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

Guild Wars, hammered.

Part review, part synopsis, the TTH crew takes a candid look at a subscription-free success story. NCSoft re-entered the Massively Multiplayer scene in early 2005 via a young upstart developer called Arena.net, and Guild Wars was set to face off with two established persistant-world heavyweights.

It turns out that Guild Wars was unique enough to carve a stable niche for itself, but are 20 levels enough to keep players from turning their attention to the next big thing?

"New players notice a few things about Guild Wars right off the bat. First comes the choice of "player vs. environment" (PvE) or "player vs. player" (PvP) - a theme that pervades the game as Arena.net races to develop and balance the game for the heavily segmented player base. In any case, with PvE you'll start at level 1 and explore, equip, and adventure your way to level 20, choosing your own unique blend of primary and secondary subclass (more on this in a moment) along the way.

Under the PvP ruleset, you'll start at level 20, with a decently-developed primary / secondary skillset and the ability to equip a baseline set of equipment (you can later utilize equipment and templates "unlocked" through previous PvP successes- unlocked equipment is tied to the account, so players don't lose it when they delete a PvP character). PvP and PvE both have the ability to change the size and a few of the appearance attributes of their character and color of their starter armor."

Click here to see the TTH Guild Wars profile!

Other links you might enjoy:

• The TTH Guild Wars Community Site - Everything you need for a smooth trip through Tyria!

• Past Guild Wars news.

We have a scratch in race #4 at the Barrow-downs. Frodo's Fancy will not run today.
Turbine has posted a preview of the Barrow-downs area in Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.

"Known in the Elvish language as Tyrn Gorthad ("Hills of Tombs"), the Barrow-downs, located east of the Old Forest in the Bree-land region of Eriador, is a place of mystery best avoided by unwary adventurers.  By day, the area seems harmless enough – a quiet region of gently rolling plains and grassy mounds topped by ancient standing stones, marking the final resting place of great warriors from ages past.  But the spells which lay across the Barrow-downs are deceiving, and the mists that roll in as the day wanes can disorient and entrap even the bravest souls, turning the once-pleasant hills into dark shapes crowned with sharp teeth of stone.  In the dreadful gloom, evil spirits from Angmar dwell amongst the standing stones and within the burial mounds, inhabiting the bodies of the long-dead warriors and raising them as terrifying Wights driven to collect the living and bring them forever into this land of the dead. "

You can read the entire Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar Preview at the Official Site.
Related Links:

• Other Lord of the Rings Online News

At look ahead, at villains and the city they call home.
GameSpy has posted a preview of City of Villains taking a look at character creation and the gameplay as it stands pre-release. The game should be in a store near you starting on Halloween. Dress up as your favourite villain and head down the mall to get a copy. I might leave the bellaclava at home though.

" When I was a kid, my Dad and I would spend hours discussing our favorite sci-fi movies, old episodes of Star Trek, or the intricate nuances of comic books. It was during one of those conversations that I noticed something odd. For all the time we spent discussing Batman, or Luke Skywalker or Captain Kirk, we spent much more time discussing the Joker, Darth Vader, or picking apart the political structures of the Romulan Empire (OK, my Dad's a geek, too). When I asked him why we seemed to gravitate toward the villains far more than the heroes of these stories, I remember his answer as if it were yesterday:



"Villains are more fun.""

You can read the entire City of Villains Preview at GameSpy.
Related Links:

• Other City of Villains News

Another Lap Each From Three Regular Auto Assault Official Site Features (Thanks Maya!)

Every week, the Net Devil team posts releases neat blueprint-style deskpaper introducing one new vehicle from each of the three races.

Blueprints of the Apocalypse: Human Daedalus, Mutant Cicada MV-8, and the Biomek Activar MAV-42. More wallpaper goodness.

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Another regular feature is "Recon," which is a detailed look at the lore behind a certain game location.

Recon: Human city of Upside. Also known as "Ascension," this is where the humans returned to the surface and remains a multi-purpose stronghold.

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And, since it's not too late to ask for /pizza, NetDevil wants to know what you'd like to do in-game after you've driven back to a city and cleaned your 105mm howitzer for the day.

Weigh-in Wednesday Forum Poll: "What kind of non-combat gameplay would you like to see in Auto Assault?" Your opinion is wanted!

Other links you might enjoy: