Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Marvel Heroes Review

Marvel Heroes Review:
Marvel Heroes is a free MMO Action RPG and is surprisingly, a free game based on licensed characters. To me, it feels a lot like the old X-Men Legends games,

5 OUYA Games You Should Be Playing on Launch Day

5 OUYA Games You Should Be Playing on Launch Day:
What a long, strange trip it's been. A little less than a year ago, Julie Uhrman went to Kickstarter with a crazy idea: an Android powered console that would be

Ouya launch: Great potential for devs - let's see where it goes

Ouya launch: Great potential for devs - let's see where it goes:
The first Kickstarted console is out -- and launches into a world changed even from its funding 11 months ago. Will it live up to its potential? Gamasutra speaks to

OUYA Review

OUYA Review:
I don't know how I feel about OUYA. For most of you the console is only a day old, so this may seem excusable; but as a Kickstarter backer, I had a head start on

OUYA rushes into retail stores today

OUYA rushes into retail stores today:
Missed out on that incredibly successful Kickstarter? Feel like Android gaming on your TV is that one thing missing from...

The Division at E3 2013

The Division at E3 2013:
Ubisoft raised eyebrows at this year’s E3, joining in on the slew of console MMO announcements at the show by introducing gamers and press alike to Tom Clancy’s The Division. The Division is an upcoming online third-person open world RPG (with an MMO twist) in development over at Ubisoft Massive (the fine folks who brought us World in Conflict).

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Column: Beta Three in FFXIV

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Column: Beta Three in FFXIV:
Beta 3 has begun and we’re a step closer to the relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV.  While we had a bit of downtime waiting for Beta 3, we did have some interesting news.  First, Yoshi made quite a splash at E3, SE released the new trailer for ARR, and a surprise Scholar Job was announced.

Lenovo Targets China with Game World Service

Lenovo Targets China with Game World Service:
PC and tablet maker Lenovo is diversifying its business with a new gaming service for China called Lenovo Game World, Bloomberg reports. These

World of Tanks and the Free-to-Play Console War

World of Tanks and the Free-to-Play Console War:
Victor Kislyi prepares to show the console dinosaurs how free-to-play really works

CCP CEO: "A big company can become very dumb, very quickly"

CCP CEO: "A big company can become very dumb, very quickly":
Hilmar Petursson on taking CCP worldwide, expanding EVE and chasing new platforms.

Uncharted Waters Online Opens the Door to Historical Korea

Uncharted Waters Online Opens the Door to Historical Korea:
Land, ho! Uncharted Waters Online, the historical massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), sails into brand new territory with the latest update

FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn PC Beta Key Giveaway Event

FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn PC Beta Key Giveaway Event:
To celebrate MMOsite 8th Anniversary, we've teamed up with Square Enix to bring you Final Fantasy XIV beta key giveaway event. Continue reading FINAL

What Games Are: Reinventing The Games Console Half Way Won’t Work

What Games Are: Reinventing The Games Console Half Way Won’t Work:
In some ways you’ve got to feel bad for Microsoft. The company has spent years trying to find ways to expand its Xbox idea. It put together a very interesting camera peripheral that many people bought into, but not too many games. It’s tried, on several occasions, to use the games console as a way to win access into the living room. Yet now it’s at the point of having to roll back many of its big ideas because the market reacted so negatively. The company has run into a hard truth: In the minds of the market “console” means something specific, and is not inclined to expand its thinking.

Dead Rising 3 gets exclusive SmartGlass missions

Dead Rising 3 gets exclusive SmartGlass missions:
"You're getting more out of the game" with mobile and tablet companion app, says Dead Rising 3 executive producer. Xbox One open-world exclusive Dead Rising 3

New Details Released for EA's upcoming FIFA 14 for iOS and Android

New Details Released for EA's upcoming FIFA 14 for iOS and Android:
What is autumn for footy fans? It is definitely the time to gear up for a new FIFA installment. Out of the gate, EA promises "all new ways to play" on

Korean News and Beta Test Announcements

  • Ntreev Soft signs publishing contract with Joycity for “Freestyle,” “Freestyle 2,” and “Freestyle Football.” 
  • Nine Works FPS “Bn1944” starts OBT on July 15. 
  • Wemade signs China publishing contract with Tencent for mobile game “Moon Wolf.” 
  • N Dolphin Soft AOS MMORPG “Eclipse War” starts formal service on June 26.
  • Fortuna Games “Dungeon Hero” starts OBT on June 26.
  • L&K shooting RPG “Mirror Wars” starts Daum channeling service.
  • Dragonfly MMORPG “Ssen Online” starts open service on June 26.
  • NHN and Chinese company Shanghai Dream Network Technology (Dreansquare) sign a strategic partnership contract, 3D web MMORPG “PAL Online” to be published in Korea.

