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Aion Review (PC)

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:22:14 +0000

The market for fantasy MMORPGs has become quite crowded in recent years, with scores of free titles flowing out of Asia on top of a flurry of North American and European efforts. Some of these games garnered considerable interest at launch, but they haven't been able to turn that into ongoing success. Aion is NCsoft's lastest offering in this genre, building on their vast experience with earlier MMORPGs such as the Lineage series.

Aion Review (PC) originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 00:22:14.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic Jedi Info

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:24:24 +0000

There has been a steady trickle of details about Star Wars: The Old Republic coming from the official site, and the latest class to receive the "HoloNet" treatment is the Jedi Knight, which is bound to be a favorite. The video clips show off some of the Jedi's combat moves, like the Force Push and the, uh... Lightsaber Boomerang? I've also posted a few new screenshots of this upcoming MMORPG.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Jedi Info originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 21:24:24.

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Champions Online Free Weekend

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:48:39 +0000

If you've been hankering to explore your alter-ego as a superhero in Champions Online, this weekend is your chance to do it for free. Cryptic is offering a free weekend of the game to anyone who wants to give it a try, in celebration of Halloween and the release of their Blood Moon content patch. The event runs from 10 a.m. October 30 until 10 a.m. November 2 (PST). You'll need to register on the official site and download the game client to play.

Champions Online Free Weekend originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 17:48:39.

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WoW: Cataclysm Dev Chat Transcript

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:56:40 +0000

Blizzard has answered an extensive list of questions about Cataclysm, the next expansion for World of Warcraft, which they collected through their Twitter page. The transcript is available on the official WoW forums, and answers about 40 user submitted questions about what lies ahead for the game.

WoW: Cataclysm Dev Chat Transcript originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 19:56:40.

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Quake Live Interview

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:44:26 +0000

There's a good interview with Marty Stratton, Executive Producer of Quake Live, over on Bethesda Blog. They discuss their goals in making this free game, some of the challenges they face, and where it may be going in the future. It certainly has made jumping into an online match for a quick fix extremely painless. If you're a fan of 90s-style multiplayer shooters you owe it to yourself to give it a try. There are training arenas with AI opponents for anyone that needs to brush up on their twitch skills.

Quake Live Interview originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 19:44:26.

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No Dedicated Servers for Modern Warfare 2

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:43:16 +0000

Online shooter fans are up in arms after learning earlier this week that the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will not have the customary dedicated servers used by previous games in the series. Multiplayer games will instead be managed with a central matchmaking system in much the same way as it is done on consoles. This means that online games will be hosted on one of the player's computers, rather than on a server that doesn't have local players on it. This has a number of drawbacks, including interuptions when the host player quits the game, unpredictable latency, and support for fewer players per match. It also means that the community's abilities to mod the game to suit their tastes will be sharply curtailed. As you can imagine, an online petition has been started and it has already soared to over 100,000 signatures. If that translated directly into game sales, it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 million dollars.

So what is behind Infinity Ward's decision to do this? Well, dedicated server systems aren't perfect, and it's not always easy to find a match with people of your skill level that is free of cheaters. They want to improve the multiplayer experience for casual players that don't want to spend time finding a server that suits them. A more detailed explanation has been posted on Robert Bowling's blog.

As the bulk of Modern Warfare 2 sales will be for consoles in any case, it may be that PC gamers have become a low priority, but I'd wager that this is a bad decision. A better approach would be to stick with dedicated servers, but provide a better server browser with more robust filtering. How about offering a dedicated server option as well as a peer-to-peer matching service? With a little ingenuity, I don't see why the needs of both the hardcore competitive players and the casual types can't be met. Hopefully we haven't heard the last of this.

No Dedicated Servers for Modern Warfare 2 originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 21:43:16.

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Trains

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:04:46 +0000

This free Flash game puts you in charge of a railroad system, and you have to control switches, turntables, and repair cars to get the train home on time. Trains involves a variety of puzzle-like challenges, such as bandits that will attack your train and bridges that can only support a limited number of cars. There are 21 levels, it's controlled entirely by mouse, and it's a fun distraction for people of all ages.

Trains originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 17:04:46.

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Earth Eternal Open Beta

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:19:47 +0000

Sparkplay Media has launched the open beta of Earth Eternal, their free browser-based fantasy MMORPG. Set in a fictionalized version of Earth, the game has 22 playable races, most of which are based loosely on real animals. From the official site: "Set in a high-fantasy universe that combines real-world history, legend, and myth with original creations, Earth Eternal incorporates a blend of original fiction, mythologies from Norse to Egyptian, and classic fairy tales into an epic, sweeping story." It will run in a Web browser or as a stand-alone client.

Earth Eternal Open Beta originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 00:19:47.

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Pros and Cons of Digital Distribution

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:25:19 +0000

The digital distribution of PC games has really come of age in the last few years, and it now seems inevitable that disks and boxes are on their way out and downloads are the way of the future. Not everyone is happy about it, because a lot of people still expect to get a physical object when they buy a game, but a growing number of game sales are taking place through online services. Here's a quick look at the pros and cons of digital distribution.

Pros and Cons of Digital Distribution originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 01:25:19.

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L4D2 Getting Scavenge Mode

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:14:05 +0000

Left 4 Dead 2, the sequel to Valve's hit zombie shooter, will have a new gameplay mode called "Scavenge." It will be played in rounds of up to 8 players, with Survivors trying to collect cans of gas to refuel a generator, while the Infected try to stop them, destroy the cans, and/or run out the clock. There's more info in the press release on Steam. The rumor is that L4D2 will also have a Realism mode for people that like their games really, really hard. It's due for launch on November 17, just in time for the Holiday rush.

L4D2 Getting Scavenge Mode originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 18:14:05.

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