MMO News

Final Fantasy XIV Patch 3.21 Adds The Feast
Shot Online Announces Major March Update
Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure Release Date Confirmed
Fractured Space Update Introduces Custom Matches
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada Overview Trailer
Ultimate Chicken Horse Game Launch Review
SMITE Sunstar Ra Skin Preview
Moving Hazard Early Access Launch and Gameplay Trailer
Crowfall Ranger Gameplay Video
Ashes of the Singularity Release Date Announcement Trailer

Final Fantasy XIV Patch 3.21 Adds The Feast

Posted: 10 Mar 2016 03:08 PM PST

Players of the hit MMO, FINAL FANTASY® XIV, can now battle one another in the Feast, a new PvP mode released with Patch 3.21. The player's primary objective is to steal their opponent’s medals in teams of four or eight. The Feast dramatically shifts the playing field and a team's strategy with the introduction of a variety of boosts from supply boxes, as well as detrimental effects where players can receive additional damage based on how many medals they hold and how much time has elapsed without a KO. Players who have unlocked the "Wolves' Den" will automatically be able to access this new content.

Players of the Feast will also be able to participate in a ranked PvP system, introduced for the first time in FINAL FANTASY XIV with Patch 3.21 . The initial update will mark the beginning of the pre-season period, where players can get acquainted with the ranking system, before Season One officially commences in Patch 3.25. Top competitors will receive special awards at each season's end. Player ranks will be updated daily on the Lodestone.

Further details on the Feast can be found here.

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Shot Online Announces Major March Update

Posted: 10 Mar 2016 02:26 PM PST

WEBZEN ONNET, an operator of online free-to-play games portal GamesCampus, today announced that its popular PC-action/role-playing golf title Shot Online will bring its latest content update and brand-new features on 15th March, 2016 (UTC).

Mixing professional golf with RPG and competitive mechanics, Shot Online brings the world of competitive sports straight to the user. Shot Online is a highly accurate simulation with deep role-playing elements, making it more than just an online sports game. These RPG qualities are what make Shot Online the addictive game it is, with community interaction alongside character levels and enhancements.

With the newest update, a long awaited expansion, Scenario 5 Quests will become available for the Shot Online communities, expanding a current storyline by more than 5,000 minutes and providing an additional 160 quests in total. Scenario 5 allows players to meet the NPC André Lieu for the first time, and to use the new function named ‘André’s Knowhow’. In addition, players who achieve the new title of World Pro III will receive a World Pro Ball [45%], a new World Driver and an enhanced World Pro Buff as a reward.

The March content update also brings AI Golfman and AI Partner. AI Golfman is a bot that appears when 1 of a 4-player team leaves the game after the 9th hole of an 18-hole round, allowing players to continue to receive EXP x4 or other benefits. Normal, Hard, and Normal/Hard Random courses are only available with Stroke and 18-hole rounds.

AI Partner is a bot that can play entire rounds with another player, allowing them to receive the benefits of co-playing. Players are permitted only 1 partner per account, and can call their partner by opening the Partner Contact Item and selecting from four difficulty levels.

Along with these new features, the update will introduce many improvements to the game, including an EXP system adjustment between the Global and EU servers.

To celebrate the arrival of this new update, the Shot Online team is hosting the following in-game events: Starting off with a bang, existing players can boost their characters to higher scenario levels with two available Scenario Jumping Books, allowing them to begin from Lv. 102 or Lv. 120. In addition, the New Caddie EXP Event will get under way, with the usual 3D Caddie Contract.

Full features and events will arrive on 15^th March, and interested players are invited to check out the Shot Online official website at: http://shotonline.gamescampus.com/

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Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure Release Date Confirmed

Posted: 10 Mar 2016 02:03 PM PST

Copenhagen-based developer Game Swing and indie publisher Curve Digital look forward to welcoming PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC gamers to the fantasy sports world of the '70s this April with the brilliant, bonkers sports game Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure. Hitting PC on April 1, PlayStation®4 on April 5, and Xbox One on April 8, Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure brings a stylish and perilous reimagining of the classic ball game to players of all ages.

