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Behind the Curtain: Are you frightened?
We all know that MMOs can provide you with plenty of emotional experiences. The MMO genre – generally – is one in which the slow burn is the norm. We'll spend weeks, months, maybe years working on our level 70 characters, our fleet of ships, and our guild. We know this and we expect it. We are rewarded with a warm sense of wellbeing, of a comfortable achievement. We're happy when we beat an instance, down a boss or win an Arena or Battleground match, but what about the other side of emotions? Has an MMO ever made you afraid? Have you ever been truly scared of what might happen next, of what might be round the next corner? I love the Stratholme and Scholomance instances in World of Warcraft. The former is a ravaged, ruined city, home to hordes of the Undead Scourge, and a small but fanatical cult of insane ex-Paladins. The buildings which line the street are smashed and burned; they lean at precarious angles, with fire still licking hungrily at their walls – what few remaining signs there are outside the houses remind you that people once lived here, before Prince Arthas Menthil slaughtered them. The Scholomance instance is a sprawling journey through the catacombs of a dark castle in the middle of a dead, poisoned lake – a place given over to the instruction and Necromancy and the Dark Arts. It's based on an old Transylvanian folk tale, and features the spirits of dead servants of the previous masters of the castle, tortured to death by the sadistic scholars within. As you run through its corridors and vaults, you come across the remains of people, perhaps innocents used as fodder for lessons, perhaps students executed as examples. Both instances are two of my favourite in the entire game. Given the opportunity, I'll still run through them now. Not only are they technically well designed, but the lore behind them is excellent, hinting at the fate that befalls the innocents in WoW, the peons, farmers and sundry other NPCs we barely glance at.
Project Origin video blowout
Monolith has dropped not one, not two, not three, but four new Project Origin trailers for gamers everywhere to ogle. The first, embedded above, deals with the Replica Elite Powered Armor. It is, quite simply, a mech capable of laying waste to all in its path. The video make sure to drive this point home, destroying buildings and vaporizing soldiers that stand in its way (or even in the general vicinity of its way). The second video (embedded after the break along with the other two) concerns the return of one of the enemies in the original F.E.A.R., the Assassin. The Assassin is an acrobatic, pseudo-invisible badass with a penchant for killing. Sound fun? Of course it does. The final two videos are fly-throughs that show off Project Origin's spooky environments. Be the first kid on your block to watch them all.
Video: Shooting Project Origin's crab people
Nothing says happy Friday like seeing a twisted and freaky bloody monster-thing doing the crab walk all while he tries to eat off your face. Lovely. Embedded after the break you can view the latest "Abomination" trailer for Monolith's F.E.A.R. sequel Project Origin and between the freaky crab person bits, we get to see actual gameplay. And if we ever mocked Project Origin's graphics before, we take back those statements because (visually) it looks dandy fine. Okay, back to watching the bloody crab walk ...
Project Origin trailer: Alma just wants to play
After watching the latest "Swingset Trailer" for Monolith's upcoming Project Origin, we have absolutely no doubt that the Lith are experts at creating crazy, twisted and totally freaky experiences. Then again, have we ever doubted them? Go ahead, give the latest Project Origin trailer a looksy and try to tell us Alma doesn't send a chill up your spine or that the swingset doesn't freak you out. Yeah, we've been harsh on Project Origin because of its "dated" graphics, but when it comes to building tension and totally messed up story lines ... well, Lith gets our seal of approval.
Project Origin community website launched
Since delivering on expectations at last E3 and being later christened with a new, acronym-deficient title, developer Monolith has been eerily quiet regarding its upcoming horror-themed follow up to 2005's F.E.A.R. Now the company has launched a community website for the game, offering a one-stop buffet if you will for all things F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin. The site is currently light on content, offering just a smattering of developer blog posts (lead engineer Russ P says the game is "coming together nicely") alongside some backstory and information about the game's various weapons. However, it's the included gameplay trailer that proves the most interesting addition to the website, showing an early look at the sorts of nasties Alma Wade has in store -- though most of all we just hope that Project Origin will bring the chills that the first game promised but never delivered.