This Is A Screenshot Of A Video Game

This Is A Screenshot Of A Video Game:
This is not a painting. It's actually a game called Morphopolis.Read more...

General: Brain Storm MMO Beta Launches

General: Brain Storm MMO Beta Launches:
Brain Storm is a new MMO that is now in closed beta testing but looking for more players ready to use their knowledge to work through the content.

ArcheAge player-made factions incoming

ArcheAge player-made factions incoming:
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Patches, ArcheAge For those who don't care for any of the established NPC factions that you typically find in an

DotA 2 Is Transitioning Into Launch Mode

DotA 2 Is Transitioning Into Launch Mode:
Valve is now approaching the two year anniversary of Dota 2’s limited release, so the team is busy preparing for the launch of the game. However, according

Game Time For Apple: New Hardware API Lets Devs Get Serious

Game Time For Apple: New Hardware API Lets Devs Get Serious:
A common thing I hear from serious gamers is that on no ecosystem Apple offers--neither iOS nor OS X--is gaming taken seriously by the Cupertino

How Microsoft Wants To Empower Gamers To Create Worlds With “Project Spark”

How Microsoft Wants To Empower Gamers To Create Worlds With “Project Spark”:
With its upcoming Project Spark, Microsoft hopes to give you the tools to create your own epic adventures or just little games to waste time, and to earn

Minecraft 1.6 'Horse Update' pre-released

Minecraft 1.6 'Horse Update' pre-released:
Mojang has released an early version of the Minecraft 1.6 update, dubbed the "Horse Update." Obviously the big...

Blog: The sweet story of Candy Crush Saga's monetization success

Blog: The sweet story of Candy Crush Saga's monetization success:
How does King earn so much money from one game? Behaviour Interactive lead designer Sheldon Laframboise cracks the secrets of its highly effective

TERA: Rising: Corsair’s Stronghold at E3 2013

TERA: Rising: Corsair’s Stronghold at E3 2013:
Yarr! There be pirates incomin' to TERA if what we learned at E3 is any indication. It's a terrific sneak peek at the Corsairs' Stronghold that you won't want to miss so

Eldevin: New Level Cap Highlights Latest Update

Eldevin: New Level Cap Highlights Latest Update:
The Eldevin team has announced that the level cap for the closed beta has risen. According to information received, players will now have the opportunity to

Quantic Dream hiring for mobile

Quantic Dream hiring for mobile:
Heavy Rain studio seeking user interface artist and designer to create 2D artwork and graphics for unspecified project. Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls

Anarchy Online Celebrates 12-Year Anniversary June 27th | Ten Ton Hammer

Anarchy Online Celebrates 12-Year Anniversary June 27th | Ten Ton Hammer:
Funcom details new event plans and loot to celebrate the 12th anniversary of Anarchy Online.

Blade and Soul CN 3RD CBT Will Prolong to Late July

Blade and Soul CN 3RD CBT Will Prolong to Late July:
Blade and Soul China server just update a new class, Lyn Blade Master, with a good news that the 3rd CBT will prolong to late July. Continue reading Blade and

Age of Wushu (CN) Unveils Major Expansion "Changing World"

Age of Wushu (CN) Unveils Major Expansion "Changing World":
Today Snail Games has unveiled the major expansion "Changing World" for its splendid martial art MMORPG Age of Wushu. The expansion will kick off open

DCUO Tides of War Event Starts Today with GU27 | Ten Ton Hammer

DCUO Tides of War Event Starts Today with GU27 | Ten Ton Hammer:
DC Universe Online kicks off its summer event today with combat improvements and new PvP maps.

Dragon's Prophet: What’s to Come from E3 2013

Dragon's Prophet: What’s to Come from E3 2013:
During E3 a couple of weeks ago, our team managed to catch up to the Dragon's Prophet team to find out what's next for the newly launched title. Find out

Guild Wars 2 Sky Pirates of Tyria Update Goes Live Today | Ten Ton Hammer

Guild Wars 2 Sky Pirates of Tyria Update Goes Live Today | Ten Ton Hammer:
Guild Wars 2’s latest update launches today. Join Ellen Kiel to solve the Dragon Bash murder and experience more new content.

Final Fantasy XIV sells $50 soundtrack with pet

Final Fantasy XIV sells $50 soundtrack with pet:
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIV, Promotions, Music, Subscription Would you spend $50 on a video game soundtrack? Here's a better

Kids, privacy and mobile games: ESRB moves to limit risks

Kids, privacy and mobile games: ESRB moves to limit risks:
With new Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) revisions going into effect on July 1st, the ESRB has expanded its privacy certification program

Havok launches free 3D game engine for mobile

Havok launches free 3D game engine for mobile:
Havok has launched Project Anarchy, its new iOS-, Android- and Tizen-ready 3D game engine promising an "industry-leading" feature set. The software is free

Heva Clonia Online Closed Beta Starts This Fall

Heva Clonia Online Closed Beta Starts This Fall:
Heva Clonia Online, the 3D Korean casual MMORPG from GetAmped and Rusty Hearts maker WindySoft, is heading for North America and

Qeon to Bring Kingdom Under Fire II to Indonesia Soon

Qeon to Bring Kingdom Under Fire II to Indonesia Soon:
Qeon proudly presents the newest "AAA" quality online game, which will be launched soon in Indonesia, Kingdom Under Fire II. With a unique and

Apple follows through on kids' games settlement

Apple follows through on kids' games settlement:
Apple has provided a means for claiming compensation, after agreeing to pay out a large settlement to parents whose children had accidentally bought in-app

EverQuest II shares details about update 67, Darkness Dawns

EverQuest II shares details about update 67, Darkness Dawns:
Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Patches, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play Are you ready for another update to EverQuest II? Especially one that dusts

World of the Living Dead Headed for a Summer Reboot | Ten Ton Hammer

World of the Living Dead Headed for a Summer Reboot | Ten Ton Hammer:
Ballardia Games is pulling the plug on its zombie survival strategy game to pave the way for a reboot this summer.

Massively Exclusive: Elsword trailer introduces the new Infinity Sword class

Massively Exclusive: Elsword trailer introduces the new Infinity Sword class:
Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Expansions, News Items, Free-to-Play Recently, Elsword grew by quadrupaling the size of the world. Now

Latest Firefox release optimizes browser for games

Latest Firefox release optimizes browser for games:
The latest release for Mozilla's Firefox web browser aims to improve 3D game performance on the web. ...

Firefall’s Final Closed Beta Milestone Starts Thursday | Ten Ton Hammer

Firefall’s Final Closed Beta Milestone Starts Thursday | Ten Ton Hammer:
Red 5 reveals a new Firefall teaser video and offers beta testers two weeks of exclusive access to the new PvP map and story-based episode.

PlanetSide 2 launches in China to surprising numbers

PlanetSide 2 launches in China to surprising numbers:
Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2 Bringing a game to another nation always prompts certain questions.

The Soapbox: Tokens suck!

The Soapbox: Tokens suck!:
Filed under: Economy, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous A few weeks ago we reported on a somewhat silly article in which the author advocated that

Buy-to-Play Games are the Future of MMOs

Buy-to-Play Games are the Future of MMOs:
MMOs are different than any other type of game in several ways, so much so that they often require entirely different business models. Most games, once

MechWarrior Online reveals Project Phoenix pre-order program

MechWarrior Online reveals Project Phoenix pre-order program:
Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Promotions, MechWarrior Online If you're one of those peeps who loves pre-ordering video games, and you've g

Double Eleven signs with Pixel Junk developer Q Games

Double Eleven signs with Pixel Junk developer Q Games:
Studios to collaborate on a number of new game projects

Star Citizen is the highest grossing crowdfunded project of all time

Star Citizen is the highest grossing crowdfunded project of all time:
Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play

Free-to-Play Marketing: Positioning and Proposition

Free-to-Play Marketing: Positioning and Proposition:
In an extract from Will Luton's new book, we look at marketing techniques and the high-level proposition of your free-to-play video game

Trust Twitter For News? Yeah Right.

