Greetings, massively multiplayer mavens. How was your week online? Did you destroy numerous beasties and loot their shiny baubles? I sure hope so! Let’s dive right in and take a look at “The-Week-That-Was” in persistent gaming.
“Hot Plants” Woodsmen! Grab your axes and chop your way over to the official Guild Wars 2 site where it’s Slyvari Week. What the heck is a Slyvari? It’s the newest playable race in Tyria and a cross between an elf and … a tree. The Sylvari are here to defend the land and fight the Elder Dragons. Too bad the poor things are so damn flammable! How can beings that “do not have internal organs, but instead are formed of growing plant matter, (with) sap for blood, leaves and bark for skin” be so damn sexy? I’ll leaf that to your imagination.
“Artificer Flavoring” Turbine have outlined Update 11 “Secrets of the Artificers” for Dungeons & Dragons Online. Hitting servers next month, the free add-on brings a new Artificer class. A velvety blend of Rogue and Arcane classes, the Artificer wields specially created weapons (like a nifty Arm Cannon) and commands mechanical pets in battle. Do you smell steam, punk?
“MegaServer Four” A heroic series of server merges has begun for DC Universe Online. 26 servers are set to be squeezed into four regionalized “MegaServers.” What’s great about server merges? Many more players to adventure with and a robust auction house with a greater variety of items. What’s not so great? Forced character name changes and a worry in the back of every hero’s mind that the game may be dying on the vine. Don’t despair. I’m sure Krypto the Superdog and the Wonder Twins will swoop in and save the day soon!
“LEGO Cap” Newsflash! Idle bricklayers gain new motivation! A Leveling System has been added to kid-friendly MMO LEGO Universe. Experience points can now be earned by completing missions and unlocking achievements, allowing players to rise all the way to level 40. Jordan Itkowitz, Design Director for LEGO Universe, says “With the addition of the leveling system, we’re looking to inspire players to explore deeper into the universe, and tackle more difficult goals than they may have considered before.” Ding and “Gratz” kids.
“The Singing Dragon” Busy chewing your fingernails, anxiously awaiting Diablo III? You may want to investigate Bigpoint’s Diablo-esque action-MMO Drakensang Online which has just entered Open Beta. I haven’t played the game yet (damn you, busy schedule) and can’t vouch for its quality–but it sure looks the part. It’s also free-to-play and runs happily in your browser. Worth a shot!
“Blackstar Bow” Spacetime Studios, makers of the world’s largest mobile MMO, Pocket Legends, has launched Star Legends: The Blackstar Chronicles for Android devices. Star Legends is set in a Sci Fi 41st century, features cartoony 3D graphics, Commando, Operative and Engineer classes and is free-to-play. An iOS version is promised in the near future.
“A Nation Free of Debt” In a nice turn-of-events, Trion Worlds has announced that Petroglyph-developed RTSMMO End of Nations will be free-to-play when it launches later this year. An optional “premium subscription” will also be available for wealthy, fancy-pants gamers. The publishers have offered assurances that free players will be able to access the entire game and will not be gimped compared to those paying for extras. Golly gee whiz, I think this F2P thing might finally be catching on.
That’s all she wrote for this week my fine, feathered friends. Keep your digits on the keys and keep it logged-in.
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David Moore has run the site gamebunny.com for the past ten years and co-runs torwars.com, a site focused on all things Star Wars: The Old Republic.
