Everquest Gets an Epic Documentary

I was meaning to post this a while back, but better late than never. Actually, the way it is now, it acts as a slick post-mortem to the EverQuest convention where this documentary was aired! Slick, huh?

So finally, here's a guy covering Everquest who isn't dressed up as an elf or dwarf in chainmail- not that there's anything wrong with those obsessed fans covering these types of things. Come to think of it, they'd probably make the best documentary since they live the MMO life in- and out-of-game... but I digress.

So a one-time developer and present-day TV and videogame producer by the name of Jason Hall put together a series of never-before-seen interviews with the original EverQuest team. You may also know him as the Founder/CEO of Monolith Productions (think F.E.A.R., The Matrix Online... okay, probably best to stop there). He's now tackling reality shows.

Regardless of your feelings about a producer covering a once-titanic MMO or the MMO genre in general, it's great to finally get a true insider look into the MMO companies behind the game. This documentary shows a mixture of things: MMO addict developers giving insight to the passion that formed the game, twists along the way that could've kept this genre from ever taking off, some unexpected "by-products" of EverQuest (WoW players will appreciate the nod), and more. If you have any feelings towards MMO games whatsoever, this should at least frame the industry that's made it as far as it has today.

Sadly, the convention this video aired at just finished yesterday so the full video isn't up yet. Feel free to torrent scan (I will) and catch the full product when it's up. Anything that has confetti, women popping out of cakes, and sparkles has an automatic "win" factor of 10.

Check after the break for the trailer.

Continue Reading Everquest Gets an Epic Documentary

Mountain Dew Game Fuel: WoW Edition

On the heels of last year's summer Halo 3-themed Game Fuel line (and their election-style compeititon between 3 new berry fusion flavors two years ago), Mountain Dew is testing your faction loyalty with 2 types of World of Warcraft drinks. Alliance will have a wild fruit flavor, and Horde will be citrus cherry (think Baja Blast and Livewire/Code Red).

These drinks have been very elusive, but after recently moving to Chicago I found each of these stocked at a local CVS. Nobody else I know has their hands on these yet, so they might be releasing their new flavors in phases in key locations. Makes sense if they're ramping up production over the summer.

They're also doing something akin to their (now-ancient) 'Every 10 Minutes' campaign on their Game Fuel website, and you can win random WoW-related swag, PC peripherals, an Alienware laptop... or even a trip to Blizzcon. Sign up, click things for points, and enter for a chance to win every 5 minutes (if you place points in each item- not recommended). Down the road, no matter how many tokens you do or don't acquire, you'll be awarded a cute robot mini-pet, so make sure you don't get shafted by picking Horde if you'd really like a blue pet.

I won't even try to pick sides to say which one tastes better, or if the Halo variety outdid what's out now. What I will say is you should at least try it, since supporting new flavors will ensure at some point down the road they will have a whole line-up of good flavors.

And now, a picture of my loot.

Continue Reading Mountain Dew Game Fuel: WoW Edition

5 Things in 5 (Well, 8) Minutes - Podcast 001

You might've wondered where I've been. Well, turns out making a podcast is a little more involved than I previously thought! And even after the podcast was made, there's still the matter of offering the media. Well, good news is... finally, those obstacles are gone.

5 Things in 5 Minutes is the new podcast theme for this blog. Once every few days (podcast update frequency to be announced at a later date), I'll be uploading this as a quick non-text recap of important news of the week. There's much more than 5 things going on at any given time, but these are the 5 most interesting to me. Oh, the power.

Included with the podcast will be "show notes" to provide additional context to the show. If something feels glazed-over in the podcast, check the notes- you'll find plenty of resources to deepen your understanding.

Show Notes for Episode 001:

Left 4 Dead 2 (Soon?)

Parodying the community reaction for L4D2's unexpectedly-early release, we have these two videos. Epic music and ominous tones? Check and check.

Battle.net 2.0 is (Maybe?) Free!

Why go in detail when you can see my update here?

The Big 3 Makes Motion Controllers Now, Not Cars

Wii's Vitality Sensor, XBOX360's Natal, and Sony's 'Yet-Unnamed Eyetoy Motion Controller'

PSP Go is Go!

