Filed under: Hands-on

GoonSwarm alliance disbanded in EVE Online political drama

by Brendan Drain Feb 4th 2010 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Interviews, Lore, PvP, Endgame, Hands-on, Politics

In the sandbox of New Eden, rival alliances vie for control of vast swathes of star systems. The lawless nullsec regions of the EVE Online universe are home to violent alliances of all sizes and fleets with hundreds of ships clash on a daily basis. The political machinations of nullsec have produced many stories of wars fought over territory, stations conquered and fleets dismantled by force. Over the years, each story has become part of the game's living history. Recently, a new chapter in that history began as the nullsec sovereignty system governing territorial warfare received a complete overhaul in the Dominion expansion. The transition period has been rough on some alliances as a new sovereignty system requires new ways of thinking. Some alliances are falling, new ones are being forged to fill the power vacuum and the race is on for people to adapt to the new sovereignty system.

As we've been watching the EVE galaxy performing its Darwinian reshuffle, it came to our surprise that GoonSwarm, the game's biggest territorial alliance, had been disbanded. In the early hours of Wednesday 3rd February 2010, GoonSwarm CEO "karttoon" kicked almost every corp from the alliance, effectively disbanding it. There's more to this story than meets the eye and in this investigative piece, I delve into the thick of it to discover just what's going on with this troubled alliance.

Unboxing the Star Trek Online Collector's Edition

by Krystalle Voecks Feb 2nd 2010 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Star Trek Online, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on

Today, we launch into Star Trek Online! Our ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before. Well OK, not since beta, anyway. Still, it's always exciting to hold a shiny new MMO box in your hands -- made even nicer when you're a huge Star Trek fan and have managed to get your hands on the Collector's Edition.

Curious as to what came in this shiny metallic box now that you've checked out all of our launch day coverage? Well, travel along with us as we put it into warp and set off for a gallery look in the package.

Gallery: Star Trek Online Collector's Edition unboxing

Unboxing the Global Agenda Collector's Edition

by Shawn Schuster Feb 1st 2010 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Hands-on, Spy, Global Agenda, Massively Hands-on

Today's the day that Global Agenda has officially launched, and if you're still waiting for more information about this game before making that box purchase, we can help. Not only did we show you a round-up this morning of our complete coverage on the game, but now we want to show you what's in the physical retail box, also referred to as the Collector's Edition. That's assuming people remember how to go buy physical boxes in stores, right?

Follow along through the unboxing gallery below for a piece-by-piece tour of the Global Agenda Collector's Edition box contents.

Gallery: Global Agenda Collector's Edition unboxing

Massively's tour through DDO Update 3

by Rubi Bayer Jan 28th 2010 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on

Recently, we posted information about the current release notes for Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 3, the latest in a series of updates from Turbine since Dungeons and Dragons Online went free-to-play last summer. The update is scheduled to go live on February 3rd, and is only the tip of the iceberg for Turbine's plans, including six content updates for 2010, with a new one added every two months.

For now though, Update 3 offers more than enough to keep players very busy exploring all of the new surprises that it brings. The team at Turbine was kind enough to take us on another extensive tour of the new content, and since we are kind as well, we decided to share it all with you! Follow along after the cut to see all that Turbine has in store for DDO.

Choose my Adventure: Casta Gaunt must die

by Shawn Schuster Jan 27th 2010 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Lore, Hands-on, Roleplaying, Choose my Adventure

Things are moving along quite smoothly in our Fallen Earth Choose my Adventure group lately, and this week we conquered one of the greatest facilities in Sector 1: Kingman Prison. As voted upon last week, you sent us in there and we didn't disappoint.

Follow along after the jump for more info on the prison, this week's polls to vote where we will go next, and the continuing in-character saga of Mr. Gator Boudreaux.