Conquering fear of PvP (before conquering the Alliance)
It's an interesting moment, the one that mikkeneko talks about over on WoW LJ. It's the one where you first enter a battleground, or an Arena, or just head out into the world, attack someone of the opposite faction and win, and first realize that yes, you can PvP.I come, like many more experienced gamers, from a Counterstrike background (and a Doom and Quake background before that), so I've almost always known the thrill of taking on other humans at their own computers. But this moment happened for me before I ever played WoW -- back in the days of Dark Age of Camelot, I entered a battleground, saw nameless player opponents in front of me flagged red, actually killed one, and realized that yes, I could actually do this. Our own Dan O'Halloran just recently had this experience in WoW, I believe -- he told us on the podcast a little while back that he'd never played PvP, and a week or so later, he told me he'd tried out a battleground and learned it was actually a lot of fun.PvP isn't hard -- you mostly play the character as you play it in PvE, and as fast as high-end Arena matches can get, battlegrounds especially are simple enough for even casual players to enter and at least partly influence the battle. I don't remember what's so scary about PvP but I do remember it being scary way back when. If you haven't played PvP yet, though, you're missing out -- jump into a battleground, throw some spells or swords around, and you'll find that you too can PvP.
Lith to improve upon everything with Project Origin
Now that they've sent Condemned 2 on its merry way, Monolith will now be focusing all its energy towards F.E.A.R.'s not-so sequel Project Origin and that crazy, crazy Alma. IGN sat down and chatted with Project Origin lead designer John Mulkey to get the dirt on how development is progressing, what Monolith's goals are with Origin and what we can look forward to. And the general theme we're hearing is that Origin will take what was offered in F.E.A.R. and add more. More enemy types, more weapons, more locations and more variety. We can't be sure if more variety will equal commercial success or if Origin will still be looked at as F.E.A.R. 1.5, but we can be sure that Monolith is confident and that gives us some comfort for now. Our only gripe thus far is the game's "soft" and "flat" graphics, but maybe that's just us being nit-picky.
Balancing crowd control
Relmstein has an interesting commentary up about crowd control in World of Warcraft, and how balancing it is imperative to get PvP done right. It used to be that fear was the main problem, but now that fear has been nerfed and balanced with so many other abilities, it's just crowd control in general that has become the main issue. Instead of Warlocks and Mages ruling the roost with Fear and Polymorph, almost every class has picked up their own little methods of stopping other players in their tracks momentarily.And thus, says Relmstein, the quicker abilities are becoming more powerful. Blind and Cyclone are the two main abilities he mentions, and both are extremely powerful in that they can be used by Rogues and Druids in conjunction with their escape abilities. And on the other side of the equation, Relmstein says that burst damage is king-- doing serious damage in between those moments where crowd control can stop you is critical. And that's why Warriors (and to an extent, he says, Hunters) are doing so well in the Arenas. When you can break out a ton of damage and debuffs during someone else's global cooldown, you're going to go a long way towards winning.And it'll be interesting to see where this all goes in the future. With the recent changes to spell haste and the curving up of gear in the expansion, things are just going to get faster and faster-- players are going to be able to push out damage quicker and quicker, and crowd control will be more and more powerful.
All the World's a Stage: Class is in session
All the World's a Stage is skipping class (gasp!), and playing with roles every Sunday evening.Our spells are shiny and bright, well worth using in more than just combat situations! Last time we talked a bit about this idea, as well as how druids, hunters, and mages could use their spells to entertain their friends. Today we turn to the remaining classes: priests, paladins, rogues, shamans, warlocks and warriors. Each roleplayer would do well to sit down and examine his or her action bar to pick out those spells which can be used outside of combat, and think of whatever opportunities imaginable to make good use of them. Chances are, if you put your mind to it, you can come up with some really creative ideas.Buffing, for instance: You've got these beautiful abilities that can benefit anyone around you, no matter what class or level they are. If you're going to bless them with such a neat thing, why not say something about it while you do so? You can say, "<Deity Name> guide you, sir!" or, "you look pretty dumb -- have some extra intellect!" or whatever expression sounds right for your character.
