Previews

Armchair Empire Previews "Tabula Rasa"

If the name means "blank slate," you know it has to have a good backstory!Actually, we know it has an immersive storyline because Richard "the father of MMOGs" Garriott is involved! Since TR is still a long ways out, this preview focuses on what Destination Games / NC Soft developers are concentrating on: namely a pure PvE, soloer-friendly, story-stuffed sci-fi high-octane MMOG with an accent on open-ended, class role-defying gameplay (whoa, there's a lot of adjectives there!).

"With Tabula Rasa, Destination Games is trying to do something a little bit different with the genre, taking certain elements from the first person shooter, and fusing them with role-playing. This isn’t to say that the game is going to be highly twitch-oriented, where dexterity rules the roost, as this simply isn’t the case. The game will still be focused on stats and character advancement like one would expect to find in an RPG, but the developers want to find a way to include some of the visceral, psychological elements of the FPS to include in the game. By doing this, they hope to provide a more intense, fast-paced experience for players."

Sit back and enjoy Armchair Empire's Tabula Rasa preview!

Features, Previews

Sat, Aug 27, 2005

Ethec
City of Villains Pre-order Helmets
Exclusive Virtual Helmets
NCSoft has posted pictures of the helmets that City of Villains pre-order customers will receive. Hats R Us was unaware of this promotion and has lodged an official protest that goes something like this:

"City of Villains™ Exclusive Pre-Order Helmets"

You can view the City of Villains Pre-order Helmets at The Official Site.
Related Links:
- Other City of Villains News
Features, Previews

Fri, Aug 26, 2005

Boomjack
Saga of Ryzom Preview at RPGVault
A brief glimpse into a saga.
RPGVault has posted a Saga of Ryzom preview featuring the Tryker race. Kevin Pereira of Attack of the Show is rumoured to have once worked as a tricycle riding clown at the circus where he was paid to yell:

" A youthful Tryker refugee tells us about the playful, wide-eyed race and its status in Nevrax' persistent state world."

You can read the entire Saga of Ryzom Preview at RPGVault.
Related Links:
- Other Saga of Ryzom News
Features, Previews

Fri, Aug 26, 2005

Boomjack
Hero's Journey Preview at RPGVault
Do all heroes have journeys?.
RPGVault has posted a Hero's Journey Peek #5, focusing on one of the creatures, the Targust. Vin Diesel once ran around the world in 22 minutes. He could have done it faster, but he stopped to say this:

"An introduction to the massive, immensely powerful Targust, one of the creatures we'll see in Simutronics' endeavor"

You can read the entire Hero's Journey Preview at RPGVault.
Related Links:
- Other Hero's Journey News
Features, Previews

Fri, Aug 26, 2005

Boomjack
City of Heroes Update Previewed at IGN

I'm omnipotent, and I wear yellow tights!
IGN has posted a preview of City of Heroes: The Forest of Dread. Bruce Campbell, mistaking "Dread" for "Dead" rushing to Paragon City and announced:

" As any former or continuing players are probably aware, developer Cryptic Studios is serious about continuing to push big updates through into City of Heroes as long as the game has legs. So far, it's legs look to be running strong so it's no real surprise that another update will be hitting the game soon… as in "next week" soon. We had a chance to check out The Forest of Dread update recently in order to get a look at the new zone, powers sets, villains, and more. "

You can read the entire City of Heroes: The Forest of Dread at IGN.

Features, Previews

Thu, Aug 25, 2005

Boomjack
DaoC: Darkness Rising Preview

What makes darkness rise? Is it like a helium balloon?
RPGVault has posted a preview of Dark Age of Camelot: Darkness Rising. Vin Diesel once wanted to hit a club earlier than usual, so he spun the Earth increasing the speed of its rotation causing darkness to rise. He did not however, ever say this:

" A look ahead to a major feature addition in Mythic's next online world expansion pack, player-controlled mounts "

You can read the entire Dark Age of Camelot: Darkness Rising Preview at RPGVault.

Features, Previews

Wed, Aug 24, 2005

Boomjack
Guild Wars PvP Extreme Weekend

PvP Extreme and still no monthly fee.
Details on the upcoming PvP Extreme event for Guild Wars players have been posted on the official site. Dave Chappelle swears up and down that he didn't say this:

" Join us for our three-day Guild Wars PvP Extreme Weekend (PvPX) and get a jump on the competition. For the entire weekend, all PvP play gets you extra faction points. "

You can read the details of the Guild Wars - PvP Extreme Weekend at the Official Site.

Features, Previews

Tue, Aug 23, 2005

Boomjack
City of Villains Preview at GamesRadar

Bringing chaos to your door. Delivery is free.
GamesRadar has posted a City of Villains Preview. Where have all the heroes gone? We don't know, but we do know this:

"Cryptic Studios were rebuffed by publisher after publisher when looking for a commercial partner to bring their world to spandex-hungry PC gamers.
They knew that a game based around superheroes would find an audience. But in a time where everything was an EverQuest clone, no one would believe them. Until they met Korean publishers NCsoft."

You can read the entire City of Villains Preview at GamesRadar.

Features, Previews

Tue, Aug 23, 2005

Boomjack
Auto Assault Preview at Gamerati

Mustangs with Munitions
Gamerati has an Auto Assault preview posted based on their play at QuakeCon. Bruce Campbell showed them his "Boomstick!" and yelled this:

"While we were at QuakeCon 2005 last weekend, I was able to get some
quality time in with a non-restricted and unsupervised copy of Auto Assault from NCSoft and NetDevil. While I wasn't able to spend enough time to cover every class, I did get quite a bit of detail on the Human Lieutenant in addition to some general class/race info, and a small vid in addition to a whole mess of screenshots. "

You can read the Auto Assault Preview at Gamerati.

Features, Previews

Tue, Aug 23, 2005

Boomjack
Dungeons and Dragons Online Preview

SWDP (Single White Dwarf Priest) seeks Elven paladin level 10-12 for long walks in a dungeon.
GameSpy has posted a Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach preview based on their experience with the title at GenCon in Indianapolis. Samuel L. Jackson rolled the dice and exlaimed:

" I came to the 2005 GenCon Game Faire in Indianapolis with only a small
list of "must-do" items. Sitting somewhere in the top five roughly between "get 'Geek version 2.0' t-shirts for my kids" and "finally buy that plush Cthulhu toy" was "get in some hands-on time with Dungeons & Dragons Online." Okay, I'll admit it, I was a big ol' D&D geek back in the day, and while I haven't had the time to play in many years, I still have a lot of affection for the game. Add to that the idea of building a whole MMO around it and I'm in. Rather than just dive in, though, I decided to wait until after my extended conversation with Dave Eckleberry. I'd wait to see what he had to say about what makes the product distinct and then judge for myself by actually playing the game. "

You can read the Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach Preview at GameSpy.
More DDO than you can shake a bugbear at: DDO.TenTonHammer.com.

Features, Previews

Mon, Aug 22, 2005

Boomjack

MMO news, guides, reviews, features, interviews and more at Ten Ton Hammer

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