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SOE's H1Z1 is a zombie-flavored sandbox after all
SOE has just released more information on its upcoming F2P zombie MMO H1Z1. In a letter posted to Reddit just moments ago, President John Smedley explained his vision for the game. "It's a massively multiplayer game in which players fight for survival in a world where death is the only sure thing," he writes. Set in middle America with a distinct zombie flavor, the game will be a sandbox with a "deep crafting system" with which "players can build shelters out of resources in the world" and "work together to make amazing fortresses complete with weaponry to help defend against both the Infected and other players." How is the game different from the multitudes of other kill-or-be-killed post-apoc zombie sandboxes already in existence? Smed says it's a persistent MMO with thousands of players and different rulesets, a strong economy, open looting in PvP, access to devs, an emphasis on "player ownership and building," and cool tech borrowed from PlanetSide 2. The studio plans to have a player-playable version within four to six weeks; it will fall under the $15 All Access Pass and have microtransactions but will not be P2W. Have a look at the first released screenies below. The Game Talk Live stream is now over. [Source: SOE press release]
The Inochi Project offers adorable robot-animals in exchange for Kickstarter money
If you've got some money burning a hole in your pocket and a love for all things robot and cute, then Forwardfor's Inochi Project Kickstarter campaign would like to have a chat with you. Launching today, the campaign seeks £30,000 (about $50,000 US) to help accelerate further development on the MMO. The game will allow players to create their own robot animals (ani-mechs), customize homes, participate in battle arenas, explore cities, and fight against the rust plague that is turning ani-mechs into rust-covered villains. Stretch goals climb upward to £350,000 (about $586,000 US), but pledges begin at $1.60 US. If you want to play the beta, $16 is your buy-in. We've got the trailer after the cut!
Villagers and Heroes announces April 17th Steam launch and new expansion
Free Realms refugees, if you're looking for a new home with cute graphics and quests and housing and crafting, then indie F2P MMO Villagers and Heroes might just be it. The game itself isn't new, but with its new expansion, Fury of the Stone Lord, it's receiving a major graphical upgrade and content patch revolving around gargoyles. Expect 30 new adventure maps (bringing the count to 110), new quests and monsters, new spells and heroic feats, and 15 extra skill levels to boot. Developer Mad Otter Games says the sandbox MMO will launch on Steam on April 17th. We previewed the upgrades and new client back in February. Check out the trailer below! [Source: Mad Otter Games press release]
Destiny screenshots show the wonders and horrors of space
Outer space won't be the technocolor thrill-romp that one might assume from pulp sci-fi, at least when it comes to Destiny. Bungie released five new screenshots showing some of the visually impressive if intimidating vistas as well as one or two of the threats that players will encounter in the game. The studio also mentioned that it won't be utilizing NPC companions, players will be able to customize and upgrade gear, and Guardians can change loadouts on the fly. Check out the new screenies in the gallery below.
One Shots: Up close and very personal
I am pleased as punch today because several of you took me up on the screenshot challenge to get an "up close and personal" picture of an enemy. Without stealth or a sniper scope, this is a very tricky proposition, but even so, three of you came out with the photographic proof. First up is reader Wolfger, who escaped by the skin of his teeth in Guild Wars 2. "Here's a shot of Brewer Foster getting up in the face of one of the game's favorite loot piñatas, the champion boar in Queensdale. It catches the beast reeling from a blast as our hero is facing it down with a... slingshot?" Mmm... anyone want a ham dinner? Either way, scoot closer to your monitor and prepare to have your eyeballs blown from the awesome images to come in this week's edition of One Shots!
One Shots: The kiddie pool
What does an insane kinetic interstellar critter do on his or her day off? Why, soak in an outdoor pool and try not to think about why the water suddenly got warmer, of course! Reader Crazyrabbit63 (probably not his real name) sent in this WildStar picture to kickstart our fun this week: "This is my Chua, BuzzCracker, sitting in his kiddie pool and relaxing after a long day of hunting Exiles across Nexus. After a few minutes in the water, BuzzCracker realized he had too many Spicy Jabbits for lunch!" If diminutive pools aren't your thing, we've got the excitement of both Hell and singing mushrooms after the break!
