Justin Webb: The Top 5 Most Awesome MMO Thingies at E3
MMORPG.com columnist Justin Webb attended this year's E3 and sets his column's sights on the five best things that he saw last week in terms of MMOs.
Column By Justin Webb on June 22, 2010
Last week, many of the MMORPG.com folk made the trek to LA to take a look at the latest MMOs in development. Many of the big guns were there. We saw Bioware's The Old Republic; a trio of SOE games; the latest from Trion; and some snippets from THQ, Perfect World, Gazillion, Nexon, Square Enix, and EA.
I wanted to write "The Top 5 Things That Hit Bill Murphy in the Face at E3", but unfortunately Bill only got hit in the face three times during the show, his most impressive injury coming from a piece of porcelain shrapnel that flew across the food court barely minutes before the doors opened on the first day. Bill has a small cut on his lip to commemorate his inaugural "blooding". So, in honor of Bill and his regular Top-5 articles, and that fact that I can't think of anything else to write about, I've decided to go with "The Top 5 Most Awesome MMO Thingies at E3 2010".
Warhammer 40K's Costumes
Although we didn't see anything about THQ's upcoming 40K MMO apart from the trailer, we did get accosted by probably the best costumes I've ever seen at any show. The Relic guys really outdid themselves with their 7-feet high Space Marine, Chaos Marine, and Greenskin "booth babes". The Orc had a fully-articulated radio controlled head with hydraulic facial musculature, controlled by a handler using a 360 controller.
While the trailer seems to confirm the three costumed factions, little else could be gleaned from the tight-lipped Relic devs. Speculatively, it looks to me like it might be an "action" MMO. The targeting reticule at 0:40 in the trailer looks/feels like a shooter, although this could be clever editing. Only time will tell. In the absence of any actual game information, this "Most Awesome MMO Thingy" is solely for the costumes.
Tera's Group Play
After the single-player demo at GDC, there were several questions regarding whether Tera's targetless action-based combat would be fun against tougher PvE opponents. I was a bit skeptical myself. However, after playing in a 5-man group during E3, I must admit that combat in Tera is fun ... really fun.
It's all about the dodge button.
Combat here isn't about switching on auto-attack and hitting your rotations. Instead it's about moving and dodging away from your foes. All the monsters in Tera have "tells" - animations that signpost when a big mega attack is about to happen. The key to success is to dodge out of the way and set up flanking or rear-guard attacks. Adding in dodges makes combat feel really dynamic; it makes you feel like you are actually doing something, like you are involved and important. It makes it feel like individual skill is important - a feeling that has been severely missing from MMOs of late.
The game play feels like something new. It's a fundamentally different way of playing an MMO. In a genre that is crying out for innovations, Tera's action-based positional skirmishing is startlingly fun to play and a breath of fresh air in the otherwise crowded TAB-to-Target MMO landscape.
Rift's Rifts
While playing through the otherwise guided in-game demo of Rift: Planes of Telara, I decided to take my character on a detour and headed toward a "life" rift that appeared in the distance. As I entered the anomaly, the rift expanded out and filled with creatures, including a Cthulu-inspired plant behemoth that poked down through the rip in time and space. The rift area contained 10 or so nature-y monsters for me to kill. After I had defeated this batch - I cheated and used a "kill all" ability that I had noticed on the hotbar - a second wave of monsters appeared (and a timer), and I was filled with a powerful sense of déjà vu.
"This is a Public Quest isn't it?" I asked the Ex-Mythic employee overseeing my demo. He said "no", but he knew I was on to him.
Yep. Rifts are Public Quests. However, they are public quests with all the "suck" removed. The rifts in Rift can occur virtually anywhere in the world. And, since they are dynamically generated, and not statically triggered or persistent world events (like WAR's PQs), they can be scaled and their frequencies increased or lowered. Rift's rifts aren't hard coded so they can have semi-random scripting variations, based on any number of variables. According to my handler, rifts can also modify the nearby environment if they are not closed quickly, changing the visual nature of the landscape. He also hinted that any game action that a player can fail (a crafting attempt, say) could trigger a mini-rift event using this dynamic system. So, fail in crafting your enchanted sword and accidentally summon an angry demon. I like it.
