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The Soapbox: Why solo players don't just play a single-player game
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. When I play an MMO, I tend to play solo. This isn't because I outright dislike grouping -- I've said exactly the opposite before -- but when given the choice, I'll default to solo. I don't always have a reliable play schedule, I like having the freedom to start and stop projects at my whim, and most importantly, I like the option of just tuning out a bit and losing myself in a solitary romp every now and again. Some people get very bothered by this, though, and they really dislike the fact that there are solo players asking for more solo content. Sometimes it's rooted in a fear that solo content will interfere with group content, and sometimes it's because of the fear that no one will group if there's plenty to do solo, but the same argument gets brought up every time: "If you want to play solo, you should be playing a single-player game." Except they're not the same thing. Not by far. There are distinct benefits to playing in an MMO even if you prefer doing most content solo instead of in a group.
EA allowing banned Origin players access to offline content
EA has quietly made things a little easier for those banned from its digital Origin service, allowing even those scorned by the company to access single player content in purchased and downloaded games. Previously, gamers who behaved badly on official EA forums or otherwise caused their accounts to be revoked were locked out completely, but now EA is saying that by switching the Origin client over to offline mode, players can at least play bought games by themselves.To get back online, players will need to appeal the ban, for which instructions can be found here. EA does say that most bans are only temporary, but just in case you want to speed up the process we'll say this: Offering crop sacrifices to an idol of John Riccitiello certainly can't hurt.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations DLC named, priced, dated by GameStop
Yesterday we got a peek at the achievements for the next Assassin's Creed: Revelations DLC, and today we get its name, courtesy of a GameStop email sent to customers: Lost Archive. Maybe tomorrow we'll all get personalized Arabian Daggers in the mail.GameStop lists the Lost Archive DLC with a release date of February 28 for $15 on Xbox 360 and PS3. It appears to be a single-player campaign installment, based on its 10 Xbox 360 achievements.
Diablo III and Torchlight II compared via infographic
Diablo III? Or Torchlight II? If you can't decide which 2012 action RPG will reign supreme on your desktop, perhaps it's because you haven't compared each game's features side by side. GameArena has made that task quite a bit easier thanks to a comprehensive new infographic that appeared earlier this week. Whether you need a quick glance at the games' classes, a breakdown of the various single- and multiplayer options, or a look at intangibles like the modability and offline play of Torchlight II, the infographic has you covered. There's even a section on pets and a mini-bestiary!
Free for All: Some thoughts from the yellow pad
I've had a pretty busy time over the last several days. I like to stay active when I can, easily stuffing my schedule with high-power meetings and travels to exotic lands to discuss the latest game. Heck, just the other day I was flown to Russia to meet with the insane genius behind some of my favorite titles, and we bare-chested wrestled in the snow (he lost and had to buy the second round). Well, not exactly. I did find some pretty cool games, played with my favorite titles, and overall daydreamed my way through life. A pretty typical week, really. If you'd like to hear about a few of the cool things I found, thought, and played last week, click past the cut.
Rage preview: Doomed down
Despite sporting the enhancements of id Tech 5, Rage seemed to be lagging behind at Bethesda's BFG 2011 media event last week. Its generic, post-apocalyptic wasteland setting has become a familiar one in recent years, but it's the simplistic and overly linear shootfest within that's the most dated element of the game. Nonetheless, the team at id Software seems to be aware that a glossy throwback shooter isn't going to cut it in today's over-saturated FPS market and has challenged itself to set Rage apart. The most obvious sign of id stepping out of its comfort zone is in the game's multiplayer design. Believe it or not, there's no deathmatch in the classic Doom sense. In its place is a fine-tuned vehicle-based mode, implementing the game's dune buggies. Multiplayer is expected to be a fairly compact experience, with up to six players able to take part in a few gametypes on a sparse offering of five maps. "If you add game variations just to add game variations it confuses people," said one of the designers during the hands-off multiplayer presentation. "People don't know what to play." %Gallery-121461%
Wings Over Atreia: What's in it for me?
That does it. No more Ms. Nice Wings. This time I am just going to unleash! Let my rant all hang out. Admittedly, I am not normally one to complain; I can see the good in most every situation, and I can roll with the punches like it's an Olympic event. But even my feathers get ruffled sometimes. It's true! And sometimes you just can't bite your tongue anymore or all you will have is a very sore tongue. Now I know I am not a rant-master like Jef, but even fledgling ranters must begin somewhere. And this week, I found just such a place: immature, self-serving, can't-pull-their-thumbs-outta-their-ears-unless-there-is-something-in-it-for-them-gamers in Aion. You know the type -- those who think the world revolves around them. Those whose spoiled-rotten antics ruin groups and legions alike and who are the reason why many a block list is so full. They without whom drama would die a quick death and be a forgotten plague. They're the bane of chat channels everywhere -- they are the trolls. Throw yourself past the cut for a look at some recent Aion tantrums and sure-fire ways to minimize the effects of blatant immaturity. Careful, though -- I cannot be held responsible for any resemblance to gamers near you.
