Van Hemlock posted his podcast question earlier today for their next recording session, it is as follows:
"Lot of Grump on the Blogoweb of late. Help cheer me up! What's the most positive thing thats happened to you this month?"
I would assume he means mmo bloggers are being their usual dour selves...but lets take a short look at a few reasons (games) to not be grumpy! These are the upcoming titles - excluding expansions - that I am most looking forward to, which will, *fingers crossed* be coming out within a year.
New IPs:
Gatheryn - Lets just be honest, it looks like crap. However, this is the only non-Asian, steam punk mmo coming out and that alone should be justification to anticipate it. The steam punk genre is morbidly under represented in video games these days. What interests me most about this game is its focus on community and games, rather than combat. My hope for this game is that it gives us something of a Free Realms-esq experience: collecting, exploration, medium to large community (hey, it will be free to play, so I can dream, can't I?), while milking steam punk imagery for all its worth. Oh, and did I mention it will be free? AND have player housing? It is currently in open beta and I've been teetering on the edge of checking it out, bugs and all. But, I think I'll wait until the kinks have been worked out, so as to get the best possible first impression. Regardless, it is one to watch!
Fallen Earth - Even though I'm a fan of post-apocalyptic storytelling and a ton of the things I have heard lately about this game sound incredible (the crafting, virus instead of nukes, the location), I probably won't ever have the chance to play it. Alas, my computer. That being said, I'm still excited for it. We have yet to see a good PA mmo and despite the inevitable Fallout comparisons that will come in a few weeks when it launches, this game will definitely fill a niche. Hopefully, it does well in its own right and paves the way for an actual Fallout mmo. These days you can never have enough online games that aren't fantasy rpgs.
Sequels or Old IPs:
Star Wars: The Old Republic - Seriously, how can you not be at least somewhat excited for this game? Maybe the hype switch in the back of my neck is just set opposite of everyone else's, but every piece of information on this game that comes to light manages to make me even more excited for it! Now there is even a rumor of player housing! After that four part video that came out this week everyone was complaining that, "oh combat looks so boring." Well, it doesn't look any more "boring" that combat in WoW and I happen to enjoy killing things in that game, I mean, that's what it's all about.... However, I do think combat in SWTOR will be more involved and probably more like AOC than WoW. And have you heard about the story? Or the full voice acting (which was admitedly a little wonky in the latest video)? The only concern I have for this game is how massively multiplayer it will actually end up being. To have as deep a story as Bioware claims to have, it would seem that they would need to lean heavily on instancing, but they are Bioware, so maybe they found a workaround.
Lego Universe - When I heard that they were making a Lego mmo my childhood came flooding back to me in a pile of multicolored, interconnecting blocks. I only want two things out of this game: 1.) For it to be free to play. 2.) To be able to build just about anything my mind can think up. It wouldn't truly be Lego, unless you could literally build whatever you wanted. Here is a recent article from Wired that I admit I have not had the chance to fully peruse. Also, the logo is totally awesome.
Dungeons and Dragons Online Unlimited - While this is not exactly a new game, the coming version of it will certainly be new enough to those that have never played it before. When I first started playing mmos I shopped around before settling on WoW and one of the games I read up on was DDO. I thought, "Dungeons and Dragons, the original role playing game, how can I go wrong?" I didn't end up buying then, but as soon as Turbine releases their free to play client they can count me in as a subscriber. Yes, I'm one of those folks who thought it looked interesting, would liked to have played the game, but could never justify shelling out $15 a month for something that didn't get totally solid reviews. (Not to mention, their free trial wanted your credit card. Nuh, uh.) But, when this game relaunches in early September, I will be there!
Guild Wars 2 - Even though I have played and enjoyed Nightfall, this game was no where on my radar, because up until last week no one knew anything about it. Of course that all changed, when ArenaNet put out a darn good trailer. Hopefully the trickle of info on this game will become steadier now that hype is starting to build. To be honest, I think NC Soft needs something to bring them out of the fall they are in (Aion won't be it) and this is the best chance they've got. Fortunately, it's an extremely good chance. Also, I should say that there is absolutely no reason to believe that this game will come out within a year from now (like I stipulated above), other than my own wishful thinking. :)
Jumpgate Evolution - The only thing I know about this game is that you fly a space ship and things go KABOOM...and it's not Eve. That works for me. The launch was recently delayed so that they could change the economy to be player driven, not unlike another space ship mmo. I hope that they aren't trying to directly challenge Eve, though, because from what little I know about both games, they seem to be operating on entirely different levels. One is about charts and mining and large groups of players fighting other large groups of players. While the other one is not about charts, or mining, just shooting things and watching the beautiful space scenery. Jumpgate may or may not involve large scale battles, I could not tell ya. For my money though, that is the one idea they should borrow from Eve.