The secret of dynamic intelligent content creation is the Holy Grail for MMO developers. It looks like Trion may have solved it. Will the rest of the game be any good? Shrug. However, the rifts in Rift are a very-cleverly-done modification to an already good idea from another game - it's the first better iteration of PQs that I can think of. Linking this pervasive dynamic way of creating content directly into the world IP is genius ... and they haven't resorted to "phasing".
The Agency's Gadgets
While there was only a PvP demo for The Agency on display at E3, I was able to get a look at the gadgets used in SOE's espionage shooter MMO.
Instead of having each class having a large amount of core abilities to choose from, The Agency has player's modifying their class's play style through the use of gadget items. Gadgets are class specific, and have abilities built into them. Equip the gadget and you get the ability - it appears directly on your character's hotbar. Many of these gadget abilities are particularly powerful.
While I won't go into too much detail here (Alan's article talks about gadgets in more depth), what is particularly fascinating to me is that, in The Agency, gear = talents. Of course, this could result in the game being a loot grind, where players try to complete uber builds by obtaining specific hard-to-find items. With little detail on how PvE operates, and the various mechanisms in which players accumulate loot, it's hard to say how this will pan out. What is interesting though is how you can dramatically change the play style of a particular class by the addition of certain equipped items. This certainly alleviates the problem some games have with their classes, in that they always play the same way. This kind of variety will certainly appeal to many gamers. However, we'll have to wait and see how SOE implements gadget itemization to know whether their game is a broken loot-acquisition grind mill or a joyous item-based progression of near-infinite play-style choices.
)
???
Those of you paying attention will notice that this Top-5 list only has four things in it. I played a lot of MMOs at E3 this year and I've been really scratching my head trying to come up with a fifth thingie to add to the list. Overall, it was a very bad E3 for MMOs. Many of the games I played were absolute dogs. And while the games mentioned above might not themselves end up being super awesome, they do each contain a nifty feature or two that made them stand out from the other dross on display.
Let's hope it's a top-10 list next year.
More Justin Webb Features:
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Justin's column will appear every Tuesday here at MMORPG.com.
Well, that sucks.. (The lack of MMO news from E3, not the article) Looks like its gonna be another shitty few years for MMO's.. Want a good hardcore sandbox MMO! Like Mortal Online, but the game needs alot more polish and features added, playing it now tough, hopefully will get better soon and this can be my new home :)
Warhammer 40k looks cool, hope its a seamless world with world pvp, and not stupid battlegrounds and shit.
Lets hope blizzard announces their new MMO on blizzcon this year, and hope for the sake of mankind that its gonna be a sandbox MMO, hopefully UO style, they said themself it will be something diffrent from WoW. But that wont be out for atleast 2012-13 most likley -_-
I still have hope for the new year, GW2, Lotro going F2P, The Secret World, DC Universe ... might be interesting.
Those rifts sound cool... may keep an eye on the game now (cautious interest).
Aww, was XIV too hard to play with a controller? Learning new things sure must suck, can't just already know everything about the game the moment you log in.
C'mon, Justin... cough up the name of a couple "dogs" and "dross" MMOs you played at E3. If they're that bad, we deserve a heads-up so we can avoid them.
No mention of FFXIV (aside from Hyanmen's comment)!
Played during the Alpha and it looks great. They've incorporated a lot of feedback into the Beta due next month. Should be fun!
Again, notice
No SWTOR...
Clue, anyone ?
The dodge technique in Tera sounds very familiar. They have a shield (shift) in CO. The baddie you fight gives a tell of an upcoming super attack, and you can shift (shield) yourself from it. As you advance the shield skill, the percentage of the damage you are shielded from increases.
