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First Impressions: Nosgoth is all right, but that might not be enough
Let me begin with a somewhat tortured analogy: Nosgoth is sort of like discovering an obscure bit of British nobility of dubious importance. Those intimately familiar with the relevant lineage will be somewhat perplexed by this stranger, who is not really at all what they expected. Everyone else will just see someone showing up in a crowded field without a whole lot to say. In a way, that would almost be easier, since then you could just write it off altogether. It's just not terribly unique. Nosgoth is the sequel to the long-running Legacy of Kain series, which eventually moved over into the Soul Reaver series and kind of petered out in 2004 or so. A lot of people really enjoyed it, and there have been rumors about another sequel coming out pretty much forever. Instead of being an in-depth RPG, however, Nosgoth is a class-based asymmetrical shooter. So it's not really as much a sequel as it is a thorough pillaging of an existing IP layered onto another sort of game altogether.
Meet Civilization Online's four civs
XLGAMES announced its four civilizations from Civilization Online today, although sadly the Mole People were absent from this list. The four civilizations are China (led by Qin Shi Huang), Rome (led by Julius Caesar), Egypt (led by Hatshepsut), and Azteca (let by Montezuma). Civilization Online will be going into closed beta testing within the next few months and is slated to launch in Asia in 2014.
Infinite Crisis launches open beta, new trailer
DC multiverse MOBA Infinite Crisis is now in open beta, and Turbine has released a new trailer to celebrate. Open beta adds Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Mecha Superman to the roster of playable heroes and villains. Players may battle across three distinct maps including Gotham Divided and Gotham by Gaslight. You can watch the open beta trailer after the break! [Source: Turbine press release]
The Nexus Telegraph: Between the lines of WildStar's quiet weeks
Did you miss us? I know, it was probably weird not seeing an installment of the Nexus Telegraph last Monday, since I sort of have a reputation for turning in everything early and without fail. (Like the week when I had no power and still turned in my columns.) But there's no need to worry; we're still going live biweekly. Or were you mostly missing the weeks in which we were absolutely swamped by WildStar news? It certainly seems a lot more quiet lately. We've gone from big system reveals to a few tidbits here and there; the two big stories over the past two weeks have been confirmation that we're not getting another big wave of beta invites and that the game's default UI is being revamped. These are both worth talking about, but in this case I think the silence actually says quite a bit all by itself.
Ubisoft lowers drawbridge on The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot beta
Ubisoft's free-to-play dungeon crawler The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot has gone into open beta. Anybody can sign up and start playing through Steam, the game's official website or Uplay. In The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot, players choose a hero from four different classes and raid other players' castles in search of treasure and glory. To build a castle, you select trap placement and enemy spawn locations, then publish your personalized gauntlet online through the game's built-in social network. Each castle run culminates in some sort of boss encounter and, if the baddy is bested, a treasure room full of riches. After being criticized for The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot's microtransaction elements in last year's closed beta, developer Ubisoft Montreal stripped all pay-to-win elements from the game. The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot is currently only available on Windows PC. [Image: Ubisoft]
Aura Kingdom hacked and emails stolen... or maybe not [Updated]
Recent hacking of Aura Kingdom apparently resulted in stolen email addresses that are being used to pester users players are reporting that they're getting invitations sent to their Aeria Games email address from an individual asking them to join an Aura Kingdom private server. Fortunately Aeria Games does not store credit card information, so it seems as though that information is safe. An Aeria Games GM responded to the claims by saying that the company is investigating the issue: "Thanks for reporting this. We'll look closely into this reports. We will let you know if we need more information. Also note, we do not process any payments, this is done through the service you utilize to buy AP. So this is not something we store." [Thanks to Thomas for the tip!] [Update: Aeria has contacted us to update us about the situation and provide an official statement: "We have investigated this issue and would like to confirm that we have found no evidence of our servers or players' account information being compromised. This includes the email addresses that were reported to have been affected in this article. We have, however, found potential security vulnerabilities through third parties unaffiliated with Aeria Games. We caution against providing contact information to these unaffiliated entities and encourage all players to change their passwords on a regular basis to maintain account security."]