Hello Kitty Online - Juuuuuuuuuuuuuust kidding!! But really, wouldn't we all rather play Hello Kitty Island Adventure?
Well folks, that is it on the games I'm most excited for (and reasons to not be a grumpy blogger bump on a log). Hopefully they all come out sooner rather than later and completed rather than crap.
-Max
I love this song and I love this video. They just look so happy!
Matt & Kim "Daylight"
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Short and Sweet...
Just wanted to say a quick blip about MMO Voices, a really exceptional social network put together by Beau and Leala of Spouse Aggro. It's pretty much Facebook for mmo's with an emphasis on blogs. The community is a healthy 114 strong at the time of this post and still growing. So, if you check it out and decide to join be sure to send me a friend request, I'm the only member named Max...haha! I've been posting a few of my blog over there also, from time to time.
See you there.
-Max
No music, but I'm continually updating my blog list on the right hand side of the page, if you are looking for any interesting reading, then check those out!
See you there.
-Max
No music, but I'm continually updating my blog list on the right hand side of the page, if you are looking for any interesting reading, then check those out!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Warning:
Felicia Day you are about to be replaced as my numero uno nerd crush. I was reading my favorite, non-mmo news site the other day, The Daily Beast, and stumbled across an article on celebrity World of Warcraft players. Apparently, Mila Kunis, who starred in one of my all time favorite movies (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) plays WoW! AND she's a mage! Could she be any more attractive? I think not.
Suprisingly enough, Macaulay Culkin, Dave Chappelle, Vin Diesel, and Elijah Wood also play.
It's always odd - like watching a dog walk on its hind legs - when the mainstream media decides to cover mmos. The article is worth a quick read, if only for a laugh.
-Max
Suprisingly enough, Macaulay Culkin, Dave Chappelle, Vin Diesel, and Elijah Wood also play.
It's always odd - like watching a dog walk on its hind legs - when the mainstream media decides to cover mmos. The article is worth a quick read, if only for a laugh.
-Max
Monday, August 24, 2009
I Pick the Best Days to Be Away from the Internet
I take a few days off to travel and look at all the info that drops!
Pigs do in fact fly. I was beginning to think they would never announce this game's imminent playability, but apparently miracles do happen. I've learned, in a very roundabout way, to love the first Guild Wars for what it is, so I can only hope that this sequel improves upon the things its predecessor did so well. You really can't go wrong with adding the ability to jump!
And entire worlds get ripped asunder! Arguably the biggest game announced this week. Certainly the most exciting one for myself. Although, I can't help but feel bad for Dust 514 and GW2, this whole WoW announcement has stolen most of their thunder, at least in the press. But this new expansion, along with TOR has pretty much convinced me that I'm going to need a bigger boat...oh ahem, I mean a better laptop. An idea has occurred to me though, that I haven't seen much discussed anywhere else. I've been rather adamant for the last several months now that the new Star Wars mmo and the next World of Warcraft expansion will launch very closely together, but the announcement of Cataclysm adds another facet of competition between the two games. Is it just me or does it seem like this next WoW expansion seems to be focusing on story and a really awesome one at that? You know, like, just how SWTOR is supposed to be heavily focused on story? In my opinion the writers at Blizzard are really outdoing themselves bringing Deathwing back in a huge way and also aligning Worgen to the Alliance through Gilneas and finally letting us play Goblins! It is becoming more apparent with each announcement that these two games are going to be directly competing and anyone who thinks otherwise is sadly mistaken.
With the majority of these games currently set to release in 2010, next year is looking to be huge.
On a side note, this is what I was doing over the week. Real life can be pretty amazing when we choose to look beyond our monitors:
Hamilton Pool, Tx
-Max
Oh, and by the way, Carla Bruni!