I honestly don't get whats so new and exciting about TERA combat. Maybe I'm missing something, I don't know? AoC has had active combat with aiming, dodging and shielding (for melee) for over 2 years now. Daggers have a small impact radius 1-handers larger, 2-handers larger again with polearm Guardians having the best range of all. Swing it and you hit everything in an arc in front of you, unless they dodge.
To me TERA is nothing new. ' Action MMO' seems to be the new buzzword that gets thrown around. AoC is the original action MMO, plus it has a realistic artstyle that I personally far prefer to the; 'I'm a half-naked chick with a weapon the size of a truck' style that is the norm in asian MMO's.
Before the AoC fanboy tag gets plastered to me, know that I am not currently playing AoC because I disagree with the more gear-dependant direction that AoC has been heading in for the past year or so. Those WoW kids just can't let go of their class/level themepark gear treadmill mindset so Funcom caved to them and turned AoC from a game where player skill mattered far more than gear, to the exact opposite. Such a shame. Seems I am in the minority with that mindset though.
Anyway, I'll definately give TERA a try when it launches. I would like to see what all the fuss is about for myself.
Well 4 interesting things is better than nothing. Most of us realize the e3 has went most console anyways.
i have some hopes for Warhammer, the others they really dont hit on me much.
At least you covered E3.
Thanks for sharing.
Oh Yes, How this Genre is Screaming out for Innovation.. While Many MMOs have a Few good Ideas, the Next one that Manages to Create a Fun, Meaningful Combat system with all the Social polish will be onto a winner.. So Far 40k Just looks like a WAR, WoW Clone.. Lets hope its more Tabula Rasa Gameplay..
No FFXIV or GW2 or any other hyped up games right now (except Rift and TERA).
Clue, anyone?
Hey, it's Lobo's logic, not mine. Maybe there's no clues here, maybe it's only Justin's opinion.
I can't be sure, but CO had only a shield spell which was cool, because you had to pay attention what the bosses were doing else you would be trashed. The dodge technique in TERA sounds like you have to keep dodging and moving consistently from your position as well, not only hit the shield spell-button.
Rift reminds me of GW2, both will build further upon the Public Quest-system, with dynamic events and players' actions or inactions changing the area.
what the hell? you could have put FFXIV in there, i know FFXIV is a big dissapointment with all those slow boring combat to death
but it should make it in the top 5 list
there isnt anything else in the E3 anyway for MMO
it's just those few
A nice list and I agree with everything put down. Though I enjoyed the Warhammer trailer as well as the costumes. I think the game will look good.
Though the big game for me is Rift, everything we are hearing it is just sounding better and better. Though I hope the rifts don't end up too much like the portals in Elder Scrolls Oblivion where they became very boring very quickly. Rather than the realistic world we had come to love they took us off into these kill 40 things red towers. I really hope that rifts don't end up as kill 40 things cosmic areas.
There is one game he forgot to mention that was at E# and that was DCUO.
This article makes me wonder why there's no info regarding FFXIV aside from the benchmark.
One would think the major MMORPG site would give it more attention considering its the second most hyped game here right now, but I guess the pad controls and 5% slower gameplay makes the title too uninteresting to even report? I definitely see how it is.
Placing a ????? rather than FFXIV, SWTOR or any other MMO there, which could even be SWCWA, heh, was kinda harsh to the MMOs that were literally ignored. You could even have posted it on the 5th position.
But it's still your opinion, so, fine. I agree with the lackluster E3 for MMOs this year, pretty much as it has become for the PCs, but at least we get some exclusive events (Blizzcon mostly, the SOE and the EVE ones too).
Guys, this wasn't a top five list of the best games at E3. It was stuff that he saw that he personally found interesting and / or innovative.
As for FFXIV, we've got two videos coming, hold yer horses. That said, I agree with justin, nothing we were shown of FFXIV was cause to stand up and take notice unless you're a big FF fan.
So no one generally interested about the game might find it interesting?
Oh well, at least you'll release something after all the Agencies and Hello Kitty Onlines have been reported. Gotta remember the priorities (SW TOR > the rest > XIV).
