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We're LOCO for Lands of Chaos Online beta keys!
You liked them, you grabbed them, and now we have more of them! Lands of Chaos Online has provided us with another 1,000 closed beta test keys to hand out to y'all, so grab them while they're still hot! Plus, if you missed our last giveaway, now's the time to strike! Lands of Chaos Online, or LOCO for short, is a Defense of the Ancients (DotA) styled game paired with traditional massively multiplayer mechanics, all wrapped up in a third-person shooter shell. It's a hybrid to the extreme, but it does provide for some fast-paced combat and hectic sessions of leveling. We took a look at the game during GDC 2010, so if you're interested in learning more about it, or seeing some trailers of the game in action, look no further than our coverage! So, need the details on how to get in on the ground floor? Jump after the break and we'll tell you all about it.
Land of Chaos Online goes loco for spell info
As we saw at GDC10, Land of Chaos Online is certainly an unusual species of MMO, blending fantasy elements, Defense of the Ancients-style matches and third-person shooter action. The title is still deep in closed beta, but fans wishing to know more about the nitty-gritty details of LOCO can now feast their eyes on The Spellbook of Laair Hathy. Apparently, Laair Hathy is a wizard with a big mouth who likes to share top secret information on her rivals. Unlike many MMOs, LOCO players assume the role of one of several predefined characters, each with their own unique array of skills and spells. Each section of the Spellbook covers one of these characters, providing us with background information, pictures and skill descriptions. This adds up to over 120 spells and skills that are now on display for inspection and discussion. If LOCO piques your interest, then head on over to flip through the Spellbook, and sign up for closed beta while you're at it! %Gallery-87942%
GDC10: Land of Chaos Online interview
MMOs are a strange genre without many of the clearly-defined borders for something that is or isn't a part of the field. Not surprisingly, there's a lot of innovation in the field that's confined strictly to the absolute edges of what could be considered an MMO. Games such as MAG and Global Agenda feature several shooter conventions mixed with several MMO conventions, and it's an interesting formula. Land of Chaos Online is pushing the formula as well, by adding in third-person shooter elements to a Defense of the Ancients-style match format. The game is on the outer edge of the genre, but it draws much of its gameplay and feel from MMOs, with a strong emphasis on coupled character persistence and more shooter-style elements. We caught up with Achim Kaspers, managing director of Burda:ic, during GDC to talk about what the game would play like and get an idea of what we could expect. More information on this unique game after the cut.
Gametrailers.com's Warcraft Retrospective continues
The second part of Gametrailers.com's Warcraft Retrospective has gone up, and it's no less fun and informative than the first. Picking up right where it left off, the second part starts with Warcraft III, following the ascension of some of the most well known Blizzard employees such as Rob Pardo, Chris Metzen, and Samwise Didier, not to mention the company and Warcraft series as a whole.This edition of the series focuses a lot more on one specific game than the first edition, and there's not necessarily anything wrong with that. Warcraft III changed a lot about the RTS genre and whether that's a good thing or not is up to the individual. It changed how you managed your units, your base, and your resources, making units more important than just canon fodder. That was especially true when it came to the hero units that now highlight World of Warcraft. This retrospective also goes into the infamous DOTA before it steps up to The Frozen Throne, so if you've no idea what that crazy Europop video is all about, you'll find out!
Breakfast Topic: What Blizzard didn't announce at the opening ceremony
By now I'm assuming you've read the liveblog or seen the announcement post and heard: Diablo 3 is go. By now you have probably also heard that there really weren't any other announcements at the opening ceremony. Don't get me wrong, Diablo 3 is awesome. But as much as we're Blizzard fanboys (and fangirls) here, we're all about the WoW first, and we need some WoTLK news to sustain us too -- and we still don't know what that mysterious "next generation MMO" in development is either -- it seems most people are assuming it's Starcraft now though. Me, I'm not convinced. After all, there's a Starcraft game in development too, so it could presumably be either franchise, or simply an updated World of Warcraft 2. There's quite a few things that could come out about WotLK today and tomorrow, of course. I'm still hoping for an opening cinematic and an official release date to start. While we're at it, how about giving us a demo of the Dance Studio or Barbershop, or better yet, some other unannounced new major feature for the expansion? I might even settle for new skills, talent trees, or even a new battleground preview. What are your expectations and hopes for news from the World Wide Invitational as it soldiers on?
The Art of War(craft): DotA-style Battleground in WotLK?
My brothers are addicts. Actually, make that my brothers, my best friend, my brother-in-law, and more than a handful of other friends. Although most of them have played World of Warcraft at some point or the other, circumstances ranging from subscription fees and schedules have prohibited them from playing the game regularly. Instead, they get their Warcraft fix by playing DotA. A lot. For those unfamiliar with the term, DotA means Defense of the Ancients, a highly popular Warcraft III scenario developed by various independent authors. In the scenario, players control a single unit, a Hero -- one of about ninety as of version 6.52c -- that they use to combat waves of NPCs and take down enemy Heroes. They play DotA for hours on end every day, and if the rumors are true, it just might happen that their addiction just might become mine, as well.Through one of the most thorough tips WoW Insider's ever gotten, reader Kevin breaks down some speculation that the new Battleground in Wrath of the Lich King will be DotA-inspired. In the slew of interviews that Blizzard granted in early May about the next expansion, Tom Chilton and Jeffrey Kaplan confirmed that they would be introducing a new Battleground in WotLK which "(is) set up as sort of an attack-defend scenario; features siege vehicles, and (has) destructible building components." Those nebulous answers are wide open for interpretation, but if I allow my Battleground-hungry self to dream, all those features can translate into a World of Warcraft DotA map.
WoW theme for Blackberry
Not to be outdone by the WoW iPhone theme, Xtina over on WoW LJ took it upon herself to use those WoW icons to create a theme for the Blackberry. This one's even a little more in-depth -- she even skinned the calling screen (which is actually easy enough to do on the iPhone as well, but we just hadn't seen it before). Plus, the best part is that this one is completely legit -- you just download the file from Xtina's page there, and you can install it using Desktop Manager.Of course, we haven't actually heard from Blizzard about any of this stuff yet -- odds are that as great as their icons are, they're not real thrilled with seeing them used in other places (a friend of mine who just recently saw me playing World of Warcraft shouted out in surprise, "Hey! Those are the icons from that game on Facebook!" I didn't bother telling her about the real DotA or Warcraft III). Then again, both of these are completely fanmade and free to download -- surely themes like this, that let Blizzard fans show off their loyalties, can be let through the loopholes.
We're sitting here in Ventrilo, playing some DotA, running around creeping, the opponents we're sleeping
When we first saw Basshunter's awesome "Anna" video we longed to bring it to Joystiq, but it just wasn't game related. The 21-year-old DJ phenom has corrected that situation with his release of "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA" (from his second album, entitled LOL <(^^,)>) an infectious dance number about playing Defense of the Ancients, a custom map for real-time strategy game Warcraft III. If your last name starts with A through M, you can play this video today. If your last name starts with N through Z, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. (Sorry for the restriction, but if ya'll played it all at once, it'd melt the icecaps, it's so hot.) PS: This song is supposedly #2 on Sweden's pop music charts. [Via the secret Plusmail society.]
