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The MMO Report: MMOs of 2010
It's the present that keeps on giving -- no, not kittens -- The MMO Report! This week Casey takes a look back at the highlights of 2010, with lots of love, laughs, and lolling about on his desk. Jumping straight in, he gets those pesky awards out of the way with a quick cameo by Adam Sessler, who clues us in on G4TV's winner for the best MMO of 2010. (Surprise.) From there, you'd better grab your coffee as you'll need it for Casey's whip-quick delivery of talking points on this year's big MMO releases. Also of note are predictions on what's going to continue to run well in 2011 from the batch of 2010 MMO titles and 2011 hopefuls. We don't want to spoil it for you, but we suspect there will be hordes of very grumpy moogles furiously typing away at their mog-terminal keyboards. We're also left wondering where we can get a magical sound button of our very own, as that bad boy looks like it is entirely too much fun. As always, you can catch The MMO Report posted here every week, or check it out over on G4TV.
Insomniac to announce new game before PAX, demo it there
In the latest Insomniac Games newsletter, the company hints that it will be releasing news about a brand new title in the coming weeks, specifically for the PlayStation 3, ruling out its multi-platform project with EA. "Sometime between now and the Penny-Arcade Expo over Labor Day weekend," says the newsletter, the Burbank-based studio will pull the curtain off of the project. And during PAX 2010 there will be a panel in the Serpent Theater on September 4 at 6:30 p.m., moderated by G4's Adam Sessler, that will see Insomniac "discuss (and demo!) our upcoming PlayStation 3 project." So we can all agree that it's Resistance 3, right?
Free Realms video preview focuses on character creation and gameplay
There are so many massively multiplayer online titles on the horizon that it would be hard to pick a staff favorite among the Massively writers, but one game that consistently draws 'oohs' and 'aahs' from us is Free Realms from Sony Online Entertainment. We're not alone in wanting to know more about the game. Adam Sessler from G4's X-Play recently got some screen time with Free Realms associate art director Sebastian Strzalkowski.Strzalkowski walks the viewer through character creation, which is done via the Free Realms website before the game itself actually launches. As the interview progresses, he mentions that a storyline runs through the game's quests, but players aren't locked into following along with it. A wide variety of mini-games will be on offer, as the accompanying footage shows off. SOE's hope is that the mix of various types of activities in the game (plus pets and social networking) will hold appeal for its younger target audience as well as the parents of those gamers. We've got the video embed of X-Play's Hands On: Free Realms Game Preview after the jump.
Fable 2 wins top honors in X-Play's 'Best of 2008'
The moment you've all been anxiously anticipating is finally here! The winners of X-Play's "Best of 2008" awards have finally been announced -- though perhaps a bit prematurely, as Calvin Tucker's Redneck Jamboree won't be hitting store shelves 'til next week. Fable 2 took the gold in the "Game of the Year" category, beating out Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, Grand Theft Auto IV, Left 4 Dead and Resistance 2.X-Play made some solid choices for the winners of other categories -- The World Ends With You took home "Best Handheld Game", Rock Band 2 clinched the "Best Music/Rhythm Game" category, MGS4 won "Best Action/Adventure Game", and Fallout 3 beat out Fable 2 in the "Best RPG" category. So, for those playing along at home, Fable 2 is the best game that came out this year -- but not the best RPG. Can someone whip up a Venn diagram to try and explain this one to us?
Hands on video footage of superhero MMO Champions Online
Gamers in that sweet spot where massively multiplayer online games and comic books intersect have long enjoyed playing City of Heroes, and are likely to well into the future... but clearly there's more room in the superhero game genre. Some MMO players are looking forward to a superhero-themed game with a different take on the genre than what's been done before. For them, the upcoming game Champions Online has some appeal. G4tv's X-Play recently took notice of this and interviewed Bill Roper, the Cryptic Studios Design Director, about what Champions Online has to offer gamers. The video interview, "Hands On: Champions Online", is in two parts. First Roper speaks with Adam Sessler, introducing the game concept, its setting, and creating your own personal nemesis in Champions Online as you progress. Afterwards Morgan Webb delves a bit more into the core game mechanics of Champions Online, such as how loot will augment your avatar, and the incentives to play in groups with other people -- one of the key reasons gamers jump into MMOs in the first place. Roper goes on to address the possibilities of gameplay on both PC and consoles. In fact, the gameplay shown throughout the videos is done with an Xbox 360 controller. Roper also reiterates the Champions Online release date, which he says is still slated for Spring 2009. If you'd like to see what all the fuss about this new superhero MMO is about, we've got both videos embedded for you below the cut.
