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Why I Play: Global Agenda
Among the Massively staff, I'm known as the obsessive competitor who plays every game in a hardcore fashion. It's no surprise that I gravitate toward high-skill, difficult games that test skill instead of the typical MMO grinds. But it should be a bit of a surprise that I don't really like competitive shooters. Shooters take a lot of the elements I really love about competition such as mindgames and positioning and marginalize them in favor of raw aiming and twitch reflexes. I'm fond of saying "You must be this tall to ride this ride" when it comes to shooters that are very twitch-based. Global Agenda is a different beast than other shooters, though. The competitive shooter market is saturated with class-based shooters whose emphasis is more on teamwork than on aiming, and Global Agenda really takes it to eleven. Aiming is still important, but it's hardly the most important skill in the game, and every class has a way of minimizing the need for aiming skill. In fact, most of the more effective builds in GA don't require aiming. The emphasis in GA is on teamwork, mobility, and good decision-making. Even though it's a shooter, I find it really easy to spend far too much of my time playing it. It's just great fun.
The Daily Grind: Do you want realism or awesome?
I realize that any discussion of realism in MMOs can quickly devolve into absurdity, but bear with me. I was recently involved in a discussion between some guildies of mine who were extolling the virtues of Tribes: Ascend over more realistic FPS games. "It's the jetpacks," they told me. In a realism-driven FPS, there's an emphasis on physics and gravity, but in Tribes, it's all about the jetpacks and learning how to fight effectively while using one. The fun of a game like that is in how awesome it is to break realism, not in how true-to-life it might be. Pure MMOs are no different. Many games make compromises along the spectrum of reality, especially when it comes to travel: In some games, we're grounded, forced to use a horse or our own two feet to make our way across the world; in others, we teleport via magical contraptions or leap tall buildings in a single bound. So riddle me this: When it boils down to it, what do you prefer to be the guiding principle of your MMOs -- realism or awesome? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Martin says its jetpack is 'practical,' offers crappy computer animation as evidence
Ever wonder what a jetpack is good for, besides fulfilling dreams and fighting Nazis? Well, Martin wants you to know there are, in fact, practical applications for its $86,000 personal propulsion system. According to the aviation company everyone from emergency responders to search and rescue teams to military personnel could find a place for the dual-engine craft in their arsenal of tools. Sure, we could see how their ability to get in and out where the size of a helicopter or plane might be prohibitive would prove handy, but their high cost and limited carrying capacity make them a tough sell. That doesn't mean we don't enjoy seeing the (poorly) rendered vision of our future filled with jetpacks in the video after the break. Come to think of it, we could see this coming in handy for our CES coverage... excuse us, we need to make some phone calls.
The Firing Line: Tribes impressions and a visit to Hi-Rez
What's up folks, and welcome to The Firing Line. We've been branching out our coverage lately, first with MMO-specific columns and then with Not So Massively and MOBAs. Now we're doing something similar with online shooters. This genre is positively huge, and while there's a lot of room for debate in terms of what constitutes an MMO shooter, there's also no denying that all of the games hovering around the periphery of that designation are a lot of fun. So what will we be talking about in The Firing Line? Well, this is the part where I rub my hands together in anticipation! Naturally we'll spend a lot of time with the genre's big guns (sorry, I had to use that at least once), so I'll be playing huge amounts of PlanetSide 2, DUST 514, Firefall, Global Agenda, and the semi-obscure free-to-play titles crowding the market -- all in an effort to bring you the very best news and views from the world of pew pew.
Champions Online gives players a full pack of jets
Even in superhero games, people still have a deep love of jetpacks. There's something innately wonderful about the idea about strapping on a backpack and slipping the terrible dominion of gravity. That's why Champions Online has introduced a new option for travel powers for players of all types -- the jet pack. And as you would expect, it allows you to take to the skies with style and rocket-powered precision as you soar along. It probably comes as little surprise that the pack is available in the C-Store. That being said, it's only the actual appearance of the packs is for sale -- all users have access to the Jet Pack travel power, which uses the costume parts. So if you have the urge to strap a rocket to your back and take to the air, your time is now -- and if you're not quite convinced, why not check out the video just past the break?
