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Perfect Ten: Game franchises that became MMOs
Popular franchises have been known to jump between various entertainment media, from games to television to movies to comic books and even to pogs. We should not gasp in utter amazement that this is also the case with many of our beloved MMOs; we should nod sagely and accept the terrible truth. There are several video game franchises that have culminated in -- or at least have taken a detour through -- the land of MMOs. For gamers who wanted more and especially did not want to see their journey end, an MMO continuation is a welcome answer that's usually hiding its own problems. But nevermind that; let's march down the halls of history and see the yearbook photos of these franchises when they were young!
Creative Assembly gets Warhammer license in multi-title deal, first game in 2013
The Creative Assembly is going from legionaries to Lizardmen, having obtained the rights to develop Warhammer fantasy games. Sega announced today that it and subsidiary Creative Assembly have entered into a multi-title licensing deal with miniature makers Games Workshop, with a dev team already working to get the studio's first Warhammer game out for next year. Creative Assembly's license is only for the Warhammer fantasy line and not for the Warhammer 40K universe, as clarified to Eurogamer by both Sega and Warhammer 40K license holder THQ.The last decade saw THQ pump out a swathe of Warhammer 40K games, but outside of two Namco-published real-time strategies and EA's Warhammer Online, it's been all quiet on the fantasy front. That's something Creative Assembly must hope to rectify, although it's not like the studio is desperate for pies to cram its fingers into. The British developer says it's working on Total War: Rome 2, the as yet unnamed Alien game, the first Warhammer game, and two other unannounced projects.
The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Climax's Warhammer Online
Let's begin with a little personal history. Back in 2008, I decided to get into the blogging scene by jumping on board the latest MMO hotness -- in this case, Warhammer Online. As I was growing increasingly tired of World of Warcraft, WAR seemed to offer a refreshing alternative: a darker world full of brutal PvP and awesome new ideas. So I joined the elite ranks of bloggers (hey, stop laughing so hard) and spent the better part of two years jawing about Mythic's latest fantasy project. And while Warhammer Online was, in my opinion, a solid product, it certainly failed to live up to the extremely high expectations held by both the development team and the players. No matter how it turned out, I really enjoyed talking about WAR, especially in the days leading up to its launch. One of the first articles I ever wrote for my blog WAAAGH! dealt with the first attempt to bring Warhammer Online into the MMO genre (as a fun aside, it was one of the first times I got my name on Massively!). It's a "what if?" tale that's tantalizing to consider -- an entirely different studio, Climax Online, creating a much darker version of Warhammer than we've ever seen online. The tale of the game's rise and fall (and subsequent rise and fall again) captivated me, and I wanted to expand my old article as part of our recent series into exploring MMOs canceled before their launch. So what if Climax had brought Warhammer Online to bear? Would it have eclipsed Mythic's vision or been its own animal? Hit the jump and let's dive into the pages of ancient history!
Waging WAR: Coming soon, to a theatre of WAR near you
We interrupt this week's scheduled career spotlight on Waging WAR to bring you Greg's impressions of the latest and greatest news from the floors of GamesDay: UK regarding Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and the new RvR content coming soon to a theatre of WAR near you. OK. So. Take everything you know about the Tier 4 RvR Campaign in WAR and press the "Delete" button right now. In fact, press it a few times. Actually, keep going. Keep pressing it until all you're left with is three pairings with three zones each, each zone containing four battlefield objectives and two keeps, and two cities as the capstone for each realm. OK. Now access that part of your brain that stores silly words and euphemisms regarding "the problem with WAR." See that entry for "Waithammer?" Delete it. "PvDoor?" Press the button. Actually, just go wild. Take every criticism you've ever had for WAR's endgame and just throw it out. We're talking total tabula rasa here (and not the ill-fated game). OK, stop. That should do. With an open mind and absolutely no knowledge of in-game mechanics, you're now primed to understand what I'm about to describe regarding the changes that are on their way, and more importantly, why I believe those changes are so critical to the glorious future of WAR. If your curiosity is even remotely piqued, click the "Read more" button.
MTV previews Warhammer Online, finds five things interesting
MTV's Multiplayer blog sent its resident Warhammer geek (Joe DeShano) into the Warhammer Online beta. He came out with five key observations and published them on the blog. The observations: the game's world is at war, PvP is constant, the Tome of Knowledge should please Warhammer fanboys, the Empire's capital city is both cool and big, and applying dyes to armor is an awesome reminder of nerdy miniature-painting sessions.He wrote up a general preview around those five key points (and a number of screenshots), and while you're not likely to learn anything totally new from it if you've been following the game, it can't hurt to read someone's hands-on impressions. At the end of it all, he seemed to have a high-ish opinion of the game, calling it "World of Warcraft 2.0." Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
WAR's must-have expansion races: Lizardmen
Ah, Warhammer Online. Its release seems so close, and yet, it's still so far away. In our idle time, the Games Workshop fanatics among us have little else to do but fantasize about elements of the beloved tabletop game could make their way into the game. Last week, we speculated that the Skaven are the first race in line for any future expansions of the game. This week, we're throwing our weight behind the enigmatic Lizardmen Army to play the Order counterparts to Skaven's Destruction. They've got a number of interesting classes we think would add some unique jungle flava' to the game. Click on the gallery link below to get cold-blooded. %Gallery-21882%
WAR's must-have expansion races: Skaven
We're still months away from the release of Mythic's Warhammer Online, but already the robust fan community has spent a considerable amount of time debating which of the other Warhammer Fantasy races would be best suited to make the jump from the tabletop to the desktop. Whle the choices are quite plentiful, in my mind, there's no question which race is on the doorstep of gaming greatness; it's those lovably infectious rat-men, the Skaven. Today we take a look at the Skaven army, and lay out an illustrated blueprint for which of their many colorful units would fit into the MMO mold. %Gallery-21882%
