Loading... Best of E3 2009
Posted June 5th, 2009 by Ethec
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E3 2009 might have come to a close, but our coverage continues! Today's newsletter features we'll feature your best bets for E3 2009 MMO articles and videos, plus offer our MMOG picks Loading... Best of E3 2009!
Check out the Ten Ton Hammer E3 portal for the latest MMO goodness from this year's show!
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E3 2009 is over and was a very good show (please don't grow, E3, you're the perfect size now), but the coverage is still rolling out. Since I've been awake for 36 hours following a red-eye return flight that lived up to the name, I'm taking the easy way out and naming our Best of E3 2009 picks. Fancy graphics to follow soon.
Surprise of the Show: Heroes of Telara - We were expecting cookie-cutter fantasy and saw a game built around truly dynamic content and rampant subclassing, both ideas worthy of a place in the next round of MMORPGs. It looks cool and better yet makes sense for the game Trion is designing, and we're truly excited to see where this one goes.
Best Use of a License: DC Universe Online - Licenses are tricky, but SOE Austin has made all the right moves, first by snatching up major league comic artist and writer talent like Jim Lee, Marv Wolfman, and Jeff Jones. That investment is already starting to pay off. Not only do the main storylines inundate you with big time DC characters, you'll fight with or against them in large-scale battles which eminate epic. The just-revealed Headline achievements and looted equipment that automatically adapts to your costume colors are both great ideas too.
Most Innovative: APB - Realtime Worlds is seeking to build a game which places such importance on individual fashion and character customization that you won't even see floaty names overhead as you walk around, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. You'll be able to combine a huge array of vector graphics to create your own tattoos, clothing graphics, and vehicle designs, work with an in-game FM mod synth-styled music machine to give your character your own theme music (read that one again), and have your gang's music or style of music blaring out of the speakers as you drive past other characters. We saw positional voicechat for the first time during the demo too.
Even the matchmaking is innovative in that it all happens in the background while you're going about your business in the game world. If you're a high level criminal trying to pull off a job, the game won't just issue an APB for you to a high level enforcer, it might send a few mid-level enforcers or a number of low-level enforcers. We could go on for paragraphs, but this game screams innovation and we truly hope Realtime Worlds can tie all these great ideas together into an awesome beta in the coming months.
Most Improved: The Agency - It might be odd to talk about a game still in-development as most improved, but for us seeing the demo mission legitimized the vision for an espionage-geared MMO that SOE has been telling us about for years. There's plenty of room for different playstyles,for guns blazing gamers and stealth / surpise types, and the black tie side of the classic spy motif is definitely present and very nicely done in what we saw. Overall character progression and overall cohesion are still question marks, but E3 2009 made us believers that SOE truly has something special going with The Agency.
Best Gameplay: Global Agenda - We saw a few "persistent world shooters" at E3 2009 this year, and Global Agenda, in our opinion, has the most to offer traditional MMO players. You build your character to suit your playstyle in the tank / DPS / support roles you're already used to, and the equipment and abilities you choose supports rather than dictates your style. The PvE sessions let you earn equipment while infusing a typically flat genre with some compelling storyline, and PvP is nothing short of a blast - think Team Fortress 2 or Battlefield Heroes with an overarching purpose and a z-axis. We'd dare anyone to play just one mission of this game, since we had a very rough time putting Global Agenda down when it was time to rush off to our next appointment.
Best of Show: Star Wars: The Old Republic - Maybe it was the absolutely phenomenal trailer that BioWare led off with (which many at E3 were calling the best Star Wars cinema in 30 odd years), or the retro-styled booth where they were doing the demo of the highly convincing bounty hunter and smuggler classes or the revelation that a game can go full voiceover without obstructing gameplay. SWTOR is still a long way away and we have much, much, much more to see, but not only did Bioware bring the full package to this year's premier games event, the core of the game looks very convincing, compelling, and, dare we say, hypeworthy.
Comment on our picks in the Loading... forum, or feel free to email me. I'll respond after a very lengthy nap.
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day
From our Articles, News and Events Discussion
Bioware Makes Big Announcement for SWTOR at E3
Oh, BioWare...we love you so!
E3 may be over for another year, but the furor over Star Wars: The Old Republic is only just beginning. BioWare announced this week that SW: TOR will be the first fully voiced MMOG ever developed.
We all love it when NPCs actually talk to us. The voice overs in Age of Conan helped me enjoy the Tortage experience the first time through, and I missed them when I left for distant shores and found that the NPCs would only stare at me blankly and spew text. But never fear, SW: TOR will give a voice to all NPCs. (Now let's hope we can get our pick-up groups to slow down long enough so we can actually listen.)