Choose my Adventure: Toppling a fortress of junk

by Shawn Schuster Jan 20th 2010 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Culture, Hands-on, Roleplaying, Choose my Adventure

Another week, another adventure chosen. This week's Choose my Adventure group in Fallen Earth turned out to be a blast as more of you showed up to help crush the Junk Fortress just outside of Embry Crossroads.

As we begin to level our characters into the double digits, we start setting out sights on the middle of Sector 1 in cities like Kingman, Oilville and Linewood Facility. But how did we do in Embry Crossroads this week? Keep reading below for the complete story.

Exclusive Allods Online dev tour: Astral Ships and the end game explained

by Shawn Schuster Jan 15th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Allods Online

Earlier this week, the team at Allods Online were kind enough to sit down and walk me through some of the highest-level areas in the game. Knowing that I'm already an avid fan of the game, it was exciting for us both to "talk shop" for a bit. It was especially exciting to see some features of the end game that not too many North American players have seen up to this point. Of course, I'm talking about Astral Ships and the end game.

With Closed Beta Test 4 arriving this coming Tuesday, January 19th, high-level players will finally be able to see real Astral Ship combat and how it all works. This article is meant to prepare you for the awesomeness and hopefully answer some questions you may have next week and into launch. Follow along after the jump for our complete write-up, a gallery of screenshots we took during the tour and a video to fully capture the epic win.

Gallery: Allods Online Developer Tour

FAQ That: All about Global Agenda's Conquest mode

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 14th 2010 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Game mechanics, Guides, Tips and tricks, Hands-on, MMOFPS, MMORTS, Global Agenda, FAQ That

So what exactly makes Global Agenda cross the border from persistent FPS to full on MMO? Conquest, my friends! Conquest. And now that the NDA has been lifted, we're free to tell you all about this agency only mode.

Global Agenda: Conquest mode is the game's take on a real-time strategy game versus an FPS. Your alliance of agencies can take ownership of the Global Agenda world and lay claim to valuable resources to build agent modifications, weapons of mass destruction, and even more fun little tools. But you must guard your territory carefully, as other alliances will have the option to siege your land, forcing you into battles for domination of the map.

But how does Conquest mode work? What do you need to do to take advantage of this feature of the spy-fi shooter? Glad you asked! It's time for you to FAQ That!

Choose my Adventure: Just like a Rolling Clone

by Shawn Schuster Jan 13th 2010 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Culture, Opinion, Hands-on, Roleplaying, Choose my Adventure

Join me as I brave my way through lands unknown in an adventure dictated entirely by you, the Massively readers! Vote for everything from game played to character creation to ultimate goal and watch it unfold in a series of journals and galleries here on the site. Then, as our two months is up, we'll do it all over again in a new game!

Our first real week getting our hands dirty in Fallen Earth turned out to be a lot of fun. Despite the fact that I play this game quite often anyway, I'm always learning new things in it, especially considering the fact that there are so many different starting cities, depending on your playstyle preference. My first time in Terance was almost like playing a new game, which certainly makes my addiction to "alting" more fun.

Follow along after the jump for my new Fallen Earth character's in-character journal and more of my thoughts on the game.

First Impressions: MAG

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 12th 2010 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Opinion, Hands-on, Consoles, MMOFPS, First Impressions, MAG

It's a technical marvel, really, to be able to shoot at 256 people at once. Very few games have been able to get this many players into one enclosed space, and even fewer have been able to do it without having everything lock down in lag. But Zipper Interactive's MAG is taking the bull by the horns and is following in the footsteps of games like PlanetSide to deliver a true "war" experience to the PS3.

With the impending release of MAG to the shelves of stores everywhere, my editor wanted me to get down to the front lines of combat and find out what the fuss was all about. To that end, I've joined up with Shadow Raven Industries to get a taste of the combat that MAG has to offer. Follow after the break, and let's break down how this "Massive Action Game" plays out.