X-Play extends to one hour in December
G4 television president Neil Tiles has announced on the company's website that video game infotainment program X-Play will become an hour long during December. The growth spurt can apparently be blamed on all the holiday releases and titles coming in 2009. If the show succeeds in its extended play format, it may find the change permanent next year.X-Play went to a daily half-hour format earlier this year, seeing host Adam Sessler take the managing editor position of the stalwart show. Say what you will about X-Play, but the show has survived every iteration of its network over the last decade -- even when its title didn't.[Via BD]
G4TV interviews Jumpgate Evolution dev, exhibits lots of footage
G4TV interviewed Publishing Producer Michael Rowland about Jumpgate Evolution at PAX this weekend. You can watch the video of the interview right now. Mixed in with the questions and answers are a lot of gameplay video clips.The clips are the most attractive part of the video, but the interview is helpful too. Rowland suggested that the combat has a "more FPS feel" than the "turn-based" combat of other MMOs. He also said that players will be able to level up just by engaging in PvP with opposing factions. There will be three factions in all when the game launches next Spring.Most of that information can be found at the Jumpgate Evolution website, but check out the video for the gameplay clips. Just try not to be too annoyed by Adam Sessler. Of course the game was actually playable on the floor at PAX. Bet you're sad you missed out on that!
Dungeon Runners gets some G4TV love
You remember Adam Sessler right? You know that guy who stands next to Morgan Webb during X-Play? Yeah, there is someone else there, we promise. Anyway, in a recent episode of G4TV's The Download, Sessler reviews NCsoft's Dungeon Runners for the masses.His review doesn't reveal anything new about the game, but it's always nice to see when the larger gaming media covers the games we love so dearly. Plus, in this video, we get to see more of the little Bling Gnome doing his duty, so to speak. What we really find interesting though is the fact that many of the comments seem to revolve around the fact that people haven't heard of this game before. A little publicity never hurt, right?
Sessler constructively rants about Xbox Live bigots
In the latest Sessler's Soapbox, a regular video diatribe by G4TV personality Adam Sessler, he expresses his severe distaste for the bigotry and homophobia found on Xbox Live. Having actually spent time at GDC discussing this very issue with Sessler and his wife -- she's a lovely and charming woman by the way -- let's just say that Sessler is actually quite restrained regarding his feelings on the issue in the video we've placed after the break.Although we joke about it in the picture above, Catan is one of the rare Xbox Live games where civility can be found. However, we understand that trash-talking is part of the competitive Xbox Live experience, so might we suggest the Shakespearean Insult Generator for those compelled to disparage others. And parents, please control your children online.
Adam Sessler on Xbox Live Bigots
In his regular video feature, Sessler's Soapbox, G4TV personality Adam Sessler tackles one of the fastest growing and despicable trends in Xbox Live history; bigotry. In short, Sessler challenges Xbox Live users who feel the need to spew racist and homophobic remarks in order to convey their emotions during gaming to actually think about what they're saying. We encountered a similar experience while playing Uno during our last X3F LIVE event, where a kid--who couldn't have been older than 10, thought it was important to express all of the new slurs he had learned (from the schoolyard and probably also from his Xbox Live sessions).The issue is huge and disgusting. Sessler couldn't be more accurate when he says that we fight so hard to remove the negative stigma's attributed to gamers while ignoring the fact that we're becoming one of the biggest, and organized, bigotry groups in the world. Listen up because we're only saying this once. Yelling racial and homophobic remarks doesn't make you cool and it isn't funny to anyone else in the room, so ditch those comments and get more creative.Quit being the reason why we hate the service we pay for, it only makes us all look bad and removes all arguments that gaming is the revolution in connected entertainment. As now former Microsoft marketing exec Jeff Bell once said, "Your contribution to society is ... what?"The video can be found after the jump.
Adam Sessler and Jack Thompson debate GTA on NPR
Adam Sessler, host of G4's X-Play, went mano a mano with video gaming super-villain John Bruce (Jack, to you) Thompson on today's Talk of the Nation to talk about all the great ways video game companies are being responsi ... oh, who are we kidding? They were chatting about violence in video games (again) – this time with a focus on Grand Theft Auto IV.Thompson comes across as paranoid crusader (go figure!), sticking with his usual mantra that the game is "mentally molesting minors for money" before being rather promptly booted off the air ("I'm done?"). Though Sessler and Thompson never really go at each other (don't you see enough bloodshed in your "video games"?) it's as even-handed a treatment of the controversy as you're likely to see in the mainstream press.