*facepalm* The not stand up and take notice thing only applied to Justin's article. Of course we realize that people interested in FFXIV want to see that game, and as such we'll be releasing our character creation video tomorrow... I'm not sure why it is you think FFXIV is somehow getting the shaft here.
Oh we all have our priorities, obviously.. nothing bad about that.
Looking forward to the videos.
I disagree. AoC combat isn't overcomplicated unless you are a 'clicker' which by your above statement I believe you are. If you use keybinds, N52, G13, Naga etc combat is very fluid and natural.
'All this removed need or possibility of active dodging blocking etc.' That statement is simply false, a good melee player on AoC can dodge, block, double tap for stuns eveasion etc while performing combos with very little difficulty.
Hyanmen, we get it. You love all things Final Fantasy.
Just don't expect the rest of the western world to share your enthusiasm. Final Fantasy will always be niche over here, same as Lineage 2, same as Aion a year from now. All asian MMO's will always be niche here in the west due to cultural differences. Its just the way it is.
I'm a huge FF fan (plus played XI) and I really don't think that FFXIV is everything you believe it to be. First you don't have much credibility for being the biggest XIV fanboy on these forums lately. Not saying it as a negative thing, but your fanaticism towards this game is way over the average. This isn't a FF Online website and they have to set priorities based on their users and such. Also XIV is mostly appealing only for the XI crowd, because honestly I don't see how they're taking a big risk regarding innovation (Was FFIII a revolution to the RPG genre because of its summons? As far as it goes, they're not adding anything spetacular) and not everyone is a big fan of the slow-paced combat and progression.
I myself really enjoyed playing FFXI, mostly because of how chracter progression behaved, but so far I hold little interest on FFXIV. The game's hype is easily explained by being so appealing to XI's die-hard fans, but other than that I'd preffer if the website's staff focused on games which may add something to the genre instead of just making a facelift for XI and changing some stuff here and there (armoury system, for example).
Also, please stop with your defensiveness and your reductio ad ridiculum logic. There's not many people here that still take you seriously.
Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. You're saying that an editorial written by Justin has his opinions, and not yours, in it?
You are one bold man.
Other similar websites have dealt with E3 much better and equally. Massively for example.
You are not really saying much there, except that you are ignorant on the subject. I don't really care to inform you, nor do you probably care to be informed either.
But yes, I am indeed disappointed that MMORPG.com's bias is showing so clearly.
I kinda dont get hyped about WAR 40k since i saw it has "tab-aiming" my personal hype meter went to -273°C.
Maybe the SWTOR Hype motor is already overheating? It had already enough extra threads / news about it.
And i agree with his opinion so far SWTOR was nothing like "WTF OSOM I WANT IT TO PLAY" ...
Hyanmen... you're on something of a blind rampage here (figuratively speaking).
There's a lot of games they haven't covered here yet. Stradden mentioned that they're working on two videos they're going to put up showing FFXIV's character creation, etc.
They only have so many people to handle a given task, and those tasks take time... I'm eager to see the new footage and such of FFXIV as well... I've already decided the look I'd like to go for with my character, so I'm eager to see how close to that I'll be able to get. I've already decided where I'm going to start and what I want to focus on first when the game releases.. Hell, I'm upgrading my system before then just to play it as smoothly as possible (my FFXIV benchmark score made me die a little inside). That said, I also realize the sky isn't going to fall and there's no grand anti-FFXIV conspiracy here if it's not given attention as quickly as I'd like.
Besides which, the article was specifically the author's personal views... They represent his point-of-view and what he found interesting, not MMORPG.com's collective views and opinions.
To put it simply... No mention of FFXIV in Justin Webb's article =/= anti-FFXIV conspiracy on MMORPG.com.
He's possibly not as excited about FFXIV as others are and so it wouldn't make his list. I see nothing wrong with that. I personally couldn't care less about SW ToR or The Agency... Rift only peripherally has my attention. I am very much intereseted in TERA, though, and have been for a long time now, even before MMORPG.com started covering it... so that bit of news about the combat system is awesome.
