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Exclusive: New gameplay details and screenshots for Battlestar Galactica Online
When it comes to new MMO titles, a significant portion of the MMO community will hear the the phrase "browser-based" and dismiss the game in question as unworthy without even looking at it. The folks at Bigpoint have big plans to banish this stereotype with Battlestar Galactica Online. If CEO and founder Heiko Hubertz has his way, turning your nose up at a game because of what you think a browser-based f2p is will become a thing of the past: "Bigpoint's goal is to raise expectations on what can be achieved in a browser-based game. Battlestar Galactica Online is the perfect license to help us elevate the consumer's understanding of this genre of gaming and reach gamers who have never tried a free-to-play game." Bigpoint shared some exclusive new gameplay information and screenshots with us that give a picture of a much more complex game than you might be expecting. Follow along after the jump to see what they had to say. %Gallery-97984%
Play me, my lord: Might and Magic Heroes Kingdoms fires up an interview
The Heroes of Might and Magic franchise has a long and rich history with PC gamers, although the series has somewhat fallen into obscurity as of late. Ubisoft is looking to thrust it back into the spotlight with the upcoming Might and Magic Heroes Kingdoms, a Civilization-type title. We've been tracking MMHK since this year's E3, and recently MMOsite.com grabbed some facetime with Ubisoft's Chris Early about the game. (Note that this isn't the Heroes of Might and Magic Online that's also nearing release.) A browser-based title imported from overseas, Might and Magic Heroes Kingdoms encourages players to slowly build up a city (and later, cities) and interact with their neighbors. This can take the form of peaceful resource trading, hostile skirmishes, or large-scale strategy. While MMHK is set in the Might and Magic universe, the game differs from Heroes of Might and Magic's playstyle -- for example, combat is automatically resolved instead of turn-based. One of the most interesting features of the game is that it has a six-month cycle, after which winners are declared and the server resets for another grand struggle. The interview spends a bit of time prodding Chris Early about the advantages -- and potential imbalance -- between free players and those who drop cash for advantages (such as more cities to control). Early claims that while paying players will have more options available, free players are still a significant force, especially if they specialize. You can read the whole interview over at MMOsite.com.
Runescape's Mark Gerhard talks self-publishing success
Jagex, makers of the successful browser-based MMORPG Runescape, went through a who's who listing of game publishers before ultimately deciding to fly solo and self-publish their free-to-play fantasy title. Company CEO Mark Gerhard minced few words when speaking about the trials and tribulations of securing a publishing deal during a talk at this week's Develop Conference. "We went to publishers like Activision and EA and said we've got an awesome browser game, and they said **** off. We went back and said we've got a million users and they said bull****. The necessity forced us to become a publisher," Gerhard said. Ultimately, Jagex was able to parlay their success into an investment deal with Sony, and is also releasing multiple additional titles including War of Legends, an iPhone game called Bouncedown, and numerous casual titles via the FunOrb gaming portal. Check out the original article at Game Politics for more details.
Expendables gets retro-inspired Facebook game
The film which critics are hailing as "the muscliest video escapade in the whole of cinematic history" now has a similarly masculine video game adaptation. The Expendables – an upcoming summer blockbuster starring Sly Stallone, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Brock Stonejaw and Mickey Rourke – now has a free-to-play Contra clone on its official Facebook fan page. (Also, one of the actors listed above isn't real. Can you guess which one?) Take heed: You'll have to "Like" the Expendables fan page in order to gain access to the game. We realize that some people might not feel comfortable broadcasting their endorsement for what is clearly the movie of the decade, though, for the life of us, we can't imagine why.
Coma: A playable essay on things that are pretty
Though a game simply titled Coma likely doesn't sound like the most engaging ludological venture, you must take a few minutes to check out Thomas Brush's beautiful little browser-based platformer. It's short and sweet, featuring hand-drawn graphics, a lovely soundtrack and a plotline that's absolutely pregnant with artistic ambiguity. Though that last sentence was also pregnant with pretentiousness, Coma is not. It's just a pretty, simple game, and it's free to play on Newgrounds right now. If you've got a half-hour to kill, we strongly advise you go check it out.
