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Ton Hammer!
Welcome
to the 1,360th
edition
of Loading...
Korean free-to-play powerhouse Nexon showcased three titles at
E3 last week--
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2462">Vindictus,
Dragon
Nest, and
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2154">Dungeon
Fighter Online. Ben de la Durantaye takes a look at how games
like these could be winning casual and console gamers over to the MMOG
space in today's
href="http://tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/jun/22">Loading...
Three to Play.
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:
- World
of Warcraft - EverQuest
II -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/43">EVE
Online (UP 4) -
Lord
of the Rings Online (UP 2) - Dungeons
& Dragons Online
Biggest
movers today:
-
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)
Releases
- June
29,
2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998"
target="_blank">APB
(US release- July 2 in UK, EU) - 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) -
style="font-weight: bold;">October 26, 2010 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/170">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;">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
So,
its the Tuesday after E3 and Im still
going to go on about E3. Are you sick of hearing about it yet? Too bad.
There
was just way too much cool stuff to fit into even one week of coverage.
So, Im going to use Loading... as a little spill-over area
for some
of the
cool content we havent posted yet.
Today
well take a look at what Nexon had
at the convention. First, take a peek at the
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/nexon/vindictus-interview">Vindictus
Q&A. We were able to spend some time
with Nexons
Chris Gyselinck and he told us everything we wanted to know about the
upcoming
action MMORPG. Its some pretty cool stuff, so check it out.
As
for the other two games we saw from
Nexon, they were both pretty cool too. Earlier this year I took a look
at Dragon
Nest and was
not at all disappointed. Its a seriously fun game. Action RPG seems to
be a
budding theme with several developers and I love it. Though neither of
Nexons
Action combat games (Vindictus and Dragon Nest) are quite as MM as En
Masse/Bluehole Studios TERA, they do play very well. And to be honest,
all Im
looking for from these games is to have some fun, and Dragon Nest
accomplishes
that. Sure, its a bit cutesy, but not to an extreme. Its smooth, its
fast,
and its fun. In fact, it was one of the two games I was looking
forward to
playing again this year at E3 because I had enjoyed it so much in March.
The
other game Nexon was showcasing was
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2154">Dungeon
Fighter Online. Now heres an interesting little title. With
over 200
million playing online Nexon now boasts the most widely played MMOG.
Although
they also held the previous title with Maple Story, but its still nice
to see
that new titles have a chance of beating the records held by
older ones. This
game is just cool. Ever play Street
Fighter or any of those other classic beat-em-ups? Then this is the
MMOG for
you. Pick your class, and execute literally thousands of different
combos as
you work through the games many dungeons. Its fast, furious, and mad
fun.
The
translation in both games leaves a
little to be desired, however. I would like to see Nexon take a little
more
time with their Asian ports to make the games really feel catered
to Western audiences. In the competitive market of Asian
free-to-plays,
its pretty
much necessary to put in the extra effort if your game is going to
be
taken seriously. They still have time to perfect the translation of
Dragon
Nest, but Dungeon Fighter Online has already launched. Is it too late
for that
game over here before its even begun? Its hard to say. I logged into
it from
my laptop earlier this week and there are a lot of players in the game,
so it
seems to be doing well.
With
power titles like the three Nexon
showed at this years E3 its becoming obvious that the market is
shifting to
casual players--players who also come from console gaming background.
We
saw
many console players getting excited over these titles and their
marketing as
free-to-play certainly makes them accessible. Is this the next step in
MMOG evolution?
Will one of these titles be the next huge thing? Let us know your
thoughts in
the forums.
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day
From our
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=3">Tavern
of the Ten Ton Hammer Forum
Brad
McQuaid forms new company
The title here really says it all. Brad McQuaid, of Vanguard
infamy, has co-founded a company and is heading back to work in the
gaming industry. You'll have to check out the thread for the details.
His company is also hiring a senior designer. (I'd be afraid that at
any moment I could hear those fateful words, "Could you step out to the
parking lot, please?" You Vanguard fans of years past know what I'm
talking about.) Head over to
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=52002">welcome
Brad back to the gaming space...or not.
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"The response to this has
been pretty mixed so far. The fans of his blog think it is great news,
but posters at other gaming sites have been.....shall we say less than
supportive."