Just have some patience and all will come with time :)
You seem to be missing the point of the article. This wasn't "The Top 5 MMO'S Shown at E3." This was an article about specific features that the author thought were noteworthy. What feature shown at E3 from FFIV should have been mentioned in your opinion? I would be interested to know because I'm looking forward to the game as well, but I'm unaware of any specific features shown off for FFIV that would have had me saying "wow"
Some folks don't seem to be getting this point. It was all about what Justin found to be interesting/innovative.
Sure, some of the major titles weren't on his list, but then again, from what I've seen none of them are really doing much more than repackaging what has worked well in the past with a new story.
Large Dev houses tend to be very risk adverse when they put this much money on the line, so its understandable that what they are creating might be fun, successful and all that, odds are they're not likely to break any new ground.
Oh I'm not talking about this article at this point, it just made me wonder why there's very little XIV footage so long after the E3 had already ended. I still am, but at least I know now that its coming. Better late than never I guess.
Ignoring your childish defensiveness, which was obviously expected, you need to notice that probably a big part of mmorpg.com's users do access Massively often. As much as I like this website, it's pretty obvious that Massively, for example, usualy do better at delivering news and commenting on meetings and such, but it doesn't have a forum, columnists, etc. I myself access mmorpg.com mostly for its forum and community ideals (no sympathy for WoW and asian grindfests, etc).
Don't limit yourself for one website if you're trying to be informed and if you don't agree with the staff's priorities, go on and check other websites. Trying to impose your fanaticism towards them is only going to make you more ridiculous.
Uhm?
GW2 was not at E3 (unlike SWTOR)
And just think ...
When the most expensive video game of all times. Just couple months from release. Makes its appearence at major game expo. And its not even mentioned. (except from few lukewarm "meh" articles)
Well then buddy.
You dont need a degree to understand whats going on.
I would think because there's so little "new" that they could post that hasn't already been seen.
New Character Creation System = "Mission Impossible Video"
Combat System = Numerous videos
Guildleve System = Numerous Videos
... and so forth.
SE them self is pretty slow in releasing truly new information about their games. They leave a lot of room for speculation (which almost always ends up way off lol). So, there's probably not much "urgency" in putting out yet another video of the character creation system that pretty much anyone interested (and possibly many uninterested) have already seen.
That said, I'll still watch them lol
I am simply stating the facts, not being defensive. Deal with it.
Of course I check other websites regularly, but does this mean I shouldn't be upset at mmorpg.com's bias? I've always thought of this site as one of the better MMO sites, but not so much anymore.
If fanaticism = equality, then yes, mmorpg.com should be fanatic.
That is simply because mmorpg.com was so damn slow when it comes to releasing that info. There's not even a hands-on article, which would be something other sites don't have- a different PoV. Even if it's a negative one, it should be included if other games get one too.
Rifts dynamic engagements sound refreshing....finally, a game that is beginning to chip away at the static nature of the genre. Aions rifts were a brilliant first, though static locations for pvp entrance, but perhaps rift can encorporate some dynamic pvp encounters as well.
Rightly so, FF and GW and most of the other usual subjects are just rehashes, been there done that.
GW does what rift does, even XIV does what rift does. Your opinion doesn't hold much basis to it, frankly.
If it wasn't for the Warhammer 40k announcement and more info on The Old Republic would anyone even care what mmo are these days ?
For me the game still feels like a single player with multi option and the art direction looks a bit ugly.
This year's E3 has been sucky and lackluster. Everything cool was announced before it actually began or wasn't really a well kept secret when it was announced.
I have to laugh at this "innovative" combat in Telara. You can dodge?! Oh my word, every other action game has had free movement since the 80s. Real innovative; man I hate how MMOs are always 5-10 years behind the rest of the gaming industry in terms of "innovation." In a few years, we'll be having some MMO dev announcing their game has user control available (ala, a WiiMote).
