broccoli
Latest
Perfect Ten: My favorite MMO April Fools' pranks of all time
There are two types of people on April 1st: those who are annoyed and indifferent to the tomfoolery going on all around them, and those who gleefully embrace the zany antics and baldfaced lies. For the record, I am of the latter crowd. I love April Fools' Day and the humor and creativity that it inspires. While this day is by no means contained to our neck of the woods, MMOs have a long-running streak of trying to pull the wool over our eyes. I think a good goof has to have several qualities to make it truly memorable. It needs to be original. It needs to be actually amusing, whether or not you "fell for it." And it needs to tweak our expectations and understanding of how MMOs work. Sometimes there are even important ideas that emerge from these jokes that could, indeed, make these titles better. So let's go through my favorite MMO April Fools pranks of all time, as catalogued by yours truly!
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.
Turbine announces the winners of the Broctober contest
Back in October, DDO Unlimited announced a fun little contest looking for responses to their (in)famous Broccoli vs. Beholder video. First prize was 5,000 Turbine points and the coveted title "Gweater Dwagonmark of Fwiends". (No, seriously. That's a great title.) Second and third place winners received Turbine points and a "Dwagonmark of Fwiends"title as well. The results are in, with the winning "Broccoli vs. Wraith" video keeping the Turbine staff in stitches with the expressions on Broccoli's face and the farcical chase through the corridor and doorways. Congratulations also to second place winner Korin Geholtz for showing us Broccoli's attack on Stormreach, and Zac C.B./Sioyin Chua for Broccoli vs. Ham with bonus points for great music. Korin Geholz also gave us an additional treat by giving Tasty Ham his very own Facebook page. Congratulations to all of you from Massively, and thanks for the laughs!
More Evangelion, less substance
Ears and eyes are on high-alert with every potentially awesome Neon Genesis Evangelion game. Even though some sketchy first details were examined, a true Eva fan doesn't give up hope that easily. Shinji didn't, Misato didn't, and Iruel didn't, even after adapting to toxic ozone, until finally being destroyed by the quick fingers of Ritsuko and the power of the Magi ... what? Ah yes, the game ...Neon Genesis Evangelion Asuka DS should be pretty lousy, akin to Princess Maker with Eva characters. No brutal combat or complex storyline -- just playing around with some anime girls as they go about their daily lives (with some obligatory mini-games thrown in). If the above anime seduction isn't enough for you, pop on over to Famitsu for a few extra screens. Want to play a little dress-up? Follow your dreams with Rei and Asuka.
Evangelion's on the DS, All's Right With The World
The good news just keeps coming for Neon Genesis Evangelion fans. Famitsu has listed a new Evangelion game en route to the DS (yes, there were others) on August 28, lovingly called Neon Genesis Evangelion Ayanami Ikusei Keikaku DS with Asuka Hokan Keikaku. If you can't comprehend that title, it's because you're thinking in Japanese. If you must think, do it in German!The publisher is Broccoli and the price will be ¥5040. Those are the only details available -- but hey, go ahead and order it anyway! It's probably a port of the PS2 girl-raising sim of the same name, only with the added ability of touching Rei and Asuka. NGE has a huge fan following everywhere around the world (and not just for the touching thing), but is there even a slight chance this might see a release outside Japan? If your lungs aren't already filled with LCL, don't hold your breath.