More specs than you can shake a stick at. Click here for community (well, IGN editors') impressions.

EA Thinks Protesting is Marketing

Viral marketing hits E3. News at 11.

Hope you enjoyed the first episode, and be sure to tune in next time. I might even get a better microphone.

Continue Reading 5 Things in 5 (Well, 8) Minutes - Podcast 001

CONFIRMED: Battle.net 2.0 to Be Free

You wonder why Blizzard didn't release this from the first announcements of Starcraft II and Diablo 3, but late's better than never.

According to Activision-Blizzard's annual conference call, and now a post on the official Battle.net forums, Battle.net 2.0 will be free to those purchasing Starcraft 2. This comes as good news to people frettting they'll have to fork over $50 for the base game and complement it with an XBOX Live subscription.

However, if you look closely at the wording, you'll notice Blue poster Karune only specifically mentions SC2. Yes, it's the SC2 forum on Battle.net. Yes, he's primarily speaking to the SC2-interested audiences. No, I didn't get the opportuniy to sit in on the Activision-Blizzard conference call to hear Mike Morhaime specifically define what the service covers. But there's some important factors to consider... after the break.

World of Warcraft, which will be included in the new Battle.net 2.0 integration, already has a $15/mo subscription fee attached, so including Bnet2.0 should be a no-brainer. SC2 was recently announced as a trilogy, so assuming a $50+ price tag on each game, they're netting $150+ total from each dedicated customer over the lifespan of SC2. Diablo, the only intellectual property still in the air, is only planned (at this stage) to be a single-game iteration, so this game might be up for a Battle.net 2.0 access fee, or worse, a subscription model. However, the Diablo community has come to expect free online play from the previous 2 games... but meeting profit estimates tend to trump histortical trends. This is just the cynic in me talking, though.

If you dig enough, you'll even find tidbits that older games will not be supported (although this isn't cited anywhere specifically). This means they'll be stuck on the old Battle.net iteration until they're taken offline. It makes sense since the new Battle.net is being built around a whole new infrastructure (clan management, event planning, game achievements, etc.), but it's sad to see if you're playing a retro game there's a chance your friends won't see you on.

Overall, it's good to see Blizzard's moving towards a "free" model for Battle.net 2.0. But this all might be dependent on how much revenue they can generate from each IP individually over the long-term to support the service. Keep your ears tuned, especially in August during Blizzcon, to see how this situation evolves. Better yet, come to my blog, since I'll actually be attending (liveblog attempt incoming?!).

Continue Reading CONFIRMED: Battle.net 2.0 to Be Free

E3 Winds Down

So, the truncated E3 is down from 5 days to 4 since it shrunk in 2007, which means it's officially over and we have all the news updates to skim over and analyze from the previous week.  I saw a suprising amount of journalists lamenting over the short period since there were so many games to test, but too long of lines to get to them all.

Rather than try to be one of those blogging androids that covers all of E3 from all sides (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, independent hardware developers... and all the games being showcased), I will take the more humanistic approach and cover the highlights of the event.  Best thing is, since I'm not liveblogging the content, I can provide insight with the power of hindsight.

Not saying it wouldn't have been fun liveblogging the event, but that's what Twitter's for nowadays.  I'd also prefer to be at the presentations.  So we'll save those crazy antics for the day I get a press pass.

Now that you know my stance on the subject, keep your eyes peeled in the following weeks for updates on all the E3 announcements and their impact on how you'll be playing your consoles going forward.

Continue Reading E3 Winds Down

World of Warcraft: 3.0.3's Largest Nerf

You might be wondering- what's the big deal about a broom?

Well, for those of us who have been playing World of Warcraft for the last half a month, there was an event called Hallow's End that integrated candy, tricks, and loot into 15 days of festive fun, traveling, and boss-slaying. One of the unsung champions of this event was none other than the Magic Broom.

What this little guy did was nix the usual 3-second cast time to mount. There were major implications due to this in multiple areas- you saw every PVPer sporting this guy since you could pop on a 100% speed mount immediately upon leaving combat. Advantages are even better for Rogues and the Night Elf class, who sport Vanish and Shadowmeld to immediately leave combat. I presume it's a similar situation for Hunters with Feign Death.

