winter-wonderland
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Field Journal: The true meaning of MMO holiday events
Field Journal is a bold and exciting new take on MMO journalism. Or the meandering ramblings of a chronic game-hopper. I haven't decided yet. Each week I'll be setting for myself a new "adventure" or "field trip" into a game to explore some aspect of it in detail. I'll be sharing my thoughts and experiences, especially on games without a dedicated column. Anything from the most obscure indie to the elephant in the room is up for consideration. There just has to be something in it we think is worth gawking at and talking about! Given the timing, I wanted to kick things off with a look at seasonal events in MMOs. To make it special, I thought, why not tackle the events of a few games in one go? Oh how naive I was. Let me tell you, there's nothing like seeing the same flavor of holiday cheer over and over again in supposedly different worlds to strip away one's capacity for goodwill to all developers. Fortunately, there were a few bright spots.
Star Trek Online creates a gingerbread colony for the holidays
Not since Aunt Beru's blue milk has science fiction looked this tasty! Star Trek Online's mischevious Q is creating a gingerbread colony for the game's annual Winter Wonderland event. As part of the event, players will be shrunk down to defend the colony from snowmen by flinging snowballs and firing snow guns at them (which, if you think about it, is kind of like flinging body parts at the enemy). Toss in ice and yetis, and you have the strangest Star Trek episode ever. And yes, I'm including the one with Data and the masks. What was that about? Participants in the event can get special prizes and recipes, including a starship. Q's Winter Wonderland will be in the game from December 5th through January 16th of next year.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Puzzle jumping in Guild Wars 2
I've been meaning to talk about jumping puzzles for a while. I haven't made it through quite all of the ones in Guild Wars 2 yet, but I'm getting closer to that point all the time. The problem is that I never want to just sit down and hammer out three or four in a session because I feel that'd take away from some of the fun of it, so I get to one every little while, and I treasure it, and that's actually pretty OK by me. In my opinion, jumping puzzles are some of the most well-polished content in the game, as well as some of the most exciting. The designers seem to have been able to really do whatever they could imagine in them, and that pays off in really incredible encounters, gorgeous sights, and super fun challenges. Since I haven't been through all of them yet, I can't really put out a decisive top picks list, but I'd like to talk about some of my favorites.
Guild Wars 2's Wintersday content primer
Wintersday begins tomorrow, bringing joy and presents for all good Tyrians! A sneak peek video posted a few days ago did a great deal to get fans excited about the upcoming holiday, but now it's time to get a better idea of precisely what awaits us in this celebration of toys. Read on to learn all about Wintersday in Guild Wars 2!%Gallery-173269%
Star Trek Online reveals holiday rewards
If the sound of Q's Winter Wonderland returning in Star Trek Online got you excited yesterday, then just wait until you see the rewards. The developers posted on the bounty of goods that players can earn and win during this holiday event. To earn the rewards, players will need to accumulate collectables by participating in the various holiday activities. Those collectables can be traded with other players and cashed in to purchase Tribbles, winter jackets (now with stylish midriffs!), scarves, winter weaponry, and snowmen pets. Fleets can work together to build a Breen ship ornament in their starbase. However, the big prize of the event is a Breen Chel Grett Warship. The warship is free for the taking to captains who run the footrace 25 times out of the 35 days of the event.
Santa Claus is coming to PlayStation Home
Santa has added a layover in PlayStation Home to an already-packed holiday itinerary. On December 10, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is opening up a new PlayStation Home space that allows you to see Santa's workshop through the unique Home filter -- by which we mean it's now kind of eerie. The new Winter Wonderland space will allow you to interact with a vaguely Shatner-esque Santa Claus and elves like Robin Williams here, as you help the crew get all its preparations for Christmas done. Which means minigames! There will be presents, of course, and a Photo Elf who will take festively decorated pictures of your Home avatar. You know, so you can always remember the time you saved Christmas. %Gallery-79140%