Rocksteady confirms Batman: Arkham City will be 'single-player only'
Though rumors (and some slick yet ultimately fake video evidence) to the opposite effect has been circling 'round the internet for some time now, Rocksteady game director Sefton Hill confirms in a recent IGN interview that Batman: Arkham City will be "a 'single-player only' experience." According to Hill, the developer didn't want to lose resources that could have been spent on perfecting the solo campaign. "With the game now coming to the final stages, I can honestly say it would not have been possible to deliver Arkham City the way we wanted to if we'd have added multiplayer." Well, shoot. We were really holding out hope for a Batman and Robin co-operative mode, in which one player does all the crimefighting while the other comments on things that are holy -- until being bound and captured by lower-echelon thugs. Oh, well! For more info on things that are actually in the game (including classic supervillain Hugo Strange), check out Rocksteady's discussion with IGN.
The Daily Grind: What are your MMO resolutions for 2011?
Urrgh. I ate too much. I'm not just talking about turkey, dressing, and mashed potatoes either, as I also had a difficult time pushing back from the entertainment buffet table this past holiday season. Whether it was MMORPGs, single-player PC titles, or console favorites, the gaming smorgasbord was one of the more noteworthy in recent memory. Typically, end of the year overindulgence gives rise to resolutions (which may or may not fall by the wayside) for the new year, and today's Daily Grind is all about your gaming-centric pledges for 2011. Specifically, what are they? Are you going to play less? More? Do you need to scale back on your MMOs in order to catch up on the single-player titles you've missed? Inquiring Massively minds want to know. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Homefront trailer introduces New America's new rulers
The latest trailer for THQ and Kaos' Homefront, which emerged during last weekend's VGAs, is a testament to why one should never assume. Oh, the United States assumed that everything was going to be totes cool with their buddies up in North Korea? Well, um ... no. That's not exactly correct.
Anti-Aliased: How I mine for craft
This column was bound to come sometime. We've had legions of people asking us, "Why don't you cover Minecraft? It's totally an MMO!" The email barrage was so constant that I had nightmarish fits in my sleep, where I was drowning in oddly block-shaped emails pouring out of my ceiling. Now, after I've finally played Minecraft, my nightmarish fits have turned into scenes in which I'm being attacked by giant block-shaped spiders, but that's neither here nor there. I can see why people have fallen in love with this game, and they have every reason to. Minecraft may not be an MMO by our standards, but it is an example of gaming done right. It's the purest form of everything we love about gaming, and it's a game that could teach MMO makers a lot about design, should they care to listen.
The Daily Grind: Would you play a Halo MMO?
More than a few of us here at Massively dabble with single-player games when we're not on the clock, whether it be real-time strategy, roleplaying, first-person shooters, or some genre-bending hybrid. Every so often, a major release comes along that transcends its particular niche in the game industry and gets everyone talking. Love it or hate it, Halo: Reach is such a title. Released to much critical acclaim this week, the title is currently chewing its way up the sales charts as bazillions of gamers trade Master Chief for Noble Six and partake of Bungie's swansong in the series that put them (as well as Microsoft Games and the Xbox) on the map. The question of the day, dear readers, is twofold: Are you checking out Reach, and more appropriately, would you play a Halo MMO?
Hands-on: Blur (single player)
click to enlarge Bizarre Creations is known for its racing expertise, honed in the great Project Gotham Racing series, and their latest title, Blur, is no exception. The arcade sensibilities of Bizarre's own Geometry Wars and the underrated (I said it!) The Club add a few new colors to the mix, but the driving is as solid as ever -- as you'll know if you've been playing the multiplayer beta. The real key to Blur, though, is the much-discussed social features. Bizarre has more or less perfected console racing over all of its past iterations, and so when we were invited to Activision HQ last week to check out Blur's single-player components, the focus wasn't so much on the how of racing, but the why. %Gallery-92682%
Mikami explains why Vanquish is single-player only
During the recent Vanquish media unveiling in Tokyo, creator Shinji Mikami outed the action-shooter game's lack of multiplayer functionality. "That's the main reason we're keeping Vanquish as a single-player experience -- to deliver the level of impact, the level of detail and the visuals we want to offer," Mikami offered at the press event, reports Eurogamer. Apparently, due to the fact that the single-player game is "very intense" and "full of action," a multiplayer compo nent would require "shaving a lot of things off" in order to make them work. It would seem that Mikami's more interested in Vanquish's main campaign impressing than the title having legs, though he would argue that a tacked-on multiplayer does little in the interest of serving gamers. "It kind of boils down to whether you have the multiplayer but you don't have that much impact, and end up being like everyone else ... or even below par." Yep, we're just as shocked and appreciative of his refreshing honesty as you are. %Gallery-87352%
The Daily Grind: Would you play a single-player version?