In PVE, suddenly grinding low-level quests and monsters weren't as big of a hassle. Usually monsters are spaced 20-30 yards apart, and the run time wasted during a typical quest could be upwards of 5 minutes. Assuming it takes 15 minutes to do a quest with some traveling, that's 33% of your time spent running monster to monster! This cut that downtime to 1 minute or less, and it was suddenly fun to chain-quest again.

I think Blizzard realizes the benefits this item brought, but its effect in PVP probably made it overpowered. I don't see anything wrong with having no cast time on mounts- it makes for a twitchier game- and I'd gladly take it back. It's a drag that the game feels it needs to waste time just to waste time by re-implementing the cast time to mount. I say be done with it and make every mount casting time-free.

Your customers who like spending their time playing, not casting and standing still, will thank you.

(In other news, I hope Blizzard finally fixed the achievement "A Simple Re-Quest". I'd like to enter a Battleground again without having to worry about it wiping the number!)

Continue Reading World of Warcraft: 3.0.3's Largest Nerf

Mirror, Mirror on the HDTV

Mirror's Edge, for those unfamiliar with the game, blasted onto the gaming blogosphere with a bang thanks to its realistically-moving camera. The rest of the game's fairly standard platforming fare- plop on a roof, jump onto a pole, swing, land, beat up bad guys that run to meet you, and repeat. But it's the first first-person shooter/platformer that actually attempts to attach a camera to the character's head, rather than place it on a static X-Y-Z axis. Now, if you kick the back of a guy's head, you'll look down your arm, center on the enemy's head, and the camera will bob as you make his face meet steel grating. It's a nice touch to a genre that's been unexcitingly consistent in presentation.

Some of this action has been shown in a brand spankin' new gameplay video released at Leipzig Games Convention 2008 (after the jump):

One concern from earlier trailers was that it'd be too scripted or oversaturated with gimmicky camera movements. Since nobody's tested the final product it's impossible to verify the truth of that allegation, but assuming there's a gradual progression of skill sets and fights a'la Portal's evolving stages, the gimmick factor should be minimized.

I'm satisfied with the eye-candy shown so far, but I'd love to see more gameplay. Since release is a while off, with many game shows going on before then, expect more to be released in a calculated way. Marketing teams just love doing that.

There's even some back story to the craziness contained in the above videos. Peep extra trailers and related videos below:

Continue Reading Mirror, Mirror on the HDTV

Don't Look Now, But...

IT'S SAMUS ARAN! It's not like I typically inject this blog with cosplay/artistic love, but I think this exhibit warrants a mention. Plus it's about a game, so there, that's my excuse.

The cosplayer in question today is cosplayer Jenni Källberg, who's been making front-page rounds on news circles showcasing her new Samus outfit. It's certainly impressive, and since she's not Asian herself, I presume this is why it's made such a splash in Western circles- no dig at Asian anime folk, it's just they're the ones typically associated with over-the-top cosplay getups.

Check the link, or if you're lazy, click the jump. It'll be worth your time.

Continue Reading Don't Look Now, But...

Atari Getting Some Help

Following up last week's Atari article, it seems Infogrames Entertainment (Atari's parent company) is using its BlueBay division to buy Atari's debt and inject it with $10M to carry it through the holiday season.

Yet this $10M isn't going to cut it, Atari says, and they're looking for further financing.

Kotaku's Mike Fahey makes the jab, "I'm patiently waiting for a PayPal donation button to appear on their homepage."

Atari's future is looking pretty foggy, and I'll be checking to see what becomes of the long-standing, yet mis-managed company.

Continue Reading Atari Getting Some Help

XBOX360 Propels to 1st Place: Halo 3 to Thank?

Never underestimate the chain reaction of success a blockbuster title can bring. Right on the heels of Halo 3's release (okay, calculate in a month of lag for all those fence-sitters), industry sales jumped 74% this month, largely thanks to Microsoft's hit title.

Nintendo saw Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) rack in a hefty amount of sales (400K), coupled with the continued success of Wii and its casual-fun games. Between Zelda, Samus, and Wii mini-games, Nintendo saw well over 1 million copies sold for September and early October.

