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'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' comes to Facebook Watch
Starting today, you can give in to your nostalgia and watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly on Facebook Watch. The show comes to the social network as part of a deal with 20th Century Fox. Every episode of the classic programs from Joss Whedon will be made available for you to stream, including as part of Facebook's recently announce Watch Party feature.
Turn-based League of Angels plans closed beta for late 2013
League of Angels, a turn-based browser MMO, will be going into closed beta by the end of the year, studio GTArcade announced. The title revolves around a group of angels fighting darkness and clothing (if the artwork is any indication). Players will guide a party of heroes with an angel at its core, and engage in turn-based combat in single-player and multi-player dungeons, as well as cross-server battles. A couple of interesting features include a rogue-like random dungeon mode and several mini-games (such as match-three) that will reward the player with extra goods. [Source: GTArcade press release]
Bing Fund taking shape to help Microsoft search for the next big thing in online services
Microsoft's Online Services Division (OSD) hasn't exactly had a lot of good news to share lately, most painful being the recent $6.2 billion write-down thanks to the aQuantive acquisition, so it's turning to a higher power for its next bet. The company appears to be creating an angel incubator called the Bing Fund, which would foster startups that could "bring a wave of innovation to OSD" -- which currently includes MSN, adCenter and, of course, Bing. While the company is being slightly coy about the details of Bing Fund, hosting only the tangerine teaser shown above at BingFund.com, some digging by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley has revealed that Rahul Sood will be the chief cherub of this angel fund, stepping away from the Entertainment and Devices Division (aka the Xbox Division). Who better, we say, than the open-minded Voodoo PC founder who famously cut his chocolate birthday cake with a MacBook Air and later said: "Every executive in the PC industry should use an Apple notebook."
Defiance beefs up its TV cast with big-name stars
Next month the pilot for Syfy's Defiance will commence filming, and the station has announced several additional cast members joining lead star Grant Bowler in the sci-fi post-apocalyptic series. As the show and Trion World's upcoming MMO will share the same world and influence one another, it's quite possible that gamers could be running into virtual versions of these characters. Four new actors have been announced for the show. The first is Julie Benz (Dexter, Angel), who will be playing Mayor Amanda Rosewater, a leader of a small mining town. Stephanie Leonidas (MirrorMask) is Irisa, an alien warrior who's adopted by the lead's character and raised as his bodyguard and daughter. Finally, Tony Curran (Gladiator, Blade II) and Jaime Murray (Warehouse 13, Dexter) are coming on as an alien husband-and-wife team fleeing the destruction of their home world. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
Super Hero Squad Online wishes you a merry X-Men Month
If you're gearing up for Xmas, then why not invite the X-Men over for some casual MMO gaming? Gazillion has declared that December is "X-Men Month" in Super Hero Squad Online, as the title turns its attention to Professor X's extraordinary students and their action-packed outings. Enrollment is open for the School for Gifted Youngsters, and signing up for superhero mayhem are several brand-new heroes for the game. The MMO is also unleashing four new quests -- two for Wolverine and two for Rogue -- to go with its signature card battles. Vice President Jay Minn is (sorry) super-psyched for the theme month: "X-Men month has been a long time coming since the launch of our game. Nightcrawler, Phoenix, Angel, Iceman and Shadowcat have always topped our list of most-requested Marvel heroes. We are very excited that our fans will finally be able to show off and fight evil as the X-Men! Happy holidays everyone and Hero Up!" [Source: Gazillion press release]
The Perfect Ten: MMO mascots
Everyone knows that a good mascot can make a difference between a video game's death and rabid popularity. Mario, Master Chief, Duke Nuke 'Em, Pac-Man, Samus Aran, Pyramid Head -- each one of these mascots isn't merely an aspect of the game, they are the virtual spokesperson (or spokesthing) which represents the game itself. Yet when you think about it, MMOs have had a tougher time producing mascots than other video game genres, partially because unlike other games, you don't play as the mascots, and partially because when you have a cast of thousands of NPCs, picking out one to elevate above the rest is a difficult job. Difficult, that is, but not impossible. Today we're going to look at ten MMO mascots (MMOscots?) that studios have tried to promote as the face of these games, to varying degrees of success.