French MMO Therian Saga launches English open beta
Therian Saga has proven to be a modest hit in the French-speaking communities of Canada and Europe, amassing 50,000 players for the free-to-play sandbox title since summer 2013, and now it has opened its doors to the English-speaking community as well. Developer Virtys announced today that Therian Saga has begun the English open beta, inviting in a new wave of players to see how the studio has been taking cues from the community with the game's development. Therian Saga is an open-world sandbox that prides itself on an elaborate crafting system, interdependant guilds, a deep story, and heroes that keep on going even when you log out. The developers have put together a welcome video for its English-speaking community, explaining what makes Therian Saga special. Unfortunately it was lost in an avalanche and will never be... oh, we're just kidding. It's after the break! [Source: Virtys press release]
Holy Blade Online begins open beta
Holy Blade Online (best acronym ever!) might not be a game you're aware of until this very second, but despite your ignorance it has gone ahead and started its open beta. PopPace announced that its "first self-developed" MMO starts open beta today. Holy Blade Online is an isometric free-to-play fantasy title that includes battlefields, fashion, and an astrolabe system. As part of its open beta celebration, PopPace has prepared a series of fortunate events for participators. These include gifts for those who buy store currency, discounted "awesome packs," a daily invasion of demons, and a special "star soul" currency that drops from level-30-plus mobs which can be redeemed for gifts.
Hearthstone will have an official spectator mode
Blizzard confirmed that a spectator mode is coming to Hearthstone, allowing players to sit in on others' play sessions. The news comes from BlizzPro, which talked with e-Sports Manager Kim Phan about upcoming plans for the game. Phan said that Blizzard is starting to take the e-Sports potential of Hearthstone a lot more seriously these days and has a list of features that it would like to put into the game, including a spectator mode. This mode won't be in the game by launch but should be put in "shortly after." Hearthstone is currently in open beta.
Free-to-play shooter Warface goes beta on Xbox 360 today
Crytek's Warface: Xbox 360 Edition enters its public beta phase today. The free-to-play shooter is powered by the company's own Cryengine technology, the same engine used in games such as Crysis 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome. Players can register for the beta on the game's official site. The PC version of Warface went live for the public in October 2013. While the game is free for FPS fans to jump into, it is only playable by Xbox Live Gold subscribers. This continues a trend for free-to-play and subscription-based games, as both Wargaming's World of Tanks and the full version of Happy Wars require a paid Xbox Live membership to play. Even the upcoming Bethesda MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, which itself requires a monthly subscription, will need a Gold membership on Xbox One.
Civilization Online is 60% done
XLGAMES' Civilization Online is 60% completed, Jake Song said in a recent interview. Song said that the multiplayer online version of the classic Civilization series is more than halfway done in preparation for its open beta. He also announced that testing should commence in the first half of this year. One interesting tidbit that came out of the interview was a classification of Civilization Online as a more casual spin on the series that won't require as much time invested as the single-player variants. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Hearthstone open beta arrives in Europe
The much-anticipated open beta for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft hit US servers yesterday, and as promised by Blizzard at the time, has landed in the EU. European players, or holders of EU Battle.net accounts, should head over to the EU Hearthstone site and download the beta, as well as the battle.net Desktop Client, if they haven't got it already. The two are tied together, and the installer will prompt you to download it if you need to. If you're a seasoned closed beta player, prepare to welcome a lot of new opponents. If you're brand new to the game, have a look at the tutorial, and maybe peruse WoW Insider's Hearthstone guides, articles and offerings. Fear not, you won't be crushed by the overgeared. Hearthstone's matchmaking will put your against opponents of equal skill so that everyone can enjoy themselves. Have fun climbing the ladder, crafting cards, and stepping into the Arena!
Hearthstone open beta deals in Europe
Just a quickie for our Euro-pals: Blizzard's digital collectible card game Hearthstone is now in open beta on your side of the ocean too. To hop on board, download the Windows PC or Mac client here.
Hearthstone enters open beta testing
Blizzard die-hards and CCG fans alike have reason to celebrate today because the Hearthstone open beta is officially live. Plenty of players have been dabbling in the game since it entered closed beta testing in August of last year, but now anyone can jump right in and get started with Blizzard's latest money machine. As long as you've got an active Battle.net account, you can just head on over to the Hearthstone official site and join the fun. The official announcement post assures players that no further wipes are planned, so from here on out, you're playing for keeps.