I have no idea what she is singing, but, thankfully, beauty has the ability to transcend language
Pigs do in fact fly. I was beginning to think they would never announce this game's imminent playability, but apparently miracles do happen. I've learned, in a very roundabout way, to love the first Guild Wars for what it is, so I can only hope that this sequel improves upon the things its predecessor did so well. You really can't go wrong with adding the ability to jump!
And entire worlds get ripped asunder! Arguably the biggest game announced this week. Certainly the most exciting one for myself. Although, I can't help but feel bad for Dust 514 and GW2, this whole WoW announcement has stolen most of their thunder, at least in the press. But this new expansion, along with TOR has pretty much convinced me that I'm going to need a bigger boat...oh ahem, I mean a better laptop. An idea has occurred to me though, that I haven't seen much discussed anywhere else. I've been rather adamant for the last several months now that the new Star Wars mmo and the next World of Warcraft expansion will launch very closely together, but the announcement of Cataclysm adds another facet of competition between the two games. Is it just me or does it seem like this next WoW expansion seems to be focusing on story and a really awesome one at that? You know, like, just how SWTOR is supposed to be heavily focused on story? In my opinion the writers at Blizzard are really outdoing themselves bringing Deathwing back in a huge way and also aligning Worgen to the Alliance through Gilneas and finally letting us play Goblins! It is becoming more apparent with each announcement that these two games are going to be directly competing and anyone who thinks otherwise is sadly mistaken.
With the majority of these games currently set to release in 2010, next year is looking to be huge.
On a side note, this is what I was doing over the week. Real life can be pretty amazing when we choose to look beyond our monitors:
Hamilton Pool, Tx
-Max
Oh, and by the way, Carla Bruni!
I have no idea what she is singing, but, thankfully, beauty has the ability to transcend language
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Dust 514
When I read the article on Massively this morning about CCP's new console only mmofps Dust 514, the best two adjectives I found to describe what they are attempting were bold and intricate. And there are two questions, the answers to which, I feel, will determine the success of this game.
1. Will the EVE Online community accept the console community and share their sovereignty content?
2. Will the console fps Halo crowd be smart enough to figure out that they need to work with the players of EVE Online, in order to achieve success, and presumably have fun in game?
In attempting this melding of gameplay styles CCP is putting a metric ton of faith in their subscribers. Will it pay off?
Also, something they didn't mention was which console(s) Dust will actually be playable on. I'm thinking PS3, for no baseless reason other than it just feels right in my mind. Not to mention, PS3 players will soon be playing MAG which seems a lot like Dust, just without the interconnectivity. And did I mention the graphics? Because they look pretty damn good.
It will be interesting to see where these two games go from here.
-Max
1. Will the EVE Online community accept the console community and share their sovereignty content?
2. Will the console fps Halo crowd be smart enough to figure out that they need to work with the players of EVE Online, in order to achieve success, and presumably have fun in game?
In attempting this melding of gameplay styles CCP is putting a metric ton of faith in their subscribers. Will it pay off?
Also, something they didn't mention was which console(s) Dust will actually be playable on. I'm thinking PS3, for no baseless reason other than it just feels right in my mind. Not to mention, PS3 players will soon be playing MAG which seems a lot like Dust, just without the interconnectivity. And did I mention the graphics? Because they look pretty damn good.
It will be interesting to see where these two games go from here.
-Max
Monday, August 17, 2009
My Felicia Day Crush
Like most mmo playing guys I have a huge nerd crush on Felicia Day.
So, it was pretty awesome to find that her and the cast of The Guild did a music video in costume.
Check out the video for "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar" The song is nothing special, they should of gotten Parry Gripp to write it. But wow, I don't think Felicia Day could possibly get any hotter!
If for some reason you live under a rock then go check out the damn show already! I linked it up there somewhere.
-Max
So, it was pretty awesome to find that her and the cast of The Guild did a music video in costume.
Check out the video for "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar" The song is nothing special, they should of gotten Parry Gripp to write it. But wow, I don't think Felicia Day could possibly get any hotter!
If for some reason you live under a rock then go check out the damn show already! I linked it up there somewhere.
-Max
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Thoughts on Fallout...12 Years Too Late
I thought long and hard about just what to say in my post regarding this game. It's old. It's groundbreaking. It's famous. Playing through the game for my first twenty minutes I could honestly not tell you why it is held in such high esteem, but after leaving for a few days and coming back, I fully understand.
I was about to start out with a few complaints mostly regarding combat, but instead I'll just get right to what about this game really grabbed me.
I wanted to be in the world. It didn't matter that I thought the combat was boring, or that the story had too little direction (and a god-damn-ball-busting-timer!!!) I wanted to explore what is essentially an entirely open ended world that was created before anyone truly knew what open endedness could be. Maps that gradually reveal themselves as you explore them are always the most rewarding. I wanted to learn the lore and collect crap and talk to people (fucking phenomenal voice acting) and just learn about this post apocalyptic waste land that seemed so unbelievably alive. I only have a pdf copy of the original game manual, but GOOD GOD is that thing incredible! Clearly, what made people such huge fans of these games is that they wanted to live out this existence in a world recovering from nuclear holocaust; the game designers did such an amazing job in making it seem real. I can completely see why a company like Bethesda, who make the Elder Scrolls games, would want to develop a property like Fallout 3. They pretty much write the wiki on how open a game world can or should be. Not owning a 360 or PS3, I have haven't had the chance yet to pick up numero tres, but you can bet that when I buy an Xbox, the first game I get will be Fallout 3. If the world is this detailed in a 1997 game with an isometric view, I'm sure the same details with updated graphics will just blow my mind out the fucking window.
So, just to wrap things up: I get it. I went in to these games expecting everything (combat, story, overall great gameplay) and what I came away with was an experience and a longing to be in a world that was alive (sorta, ha). This is a perfect example of "lasting gameplay" - why people still lavish praise on these games twelve years later. Experiencing a world this vivid takes a pretty long time to get old.
Take this experience, ramp the detail up ten times and give us the Fallout mmo, please!
-Max
Watched a great documentary on Hulu last night about remixing and the nature of copyright law in today's world. It's definitely worth a look: here.
Also, the band (guy) Girl Talk who features prominently in the show is one of my favorite musicians and his work can be downloaded here for free! My favorite quote about his music is that, "If you like music, then you like Girl Talk."
I was about to start out with a few complaints mostly regarding combat, but instead I'll just get right to what about this game really grabbed me.
I wanted to be in the world. It didn't matter that I thought the combat was boring, or that the story had too little direction (and a god-damn-ball-busting-timer!!!) I wanted to explore what is essentially an entirely open ended world that was created before anyone truly knew what open endedness could be. Maps that gradually reveal themselves as you explore them are always the most rewarding. I wanted to learn the lore and collect crap and talk to people (fucking phenomenal voice acting) and just learn about this post apocalyptic waste land that seemed so unbelievably alive. I only have a pdf copy of the original game manual, but GOOD GOD is that thing incredible! Clearly, what made people such huge fans of these games is that they wanted to live out this existence in a world recovering from nuclear holocaust; the game designers did such an amazing job in making it seem real. I can completely see why a company like Bethesda, who make the Elder Scrolls games, would want to develop a property like Fallout 3. They pretty much write the wiki on how open a game world can or should be. Not owning a 360 or PS3, I have haven't had the chance yet to pick up numero tres, but you can bet that when I buy an Xbox, the first game I get will be Fallout 3. If the world is this detailed in a 1997 game with an isometric view, I'm sure the same details with updated graphics will just blow my mind out the fucking window.
So, just to wrap things up: I get it. I went in to these games expecting everything (combat, story, overall great gameplay) and what I came away with was an experience and a longing to be in a world that was alive (sorta, ha). This is a perfect example of "lasting gameplay" - why people still lavish praise on these games twelve years later. Experiencing a world this vivid takes a pretty long time to get old.
Take this experience, ramp the detail up ten times and give us the Fallout mmo, please!
-Max
Watched a great documentary on Hulu last night about remixing and the nature of copyright law in today's world. It's definitely worth a look: here.
Also, the band (guy) Girl Talk who features prominently in the show is one of my favorite musicians and his work can be downloaded here for free! My favorite quote about his music is that, "If you like music, then you like Girl Talk."
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