Explore Faxion Online's seven deadly sins
Does the angel on your right shoulder take a lot of union-approved time off, so much so that you end up listening to the devil on your left shoulder more often than not? Then Faxion Online has a temptation that's right up your alley -- seven sinful zones, each revolving around one of the classic seven deadly sins. Taking heavenly and hellish themes with a strong dose of humor, Faxion Online's world becomes a literal battleground for the soul. By taking each of the deadly sins and turning them into a zone to be fought over and conquered, Faxion has created a unique twist on the genre. If the forces of heaven take over a zone, it turns nicer, and if the forces of evil are triumphant, then there will be hell to pay. UTV True Games' Frank Lucero says that the PvP over these areas will keep players transfixed: "These zones offer all of the competitive combat play that players desire including PVP, innovative territory control and an ability ranking system that will keep players engaged in the timeless struggle of good vs. evil." Hit the jump to read up on Faxion's themed zones and see for yourself what your sins have wrought!
Rise and Shiny recap: War of Angels
To continue my investigation into "imported grinders," I have moved on to check out War of Angels, a new game being published by gamigo. I have to say, I found plenty of good stuff and plenty of bad stuff in the game, as well as some of those obvious tiny fixes that will hopefully be undertaken after this open beta. Let's be honest -- an open beta is considered a release these days, and I don't think that's fair. Yes, many games use it (and I have heard developers admit to this) as a way to make money while continuing to roll out basic development, but I say we allow them to just drop the "beta" part and get on with it. As far as the background story: I do not log into a game to memorize the lore. I do not go to the website to write down notes on the lore in the hopes that I will get it right in my first impressions article. Just like any stranger in a strange land, I am not going to know everything right away. It should be no different for me in a game, and one of my litmus tests is to see whether the game will provide me with an understanding of who and where I am. It's not impossible; other games do it. I didn't find much lore in the quests at all, so I cannot comment on it much. But let's talk about how War of Angels plays.
The Aion server queue survival guide
So you pre-ordered Aion and you're super excited to jump into the game during the headstart release that's going on right now. You've set aside a whole block of time for your game play, you have your snacks at your side and your DVR ready to play some great entertainment while you grind your night away. You type in your username and password, accept the EULA, select the server that you made your character on during the pre-selection annnndd........you get slapped in the face with a 2 hour wait time.Don't worry, we've been there. Trust us on that. But here at Massively, we're not going to let you down in your moment of need. We've compiled a great list of fun things to do while you wait for that server queue to drop. Follow along after the break, and we'll be happy to show you the golden road to boredom elimination.
First new framework in Champions Online to be the celestial framework
Remember that framework we mentioned yesterday? The new one that Champions Online was adding, but we didn't know what it was? The one that we mentioned was made of light but wasn't the power of light? Yes, well, thanks to an educated guess, combined with luck, combined with twitter, we've gotten the confirmation that this is, indeed, an update to the current celestial sorcery framework.Celestial sorcery is the power of the angels and heaven, so a certain writer on a certain MMO news staff is currently running around screaming in her apartment like a crazy person. This writer may or may not work for us, but odds are that she does and that she's rubbing it in Kyle Horner's face. Booyah.
Behind the scenes with Paul Barnett, featuring a big surprise
What do Joss Whedon-created television character Angel and Paul Barnett have in common? Well, apparently they've both undergone a spell that's changed them into puppets. Creepy. Well, it's also kinda cute too. Okay, fine, it's really cute, but we're only admitting it because Paul knows where we all live and now that he's a puppet with knowledge of sharp kitchenware, we really can't be taking any chances.We've even got word from secret sources that this may not be the last time we see Paul in his true form. In fact, our informant has told us that it's possible we may see a reappearance in a certain podcast featuring particular productions.Keep an eye out after the break...
