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is the premier daily MMOG newsletter, only from Ten
Ton Hammer!

Welcome
to the 1,365th
edition
of Loading...

With the rapidly changing face of the MMOG market, players and
developers alike are looking for something fresh and exciting. For
some, this is attempted to be masked by simply adding a new
gimmick to an already-tired frame of a game. To others the only way to
break the mold is to try something completely different. One of the
newer emerging genres to try something completely new is the MMO Racer.
What makes our wheels spin when it comes to these games? Find out in href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/jun/29">Loading...
Embracing the Burnout.

width="100%">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010"> src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/misc/Loading/e32010.gif"
alt="E3 2010"
longdesc="http://images.tentonhammer.com/misc/Loading/e32010.gif"
height="90" width="210">

The
Pulse

You vote with what you
view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result
is the Ten Ton Pulse (What
is The Pulse?
).

Today's
top 5 Pulse results this week:

  1. World
    of Warcraft
  2. EverQuest
    II
  3. Age
    of Conan
    (UP 3)
  4. EVE
    Online
    (down 1)
  5. Dungeons
    and Dragons Online

Biggest
movers today
:

  1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2612">Sherwood
    Dungeon

    - UP 126 to #19
  2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/154">Ultima
    Online

    UP 35 to #17
  3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1407">DC
    Universe Online

    - Up 17 to #18
Recent Releases
  • 5/1
    - href="http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/game_updates/issue_17/issue_17_overview.html?utm_source=COHemail&utm_medium=US&utm_campaign=banner"
    target="_blank">City
    of Heroes - Issue 17: Dark Mirror

    (content
    update)
  • 5/11
    - Age
    of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer

    (expansion)
  • 5/26
    - EVE
    Online: Tyrannis

    (expansion)
  • 5/27
    - Craft
    of Gods

    (release)
  • 6/9
    - Mortal
    Online

    (release)
  • June
    29,
    2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998"
    target="_blank">APB
    (US release- July 2 in UK, EU)

Upcoming
Releases



  • July
    13, 2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1801"
    target="_blank">Mytheon
    (release)

  • July
    20,
    2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2461"
    target="_blank">Need
    for Speed World (release)
  • August
    17, 2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
    of Heroes: Going Rogue (release)
  • style="font-weight: bold;">October 26, 2010
    - LEGO
    Universe
    (release)

  • TBA
    2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2079"
    target="_blank">Final
    Fantasy XIV




Upcoming
Events

  • style="font-weight: bold;">7/22 -
    7/25 - target="_blank">Comic-Con
    International
  • style="font-weight: bold;">8/5 -
    8/8 - href="http://events.station.sony.com/fanfaire/" target="_blank">SOE
    Fan Faire 2010
  • style="font-weight: bold;">8/18 -
    8/22 - href="http://www.gamescom-cologne.com/en/gamescom/home/index.php"
    target="_blank">Gamescom 2010
  • style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
    9/5 - href="http://www.paxsite.com/paxprime/index.php" target="_blank">PAX
    Prime
  • style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
    9/6 - target="_blank">DragonCon
  • style="font-weight: bold;">10/22 -
    10/23 - href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/?rhtml=y" target="_blank">BlizzCon
  • style="font-weight: bold;"> 3/24
    -
    3/26 (2011) - target="_blank">CCP
    FanFest




Loading... Daily

Let's face it. There are an awful lot of us
who are getting tired of the same ol' high fantasy, whack-a-mole
interface, collect-ten-rat-pelt MMOGs. I'm not discrediting them; I'm
just sayin' it's time for something new. We don't need a dozen more
worlds in conflict between good and evil in a time when magic was
flowing through the world like a river. We can live without thousands
more players creating characters named "Drizzt, Drizzzt, Drizit," or
"Drrrrrizzzziiittt." We'll survive if there's not 20 more games that
launch next year with a default UI of two rows of ten icons;
auto-attack being at the far left. The world won't end if we don't see
countless more games with a zone called "the Nexus" and at least three
boss mobs that start with "Arch." There's nothing wrong with those
games. But we don't need more. We need something new.



