Filed under: Massively Hands-on

Massively hands-on with Cities XL

by Shawn Schuster Jun 30th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Galleries, Screenshots, Game mechanics, New titles, Opinion, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, Cities XL

As the Cities XL closed beta continues to run strong, we got word that the beta's NDA has lifted [Edit: for press] and we can spill the beans on our first impressions of the game so far. Now, two very important points to be made here include the fact that this is not a review (MMO reviews are bad, mmkay), and this is still in early closed beta stage.

With that in mind, we're here to give you some facts on how the game stands now, with a bit of healthy opinion thrown in for good measure. If you're at all curious about how this city-builder MMO can possibly work, follow along below.

Massively's DDO Unlimited developer tour

by Kyle Horner Jun 30th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, News items, Massively Hands-on

Love can sometimes be a fickle thing, but I'm pretty sure that I love what Turbine has done with the DDO Store in Dungeons and Dragons Online Unlimited. I'll admit that initially I was a little concerned with the concept of an in-game store, but after playing with it at bit and asking some questions my fears have pretty much melted away.

I was lucky enough to be given a developer tour of the Dungeons and Dragons Online Unlimited beta last Friday, and had a thoroughly good time. The DDO Store is a streamlined and snappy experience. The store doesn't simply attempt to shove its wares onto the unsuspecting player. Instead, it attempts -- and largely succeeds -- in being a helpful, generally friendly addition to the game.
Gallery: DDO Unlimited Tour

Massively's DDO Unlimited developer tour, part 2

by Kyle Horner Jun 30th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Massively Hands-on

Hands on with the Aion beta: Becoming a Daeva

by Lesley Smith Jun 22nd 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Aion, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions

As the Aion: Tower of Eternity Closed Beta Test 2 continues, it's time to go deeper into Asmodae. You've explored Tunapre Lake, passed through Sap Farm, explored the Odella Plantation, braved the ghost-filled Ishalgen Prison Camp and you've even discovered the Forgotten Place of Exile. As you level, the Raiders and other NPCs start to mention Daevahood and an old man called Munin. Are you ready to meet destiny? Join us after the jump to find out what the future holds.

Hands on with the Aion beta: Your first steps in Asmodae

by Lesley Smith Jun 20th 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Aion, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions

Welcome back to Aion. Yes it's Closed Beta Test 2 weekend and this time round I'm rolling Asmodian to explore a very different side of the shattered planet of Atreia. During CBT1 we showed you the lower half of the planet, a land known as Elysea and home of the angelic Elyos. I walked you through the character creation process, the first ten levels as a frail mortal, the Elyos ascension quest and those first steps into Sanctum and Verteron. Now it's time to visit the upper half and home of the Asmodians, the continent of Asmodae.

Hands on with the Aion beta: Exploring Sanctum and Verteron

by Lesley Smith Jun 15th 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Aion, Events, in-game, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions

After leveling your stunning avatar to level 9, ascending to Daevahood and getting your wings, it's time to go out into the world -- well Verteron at least. But first, let's talk a little about the glorious city of Sanctum and what your new Daevic powers really mean. Join us after the jump as we take a closer look at Aion's hub city of Sanctum, the zone of Verteron and the basics of flying.

Massively Speaking Episode 56: E3 impressions

by Shawn Schuster Jun 10th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Podcasts, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion, Massively meta, Massively Interviews, Massively Hands-on, Massively Speaking

Massively Speaking Episode 56 is back after a brief hiatus while we spent last week at E3. To compensate, Shawn is joined by WoW.com's Mike Schramm for a recap of the best and brightest from the convention. Which game did they like best? Why does it seem like every game will release in 2010? Check out the podcast to find out!

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot us an email to podcast AT massively DOT com. Maybe we'll read your letter on the air!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
[Zune] Subscribe to Massively Speaking via the Zune service.
[RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
[Digg] Like the show? Digg it.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
[VW] Listen at VirginWorlds.com
Listen here on the page:

Read below the cut for the full show notes.

E3 2009: A complete roundup of Massively's coverage

by James Egan Jun 8th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Jumpgate Evolution, MMO industry, New titles, The Agency, All Points Bulletin, Global Agenda, Free Realms, Massively Interviews, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Champions Online, Home, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dragonica Online, Heroes of Telara, Final Fantasy XIV

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 proved to be a significant event for the gaming industry once again, with a fair amount of news and announcements related to MMOs. Massively was there on the ground for E3 this year and we've been putting up breaking announcements, interviews, and hands-on previews throughout.

Given how much info came out of E3 on Massively, here's a roundup of our coverage, day-by-day. Be sure to check out the rest after the jump as there's plenty more content, plus you'll find E3 galleries for these games as you click through. To cap it all off, we've also put together an E3 2009 wrapup video for you at the end of this post. Read on to see where the MMO industry is headed in the next year and beyond!

Day One

Star Wars: The Old Republic world's first fully-voiced MMO

Final Fantasy XIV announced

Jumpgate Evolution releases E3 trailer

EA to publish All Points Bulletin in 2010

PlayStation Home hits 6.5 million accounts

Trion World Network unveils Heroes of Telara

Massively's day 1 video from the E3 floor

Hands on with the Aion beta: Becoming a Daeva

by Lesley Smith Jun 7th 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Bugs, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions

In the last two days, we've walked you through character creation in Aion: Tower of Eternity and introduced you to the starter zone of Poeta. Now it's time to get to the interesting bit, the Ascension quest where you finally transcend your frail Elyos form and become a Daeva. While this ascension can take place any time after you ding level 9, there are a number of campaign quests which must be completed first These begin much earlier, around level six when you befriend the Forest Lord Daminu and gain the amusing title Tree-Hugger.

Becoming a Daeva and earning your wings -- literally in this case -- is one of the reasons players have been so excited by Aion. It is your destiny and an inevitable part of the game play but it has some caveats. We'll get to those in a bit but first, join us after the jump, when we take a deeper look into the Ascension quest itself.

Hands on with the Aion beta: Your first steps into Elysea

by Lesley Smith Jun 6th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Aion, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions

Yesterday, we showed you the character creation process for Aion: Tower of Eternity and today it's time to enter Elysea. The lower portion of the fractured world of Atreia, Elysea is, for the most part, as beautiful as its inhabitants. Poeta is a starter zone (actually more of an island) where the Elyos level from 1 to 9 on their journey to become Daeva and choose a subclass. It is where you learn how to play and are gently introduced to the mechanics which make Aion a very different kind of MMO.

Hands on with the Aion beta: Creating your Elyos

by Lesley Smith Jun 5th 2009 at 6:30PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Aion, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions

So the Aion beta has finally begun! You won a key, downloaded the client and now is the time to take your first steps in Elysea. For the purposes of this beta you get to play on what amounts to a PvP server and can only create characters from one faction, in this case the Elyos. However you get eight character slots meaning you can create a male and female toon from every class should you wish to.

One of the best parts about starting a new game, whether it's live or on a test realm is the chance to create your avatar. The virtual personification of all your hopes and dreams as well as desires to kill anything that moves. The most important thing you're ever going to do, regardless of the game, is create a virtual you and in this game customization is the big buzzword. So join Massively after the jump on a whistle stop tour of creating your first toon in NCsoft's must-play title.

E3 2009: Dragonica Online impressions

by Elizabeth Harper Jun 5th 2009 at 2:00PM

Filed under: New titles, Free-to-play, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Dragonica Online

Continuing the somewhat recurring theme at E3 2009 of "what was old is new again," Dragonica Online has taken the traditional 2D side-scroller format and transitioned it to 3D. The resulting environment will be friendly to any of the Night Elves you see endlessly bouncing around World of Warcraft and fans of nostalgic action RPGs like Secret of Mana.

The game sports fast and furious real-time combat, crafting, guilds, dungeon raids, PvP, and a light-hearted atmosphere. It didn't take us long to realize that Dragonica doesn't take itself too seriously. For example, in the demo, we saw an archer battling shark pirates who were wielding swordfish. We're obviously not in Middle Earth here.

E3 2009: Torchlight will morph from single player game to MMO

by Kyle Horner Jun 5th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Massively Hands-on

Coming from the desginers who made Diablo, Mythos, Mythos II and Fate, we're expecting quite a lot from their new title, Torchlight. This classic Diablo style 2D hack-and-slasher can in every way be considered the spiritual successor to Mythos, and in some ways even more closer to the original Diablo. For instance, Torchlight is a town with another world underneath it -- that and it's going to be a single player RPG before it goes MMO. But rest assured, it will go MMO in a year to a year and a half.

First, we'll discuss features that will exist at singleplayer launch later this year, then we'll cover the new elements planned when the game expands into a massively multiplayer game. Check it all out after the jump along with gameplay footage, complete with Felicia Day of The Guild trying her hand at a beta version of the Action RPG.

Gallery: E3 2009: Torchlight

E3 2009: Massively's day 3 roundup

by James Egan Jun 5th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Perfect World, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Star Wars: The Old Republic

We've completely zerg rushed E3 2009, attending press events, demonstrations and sure, hitting some parties as well. But we've also gone out and interviewed the people behind the games that will be arriving on the MMO scene in the next year and we've got a lot to tell you in the coming days.

As the constant hustle of E3 2009 came to a close yesterday and the swarm of game journos scatters, now is when we really shift into high gear; Massively's content over the next few days will feature loads of info and interviews fresh from E3. We'd say to keep your eyes open for it, but honestly you won't be able to miss it. For now though, here's a quick roundup of yesterday's coverage:

Star Wars: The Old Republic demonstration

Paul Barnett and the Suicide Girls present All Points Bulletin

Ether Saga Online set to go live this month with world bosses

Massively looks at Perfect World International: Age of Spirits

Jade Dynasty at a glance

Dungeon Fighter Online impressions

Still hungry? We've also put together galleries for these MMOs after the jump:

E3 2009: Dungeon Fighter Online impressions

by Elizabeth Harper Jun 4th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: New titles, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Casual, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage

Nexon's upcoming free to play title Dungeon Fighter Online isn't quite like anything we've seen before -- and at the same time, it's a lot like things we've seen before. At first glance, DFO mimics old-school, style-arcade action-adventure games, the sort of thing you might have been pumping quarters into a decade ago.

Not so old-school, however, are the game's MMO features: a persistent, shared world, character advancement, quests, and loot. These aren't features we'd have ever thought of putting together, but we can assure you that the resulting low-rez adventure is fast-paced and fun. Best of all? You won't need a pocket full of quarters to enjoy it.

Gallery: E3 2009: Dungeon Fighter Online

Massively Features

Featured Games

Events Calendar

Name	Date
Fallen Earth Launch	Q2 2009
Global Agenda Closed Beta	July 2009
CrimeCraft Launch	Aug 25 2009
Champions Online Launch	Sep 1 2009
Cities XL EU Launch	Sep 3 2009
Aion Launch	Sep 22 2009
Earth Eternal Open Beta	Q3 2009