However, that number pales- and I mean pales- in comparison to what Microsoft saw since Halo 3's release. Clocking in at 3.3 million copies sold on release day, that number's since grown to over 5.2 million copies sold worldwide. If history taught us anything about hit exclusives, it's that each release is coupled with massive sales increases with its console.

As NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier says, "Halo 3 had a very big and significant impact on 360 hardware sales. Consumers always tell us that the availability of the games they want to play is the #1 reason why they purchase any given hardware system, and when you have a game of this magnitude, the effect of compelling content on driving hardware acquisition is evident."

Well, people weren't just acquiring consoles... they were snatching them up like all XBOX inventory was going to be incinerated by Christmas. Analysts can't help but chock that up to Halo 3 (and partially to others).

An NPD Group analyst, Anita Frazier, "We should continue to see strong sales for Halo 3 into the holidays and that will definitely help keep the momentum going for the 360. Not only that, but those new owners are going to be looking for some more content to play so it's a cycle that feeds itself."

With Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii offering nothing of world-shaking significance (yet), it's going to be a white-and-green holiday as XBOX360 games piggyback off Halo's penetration.

To sum things up:

• Software Sales: +64% (Rose to $550.5 million)
• Hardware Sales: +188% (Rose to $418.6 million)
• Industry Sales: +74% (Total video game sales rose to $1.36 billion)

Continue Reading XBOX360 Propels to 1st Place: Halo 3 to Thank?

EA's BioWare & Pandemic Acquisition Details Emerge

Recently, EA made headline news for its USD 825M acquisition of Pandemic (Star Wars: Battlefront) and BioWare (Mass Effect / Baldur's Gate) studios, which put questions in the minds of gamers everywhere. Why the sudden purchase? What was the strategic motive?

Well, today, EA released some general, yet logical information regarding their decision. Simply put, "This acquisition fills up a gap in our genre line-up. We are currently underrepresented in key genres: RPG, action, and adventure." He substantiates this with the fact that 36/29 percent of the North American/European markets respectively are made up by these genres that these studios specialize in, and >25% is no small piece of market pie.

Pandemic and BioWare cumulatively have 6 wholly-owned projects in the works, and as if a cherry on the top of a $825M sundae, BioWare is also working on a yet-unannounced MMORPG.

Filling out your portfolio doesn't come without a cost, however. Investors and executives alike are relying on their revenue estimates to make this deal profitable, and while the breakeven point is set for 2009, dud games will cause quite a bit of strain on EA's value.

When asked by Gamasutra if they were worried about being utterly taken over, overshadowed, and tossed around in a corporate dryer of sorts, BioWare replied that EA was actually very in-line with their goals, and being attached to such a powerful entity might provide the necessary resources to see even bigger projects come to fruition.

There's no doubt this story's only going to get deeper, and soon we might see the finer details of EA's desire of Pandemic/BioWare ownership.

Continue Reading EA's BioWare & Pandemic Acquisition Details Emerge

No Wii Price Cut - Confirmed

This should come as no surprise whatsoever, but the Nintendo Wii will not be seeing price cuts this holiday season. With ample demand pushing sales and Nintendo receiving gains from every unit sold, Nintendo has no reason to follow in Sony and Microsoft's price-drop decisions.

Says NOA's George Harrison, "We'll stay at USD 249 for the foreseeable future. We are still selling everything we can make."

GamesIndustry.biz also speculates repeat Wii console shortages again this year as the masses run out for gift-buyin', so don't let your guard down- get your Wii early if you plan on buying one.

Will price drops increase competition between the three vying consoles? November and December, we await your bombardment of gaming-related TV ads.

Continue Reading No Wii Price Cut - Confirmed

Change is in the Air... at Atari

Mismanagement of a brand is never a pretty thing. Neither is seeing a stock chart mimic a ski slope. However, Atari has both problems on their hands and is finally trying to turn things around for the staggered company.

Head board members were removed (an oddly strong word, likely chosen to portray the seriousness of the change) today, with new management to be put in place soon.

Will this change really bring Atari back? The last great Atari game, many have argued, was Pong. Harsh words that, unfortunately, ring pretty true. Neverwinter Nights fans, no offense intended.