Using simple twin-stick controls and featuring a vibrant, '70s inspired art style, Stikbold! is a fast-paced approximation of the game of dodgeball, complete with off-court hazards, random events and boss battles. Up to four players can partake in brutal yet outlandish rounds of dodgeball, where fast reactions, tactics and teamwork combine to create a sports game unlike any other. Always enjoyable but truly shining as a local multiplayer game, Stikbold! is slated to become the next couch multiplayer game of choice.

The game originally began as an entry into the Nordic Game jam three years ago, winning the award for being the "most fun" out of all submissions. Realizing that they had created the framework for something special, the team decided to develop the prototype into a full game, and three years later, Stikbold! is the result.

"From game jam to console – it's been quite the ride," says Jacob Herold, CEO and founder of Game Swing. "Whether it's been at PAX or GDC, everyone who's had the opportunity to play early builds of Stikbold! has enjoyed its accessibility, playability and sense of humor, comparing it to old school multiplayer games like Bomberman. We can't wait to get it into the hands of console and PC players this April."

The post Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure Release Date Confirmed appeared first on MMOHuts.

Fractured Space Update Introduces Custom Matches

Posted: 10 Mar 2016 01:46 PM PST

Edge Case Games, developers of the team-based space combat game, Fractured Space, revealed that today's eagerly anticipated game update introduces Custom Matches, one of the features most requested by the game's community.

The system has been designed for matches with friends, including both friendly encounters and clan training. It allows for everything from one-on-one games to full five-on-five matches.

A Steam Community Group, Fractured Fight Club, has been set up to facilitate challenges and the establishment of casual teams.

Team leaders will decide the number of players and game mode before the game begins, and players can invite others to the lobby to quickly and easily fill out a match. During this process, ranks and Matchmaking Rating (MMR) will be fully visible to assist with balancing.

"Fractured Space is at its heart a team game, and Custom Matches will bring a number of important player benefits, from playing fun matches with friends to full-on clan training exercises," said Sam Bennett, Community Director at Edge Case Games. "Thanks to our open development model, ECG is able to listen and adapt to features that are important to our community."

Fractured Space also revealed two fly-bys of ships today:

The post Fractured Space Update Introduces Custom Matches appeared first on MMOHuts.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada Overview Trailer

Posted: 10 Mar 2016 01:02 PM PST

As Battlefleet Gothic: Armada launches its multiplayer beta, watch this new overview trailer to get an understanding of the game.

The post Battlefleet Gothic: Armada Overview Trailer appeared first on MMOHuts.

Ultimate Chicken Horse Game Launch Review

Posted: 10 Mar 2016 12:58 PM PST

Put on your mucking jeans – we're going to the farm. Don't worry, we're not heading into a farming or livestock simulator. We're suiting up for Ultimate Chicken Horse from Clever Endeavour Games, a game thankfully not about egg-laying equines. UCH is a puzzle-platformer party game with a simple motto: screw your opponents, but don't screw yourself.

There are four playable characters in UCH to start with: Chicken, Horse, Sheep, and Raccoon. Each has its own animations and voice, but are otherwise identical in gameplay. At the start of a session, each player can choose one of the four animals (no duplicates, so don't hope to run a 'horse race'). While this is a pretty basic set-up to start, further animals and even costume pieces are unlockable during special map events (indicated by ? on the map select screen).

Ultimate Chicken Horse Game Launch Review

Humble beginnings.

The local co-op mode offers two modes: party and creative. In both modes, players use their own controller. However, players can also share a controller in creative mode. A special controller-sharing couch can be found in the lobby (called the "Treehouse") which players can 'sit' in to share a single controller and take turns. This is a nice touch to a competitive party game that usually relies on multiple controllers. While shared controllers will miss out on the fun of party mode, it would be impossible to allow a shared controller to enjoy the simultaneous mayhem.

In Party Mode, things get crazy fast. Each round starts off with a shake of the "Party Box." Inside each box are a handful of stage pieces to choose from. Each player gets a cursor and must choose one platform, gadget, or trap from the selection in the party box. Once selected, the item becomes unavailable for the others to use. This turns careful planning on its head as the Party Box becomes a quick grabby-hands scramble to get your hands on what, in the heat of the moment, you think you can make use of. Not only will you frequently be denied by faster players, but you may also find yourself quickly picking up whatever you can grab – which may not be so appealing to work with. There are no take-backs.

