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Free for All: Five favorite game systems
This week I decided to talk a bit about some of my favorite game systems. Systems are essentially the building blocks of all quality MMORPG matter, allowing for an experience that is unique and worth returning to. Developers have been very creative in designing these systems that, like good technology, are not often noticed by gamers. Good systems blend into your experience but enhance it, and often make the overall game play seem like something more than it would be without them. Here are some of my favorites, and I would recommend downloading these games and checking them out. Or, if you are already playing these games, take a moment to notice how much thought went into these systems, and also of how much time you spend using them. Their simplicity can sometimes be deceiving, hiding the complicated processes that help your game play be a detailed and varied experience.
2Moons worldwide mega update announced
GameHi, Inc has announced a worldwide update for their free-to-play MMORPG Dekaron, known in North America as 2Moons. The patch, ominously titled "It's a Good Day to Die," looks to add a wealth of content including the DK Square System, the Trans Up Quest, and the Land of the Dead map. The DK Square System functions as an inter-server PvP match-making system, and also includes a new map and exclusive armors. The Trans Up Quest is available to players at or above level 131, and offers the opportunity to learn new skills as a reward. The Land of the Dead map encourages players to work in teams, and features daily battle events featuring new monsters and new weapons. "It's a Good Day to Die" also features several commemorative events, including: DK coin event (March 29 - April 29) - Collect DK coins to win double XP for your server when you complete the main Egutt Desert mission. Coins also drop from monster mobs in the Abyss of Crespo. DK class ranking event (March 29 - April 29) - Fight for the chance to be crowned the Greatest Hero at DK Square. First through tenth place winners will be ranked by class and recognized. Support beginner/veteran event (March 29 - April 29) - All newly registered characters will receive a Beginner's Pack in their inventory, while veteran characters will receive a Veteran Dekaron Welcome Pack in their inventory. Cash-back event (March 29 - April 12) - Players will receive bonus cash back from the item shop dependent upon item quantities purchased.
Free for All: A look into The Chronicles of Spellborn
I have always wondered what happened to one of my favorite free-to-play games, The Chronicles of Spellborn. It's still a great game, don't get me wrong, and is completely free to play. A new version is even supposed to come out at some point, essentially the same game but with a cash-shop that features different travel items and armors. But why didn't The Chronicles of Spellborn do as good as it could have? I enjoyed it from the beginning but did find some flaws, namely in travel time. Of course, I am the world's biggest fan of realistic travel. I think it builds "character," but only having the option to walk while on land is, to say the least, a little tiring. Still, the game continues to captivate me. Perhaps the combat system was too out-of-sync with today's gamer, or maybe the quest text and wonderful lore were not enough to stop some players from getting bored? The stat-less armor and weapons might have had the most to do with it, being that players felt short-changed without being able to be recognized as something powerful just from the look of their avatar?
The Red Star to shine on PSP and iPhone this spring
The Red Star never had its chance to reach an audience. Originally in development by Acclaim for Xbox, the game was delayed when Acclaim ceased to exist, and didn't make it into stores until 2007 (well after the PS3 launch), when XS Games published the PS2 version to generally positive (and occasionally effusive) reviews. XS just announced that it's giving the alternate-universe Soviet shooter-brawler game another shot at success, by releasing downloadable versions of The Red Star on PSP and iPhone. We have no idea how the game will play on an iPhone, but the PSP has buttons very much like a PS2 controller! The publisher offered an "early spring 2010" release date for both versions, which sounds like soon.
Spellborn dropping out of the Japanese market
The somewhat European inspired fantasy MMO The Chronicles of Spellborn is shutting down its Japanese service, causing a stir of worry and discussion about the title's future in other territories within the community at large. To make matters worse, the one person who could've cleared up any confusion, TheHistorian, is no longer with publisher Acclaim as community manager for the game. Given that he was the sole link between the community and developers, it's no wonder people are feeling a bit unsettled by the whole affair. While the closure of The Chronicles of Spellborn Japan isn't a good thing, it doesn't necessarily spell out a dark future for the title. A business deal could've gone sour, or perhaps the audience in Japan just wasn't strong enough to maintain the title. Just in cast something does happen, however, we'll be keeping an eye out for any further development.