Are you excited about Star Wars: The Old Republic? How profound is the effect voice overs have on your MMO gaming experience? Discuss!
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Awesome Quotes from the Epic Thread
"I think out of 30+ years of gaming, that was the best frigging cinematic I have ever seen. I don't care for them honestly because we don't see actual game play and UI, etc. but that just spewed epicawesomenisitis!"
- OneEyeRed
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Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell us!
13 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 43 in June! 680 in 2009!
New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today
E3 2009
- Global
Agenda Hands-On Preview
The media bonanza of E3 certainly shines its spotlight on heavy-hitting developers and their publishers, but sometimes it's also the perfect opportunity to take a look at titles that may not be getting the amount of attention they deserve. At this year's conference, Ten Ton Hammer sat down with the developers of Global Agenda for a hands-on preview and came away thoroughly impressed. - New
Torchlight Screenshots
orchlight by Runic Games is on its way to a gaming station near you. A single player version of the game is up first, and players can expect an MMO version thereafter. The Seattle based team has many talented designers working on the game, and the talent shows in their screenshots. Don't believe us? Check them out for yourself. - Torchlight
Destroyer Video
The Destroyer and the Alchemist were the two classes shown by Runic Games for their upcoming action RPG: Torchlight. Get to know the class and a little more about Torchlight's look and feel with this brief video. - New
Crimecraft Screenshots
As a modern day MMOG, APB has the best of traditional gameplay mixed with the edgy backdrop of a crime ridden city. Choose to play as the law as you strive to clean up the streets or play as a street thug looking to make a name for yourself any way you can.APB is not due out until next year, but Realtime Worlds was cool enough to share some great screenshots with our staff at E3. - Crimecraft
E3 2009 Trailer
Ever want to join or even create a gang, but don't want to mess with the hassle of having a cap busted in yo azz? This summer, you can. Vogster games released this new Crimecraft trailer at E3. Gather your homies and get ready to partay, Crimecraft style. This game puts you in the seat to bring your own kind of justice to the streets. - Runes
of Magic Elven Prophecy Screenshots
Frogster has announced the second chapter to Runes of Magic and has been showcasing the new content at E3. The new chapter titled, Runes of Magic - The Elven Prophesy has a planned release date for September 2009, but to give players a peak at things to come, Frogster has released several new screenshots to show off some of the new content.
Features
- Premium
Members Only - Blacksmiths of Intellectual Property: The Rise of
Originality in MMOs
Ten Ton Hammer's Cody "Micajah" Bye sent a number of questions to original IP development teams across the world. The Ten Ton Hammer staff also took the time to ask you - the MMO gamer - what your thoughts were on original IPs, and what they would mean for your gaming experience. This feature length article is the result. - Geeked:
"He's Gonna Pop!"
Ten Ton Hammer's very own satirical webcomic on all things geek-related is back with another look into the dating life of nerds on the prowl with their zombie wingman. Last time, Bill was caught off guard when one of the opposite sex actually expressed interest. This time, he may be a little too on guard. - Blizzcon
Blitz 2009 Ticket Giveaway
If you don't already have a ticket for BlizzCon, chances are you won't find one for this year's premier fan event. That is, until now. Ten Ton Hammer has BlizzCon tickets and we aim to give them away to some lucky Ten Ton Hammer community member. All you have to do is fill out our contest registration form for your chance to win. There is no limit as to how many times you can register. Enter once if you feel lucky or a hundred times if you want to better your odds. The contest will run from June 4th to June 17th , 2009. Enter now for your chance to win.
Guides:
- World
of Warcraft: Hunter Glyphs
- World
of Warcraft: Shaman Glyphs
- World
of Warcraft: Warlock Glyphs
- World
of Warcraft: Protection Warrior Glyphs
- Blizzcon Blitz 2009 Ticket Giveaway
- Global Agenda Hands-On Preview
- Star Wars: The Old Republic E3 2009 Trailer
- Final Fantasy XIV at E3 2009
- Jumpgate Evolution PvP Q&A Video with Scott Brown
- DC Universe S.T.A.R. Labs Demo Video with Jens Andersen
- Crimecraft E3 2009 Trailer
- Heroes of Telara E3 Trailer
- Torchlight Destroyer Video
- EVE Online: Sins of a Solar Spymaster #13 - The Participation Game
Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
-Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team
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