Massively - Daily News About MMOs

Elizabeth Harper

Austin, TX - http://

WRUP: Hoopy frood edition

by Elizabeth Harper Jul 31st 2010 ((X) ago)

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the Massively team and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game -- and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

Another weekend of gaming is upon us -- and this week in addition to the standard "what are you playing" question, we've asked the Massively team what the meaning is of life, the universe, and everything. Hey, it's a simple enough question -- read on for the answer(s).

WRUP: Eternal summer edition

by Elizabeth Harper Jul 17th 2010 (14 days ago)

As one week must end, so another will begin. But between the weeks we have two luxurious days of weekend in which we can enjoy all of our favorite things -- and as you might imagine, video games rank fairly highly amongst the Massively staff's list of favorite things. At any rate, it's far too hot to venture out of doors, so we may as well enjoy our favorite games in the meantime. So read on to find out what we're playing this weekend -- and, of course, to let us know what you're playing in the comments.

WRUP: Another week, another weekend

by Elizabeth Harper Jul 10th 2010 (21 days ago)

Another weekend means it's time for another edition of WRUP! For those of you playing at home, we'll refresh you on the rules of our little game: every weekend, we ask our contributors what they're playing this weekend (i.e. what are you playing, i.e. WRUP). Their responses go into a post very much like this one and readers are encouraged to join in and geek out about their favored game of the hour. Want to know what sort of trouble the Massively crew is getting into this weekend? The answers are here -- just read on to find out!

E3 2010: Dragon Nest hands-on

by Elizabeth Harper Jun 18th 2010 (1 month ago)

Dragon Nest couldn't be more different from Vindictus, Nexon's other new title. Where Vindictus is all about "elegant brutality," Nexon describes Dragon Nest as "kinetic and beautiful." And though both games are lovely in their own way, Dragon Nest's style is more typical of what you'd expect from Nexon: The art is stylized, with a bit of an anime feel to it. Gameplay felt a surprising amount like Nexon's 2-D classic arcade-style MMO, Dungeon Fighter Online, though DN is fully 3-D and much more like what you'd expect of an MMO. But like DFO, DN's combat is fast-paced, full of flashy animations, and just a lot of fun. With every game we see from Nexon, it's clear that they're taking everything they've learned from previous development and adding it to their latest project.

Though we haven't seen everything the game has to offer, Dragon Nest may be their most polished game yet.

Gallery: E3 2010: Dragon Nest

E3 2010: Vindictus hands-on

by Elizabeth Harper Jun 18th 2010 (1 month ago)

With as many demo stations as Nexon had available to show off their latest games -- Vindictus and Dragon Nest -- we could hardly pass by without stopping to play for a few minutes. And now we're going to try to pass the experience on to you, with words and pictures that don't quite do the game justice. But until it it goes live later this year (they're hoping to launch in the fall), this will have to suffice. So let's talk Vindictus.

Vindictus is a free-to-play game of the likes we've never seen before. It's running on Valve's Source Engine and looks simply incredible. It represents a major departure from Nexon's usual stylized graphics -- Vindictus is as realistic as they come, with crisp graphics and clean animation. It's also a departure content-wise: Vindictus is joyfully violent, allowing you to hack away at monsters, smash almost anything element in the environment, and destroy your opponents with finishing moves. And, of course, to look damn good while doing it. It's "all about elegant brutality," Nexon tells us, and we have to agree.

Gallery: E3 2010: Vindictus

E3 2010: Zentia preview

by Elizabeth Harper Jun 17th 2010 (1 month ago)

ChangYou's Zentia is -- you guessed it -- another free-to-play title coming from Asia. So what makes it stand out from the rest? We talked to the game's senior producer, Susan Revelt at E3 and she tells us it's the game's story that makes it shine. And we admit, Zentia does start with a rather unique premise: You enter the game as one of 22 (former) immortals who have been banished from the immortal realms and tasked with ridding the world of demons before they can return. It's ChangYou's take on telling a fairy tale... with a humorous twist. (Revelt tells us they're aiming for a Princess Bride or Labyrinth feel with the story and the humor.) Whether this has given them what they need to succeed in the crowded free to play market is still up in the air. Though we've seen footage of the game, we haven't had a chance to test drive it ourselves and the closed beta won't begin until early July, with a planned release towards the end of August.

Let's start by talking about the basics of the game...

Gallery: E3 2010: Zentia

E3 2010: Might and Magic Heroes Kingdom preview

by Elizabeth Harper Jun 16th 2010 (1 month ago)

On Tuesday, we caught up with Chris Early, Ubisoft's Vice President of Digital Publishing, to chat about Heroes of Might and Magic's future with a new browser-based MMO. I must admit, I'm personally a bit skeptical about whether browser-based games can supplant full-fledged applications, but after talking with Chris, I'm sold on the concept -- at least insofar as Might and Magic Heroes Kingdom is concerned.