You probably shouldn't open a box like this IRL.

The second phase of the round begins after all players have chosen their item. Each player can move around the stage map and choose where to place their item. Items can be rotated to fit your needs, though not changed in size. The goal of this is two-fold: first, players have to make it possible to reach the goal, which means building platforms that will let them go across the gap between the start and finish. Second, players need to set traps and obstacles that will keep their opponents from reaching the goal without being completely unpassable. This is where the real mind-games come into play, because you can also attempt to strategically wait out your opponent's placements to make yours more useful, or try to pay attention to their placement strategy to counteract it with your own. That is, of course, if you don't simply get caught up in the intensity of it all and quickly place your item down in the first likely useable spot you see.

Sheep gets puck-faced.

The third phase of each round commences the actual foot race to the finish. Each character can dash, jump, and wall jump without limits. As things get more complex, players have to navigate traps that include slippery ice, barbed wire, crossbow shots, and even black holes. This phase is pure and simple platforming, and your opponents can't do anything to make things worse other than what they've already done (unless, of course, they're shit talking you at the same time). This is all a matter of skill with a tiny dash of luck, but hopefully, you'll make it to the flag and not get impaled or fall to your doom.

After each round, a score tally will come up. If everyone makes it to the flag, no points are awarded. Otherwise, points are awarded for those who reach the goal and those who successfully trap an enemy. There is also the "underdog" system. After a few rounds, a player who is clearly behind the others will be labelled the underdog. Should this player succeed in a future round, they will get a "come back" score bonus. This system helps players stay competitive in the game for the whole match. However, these bonus points can be disabled in the game's "Rule Book."

This isn't Who's Line Is It Anyway? Points DO matter.

Matches last until one player hits a full score bar, or until the round limit (which can be customized, but the default is 12) is reached. If all players are at a tie at the end of the round limit, a Sudden Death round will occur. In this round, no more traps are placed. Instead, each player must race to the finish as fast as they can. The fastest one to the finish line wins. In either scenario, the winner will be declared the Ultimate Animal of Their Choosing. And darn it all, they probably earned that title.

These are serious life goals for a farm animal.

Creative Mode plays a little more relaxed but perhaps more deviously. Instead of each phase happening simultaneously, players take turns placing objects and running the course. Additionally, players have access to the full book of items and gadgets to place, rather than having to pick between just a few. This gives players time to plot, plan, and work against each other without the impulsive madness that happens in Party Mode. If Ultimate Chicken Horse is part madness and part genius, Creative Mode makes the second part of the equation.

Initially, two maps are available to play on: Rooftops and the Farm. Further maps are unlockable, like characters, as you play. This brings to light one aspect that Ultimate Chicken Horse is currently lacking: information. There's nothing to clue players in that characters or maps are unlockable. There's no tutorial to explain the game's basic rules. All that is available, in-game, is a control map for the keyboard and controller. My first reaction when loading the game was "wait, where are all the other maps and characters?", so I can only imagine the disappointment for new players who don't know these are available or how to get them.

Ultimate Chicken Horse is also lacking online multiplayer at launch. This isn't an oversight, and beta is ready to be open soon for that feature. Initially, UCH was planned to have local multiplayer and a single-player puzzle mode. However, after some public demoing, it was clear there was a much higher demand for online multiplayer. Clever Endeavour has heard the pleas and should deliver on the promise soon. While playing mental tug-of-war against Outfoxed is satisfying, I can't wait to see what randomness will result when The Internet ™ gets involved.

Totally passable, if you can dodge, dip, dive, duck, and dodge.

Final Verdict: Great (4/5)

Ultimate Chicken Horse may have a ridiculous name, but it's turned out to be a true delight, capable of delivering one of the best cerebral puzzle platforming experiences a party game could bring to market. All the game needs is more informational polish and a stable online multiplayer to be truly excellent in my books. Whether you hunger for the fun of creating Rube Goldberg-like traps, want a great game to argue over after dinner, or something hilarious to stream with friends, Ultimate Chicken Horse is a definite pick up. Unless you're a neigh-sayer, of course.