betrayal
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Age of Wushu introducing school betrayals
Traditionally, your school in Age of Wushu isn't something that changes. Once you've signed on with a school, that's your home forever. But with the upcoming betrayal mechanics, you can move from being a dedicated partisan of one school to being an initiate of another. And you aren't even just limited to changing schools because you were kicked out of the first one, since the game offers several departure options for those who want to see how the other half lives. Betrayal is the obvious choice, which will allow you to immediately leave with the cost of losing your school-specific identity, titles, internal skills, fashion... you get the idea. In trade, you can join any of the seven other schools or one of the new sects launching with the next major update. The Excursion route still takes your identity, titles, and fashion, but your internal skills are merely lowered. Incognito takes this a step further, merely locking your titles and such while leaving your first three skill slots unaffected. These latter two options allow you to explore the new sects with lesser consequence, but both are meant to be more costly and time-consuming. It's up to you if you want to continue to be loyal or start walking the path of betrayal.
Massively Exclusive: Witness the betrayal in Aion's 4.0 E3 Trailer -- Beritra's Plot
We've known for some time now that Aion's upcoming expansion, Dark Betrayal, is coming out this month. And thanks to this weekend's announcement, we even have the exact date the new classes and new lands will become available. But one bit of information has still eluded us: The details of this nefarious betrayal. Who exactly betrayed whom? The answer lies in this new 4.0 E3 launch trailer. Dragon Lord Tiamat, defeated by Daevas, was betrayed by one of her own -- one who stole her dark secret to unlocking a powerful weapon for himself. And now that weapon is poised to bring forth a new era for the Balaur by eradicating Elyos and Asmodians alike. Get a glimpse of the newest threat to Daevas and watch the plot unfold in the launch trailer after the break. [Source: NCsoft press release]
The Tattered Notebook: A guide for new and returning EverQuest II players
With the Chains of Eternity expansion now live, I've seen lots of comments and even a couple of emails from players who are looking to try out EverQuest II or are thinking of coming back after an extended hiatus. And because the game is free-to-play, it's easy to get in-game and check things out before committing to a payment plan. But with all of the changes over the past year or so, it's sometimes hard to make sense of it all. Some guides and write-ups are now outdated, and with the recent forum conversion, it's difficult to find answers to common questions when coming back (or trying out) the game. So in this week's Tattered Notebook, I've put together a general rundown of topics that tend to come up for new and returning players.
The Tattered Notebook: Down but not out!
I was closely watching our Choose My Adventure poll last week and had a flashback to 1986, when I was torn between rooting for my two favorite teams, the Red Sox and the Mets. There I sat, staring at my Cabbage Patch Red Sox doll and my Cabbage Patch Mets doll, trying to decide which one I would embrace as I tuned in for the first pitch. Whom would I root for? Hurst or Darling? Dewey or Nails? Mookie or Billy Bucks? Carter or Geddy? Boggs or Ho-Jo? I chose the Red Sox, and I'm still trying to get over that memorable World Series. The CMA poll had me right back in that seat, as I found myself rooting for both frontrunners, RIFT and EverQuest II. For EQII fans, the vote tally ended up somewhere under Bill Buckner's cleat, and RIFT ended up winning. Take heart, EverQuest II fans: We have a great game, and like an aged wine, it's getting more buttery with a hint of raspberries and a taste of oak. So raise your glasses because it's time to toast the reasons EverQuest II is a great game!