Deep Black Online coming to PC this summer
It's not every day that we get to tell you about a new MMOTPS (that's third-person shooter, if you're wondering), so without further delay: Hey guys, check out this new MMOTPS! It's called Deep Black, though we're wondering why it's not called Deep Blue since much of the action apparently takes place underwater and in the air via various forms of jetpack. Don't worry, land-lubbers, there's plenty of action on terra firma as well. The title is being developed by Biart Studio, a Russian outfit headquartered in the Moscow equivalent of Silicon Valley, and the game will feature "fully customizable [character] appearance, more than 30 types of sci-fi weapons, and three game modes at launch," according to a Biart press release. The game is a F2P instanced shooter featuring eight to 24 players, and it's coming to a PC near you in the near future. You can check out our sister site's Deep Black reveal from last summer, and you'll also want to head to the game's official website to learn more.
Global Agenda's Todd Harris spills the beans on Sandstorm
Since its release a few months ago, nobody can claim that Global Agenda has merely sat back to rake in sweet kudos, particularly with the rapid additions and fixes shot through the development pipe. As we sit on the verge of Global Agenda's 1.3 patch -- aka "The Big Patch of Awesome" or "Sandstorm" -- Hi-Rez Studios' Todd Harris sat down with Massively to share how this patch will live up to its name and then some. Sandstorm will be rolling out in several phases, each housing a different chunk of content and polish for Global Agenda, and it's no small patch at that. It's a genuine game-changer, taking out what wasn't working right and putting in a lot more that hopefully will. As more gear with varying stats drops, the concern of balance -- or imbalance -- arises. What happens when a warrior enters the scene with uber-leet gear and stares down Mr. Newbie, fresh from the farm? While GA does have an "anything goes" type of PvP with AVA, Harris points to their selective matchmaker system: "Matchmaking does a good job at taking a look at win percentage, player skill, and classes, and certainly does the best job it can based on who's online to make it a fair match."
Battlefield Heroes gets jetpacks, new map and new game mode
DICE's freemium FPS, Battlefield Heroes, has had its finger on the pulse of what's hip for quite some time now. It offered content for sad MJ fans when the King of Pop passed away and even implemented some supernatural content when that New Moon flick came out. Then there was the latest stuff celebrating the release of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. DICE clearly hasn't forgotten about its baby and now, for its three million and growing userbase, it's offering a trio of new goodies, headlined by the new in vogue multiplayer item: jetpacks. Players will use the jetpacks on a map called Midnight Mayhem, which sports a brand-new game mode called V2 Vengeance -- players must battle to capture and control a giant rocket. The content is available right now, so head on over to the Battlefield Heroes site if you want to throw down.
Play Capcom's 2D Jetpack Attack while you wait for Dark Void
Sure, Capcom's vertical-shootin', UFO-jackin', jetpack-flyin' third-person shooter Dark Void won't be landing on retail shelves until January 12, but the developer wants you to spend some time with Will (and The Void) beforehand. If you head over to JetpackAttack.com, you can create and play levels in your browser of a significantly pared down Dark Void spinoff game, Jetpack Attack. After blasting our way through the first level, we didn't exactly find ourselves thirsting for more, though it did (no matter how small the scale) sate our urge for some jetpacking action. And hey, if worse comes to worse, you could always trade it in for gold, right? %Gallery-24248%
For centuries we have waited: New Dark Void trailer, screens
Alright, perhaps "centuries" is a minor exaggeration, but waiting patiently for new media is no easy task when the game in question -- Capcom's Dark Void -- contains all of the following: Jetpacks Lasers Robots Jetpacks UFOs Gateways between worlds Dimensions ruled by fear Jetpacks You'll find further glimpses of the third-person shooter slash aerial dog fighter (referring to the jetpack-propelled combat, not the presence of antagonistic flying canines) embedded after the break.%Gallery-51291%
