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The MMO Report: Scorpion Lobster Battle edition
Today's MMO Report is all about League of Legends, the amazing arena-based... what? Never mind -- Casey's not talking about League of Legends, just to spite "some guy." Well, there goes the whole show. I guess if you want to hear about how RIFT messed up its first ever event, then he might talk about that game. The newly announced class for The Secret World made the show. Somehow some silly race from Guild Wars 2 known as the Charr was good enough for Casey to cover. It seems the only redeeming factor of the show is a crazy Scorpion Lobster Battle sent in by a watcher. (Don't ask.) Anyway, if you really want to catch the latest episode of the MMO Report despite the lack of League of Legends talk, jump past the break or hop over to G4TV to see Casey Schreiner in his full high-def glory.
The MMO Report: The illegal mail bag edition
That's right, Mr. Schreiner, you bad! Show us your smug self. Aw, yeah! Breakin' the law and living the dream. This week's edition of the MMO Report is completely illegal, especially when it involves Sara Underwood and Uncle Casey's Mailbag. The image still haunts my dreams. However, the actual reporting involves the addition of new content to DC Universe Online; a surprising statement from World of Warcraft creators about Star Wars: The Old Republic; someone letting the dogs out in Minecraft; and a saucy love affair between En Masse and Atari. What is the world coming to? Of course, the trip down Uncle Casey's Mail Bag wouldn't be complete without spandex and cleavage. Can't believe I just said that. If you haven't been disgusted already, drop past the break for the entire episode of this week's MMO Report. You can wipe that cheesy smirk off your face now, Casey. They are going to watch the show.
The MMO Report: Guilds, crafting, and craft beer edition
It's St. Patrick's day, and what better time to discuss craft beers on The MMO Report than today? Mind you, for those of you who don't imbibe frosty adult beverages, there's also a huge serving of corned MMO news, and the lilting smell of cabbage you're picking up... is probably coming from the mailbag. Shall we move on to the tasty news of the week? Let's! First up, Casey jumps straight on to the Guild Wars 2 news that many have been buzzing about this week: professions! Next up, it's Star Wars: The Old Republic's trailer made of completely delicious in-game footage, as well as the ongoing rush to get guilds set up before launch. Casey zooms straight into Jagex's partnership with Hasbro to create the upcoming Transformers MMO for the West, and he notes that Free Realms on PS3 will probably be just as popular as it is on PC. Casey also takes a moment to note the Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV server downtime and asks anyone who can to please donate to help those in Japan. Moving on from there, it's a look into the ever-enlightening mailbag, where this week Casey is both praised and derided for his choice in beers and we are treated to another dose of photoshop magic. Finally, it is revealed that G4TV landed an exclusive fly-over of Perfect World International's new area, Dragon Mountain. As always, you can catch this week's episode behind the break, or every Thursday on G4TV.
G4TV goes behind the scenes at Turbine
Turbine moved into new offices last year, giving its team spacious new digs in which to work on Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online. The last box is unpacked, and the team is ready to show off a bit. G4TV spent some time recently with Turbine's Director of Communications Adam Mersky on a tour of the offices. Adam played host in the creative studio, showing off the various activities of the developers before moving on to the video and audio rooms. The tour video includes some close-up footage of various works-in-progress on the developer's computer screens as well as an overall look at the several areas of the studio. Want to take a look for yourself? Check out the video below, courtesy of Turbine and G4TV!
The MMO Report: Now is the winter of our discontent edition
We're not sure whether he was inspired by the recent Oscars or other recent winning theatrics, but this week we're treated to a breathtaking performance from the MMO Report's very own Casey Schreiner. Admittedly, he likely won't be picking up any golden statuettes from the Academy -- this is internet video, after all. However, we feel relatively certain that he will likely find his bag quite swollen over owing to this week's subtle combination of stellar performance and particularly well-groomed facial hair. Well, that and because this week's episode is really short. Starting off running, Casey touches on the February game update in DC Universe Online while simultaneously saving us from having to look at cherubs from the game's holiday event. After that, it's a quick jump to Runes of Magic, which is determined to make it even easier to spend tons of time wandering aimlessly in the game while telling your Facebook friends all about it. Next, it's a nod to our GDC 2011 coverage with our ArenaNet localization panel writeup and an aside about the large amount of Guild Wars hardcore Norn we got to enjoy last week. Finally, the bag returns to equally rapidly disappear once again. As always, this week's episode lurks beyond yon break -- or you can catch it on G4TV every Thursday! Until then, anon good readers; anon!
The MMO Report: Slave labor edition
In case you have you not gotten enough MMO news this week, Casey Schreiner delivers another action-packed episode of the MMO Report -- OK, maybe not action-packed, but it does have a lot of flying graphics. This week, the important topics are RIFT and some other things that no one cares about. Really, when there is a dev walkthrough from what is arguably the best game ever made, what else is there to talk about? Sure, there is that leak about Bungie's new MMO, and Minecraft received an update. But that pales in comparison to the wonder that is RIFT, right? Anyway, if you are looking to become Casey's indentured servant or you just want to watch his beard, follow after the break rift or visit G4TV! Don't touch the beard. RIFT.
The MMO Report: TERA-fying exclusive edition
Another week, another pile of news delivered to us by your snarktastic friend and ours, Casey Schreiner. So grab your boxers, Bertie, because we're going in fast and furious! First up, it's a nod to us (yay!) for our post on ArenaNet's statements in regard to Guild Wars 2 alpha and beta dates. Whether it's likely 2011 or 2012, all we have to say, in the most memetastic method we can manage, is "do want." Next it's a note on RIFT's trailer made with in-game footage and the impending release date, which are both scoring high on the "hell yes" scale this week. The StarCraft 2 MM-faux mod is also mentioned, now that Blizzard has had its chance to crack down on the author. Next, Casey and the MMO Report crew are proud to present their exclusive TERA video featuring footage of Mount Tyrannas, which you can get a taste of during Casey's newscast. Of course, if you're more in the mood to experience it without Casey's dulcet tones atop it, you can check out the video on the G4TV site as well. Finally, it's a bittersweet note on Warhammer Online servers, which are being merged in order to keep the population together. Add in a dash of crazy courtesy of Uncle Casey's Mailbag, and stir to taste. Now that we've had a merry romp through metaphor and pop-culture references alike, we'll borrow a nod from Casey and sign off. Don't forget you can catch The MMO Report every Thursday on G4TV!
The MMO Report: The sad, strange death of Company of Heroes Online
Bad puns, sexual innuendo and all the MMO news you can handle are crammed into yet another MMO Report, brought to us by our friends at G4TV. Casey Schreiner and his fabulous tie recall a few of the biggest stories from the previous week. First up on the docket is the cancellation of two THQ titles previously in development: Company of Heroes Online and WWE Smackdown vs. Raw Online. Both of these games were an attempt by the studio to bring its western-style MMOs to a Korean market, although THQ ultimately decided that this move wasn't at the top of its priority list. On a more upbeat note, Casey talks up LEGO Universe's Crux Prime update, which came complete with ninjas and multiplayer madness. And yes, Casey, we agree that LEGOs are "awesome." Other topics for the Report include Undead Labs' "Class 3" single-player XBLA title that's hopefully leading up to the studio's zombie MMO, robo-Batman in a new DCUO video, the announcement of BlizzCon's 2011 dates, and a Blizzard theme park called "Joy Land" in China. Face it: We have a weird hobby. Hit the jump to watch the full MMO Report!
The MMO Report: Not so baggy edition
It's a short week this week on The MMO Report as Casey has some traveling to do and G4TV's writing cast of usual suspects is off doing something... perhaps hunting for Keyser Soze. Nonetheless, even with a shorter video than normal, this week's episode is jam-packed full of the interesting news, speculation, and snarkiness we've come to expect from The MMO Report. First up, Casey takes a look at 5th Cell's upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game, Hybrid, and wonders if this console game actually might qualify as an MMO. Since nobody outside of the studio has gotten his mitts on Hybrid as yet, we'll have to wait and see. (If it is what he thinks it is, we totally agree with his ending comment.) From there, it's all eyes on Star Wars: The Old Republic as Casey talks about BioWare's flashpoint instance plans and how that will work with the different story choices available. Next up, it's a nod to our story about the recently announced zombie MMO by JetStream Studios, UnDead Online. Finally, it's the news that brings all the Guild Wars 2 fans to the yard: Guardians! So, for all the news, all the snark, and 100% less Uncle Casey's mailbag than regular shows, pop behind the break and check out this week's edition of the MMO Report. You can also catch it every Thursday on G4TV.
The MMO Report: Newstastic edition
Welcome back! This week on The MMO Report, Casey Schreiner and the team at G4TV are serving up a heaping helping of highlights, as the news has been crazy busy during the last week. Up first, Casey points out the sales numbers for DC Universe Online, which has been flying off shelves. From there, it's on to Bigpoint Games' upcoming free-to-play browser-based Battlestar Galactica Online, which will either enthrall space-drama fiends, or just give people a reason to say "frak" a lot. Zipping along, it's on to Eskil Steenberg's LOVE, which went through an upgrade while narrowly avoiding a random Craigslist hookup. Also included are tidbits on an upcoming short documentary on the making of Minecraft, as well as an interesting piece on the MMORPGRTS alphabet soup of Reverie World Studios' upcoming game Dawn of Fantasy. Finally, this week ends out, as most weeks do, with Casey rifling through the best (or worst; we're not quite sure) to be found in Uncle Casey's Mailbag. For all the excitement and more, you can check out this week's episode of The MMO Report embedded for your ocular and aural pleasure behind the break, or catch it every Thursday on G4TV.
The MMO Report: Premium section
Casey Schreiner is hot on the heels of this past week's biggest news stories, and we can't take our eyes off his scruffy beard as he does so. Seriously, it's like the fabric of the universe condensed down into beard form -- magnificent! Speaking of condensing things down, Casey begins with Lord of the Rings Online's recent financial success as the game has tripled revenues since going free-to-play. He then jumps on the bandwagon by promoting The MMO Report: Premium Section for the low, low price of $8.99 a month. Next up is the news of Funcom's deal with EA Partners to co-publish The Secret World, a deal which he considers a win/win for the two companies. And although Casey doesn't bubble with enthusiasm for DC Universe Online, he at least grudgingly gives the new title props for being the first game to launch simultaneously on the PC and PS3. For more word on RIFT, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and more, hit the jump to watch The MMO Report -- and don't forget to tune in every Thursday over at G4TV.com.
This week on The MMO Report
This week on The MMO Report, intrepid host Casey Schreiner kicks things off with a bit about Duncan Jones' take on the World of Warcraft film, a story we mentioned earlier this week here on Massively. He also takes a look at the final class roster video for BioWare's Star Wars The Old Republic. The clip focuses on the trooper class, and Casey can't help but mention the "blaster inaccuracy and downright buffoonery" associated with the iconic white armor thanks to the original trilogy. Next up is a blurb about GamersFirst's plans for APB Reloaded, followed by a look at RIFT's release date and subscription options. Casey also touts the indie smash Minecraft as showing the world that "the MMO community is begging for a new kind of game experience" and asks developers to take note of what one man (Minecraft designer Markus Persson) managed to do sans a multi-million dollar budget. Finally, in the absence of reader mail, Casey turns the requisite mailbag segment on its head by reading his own personal letter to the audience. Check out all the shenanigans after the cut, and be sure to catch The MMO Report every Thursday on G4TV.
The MMO Report: Bloopers of 2010
It's another holiday week! Rather than just rehashing the best of 2010 or giving us another chance to check out Uncle Casey's Mailbag up close and personal, Casey and the team behind The MMO Report on G4TV have instead opted to create a reel of some of the strangest, most irreverent, and downright silly bloopers and out-takes from this season. Aside from the normal tripping over words common to anyone who has ever been stuck behind a microphone, there are also crazy bits where the cast and crew relentlessly mess with Casey, as well as giggling fits, bleeped words, and the general things you'd expect to see. So whether you're enjoying some time relaxing today or nursing a serious New Year's hangover, check behind the break to enjoy some blooper madness in this week's video from The MMO Report. Alternatively, you can also catch it every Thursday on G4TV.
The MMO Report: Super sacktacular edition
While Casey and the crew at G4TV gave us their thoughts on the games of 2010 in last week's MMO Report, this week they've decided to do something a little bit different. Well, that, and they've taken a few days off for the holidays. Yet rather than leaving us with an unsatisfying lack of funny for this week, Casey and company have decided instead to give us a video rounding up some of the best emails from the last year, as well as a special surprise award for the one they felt was funniest. If you'd like a moment of mirth, then join us after the break for this week's special year end sack-in-review edition of The MMO Report. Also, don't forget that you can catch it every Thursday on G4TV as well!
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.
The MMO Report: Catackalysm special
First things first, to really understand this week's intro to The MMO Report, you need to do a wee bit of homework, assuming you don't already get the reference in the title anyway. Pop over here and watch this user-created video about the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion. We'll wait. OK, all caught up? Great. Off we go then! This week, Casey is joined by the lovely (and World of Warcraft-addicted) Morgan Webb, who sits down with Game Designer Tom "Kalgan" Chilton for a chat about the myriad things that have come in Cataclysm. Sure, it's chock-full of the normal things one would expect, like talk about things players both old and new will be experiencing in the expansion. Morgan also gets Tom to tell us more about some of his favorite quests in the revamped areas, as well as a bit more insight into Blizzard's development cycles for this expansion -- certainly a hot topic this week. In all, this will definitely be a treat for any World of Warcraft loving gamer. We've tucked the video behind the break for your enjoyment, or you can catch The MMO Report every Thursday on G4TV.
TOR video talks crew skills and PvP
Ready for another look at crew skills and PvP in BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic? If so, G4TV has you covered in the form of a five-minute video featuring Daniel Erickson and extensive in-game footage. Erickson explains the gathering, crafting, and mission components that make up crew skills (which is basically BioWare's catch-all term for traditional MMO crafting). "Missions are something very different, and for missions to make sense, you have to understand the base concept of crew skills, which is that you are not the one doing this stuff. Your companion characters are the ones who are going hands-on and doing the crafting," Erickson says. In terms of TOR's PvP implementation, Erickson illustrates BioWare's goal of making the mechanic appropriately contextual to the Star Wars universe (as opposed to the kill-everything-moving-just-because mentality common to many PvP systems). He describes everything from slicing terminals to seeing turrets move in real time, painting a picture of an immersive PvP experience that makes sense within the framework of the license. Finally, Erickson talks a bit about the recently announced race/class combos, including the Sith pureblood. Check out the video after the cut, or at G4TV.
This week on The MMO Report: Sansha Sansha Revolution
Sure, we know him for his wit and way with words -- but this week Casey Schreiner shows that he's got hotter moves than a level 85 fire mage. And of course, there's that MMO Report thing he does, in which he takes a look at the week's news. This week's targets topics include CrimeCraft's Bleedout expansion, which will offer new episodic content including goodness from artists like Ben Templesmith, Howard Chaykin, Tim Bradstreet, and many others. There's also more on Forsaken World, which is moving towards release by ramping up its teaser trailers. Also on the radar is today's opening of Rift's closed beta, Earthrise's broken beta button and video, and of course, the first bit of EVE Online's three-part Incursion expansion. Speaking as an EVE Online player, I can say that the windowed mode is awesome, but the bit about anti-aliasing being added in this last patch is pretty awesome too. Now we capsuleers can enjoy the finest basics that Windows can offer while the Sansha swoop down on us. Finally, he wraps everything up by taking us on a magical mystery tour through Uncle Casey's Mailbag, in which we find out that sending him your cosplay pictures probably isn't the best idea -- although sending charity notes is. You can catch all the hilarity here every week, or over on G4TV.com.
The MMO Report - All for free!
This week, Casey and the rest of the crew over at G4TV have cooked up a super-sized portion of MMO gaming news goodness we can all be thankful for. He kicks things off with talk of Lord of the Rings Online's upcoming Isengard expansion, expected in Fall of 2011. From there, it's on to Forsaken World, the newest title from Perfect World Entertainment, and their video earlier this week -- oh, and he's sorry he said mean things about you before, guys. We're just passing it on. After that, it's on to the news that has taken the world of Azeroth by storm -- literally. WIth the very hefty list of changes that came in this week's World of Warcraft patch, players are having a ball. What's even better? Well, as he points out, it's all for free. Can't beat that kind of holiday deal. After that, Casey digs into the video exclusive from ijji.com's Genesis A.D., which is offering a new nuclear silo map for up-close blow-other-people's-face-off action. Vindictus' awards at the Korean Game Awards are mentioned as well, with a hearty congrats for the sevenfold accomplishment. Also mentioned are our move to officially being part of the Joystiq network, and Casey's ever-present mailbag of goodies. We'll leave you to watch that on your own, as there's something that definitely falls into the realm of "awkward" in the mix. Check out the video embedded behind the break, or every Thursday over at G4TV.
DirecTV drops G4, says it's 'among the lowest rated networks'
Bad news for the 18 million or so DirecTV subscribers out there: Your ability to watch reruns of Cops anytime you want isn't coming back. The satellite provider dropped the Comcast-owned (and Cops-heavy!) G4 channel last week and today confirmed that it's not interested in reconsidering that decision. "At this time we are no longer negotiating and we have no plans to put G4 back up," a DirecTV rep told EW.com. "But why?" you might be asking yourself out loud. Well, the rep has some choice words for the sometimes-video game-related channel. "Since G4 is among the lowest rated networks based on the latest Nielsen data, we decided that it made sense to focus on preserving programming that is more relevant to our larger customer base." Ouch! For its part, G4 said in a statement, "We have been trying to engage DirecTV in fair and reasonable discussions to continue to carry G4. G4 offered DirecTV the same basic deal we have had for the past three years. However they still plan to drop the network and deny G4 fans the only network that focuses on the popular gaming lifestyle." This might be a little early, but we've already put a bid in on Sessler's soapbox on America's Auction Network ... which is actually a real channel that DirecTV still carries. [Image credit: Exposay]
