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How to sign up for the Hearthstone beta
So you've heard a lot about Blizzard's latest game, the free, digital CCG Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and you can't wait to get into the beta. But how do you get in on that sweet, beta testing action? Signing up to beta Hearthstone is pretty simple, but involves a few steps that may not be entirely obvious -- we'll walk you through them so you can have a chance to be one of the first to check out Hearthstone for yourself. Whether you get into the beta or not, you can get a feel for Hearthstone by checking out the two match videos they've released so far -- one showing Jaina battling Thrall and the other showing Garrosh battling Uther. But for now there's nothing to do but sign up and be patient until the beta gets started. Read on for instructions!
Paladin and Warrior go mano-a-mano in new Hearthstone video
Blizzard's online World of Warcraft CCG, Hearthstone, is supposed to be heading into beta sometime soon™. But to hold fans over until then, the studio has released a new video featuring a duel between the Warrior and Paladin classes, complete with play-by-play commentary. Whether you're looking to wrap your head around the basic rules of the game or trying to pick up on some more advanced strategies to get a leg-up on the competition, this video has something for you. So what are you waiting for? Click on past the cut for the full video; it's time to d-d-d-d-duel! Or something like that, anyway.
Watch Might and Magic: Duel of Champions' producer destroy Massively
Might and Magic: Duel of Champions is a new collectible card game brought to us by Ubisoft Quebec. Some folks might say that trading card games are a dime a dozen and that once you've played one, you've played them all. But I think the genre is always moving forward and expanding, introducing new designs and interesting ways to play, which is true of Might and Magic's latest go at the TCG market. During my tour, I found myself up against producer Stephane Jankowski. Unfortunately for me, he is no stranger to the game. He takes it quite seriously, going so far as to "go easy" on me so that I was not embarrassed. Little did he know that I am a noob at every game out there, so no harm was done. Might and Magic: Duel of Champions is a great game for those who want not only more strategy but also a faster pace. The tutorial walked me through some of the basics, but I learned more in the hour I played with Stephane than I had playing during the previous week. Click past the cut to watch the livestream and read up on what makes this one stand out.
Shadow Era gets a new expansion, a new website, and a new app
These days, the only iOS card game I'm playing with any regularity is SolForge -- I wish there was a little more to it, but the mechanics are very well-constructed. Shadow Era, one of the first collectible card games on the App Store, is still kicking around, however, and has gotten bigger than ever. The game's developers, now called Wulven Game Studios, have sent along word that they've just added a new expansion to the title, and they've released a brand-new app for that expansion, called Shadow Era: Dark Prophecies. Dark Prophecies adds about 150 new cards to the game, along with a new mechanic called Steadfast, and a new format, called Meltdown. The game also has a brand-new website to show off all of the latest content and news, so you can head there if you want to learn more. As always, Shadow Era remains free to play, with the opportunity to buy extra "crystals" if you want to pick up more cards sooner. With Blizzard's Hearthstone announcement and the onset of Rage of Bahamut-inspired card battlers, collectible card games are about to get even more popular on the App Store. But Shadow Era was one of the first out there, and it remains one of the best.
Hearthstone gameplay video pits Jaina against Thrall
If you're hyped about Hearthstone -- or even if you're just curious as to what Blizzard's latest is all about -- you'll want to check out this gameplay video. The video shows a complete match between Jaina (a mage) and Thrall (a shaman), giving us a good look at how the game plays as well as the abilities of these two heroes. And, just so we aren't lost in the newness of it all, the video features a narrated play-by-play to walk us through the action. We've got to say, it looks promising: featuring familiar characters, skills, and abilities, brightly-colored Blizzard art, and fast gameplay. Psst, Blizzard, our beta keys are in the mail, right? Well, even if they aren't, we hope this is only the first of many such videos on PlayHearthstone's YouTube channel, because it really just makes us curious as to what other classes and heroes can do. [via Massively]
Hearthstone video pits mage against shaman
If you're interested in Blizzard's upcoming Hearthstone CCG and have about 10 minutes to spare, your time could be put to worse use than by watching the following video. Said video features a match-up between a Mage player and a Shaman player as they duel with all manner of nasty cards, totems, and surprises. A narrator attempts to give a play-by-play as the action flows thick and furious, giving us a deeper insight into how Hearthstone plays and what strategies players might use in the future. Give it a watch after the break, and don't forget to read our own hands-on with the title!
