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Rise of Immortals preview: Potent Dota-bles
The Defense of the Ancients mod for Warcraft 3 has spawned no less than four retail titles now (Heroes of Newerth, Demigod, League of Legends, and Valve's upcoming Dota 2), and Las Vegas' Petroglyph Games is throwing its hat into the ring with another, called Rise of Immortals. Petroglyph, which has its roots in EA's Westwood Studios and is also working on an MMORTS for Trion, showed the game to me at GDC last week and, while it's safe to say that the growing "MOBA" (multiplayer online battle arena) genre is probably well covered already, they are planning to put a few new twists and turns on the still-developing formula. The most central of these is more of an emphasis on PvE -- while League of Legends or Heroes of Newerth is centered around five players battling it out with five others online, Rise of Immortals plans to make playing versus the environment a viable goal, with levels that spawn monsters to fight and even award persistent items for you and your team. There are some other innovations, too, and Rise of Immortals seems like it will be an interesting experimental entry into this quickly evolving genre. %Gallery-118760%
Petroglyph announces Rise of Immortals, closed beta sign-ups begin
Petroglyph has announced that its new multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, Rise of Immortals, is now accepting sign-ups for a closed beta test. Rise of Immortals is a free-to-play MOBA -- i.e. "it's like Defense of the Ancients" -- that features persistent character creation and, of course, plenty of microtransaction-fueled goodies. The game allows players to choose from twelve customizable Immortals with different abilities and take them into battle in either player-vs-player or player-vs-environment matches. Those wishing to sign up for the beta should head over to the Rise of Immortals website; the test is currently offered only to "friends & family," though it will expand to more players in the coming weeks. Check out some screens in the gallery below and find a trailer after the break. %Gallery-117314%
Mytheon gets EU publisher, shows off new screens and video
With the US launch of Mytheon slated to hit its official launch date of July 13th, and the lawsuit seeming to be a thing of the past, the teams behind Mytheon have been working on trying to send this upcoming free-to-play fantasy MMO across the pond. Well, today we've gotten news that Gamigo will be picking up the overseas publishing while UTV True Games handles the North American servers. Yes indeed -- those across the pond who were waiting to see if they'd have an option to check out Petroglyph's MMO based on various bits of world mythology will get a chance to play as well. To add to this news, they've also released a video and a bundle of new screenshots for people who may not have seen the polish put on Mytheon as it nears launch. EU players can register for the closed beta on the Gamigo site, whereas US players should head over to the UTV True Games site to get in on the action. Meanwhile, as those clients are downloading, don't forget to check behind the break for the video, or click through the gallery below for all the new eye-candy. %Gallery-68215%
Petroglyph and True Games resolve lawsuit, announce launch date for Mytheon
The last major news we heard about fantasy MMO Mytheon was regarding a legal skirmish. Publisher True Games was suing developer Petroglyph for the Mytheon source code, citing a long list of actions on Petroglyph's part which prevented the game from seeing release. In a surprise announcement, the two companies announced today that they have resolved their differences and are set for a July 13th launch. While it seems like a dangerously short leap from lawsuit to launch, keep in mind that Mytheon was originally scheduled to be ready for release last November. Chuck Kroegel, CEO of Petroglyph, sums up the decision: "From the beginning, we have been committed to creating a critically and commercially successful online game that brings something fresh to this space. Despite the fact that neither company acknowledged or admitted any wrongdoing, both companies recognized this mutual agreement as the right step, especially for the players with the official release of Mytheon to the world this summer. We've received a great deal of positive feedback on the game, from both the media and the community, and we encourage online gaming fans to jump into the ongoing open beta test and experience Mytheon's unique gameplay and amazing mythological world." Beta signups are available on the game's site.