Skyforge gives a glimpse into The Factory
Skyforge is looking better and better, as the team released a new set of pictures today for the upcoming MMO that focus on the title's industrial side. The three new pictures showcase the high-tech Factory, a large installation that's recently seen a riot by intelligent robots. Players will no doubt be asked to go in and quell in the microchip insurrection. "Cleaning up the plant is not an easy task," the devs teased. "Lives of the personnel are the price of a failure." You can take a peek at the Factory in the gallery below. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Guild Wars 2 unveils new account-wide wardrobe system
The latest ingredient in Guild Wars 2's April 2014 feature pack has just been announced, and it's a delight for those of us who like to play dress-up in our MMOs. Yes, it's quite literally a wardrobe, an "account-wide system that allows players to collect every skin in the game." Says ArenaNet, "Currently, it can be a little overwhelming to try to sort through it all and customize your character exactly how you'd like to. Our answer to that is the Wardrobe, which makes it easy for players to change their look at any time and to share cosmetic items across all the characters on [their] account." In other words, a skin unlock for one character will work for alts too, and players will use transmutation charges to swap their looks as part of the new simplified transmutation system. ANet launched a brand new dev blog, video, and gallery today to toast the new feature. Enjoy!
Skyforge releases new screenshots of Dankit Island
Skyforge: Is it sci-fi or fantasy? Who cares -- it's pretty. Obsidian and Allods Team have just released brand-new screenshots of the upcoming MMORPG; they feature a location named Dankit Island, which is so pretty that it's obviously home to evil, rat-like creatures called Virth. Naturally, players will be saving Dankit Island from said evil. That's just what players do. Enjoy the screens! [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
One Shots: To the rescue!
There's nothing quite like the feeling of coming to the rescue of a friend, virtual or not. I've tried rescuing people in real life, but I've found that not every granny wants to be given a piggy-back ride across streets and not every depressed teen is waiting for a well-choreographed dance routine to turn his or her life around. I guess I'll take a cue from reader Mary, who found her inner hero in Spiral Knights. "In McVillain to the Rescue, my buddy Astro has been hemmed in by baddies by our friend's freezy bomb during a particularly rough arena," Mary explained. "Toward the top right corner, I'm coming to save him, weapon charged and at the ready." What other thrilling rescues lie ahead in this column? If nothing else, it'll be a rescue from boredom, so let us give you that emotional piggy-back ride you desperately need!
Guild Wars 2 announces 'April 2014 Feature Pack'
ArenaNet has just announced what it's calling Guild Wars 2's first-ever update focused entirely on new features and feature enhancements, one that will "introduce a sweeping range of new systems and feature enhancements to the game." Dubbed the "April 2014 Feature Pack," the update is set to go live on April 15th, but in the interim, the studio plans to roll out multiple videos and dev blogs, starting with this first one: a dev blog discussing the overhaul of the trait system, the introduction of 40 new traits, and inbound "horizontal progression opportunities."
One Shots: Granny Freedom
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a super-powered senior citizen with slight incontinence and a grappling hook! Well, there's something you don't see every day. Reader Dynatos brings this gripping image from Champions Online to our attention: "A superhero that has come back out of retirement, Granny Freedom grapples across Millennium City's skies on the lookout for both evil-doers and heroes who need a little help with their moral compass!" She's also never late for Denny's early bird specials. So what other visual treats do we have in store for you whippersnappers this week? Oh, wouldn't you like to know!
Arcane Legends announces The Dragon Enclave expansion
Spacetime Studios has just announced the newest expansion for its most recent browser-and-mobile MMO, Arcane Legends. The new update, which launches today and brings the game's total number of expansions to five, will lift the level cap to 41 and introduce a brand-new island with new dungeons, bosses, daily quests, currency, gear, and crafted items. Enjoy the new screenies and video below! [Source: Spacetime Studios press release]
One Shots: Moons over Bajor
Outer space: It looks cool whether it's in color or black and white. Case in point? Check out both varieties of today's headlining screenshot, submitted by reader Chris. "Here is the deep space science vessel USS Aurora passing over one of the moons of Bajor in Star Trek Online," Chris writes. Personally, I think the light and dark contrast looks so much cooler in black and white. That's of small consolation to the crew of the Aurora who went blind sailing directly into the sun, but hopefully their families will find some solace in my admiration.
Guild Wars 2's Battle for Lion's Arch has begun [It's live now!]
Fans of Guild Wars 2's living story villain Scarlet Briar -- all five of you -- will likely be disappointed by the finale launching today in ArenaNet's core MMO, but everyone else will be letting out a big cheer and enjoying some fresh loot piñatas. Marketed as the "final showdown with villain Scarlet Briar," the Battle for Lion's Arch patch will allow players to try to reclaim the beloved capital city that's been under siege for the last two weeks. Players will engage in a desperate struggle to take back one of the game's most important cities and a major hub for players. The city of Lion's Arch has fallen to a vicious surprise attack from sylvari super villain Scarlet Briar, backed by her army of Tyria's dark forces and an arsenal of war machines. Her weapons of war include the massive airship drill Breachmaker, which continues to bore deep beneath the city's harbor. Under the shadow of this mechanical monstrosity, players must now rally to reenter Lion's Arch to challenge Scarlet's army, and perhaps face the villain herself. Massively's Anatoli Ingram spoke with ArenaNet's Colin Johanson last week about what to expect from the update. [Update: The patch has now gone live! Read the full patch notes and check out Richie "Bogotter" Procopio's video comparing the brand-new tormented weapons to their GW1 originals.] [Source: ArenaNet press release]
One Shots: Off the Grid
As a former Anarchy Online player, I was always curious what the Grid looked like for the Fixer class, but I never was so curious that I rolled one up. Fortunately, reader Azzura was able to satisfy my curiosity this week with this awesome-looking structure. "This is one of my favorite screenies I have, inside the Grid," he submitted. "You would click a machine and get digitized in to this area filled with exits to all over the game. Funcom seems to like this method of travel as you can tell by popping into Agartha in The Secret World. We have sights and wonders the likes of which will make your ocular cavities gush forward in unabashed emotion after the break. Frankly, I wouldn't risk it; your eyes might not be able to take the strain.
One Shots: Spelltastic!
You guys are so awesome, did you know that? You totally are. I'm still getting cool screenshots of spell effects from a challenge I issued a while back -- and I'm loving them. Our featured picture this week is from reader John, who hails from the Angels of Destiny in Guild Wars 2. Because there's never a bad time to take a selfie, not even in the middle of life-and-death combat, he captured this cool shot. "This is my Sylvari Elementalist, Ayo Carina, preparing to strike down a minotaur with her conjured Fiery Greatsword while attuned to Fire," John wrote. "Not content with slinging spells from the rear ranks, Ayo loves to get up close and personal!" Someone's going to need bactine, that's all I know. Let's check it out in living color along with the rest of this week's entries!
A firsthand tour of a WildStar adventure
WildStar's beta test is ramping up further and further. It's ramping up enough that pretty much everyone who isn't in the beta already is looking for a way to get in on it. Now's your chance! Hit this link for a giveaway that will grant you a chance to win a beta key for Wildstar. And one of the things you'd be able to see within the beta, if you were in, are the Adventures that have been all the talk of press releases lately. So what is an Adventure? Well, the DevSpeak video past the break will give you a nice top-level overview of that, so you could just go with that. Or you could ask me, because I got to make my way through one with the development team at Carbine Studios, getting a firsthand look at how the content is supposed to work and what's cool about it. That's also past the break.
One Shots: Guard whacked!
According to Massively Law, which is as unshakable as it is awesome, if you send in screenshots from an MMO that was made during the Clinton presidency, then I'm required to feature them as a header for this column. Hence, Ultima Online. This picture comes from reader Azzura, who found out the hard way that not everyone likes a bad guy. "This is my 'red' character, one that I used to player-kill (PK) with, strolling near town," he said. "The NPCs did not like my being around and were calling the guards on me to get me 'guard whacked'." I mourn not for thee, but I shall be entertained by thy photographic memorial. Smite that "continue reading" button, readers, and feast thine eyes upon the glory of our community.
World of Tanks launches worldwide on the Xbox 360
Are you ready to blow up tanks on your Xbox 360? Probably; there have been roughly two million games released for the console based almost entirely around blowing up tanks. But are you ready to do so in World of Tanks? Because the game has launched on the console worldwide, complete with special Founder's Packs. The packs contain tanks, currency, ammo, and crews, but will be available for purchase only until February 28th. Before you run downstairs to fire up your console, keep in mind that you won't be able to play the game for free; an Xbox Live Gold subscription is required for continued play. All Xbox Live accounts do get a free trial of the game for seven days, however, so you can decide if it's worth subscribing to the service. You can also take a look at the gallery below to get a glance at what the game will look like on the TV. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
