After releasing a lengthy blog post about the state of Neverwinter a few weeks ago, Perfect World has started to act on its plans to prevent future problems with the open beta. One of those steps is the impending launch of a new public test server that’ll be filled with new fixes to be vetted for wide distribution.
You can play Neverwinter right now, but that doesn't mean it's launched yet, because *puts on old man hat* everything about games today is confusing as hell. Also: it's still in open beta, at least for another fortnight. That comes to an end on June 20th, when Neverwinter will officially be born into the world, accompanied by the free, and oddly named, 'Gauntlgrym' content for level 60 players. While I try to pronounce it, have a gander at this Gauntlgameplay video.
Neverwinter is here, and like the British summer it's currently in open beta - meaning it suffers from the odd rain cloud now and again. Still, if you're a fan of dungeons and/or dragons and/or free things, you should probably get stuck in. This latest video takes us on a brief tour through the Whispering Caverns - a lovely family picnic spot located just outside Neverwinter, off the M1. Oh. It's actually a giant labyrinth of tunnels filled with all manner of beasties such as giant spiders and my nemesis the Beholder (pictured above). I don't think Nan would like that. I don't think Nan would like that at all.
The Control Wizard is Neverwinter's ranged juggler, a useful party member for poking enemies from afar with fingers of ice or a friendly buzz from a lightning bolt. Here's a collection of moments showing off the Wizard's adeptness at blasting away those straying too close, liberal crowd control, and the interpretive dance of casting animations.
Star Trek Online is about to boldly go into its third year since engaging back in early 2010, and from January 31 through February 14, players can take part in a celebratory episode called "Temporal Ambassador" where they'll cross paths with the late Enterprise Chief Tactical Officer Tasha Yar, played in-game as she was in The Next Generation series by Denise Crosby.
Neverwinter's Trickster Rogue class carries all the properties of the archetypal dagger-wielding shadowmaster in MMORPG fare. Cryptic's latest class video following the Guardian and Control Wizard reveals the agile assassin evading attacks and dealing quick flurries and backstabs using plenty of hard-hitting abilities. The RPG fan in me says "yes." The stealth fan in me says "yesyesyes." Neverwinter releases in early 2013.
The next chapter of Star Trek Online's ongoing voyages is set to engage next Tuesday. Players will be able to explore New Romulus, the largest ground exploration zone in the game to date, as they aid the Romulans in building a new home. Check out the trailer inside, and read on for more intel.
Shopping for clothes usually doesn't involve slinging fireballs into a hulking chimera the size of three smaller chimeras stacked on each other, but that's RaiderZ for you. Perfect World's monster-hunting MMO tweaks generous grinding demands with a David-vs-Goliath size scale for foes and a gearing philosophy of transporting the still-fresh body parts of your kills to vendors to wear as trophies. Such a mix of mercantile barbarism is what heroes will experience within RaiderZ's open beta currently underway.
Tanks are magical beings. For all their plate-metal tonnage and dinner table-sized shields, they somehow possess the agility to surge across a battlefield in a silvery blur, causing mini-earthquakes with nothing but a big knife. Neverwinter's Guardian class probably has a bright future as the go-to foundation for a dungeon party, and this gameplay trailer -- the first of a planned series showcasing Neverwinter's five classes -- demonstrates how much destruction occurs when you draw the ire of everything and fight to a tune that's almost the Pirates of the Caribbean theme.
Perfect World Entertainment wants you to see the great outdoors—then slay the gigantic monsters that populate the world of RaiderZ. This MMO is fashioned after the wildly popular Monster Hunter series, and is definitely one we're keeping our eyes on. But why not play it while you keep tabs on its humongous baddies?
http://youtu.be/HnCF5yNVxhI
Cryptic recently took the wraps off Neverwinter's MMO makeover, but in terms of viewable media, the developer's been rather, er, cryptic. That all ends today, however, as this nice story trailer - complete with its own gruff, grizzled veteran regaling grim tales in the back of a bar - has suddenly appeared on the Internet. If that's not enough, there's also a dragon. And a bridge! Who doesn't love those? Adventure northward - through this precarious morass of words - to see for yourself.
[bcvideo id="983968576001"]
Cryptic's Neverwinter was announced as a co-op RPG from the creators of Champions Online and Star Trek Online. Built with a modified version of the Star Trek Online engine and set in the summery but zombie-blighted D&D city of Neverwinter. Eurogamer report that it will be turned into a free-to-play MMO. All quests, areas and expansions will be free, but you'll be able to pay for pets, fancy clothing items and consumables. The release date has been pushed back to late 2012 to give Cryptic a bit of time to change the way the entire game works.
Cryptic's superhero MMO, Champions Online went free-to-play earlier this year and Star Trek Online is set to take the plunge before the year is out. Cryptic was bought up by Perfect World Entertainment this year, a company that specialises in publishing free-to-play MMOs like the recently released Rusty Hearts. Whatever Cryptic make next, expect it to be free to play.