Angel and Devil earbuds may be a little too cute for Swedish death metal fans
Something about the image above makes it seem that the folks over at Greenhouse are up to more than manufacturing electronics. The Angel & Devil earbuds (1,279 yen or $12.65) follow on the heels of the company's Pigbuds (which now that we mention it, may also have some sort of occult significance). What can we say about these things? They fit in your ear, they're available in one of five colors (the angel is always white, just like the Tom & Jerry cartoons -- the devil can be summoned in red, purple, pink, magenta or death-dealing black), they ship with a display stand and they're only available in Japan. And the struggle for your immortal soul continues...[Via Impress]
Rumor: Kid Icarus Wii details, concept art revealed
For a game that hasn't even been formally announced, there sure seems to be a lot of information circulating about the Wiicreation of the celestial NES action-platformer, Kid Icarus. For instance, Kombo.com (not to be confused with Zombo.com) recently posted a veritable cornucopia of concept art for the rumored title, as well as some heretofore unannounced deets. Apparently, Pit has been "cursed for thousands of years for a crime" and has become a fallen angel -- those mature themes seem to resonate through the conceptual drawings, available on Kombo's site.We're not sure if this new media is legit, but Kombo did break the rumor that Factor 5 was working on an Icarus title in late January. Perhaps they do indeed have an inside source -- though it's just as likely that their early plot details could have rolled off their own forked tongues. Check out the images, and judge for yourself.
Starr Long talks Personal Armor Units
Destination Games have been talking quite a bit recently about what's to come in Tabula Rasa, but the main focus is on ... giant robots! TenTonHammer have a sneak peek up, talking to Starr Long, discussing the Personal Armor Units -- no screenshots or concept art, unfortunately, but there's decent descriptions.Personal Armor Units, as they're known, are TR's version of mounts. The names of five are known so far -- Angel, Ghoul, Grendel, Shiva, and Spectre. According to Paul Sage, Lead Designer of TR, you'll get access to your PAU at level 40. All we know so far is that Grendel is Grenadier only, Spectre seems to be Spy only, and that you can fight in them. These ain't no horses!There's some details about other end-game content in TR, though whether that will come in the same update as PAUs is anyone's guess.
Breakfast Topic: Top 5 reasons you die in WoW
I love the forums on Tuesdays. That's when you tend to find a lot of really silly and fun threads about the most mundane aspects of the game. Several of them have become "Tuesday topics" on my guild's forums. Most are the most simple things that oftentimes you don't even think about, like this thread from yesterday... Fortuna from the Zangarmarsh realm started up a thread titled "Top 5 reasons you die in WoW." It made me stop and think, because over the last couple of years, I think I've died just about everywhere, and in a myriad of ways. There was the first time I walked into the Cathedral in Scarlet Monestary when we pulled Mograine before we cleared the whole place. Oops. Then there was the time when I learned that the undead in Stratholme can see through stealth very easily. Not good. But then I got to thinking about the reasons I tend to die, and that was a whole other ball of wax.Here's what Fortuna's list had to say:5. Stupid Fel Reavers4. I didn't know that using a gnomish shrink on Rag was going to do that.3. It's only a rare mob. How hard can it be?2. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww1111111113333333333333. O crap.1. Girlfriend walked into the room nekkid.I have to admit, 5 and 2 have happened to me too -- a lot! Just for the sake of amusement, my list (across all of my highest characters) comes up something like this:5. Playing crazy games with my guild mates (there's a post coming on this)4. Falling off Aldor rise ( I swear, I can be on a flying mount and I'll still run off and miss that elevator. I just don't die anymore.) 3. Mage grinding: *aoe* *aoe* *aoe* *aoe* oom uh...2. /cast wasteareagent Vanish1. [ Disconnected from server ]How about you? If you had to rank the top 5 reasons you tend to die in game, what would they be?[via the general forums]
Firefly returns as MMORPG
Half of coding an MMORPG is hiding the statistics. Wired News reports that the criminally unappreciated Firefly is set to return as a massive, online role-playing game, thanks to an agreement between Multiverse and Fox Licensing. A charming collision between Western settings and futuristic technology (think live-action Cowboy Bebop), Firefly was a show marked with witty writing and memorable characters, but marred with abysmal ratings and a quick cancellation. Fox Licensing's Adam Kline believes that "Multiverse can deliver an experience that will remain true to the original series, while enabling a whole new level of personal involvement for fans."Though hardcore Whedon fans are sure to be overcome with seizures of delight upon hearing this news, two crucial points need to be taken into consideration. The first -- Multiverse only develops the technology and tools necessary to create an MMORPG. For Firefly, they'll be hiring a team of seperate developers to realize their vision and not just do, as they say, "a reskin of World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies." The second -- the massively multiplayer aspect of the genre implies that each player will have a unique character, with the show's core cast making celebrity-like appearances at best. Is Firefly's universe alone compelling enough for its own game? Looks like we'll have to wait until gorram 2008 before we can answer that one.[Thanks PapaZeb, adg1034]