-
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showpost.php?p=434736&postcount=6">Annatar
==============================
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
14 Ten Ton Hammer features today! 100 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in June! 690
in 2010!
style="color: red;">HOT! CONTINUING E3 COVERAGE
Star Wars: The Old
Republic Q&A with James Ohlen
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/swtor-ohlen-interview">http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/swtor-ohlen-interview
Inside
a seedy cantina at E3 2010, Ten Ton Hammer came across James Ohlen,
creative director for BioWare Austin and Star Wars: The Old Republic.
After a few drinks, James answered some questions posed by Ten Ton
Hammer premium members. Was your question answered? Read on!
Nexon's Chris Gyselinck
on Vindictus - An Exclusive Ten Ton Hammer E3 Q&A
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/nexon/vindictus-interview">http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/nexon/vindictus-interview
At
E3 2010, Ten Ton Hammer had a chance to look over Vindictus, the
upcoming free-to-play fantasy MMOG developed by Korean publisher Nexon.
Vindictus boasts some interesting features such as fully destructible
environments and dungeons that change each time you enter them. Ten Ton
Hammer sat down with Nexon's Chris Gyselinck over some cool mead to get
some answers about this intriguing game.
style="font-weight: bold;">Ten Ton Hammer Live Episode 12 -
Ten Ton Hammer's E3 Spectacular
http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/12
This
week on Ten Ton Hammer Live Jesse, Dav, and Ben are joined by
tentonhammer.com's very own E3 movers and shakers to give you the
lowdown on everything MMO from the greatest gaming show in the world.
How did SWTOR play? Was APB any good? What's the deal with DC Universe?
WHERE IS MY LEGO BETA CODE!?!?! This and much more!
Also... did we mention there's a HUUUUUGE contest this week.
Head over to www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/e3
and enter your code....
OH WAIT... you don't HAVE A CODE?!?!?
Well,
then I guess you better listen to this week's podcast. Three chances to
win, cleverly snuck into this week's podcast. Bwahahahaha...
cross-promotional marketing lives!
Ten Ton Hammer's E3 Image
Galleries Open for Public Consumption
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/image-galleries/story">http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/image-galleries/story
Did
you ever wish you could go to E3? Well, we couldn't get you in the
door, but we can offer the next best thing: all sorts of pictures to
make you feel as if
you were really there. So, come on over to Ten Ton Hammer's E3 Image
Galleries, select your category, and enjoy.
New King of Kings 3
Trailer Released at E3
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/king-of-kings3-trailer">http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/king-of-kings3-trailer
Hamburg based gamigo AG has released a new trailer for
their upcoming free-to-play MMOG, King of Kings 3. According to the
trailer, players can take charge of their own kingdoms and then attempt
to conquer other kingdoms in order to become the king of kings.
REVIEWS
Microcosms: SOE Strikes
Gold - A Free Realms Review
http://www.tentonhammer.com/microcosms/2010/june/24
A
huge paradigm shift occurred in the middle of the 2000s that saw SOE
go from crown prince of MMO gaming to the prince of darkness faster
than you can say "new game experience." While the companys reputation
slowly dwindled and it became known as a repository for failed game
titles a curious thing happened--the stoic behemoth took a risk on
developing a browser-based free-to-play game. Free Realms, a
microtransaction game aimed at the young and the young at heart, has
matured into a thriving hit for the company and has become a role model
for introducing western gamers to ala carte gaming. But can a browser
game for kids make the cut for grown up gamers? Join Ten Ton Hammers
Jason Medawky Bolton this week as he reviews Free Realms to see how
it holds up under the Microcosms microscope.
FEATURES & GUIDES
D-Mail #4 - Exploring the
Community Building Potential of WoW's Remote Auction House
http://www.tentonhammer.com/features/dmail/4
Blizzard
recently launched its Remote Auction House feature for World of
Warcraft and this week The Syndicate Guildmaster and CEO Sean "Dragons"
Stalzer examines the new feature and how it could better be utilized to
help build community. Is charging for the new feature a good idea?
Or could it better be utilized to benefit both developers and community
if it were free? Find out in D-Mail #4 - Exploring the Community
Building Potential of WoW's Remote Auction House.
