Do you remember Ultima?

Yes Indeed!

Our old friend Ultima makes a return, in the guise of a browser strategy game.

For those who are too young to remember, Ultima was an 80's game that introduced many of the RPG elements that today we take for granted. The game spanned over 10 sequels, all improving upon the original formula. It met great success in the United States, but somewhat of a mixed reaction over here in Europe. Until we heard no more about Ultima or a new sequel for quite a long time.

Electronic Arts, having the IP to this game lying around somewhere in their archives, must have thought that they could make some money out of it, contracted it to a third party who had a finished game already, gave it a new paint job, and here we are with Lord of Ultima.

The first impression is that it looks like any other medieval browser game that I played before. First I am greeted by a good-looking lady who wants to view, ahem, my mighty dominion. She guides me through the tutorial, gives me gifts and leaves me to expand my army and fortune.

So far so good. Lord of Ultima has the looks, and follows the formula of other well-established browser strategy games, but I will reserve my judgement until I have played it for a few more days. So I'll leave you with an image of my humble land of Brittania.

Why The Old Republic Will Not Beat Warcraft

Star Wars: The Old Republic (TOR) was officially released around two weeks ago, and although it has a huge following from Star Wars fans and curious users alike, I believe that it does not do enough to dethrone World of Warcraft (WOW) as the current MMO champion.

Here are my reasons why I think that TOR will be just another has been:

1. The system requirements for TOR are larger than those for WOW, so people with older rigs have no other choice than to play WOW since it practically works on anything. And most importantly, TOR does not look that much different from WOW to justify its higher requirements. By contrast, games such as Conan and Rift, to name a couple, do have higher requirements than WOW, but the end result is that they look much better so it is an understandable trade off.
2. It is too similar to WOW for my tastes. My opinion is that if you want to lure users away from a competitor en masse, you must provide somewhat of a better experience other than a different universe.
3. When you compare how much copies of Skyrim I sold from my website to the number of TOR sales, there is no competition as Skyrim was immensely more popular than Star Wars. Truth be told, you can also buy TOR digitally from the dedicated website, but I would still pretend more sales of boxed copies. And the website for the game's online store does not work properly on my browser (Chrome).
4. There are two opposing factions to choose from with four classes each. It should be enough for a starter, but still when comparing the numbers with other games...
5. It seems that the budget for this game's development was around $150 million. That is a lot of money, and if the game does not monetize soon, I suspect that it will be simply shut down. Currently playing TOR costs around the same as WOW.
6. WOW has been adding additional races in its line-up to counter the multi-ethnic character choices from the Star Wars universe. So it all depends if you want to be a panda or a character that looks like Yoda.
7. Obviously, WOW has a head start and has been refining the gameplay for all those years in order to make it more appealing. That is why TOR has to do much more in order to beat the competition.
8. [edit] WOW also gives you a totally free game if you subscribe for the next year. And it's not just your usual free game, but none less than Diablo 3, one of the most anticipated games of 2012.

Although my thoughts may sound negative, I want to say that Star Wars: The Old Republic is still a good game and you can do much worse than checking it out. However it still has not convinced me that it is going to be the World of Warcraft killer. Next please...

Giant Imagination is here

I wrote about Glitch a while back, and now it is out for everyone to play. It was difficult back then to describe how the game works, and it is still difficult now after having played it for a while. So here is a little introductory tutorial:



Glitch takes place inside the imagination of giants, so don't expect any serious or realistic stuff. This game is wacky just like that. For example, Farek (my online persona) is currently learning Soil Appreciation II. This will presumably make him better at digging soil patches and tending the land, and plants will love him all the more for it.

What this game certainly does is that it lowers the entry level for those who have never played an MMO before. Glitch holds your hand like it was your mama and explains every little detail and the reason why it is there, at least at the start of the game until you get used to how these things work. It also connects to your Facebook account to meet your friends, so that definitely makes it different than yer usual MMO. I would say that it will become popular with children (although I am not sure about the educational value of some of the stuff, like milking butterflies), to those adults (mostly female) that like to play social games, and the hardcore gamers will also give it a try to see just what it is (although I am sure that they will be the first to return to their usual stuff).

To summarize, Glitch offers something novel, and is very approachable for newcomers, but for the rest of us, where are the fights, the bosses and raids with the epic drops? Having said that, Glitch is still worth a try.

If you are getting all excited to play, a word of warning; after having signed up on the game's website, I received the invite link after around 36 hours, after which I could start setting up my character. So do plan ahead well before you want to rush in and start playing the game.

Join the Smite beta

Smite is a MOBA game (think League of Legends) which has the usual gameplay mechanics, but viewed from a different perspective, i.e. behind the back of your godly avatar. The game was unveiled to the public very recently, it will be free-to-play and deliver good-quality HD graphics (which may make the game unsuitable for some older systems).

Will it be any fun? I think that it will depend on the players to make each battle interesting, but the game is showing a lot of potential already.



The game is still a long way off, but you can still register for beta by visiting the Smite website.

