MMO News |
- Velvet Sundown CB Preview
- Lost Saga (EU) beta key registration begins
- 8BitMMO adds Music from Chiptune Legends
- Darkfall: Unholy Wars – New February Promo Available
- Blizzard reveals new subscription numbers for World of Warcraft
- World of the Living Dead Invites Players to Stress Test In February
- Albion Online Cross Platform Demonstration
- Albion Online Video Shows Simultaneous Cross Platform Play In Real-Time
- World Tour Fishing Review
- Transformers Universe Gameplay Teaser Trailer
| Posted: 07 Feb 2014 11:12 AM PST By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF)
Velvet Sundown is a new game brought to us by Tribe Studious. It is best described as a “dramagame” and is equal parts game and social experiment. You’ll enter into the world of the wealthy and famous, taking on a role with the purpose of achieving your own personal goals. You won't be given much – a few items and tid-bits of information you can share. Velvet Sundown seems quite promising and perhaps will prove that you don’t need killing and gore for a game to be exciting and fun.
The Characters The purpose of Velvet Sundown is to take over a character and play its part in the scenario. There are a wide variety of characters and, depending on the scenario, there are up to eleven characters to play. One session, you might be the fit and famous surfer who doubles as a drug-busting detective. The next scenario you might find yourself as the bar-tender whose only purpose in life is providing drinks and stirring up trouble (as serving drinks gets boring). You’re never sure what you’ll be doing until things start, and even then you might find things going completely different from what you planned (or expected if you've played the game a while) – perhaps you’ll be Cooper and find that Jack is extremely attractive and discover true love after a few drinks? The whales can save themselves at that point. I’ve only had experience with a few of the characters, Cooper and Boyle being my most played. Boyle is definitely my favorite role to play, as he is often the center of the party and in the perfect place to hear interesting tid-bits of information that he can do with as he pleases. I admit that whenever I am Boyle, I tend to take on the role of the trickster, trying to stir up as much trouble as I can. Cooper is a much more busy man, with a goal and the drive to achieve it and is, in my opinion, one of the more difficult roles to play.
The Setting So far, the scenarios take place on the luxury yacht Velvet Sundown. Yes, that’s where the game gets its name. The mood is set on calm waters with a beautiful sunset in the background. The yacht is quite luxurious, and the people aboard are good looking. Thankfully, the mood can be achieved thanks to superb graphics. I found myself often wandering around the yacht just to admire the graphics. Standing at the edge of the ship, alone and dramatic, is not hard when the sunset looks almost as good as the real thing.
Controls I was pleased to find that the controls in Velvet Sundown are smooth and simple. WASD for movement, and left mouse for interacting with almost everything. Even if you’re completely new to PC gaming, you should be able to master the controls after a single session in the game. I can’t find any faults in the controls and liked their responsiveness. I can’t complain.
Scenarios As I said, when you play a scenario in Velvet Sundown, you are given a role that is chosen at random at the beginning of the session. Using the few tools available in your possession, you will navigate through a sea of others trying to achieve their own goals – which may include stopping you – while trying to achieve your own. It’s the unpredictable nature of interacting with characters that have actual people controlling them that make this game so interesting. One session, you might find yourself in an intense mind-game, while the next you might find that everyone is much more interested in getting drunk and high rather than doing anything productive. You might encounter corporate espionage, drug dealing, drug craving, or any number of things that can happen among the rich and famous. While Boyle, the bartender, is my favorite role to play, I still enjoy playing the other roles. One of the more difficult I’ve tried is Cooper, who is a popular surfer with a dark past. He’s driven to stop drug-related crime which has caused him to come to the Velvet Sundown as an undercover detective. It's difficult sniffing out criminals, especially when they know they’re at risk of being caught and the only tools you have are your charisma and words.
Every scenario is going to be different each time you play it because the characters are all played by real players. There are no NPCs in Velvet Sundown. It’s this key element that makes the game so fun. You will never know the outcome of the scenario in advance, and you don’t know who is playing which character until the end of the session. With this randomness, you are never faced with the same situation twice and that’s what makes this game so interesting to me.
The Debrief Once a scenario is over, everyone who took part is thrown into the debrief where you can see who played which character and talk about what happened. This is one of my favorite parts, as people can break out of their character and can laugh about what happened. It’s also quite nice when someone comments on your character, as you feel a sense of accomplishment from having stuck out in someone's mind. I’ve yet to see anyone rage or complain during a debrief, which is a sign that it’s almost impossible to get angry while playing this game. Even if you’re having a difficult time achieving your character's goals, you’re still having a blast.
