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  • EQ2 Expansion Review at Boomshack

    It was the weekend of EverQuest 2 "Desert of Flames" Reviews!

    Boomshack liked everything about the September expansion for the MMO genre's distant silver medallist except the quirky encounter-lock game mechanic. Creating a huge, gaping exploit is one way to keep the low- to mid-level game interesting I suppose.

    Well I don't want to get bogged down in criticism as I really like Desert of Flames but the new mob lock system really doesn't work. It means that a guy can attack a mob, but the mob isn't locked to him, so all outsiders can then attack it. It means a level 35 can complete quests and will get credit for it just for hitting the mob the one time. For raid mobs it will be locked permanently, but not for solo heroic mobs. In my view this is a pretty bad decision by the developer.

    Boomshack tries out EverQuest 2: Desert of Flames.

    Other links you might enjoy:

  • The TTH Desert of Flames section - More fun than a barrel of desert spectres!
  • Past EverQuest 2 News
Reviews
Mon, Oct 24, 2005
Ethec
  • GameSpy Reviews EQ2 Expansion

    Thank you sir, may I have another?

    Gamespy likes "Desert of Flames" but wants more low-end content. Nah, it's good business sense to develop content solely for the top 25% of your playerbase, right?

    This is certainly good news for the game's most hardcore players, many of whom feel that they've been stagnating at the endgame. The newly-added Isle of Ro will provide more than enough fodder to last them several months. This focus on high-level content, though, came at a cost, as frankly, there isn't a whole lot here for low-to-mid level characters. Oh well. At least they get adventure packs.

    Gamespy takes a shot at EverQuest 2: Desert of Flames.

    Other links you might enjoy:

  • The TTH Desert of Flames section - The most you'll find written anywhere about a desert.
  • Past EverQuest 2 News
    • Reviews
    Mon, Oct 24, 2005
    Ethec
  • EQ2 Expansion Review at Gamespot

    And another!

    Gamespot digs EverQuest 2's new desert turf, but is disheartened by incomplete PvP implementation and content exclusively designed for high-level players. Of course, to complain about the latter means you'll have to put yourself at loggerheads with every MMO expansion ever made.

    Desert of Flames has the most to offer EverQuest II players of advanced level, but the new PvP trappings and the combat revamp mean that there's something new to see for just about anyone. The player-versus-player combat still doesn't feel like a fully realized diversion just yet, but the act of exploring Ro and getting your character to level 60 should nicely fill the time you don't use waiting around for an arena game, provided you're of a high enough level to actually do those things. Existing players who are nearing the level of expansion country should check out Desert of Flames, and if you've let your account sit fallow for a bit, the changes to the combat system are worth sampling.

    Read all about EverQuest 2: Desert of Flames (again) at Gamespot.

    Other links you might enjoy:

  • The TTH Desert of Flames section - A section, because a review alone just wouldn't do!
  • Past EverQuest 2 News
    • Reviews
    Mon, Oct 24, 2005
    Ethec
  • IGN Boasts 4 New RF Online Screens

    If you ever wanted to play anime...

    RF Online is for you. You can see why at IGN, but first, here's some background on the game. No cute voiceovers or out-of-place sound effects yet, I'm afraid... you'll have to wait to next year to get the full manga experience.

    CCR's RF Online is a persistent state world offering three diverse playable factions. The expansion-minded Accretian Empire is an autocratic regime with citizens who are completely devoted to the welfare of the collective. Comprising numerous jurisdictions, the Cora people's Holy Alliance has fought many wars, invariably in furtherance of its deeply held spiritual convictions. The Bellato Union is constantly searching for new resources it can exploit, by force if necessary, in pursuit of its ambitious primary goal, economic domination of the cosmos.

    Codemasters has announced that it will launch the title next year in the North American and UK markets.

    Click here to see new RF Online screenshots at IGN.com.

    Other links you might enjoy:

  • Past RF Online news.
    • Images, Media
    Mon, Oct 24, 2005
    Ethec
  • New CoV Lore @ Official Site

    Lord Recluse becomes a little more... outgoing?

    City of Villains is set for release later this month, and the leader of the villainous forces is preparing his cadre of evil for an all-out Heroes assault. And my thoughts drift to the end of every old James Bond movie, when the amalgam of British/American/good-guy forces arrive to fight all the evil underlings while 007 and the girl chase the mastermind. Cue the flute, timpani, and brass section!