The Tattered Notebook: Mask of the betrayer
You know, there's something decidedly ironic about playing a rat in an MMORPG, particularly in a themepark grinder like EverQuest II (and before anyone burns me at the stake, it's a good themepark grinder, I'm positively in love with it). The parallels are almost too perfect. Rats chase cheese and players chase digital carrots, running around a pre-defined maze with numerous boundaries, roadblocks, and invisible walls just like your average lab rodent. Luckily EQII camouflages these minor irritations better than most games, even on fairly grinderific content like the city betrayal quest series. Yes, I've returned to playing my ratonga after a week of cheating on him with a shiny new shadowknight, and I've finally managed to move his furry little butt away from the abusive stylings of Freeport to a comfy little four-room rat hole off the side streets of South Qeynos. Turn the page for more on his journey and thumb through his gallery below. %Gallery-98135%
Aika previews Ashes of Betrayal and announces launch date
The turnaround on Aika's upcoming expansion has been more than acceptable. The announcement of Ashes of Betrayal came very recently, and already we have a target date of June 17th for release. But if that weren't enough, the development team has been hard at work with the new region of Darkrane Forest, creating both new lore and new art for the region. Home to the half-bird, half-human Kynari, the forest was peaceful until the recent coup performed by the Kynari Darkrane, killing High Castor Isaiah and throwing the region into turmoil. Players will take on the sizable task of restoring order with the help of Isaiah's son Hakks, as well as uncovering the dark forces behind Darkrane's rise to power, including a new instanced dungeon. There will also be new equipment and skill improvements, starting at level 51. We have screenshots of the new armor available to the Conqueror and Templar, the highest tier of growth for the Warrior and Paladin classes, as well as some of the enemies you'll face in the forest and a map of the region. Take a look at our gallery, and get ready for Aika's expansion due in less than a month. %Gallery-93694%
CCP Games lead economist on social structures in EVE Online
Phil Elliott from Gamesindustry.biz recently conducted an interview with CCP Games Lead Economist Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson (known as CCP Dr. EyjoG) titled "Star Bucks." While the interview discussed the importance of social structures in EVE Online given the game's single-shard nature and of course the game's economics, he was asked questions about gameplay and some of the core foundations of the game -- namely the freedom to act and the consequences that result (or the perceived lack of consequences). Dr. EyjoG was asked about the concept of trust in the sandbox game, how some players feel there's not enough reciprocity in terms of consequences for one's actions in EVE. "Should we provide more security, more traceability -- that would help it out, but it's definitely a game design and balance question. For us we see the universe as it is, we don't see that need... at this point at least," Dr. EyjoG responded. The interview also hinted at some of the as-yet unrealized possibilities in the game such as player-requests to tie sovereignty in with rules that govern those regions of controlled territory and what the game might be like years down the line.
The high price of trust in EVE
Trust is a rare commodity in EVE Online, and is one of those aspects of the game that makes it at once interesting and frustrating. That friendly person who offers you assistance in a mission, wants to sell you a faction module, or seeks to join your corporation may very well be waiting to backstab you when you least expect it. This might sound bad, but it's not necessarily a terrible thing in terms of enjoying the game. Indeed, some may feel that it adds to the risk inherent in EVE, and thus the thrill. The fact that players can manipulate trust within the rules of the game is one of the aspects of EVE that sets it apart from most other MMOs. The risk vs. reward stakes are raised when trust comes into play with groups of players. Collective action through corporations or alliances will, at some point in time, entail trust. It may be a CEO or director lifting restrictions on access to resources for a member of the corp, hoping that the faith placed in the recruit wasn't a bad move. In other scenarios, the situation is reversed -- a director decides to cut and run, seizing assets and leaving the corporation shocked and understandably enraged.
Yoshi to Mario: 'I thought we were friends'
It was a heartbreaking moment, the first time we were ever forced to jump off Yoshi's back to save our own selfish skin in Super Mario World. We reached for him over the edge of the platform, watching as he fell further and further away until he was nothing more than a tiny green dot in the distance. In hysterics, we yelled out to him, Last-of-the-Mohicans style, "I will find you!"After the thousandth time we nonchalantly discarded Yoshi, though, leaving an imprint of our boot on his dinosaur nose as we leaped to higher ground, we'd been too desensitized by his many sacrifices to regret any one particular death. Sometimes, we even celebrated it: "That's what you get, you little jerk. That's what you get for making us chase you around and lose our feather."But this faux motivational poster, spotted at Aeropause, calls our attention back to the cruelty and sadness of the technique. Seeing those teary eyes and outstretched arms is killing us inside. It's all made worse by Mario's refusal to even turn around and acknowledge his friend's ill-fated demise. The Koopa Paratroopa flying away in the background is clearly upset with the whole scene. We wouldn't be surprised if the event haunted him for the rest of his life, eventually leading him to alcohol and drug abuse.[Via Aeropause]
Behold the wonder: God of War mobile isn't bad
When our own reporter came back from the Sony gamer's day and said God of War: Betrayal for the cell phone was good, we feared the poor man had cracked. But now comes word from IGN, which gave the game a 90 that it is, in fact, a good solid game. We may never look at our mobile the same way again.God of War: Betrayal takes place after Ares' defeat but before the events of God of War II. IGN says the game is a 16-bit "glory days" 2D side-scroller and is a God of War title "through and through." Guess for those who can't wait for God of War: Chains of Olympus on PSP and have a compatible phone, maybe it could be worth checking out this mobile game. We hope this doesn't make us reexamine mobile gaming entirely -- let's call this a one hit wonder for now.