True Games Interactive sues Petroglyph for Mytheon source code
MMORTS Mytheon has hit a development snag: True Games is suing developer Petroglyph, claiming that the company has failed to deliver what was promised -- a working game -- and is preventing True Games from doing so as well by refusing to release the source code. According to the court documents, the original agreement required Petroglyph to deliver a "Gold Master" (ready for distribution) copy of the game by November 15th, 2009 -- a delivery date later amended to February 1st, 2010. In mid-March, Petroglyph stated that a Gold Master version of Mytheon should be ready by the end of March, but additional funding was needed. The publishable copy was not received by the end of March. True Games' complaints can be summed up in a short paragraph from the official document: "The repeated, unreasonable demands by Petroglyph for additional funds and concessions, combined with Petroglyph's apparent unwillingness or inability to deliver the final product, poisoned the working relationship between TGI and Petroglyph, such that the entire multi-million dollar venture is in danger of collapsing." For Petroglyph's part, CEO Chuck Kroegel claims: "It was NEVER conceived to be a full-blown MMO, which costs upwards of $15 million and three to five years to complete. The trend, however, over the last months has been to move this game to the scope of a full-blown MMO." The full court document has all the details.
Mytheon screens an early look at the title
One of the upcoming MMORTS games on the horizon is Mytheon, in development at Petroglyph Games. The new title will offer a twist on the standard fantasy setting. Rather than basing the game on a purely fictional world, they're basing Mytheon off of real world myths, beginning with Greece and Egypt. Mytheon will be a free-to-play title, with game mechanics that center around power stones which will fuel the various in-game effects players can employ against each other. We don't have any further info about Mytheon's lore or its game mechanics quite yet, but Petroglyph has released some new screenshots for the title. If you're an MMORTS fan and want to see more of this game, have a look through our Mytheon gallery and let us know if it's caught your interest.%Gallery-68215%
Mytheon site launches with trailer, game to release in Q1 2010
Mytheon from Petroglyph Games is a title we've mentioned in the past, as it's a different take on the type of games we cover at Massively. Essentially it's an MMORTS, and as such may be comparable to titles like Dreamlords the Reawakening or even Atlantica Online. As its name implies, Mytheon is rooted in ancient world myths, which could be a nice departure from the numerous pure fantasy games on the market. At launch Mytheon will have content based in ancient world Greece and Egypt. The game mechanics seem to be heavily tied in to power stones, which provide different benefits to the game's three classes. According to Petroglyph: "The collection and casting of Power Stones is the backbone of Mytheon. Power Stones initiate every in-game effect possible, from summoning minions and structures that fight for the player, to conjuring fireballs and lightning bolts and healing a party." Mytheon can be played solo, but will also have group and PvP gameplay options. The game's first trailer might give you a better idea of what to expect. It's embedded on the new game site, and offers some of the first glimpses at Mytheon's gameplay as well as the setting of Hades.
Petroglyph general manager Chuck Kroegel on Mytheon's union of MMO and RTS
We've been seeing a number of new options in online gaming, some clearly definable as being 'massively multiplayer', others less so. One of those game categories that blurs the line a bit is the MMORTS (massively multiplayer online real-time strategy) game... we'll probably just stick with the acronym from now on. But we've wondered, what exactly can we expect from RTS titles as they adopt more features traditionally associated with MMOs? Steven Crews from The MMO Gamer spoke with Petroglyph Games general manager and executive producer Chuck Kroegel about their upcoming title Mytheon. The game is a free-to-play, downloadable title that will be supported by microtransactions and focuses on the myths, heroes, and monsters of the world's ancient cultures. Crews asks the questions we think are on a lot of people's minds when they hear "MMORTS" -- "Why bring strategy games into the MMO space? What do you get from a persistent universe that you couldn't get out of something like Battle.net?"
Trion partnering with Petroglyph to publish unknown MMORTS
According to Gamasutra and the company's official site, Trion World Network has teamed up with Universe at War developer Petroglyph to publish an unnamed MMORTS. The game, which doesn't yet have a release date, will be published globally on the Trion platform.This collaboration is the first for Trion and they say it 'will breathe new life into the RTS genre' and that Petroglyph are 'renowned for developing high quality and innovative RTS games that appeal on a global level'. Indeed despite Trion's recent tribulations, the company seems to be going from strength to strength. Michael Legg, the president and co-founder of Petroglyph, appears to be just as keen on the partnership:"Petroglyph is extremely excited to be working with a visionary publisher like Trion World Network. Combining Trion's platform and industry expertise with our GLYPH game technology and our development pedigree will allow us to unleash a groundbreaking MMORTS gaming experience to the world."