Acclaim CEO says Spellborn version 2.0 is on the way
If you're a fan of The Chronicles of Spellborn, Beau Turkey at Spouse Aggro found something today that will make you very happy. There have been rumors floating around lately about a restructuring of the game, and those rumors were recently confirmed on the official forums by Howard Marks, the CEO of Acclaim Games: "The rumors are true! Spellborn Version Two is on the way." Marks went on to explain that the new version has already been released in Japan to great success. They've been fine tuning it, and plans for the English version are underway. If you are a current player of The Chronicles of Spellborn, be sure you have a valid email address on file with Acclaim, because everyone playing the current version will be invited to beta test the new version via email. While details are minimal at this point, it's great news for players to know that more is on the way. You can take a look at the forum announcement here, and Beau's take from a fan point of view here.
Chronicles of Spellborn now completely free while in re-development
Did you miss out on the Chronicles of Spellborn when it initially came out? Most likely you did. If it wasn't the freemium model that confused you, it was most likely the crazy-odd "Acclaim coins" system combined with "membership" that turned you off of the game.Well, as we mentioned before, Chronicles of Spellborn is facing some issues and tough times. The game is being re-developed into a free-to-play model while one arm of the Spellborn company is facing issues of bankruptcy. But not all is doom and gloom with the game itself. In fact, now couldn't be a better time to check out Spellborn.While the game is being re-developed and eventually re-launched, the current version is now completely free. All you need to do is go on, create an account, and download the game. That's it. So if you passed up the game before and you have some time on your hands, we recommend going on over and checking out Spellborn for the low, low price of free. It's fresh and quite different from your standard MMO.
One Shots: High House Silver
With the recent news that The Chronicles of Spellborn is going to be going from a Freemium to a fully free-to-play game, emotions are torn. Those who have been subscribing feel like they're about to lose the game they've been enjoying. Those who have wanted to try it out but have been unable to do more than the first several levels are glad as it will give them a chance to play more. Either way you slice it though, it means change for the Spellborn community. With that said, we have a lovely screenshot from within The Chronicles of Spellborn that was sent to us by Terrivad of the Deiquonril server. He writes in: This is a screen shot of the interior of High House Silver in the city of Hawksmouth. House Silver being one of the five High Houses of the Enclave. They keep the economy in order and the day to day activities such as transportation, taxing and trade. (They're also obviously the richest House.)One Shots runs on reader submissions, so we need to hear from you! Just snap a quick screenshot from your favorite MMO and send it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and the game/location it was taken in. We'll do the rest from there and give you the credit for sending it in.%Gallery-9798%
The Chronicles of Spellborn to be re-developed as free to play, bankruptcy issues loom
The Chronicles of Spellborn only launched a few months ago, but they've already announced that they're going to "re-develop" the game as a free-to-play title. Acclaim Games stated on Monday: "The development is planned to carry into 2010 and will include several enhancements and changes to the current game. The enhancements and development of the new model will be carried through a joint venture between Spellborn NV and the development studio of Frogster Asia Co. Ltd based in Seoul, the Korean studio bringing its expertise in the field of free-to-play and micro-transactions." Once this re-development is complete The Chronicles of Spellborn will cease to be a subscription game and will switch over to the free-to-play model. We're not sure if there will be any further development on TCOS as it exists now, but a post on the game's EU forums by community manager Kelas stated, "For now, the servers and system (subscription) will remain the way it is. There are still people available for running the daily work and systems."