Once this change begins to yield financial fixes and make good on Atari's promises, we might see some rebounding. In the meantime, IT'S SKIING TIME!

Continue Reading Change is in the Air... at Atari

WoW: Great News for Reroll Virgins

For as long as I can remember, the most painful experience in World of Warcraft was re-leveling a character. For all but the hardiest of gamers (or those sick of their current character), starting fresh and spending countless hours running through the same content you played through not too long ago is #1 on peoples' "Avoid" lists.

Well, patch 2.3 details came swooping in today to lift that bad "re-roll" taste from peoples' mouths, and it's improvements all around for those who ever wanted to play another class but never had the time (or patience).

Here's a summary of the upcoming changes (from WoW Insider):

• Amount of experience needed to level reduced by 15% per level between 20 and 60.
• Experience gained from completing quests increased between levels 30 and 60.
• Outdoor elite quests will now now be soloable, with the same (or better) rewards.
• About 60 new quests and a new goblin town based in Dustwallow Marsh (levels 30 to 40)
• Level ranges for old dungeons to be narrowed down a bit (so that if you are high enough to start them, you are high enough to finish them too)
• Increased questing experience for dungeon quests.
• Buffed up item drops from dungeon bosses.

For twinks and altoholics, these changes might be a bit disheartening, tossing days of work to the wind. But, such is life in constantly-evolving games like MMORPGs.

Stay tuned for further updates regarding this change, because as we're told by Blizzard itself, this is only the tippiest-top of the iceberg to come. Huzzah, my alts might yet again see some play time!

Continue Reading WoW: Great News for Reroll Virgins

40GB, and NO PS2 GAMES FOR YOU.

Ah, Playstation 3 marketing- the crux of every marketer's "not to do" list. Recently, there were inklings of Sony making a "Big Bang" announcement regarding its PS3- which were promptly shot down by Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe (SCEE). Lest I remind you, they (SCEA/SCEE) consistently attempt to cover up announcements like this, so don't buy into their response too easily.

Next, people reported new SKU#'s popping up in retail store catalogs described as- you guessed it!- a $399 40GB PS3 models!

And now, presumably feeling that their surprise was out of the bag, Sony is saying the 40GB model will lack backwards compatibility. Wait, WHAT?!

If lacking backwards compatibility sounds trivial to you, consider these figures: There's 1,700+ Playstation 2 games out now with plenty still in development. Sony quotes a 90% backwards compatibility count. Playstation 3, however, offers a meager 65 games, a handful of which people actually consider "good."

Sony's saying: In buying our new 40GB console, you're being locked out of our previous hit games, but trust us... our great games are just around the corner!

But wait- here's the irony. Recalling back to 2006 in a GamePro interview, Sony's Phil Harrison said "Backwards compatibility, as you know from PlayStation One and PlayStation 2, is a core value of what we believe we should offer. And access to the library of content people have created, bought for themselves, and accumulated over the years is necessary to create a format. PlayStation is a format meaning that it transcends many devices -- PSOne, PS2, and now PS3."

Joystiq puts it best: "A little over a year and 'core values' go right out the window."

There has been confirmation that hardware in the Playstation 3 has been removed from the 40GB version to make production cheaper, so a firmware add-in is impossible. Bafflingly, there will still be continued backwards compatibility support for the 60/80GB PS3 models (I thought this was a huge cost?).

So, Big Bang announcement or no, there's an interesting month ahead of Playstation 3. Christmas is coming up, and this is the worst time of year to get bad publicity. Keep your ears open October 12th for that bang- hopefully for Sony, it won't be the sound of Playstation's sales (and/or reputation) crashing.

Continue Reading 40GB, and NO PS2 GAMES FOR YOU.

Come One, Come All! Turbine Opens the Floodgates to LOTR: Online

Just a few pecks shy of "totally expected", Turbine announced today they're letting anyone and everyone play Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar free until April 24th- the game's launch day.

In the monopolized world of MMORPGs, companies are finally figuring out they need more than just a big budget and screenshots to make an impact on the market. Giving players the option to play-test the game for free and determine if the game's worth the monthly subscription (or if you pre-order, the $199 lifetime fee- a bargain, I assure you) will likely be the new theme for upcoming MMOs. For the uninitiated, the past "first hit's free" deal was giving customers a free month of play.

