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Energy Hook will launch on PC along with PS4, Vita
Energy Hook creator Jamie Fristrom wrote yesterday that the game would head to PlayStation consoles "first." It turns out the developer meant it would launch on PS4 and Vita simultaneously with PC, Mac and Linux, the platforms the game was originally funded on Kickstarter for. Fristrom said as much to Rock Paper Shotgun, in that he "meant first of the consoles - I realize now that was really murky. [Day-one launch] will be concurrent with PC." The game earned $41,535 on Kickstarter in June 2013, and Fristrom's backers already have access to the game's PC beta version, which was updated in December. Energy Hook will arrive this year, and bring along with it rooftop-to-rooftop swinging action in the same vein as the Activision game Fristrom helped design, Spider-Man 2.
Crowdfunded swinging action game Energy Hook coming to PS4, Vita before PC [Update]
Energy Hook will launch on PlayStation 4 and PS Vita this year, before it heads to PC, Mac and Linux in full, creator Jamie Fristrom revealed in a recent PlayStation Blog. The game earned $41,535 on Kickstarter in June 2013 to come to PC. Energy Hook is a 3D swinging action game in which players get style points for running along walls and performing tricks mid-flight from rooftop to rooftop. Players will also use gravity beams and boots as well as jetpacks (naturally) to amp up the action in the "extreme sports of the future" game. Fristrom was the technical director and designer of Activision's Spider-Man 2 game, and created the game's swinging system. Fristrom left Activision to create Energy Hook, and was turned down when pitching to Sony's Pub Fund before taking to Kickstarter to fund the game. The game's crowdfunding support clearly turned a few heads at Sony, enough to bring the game to PS4 and Vita. Some backers of the project have access to the game's PC beta version through the Humble Store, which received a new build in December, per an update on the Kickstarter page. Update: Fristrom has since clarified that Energy Hook will launch concurrently on PC with PS4 and Vita.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: 2013 in review for superheroes
2013 was the first year in which City of Heroes didn't exist. The masses of hero fans cried out in anticipation of a new game but found nothing. All there was to be found was a deafening silence and three other games that scratched similar itches but didn't quite manage to hit the same heights. But we've talked about that as much as it can be discussed, and quite frankly I'm more interested in the now. We've got three titles that are still duking it out, trying to find their voices, and so forth. And then we have the header of Plan Z, which covers several different projects but at the same time serves as an interesting look at the community as a whole. So in the wake of a quiet December, let's look back at 2013 for the major titles and for the hopefuls. It was a year in which quite a bit happened, not all of it good, but it was still one that might have a big impact on the future of the superhero MMO field.
Massively's winter holidays MMO roundup
The holidays are here! That means the hustle and bustle of the season is in full swing, with gifts to get, treats to taste, deals to nab, and plenty of festivities to partake in -- and that's just in the MMOverse! Yes folks, there's a plethora of holiday celebrations out there -- so many, in fact, that it can be hard to keep track of them all, let alone participate to them! If you're trying to catch everything in your favorite games, we're here to help. We've got a round up of the various winter celebrations across the gaming sphere all bundled together right here for you. If something catches your eye, hop in and join in the festivities!
Perfect World putting new resources toward console development
Perfect World Entertainment, the mega-publisher behind games like Neverwinter, Torchlight II, RaiderZ, and Star Trek Online, has just announced that it is launching a new in-house division dedicated to console development. According to general manager of publishing Andrew Brown, investing in console development offers Perfect World a way to "better connect with players." The console division will be dedicated to bringing new and existing PWE titles to consoles. Brown seemed optimistic about expanding into the console world, explaining, "You can expect Perfect World to be a major player in the console marketplace." No specific games were named for release. [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
David Hayter-voiced République sneaks to iOS on December 19
Camouflaj's stealthy crowdfunded game Republique will launch this Thursday, December 19 on iOS. Republique Director Ryan Payton noted in an interview with IGN that the game's PC and Mac versions will arrive next year. Republique earned $555,662 on Kickstarter in May 2012 and features both David Hayter and Jennifer Hale as voice actors. The indie action game, which resurfaced in February with new 3D backgrounds as opposed to its original pre-rendered ones, will cost $4.99 on the App Store. The game stars Hope, "a young woman trapped within a shadowy totalitarian state," drawing inspiration from George Orwell's classic novel 1984. Players take control of "Big Brother," protecting Hope and guiding her through the game by influencing the environment through unlocking doors, powering down lights and tapping phone calls.
