by Jeff Woleslagle on Nov 18, 2008
Welcome to the 957th Edition of Loading...
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The Pulse
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World of Warcraft Warhammer Online Guild Wars Guild Wars 2 Age of Conan EVE Online Lord of the Rings Online Atlantica Online Lineage 2 (UP 5) EverQuest 2 (UP 1)Daily Biggest Movers in the Top 20
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Loading... expansive and expanding daily.
Today marks the release of expansions for two top-tier MMORPGs. Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria and EverQuest 2: The Shadow Odyssey will hit store shelves and servers in major markets this afternoon.
While the prospect of seeing what otherworldly things have happened to Innothule Swamp in the game years since EverQuest in The Shadow Odyssey, I have to admit that I'm pretty excited to see more of Moria. Dungeon environments usually leave me feeling a little claustrophobic, but by all accounts (including our Mines of Moria preview) Turbine has done an excellent job of creating the perfect feel of faded dwarven majesty and lurking evil in Moria proper. Good zone or level design is all about balancing tension, challenge, and safety, and MoM scores high marks from everyone I've chatted with in the media. And what better reward for successfully navigating Moria than to emerge in Lothlorien? We'll have a video depicting Lady Galadriel's own little paradise up this afternoon.
One aspect of the MoM expansion that should become standard, in my opinion, among fantasy MMORPGs is Legendary Items, items that level with use, gaining abilities and even titles as you progress (Sting and Glamdring are taken, sorry folks). Some long-term attachment to your equipment fuels the imagination (something like the idea of sentient weapons which add such dynamism to D&D fiction) and is welcome in a genre where level-capped players work tirelessly to get a drop that is obsolete in next month's content patch.
Speaking of which, we have a couple legendary items of our own to give away in celebration of all the expansions this week:
Creative Hear to Believe Giveaway Razer For Gamers. By Gamers™ GiveawayBe sure to enter, it's free!
And I certainly didn't mean to short-shrift the EverQuest 2's The Shadow Odyssey expansion. I know there's plenty of EQ2 gamers out there (that yesterday's five free keys went in something like 15 minutes was a clue), so let's continue the discussion from yesterday's thread about what excites you most about TSO.
Share your thoughts in the Loading... forum or, as always, feel free to email me with your thoughts.
Ten Ton Hammer Epic Thread of the Day15 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 102 in November! 2900 in 2008!
New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today
Reviews
Ten Ton Hammer's Atlantica Online ReviewImages
Exclusive Screenshots of Vehicles In Wonderland OnlineGiveaways
Creative Hear to Believe Giveaway Razer For Gamers. By Gamers™ GiveawayGuides
WoW: Violet Hold Guide WAR: Tier 3 Scenario Guide: Tor Anroc WAR: Updated Guide to Dark Elf Leveling Chapter 1 - 4Editorials
Age of Conan PvP Exploiting: The Nature of Winning WAR Editorial: Factoring in a Third FactionHot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to:
WoW: Where to Adventure Guide - Northrend WoW: Violet Hold Guide World of Warcraft - Death Knight FAQ Ten Ton Hammer's Atlantica Online Review Creative Hear to Believe Giveaway Razer For Gamers. By Gamers™ Giveaway Exclusive Jumpgate Evolution Closed Beta Interview with Hermann Peterscheck WAR: Tier 3 Scenario Guide: Tor Anroc Age of Conan PvP Exploiting: The Nature of Winning WAR Editorial: Factoring in a Third FactionReal World News
Theives Arrested After Stealing $69k in Rare CoinsThanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer Team