How EVE Online
Corporation #8406 Got Her Groove Back
http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/politics/groove_back
Running
a corporation in EVE Online can be a challenging job. But sometimes it
is harder to be a member, especially if the bozo in charge is piloting
the corporation into a nose dive. Space Junkie provides his
guide to
dealing with these "fixer-upper" corporations.
EQ2 Choosing a Deity Guide
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/55218
When
you face your toughest battles in EverQuest II, one of the best tricks
to have up your sleeve are a couple of well chosen deity abilities.
Picking one of these gods to faithfully follow is a tough choice but we
have the advice and information that helps you choose wisely. Get
blessing and miracle details, class recommendations, and god pet stats
in our "Choosing a Deity" guide. Everything you need to pick which god
will work best for you!
Multiple Languages -
Guild Wars 2 Weekly Report
http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/newsletter/issue-4
The
Guild Wars 2 Weekly Report is out with the latest Guild Wars 2 news,
information, and a recap of the previous week. This week we find out
that Guild Wars 2 will have multiple languages and we have an exclusive
interview with Arena Net.
WoW: Locations Well Miss
in Cataclysm
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/editorials/locations-well-miss">http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/editorials/locations-well-miss
Cataclysm
will change the very face of Azeroth, leaving the world looking little
like the one we know so well. Almost no zone will be left untouched and
a new era of WoW will be upon us. While its easy to get caught up in
the excitement of the changes, it cannot be forgotten that with these
changes some beloved locations will be swept away forever, never to be
seen again. Thinking on it, the locations you will miss may just
surprise you.
WoW: Midsummer Fire
Festival Guide
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/seasonal/midsummer
he
Midsummer Fire Festival has arrived in World of Warcraft and we've got
a brand new guide covering everything you need to know about this fire
filled holiday. Looking for a guide to the achievements, what's new in
2010, or what Lord Ahune is up to this year? Look no further than Ten
Ton Hammer's Guide to the Midsummer Fire Festival.
Cataclysm Raid and Guild
Changes Discussed - The WoW Weekly Report
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/newsletter/issue72
The
WoW Weekly Report is our weekly newsletter dedicated to giving you a
wrap-up of the previous week in news, stories, and more. This week we
take a look at the information that Blizzard shared at a press event at
their offices to talk about Cataclysm. Some of the hot topics were
raiding in cataclysm, guild talents, glyphs, the Path of the Titans, to
name just a few. Also up this week is a look at some of the bosses we
would like to see in Cataclysm raids, and a visit from a special
Doctor. In addition to our network content there is a ton of news to
check out so don't miss a thing, take a look at our WoW Weekly Report
every Tuesday.
WoW: Lord Ahune Guide -
Slaying the Frost Lord
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/seasonal/midsummer/lord-ahune">http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/seasonal/midsummer/lord-ahune
Lord
Ahune has been updated for this year's Midsummer Fire Festival in World
of Warcraft. We've rewritten our guide to Lord Ahune to cover all of
the new aspects of this encounter, including the new way to summon this
elemental beast and his all new loot table.
Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features
-
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 href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/swtor-ohlen-interview">
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/interviews/traits">Exclusive
Guild Wars 2 Warrior and Traits
Q&A with Lead Designer Eric Flannum -
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 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/nexon/vindictus-interview">Nexon's
Chris Gyselinck on Vindictus
- An Exclusive Ten Ton Hammer E3 Q&A href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/nexon/vindictus-interview">
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/tera-group-play">Grouping
Made Epic - Hands on with TERA Group Play
at E3 2010 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/ffxiv-e3-beta-preview">
style="font-weight: bold;">Final Fantasy XIV
Beta Hands On Impression at E3 2010 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/rift/class-and-soul">Class
and Soul - Rift: Planes
of Telara Gets a Little Bit of Both at E3 2010 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/eon-preview">The
Beginning of a New MMO Genre - An E3 Preview of style="font-weight: bold;">End of Nations -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/star-wars-clone-wars-adventures-interview">
style="font-weight: bold;">Clone Wars Adventures
Q&A with Producer Todd Carson -
href="#%20http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/dcuo-e3-interview">SOE's
Jens Andersen and Chris Cao Present DC
Universe Online at E3 2010
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 Dungeon Fighter Online Game Page.