Why Runescape keeps growing

MMORPG.com has posted a 2 page interview with Jagex's Ash Bridges and Chihiro Yamada by Adam Tingle. In my opinion, following Runescape's 10 year anniversary and the Clan Citadels expansion, this interview explains why Runescape is just as popular as it was when it had no or few competing browser-based MMOs. The message that we get is that the players are the most important asset to the Runescape world, and Jagex continues to build stuff around them.

The NASA MMO

I've just heard that NASA (you know, the american space agency) has commissioned a company way back in 2009 to develop an online persistent space traveling game based on the real solar system and set in the year 2035. As I read through the related news, one thing immediately sprang to mind; this is going to be really boring, at least for us gamers. Come on, how much fun could we have whilst simulating a trip to the planet Mars whilst trying to protect our on-screen personas from radiation. Wouldn't it be better to add some space pirates, political intrigue, trading and the odd space-fight into the equation. That would make a great game.

Heroes of Newerth is Now Free to Play

Another online game has gone free to play, this time it is Heroes of Newerth. It can be described as an MMORTS where two factions battle each other in order to break down the opposing faction's defences. And obviously, each side's fortune depends heavily upon its heroes. The free players can only compete against each other, using about a fifth of the game's available heroes. The free account can be later upgraded to a paid version, where you can play with the big boys too.

I ♥ Glitch

If you still haven't recovered from the announcement that Star Wars Galaxies is going to be switched off by the end of the year (it's been over a month, get on with it I say!), maybe you are still thinking about protesting or even suing Sony. But I have another option for you which will be available by the time that SWG kicks the bucket. I'm not talking about The Old Republic. That would be adding insult to injury.

No, what I am talking about is Glitch. Let me quote the author's website:

“This is not something you've seen before.”

Unless you have already seen this trailer here:



I don't even want to try to describe this game to you. You just have to try it out, then come back here and comment about your feelings.

Age of Conan Turns Free

Age of Conan is now available in a limited free-to-play option, which will let players create a character with a choice of four classes to let loose in the Hyborean Adventures and a part of the Rise of the Godslayer, and limited access to dungeons and raids. What its developers Funcom hope to achieve with this is to lure you in slowly to make you change your subscription to premium when you become addicted.

However, it is certainly a good opportunity to try it out since it is still a great experience. Whilst you download the game client, you can watch the trailer below.



To download and start playing the game, head over to http://www.ageofconan.com/playfree

The Characters of The Secret World

The folks at Funcom have unveiled a page that shows some of the NPCs that you will encounter in The Secret World MMO. Each character has a shady past and is a member of a secret society, or perhaps two. The character development, storyline and player interaction is what will set this game apart. And remember, everything is true!

Runes of Magic

Gameforge have announced the release of the fourth upgrade for Runes of Magic, called Lands of Despair.

This is the official list of features:

• More than 3,500 exciting quests and epic quest series
• Two races, eight classes, and a unique multiple class system
• Easy access to the game
• Over 20 contrasting regions
• Over 23 persistent and dynamically generated instances
• Extensive crafting and collection system
• Impressive mounts and battle companions
• Customisable player houses and guild castles
• Siege wars with powerful siege weapons
• Public encounters
• And much more…

The hefty 4 Gb download and the fact that I am still waiting to receive a confirmation e-mail for my account creation means that I cannot try it out now. From the trailer (embedded below), it sure looks that the game had good production values. I'll keep you posted about the gameplay in a future post. Link for the game after the break.



For more information visit http://www.runesofmagic.com

Weekly Recap: Elsword, World of Tanks, Hellgate London, Ruined and Top 5 Free-to-play Games

New release: Elsword Online - This is a free-to-play side-scrolling Manga style MMO fighter that has already met considerable success in the Asian region. The game only has 3 playable characters which can be slightly customized, and each character can choose between 2 classes. Why should you try it out? For the art style mostly, augmented with its fast pace and explosive goodness.

Entered Open Beta: Ruined is a third-person in-your-face PvP shooter set in San Francisco. It can be described as a mix between the graphical style of Borderlands and the fighting action of Unreal Tournament (yes I know it is a really old example, but it is the first one that came to mind). You may require a high end PC to play Ruined, but you will be well compensated for it. Why should you try it out? The characters really stand out from the crowd and are just dying to cut each other to pieces.

Voted by industry pros as the best game at the Game Develpers Conference (KRI) 2011 held in Moscow, World of Tanks is a team-based tactical World War II fighter where you control, as you rightly guessed, an armored tank. Why should you try it out? The game lets you re-enact epic battles between the German, Russian, American, and French factions by choosing from around 150 different types of tanks. Warning: driving tanks may not be everyone's idea of fun however realistic they might be!

Coming soon: Hellgate: London is set to return. This game, which had originally had high expectations due to it being developed by ex-Blizzard Diablo developers, failed to make any great impact when it was released back in 2007. However, after the game rights were bought by HanbitSoft (don't ask me, their website is all in Korean), the game is apparently making a comeback before the end of the year with closed beta testing starting next week. Me? I think that I am going to try out the Rift 7-day trial instead.