Petroglyph Games speaks about their new MMO
Not long after the first official announcement concerning the partnership of Petroglyph Studios and True Games to develop a new MMO, we now get treated to an interview with company co-founder Joe Bostic. In this interview, we learn about some of the company's plans for their new MMO, and how it will be different than every MMO we've seen thus far.If you're wondering why this is such big news at the moment, let us remind you that Petroglyph studios are the developers of Star Wars: Empire at War and Universe at War. This in itself leads the logic-minded individual to believe that their MMO project may have an RTS flavor, although Mr. Bostic neither confirms or denies this in his interview. They do mention the fact that this game will be based on a micro-transaction business model, and they will begin releasing early-stage testing opportunities for players to get involved in the development process.
Universe at War, three factions trailer roundup
Universe at War: Earth Assault, the upcoming SEGA published and Petroglyph Games developed title, is yet another real-time strategy game being shoehorned into a console control scheme. The difference between UaW:EA and other console-ported RTS titles is the inclusion of cross-platform play with the, already released, PC version -- a first for a third-party publisher. While on the surface UaW:EA seems complex, the Starcraft-esque three-different factions system, showcases the title's simplicity and accessibility. The three factions, the Novus, Hierarchy and Masari are completely different in almost every respect and should make re-playability (other than online modes) one of the strongest bullet-points on the retail package. While we're a fan of the PC version, we wonder how the Xbox 360 version will control and what the balance will be when the PC crowd goes head-to-head with the Xbox 360 crowd. Universe at War: Earth Assault is set to his retail on March 25, 2008 for the Xbox 360. Above is the trailer for the Novus faction, Hierarchy and Masari trailers await you after the jump.
Petroglyph has a console MMO in the pipes
Is it just us or is the MMO replacing the FPS as the ubiquitous genre du jour for developers still looking to find their niche. Why do we ask? Well it looks like Petroglyph Games, the Las Vegas-based team behind Star Wars: Empire at War and more recently Universe at War, are in the process of building up their team for an as-yet-unannounced MMO. The kicker? The listing for MMO Game Designer specifically refers to the new game as a "console project." Whatever your opinions on console MMOs are, it looks like a new one is on its way.Of course, all this leaves us with is delicious, delicious speculation. The team's credits are heavily focused in the PC RTS genre, which doesn't (at least as we see it) have terribly much cross-over with a console MMO. It's also interesting to consider that Universe at War, which comes out in February of next year, is being released on the Xbox 360 in addition to the PC. Given the way console development works, it's more than likely that they'll use their new-found familiarity with the 360 platform to aid in the creation of the new property, and develop it with Microsoft's console in mind.Don't say we didn't tell you so![Via VE3D]
Metareview - Star Wars: Empire at War
Here's one that's all over the galactic map. While most of the gaming press acknowledges Star Wars: Empire at War as superior to its RTS predecessors (Rebellion, Force Commander, and Galactic Battlegrounds), scores still ranged from 60 to 92. It was unanimous that the land battles were less interesting than the space conflicts, due in part to repetitive environments on the ground. Additionally, many reviewers had issues with the game's lack of strategic depth. However, Petroglyph has been applauded for presenting the Star Wars universe on a much grander scale than has been seen in any of the franchise's other titles to date, and it's quite possible they simply wanted to make Empire at War as accessible as the Battle for Middle-earth series. GameSpot (87/100) was impressed with the Star Wars authenticity and overall presentation: "Logical differences in the optimal playing style between the Empire and Rebellion, as well as an epic presentation befitting of the license, contribute to a fantastic overall package that any strategy-game player can appreciate." 