Sessler speaks about X-Play format shift
Love it or hate it, GameSpot TV Extended Play X-Play remains the golden child of the Comcast-owned G4 network. Since the channel's rebirth in 2004, the program has kept its position as the highest rated show on G4 -- beating out reruns of Cops and Cheaters by what we can only assume is a narrow margin. Despite X-Play's pseudo-success, the show will see a major format change come mid-January. Joystiq's own Kyle Orland got a chance to talk to Adam Sessler, X-Play's host of ten years (and G4's recently appointed Managing Editor, Games Editorial) about the show's makeover. According to the Sess, the show will now air five days a week, focusing its attention on gaming news in addition to its usual reviews and feature segments. This doesn't mean the show is ditching its hit-or-often-miss sense of humor: "The tone of the show isn't going to be some grave, severe thing, because at the end of the day this is video games," Sessler said.Sessler goes on to defend G4's somewhat lackluster programming lineup, saying he would rather "see a network with a lot of fresh content that's not always consistent on one topic rather than the same three hours repeated ad nauseum." We agree that it would be difficult to come up with an entire day's worth of programming based on video games, but perhaps they could find something a tad more relevant with which to fill those grim interims than syndicated episodes of The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.
Sessler says quit hating on Halo 3 already
G4's outspoken and somewhat controversial Adam Sessler is standing on his Sessler Soapbox again, this time defending Halo 3 against all the haters. And yes we were just as surprised as you, but it's fact ... there are Halo 3 haters out there. What a crazy world we live in.Anyhoo, per the video embedded above, Sessler talks about the greatness that is Halo 3, why it is so damn fun and why the haters of the world should pretty much much quit their hating ways and lay off Halo 3 because of its popularity. And to be fair, he even says that it isn't the best game out there or even game of the year caliber (which we whole-heartily dispute), but it's a great gaming experience no matter how you cut it. So, if you know someone or are one who hates on Halo 3 for no particular reason other than your sad, jealous rage then take Adam Sessler's advice and shove your ... well, we'll let you watch the video for yourself. More gravy please![Via 1P Start]
Sessler: Don't judge unfinished Assassin's Creed
During Microsoft's E3 press conference, Ubisoft decided to demo their golden child Assassin's Creed, but things did not go as smoothly as they had hoped. You see, the demo was a tad buggy and suffered from bad collision detection, floating bodies and a somewhat questionable framerate. And everyone noticed. Assassin's Creed has suffered some negative press these past few days as some gamers have been bashing the on-stage demo and the game.Enter G4 TV's Adam Sessler who climbed atop his soap box to tell gamers that we have no right to judge the game based on the bugs, because it just isn't finished. Sessler makes a great argument stating that video games are one of the only artistic mediums in which the artists allow fans to preview their work before it's complete. Bugs are normal in unfinished products, it's as simple as that. And we have to agree. Let's just take a deep breath and ignore Assassin's floating bodies. See, we bet you feel better already.
First Gears of War reviews roll in
G4tv and Gamespot have posted video reviews of Gears of War. The verdict? They both love it. Although, Morgan Webb says the game's hardcore setting is "borderline impossible to play solo" while Gamespot's Jeff Gerstmann says that hardcore isn't too bad until later in the game. Who to believe? We'll go with Gerstmann.Gamespot's review is much more in-depth and you'll feel like you learned something by watching it; by comparison, who wants to listen to Morgan Webb obviously read something from a script over gameplay video ... again? It's just painful when she says "bitchcakes."Not only that, but the Gamespot video plays a helluva lot smoother on our computer than the G4 dreck. And can someone please slip Adam Sessler a note about his wardrobe? He dresses like he got knocked on the head and thinks he's Carlos Santana.Gamespot says, "games don't typically look this good." We hope he's right.[Thanks, Mactor]Watch - X-Play's Gears of War video review (multiplayer only)Watch - Gamespot's Gears of War video review
Gamers in trouble: G4 moves to E!
TV Week reports that Comcast will consolidate its West Coast entertainment networks, and shift G4 under the control of E! Hopefully this doesn't mean Ryan Seacrest will be covering game news. The cable network has struggled since it debuted in 2002, although it does hold the dubious claim of being the most podcasted cable network in America. If you visited the G4 booth at E3 this year, you had to download and watch one of their podcasts before they would give you any schwag, like giant foam Spock hands in the Vulcan salute -- a reminder that they now feature classic Star Trek episodes in their lineup to attract more viewers.G4 is ranked 57th out of 64 basic cable networks, and hasn't been able to make focusing solely on video games work. E! Chief Ted Harbert said, "I do agree with the vision of going after young men more than just going after gaming. Gaming has been demonstrated as being too narrow." Yes, focusing on an industry that pulls in more than nine billion dollars yearly seems really narrow. This doesn't bode well for shows like X-Play and Cheat!, which are the sole hangers-on from a channel that now features fare like Cheaters and Fastlane in its lineup.If they can start airing shows that people would actually pay attention to, like Red vs. Blue or The Leeroy Jenkins Power Hour, things might start looking up.[Thanks Probot]