First up, the basics. Just what is MMHK?

Ubisoft calls MMHK a "strategic casual MMO." It's turn-based with more of real-time strategy vibe than we've seen in other MMOs and it's designed with people who may only have a few minutes a day to play in mind. Think of something along the lines of multiplayer Civilization with thousands of other people and you'd be near the mark. Now, whether "casual" turns into hours of "just one more turn" is another matter entirely.
Gameplay and lore from the Might and Magic franchise we all know and love -- the goal with MMHK is just to throw more players into the mix.
Want PvP? You can do that. Want PvE? You can do that. Want to advance as a merchant-type character purely for the pursuit of wealth without killing your fellow players? You can do that, too.
Browser-based, which means you can play it on your PC, your Mac, or even your shiny new iPad -- wherever you've got an internet connection.This means there's no software to download or install.
Free to play with an optional subscription fee. (Though Ubisoft hasn't announced pricing for the game's North American release, it's currently live in France, where a monthly subscription runs five euros.)

If that sounds like something that might be up your alley, read on for more details.

Gallery: E3 2010: Might & Magic Heroes Kingdoms

WRUP: Seeing signs edition

by Elizabeth Harper May 22nd 2010 (2 months ago)

If someone collected the data from many weeks of WRUP and charted what everyone played week in and week out there's certain to be some sort of hidden message, isn't there? Perhaps this random assortment of games, old and new, every week is only seemingly random, disguising an intricate pattern that will tell us the future... Hmm! But, pattern or not, Team Massively's gaming habits are all over the map this weekend -- just read on to see for yourself! This week we've also asked everyone a bonus question which comes again from commenter Blah?, who asked: If you could develop your own MMO, what would the setting be?

For our answers and yours, follow the cut!

WRUP: Let them eat cake edition

by Elizabeth Harper May 8th 2010 (2 months ago)

The weekend is upon us which means it's time for yet another addition of WRUP. For those of you in the audience who wonder how this whole WRUPing thing works, we'll tell you: getting the introduction right is the hardest part. Here's the story behind today's introduction:

Elizabeth: WRUP is done save an intro... hmm... this is always the hardest part.
Krystalle: /sings in Tom Petty style "the innnntro, is the hardest part"
Eliot: But the intro is the hardest part -- no one reads the piece if you don't know how to start. You try to crack a joke, you try to keep it smart, the intro is the hardest part.

And now that the post has been properly (or improperly) introduced, let's take a trip with Tom Petty into the wonderful world of what we're playing this weekend.

WRUP: Too sexy edition

by Elizabeth Harper May 1st 2010 (3 months ago)

Happy Saturday everyone! Another very fine weekend is upon us and here at Massively HQ we're celebrating with some game time. This week, in addition to asking the staff what they're playing this weekend, we've also asked what their favorite in-game armor set is. Whether we're too sexy for our helms (/groan) or not is an exercise we leave to you, dear readers. But for what we're playing this weekend -- and, better yet, what you're playing this weekend -- read on!

Gallery: WRUP: Too sexy edition

Massively Features

Events Calendar

Name	Date
GenCon Indy	Aug 5-8, 2010
SOE Fan Faire	Aug 5-8, 2010
Xsyon Prelude Launch	Aug 15, 2010
GamesCom Expo	Aug 18-22, 2010
Earthrise Launch	Q3 2010
Dragon*Con	Sep 3-6, 2010
PAX Prime	Sep 3-5, 2010
Final Fantasy XIV Launch	Sep 30, 2010
GDC Online	Oct 5-8, 2010
LEGO Universe Launch	Oct 26, 2010
DCUO Launch	Nov 2, 2010

Massively Staff

Name	Title
Shawn Schuster	Editor-in-Chief
Seraphina Brennan	Senior Editor
Brianna Royce	West Coast Editor
Dan O'Halloran	Features Coordinator
Brendan Drain	Contributing Editor
Eliot Lefebvre	Contributing Editor
Jef Reahard	Contributing Editor
Justin Olivetti	Contributing Editor
Krystalle Voecks	Contributing Editor
Rubi Bayer	Contributing Editor
Tateru Nino	Contributing Editor
Beau Hindman	Columnist
Edward Marshall	Columnist
Greg Waller	Columnist
Jeremy Stratton	Columnist
Larry Everett	Columnist
MJ Guthrie	Columnist
Patrick Mackey	Columnist
Ryan Greene	Columnist
Lisa Poisso	Columnist