Conclusion The Velvet Sundown closed beta turned out to be a fantastic experience. I can’t wait to see how things change and improve as development continues. The random nature of the experience is what makes it so fun and until now the only things I’ve played that come close to this are Space Station 13 and the life mods for Arma II. The fact that violence (minus use of tazers) plays absolutely no part in the game is an interesting change. Unfortunately our key giveaway has run aground, so getting into the game at this point may be a challenge. If you find a way, the experience is certainly worth it! |
| Lost Saga (EU) beta key registration begins Posted: 07 Feb 2014 10:37 AM PST Nexon Europe is has just announced that beta key registration is now available to the public for the online multiplayer brawler Lost Saga. Lost Saga has opened its virtual doors to the community as Nexon Europe welcome yearning players to sign up for a beta key, which will allow access to the closed beta test from 27th February. Over 3000 people had previously joined the Lost Saga community and can now once again get their eager hands on a precious beta key, as online multiplayer battles await. Along with sign up for a beta key, pre-client download will open on 25th February and the participants can start to play the game right away when Closed Beta starts. For more info, visit lostsaga.nexoneu.com |
| 8BitMMO adds Music from Chiptune Legends Posted: 07 Feb 2014 10:36 AM PST Archive Entertainment is excited to announce that 8BitMMO now has in-game music! Over 82 minutes of excellent chiptune music is now in-game for players to enjoy. Renowned chiptune musicians Danimal Cannon, Zef, PROTODOME, and Honin Myo Audio have agreed for selected songs from six of their albums to be included. The music is divided into three randomized playlists which are contextually played based on the area the player is in. Town areas play relaxed songs, Wilderness areas play adventurous tracks, and PVP/PVE areas play actionful combat music. And when players level-up, there’s a special track for that too. If a user enjoys a song, they can get more information about the song through an in-game widget and visit the musician’s website. Players can get the game now via Steam for free, or at http://8bitmmo.net. More information on the new music in 8BitMMO can be found on the development blog at http://blog.8bitmmo.net/2014/02/8bitmmo-now-has-music/. |
| Darkfall: Unholy Wars – New February Promo Available Posted: 07 Feb 2014 10:35 AM PST Aventurine is hosting a new promotion for all new and old Darkfall players this month. Existing Players will be able to purchase a 6 Month Subscription Package 45% off the regular price. For more information on these offers, visit http://www.darkfallonline.com/news/february-promotion-feb-5-feb-13 |
| Blizzard reveals new subscription numbers for World of Warcraft Posted: 07 Feb 2014 10:32 AM PST In a surprising turn of events, Blizzard has revealed that their subscriber base for World of Warcraft has stopped declining. Their financial report states that World of Warcraft subscriptions were up to 7.8 million from last years 7.7 million. Outside of the financial success from WoW, they’ve also revealed much success from Starcraft II and Diablo III. For more detailed information, view their financial report here: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ACTI/2943494840x0x724014/9b1383c9-ac48-4600-800a-536e7f7a9d96/ATVI_Q4_2013_Earnings_Release_with_tables.pdf |
| World of the Living Dead Invites Players to Stress Test In February Posted: 07 Feb 2014 10:13 AM PST Ballardia are proud to announce that, after two months of second-round closed beta testing, World of the Living Dead: Resurrection is now open to zombie fans through computers, tablets and mobile browsers at http://cbt.wotld.com. The beta key requirement has been removed for the month of February, letting players test their survival and management skills in this unique OpenStreetMap-based survival strategy zombie game. WotLD is a hardcore game with permadeath for strategy fans searching for a challenge. Players take on the role of an operative of the National Emergency Control & Relief Agency (NECRA) controlling squads of survivors in a massive game universe covering all of Los Angeles County and filled with over 10 million zombies. Scavenge real-world locations or attack other players to gather supplies and manage the needs of your survivors while avoiding deadly infectious bites. Advanced players and organized factions can focus on winning the server by researching and ultimately eradicating the zombie virus. The team has put out 16 builds since December 1, balancing gameplay and polishing all aspects of the game. Recent patches have introduced leaderboards to enable players to track their performance across a range of metrics. |
| Albion Online Cross Platform Demonstration Posted: 07 Feb 2014 09:57 AM PST
Albion Online showcases a side-by-side comparison of its cross platform capabilities. |