    Attention, villains of the Rogue Isles! This is your leader, Lord Recluse. I address you, my mighty comrades, to warn you of a dastardly plot hatched by the contemptible Statesman.

    Arachnos technicians have intercepted a Longbow transmission detailing a massive assault on the Rogue Isles! Statesman and his lackeys, the Freedom Phalanx, plan to coordinate their efforts with Longbow in a pathetic attempt to destroy us.

    If they want war…they shall have it.

    Muhahaha... see for yourself! New City of Villains lore at the CoV official site.

    Other links you might enjoy:

  • Past City of Villains news.
  • Dress for success - Because it's hard to fight crime if your tights are too tight.
    • News
    Mon, Oct 24, 2005
    Ethec
  • PotBS Dev Journal #4

    Captain's Blog, AD 1805

    This is a novelty, a Western game whose devs are talking about localizing for the Asian market before launch across the Pacific and in Europe. Executive Producer Russell Williams (not Russell Crowe) also gives insight into what's going on lately with the MMO all the pirates are aarrrrr'ing about.

    It's good news, Flying Lab has been quietly sailing away with no new announcements for a while now. In my experience, such lulls are either a really good or a really bad thing. Usually a bad thing- meaning big core concept or team changes.

    In other news, we’ve finally had an opportunity to start filling in some obvious holes. Some of them are small (our walk animation is a bit languid), and some are kind of big (our camera controls were developer friendly, user hostile). While we’ve had some big areas we’ve been implementing, a lot of these pieces are relatively small tasks (2-4 days) but have a huge payoff (mmmm, smooth camera controls!). This is the insanely fun part of a project.

    At the beginning, your team spends weeks putting together the architecture for some feature, and at the end, an excited dev calls you over to show you some tiny checkbox that comes up when he runs some debug command. “See? See?!” he asks, waiting for your tears of joy. “Uh, yeah, that’s great. So when I can I see a cannon go boom?” you ask. It’s not a happy time. But now I hear that we’re about ready to start some long awaited big feature, and less than a week later, it’s in. It’s very, very fun to start seeing the features roll in fast and furious, which is really good because we have a LOT of features that we’d like to do.

    Browse Russell Williams' Dev Journal at MMORPG.com.

    Other links you might enjoy:

    News
    Mon, Oct 24, 2005
    Ethec
  • TTH Profiles Guild Wars

    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:

    Reviews
    Mon, Oct 24, 2005
    Ethec
  • WHO Preview at Warhammer Alliance

    Warhammer Online Resurrected. I think that should be the official name of the game.
    Warhammer Alliance has posted a brief preview of Warhammer Online. There isn't anything new here, but it's nice to see a site up and running to cover this "off in the distance" title by Mythic.

    "Despite taking place in a entirely new setting, Mythic will be drawing
    on all the Warhammer fantasy material no matter whether it comes from
    the Warhammer Fantasy Battles or Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. This will
    ensure that this new game will look, feel, and perhaps even taste like
    real Warhammer.
    "

    You can read the entire Warhammer Online Preview at Warhammer Alliance.
    Related Links:

    Features, Previews
    Fri, Oct 21, 2005
    Boomjack
  • Atriarch Developer Diary

    Build your destiny in Atriarch, literally.
    World Fusion has posted a developer diary discussing the player structures and buildings that will be available in Atriarch.

    " When talking about Atriarch, we mention a lot about player structures and buildings. The simple reason is because we think it is really cool the way we've designed it. Okay, okay, I know that is not the most subjective statement in the world, but then again if I did not think what we are making was worthwhile, then I'd do something else. I am a gamer afterall and want to play Atriarch with everyone :-) Anyway, back to player-buildings... mentioned in previous posts, player buildings require the placement of a foundation. Atriarch's engine differentiates between types of foundations. The following paragraph addresses some questions that were posted about this. "

    You can read the entire Atriarch Developer Diary at the Official Site.
    Related Links:

    Features, Interviews
    Fri, Oct 21, 2005
    Boomjack
  • LotRO Preview at the Official Site

    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:

    Features, Previews
    Fri, Oct 21, 2005
    Boomjack
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