LOTR Online seems to already be forming fan camps, with fantasy/comic fans on the bandwagon and everyone else remaining skeptical. The overall appeal of this game has yet to be seen, but the name alone should guarantee the game at least mediocre sales. What'll set this MMO apart is how it deals with questing, grinding, player professions, and most importantly, maintaining an engaging world and storyline (or, what its main competitors are shaky at). The developers have a huge platter of lore to work with, so let's hope for the best.

While we can't yet determine the success of this game, we can do the next best thing: load the game up and play it ourselves. Check it out before April 24th!

(Psst, I hear the download's pretty snappy (get to the download via the article's first link). People are reporting 1.5MB/s from Turbine's servers.)

Continue Reading Come One, Come All! Turbine Opens the Floodgates to LOTR: Online

Pushing the Boundaries of Advertising, Game-Style

You've probably played a game where you've seen "143 Awesome Levels" stickered on the game case, pictures of a character posing with an in-game weapon you'd simply love to equip, or a stage that catches your eye... only to load the game to see 12 stages available, no cool weapons, or no awesome-looking level.

It's typical gaming fare. Game developers lure you in with the awesome eye candy expecting you'll work through the drudge to get it. However, an article on Game Stooge brings up a new legal implication of this kind of "shady" advertising: what if it's illegal?

Well, the target du jour is Guitar Hero II, which advertised a whopping 70 songs in its game, only to have 30 available immediately. Much legal conjecture and similes are made by Game Stooge, but the question remains: is it illegal for a game to advertise a feature that requires a high amount of skill/time to unlock?

Well, the answer... isn't so clear. There's no past cases to look to for precedent, but one can assume that since the content is available on the product (even if it's not available from the point you open it), it's not "illegal" to say the content's there.

Here's 2 examples:

1. Mario Bros. DS advertises being able to play Mario and Luigi for all its levels. You can only play Mario initially, but after beating the game once through, you can play as Luigi. This is legal.
2. Mario Bros. DS advertises being able to play Mario and Luigi for all its levels. There is no possible way to obtain Luigi, since he was not coded into the game in a way you could obtain him. This is illegal.

Of course, reasonableness must be taken into account. Advertising explicitly that Mario and Luigi will be playable from "the time you open the box" means you better be able to play them the second the game begins. More loosely, having to work 100 hours to play Luigi (when it's advertised as a main selling point) might also stretch the boundaries of legality.

The resounding message is that games can only advertise on their boxes what is obtainable in them. It doesn't matter if it's immediate, eventual, or after a horrendously long unlocking session; the fact is, it's there.

The Law of the Game also ventures to explain this topic with more legal terminology and reasoning, citing FTC points and comparing the validity of comparing game advertisements to other forms.

This is an interesting topic that'll soon find its way to a courtroom, I presume. Someone out there is going to want to play a song, only to find out it takes 10 hours to get it. Then we'll have a definitive answer.

(This entry was cross-posted to GIW.)

Continue Reading Pushing the Boundaries of Advertising, Game-Style

Well Played, PS3. Well Played.

While this may be ancient history by now, Sony's announcement of Playstation Home at the Game Developer's Conference 2007 will surely throw a wrench in the Sony-hating wheel that's been spinning for... however long it was since they advised people to get 2 jobs to pay for their system.

Before the unveiling of Home, many were skeptical of the online strategy Sony had for the Playstation 3. After being kicked with the browser system, then repeatedly beaten with the content downloader, and finally spit on with some "me-too" announcements for PS3's online features (such as the online avatar [see: Wii's Miis] and trophies [see: Microsoft's Achievement Points]). It seemed that Sony was just riding the coattails of previous successes, not entirely keen on pioneering online features themselves.

Well, flash forward to GDC at the Sony conference, where Sony's Phil Harrison debuted this unexpectedly beautiful and potential-packed software addition every PS3 will be receiving for free. Right from the get-go it was apparent this was no tack-on project, with the impressive graphics and brevity, high levels of customization, and streamlined level layout.