Luckily for us, there are new games coming up. In fact, today, we can
celebrate the launch of href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998">APB,
which is probably about as different of an MMOG as you're likely to
see. Mattlow put up an article earlier this week to href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/86252">help get you
started.



But I'm not talking about APB
today. While certainly a game worth checking out, there is another
genre that's moving in quickly, and before long it may be bigger than
we would have expected. It's a genre that streamlines several core
types of playstyles: competition, exploration, action-adrenaline,
casual and point-by-point analytical game theory. I'm talkin' 'bout
massively multiplayer online racers.



There have been a few in
the past, so the genre isn't exactly new, but it is getting a lot more
attention this year than ever before, particularly with top-end
developers designing triple A products of the genre. (Check out

Trackmania
for an insanely fun, free arcady racer). Two of the racers that are
"gaining traction" are Test
Drive Unlimited 2
and Need
for Speed World
. While similar in the genre itself, both
games have taken a very different approach and offer a much different
experience.



First, let's take a look at Test
Drive Unlimited 2
.  I did a brief href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/tdu2-preview">preview
of the game
at E3 so I won't go on too long about it here. To summarize: the game
is fantastically detailed. The real fun in the game, for me, was the
exploration and just enjoyment of the rich detail. It's a real driving
simulator, though it certainly does have fun racing games built-in to
enjoy. The joy of this game is that it's about as close as you can get
to "the real thing" in terms of driving some of the world's best cars
you'll never own. It is forgiving when it comes to damaging your car
because, let's face it, dents aren't fun. Crashes are, and you can
still do those.



style="font-style: italic;">Need for Speed World
takes a different approach. It's all about the action. Quickly hop from
one racing event to the next. Sure, you can explore if you want, but
this game's all about the need...
for, erm... speed.
It plays fast and it plays hard. It's not a simulator. You won't see
exact replicas of the color of the spedometer needle in that Aston
Martin as you would in TDU2, but you will be spending more of your time
racing. With power-ups
that can make or break your race and customizable skills as you level,
this game plays a lot more like an MMORPG than does TDU2. And don't let
those power-ups throw you off. You're not going to be laying down
streams of banana peels and popping mushrooms as you would in certain
other racers.



The MMO Racer won't necessarily pull players away
from their MMORPGs. I don't think it's intended to. What it does
offer is an enjoyable respite from the grind. If you need an
adrenaline rush, you can get it. If you need to just sink into the
leather and relax behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Gallardo, you can
do that too. If you need to smash hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth of masterfully engineered machine art, have at it. The MMO Racer
brings entertainment back to the MMOG market in a time when we often
take ourselves too seriously in our quests for the best weapons and
armor. Of course, if you're the type that needs to be at the top of the
leaderboards, then you're probably not playing to relax, but you will
be able to compete at those levels too.



Be sure to grab a href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/nfsw"> style="font-style: italic;">Need for Speed World
Beta Key while we still have some left to check it out for
yourself. Then stop on by href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=52128">the
forums to let us know your thoughts.


Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day



From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=689">PC
& Console Games (Non-MMO) forum



href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=47798">What
are you playing right now?




Here's an older thread from our PC & Console Gaming (Non-MMO)
forum with recent posts and a great purpose. We want to know what
you're playing (and hopefully enjoying) when you're not playing MMOGs. href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=47798">Join
the conversation and let your fellow gamers know which games
are worth trying.



==============================

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread




"I'm taking advanatge of
the Steam summer sale - Deus Exc one and teo for $5, and all the
commandoes games for $3!
"



- href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showpost.php?p=435262&postcount=81">Mikes

==============================



Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!


New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer

7 Ten Ton Hammer
features
today! 123 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in June! 713
in 2010!

TEN TON HAMMER LIVE
PODCAST




DC Universe Online's
Senior Producer Wes Yanagi on Ten Ton Hammer Live Episode 13


http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/13



Find
out when SOE will reveal DC Universe Online Beta! This week on Ten Ton
Hammer Live the boys welcome DC Universe Online's Senior Producer, Wes
Yanagi, to talk about who would win in a fight - Aqualad or Arm Fall
Off Man? Oh, that, and his kick ass game. Want to be buddies with the
Joker? Run around in Metropolis? Bust Poison Ivy out of Arkham? Or just
whoop on some PvP butt? Well, it looks like this game has it all for
you.