PAX 2013: Hands-on with Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is a brand-spankin'-new online collectible card game from Blizzard, announced just yesterday here at PAX East 2013. And since I love you guys soooo much, I took the time to stand in line to take a look for myself. It certainly had nothing to do with the fact that I flock to CCGs like a moth to flame. No sirree. Of course, this isn't your traditional MMO, so it's difficult to write a traditional review, especially considering I was able to play only a single match (which I won by a landslide, thank you very much), so instead I'm just going to give y'all a rundown of how the game plays and let you draw your own conclusions. Shuffle your cards, cut your decks, and read on for the skinny on Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.
PAX East 2013: Blizzard announces Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft CCG
What's the "something new" that Blizzard promised at PAX East? Is it Titan? A Diablo III expansion? The Lost Vikings Online? Nay, it's Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, a digital collectable card game. Blizzard announced Hearthstone in the opening minutes of the convention. The game is being developed by a new, smaller team at the studio that wanted more freedom to experiment and create quicker titles. Hearthstone is a free-to-play title that will pit players against each other over an animated 3-D table with nine classes from World of Warcraft. It will use Battle.net matchmaking to pair up users. Packs of five cards (with varying degrees of rarity) can be either earned through playing the game or purchased separately. The team wanted to make the game intuitive and simple to play, as well as dynamic and exciting to watch. Duplicate cards can be disenchanted to create new cards as well. You can watch the trailer after the jump. [Update: To be clear, the cards are earned through Hearthstone play, not WoW play.]
Twitter-based MMORPG accused of stealing artwork
Tweeria is a web-based role-playing game that advertises itself as the "laziest MMORPG ever." It uses Twitter to passively power and level up a virtual character set in a fantasy-based world, and has now been accused of stealing art from the World of Warcraft collectible card game.Mike Sacco, a columnist for WoW Insider who also happens to work at WoW CCG owner Cryptozoic Entertainment, points out that artwork uploaded by the Tweeria staff for the title is ripped right off from the cards.Tweeria's creator, a Russian company called Twee Game, claims it's a "mostly experimental" project, and the game has since added a "copyright notice" at the bottom of its pages to try and attribute the artwork to its creators. For now, the game is still up and running, despite user feedback saying that it's unclear just how it all works anyway.
The Daily Grind: Do you play MMO CCGs?
SOE is making some changes to the Legends of Norrath collectible card game embedded inside its EverQuest II MMORPG. As it stands now, EQII gold members get free card packs for each month that they maintain the gold membership, and these freebie packs stack up over time. When the changes go live, players will no longer receive free packs on a monthly basis unless they actually log into LoN during the month in question. Why does anyone care? Well, because the free packs occasionally reward you with loot cards that can be redeemed for EQII items (mounts, cloaks, houses, etc.). As Feldon at EQ2Wire reports, the tweak is "intended to drive players to actually play Legends of Norrath rather than using it as an automatic loot delivery system." What say you, Massively readers? Do you actually play MMO-related CCGs or do you simply ignore them (and hope you get a rare card for free)? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Wizard101 celebrates another anniversary of taking over the world
Ah, Wizard101. My, how you have grown. So much has happened over the last three years that we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some of the milestones that happened during that time. Instead of going all the way back to the beginning, we'll be covering the major happenings over the last year. If we wrote up all of the patches and major updates to the game from the beginning, we would be here all night. Feel free to retell some of your favorite memories in the comments section, and join us in wishing a happy birthday to KingsIsle and its baby, Wizard101! Click past the cut!