In Home, you'll be maneuvering a character, not menus, to access content. You'll have your own personal living space, a social commons to talk with other online players, and even a trophy/arcade room where past game achievements (with what seemed like small videos of each achievement) could be seen in a bottomless-chasm type of building that waxes reminiscent of the Star Wars senate (you know, where Yoda and the Emperor Palpatine fought- it's also in the video below around the 18 minute mark).

As most gamers know, however, it's best to not laud content before it's released. Voice chat on Halo, which seemed like a godsend at the time, spawned a generation of smack-talkin', insensitive teenage boys that ruined the game for most casual players. Similarly, Nintendo's friend codes slaughtered any hopes of making online play easy, all in the name of security. Home could be the next "great concept gone sour" thanks to rich content but poor implementation/user base.

It's good to see Sony putting more than its foot in the door of online features. They're making their desire to go online apparent, and they're explaining to developers at GDC how Home can be used to increase their games' hype and sales. For this, I applaud you Sony.

It's definitely been a while, but you seem like you're getting your creative juices back and remembering that the future's more than just silicon chips and gigahertz. With any luck, Home will be a smashing success, and online gaming will benefit as a whole.

Boy, and I thought I'd never find a selling point in the Playstation 3...

Sony's GDC 2007 Playstation Home Segment:


Playstation Home Trailer:

Continue Reading Well Played, PS3. Well Played.

Looking Ahead with MMORPGs

As much as I am immersed in World of Warcraft, I realize there'll be a time I'll have to move on. I'll hop on my horse (or rather, ram) and trot off into the sunset, headed for greener pastures filled with new challenges and feats. In my wake, I leave Azeroth behind.

While this surely isn't happening any time soon, certain games are stacking up to be solid competitors for the attention of the millions-large MMORPG-playing population.

One game that's recently grabbed my attention is Darkfall Online- a dynamic MMORPG offering a new take on the MMO experience. Gone are the limits of "Skill/Weapon/Armor Requirements", "Character Classes", and other developer-instated boundaries. This game's world is a palette, and its players are the painters.

Not to mention, you won't be fighting by conventional MMO methods (most games require button-mashing to do special attacks/combos)- you'll be using first-person aiming and firing. This game boasts, in short, letting the skilled and inventive strive.

On paper, Darkfall Online sounds fantastic. Any game that gives players ultimate control over their environment is destined for success. However, implementing and maintaining this system- not to mention keeping malicious players from exploiting it- should be a development process in itself. Ensuring that such a multi-faceted game remains balanced and fun on all levels will require massive tweaks and quality assurance teams, which may not be feasible for a start-up MMO company.

I've seen this MMO before, albeit in less splendor, a few months back on MMORPG.com. Most people have written off this MMO as vaporware- software that's in perpetual development and destined to postpone itself into nonexistence. However, with this resurgence of media, perhaps there's hope for Darkfall Online yet.

As much as I like World of Warcraft and hope to see it strive, I think it's due time for some serious competition. Vanguard, Warhammer, and others are making WoW work harder for its subscribers, but as of yet, nothing can topple Blizzard's behemoth. Will Darkfall Online be the David to Blizzard's Goliath?

The next hit MMO is inevitable. The only question is... which?

Continue Reading Looking Ahead with MMORPGs

Silent Hill Arcade Game Announced

AOU 2007 is in full swing over in Chiba, Japan, and Konami's apparently trying to make a good impression with the arcade sector this year.

On top of announcing sequels for each of its prized BEMANI games (which is having its 10th anniversary this year!), we got our first look at a brand-spankin'-new action shooter for a franchise most would have never expected: Silent Hill.

Not many details are known about Silent Hill: The Arcade, but it boasts an interesting cabinet with eerie, tattered flaps encapsulating you in the Silent Hill universe. Expect some standard shooter fare- zombies, railed levels, tons of shooting, bosses, and nigh-impossible coin guzzling sections- with the trademark Silent Hill storyline of mystery, intrigue, and paranoia.

Of course, this game could end up being the next House of the Dead offshoot that woos only the simplest of minds. Plenty of folks have already jumped on this cynical bandwagon.

The most we can do at this point is hope whoever's making this spin-off doesn't abuse the license and produces a truly addictive, scare-inducing shooter to keep us entertained at our local arcades. With hopes high, all we can do now is await further details.

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