DEV DIARY



Need for Speed World
Power-Ups Dev Diary


http://www.tentonhammer.com/nfsw/dev-diary-1



EA
Black Box has just released Need for Speed World Dev Diary #1. This
video shows the use of power ups that players can use for themselves
and against other players. (Our favorite of the power ups shown is the
Traffic Magnet.) This massive multiplayer racing game looks like it’ll
have gamers chomping at the bit to get into the racing action!



FEATURES & GUIDES



Microcosms: Wide World of
Gaming – A Mabinogi Review


http://www.tentonhammer.com/microcosms/2010/june/25



Nexon
is no newcomer to the MMOG scene and this powerhouse of free-to-play
gaming has quietly developed quite a following for several of its
titles. One of the most interesting, Mabinogi, blends Celtic lore with
a South Korean gaming pedigree and does it with a unique style. Join
Ten Ton Hammer’s Jason “Medawky” Bolton this week as he delves into
this wild world to see what makes it tick.



Dragon Festival Upcoming
- Guild Wars 2 Weekly Report


http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/newsletter/issue-5




The
Guild Wars 2 Weekly Report is now out with a recap of last week's news
in the Guild Wars universe. Last week we learned about written
languages in GW2 and the Dragon Festival has begun in GW1. Find out
more about the previous week at href="http://tentonhammer.com/gw2">Guild Wars - Ten Ton
Hammer.



EQ2 Brawler Alternate
Advancement Sample Specs


http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2/guides/specs-brawler



One
of the biggest questions players have regarding character
progression in EverQuest II is how to stack alternate advancements.
While specs vary for each player we are putting together solid AA
templates for every class starting with the brawler classes, the
Bruiser and Monk. Our sample specs provide both full offensive and
defensive sets touching upon each AA line and giving you a starting
point to create your own perfect brawler AA spec.



Sins of a Solar Spymaster
#47 - A Crisis of Excellence


http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/spymaster/47



EVE
Online has seen its share of issues with lag and broken mechanics and
The Mittani has decided to take off the gloves and dive deeper into
this topic. What is it that CCP suffers from? Find out in this week's
Sins of a Solar Spymaster #47 - A Crisis of Excellence.



WoW: Real Names in a Fake
World


http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/editorials/Real_ID



Excitement
is in the air in  the WoW community with the recent release to
the
Real I.D system. Bringing in game chatting to a whole new level, almost
everyone is happily adding friends galore. However, there may be a
darker side to this seemingly benign feature designed to foster
friendship in WoW; Real I.D requires users to divulge information that
could put user’s security at risk.

Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features

  1. style="font-weight: bold;">DC Universe Online's Senior
    Producer Wes Yanagi on Ten Ton Hammer Live Episode 13
    href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/nfsw">
  2. Need
    for Speed World Beta Key Giveaway
  3. style="font-weight: bold;">Sins of a Solar Spymaster #47 - A
    Crisis of Excellence
  4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sherwood-dungeon/interview">Exclusive
    Interview With Creator of
    Sherwood Dungeon
    href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sherwood-dungeon/interview">

  5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/company-of-heroes-interview">Introducing
    href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/company-of-heroes-interview">Company
    of Heroes Online
    href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/company-of-heroes-interview">
    - A Video Q&A with Producer Greg Wilson
  6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/instances/ruby-sanctum"> style="font-weight: bold;">WoW Ruby Sanctum
    Guide
  7. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/apb/10-tips-for-noobs"> style="font-weight: bold;">APB for Dummies
    - 10 Tips & Tricks to Help Get You Started
  8. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/swtor-ohlen-interview"> style="font-weight: bold;">Star Wars: The Old Republic
    - Q&A with James Ohlen
  9. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/interviews/traits">Exclusive
    Guild Wars 2
    Warrior and Traits
    Q&A with Lead Designer Eric Flannum
  10. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/wh40k-interview">Exclusive
    Video Q&A with Warhammer
    40,000: Dark Millennium
    Online
    Creative Director
    Joe Madureira

Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

- Benjamin J. de la Durantaye and the Ten Ton Hammer Team.





To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Need for Speed World Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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