free-mmo
Latest
Allods Online announces changes to cash shop pricing
When Allods Online soft-launched on February 16th, it had proven just how much buzz a free-to-play game could generate in a short span of time. Three days later, it proved how quickly a game's reputation could plummet, as the release of the cash shop prices sent most players into a paroxysm of rage. The official statements (and interviews) were seen as amounting to "well, it's our game so pay up," and the crowd was quickly turning around and heading for the hills. So an age-old strategy has been employed: the powers that be are reversing their position The official announcement doesn't give any details, but it makes it clear that the community outrage has been heard, and the cash shop prices will be revised sometime this week. The structuring has been changed to make "participation in this element of the game" less onerous, and no doubt to try and reverse some of the animosity leveled against Astrum Nival and gPotato in recent days. It remains to be seen whether or not the turnaround will mollify players or if the changes will be too little too late, but it's good to see that the voice of the players has been heard all through Allods Online.
The Daily Grind: Soured on Allods Online?
Last Monday, everyone was looking forward to the soft launch of Allods Online on the 16th. This Monday, many of those same people are scowling and making their fair share of unhappy grumbling noises. What happened? Well, while no one expected that the anticipated free-to-play would lack an item shop, almost no one expected that the prices would be... well... for lack of a better term let's say "ruinous." No small portion of the blogosphere has piped up in rage, and the official response from the company succeeded in further angering players and potential players. Oh, and there's a bit of discontent about how this ties into the next patch, as well. As we survey the game's quick reputation shift, it's well worth asking where people stand on the issue. Has the entire brouhaha and ill-received response soured your opinion of Allods Online irrevocably? Would you be willing to try it if the prices were lowered, or are you now refusing to play the game solely based upon principle? Or are you willing to roll with the changes and write the entire thing off as a misunderstanding?
Ntreev bringing arcade-style MMO to states
We're not even a month into 2008, and already it seems like there's a veritable deluge of free MMOs coming through the pipes. Joining this rising tide is a new title called Grand Chase from Ntreev USA (the folks behind Trickster Online), which promises to bring an exciting real-time arcade style combat system that will set it apart from the pack. Though the leveling system will be standard RPG fare, combat will focus on skills, combos, and item-use. It's worth noting of course that Auran was promising a similar basket of real-time goodness with Fury not long ago, and we all know where that got them.It's got kind of a funky anime look to it, which will no doubt endear it to a certain demographic and turn off another completely. The story, or at least the vague allusions to a story from the bits of information we've gathered, center on some sort of epic battle against an evil Queen of Darkness. How they plan to stretch that over dozens or hundreds of hours of gameplay isn't exactly clear, but we're sure they'll figure it out. If you want to see the game's zany eastern stylings for yourself, head on over to the official site for a bewildering video introduction.
