by Reuben Waters on Dec 03, 2009
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As we begin to navigate our way through the final month of 2009, all
signs point to a new year in which the sci-fi genre could very well
reign supreme over the aging fantasy MMOG scene. Drawing
inspiration from our latest interviews for Global Agenda and Star Trek
Online, as well as a pair of exclusive new Star Wars: The Old Republic
articles that you definitely wont want to miss, we turn our gaze
towards the stars today in Loading
New Frontiers.
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You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result is the Ten Ton Pulse (
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/" target="_blank">What
is The Pulse?).
Here are today's top 5 Pulse results:
WorldBiggest movers today:
DragonDuring a discussion I was having earlier this week with Medeor, one
of
our current Aion
writers, the topic of sci-fi MMOGs briefly
wiggled its
way into the conversation. Or, more specifically, we discussed how 2010
looks to be an exciting year for fans of the genre with a number of
compelling titles poised to blast their way onto a PC near you.
Given the choice between the two most prominent genres in MMOGs
today
(that is to say fantasy and sci-fi, though other genres have certainly
been making headway over the past few years), Id opt for the
open-ended potential of the sci-fi genre any day of the week. In fact,
earlier this year that was my topic of choice for my
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/features/final-frontier">weekly
musings on
the industry. At the time though, it seemed that 2009 was set to be a
massive year for sci-fi, although many of the titles I was writing
about back in February and March have obviously slipped into next year
by this
point. Still, that only sets the stage for a 2010 that could rock some
major space socks off.
Thats not to say this year hasnt had some awesome additions to the
genre. Just this week EVE
Online players were given their
second free
expansion for the year, Dominion, which I plan on diving into this
weekend. I was certainly impressed with the expanded content Apocrypha
brought to the game earlier this year, and by all accounts Dominion
seems to be pushing New Eden into even more interesting new directions.
Looking ahead, heres a brief rundown of three of the other upcoming
sci-fi titles that may finally help pave the way for a much more
diverse MMOG market in 2010 and beyond:
Star
Trek Online With a firm release date now in place and the
closed
beta well underway, it seems that Star Trek Online is set to
kick 2010
off with a sci-fi bang. While it was certainly welcome news when
Cryptic announced that ship bridges would be making it into the game at
launch, perhaps even more compelling is the news that STO will include
the
industry staple of customization through itemization. The studio has
made a name for itself over the years via setting the bar for
customization so high that we still havent seen another title even
come close, though by and large that aspect of Cryptics games has
remained firmly rooted in the cosmetic side of things.
Our latest
interview with the developer reveals that this wont be the case
with
STO, which will add a whole new layer of depth to the overall gameplay.
Either way, this is one sci-fi title you should be sure to check out
when it launches in February. Oh, and be sure to tell em Captain Sardu
sent you!
Global
Agenda Not content to simply break the fantasy
mold,
developers Hi-Rez are going one step further with upcoming spy-fi title
Global Agenda by creating an MMOG thats as fast paced and
addictive as
any action game out there. During my brief time with the game earlier
this year at PAX 2009, I found myself pleasantly surprised by both the
intuitive combat mechanics as well as the general look and feel of
game. With the closed beta well underway, we can hopefully expect to
see GA released sometime early next year which is exciting news for
those of you not only looking to dig into some awesome sci-fi action
but perhaps also feel that the boring auto-attack combat of fantasy
MMOGs is beginning to overstay its welcome.
In the meantime, be sure to check out our latest Q&A with
Executive
Producer Todd Harris which details the ins and outs of the
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77458">Robotics
class. As a long time fan of traditional pet classes I have to
admit
that the idea of having an entire arsenal of fire and forget style
pets at my disposal is a refreshing new take on the concept.
Star Wars: The
Old Republic Rounding out the list we
have one
of the
most hotly anticipated MMOGs currently in development, regardless of
genre, in the form of BioWares Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Between
the pedigree of development teams involved and the blockbuster IP at
the heart of the project its easy to understand why. While no specific
release date has been confirmed as of yet, theres been a fair amount
of speculation that that particular galaxy may only be as far away as
next fall. Should that be the case, both BioWare and sci-fi fans have a
lot to be excited about once you factor in the release of Mass Effect 2
which is due out at the end of January.
With the recent
reveal of the final two classes in The Old
Republic
the Jedi Consular and the Sith Inquisitor it seems as though
development is progressing well on the game. How well, you might ask?
Today were pleased to bring you the one two punch of not only an
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77575">exclusive interview
with producer Jake Neri, but also some
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77572">hands-on
impressions from Medawkys recent visit to LucasArts HQ in San
Francisco. Theyre both well worth the read, so be sure to check them
out!
Do you count yourself among those MMO gamers who look forward to a
more
predominant sci-fi presence in the industry? Be sure to share your
thoughts right here in the Loading
forums!
4 new Ten Ton Hammer MMOG
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- Reuben "Sardu" Waters and the Ten Ton Hammer team