Blizzard launches Hearthstone open beta for Windows and Mac
Blizzard's digital collectible card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has entered open beta, and is now available as a free download for Windows and Mac in North America. Originally announced at PAX East in 2013, Hearthstone saw a lengthy closed beta test in advance of today's launch. Ports for iOS and Android are set to premiere later this year. While Hearthstone is currently available only in North America, Blizzard announced that players in other regions can expect to join the open beta "within the next few days."
Hearthstone open beta begins!
The moment you've been waiting for is here, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft open beta has begun! You can head over to the official Blizzard site right now, download a copy to your Battle.net account, along with the Battle.net launcher if you don't have it already, and start playing right this very second! WoW Insider has countless guides and tidbits of information about Hearthstone available for your perusal, so do have a look around while it's downloading to ready yourself for battle! Do note that while this is US-only for now, other regions' open betas will be going live in the next few days.
Hearthstone promises fewer card changes in open beta
All CCG and TCG players fear "the big nerf" that will change a beloved card, and in turn, an entire deck. However, such changes and tweaks are part of any card game, and in a blog post today, Lead Designer Eric Dodds explained the team's philosophy behind keeping Hearthstone balanced. Dodds said that such changes need to be made when cards cause non-interactive games, are frustrating to play against, are causing confusion, aren't intuitive enough, are too strong compared to other cards with a similar cost, or are too weak. "Hearthstone is at its most fun when you're solving an interesting puzzle each turn," he wrote. "Your opponent's minions, your minions, and the cards in your hand are all pieces to this puzzle, and when your opponent removes parts of the puzzle, it can be less fun to play." Even with these reasons, Dodds promised that the team plans to make "very few card changes" when Hearthstone goes into open beta. "Giving you confidence in your cards and the play environment is very important to us, and each card change we make potentially undermines that confidence," he said.
Aura Kingdom launches into open beta
Closed beta is now a thing of the past as Aura Kingdom moves into its open beta phase. As of today, anyone can hop into the free-to-play game and experience this new anime-styled world. Players can also take part in various GM events going on daily throughout open beta. Events include a screenshot contest (Can you capture a pic of a GM running by at superhuman speeds?), boss spawns, GM hide and seek, item matching, and more. A schedule of events can be found on the official site. Additionally, on Fridays at 7:00 p.m. EST, GMs will host welcome sessions to answer questions, and Saturdays will have live tutorials broadcast on Twitch at 5:00 p.m. EST to help new players get started. To learn even more about Aura Kingdom, check out Massively's Ride and Shiny. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
HearthStone open beta delayed, closed beta invites sent out
At this year's BlizzCon, the Hearthstone team announced that they were hoping to push the game into open beta this month. Unfortunately, a little more time is going to be needed. Production Director, Jason Chayes, has shared that as of today, beta invites have been sent to everyone who opted in for the Hearthstone closed beta test before December 16. Check your email to see if you've gotten one, and be sure to check your spam folders as well. Any accounts that opted in and didn't have their keys claimed will be flagged for access at some time during early January. Opt-ins for the closed beta test will stop on January 7 and anyone who has opted in by then will be invited. Lastly, Jason confirms that there are no plans to wipe card collections. If you haven't yet, go sign up and opt in! See the official post after the break.
Fight for evil in Inferno Legend's open beta today
If the idea of jumping in and playing through a game as a traditional villain in Inferno Legend piques your interest, you'll be happy to know that the multi-platform game opens up its beta doors today to let everyone in. Built on the Unity 3-D engine, this game allows players to select from five races of devils and fight against the so-called "just" authority on PC, Android, and iOS. Other features include hundreds of pets (each with different skills and attributes), a player arena, random battles, an exploration system (that unlocks at level 30), and a "Miracle" system. If you need another incentive to check out Inferno Legend, Gamebox is giving players free gift codes for rewards such as rare skills, gold, and gems. Get a taste of the action in the open beta launch trailer below. [Source: Changyou press release]