The Game Archaeologist uncovers Shadowbane: Talking with Josef Hall and Todd Coleman, part 2
Don't miss the first part of this interview with the makers of Shadowbane, which we posted last week! And now for the thrilling conclusion... The Game Archaeologist: What was the reason behind the free-to-play switch in 2006? Did this help the game's population any? Josef Hall: Todd and I left Wolfpack shortly after it was acquired by Ubisoft, so we don't really have insight into the decision-making process behind the switch. Todd Coleman: From what I have heard, it had a very positive impact on the size of the player population -- but yeah, I have no idea what it meant to the game monetarily.
Bright Shadow Online announced
MMO collectible card games aren't quite as prevalent as their traditional RPG brethren, but titles like CardMon Hero, Urban Rivals, and even BattleForge have been making their online presence felt in recent years. Today Gamania Digital Entertainment Europe is adding another title to that mix with the announcement of its Bright Shadow Online MMOCCG. Bright Shadow's beta begins this Friday, July 8th on Gamania's beanfun! platform. Interested players can grab a beta key by playing the Bright Shadow Memory Game at the title's website. The minigame involves matching six pairs of monster cards, at which point you'll unlock your key. Careful, though, you've only got four lives to spend. Bright Shadow Online features 20 classes, 60 randomly generated dungeons, over 600 collectible monster cards, and extensive character customization according to Gamania's official website.
Choose My Adventure: Fizzles aren't fair edition
The votes have all been tallied, and my fellow Wizard101 players have spoken! When I asked which secondary school I should go for, you all told me, "Life!" Some thought this was a silly idea -- a Death wizard with a life secondary school? -- but I like it. After all, what better way to rub my enemy's face in it than by stealing his life, adding it to mine, and healing myself every time he hits me? I think I'll learn an evil laugh just for moments like that. It was also decided that I ought to keep my current zombie pet at my side. This was great news, since I've already grown pretty attached to the little rotten guy. What does all of this mean? Well, I will save the explanations for secondary schools and pets for next week's installment. In the meanwhile, I need to tell you all about the busy week I just had in game. It was pretty epic, filled with steam golems, awesome new weapons, and discovering the secrets of deck building. (Well, some of the secrets.) If you want, you can give me all sorts of advice in the comments section. Follow me past the cut to read up on my adventures!
Choose My Adventure: Wings rule, horses drool edition
For those who might not know, it was decided last week that my Wizard101 character was to be a boy from the school of Death. On top of that, he was ordered to get around town by using a pair of beautiful white wings. I heard a few comments in different places about how the wings would not look cool with a Death student or about how a horse mount or broom was better. I held fast and nabbed a pair of the white, fluttering back pieces. I had to obey orders! Once I made my character and put the wings on, though, I looked completely metal. For those younger players who might not understand what that means, Google "Dio" and watch a few videos. Avoid Slayer -- your parents would not like that. (Note: If you come across a band called Queensryche, that's not metal.) Anyway, my white wings only accentuated my dark intentions. It was a fantastic choice. But what else did I do over this last week besides wait for the vote to end? Well, click past the cut and I'll let you know. %Gallery-114601%
Square Enix working on a Final Fantasy trading card game (not Triple Triad, sadly)
Square Enix has already proven itself entirely capable of creating compelling collectible card games within the virtual worlds of its Final Fantasy franchise -- in fact, occasionally, those mini-games became more engrossing than the adventures which surrounded them. That's why we can't wait to see what Square and CCG manufacturer Hobby Japan can do with the recently announced Final Fantasy Trading Card Game when it launches February 25, 2011. Potential players can start bolstering their collections by picking up the Japanese version of The 3rd Birthday, which will include a promotional card. Though a handful of samples have been revealed (pictured above), the actual rules of the game haven't been detailed. We're going to assume that you have to play it over and over and over again until you're strong enough to win. Also, playing summon cards will take three to six minutes, depending on the strength of said summon. Also, Chocobos have gots to be up in the mix.