Marvel Heroes to introduce playable Venom, Magneto, and more in 2014
Marvel Heroes is looking to substantially beef up its super-powered roster in 2014, as the devs are prepping a huge round of playable villains and heroes for an upcoming release. These new characters will include Venom, Juggernaut, Magneto, Psylocke, Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Moon Knight, Nightcrawler, Sue Storm, and Star-Lord, as well as a couple of additional comic book icons to be named later. Even though the new characters are not in the game yet, Gazillion is hosting an "advance pack" sale for players who want to pick all of them up for a discount. Players can spend either $99.99 or $129.99 to get all 12 characters as well as various extras including costumes, fortune cards, retcon devices, and even an extra hero.
PSA: Tiny Brains out now on Steam, 30 percent off until December 18 [Update]
Spearhead Games' Tiny Brains is now available on Steam for PC. The co-op action puzzler is 30 percent off until December 18 ($13.99). Those looking to take advantage of the "cooperative" part of the game may want to pick up the Tiny Brains 2 Pack for $24.99, granting them an extra copy to give to a friend. Our review of the game found it "accessible and adorably illustrated," though its puzzles seemed increasingly repetitive and predictable as the game wore on. Tiny Brains already made an appearance on PSN for both PS3 and PS4 last week. Update: As a clarification, Tiny Brains only launched on PS4 last week, but it will arrive on PS3 early next year.
Dungeon Defenders dev announces cross-platform shooter Monster Madness Online
Dungeon Defenders developer Trendy Entertainment and its new indie subsidiary Nom Nom Games announced a new cross-platform, RPG-like shooter called Monster Madness Online today. The free-to-play game places combatants in the shoes of one of four minors in Suburbia City, which has been overrun by invading Martians whose powerful Monster Tokens apparently don't affect the kids of the town. Monster Madness Online is billed as the first 3D action game to use Mozilla's asm.js technology, which enables Nom Nom Games to take advantage of a higher level of JavaScript development. This offers developers the ability to insert physics, 3D graphics, multiplayer networking, advanced animation and other beefier game elements into their browser-based projects without the use of a proprietary plugin. Trendy Entertainment Co-Founder and CTO Jeremy Stieglitz explained the developer's use of asm.js in a separate trailer, found after the break. The game is expected to fully launch in May 2014 for PC, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and any web browser of choice. An online, pre-alpha PvP version of Monster Madness Online is available to try out now on the game's website.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superhero games across November
After a couple of very active months, November was a bit calmer for superheroic games as a whole. It makes sense, of course, since pretty much every game is calmer during November and December aside from sales and holiday events. But there were few big Kickstarter campaigns, a lot of updates that everyone knew were coming, and of course a very poignant anniversary for pretty much everyone reading this column today. That having been said, the entire month was not a slow funeral dirge for the loss of City of Heroes. In fact, one game apparently decided that the otherwise quiet month was a great time to make some big changes right off the bat, so that's pretty cool. Venture on past the cut with me and we'll take a look at the superhero news from November in review... and possibly bow our heads briefly in respect for the departed.
Gambit comes to Marvel Heroes
Gambit is one of those superhero concepts I wish I'd come up with. He's got it all, from the Cajun accent to the kick-ass name to the card-shark skills and kinetic badassery that's made him an X-Men favorite since his first appearance in 1990. Gazillion no doubt sees his appeal, too, and the company has finally added him to its Marvel Heroes title. The firm has also released a Gambit-focused trailer, which you can view after the cut.
Marvel Heroes now has PvP
Gazillion Entertainment has announced that Marvel Heroes' PvP mode, titled Fire and Ice, is now live for all players. Fire and Ice pits two teams of five (where have we heard this one before) in a battle that requires the guarding/attacking of giants as well as the assaulting of the enemy team's base. Defeating giants and other players rewards runestones that can then be traded for buffs and other utilities. If you're curious about Fire and Ice, check out last week's dev-hosted livestream of the new game mode on the official Marvel Heroes Twitch channel.
RaiderZ update introduces Assassin class
Today's RaiderZ update brings a host of big changes to the game. The patch includes an epic version of the Temple of Renas dungeon, a brand-new PvP zone, support for dual-speccing, and an overhaul of the game's Hellhound system. Additionally, the Brune's Glory battle arena now features 3v3 ranked guild matches. Most notably, Perfect World Entertainment has used the patch to debut the Assassin class. Assassins are capable of moving quickly through the battlefield, shrouding themselves from vision and using elixirs to buff their stamina, attack speed, movement speed, and resistance to damage and crowd control. Check out the gallery below for a closer look at some of the patch's content. [Source: RaiderZ press release]
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor takes the Tolkien universe to next-gen systems
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a new third-person action game in development by Monolith Productions, publisher Warner Bros. announced today. As the title indicates, the game is placed in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe, and has players assuming the guise of the "valiant ranger" Talion. Both Talion and his family are killed by series baddie Sauron, leading to Talion's resurrection by a rather vengeful spirit that grants him Wraith-like supernatural abilities. Warner Bros. boasted a "dynamic world" in the game that is expected to remember and adapt to players' choices as well as "craft their own battles, enemies and rewards." While no release date was given for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the game will arrive on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3 and PC.