Zero Punctuation boos F.E.A.R. expansion
Having traipsed through the corridors of Valve's American headquarters, Zero Punctuation's Yahtzee is notably unimpressed with the assignment greeting him upon his return. More creepy corridors, this time found in "uninformatively" titled F.E.A.R. expansion, Perseus Mandate. While he appreciates the infrequent mind-bending sequences (they're rather scares, you see), Yahtzee can't wrap his brain around the developer's constant recycling of environments and combat. As usual, hidden within the rapid-fire rants and elaborately constructed metaphors lies an astute observation -- how is this game supposed to be scary if your character's running around with a bloody bazooka? Check out the video after the break... and note the special threat message left for last week's Zero Punctuation imitator.
Shipping this week: war is hell edition
And so it begins, a November to end all Novembers. Within the next month, we will be positively assaulted with new and wonderful Xbox 360 games. The summer wasn't exactly thin, especially as summers tend to go for video games, but the sheer amount of games dropping this month alone -- good games, mind you -- is ridiculous. But let's not get ahead of ourselves thinking about the impending arrival of Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Kane & Lynch, and Rock Band (to name a few). No, let's concentrate on this week's titles. One thing at a time, as it were. So, this week we have: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare F.E.A.R. Files Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War Scene-It LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga Cabela's Big Game Hunter We have something of a soft spot for Scene-It, but we imagine the majority of you are most excited for Call of Duty 4. We don't blame you either, all of us here at X3F were addicted to its online leveling system during the beta in earlier this year.Don't get too excited though. We've got three more weeks of high caliber releases to come. You might want to start your financial planning now.
Azeroth Interrupted: Reader Mail -- Overcoming fears of raiding
Before I get to Roberth's Reader Mail, I would like to announce that I'm transferring Azeroth Interrupted over to Massively under the name of Gamer Interrupted. It's going to be the same column, except it will be about balancing real life with playing MMOs in general, not just WoW. I'm not leaving WoW Insider -- in fact, I've started writing a new weekly column called WoW, Casually which I hope those of you who have a limited WoW play time will read as well.So please come visit me at Massively on Tuesdays for Gamer Interrupted. And those of you who won't, I miss you already! I love you guys! sniffOn to Roberth's email:Dear Robin,First, let me say that I thoroughly enjoy your posts...my wife and I play WoW (me since Day One, she since I surreptitiously installed it on her computer last year) together and are glad to have found a source of enjoyment we both love! Anyway, the issue I wish to seek some advice on:
PGR4, F.E.A.R. Files demos touch down on Xbox Live
Q: After "Demo Monday," was anyone expecting more demos to touch down on Xbox Live today? A: Hell no! But it seems the Live overlords don't mind stuffing more demos down our throats, as Major Nelson has posted the usual copy and paste announcing the arrival of Project Gotham Racing 4 and F.E.A.R. Files: Extraction demos on XBL.PGR4 is available in all regions, and gives you a taste of Bizarre Creation's latest (and potentially last) installment in the series. F.E.A.R. Files: Extraction combines the paranormal with polish for a spooky first person experience. So what are you waiting for, get downloading! (P.S. Go Pats!)
PGR4 and F.E.A.R. Files demos land on XBLM
Two new game demos hit the XBLM this morning, adding a little bit of speed and a little bit of fear to the Marketplace. The first demo comes from our pals over at Bizarre Creations and is the critically acclaimed Project Gotham Racing 4. Weighing in at a rather hefty 1.27GBs, the demo includes three racecars, two bikes and features an exclusive Nürburgring Snow Challenge and an exclusive Arcade event. Oh, and the PGR4 demo is available to all Xbox Live locales, w00t, w00t! F.E.A.R. Files: Extraction Point is the other new game demo and clocking in at 585MBs we presume it to be a single player mission-o-fun that F.E.A.R. fans the world around will enjoy. Funny thing is that the demo is only available to US and Canadian Xbox Live members ... so maybe the world around can't enjoy it. Both demos are available for the free on the XBLM right now, so get your download queue on and give 'em a whirl. Read - PGR4 demo Read - F.E.A.R. Files: Extraction Point demo
WoW Moviewatch: Rocket Boots, part 2
This movie is the sequel to Rocket Boots, with improved stunts and multiple songs (including a Bill Cosby-esque Pokemon gag I always love)! It's kind of funny to watch the orc jump off of various ledges with his rocket boots and wonder where exactly he'll land -- as well as if he'll live through the landing. When it's my own character, I find falling to be very suspenseful. Whenever I accidentally leap off Aldor spire, for example, my heart skips a beat and I hold my breath. I straighten up in my chair and and instinctively look for a parachute cloak or something something I can use to prevent my death, even though I know in my head that this character doesn't have any slow-fall items or spells. There have been times when, on an engineer alt, I was similarly tempted to jump off huge ledges just to see where I would end up; at the time I told myself that the prospect of having to retrieve my body from who-knows-where was just too painful -- but now I wonder if I just find falling a bit too scary, like one of those dreams where you fall and fall, sure that you're going to die, only to wake up just before you hit the ground.