Whether we mean to or not, we get pretty invested in the online worlds we inhabit. It's a natural step to go from a single-player setting that's already gotten our emotional investment to a larger one (as proven by, oh, some game or another), but oddly the reverse happens far less often. We only occasionally see a game that takes the setting of an MMO and uses it as the basis for one person's adventure. This despite the fact that we're usually more attached to our characters than we are in a single-player game, since our avatars in an MMO are defined entirely by us. Of course, part of this is the narrowing of scope, and part of it is the difficulty of marketing to people that they can take a break from their characters online to play the exact same character offline. But for the times when you don't want to log in and deal with assembling a group or competition for farming or any of the slings and arrows of playing online, it could be a nice diversion. What do you think? Would you like to have a single-player game based off of your MMO of choice, or would you rather that the online games you enjoy not creep into your single-player time?
ESRB outs WWII-based opening of Bad Company 2
The original Bad Company spinoff in the Battlefield series kept the franchise's setting firmly in modern times, but if the Bad Company 2 ESRB description is true, you'll be seeing a return to WWII in the sequel. At the very least, the game's opening will bring players back to the Pacific side of the war, with the ESRB description saying, "In single-player mode, players conduct missions on an unnamed Japanese island during World War II and then move into the modern day through jungles, deserts, and snowy terrain." Just like we've discovered in our way too many hours with the game's multiplayer demo, the description details the inclusion of "melee attacks with a power drill" (yes, seriously) and the characters use of profanity "during cutscenes and in the heat of battle." And yes, we're just as excited by the former as you might imagine. %Gallery-43916%[Via BigDownload]
Sony trusts Heavy Rain's risky 'return to the single player adventure'
While Xbox 360 and PC players are gallivanting across the galaxy in BioWare's latest, single-player only adventure, the PlayStation 3 is preparing for its own solitary storytelling in down-to-earth thriller Heavy Rain. Speaking to CVG, Sony product manager Lucy Duncan offered some comforting words to those who'd rather traverse a dialogue tree than a multiplayer map. "... we strive to offer a broad set of experiences and a return to the single player 'adventure' format but with a state of the art graphical presentation, a terrific noir narrative and an hugely innovative interface seems like a compelling proposition for the discerning gamer," she explained. A lack of online play may strike some as an odd move -- even Rapture's making room for more residents -- but Duncan reckons a trust in developer Quantic Dream will pay off. Well, that and being a big player. "Being Sony, I suppose we have a little more luxury to take a gamble on more original and innovative IP -- and Heavy Rain definitely fits that category." With God of War 3, Alan Wake and Final Fantasy XIII also steeped in excitement, the "big single-player adventure" looks to be one of 2010's best bets.
Breakfast Topic: Lessons from Single Player RPGs
I'm sure by now it's pretty much no secret whatsoever that half the team, myself included, spent a good part of the waning days of Patch 3.2 enamored with Dragon Age Origins. Maybe it's the innocent charm of the leading man, Alistair, the deep and involved game world, or the fact that Marilyn Manson totally warned us that this was gonna be big, but I'm in deep. Patch 3.3 is finally dragging me back to WoW with its pure awesomeness, but Dragon Age is still pretty fresh in my mind, and there's more DLC to come.
GameTrailers TV drowns us in BioShock 2 footage
Like all good things in life, there's a steep price to pay for watching last night's Bioshock 2–centric episode of GameTrailers TV (posted after the jump). That price is your everlasting soul.Okay, all it actually costs you is exposure to a few spoilers for the game -- but isn't that just as bad? Remember that sense of wonder the first time you stepped foot into the murky waters of Rapture? Aren't you afraid you'll ruin whatever semblance of that emotion that might still appear in the sequel by filling your ... you're already watching it, aren't you? You're a fiend, you know that? A fiend.
New Starcraft 2 videos: cinematic trailer and some single player gameplay
Consider yourself spoiler-warned: there's a very familiar face at the end of the cutscene above. But, if you played through Starcraft and the Brood War expansion, you had to know this particular person was still around. But the statute of limitations on that expired eons ago, so don't blame us. Feast your eyes on all of the Protoss kicking Zerg butt in the Starcraft 2 cutscene above (or download the massive 490MB high-def version here), and then head beyond the jump to see more than four minutes from the single-player version of the game. Sadly, it doesn't feature the fully-rendered Jim Raynor that you'll control throughout (read about that in our hands-on), but it does pimp out the unit upgrading and the new video screens. And plus ... it's Starcraft 2. Do we really need to say more?