Marvel Heroes brings Asgard in with update 2.0
One constant to the Marvel universe is that no matter how big your last enemy might be, there's always someone waiting in the wings to make things even worse. Sure, the players of Marvel Heroes have defeated Victor Von Doom and shut down his nefarious plans... but someone was waiting to take all of his power just offscreen, someone with just as much of a chip on his shoulder. Now it's Loki's time to shine. Yes, the next major installment for Marvel Heroes is here now, and it's focusing on all of the Norse goodies you would imagine. That means new items, new enemies, new areas, and the Trickster himself as a playable character. You can log in right now to start adventuring across the Bifrost Bridge into Asgard proper, but if you're at work or something similar, you can ease the wait by taking a look at the new trailer past the break.
Diving back into Marvel Heroes
When I first heard that Marvel Heroes, by Gazillion Entertainment, was not going to allow players to make unique, customizable heroes to fight alongside classic Marvel characters, I felt the same as many of our readers did. I was shocked, hurt, and then angry. What on Earth would inspire a developer to skip not only one of the most important aspects of an MMO -- character customization -- but skip it in an IP that is begging for character customization? Instead of checking the game out, I walked away and played other titles. But I've given it a chance over the last few weeks and had a discussion with Jeff Donais from Gazillion, and now I realize that the developers were never attempting to make an open-world sandbox with infinitely customizable characters. Instead they have made a linear story-based romp with tons of loot, plenty of explosions, and more classic Marvel characters than you can shake an adamantium claw at. Getting over preconceptions and imagining a dungeon-crawler that is set in the Marvel universe will bring you closer to understanding Marvel Heroes.
Marvel Heroes 2.0 update adds Loki and Asgard
Thor: The Dark World is out in theaters today, and in a stunning coincidence, Marvel Heroes is delivering an Asgard-themed update at the very same time. Game Update 2.0, Gazillion's "biggest content update ever," has two big features. First up is the Asgard hub, where players will meet to go on a series of new missions through the otherworldly zones. And since Thor is already in the game, 2.0 introduces the next best thing, Loki, the god of mischief. Loki is a sorcerer who has two outfits available, the film edition and the not-tacky-at-all comic book version. Even if Asgard doesn't delight you, there's a reason for the entire playerbase to rejoice: Gazillion is expanding the starting roster of free heroes from five choices to nine. You can read up on these additions as well as the new legendary and ring item slots in the official patch notes.
Marvel Heroes announces Asgardian content, playable Loki
Marvel Heroes is a game known for its ability to suck players in to the universe of Marvel superheroes. Its linear play is also augmented by the much more open area of downtown Manhattan, and there is no other MMO that allows you to control heroes from all of Marvel's timelines and universes, from the movie franchises to the classic comics. And now we've learned the game is gearing up for a very nice update in November. So what's in store for this patch? Well, it just so happens that Marvel's latest movie, Thor: The Dark World, is coming out in a week or so. Gazillion Entertainment couldn't very well sit back and let the moment get away, could it? So it created an entire suite of content based around Asgard, Thor, and the new movie. We asked Jeff Donais, Creative Director, some questions to find out all of the details. Warning: There might be spoilers below!
Gazillion brings Squirrel Girl to Marvel Heroes
Squirrel Girl is now available in Marvel Heroes, according to a new post on the Gazillion website. Founders get Squirrel Girl and her modern and aviator costumes for free, while other players can unlock her by buying a hero pack, buying her directly from the in-game store, or earning her via eternity splinters. Gazillion has released a Squirrel Girl teaser trailer which you can see after the cut.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A marvelous, titanic super-hero September
I'm breaking up my usual format a bit for this month. Part of that is just out of necessity; DC Universe Online launched a big DLC pack that I talked about in the last column, which obviously was the focus for most of the past month. Champions Online just had an invasion event going that I didn't actually take part in; I've had enough invasion-style events to last the remainder of my natural life, even if the rewards for this one do look pretty awesome. Call me cynical. No, this month I'm focusing on two games, only one of which is actually out at the moment. One of these games has been firing on all cylinders and might force cynical old me to eat a bit of crow, which I'll happily do if it means that the game is better for everyone enjoying it. And the other... isn't. You can probably guess what I'm talking about, but you can also go ahead and jump past the cut to eliminate any possible doubt. I encourage it!