F.E.A.R. sequel finally named: nothing special
Remember a while back, we alerted you to the contest where Monolith was allowing gamers to name the sequel to F.E.A.R.? Well, the contest has finally ended and the winning name has been chosen. No, it's not L.A.M.E., but the chosen title is rather ... stale. Project Origin. We feel like we've seen that title countless times! Even though it's fairly unoriginal, it does get the idea across that the next game will all be about the creepy little girl, Alma, and what her purpose is. That's not all, though. Also, on the main webpage, there's a link to the names that got outright rejected. Some of these are pretty entertaining and are worth a look just to see if you can decipher the logic that went into creating them. While this contest ended with a less-than-stellar choice, we feel, it still means progress will be made onto another FPS/Horror game and we're excited to see what Monolith does with the franchise.
F.E.A.R. 2 officially dubbed 'Project Origin'
And no, that's just "Project Origin," not "Pancake Robots Occupy Jamaica Every Century To Obtain Rapidly Ingested Gyration Inducing Narcotics." Monolith Productions told us it was all acronymed out, remember? Defeating the slightly less generic "Dead Echo" and the slightly more ambiguous "Dark Signal," "Project Origin" has been voted victor in the "Name Your Fear" contest. Expect to see the terrifying title transformed into a spooky logo and plastered across the paranormal first-person shooter's marketing campaign closer to its release in 2008. On an unrelated note, is a game about fighting inebriated pancake robots in Jamaica too much to ask for? Let's make that happen, developers.
Not F.E.A.R. 2 officially named Project Origin
Project Origin it is then. After narrowing down the list of user submitted titles to three, Monolith has announced the official name of the sequel to F.E.A.R. The new title, Project Origin, received the most votes and beat the likes of Dead Echo and Dark Signal. Honestly, none of the names seem to evoke the same feeling as the original title -- you know, the feeling of fear -- but there's not much we can do about it now. Like it or not, we're stuck with it. What does everyone think of Project Origin? Was it your pick, or did you want something else? Did you hate all the names? Share your thoughts! Speak your mind, knowing full well that your voice now counts for naught!
Fear and how to fix it
Draele just started a blog about being a Warlock called Rantings of the Afflicted, and today he's got a post up about that most heinous of Warlock abilites: yes, none other than fear. A touchy subject (to say the least), but he offers three different suggestions on how to make fear fun for everyone.At its base, fear is actually Blizzard's way of trying to come up with another game mechanic. If you're a veteran MMORPG player, you know there are three archetype classes-- healer, DPS, and tank. All three of them are centered around damage-- either getting rid of it, doing it, or tanking it. Fear, however, plays with none of those rules-- it's a complete damage negator. The reason Warlocks have fear is so they can wear cloth and yet stay alive for a long time against one target-- long enough for their DoTs to come in.The problem with fear, however, as even the developers have admitted, is that it's not fun for the person being feared-- getting feared leaves you with almost no option but to sit there and do nothing. It removes control from your character, and that's never fun.So how can we fix it?
F.E.A.R. the free Bonus Map Pack
Major Nelson sends word that this morning Monolith has released a free F.E.A.R. Bonus Map Pack downloadable off of the XBLM. This free Bonus Map Pack includes three additional multiplayer maps including the vegetation filled Ecosphere, close quarters battle Hotel and the dark and smelly atmosphere of Sewers. Again, the new multiplayer maps are a free download, so you have nothing to fear but the F.E.A.R. Bonus Map Pack itself (bah dum bah ch!).
