WRUP: What's this I hear about a sheen edition
Ms. Lady had been telling me there was something funny about some sort of sheen, but I honestly haven't seen anything funny after searching online. I've seen several photos of oil resting on the surface of water, and while that's a bit sad from an environmental standpoint, it's certainly not funny. I did just find out that my Google searches were somehow filtering out the word "winning" from search results, so that might have something to do with it.
Whatever the case might be, it's time for this week's WRUP, in which the Massively staff members once again share their respective plans for the weekend as they pertain to gaming. As a bonus, we talked about our favorite reveals from GDC 2011, which our own Shawn Shuster and Rubi Bayer have just finished attending. So click on past the break to find out what we'll be up to, and let us know your plans for the weekend in the comments.
Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): Since I am now feeling like I am on top of the world (thanks to many of the awesome readers here at Massively), I will be careful to not play everything I can get my hands on. I am having some fun with Cultures Online, a free and pretty stout browser-based semi-MMO from gamigo games. Of course, I could not be more excited about the news that Ryzom will be going freemium, so I made a brand-new character to start fresh. I can't wait to see if the population increases because of this announcement!
I'll also be pounding some monsters in Dragonica, which is really, really fun once you start flowing with the combos. I'll probably jump back into some EverQuest II as well (putting together my new snowy house in Halas — some of the best housing I have ever seen) and will be deciding on my next Rise and Shiny game. I'm thinking of trying a sports game, but a lot of them don't really act as true MMOs... so we'll see.
The coolest thing I saw out of GDC this week had to be the Allods announcements. It might take gPotato a while to get everything straight, but I think that the game is obviously still moving forward. Moving forward is always a good thing.
Brandon Felczer (@bfelczer): Well, this weekend I will be playing very little Star Trek Online but am excited about the series finale of series three, Cloaked Intentions. I will be spending most of my weekend out with family as we are celebrating a whopping five birthdays between the in-laws and my own family.
GDC? What's that? Just kidding. Still. Processing. Amazingness. Can't. Contro... /emergency shutdown.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): I'm hoping to get some time in RIFT now that GDC-madness is winding down!
It's hard not to be blown away by anything Guild Wars 2, and of course I am, but that's too easy an answer. So I'll echo Beau: I'm excited to learn that Allods is finally getting love from gPotato, because it's such a beautiful game and a cut above so many other F2P entries.
Eliot Lefebvre: Aside from finishing my pre-sequel save file in Dragon Age: Origins – Awakenings, I'm going to indulge in some Final Fantasy XIV and general prepartions for PAX East starting on Friday. This week will be kind of insane, so I'm trying to bottle up some spare energy. Here's hoping it works.
To be honest, I have to say that nothing that came out of this year's GDC really floored me — the (unintentional) Thief reveal from Guild Wars 2 was interesting, but I'd kind of been expecting the class already, so that one didn't have quite the wow factor of previous unveilings. There was a lot of really cool stuff going around outside of the convention that sort of stole my attention, like Ryzom's change in business models and Guild Wars launching an enormous and awesome patch.
Jef Reahard: Not a lot of MMO shenanigans for me this weekend. I've returned to EVE and will be dabbling in there a bit, and I might roll an Age of Conan alt if time permits.
The coolest thing I saw from GDC was Funcom's The Secret World presentation. Since Massively is one of the few websites that respects publication dates, you'll have to wait until next Thursday to see just how cool. An honorable mention goes to the World of Tanks clan wars reveal, which not only prompted me to download and play the game but also compelled me to dust off Civ III and IV.
Jeremy Stratton (@Jeremy_Stratton): This weekend I'll be moving up to manufacturing and expanding my mech line in Perpetuum. I'll also do some more questing in Runes of Magic. I've crossed the bridge in Dust Devil Canyon and entered Barbarian territory. The coolest thing I've seen? That there is another day of stuff to go.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster): Lord of the Rings Online and RIFT. Ask me again next week: Lord of the Rings Online and RIFT. The week after? Most likely LotRO and RIFT. I'm seriously considering a business card — Justin Olivetti: LotRO and RIFT.
As for GDC, the Guild Wars 2 reveal was certainly nifty, even if rogue classes aren't my usual cup of tea. Thief? What about "Respectable Businessman" class? What are we training our youth to be here, delinquents?
Krystalle Voecks (@Krystalle): This weekend will be DC Universe Online for me with very little otherwise. It's spring cleaning weekend, woo! :D
As for GDC, The Secret World is definitely my favorite, although I'm also curious to see what Undead Labs can do with Class 3 on Xbox Live. :)
Shawn Schuster (@SSchuster): When I get home from GDC, I will be playing WURM Online, hoping my farm animals haven't died in my absence. I also am pretty excited about playing RIFT again!
As for the coolest thing I saw at GDC, I only have one word: THIEF. Actually, make that two words: CHARR THIEF. Or three: FEMALE CHARR THIEF. OK, I'm done.
At the start of every weekend, we catch up with the Massively staff members and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game — and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!