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Ambitious new sandbox MMO The Far Reaches hits Kickstarter
The Far Reaches is a new one-man MMO project hitting Kickstarter for an extra long 60-day campaign. While Kickstarted sandbox MMOs are nothing new, The Far Reaches features some interesting Star Wars Galaxies-like mechanics that caught our eye. Touted as an open-ended sci-fi MMO, TFR aims to be different by offering a living, breathing virtual world. NPCs are detailed characters in the world that lead virtual lives that include crafting items, forming associations, working a day job, building new structures, spreading rumors and lies, and even maintaining relationships with the players. In addition, TFR features a skill-based crafting system, world PvP, detailed skill tree, and professions unlike any you've seen in a long time. Want to hunt down high profile criminal players? Become a Bounty Hunter. Want to create your own NPCs? Try the Roboticist. For more info, check out the Kickstarter page and the video included after the cut.
First impressions from the Age of Wushu beta
When I first started playing the Age of Wushu beta, I had a lot of expectations. As I first started playing, the game felt ho-hum. It was clumsy, the translation wasn't very good, and the combat felt clunky. My friends saved an infamous IM conversation during which I expressed how the game was a let-down. I had heard a lot about the skill-based martial arts battles, but the combat and movement felt so clumsy. There were some interesting features for sure, but my expectations soon faded, and I mostly kept playing out of a sense of obligation, to see whether there was anything hidden beyond the awkward translation and uninspired gameplay. Three days later, I was a believer. Age of Wushu's combat, while awkward at first, proved to be incredibly deep and allowed for endless variations of personal expression. Mastery of battle wasn't just about abusing a broken mechanic, and the foundations of the game's economy soon proved to threaten the hold that EVE Online currently has on the sandbox market. Open PVP with real consequences, horizontal character progression, a player-driven economy, and the best combat system in any MMO ever -- you'll find it all in Age of Wushu.
Rise and Shiny recap: Asheron's Call
This is going to sound like I'm whining, but here goes: Sometimes I get tired of playing games. Yes, yes, I know -- this is a wonderful job, and anyone who enjoys playing games and talking to developers would love it. But once in a while, when I am feeling particulary tired, have a headache, or am just plain not feeling it, the last thing I want to do is log into a game that is either too challenging or too grindy. Normally I just skip it for a few hours and come back to it later. This last week was busy for me, though, so when I had time to play, I really needed to play. So I would load up Turbine's Asheron's Call, sigh, and log in. Even though I was having a great time from the start of my trial, I was having a blah week. Almost as soon as I saw the famous teleportation tunnel graphic, though, I just felt better. There was, in fact, not a moment of drudgery during my time with the game. It helped that I was hanging out with some of the top players in the game, but the easy-to-learn hard-to-master systems worked like modelling clay: Almost anyone can make something out of it, but if you take your time, you can make something truly unique. Click past the cut and I'll let you in on some of my experiences. They weren't perfect, but they were fun. %Gallery-115338%
Lost Pages of Taborea: Sandbox or themepark
Lately I've had some great conversations over on the Runes of Magic forum that have me thinking about what type of MMO Runewaker has created. Every MMO eventually gets stamped as either sandbox or themepark, depending on whether it has an open-ended environment or is filled with directed activities. RoM is packed with minigames, quests, dungeons, housing, pets and guild content. RoM's minigame, Malatina's Course of Terror, can be taken at any level and yields the same possible rewards to all players. Yet the devs are constantly adding quests, dungeons, and other high-level content, all of which requires a player to level in order to take part. What kind of MMO is RoM? Do these terms shape your opinions of what you want to see added in the game? And does any of this matter?
Metareview - Gothic 3
Piranha Bytes is frequently credited as the originator of the vast, living worlds showcased in their RPG series Gothic. Unfortunately, this German developer's roleplaying adventures also carry the stigma of non-intuitive interface design, a flawed combat system, and production values that are inconsistent at best. Having just been released in the States, Gothic 3 once again finds the series lost in translation with poor (and sometimes nonexistent) voice acting, and a host of bugs that make it difficult to recommend. Still, those willing to struggle with the controls and wait for patches will find a well-implemented faction influence system that hints at Gothic's still unrealized potential. EuroGamer (80/100) was willing to overlook many of Gothic 3's shortcomings: "This time, however, by concentrating on evolving in its own niche, number three succeeds on its own terms: an interface that actually works, a modern lick of paint, and an (albeit misfiring) attempt to revise its fighting system; now's as good an opportunity as ever to step onto that carousel of orc-bashing familiarity." Pro-G (60/10) suggests waiting for updates, but was fascinated nonetheless: "So, what have I listed up so far for Gothic 3? Terrible graphics, dialogue and narration, and a needlessly resource-hungry engine that renders a large amount of the game unplayable? Yep, check all those. But, ludicrous as it sounds, Gothic 3 has some strangely addictive and compelling qualities that I really have no explanation for." GameSpy (30/100) drew many comparisons to Oblivion: "The difference is that while the basic design of the Gothic games is equal (and occasionally even superior) to Bethesda's offerings, they've also labored under terrible coding, a god-awful number of bugs and weird design decisions that make the releases (including Gothic 3) fail to even come close to fulfilling their potential." See also: Metareview - Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
