Author Archive

Novus Aeterno claims to be the “first true MMORTS”

The developers behind Novus Aeterno tell me that it will be the first true MMORTS. That’s a pretty ballsy claim. Several games are already vying for that title, including Trion Games’ End of Nations and Gas Powered Games’ Age of Empires Online. But maybe they knew something I didn’t, so I dug deeper and found an interesting premise, potentially fun gameplay and an indie developer focused on making a killer RTS.

The game isn’t ready for hands-on yet, but their panel at PAX East and my time with Titale Studios Founder and Lead Developer Nick Nieuwoudt gave me a pretty good idea of what Novus Aeterno is all about.

RaiderZ preview

RaiderZ wasn’t on the top of my “Must See” list when I went to PAX East a couple weeks ago. I knew a few things about it, but I was really excited to see other games like Neverwinter, Smite, and DDO. But while I was at the Perfect World meeting room talking about Neverwinter, RaiderZ’s producer Mark Hill came over and told me a bit about their upcoming monster hunter MMO. It sounded fairly intriguing, so I decided to give it a shot.

Hands-on with legendary MOBA Smite

I’m walking through the throngs of people at PAX East, taking in the sights and trying to find something that I may have missed in the booth list, when I spot what looks like an MMO’s PvP battleground happening on a giant monitor in front of me. Intrigued, I step closer, and spot the rather large sign above the booth announcing the game’s title: Smite. But it’s not an MMO: rushing back and forth across the screen are various gods from different mythologies battling for supremacy in a DotA-style game. I snuck onto a machine and played a few rounds, before grabbing Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris to talk about their upcoming third-person MOBA Smite to find out what makes it different from the rest.

PAX East: Dungeons & Dragons Online weaves a tale of expansion

With a huge, intricate spider web hanging down from the rafters of the Boston Convention Center, the Dungeons and Dragons Online booth is overshadowed by the evil presence of Lolth, the main villain for the upcoming Menace of the Underdark expansion, hanging overhead. The spider queen’s presence lends an air of, well, menace to my time with Executive Producer Fernando Paiz and Senior Producer Eric Boyer as we take an extensive look through what Menace of Underdark will offer players, as well as a quick look at the Druid class and some of its abilities.

Lord of the Rings Online’s Update 6 launches players closer to Rohan on March 12th

Lord of the Rings Online players got very, very excited when the Riders of Rohan expansion was announced. Update 6: The Great River Region is the stepping stone to that anticipated expansion and offers players a taste of the vastness soon to follow. I took a tour of The Great River Region with Producer Aaron “Rowan” Campbell and Director of Communications Adam Mersky. Through hills, forests, Trolls and Easterlings, we travelled across this vast region to see what it had to offer before its launch next Monday, March 12th.

Guild Wars’ Winds of Change concludes on a high note

Like a turbulent gust blowing off the Jade Sea, the latest installment of Guild Wars’ Winds of Change clears away the heavy fog that has been hanging over players since learning of the Ministry of Purity’s duplicity. With the Ministry not as innocent as it once seemed, the Kurzicks and the Luxons at it again, and Cantha in peril, heroes are needed. Who will answer this call? Why the players of course!

With the nine new quests available, as well as new rewards both in game and in the store, players will have plenty of fat lootz to entice them back to the adventure in Winds of Change.

Muster the Rohirrim! Lord of the Rings Online rides to Rohan

Fresh off the heals of the Lord of the Rings Online expansion that pit us against Saruman, Rise of Isengard, players will finally get to take their first step in the realm of Theoden himself, Rohan! I sat down with the game’s executive producer, Kate Paiz, to hear all about the new content, gameplay mechanics and adventure coming to ring-chasers this Fall.

Dungeons & Dragons Online leaps into The Forgotten Realms with its first expansion

The Forgotten Realms is as classic a D&D setting as they get: a lost realm related to our own where magic runs rampant, deities are active, and–well, just imagine most any classic RPG game you’ve played and you’ll see hints of The Forgotten Realms’ influence. And Update 13 is finally bringing it to Dungeons & Dragons Online, which is still offering it’s brand of flexible free-to-play options to the masses. I recently sat down with the game’s Executive Producer Fernando Paiz to talk about what the upcoming content will look like in DDO’s first-ever expansion: Menace of the Underdark.

Halting the grind: Leveling in Aion just got easier

Aion is often the poster child for grind-heavy MMOs. At launch, this was very true, but NCsoft has made a lot of changes over the years in an attempt to alleviate some of that monotony, although some modifications have been more effective than others. Recent changes drew me back to see if I could climb out of the leveling ravine.

Play that funky music LOTRO

Wannabe rockers have been playing with the music system in The Lord of the Rings Online since the launch of the game in 2007. There’s a lot to have fun with: LotRO allows you to play songs on a variety of instruments, and inspired players can create complex musical creations. Community events that include musical performances brighten the darkest day of Middle-earth.

Revisiting Star Trek Online: Klingons, combat and more

It’s been a rough ride for Star Trek Online. Many Trekkies lamented that the space combat lacked some punch, and ground combat felt more like watching paint dry than a space-faring sci-fi adventure. Previous updates have addressed the first problem, and the latest patch offers some exciting new enhancements to ground combat.

The “shooter” control scheme is simple to enable: either go into the menu and select it from a drop-down, or hit B on the keyboard. A targeting reticule will pop up on your screen, and the camera will switch to over your shoulder, similar to a third-person shooter. Going into shooter mode also changes the way you enable your abilities. The left and right mouse buttons are your main and alternate attack, and the middle button is your melee attack. Just point at your target and use an ability to activate it. No more Tab targeting for you!

Aion’s 48 man raid – Padmarashka’s Cave Guide

With Aion patch 2.7 going live on October 19th, we’ve teamed up with NCsoft to give you some helpful hints to guide your way through Padmarashka’s Cave. This new instance will test your fortitude as you battle Sematariux and Padmarashka with 47 of your closest friends. Yep, that’s right, a 48-man raid! Will you be able to take down the monstrosities that lurk in Padmarashka’s Cave? Read on to find out the best ways to approach this mammoth instance.

Rift’s next update will bring plenty of gaming goodness for raid-phobic and PvP-focused players

We Rift players are a pretty lucky bunch. Over the past few months post-launch, we’ve received almost-monthly major updates with some pretty quality content. That content has pretty obviously been focused on keeping raiders entertained, however. The River of Souls, the Golden Prophecy, and the soon to be opened Hammerknell are all filled with large-scale PVE encounters.

The rest of us, however, have been left with the fairly unsatisfying River of Souls world event and the long-lasting Waves of Madness event. Substantial content for non-raiders has been pretty sparce, but not for long. Soon, level 50 players will be finding plenty of new ways to enjoy themselves through alternate advancement, new adventure stories in Telara, and upcoming changes to PvP. We talked with producer Scott Hartsman to get all the details.