. It’s fun to play, with a strong undercurrent of charm and wonder seeping into every aspect of the game.
But is this enough, or does a radical shift in MMO design require an equally strong change in gamers themselves? Are we ready as a player base, or do we still need convincing? On this, I’d argue the jury’s still out.
A while ago, I went on an in-game tour of Divina, the newest (and cutest!) offering from Lucent Heart proprietors Gamania. To be honest, I started out my tour a little wary, especially considering the game's ultra-cute premise in an industry trending toward "mature" personal stories and darker settings. That being said, after romping around this colorful world (as a trident-wielding Mystic Sea Snail for the latter half, no less), I'll admit that there is something irresistibly charming about a game that doesn't take itself as seriously as the rest.
I had the chance to interview Aaron Campbell, senior producer on the Lord of the Rings Online team, about the newest features of the Riders of Rohan expansion. Set to be released on September 5th, the expansion entered Beta on Wednesday, July 18th. Our interview focused on the new mounted combat mechanic to be used by players while riding through the plains of Rohan.
In most MMOs, we’re content to go with the easy kills. One time we might be rampaging through a village of defenseless Jawa. Another might see us obliterate waves of cheap murlocs. All that counts is that they swarm like a hive of bees and make a satisfying squish when they die. Sometimes, the destruction of digital cannon fodder is all you need.
Other times, I get a craving to go after the big fish. I see the Big Ass Monster towering over me, taking entire fields in his stride. I watch the other players flee, lest they become squashed underfoot. And I tell myself: one day, we will dance the whirlwind of death. It will be an epic clash of might versus agility, of steel against sorcery. And in the end, when the dust settles, I’ll take you down.
If playing the role of David in a world of Goliaths sounds like a dream come true, then monster-hunting MMO RaiderZ might be just what you need. As part of our grand tour of PC gaming show Rezzed, I spoke to Rüdiger Moersch, Producer for Frogster, about bringing this free-to-play action-MMO to Europe.