One Shots: From the front lines
We don't often get to look in on The Chronicles of Spellborn, so it's great to get a report back from a Spellborn player for One Shots. Today's beautiful-yet-almost-psychadelic screenshot comes in to us from Eric who writes in: Looking down at the docks as I venture, for the first time, to The Vaults. The first thing that drew me into the The Chronicles of Spellborn was the atmospheric scenery. The area I'm traveling to is used to further the lore of the game, and the long trek up to the top of the mountain really gave me a perspective much like a pilgrim. Really well done! If your MMO travels have taken you to a world we don't often see, why not send in some screenshots and share your journeys! Email them to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. We'll post them here and give you the credit. %Gallery-9798%
One Shots: To the vault
We haven't had many looks into this world as yet here on One Shots, which is a shame. The armor artwork and texturing is really quite interesting to look at! Not sure where this lone adventurer - Rayko Silverthorn of the guild Sacred, level 14 Trickster of High House Shroud - stands? He's exploring the world of The Chronicles of Spellborn, and writes in to tell us a bit more about the scene we're seeing - and why he likes The Chronicles of Spellborn. My first trip off of Parliament led me to Atheneum, home of The Consanguineous Vaults or just The Vaults. The ever increasingly difficult Vaults are were young adventurers go to hone their skills to become the heroes of tomorrow. This game features arguably the best combat system ever, The best way to handle death via Pep levels and a refreshing theme that breaks away from the oh so common style of fantasy MMORPGs.If you're traveling in a world we don't see often - or haven't really seen at all - then we want to see some screenshots from you! Just email them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description - or your thoughts on why your favorite MMO is awesome! We'll post them out here and give you the nod for sending the image and note in.%Gallery-9798%
Gaikai and OnLive both a no-show at E3 Expo 2009
We heard about two competing gaming services at GDC 2009 that could revolutionize the video game industry, if the technology announced can live up to its claims: OnLive and Gaikai. Both services aim to stream game content to users while the graphics crunching is handled on company servers, thereby eliminating the escalating hardware barriers to playing the latest and greatest titles -- a home user's low-end machine would be able to run high-end games. Gaikai head David Perry (of Acclaim) has said that the company's "Streaming Worlds" technology is suited to handle MMOs, and has specifically stated that World of Warcraft and EVE Online can already be streamed to browsers. When we heard about these companies at GDC we were hoping to hear more a bit later in the year, but it seems that neither OnLive nor Gaikai will be at the E3 Expo 2009. Gaikai cites patent filings as the reason they've had to pull out from E3 while OnLive states that their service doesn't fit in with the 'retail-orientation' of E3. We'll keep an eye on both companies as time goes on, though at this point only Gaikai has announced that they plan to stream MMOs.
Chronicles of Spellborn raises the free to play level cap
Worst part of freemium games is really getting into the game and then running head long into the free area's level cap. You just got started, just got into getting a nice pace, and you suddenly can't go any further until you buy a new zone or pay for a subscription.Chronicles of Spellborn seems to understand that problem and have taken a step to delay the inevitable. With the last patch, "Paragraph of Timed Strike," they've raised the free to play level cap from 7.6 to 9.9. This is going to allow new players or former free to play users the ability to level further and access more quests in the starting areas of Hawksmouth and Aldenvault.Of course at level 9.9 you're still going to need a subscription if you want to continue on with Spellborn, but hey, now you have 2.3 more levels to enjoy before you need to grab some Acclaim coins.
The Chronicles of Spellborn art book now available as free PDF
The newly launched fantasy game The Chronicles of Spellborn is a (air quote) freemium massively multiplayer online title from Acclaim, where three areas of the game are available for free, while subscriptions truly open the game up for its players. Those gamers in the EU who jump into The Chronicles of Spellborn are able to buy the title as a boxed product and thus get the art book which accompanies the box release, but no such luck for North American players. That is, until now. Acclaim has opted to release the art book as a free PDF file, which you can find over at MMORPG.com. It's a nice, in-depth look at the game spanning 151 pages of art content and lore. The High Houses, the game's myriad Inhabitants, and of course weapons and armor are all included in The Chronicles of Spellborn art book. If you're already into TCoS or are just curious about it, be sure to grab your free download at MMORPG.com.
Spellborn launches in the US; subscriptions free for 2 weeks
Acclaim has officially launched The Chronicles of Spellborn in North America, and to mark the occasion, premium subscriptions are totally free for people registering before the 7th of May (and for existing accounts). The issue of needing "Acclaim Coins" to purchase subscriptions has been fixed in time for the launch, and when the free subscriptions run out, players will be able to keep them going using their credit cards directly.As we had confirmed for us last month, Spellborn will be using a monthly paid subscription business model, however, a small portion (three areas) of the game's content will be available for free in perpetuity. Upon reaching a certain level, all further character progression is blocked. This is really more of a free trial than an actual "free-to-play with premium for-pay bits", so to see what the full game is really like, the best option would be to try it out now while the flood gates are opened all the way. If you decide to give it a go, be sure to let us know what you think about it.