It's clobberin' time: Whomp other Super Hero Squad players at PAX
We've got two quick questions for you: Are you a Marvel fan, and are you going to PAX this weekend? If you leaped up from your chair screaming, "YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!" then cut back on your caffeine intake and get thee to Gazillion's booth (#3433) in the exhibition hall for a special treat. Not only will the company be showing off Super Hero Squad Online, but it'll be hosting a special PvP tournament for awesome prizes. At the tournament, players will get their hands on the collectible card battle system, where they can build their own customized decks and strike out at lesser heroes who stand in their way. In SHSO, these cards can be earned through quests and mini-games, or purchased via microtransactions. Gazillion has three Alienware prize packages for the winners of the tournament, including keyboards, headsets and a monitor. This unique PvP system could be an effort to recall the joy of collecting toys and cards. Visitors to Gazillion's booth will also be able to play other aspects of the Marvel MMO, sign up for the beta, and shake hands with the developers.
New Star Wars online game revealed: Clone Wars Adventures [Update]
While we've heard the rumors of a third Star Wars online title coming our way, today it's confirmed: Clone Wars Adventures will launch this fall! Unlike Star Wars Galaxies and Star Wars: The Old Republic, Clone Wars Adventures is aimed at a younger demographic (but may appeal to the older as well), in the vein of what SOE did with Free Realms. Sony is shying away from calling this an "MMO," preferring the term "virtual world" instead as there won't be leveling or quests. Capitalizing on the Clone Wars TV series' popularity, CWA offers a pick of three playable classes (Jedi, Padawan and Clone Trooper) and will be more minigame focused. Players will socialize in hubs, meet iconic Star Wars characters, and head off together or solo for a variety of activities, including spaceship battles, tower defense, card games, droid programming and speeder bike racing. Destructoid is reporting that about 20 minigames will be present at launch. Fun amenities, such as pets and player housing, will be offered as well. Clone Wars Adventures will be free to play with an optional membership, so everyone will be able to sample the goods without worry. The official website is chock-full of info and screenshots, although a lot of the smaller details are obviously forthcoming. We'll be able to get a closer look at this title when we travel to E3 later this month, so stay tuned! [Update: We've gotten our hands on a trailer for the game! Follow along after the break to check it out!]
PoxNora Maljaran Frontier expansion goes live
Sony Online Entertainment has announced the thirteenth expansion for PoxNora, their browser-based CCG/RTS hybrid. The turn-based fantasy game, which can also be played via Facebook, now offers adventurers the chance to delve into a campaign set on the mystical island of Maljara. The expansion looks to ramp up the war between factions via new runes and abilities. The Maljaran Frontier also adds a new map and soundtrack to the game, and furthers the story to include the death of a PoxNora hero. The Maljaran Frontier includes 78 new runes, a new single player campaign featuring eight missions, new races (Leoss and Kanen), new player avatars, and server disconnect protection. Players will be able to freely access three of the eight new missions, with the remaining five available in the game's marketplace. Check out the expansion announcement over at the official site.
Camon Hero closed beta is in the cards
If you're one of the multitudes who grew up playing a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh or other card battling games, then we've got news about an upcoming MMO that may well interest you. Camon Hero, also known as Orka in other parts of the world, is coming to the West with fast-paced free-to-play card game MMO fun -- and a closed beta that starts tomorrow. In Camon Hero, players explore the world, attempting to rid the lands of evil, and picking up different cards along the way. The game offers a classless system based entirely on the cards you have selected at the time. In the mood to be a battle mage? Load those cards up and get to playing. Prefer to go full-on melee or pure caster? You can do that too. From there, it's all about who has the better cards as you pit your deck (and thereby character) building skills against players in PvP, or against the world in PvE. Only unlike playing a traditional TCG, the cards spring to life and fight for your side! For now, we've embedded the trailer for Camon Hero behind the break, which shows off some tantalizing hints of game play. Hopefully we'll hear some more news about this interesting MMO (or maybe score some beta keys) in the days to come.
