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

Gamer Girlies Walk Us Through Their AA Experience
For a bare-bones, no-acronym approach to what AA is all about, check out Game-Vixens AA preview (**Sort-of Pseudo Disclaimer: Ethec by no means wishes to say that girls can't use acronyms or write complex reviews, and he wishes to thank Game-Vixen for writing a review for simpletons like him... aaagh don't hurt me, please! ::curls into a ball::)

"Auto Assault is set in a futuristic world contaminated by radiation released when humans attempted to wipe the surface clean in order to rid themselves of alien invaders. Only after resurfacing from hundreds of years living underground did they realize what a mistake they had made. This radiation created mutated forms of all life including a portion of humanity who are now called mutants. There were other humans who adapted to this contamination by fusing nano technology and flesh together; these humanoids are known as biomeks."

More from the Auto Assault preview at Game-vixens.com!

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!

Take a tour and punt a gnome!

Cogglesworth's Tour of Norrath, Part 3 examines the zones that surround the two warring cities in EQ2. Included are some screenshots taken at such a high resolution that I could almost hear the computer cry out in pain over in San Diego.

Professor Cogglesworth is a gnome sage of some renown. While he is well-known for cataloging a compendium of legendary figures, he has also compiled a journal detailing the lands he and others have visited. The professor has gone to great lengths to compile accurate information, but it should be noted that some entries within this journal may not be entirely factual. Cogglesworth is an exceptionally intelligent scholar, but history and lore are sometimes a matter of perspective.

We continue today with two entries from Professor Cogglesworth's journal: Antonica and The Commonlands.

Take a look at the continuing Everquest 2 zone pictorial at the official site!

More Q&As than a DnD Player's Handbook has Mountain Dew stains!

As you read this interview with DDO Community Manager Victor Wachter- probing the decision to choose Eberron as a setting and sorting out what will make DDO compelling and unique in the genre- you just might be able to hear player's handbook pages turning and dice clattering deep in the background.

MMORPG.com: Will alignment play a factor in DDO? Can I, for example, choose to play a Chaotic Evil character, or is the game for good guys only?

Victor Wachter: Alignment is not embedded within the game systems, but these circumstances are presented within the quests and dungeons. Eberron itself is a setting where alignment is fluid, and so players may need to make choices that stretch the boundaries of their alignments. While alignment choices won’t limit a player’s options within the game, they will have an impact on how some NPC’s react toward their character.

More Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach Q&As at MMORPG.com.