GDC09: Gaikai digital gaming service to stream MMOs to web browsers
One of the more interesting announcements to come out of GDC 2009 is OnLive, which will allow low-end PCs to play high-end games via streaming technology, piping in a game experience where all the heavy (graphics) lifting is done on the company's servers. It's a significant step forward in gaming provided it lives up to expectations, and the fact that it's fully cross-platform means that Mac users will be able to play PC titles never ported for the OS. OnLive isn't alone in wanting to make games more accessible though, particularly when it comes to MMOs. Acclaim CEO David Perry told GameDaily, "We have already filed a patent on what OnLive is doing. I'm working with a team called Gaikai... we have World of Warcraft and EVE Online running." Since Gaikai's "Streaming Worlds" technology involves servers which remotely do the graphics crunching required of most modern games and streams the game to a web browser, all one needs is a machine with a good internet connection. No game client downloads are required. "You can play World of Warcraft anytime, on any browser," said Perry. The OnLive and Gaikai services are still in development and beta testing for both may begin this Winter, if not sooner.
Chronicles of Spellborn moves up to 1.02
The European free to play MMO Chronicles of Spellborn has unleashed patch 1.02, entitled "Scroll of the Second Path," bringing some brand new fixes and changes into their world.One of the biggest changes is the introduction of a brand new tutorial that better introduces their combat system. One of the many problems that many players were facing with Spellborn was that it does not play like a traditional MMO. In fact, playing it like a traditional MMO would usually get you killed. This new tutorial better explains how to avoid getting hit, while still dealing damage of your own to the targets around you.The other big change is the introduction of "menaces" -- new elite monsters that wander around outdoor areas. These guys are big and hard to kill, but their existences are also tied into special wanted posters in towns. These wanted posters trigger new quests to take down the menaces, giving players incentive to take on these new challenges.The game is still awaiting a closed beta in the US, but those readers in the UK, France, or Germany will be happy to hop on the Spellborn wagon and give the game a try. The full patch notes for 1.02 are available on the Chronicles of Spellborn forums.[Via A Ding World]
Spellborn updates for 2009 mapped out
Although the US is still waiting for The Chronicles of Spellborn to finish up its beta phases, the European version of the game has already been released. As is usually the case with an MMO launch, the developers didn't just flip the switch and then wash their hands of the project, and have been pushing out patches and hotfixes to their live servers as needed. Now we've been given an idea of where they hope to take the game over the coming year, via a post on the official forums.In the short term, a big patch is expected to be ready for the end of January, which will include some new monsters as well as a tutorial that comes in response to feedback from the community and press. A bit later in the year, the plan is to roll out the market, and an arena match-up system that will allow 2v2 and 4v4 PvP games. Longer term development goals include mounts and guild alliances, but when we're looking at this time-frame, it's highly likely that more ideas will come about. So, who is already on board with Spellborn?
What does Spellborn still need for a successful US/UK launch?
Here we are a month after the European launch of The Chronicles of Spellborn, and we find ourselves gearing up for the US and UK launches very soon. What has changed since the EU launch and what have the developers learned throughout the month after launch? MMORPG.com's Patrick S. Marshall takes a look and gives us his opinions on what the game still needs to make it in this hard-knock era for start-up MMOs."The bottom line is that the game could use some more players, especially on the international servers, which are considerably less populated than the French or German servers," Marshall says in the article. "The UK is separated from Europe publisher-wise by a territorial IP-ban (Acclaim is publishing TCoS in the US and the UK - Frogster does the rest of Europe and Asia)." For more information on The Chronicles of Spellborn and their upcoming US/UK launch, check out their main website.
Born for Wii: NBA Jam
Nintendo knows how to sell you a console. Whether it's Tetris bundled with every Game Boy, Super Mario World packed in with each shiny new SNES, or Wii Sports freely tagging along with the bazillions of Wiis they've sold in the past two years, the gaming giant has a history of providing fun and enticing games as a free incentive to buy their consoles. This generation, Wii Sports has certainly become a runaway success -- there's probably an unsettling number of people who never even put another game in their system. And while Wii Sports can be a lot of fun, it's obviously a pretty simplistic experience that doesn't cover the range of entertainment sports have to offer. Sports videogames often get a bad rap for spawning milked franchises and little but roster changes from year-to-year, but every so often a game comes along and totally annihilates the formula. In 1993, that game was NBA Jam. Midway's NBA Jam defined and popularized an arcadey, totally unrealistic and totally awesome style of gameplay for sports games. No fouls. Superhuman dunks. Turbo mode. Like the football series NFL Blitz Midway would develop several years later, NBA Jam passed up the finer points of basketball (like, you know, the rules) to focus on what really made the game fun. It's been several years since anything inspired by NBA Jam saw the light of day, and it's high time this timeless series returns to its former glory with a new take on its wacky, blissful gameplay. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-40285% Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