Rise and Shiny recap: AdventureQuest Worlds
Each week Rise and Shiny asks you to download and try a different free-to-play game, chosen by me, Beau Hindman. Some of the games will be far out of your gaming comfort zone, and some will pleasantly surprise you. We will meet each Tuesday and Friday night at 8 PM Central time, followed by this column the Sunday after. I welcome any suggestions for games, either in the comments or at beau@massively.com. Making games for younger players has to be a very difficult undertaking. Think about today's informed youth, especially compared to my generation. When I was 13, I made forts and had BB gun fights, but modern 13-year-olds carry cell phones in their pockets and have constant access to the internet. Gaming is winning out, though, by being provided with a massive (and growing) audience of willing players. When you are making a game for this savvy audience, you had better have all your digital ducks in a row. AdventureQuest Worlds is designed well enough to satisfy a large range of age groups and levels of experience, and for that, Artix Entertainment should be proud. Still, there is plenty that could be changed about the game to make it even more friendly.
Earth Eternal releases new patch, revamped models
Earth Eternal unveiled their new take on bears, deer, robots and other odd races today in their latest patch. We've suggested to change the appropriately named "New Character Models" to "From Flab to Fab." Not only do the character models look better, but now they can spin on a dime to auto-face enemies. Instant travel between henges is also possible, as well as the ability to teleport directly to your friends! We've discussed the game before and even added it to a favorites list, so read up on it if you'd like. Armor looks and stats have also been tweaked and many other fixes have been put in. This is a very large patch, so it would be a good idea to visit the official forum post to read all the details.
Rise and Shiny recap: Sacred Seasons 2
Each week Rise and Shiny asks you to download and try a different free-to-play game, chosen by me, Beau Hindman. Some of the games will be far out of your gaming comfort zone, and some will pleasantly surprise you. We will meet each Tuesday and Friday night at 8 PM Central time, followed by this column the Sunday after. I welcome any suggestions for games, either in the comments or at beau@massively.com. There seems to be some confusion as to what the point of this column is. Just to clarify, my job with this column is to act like an actual newbie, to find small or unusual games, and to report on my findings after one week of play. While this might seem a bit harsh, I am very upfront about my intentions and think that the experience that a new player would have within a week of play is not only valid, but one of the most important times for a player. Unfortunately, this means that sometimes I will play a game in ways it was never intended, or I will review a game without knowing what might come further down the road. I generally stay away from the game's website and only gather information from the offerings in-world. This means that, when I do find amazing games, they have done a darn fine job. This can also mean that, as in the case of Sacred Seasons 2, I stumble across a game that is very much in development.
Zynga's Frontierville already has 5 million daily active users
Zynga recently learned a very profitable lesson from the launch of its newest casual networking game -- people aren't obsessed with Farms, as it turns out. What they can't get enough of are Villes. The player base for Frontierville, a browser-based family-raising (and, yes, farming) sim set in the Wild West, is evidence of this assertion -- Zynga emailed us earlier today, announcing the game has racked up over 5 million "daily active users" since going live June 9. Now that we know the keyword capable of attracting millions of potential consumers, we're wondering how we can cash in on its potential. We know we just went through a pretty major relaunch, but we're wondering if its too late to rebrand our humble news site as 'Stiqville. We'll talk to the people upstairs.
E3 2010: Might and Magic Heroes Kingdom preview
On Tuesday, we caught up with Chris Early, Ubisoft's Vice President of Digital Publishing, to chat about Heroes of Might and Magic's future with a new browser-based MMO. I must admit, I'm personally a bit skeptical about whether browser-based games can supplant full-fledged applications, but after talking with Chris, I'm sold on the concept -- at least insofar as Might and Magic Heroes Kingdom is concerned. First up, the basics. Just what is MMHK? Ubisoft calls MMHK a "strategic casual MMO." It's turn-based with more of real-time strategy vibe than we've seen in other MMOs and it's designed with people who may only have a few minutes a day to play in mind. Think of something along the lines of multiplayer Civilization with thousands of other people and you'd be near the mark. Now, whether "casual" turns into hours of "just one more turn" is another matter entirely. Gameplay and lore from the Might and Magic franchise we all know and love -- the goal with MMHK is just to throw more players into the mix. Want PvP? You can do that. Want PvE? You can do that. Want to advance as a merchant-type character purely for the pursuit of wealth without killing your fellow players? You can do that, too. Browser-based, which means you can play it on your PC, your Mac, or even your shiny new iPad -- wherever you've got an internet connection.This means there's no software to download or install. Free to play with an optional subscription fee. (Though Ubisoft hasn't announced pricing for the game's North American release, it's currently live in France, where a monthly subscription runs five euros.) If that sounds like something that might be up your alley, read on for more details. %Gallery-95376%
Super Mario Crossover update coming June 25
We've been flipping through the ol' Joystiq archives, trying to find precedent to post about an update to a Flash-based game, but, well, we came up empty-handed. No matter -- we wouldn't be able to sleep tonight knowing that we'd kept the news of Super Mario Crossover's upcoming additions to ourselves. On June 25 the game will be updated, adding some new features and new equipment for each hero, and introducing Ryu Hayabusa as a playable character. Check out all the new features and abilities coming in the update in the video posted after the break -- or, if you've yet to experience the magic of Crossover, you can see what all the fuss is about over at Newgrounds.