| Albion Online Video Shows Simultaneous Cross Platform Play In Real-Time Posted: 07 Feb 2014 09:52 AM PST Sandbox Interactive today unveiled a new video for their upcoming cross-platform Sandbox MMO, Albion Online. The video shows the game being played in real-time across five different gaming devices including iOS, Android, PC, Mac and Linux. All platforms will have the same gaming experience, with both PVE and PVP action, which the video shows off in real-time across all five platforms to give players a deeper understanding of how the singular game experience is captured across multiple devices all at the same time! |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2014 09:33 AM PST By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor)
Over a month ago I went on a special journey. Together with my fishing rod, I sought out the biggest fish on record. Needless to say, the hunt wasn’t all so successful. Back then World Tour Fishing was still heavily in development and only a small number of players had even embarked from port, but since it released into open beta and time has passed, more updates have arrived to polish out the rough edges. So now I set up to one-up my greatest catch on a special max level fisher. For anyone that had read my initial preview of the game, you'd know that fishing isn't the most enjoyable thing in the world for me. But the game itself did leave a nice impression with its heavy focus on realism without feeling tedious and repetitive. For people who aren't really familiar with the gameplay, or fishing in real life, let me talk you through the challenge of catching a fish real quick. In World Fishing Tour you obviously use a fishing rod and some bait and throw it as far from your dock or boat as you possibly can. After this wide arcing mouse sweep across your desk, the waiting game begins. In this period of time the same thing happens as most fishers do in real life, you wait patiently (or pensively) for the fish to bite. When the fish bites, you will engage into 'fishing combat.’ It is perhaps a bit confusing to call it fishing combat, but I guess it's the best way to explain catching fish in World Fishing Tour. It really feels like you are fighting with the fish so you can in the end catch it and perhaps even use it to make bait, or make it swim in your aquarium or fishing tank. When the fish bite, you will see a meter on top showing you how close you are to reeling your fish in. By using your rod, you can counter fish attacks by leaning the rod with or against tension to tire its stamina out. All the while you play a dangerous game of mouse button pushes to control your reel and slowly bring the fish closer (or tactically let it run). Just like in real life, if there is too much pressure on the line it might snap, so offering the fish a bit of freedom early on is necessary to bring in some of the bigger hauls. During this whole engagement, you will see your fishing rod do 'damage' to the fish as it nears the catchable range. The better the rod and its gear, the more leeway a player has to make errors without losing their fish. I was given a high level character by the team behind World Fishing Tour, letting me easily tackle fish I never dreamed of prior. As opposed to my sardine sized fish my bearded fisherman caught on the regular, the great sea offered up some real catches to my new avatar one could feed a full family with. Besides the high leveled character, I was also given a million gold. Feeling like a millionaire, I bought out the gear shop to prep the ultimate equipment to tackle the monsters lurking in the depths. I also bought a small boat and sped out to as far from the shoreline as possible. While the mechanics of the game remain the same at end-game, the fish combat went from simple battles to all out war. Even with the most overpowered equipment, my slim avatar was forced to fight some of these fish for minutes at a time before the bad boys eventually gave in. The intensity of each battle is enough to leave you hesitant before casting your rod in again, since these fish can be a real arm strain. Thrashing your mouse in all directions while frantically pushing buttons at strategic times, it’s the closest thing you’ll find to a workout on a PC setting. And when you do bring the big one in, the feeling of accomplishment built by the difficulty can make the entire experience shine.
Conclusion: Great Overall I found World Fishing Tour has improved much with the content added since beta. Fisherman now have goals to strive for and build towards as if it was your standard MMORPG with end-game. The difficulty of building your way to a wealthy and experienced fisher is quite rewarding, and once you get there you’ll appreciate the luxury the better equipment offers when tackling the game’s ultimate fish.
Now that’s a fish! Cruising around in your boat is also a blast, and I can’t wait to see what the upcoming release of full sized yachts is like. All these elements come together as you can display your greatest catches in proper grandeur in grand fishing tanks decorated with colorful rocks, plants, and even tiny fish houses. Utilizing my press account, I even managed to set a new world record. So get out their would-be fishermen and prove you have the twitch skills to match up to my experienced fishing lineage. |
| Transformers Universe Gameplay Teaser Trailer Posted: 07 Feb 2014 08:15 AM PST
Transformers Universe showcases some impressive visuals in this teaser of the upcoming browser-based MOTA. |
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