First Impressions: Alganon part 2

by Shawn Schuster Jan 11th 2010 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Hands-on, First Impressions, Alganon

I decided to give Alganon a fair shot for several reasons. First off, it's a game that was crafted by real people with real lives and real passions. I see every game like this, and realize that hype and negativity can spread incredibly easily these days. I'm not going to pass judgment until I get my hands dirty in a game. In line with that, you should use this First Impressions article as my initial opinion only. Playing the game yourself is the only way to truly discover if it's for you.

Now that that's out of the way, I have some thoughts to share on my experiences with the first ten levels of Alganon.

Choose my Adventure: Newly-cloned in Fallen Earth

by Shawn Schuster Jan 6th 2010 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Culture, Lore, Hands-on, Choose my Adventure

The votes are in and we're very excited to begin our latest version of Choose my Adventure by introducing you to our shiny new character: Gator Boudreaux. He's a rifle-wielding (eventually) assassin traveling the Grand Canyon wasteland in search of his next meal, a few extra chips and the perfect headshot.

We start our Fallen Earth story this week with a bit of an in-character journal. Then, of course, we get right into the poll for next week and an explanation of those polls. Finally, we'll list the play session times so you can come in game and play along with me for the next six weeks. Follow along after the jump to learn more.

Choose my Adventure: Fallen Earth

by Shawn Schuster Dec 30th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Polls, Fallen Earth, Massively meta, Hands-on, Choose my Adventure

Join me as I brave my way through lands unknown in an adventure dictated entirely by you, the Massively readers! Vote for everything from game played to character creation to ultimate goal and watch it unfold in a series of journals and galleries here on the site. Then, as our two months is up, we'll do it all over again in a new game!

The winter holidays are wrapping up and it's time to get into yet another game for this edition of Choose my Adventure. Despite what was a close race for most of the last few weeks of votes, Fallen Earth pulled ahead to win the polls this time around. This post-apocalyptic MMO released in September of this year, and has enjoyed some positive reviews from most of the blog-o-sphere (including yours truly).

So follow along after the jump to make your votes count towards the character creation process and how I will begin my journey through Fallen Earth.

Champions Online launches new demo program

by Eliot Lefebvre Dec 22nd 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, News items, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Champions Online

So you're interested in Champions Online, but you lack a friend playing the game who could give you a trial code. You've missed out on the free weekends the game has offered, and you're not quite adventurous enough to drop the full price of the retail box sight unseen. What's to be done?

Well, as of now, the proper answer is to give the brand-new demo program a try. Following in the vein of Warhammer Online, those interested in Millenium City's superheroic population can now create two different characters and enjoy romping about in an unlimited free trial of the starting area. The opening area, in which players defend the city from an alien invasion, introduces most of the game's core mechanical concepts and allows the player to start brushing shoulders with the big names in the game's lore.

The only real limitations are the number of characters, and the hard limit of level 15, which itself takes quite a bit of work to reach in the starter zone. While it's not quite the rush of the various free-to-play weekend within the game, it keeps things nice and accessible, and should certainly help anyone curious about the gameplay get a firmer handle on Champions Online. The fact that it's on Steam as well is just icing on the cake.

[ Thanks to Edward R. for the tip! ]

Massively digs into the EverQuest Underfoot expansion

by Dan O'Halloran Dec 15th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, EverQuest, Expansions, Launches, Previews, Hands-on

SOE's EverQuest, one of the earliest of 3-D graphical MMOs, launches its 16th expansion today: Underfoot. This particular area of Norrath, the realm of Brell Serilis, the Duke of Below, is filled with inner turmoil and new adventure. Massively was given a tour of the new expansion and we have all the details for you below.

This tour is divided into two parts. Part one, after the jump briefly covers the two new features being introduced to the game: the new Achievement system and the Extended Target window. Part two is a screenshot tour of the new zones with its bizarre and fractious denizens. Join us, won't you, on a journey into the plane of Underfoot.

Gallery: EverQuest: Underfoot