[Update: Contest Closed] Win a in-game prize pack for Heroes of Gaia with Massively and Snail Games!
Good news everyone! It's Friday, and you know what that means? It means Sera has a reason to give stuff away! (Even though, technically, I have a reason to give stuff away every day.) This week we're running a contest for 10 special in-game prize packs in Heroes of Gaia, a browser-based MMORTS that we've been following for some time now. Heroes of Gaia is, as you would expect, a free-to-play game, so if you've been looking for something that's a bit more strategic, then you certainly can give this game a go. To make the pot a little sweeter, we've teamed up with Snail Games USA to provide ten in-game item packs for 10 lucky commenters. Awesome? Yes. Easy to win? Of course! However, you only have a single day to enter! Therein lies "the catch" as they say. Interested to know how to enter? It's as simple as dropping off a comment after the break, so continue reading for complete instructions! [Update: The contest is now closed! Thank you everyone for entering, we'll post the winners shortly!]
Browser-based QuickHit Football catches NFL licensing deal
Browser game developer Quick Hit, Inc. has announced that it has secured the rights to use NFL teams, logos, uniforms and all other trademarks associated with the league during the next "season" of its flagship online sports title, QuickHit Football. The game will also feature current NFL coaches and players, as well as legends, like Barry Sanders. When the license goes into effect this fall, users will be able to play through a season or go head-to-head using their favorite professional teams and will have the ability to customize the rosters and sign new -- and old -- players using Coaching Points they've accrued over their careers. You can check out the current version of QuickHit for free on the game's official site. Clarifying that Quick Hit's deal does not violate EA Sports' exclusivity agreement with the NFL, an EA representative told Joystiq that "the exclusivity agreements we have with the NFL and NFLPA have always been specific to football simulations on video game consoles." Hopefully 2K will get this message and start working on one of those electric, vibrating football board games.
The Daily Grind: Who's your MMO mistress?
Many in MMO circles look down on what they consider to be the second-class citizens of online gaming: browser-based MMOs. In fact, just about every time that we post a news article about a browser MMO here on Massively, it's inevitable that someone will pish-posh the game on the general principle that "all browser MMOs suck." Yet that attitude overlooks one of the key demographics of browser MMO players: us. It's not uncommon for many of us to be stuck with a non-gaming computer for a good chunk of time, i.e. at "school" and "work" and "in the Batcave." While we may not talk about it in mixed company out of fear of being ostracized, I believe many of us have an on-the-side MMO that feeds our addiction when we're away from our main gaming rig. Whether it be on Facebook, a browser or even on a mobile device, what MMO do you visit on the sly when you can't access the real thing? Have you spent time doodling around in City of Eternals, RuneScape or even Pocket Legends when your boss isn't looking? Who's your MMO mistress?
Bigpoint turning The Mummy franchise into browser MMO
In what may be the most puzzling film-to-video game adaptation partnerships in the history of mankind, free-to-play game developer Bigpoint and Universal Studios have announced plans to create a browser-based MMO set in The Mummy film franchise. We've been sitting here, staring at that sentence for a good ten minutes now, and we still don't know what to make of it. A recent press release announcement describes The Mummy Online as "a free-to-play Action-RPG MMO game" where players "take on heroic roles as adventure seekers," all the while exploring the tombs and crypts of Egypt in the early 20th century. Players will interact with characters from the films, will engage in battle against "ancient evil," and, presumably, will periodically be forced to exclaim some variation on the following: "Man, I really hate mummies!" "Oh no, not mummies again!" "I'm getting awfully sick of all these mummies!"