Trust Twitter For News? Yeah Right.:
The first news of the death of Soprano's actor James Gandolfini may have reached you via Twitter, but you probably went to the New York Times or, dare we

Report: How People Really Use Tablets While Watching TV

Report: How People Really Use Tablets While Watching TV:
The whole industry is building iPad apps that integrate with television. But Nielsen’s latest report gets hard numbers on whether or not this trend

Pocket Mobsters Is An Ambitious Game. Ambition Is A Dangerous Thing.

Pocket Mobsters Is An Ambitious Game. Ambition Is A Dangerous Thing.:
In the whack-y world of the fictional mafia, right down the street from the jolly singing pirates, enthusiasm for climbing the corporate ladder is both good and bad.

Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage Review

Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage Review:
They come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow. Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage is a refreshing puzzle/physics

49Games heads launch Hexagon Game Labs

49Games heads launch Hexagon Game Labs:
"Our mission is to leverage the idea of a flexible and barrier-free, multi-device F2P games"

A Zombie Steampunk Wizard Of Oz? Sure, Why Not.

A Zombie Steampunk Wizard Of Oz? Sure, Why Not.:
American McGee's Spicy Horse studio just launched a Kickstarter for a new game where you play as Dorothy going up against the Scarecrow. And it looks a

The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar needs a business model

The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar needs a business model:
Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion, WildStar, The Nexus Telegraph To the surprise of absolutely no one, WildStar is going to

Microsoft Games Are Coming To Android, iOS Phones

Microsoft Games Are Coming To Android, iOS Phones:
You read that right. Develoepr Klab will be bringing a mobile version of Age of Empires to both iOS and Android devices later this year. Read more...

Blog: 3 tips for balancing your game to prevent pay-to-win

Blog: 3 tips for balancing your game to prevent pay-to-win:
Players hate it, and can wreck your game's balance. What do you do to prevent pay-to-win? This blog post looks at three basic tactics to squeeze it out of

Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon Review

Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon Review:
Just because the name "Dracula" is in the title, don't discount Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon as some hokey vampire game. Created by Microids, a

Dream House Days Review

Dream House Days Review:
After numerous ventures into the mobile gaming space like Game Dev Story and the recent Pocket Stables, developer Kairosoft has released Dream House

Zynga loses its third-party head honcho

Zynga loses its third-party head honcho:
In the wake of social game company Zynga laying off hundreds of staff and closing down multiple studios, the man leading Zynga's third-party efforts has

[06.24] Weekly Top 10 Korean Gaming List

[06.24] Weekly Top 10 Korean Gaming List:
It's time for the weekly TOP 10 Korean gaming list! According to the statistics from Korean search website Gametrics, nothing special in the list with League of

Zynga China studio head leaving

Zynga China studio head leaving:
Social publisher's stock drops after confirmation of Andy Tian departing Beijing studio

Valve promises an "event" as Steam Trading Cards leave beta

Valve promises an "event" as Steam Trading Cards leave beta:
Steam Trading Cards open to all as Valve hints at what could be this year's Steam Summer Sale. Valve's Steam Trading Cards will leave beta this Wednesday,

Not So Massively: Dota 2 launch, HoN's chaos mode, and D3's expansion

Not So Massively: Dota 2 launch, HoN's chaos mode, and D3's expansion:
Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Video, Business Models, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, New Titles, Patches, PvP, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, First

Marvel Heroes Review

Marvel Heroes Review:
Marvel fans have been consistently lucky when it comes to video game adaptations: the indomitable Marvel vs. Capcom, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and a bevy of others are excellent examples. It's a rich, engaging universe teeming with different personalities, so like in the world of gaming itself, there's something for everyone. Marvel Heroes is a colorful representation of that varied spirit, allowing you to take up the mantle of your favorite superhero and embark on a journey through familiar set pieces of the Marvel mythos. But as with some of Marvel's youngest talent, the potential for greatness has yet to be refined.

Wartune Review

Wartune Review:
Thirty minutes into Wartune and my thoughts aren't on my character or the world around me. Instead, they're centered on this: how on earth has a