1UP (80/100) enjoyed the Galactic Conquest mode, but had this to say about single player: "Campaign mode moves at a sort of jerky pace, and everything moves too quickly to really enjoy. It's climactic, yes, but the abruptness cuts short your time to enjoy finally accessing your ultimate technologies." IGN (76/100) would have liked to see larger maps, but enjoyed the action: "While the galactic management of the game is satisfying, the game really doesn't take off until you actually take part in the full battles. The space battles come damn close to capturing the excitement of the films. It should be mentioned that, while heroes can play a big role in space battles, they tend to be much more effective on the ground." GameSpy (70/100) had issues with the interface and too many hidden features that should have been more obvious: "It does a wonderful job of bending, breaking, and often reinventing the normal RTS rules to create as Star Wars a feel as you could possibly hope for... But the bad news is that it's not easy to play Empire at War so that it lives up to its fullest potential." [via GameStats, Metacritic]
Empire at War - a force to be reckoned with
LucasArts is taking a big step back into the RTS genre with this week's release of Star Wars: Empire at War. To commemorate the occasion, Ferrago has put together a preview that discusses the game's synergy between ground and space combat, including the Civ4-esque bird's-eye view with tactical zooming. You can also check out GameSpot's new Designer Diary with Petroglyph president and lead programmer Michael Legg. He discusses the Alamo graphics engine and the three major features of Empire that sets it apart from other strategy games. It looks and sounds impressive, and had a positive reception at last year's E3. But will Empire offer enough to make us forget the foul stench of Force Commander and the mediocrity of Galactic Battlegrounds? If not, you can always dust off your old Kenner AT-ATs and stomp on your buddy's rebel scum action figures.
Single-player Star Wars: Empire at War demo online
The single-player demo of Star Wars: Empire at War is now available online, which means we can all get our SW RTS freak on, well... by ourselves. The nice-looking Empire at War is quite a step up from previous strategy incarnations of the seminal sci-fi series (at least visually), so now we can marvel at how many differently-colored laser blasts can fill one screen on your computer at a time. After watching one of the most exciting opening sequences to a Star Wars movie in years last summer, we're pumped to try anything that'll replicate that massive space-battle feeling. We've been waiting quite a while for word on this game (in a near-final format), so would any early brave demo downloaders care to share about the experience? [Thanks, Matt T.]
Star Wars: Empire at War trailer
Gamespot have a nice, new trailer up for Star Wars: Empire at War, featuring some spectacular battle footage. Or at least that's what it says. My system decided to say "Video? What video?" and choked spectacularly on it, so if I've directed you to a trailer that doesn't deliver what it promises, well, at least you got to see something that sounds better than Phantom Menace.
Star Wars: Empire at War screenies
Okay, so we know that the pretty pictures companies put out are a complete pack of lies in many cases. We also know that game visuals will, invariably, be turned down somewhat. But man, check out that Imperial Star Destroyer! Plus there's a good shot of some Jawa Sandcrawler being owned, albeit with one particularly creative Jawa looking like he's about to shoot Darth in the back. Man, wouldn't that stink. The greatest evil in the universe, shot in the back by a Jawa.
Star Wars Empire at War delayed
Word on the Lucas Arts site is that Star Wars Empire at War is getting bumped by a few months. The original launch period was Fall 2005, but the official game site now lists Spring 2006. It's an ambitious project that could help set the quality of post-film Star Wars games for years to come. Take all the time you need folks. [via GameGossip]
New Star Wars: Empire at War screenshots to lust over
Another day, another Star Wars game. There's, what? About a thousand of them now? Sure seems that way. Unlike other franchises *cough*startrek*cough*, Star Wars games tend to be more hit than miss. Empire at War is looking good. Note the wording. LOOKING good. No idea on the gameplay. The one thing that concerns us is on one screenshot. Check out that lovely AT-AT. Nice! Then check out the X-Wing doing peculiar things in the bottom right. Hmmm...
Star Wars: Empire at War screenshots on 3D Gamers
3D Gamers has a slew of new Star Wars: Empire at War pics. The images are mostly space combat scenes, which is fine with us. The idea of having a well-done Star Wars RTS amongst the stars is pretty damn appealing. From what we gather, the way the controls will work, is you'll be able to control different classes of ships as they battle on different spatial planes. Since space has no up or down, it's a real challenge to make it work (though the Homeworld series did an admirable job of handling it).