Rock like an Egyptian: The Mummy Online announced!
If the unique yet satisfying blend of horror, comedy and Brendan Fraser are your thing, then you're probably a big fan of The Mummy movie franchise. Nothing uplifts ancient Egyptian culture like making a mockery of their dead while looting their final burial place. In any case, Bigpoint and Universal Studios are teaming up to bring The Mummy Online, an action-RPG MMO, to gamers this fall. The title will be set in the same 1930's time period as the feature films, and will feature PvE and PvP play. Interested gamers should be pleased to note that it will be both browser-based (powered by Unity technology) and free-to-play, so there's no legitimate objection to giving it a try. Unless you're a scaredy-cat, of course. Universal's Bill Kispert chimed in with the announcement: "The Mummy franchise is chock full of exotic settings, supernatural enemies, exciting quests, and over the top action. It is ripe with gameplay possibilities, and we look forward to extending our relationship with Bigpoint to bring the world of The Mummy to life for gamers." Right now the official website is a little sparse, but you can still sign up for The Mummy Online's newsletter. We're guessing it'll be sent out in hieroglyphics. [Thanks Kai!]
Yahoo and Zynga announce yet another partnership
A joint press release from Yahoo and Farmville creator Zynga has announced that the two have entered into a ... wait just a darn minute. Didn't we already write this post? We swear, we wrote this very post just last week. Oh, that was when Zynga partnered with Facebook? Now it's hopping in bed with Yahoo? Man, this casual developer certainly gets around, doesn't it? Anyway, according to the presser, Zynga's games will be distributed through Yahoo's network of online properties in the coming months, including "the Homepage, Yahoo! Games, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger and others." It also gives Zynga access to the Yahoo! Application Platform, which will allow them to develop games specifically for use on Yahoo's various web portals. We hope they take the relationship one step further, merging their names into one completely ridiculous moniker. Maybe Yahooga? Or, perhaps, Zyngoo?
Sherwood Dungeon celebrates sixth anniversary
Sherwood Dungeon, the long-running browser-based MMORPG from Maid Marian Entertainment, is celebrating its sixth anniversary this week with a new quest series called Prophecy of Bane. The fantasy title features a number of unique features that set it apart from other genre games, including twitch-based reaction skills, minimal leveling, and liberal use of player feedback to determine the course of updates. "Sherwood started out as a hobby while I worked in the console games industry, and grew organically. It's been a game that's in constant development while it's live," said Gene Endrody, game designer and Maid Marian founder. "Originally players came back just to see what I had added and this created an interesting player culture because their feedback affected my choices." The game, which doesn't require a login, sign-up process, or monthly fee, has been a labor of love for Endrody, and has attracted more than a million unique monthly visitors. You can check it out for yourself over at the official website.
First Impressions: Kingory
Kingory is a browser based game that is set in ancient times, a time of gory combat and undefeated heroes. Honestly, I did not really care too much about what time it was set in, being that the buildings and lore could be swapped out for almost any other that we have seen before. It could have been a space setting, complete with huge tanks and space marines, or an ancient caveman world, complete with dinosaurs instead or balistas. To me, the real difference with Kingory is the speed in which you can do things and the scale at which you can do them. You start out with your normal browser game city, and click around to build the run-of-the-mill buildings that require other buildings that require other buildings in order to be built. You need a wall, a tavern, farms to provide food and other standards that we browser fans have grown used to. But the real glory happens when you slap down cash or earn items that help you grow faster. A few dollars or hours later and you will be well on your way to spying on your neighbors.
Prince of Persia Flash game is better than you think
For all the vitriol we hurl at Wii shovelware and farming-centric Facebook games, we often forget the class of electronic entertainment most deserving of scorn: The Flash promotional game. No, not a game promoting The Flash (honestly, dude could use some love right now) but rather those diminutive, ugly trifles that litter official sites of movies and (in some cases) fast food restaurants. So understand that when we say, "This Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Flash game is actually kind of good!" it comes from people who expect the worst from this particular breed. That said ... it is kind of good, right? In an overly complicated Canabalt sort of way?