The folks at Games.com have compiled a list of Top five free-to-play browser MMOs. Whilst I do not completely agree with their choice of games, you couldn't do much wrong to try them out. Good games, but in my opinion not the top 5.

Lastly, if all this talk of gaming is too much for you, you may prefer to do some work instead. How does improving an existing Java-based MMO game sound to you?

Try Rift For Free

Trion's MMO is getting a major update, and the company hopes to rope in more gamers through two new programs. According to Trion's press release, the first initiative allows interested players to check out the game free for 7 days . If you like what you see, you can advantage of the second promotion: a referral program that rewards players with in-game goodies for getting their friends to buy ...
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Guild Wars 2 Ambassador

I only just saw the competition go up so spent all night creating this. The music is a little quiet so you'll have to turn your volume up. The words are meant to relate to how game developers, particularly MMO developers have lost sight of what they were actually creating and how things now differ from the origins of the RPG ( D&D ). I didn't use any videos from ArenaNet it's all created from the games Concept art. How the photoshop files would've come in handy! Guild Wars 2 is the only MMO to have really looked at what was being created and I applaud the developers for it. It's looking like a truly amazing game. Thanks for watching.

Author: Thenamesfunfy
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Transformers an MMO in disguise

Hasbro and UK game developer/publisher Jagex Ltd. have announced a development agreement to produce an MMO based on the Transformers franchise. Jagex is best known for its hugely popular free-to-play browser-based MMO RuneScape. Under the new partnership with Hasbro, Jagex will release the Transformers MMO in Latin America, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe [...]
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Blizzard's next MMO game is already playable, says company COO

Filed under: MMO Blizzard 's next major game announcement will likely be the reveal of its next MMO title. But the developer behind the biggest subscriber-based MMO game of all time, World of Warcraft , is still keeping details about the game close to the vest. However a new chat with Blizzard's COO Paul Sams at Gamasutra does give a couple of very general hints. Sams admits that its next MMO ...
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Headshot: Killzone 3 with Chris Lockey & Ecko (PlayStation Move) S02E133

www.youtube.com Click here to watch Headshot: Killzone 3 with Justegarde & Ecko (Career Opportunities) Headshot: Killzone 3 with Chris Lockey & Ecko (PlayStation Move) S02E133 Description: Ecko & the Lockey man got their hands on the PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter and put it to good work with Killzone 3. This video will show you... HOW TO play Killzone 3 HOW TO shoot HOW TO sharp shoot - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Follow Machinima on Twitter! Machinima twitter.com Inside Gaming twitter.com Machinima Respawn twitter.com Machinima Entertainment, Technology, Culture twitter.com FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE MMO & RPG GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE TRAILERS, GO TO: www.youtube.com TAGS: Headshot "Killzone 3" Killzone "Kill Zone" with Justegarde Justin and Ecko "Guerrilla Games" "Sony Computer Entertainment" Sony "PlayStation 3" PS3 "video game" "First-Person Shooter" FPS "Interplanetary Strategic Alliance" ISA "Helghast Empire" Helghast Helghan

Author: machinimarespawn
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MMO Traffic Expands to North America, NamesThomas Lee as Head of New U.S. Operations

MMO company gets new talent.
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Rift: Planes of Telara - This is Rift trailer

Nuevo trailer de Rift: Planes of Telara publicado por Trion Worlds. Desarrollado por: Trion Worlds Publicado por: Trion Worlds Plataforma: Microsoft Windows PC Género: MMORPG - Massively multiplayer online role-playing game / Videojuego de rol multijugador masivo en línea Modos: Online Multiplayer / Multijugador en linea Website: www.riftgame.com

Author: VirTualGamers
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General Chat - Rift Producer Adam Shows Off Some Raiding

www.youtube.com Click to watch General Chat - Rollin', Patrollin' and Live Streamin' General Chat - Rift Producer Adam Shows Off Some Raiding Today, Hundar and Ian sit down with Rift Producer Adam Gershowitz and ask him questions that you asked on Facebook! He talks about the end game, Rifts, and more! Was your question answered? Find out this week, on General Chat. How to Submit a Video to Realm How to play Rift How to prepare for Rift End Game Content - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Follow Machinima on Twitter! Machinima twitter.com Inside Gaming twitter.com Machinima Respawn twitter.com Machinima Entertainment, Technology, Culture twitter.com FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE MMO & RPG GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE TRAILERS, GO TO: www.youtube.com TAGS: Machinima Realm Hundar Quest Ian Beckman Joel Grit MinMax Anotes yt:quality=high Rift MMO New Beta Trion Worlds Network Rift: Planes of Telara Gamebryo MMORPG Fantasy role playing game massivly multiplayer online pc windows Defiant Guardian Gameplay Quests gaurdian Faction Realm the Fae instance weapons gaming battlefield pvp Warrior

Author: MachinimaRealm
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