The random Rift generator thing sounds cool. Reminds me a bit of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion with the random Oblivion portals you can shut down.
No they dont. Neener-neener.
Sadly the state of the MMORPG genre is starting to remind me a lot of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band situation. WoW put them on the map and generated mass attention but unfortunately developers are rehashing the same ol' **it over and over. The games that have been released in the last 18 months are mostly trash and it doesn't sound like things are getting better. 2010 has so far been almost a complete snoozer as far as MMO's go and it is disappointing to hear that E3 was by and large nothing to shout about. I don't know, 2011 is looking like a make or break year for me with MMO's because this kind of lag in originality and creativity may end up sending MMO's back to the niche market.
dont see the cool thing in the rifts system of rift, but then do hate the instance for loot grinding, to me the rifts still just that.....instance for loot grinders..
can only hope the game got some depth to it, but so far just dont see it -especially after reading how the dev ensure its stream lined, as in you ofc will get any quests associated with this one rift when you enter it, which to me reads like, quests is only for alittle extra XP.
Justin is right the 40k costumes were by far some of the coolest things I have ever seen.
warhammer costumes were bloody awesome :D
and the game looks like fun too.
Like first post says, I also am waiting for a gd sandbox to come into the scene. There are some efforts being made in the right direction, but so far not enough.
Unlike he says though, I highly doubt Blizzard will release a sandbox ... if only!
You've played all of those?
"Many of the games I played were absolute dogs. And while the games mentioned above might not themselves end up being super awesome, they do each contain a nifty feature or two that made them stand out from the other dross on display."
Obviously you spent no time in playign TERA. You comment on the group quest play but no real details on how GREAT the combat is and why and the character classes, customization, lore, and content. It IS a great game, regardless of your 5 minute snip of it.
Nothing on JGE? That's surprising considering it's basicaly the first space shooter MMO that's supposed to take you back to the days of wing commander and descent... and the combat I heard was actually pretty nice.
Hm..
Like so many others you're kind of missing the whole point of the article. This is a list of 5 things that HE, in his own opinion, considered noteworthy and/or unique. It is simply pointing out the most exceptional features and things that he liked, in his opinion from what he saw at E3. This is not to be taken as fact for everyone, simply his point of view on specific features of a game or things related to a particular game. It's also not about picking favorite games, he did not say these are the best or anything like that, only that these ones had some features that stood out from some of the others.
Nowhere in the title or the article itself does it say "This is an in depth review of the 5 best games at E3!" So not only you, but others complaining about crap like that their favorite game wasnt "reviewed" in this article really need to look elsewhere for that info.
I pray that that the 40k developers are smart and make the combat either free-aim, ala APB, or similar to Tabula Rasa; somewhat free with target assist, but dice rolls.
I find every single MMORPG VERY boring after playing Continent of The Ninth for a very long time. Combat is ridiculously boring in standard MMORPGs now that I honestly have stopped playing the genre except for the Korean MMOs.
Skill is what matters in these, not the equipment and that's what I'm after. It's not that there isn't a gear grind, but if you're good, equipment will not stop a good player from winning no matter if you're in +12 soul gear vs standard +5-7 orange standards.
Mabinogi Heroes is also very top tier in terms of skill requirements and overall incredible fun and expandable gameplay experience.
Tera isn't bad, but it's a lot slower and less skill based than C9 or Mabinogi Heroes. HOWEVER, it is the right step for western MMOs to take after. Tera is actually very nice and I have played it, but found it to be bland and things seemed pointless to me in the overall scheme of things. But that was a while ago. Gameplay itself was a very nice pace.
Good luck western MMOs. Targetted gaming is pathetic.
Mount & Blade provides me with a much better gaming experience than every MMO these days hahaha.
"Many of the games I played were absolute dogs. And while the games mentioned above might not themselves end up being super awesome, they do each contain a nifty feature or two that made them stand out from the other dross on display."
That is a refreshingly harsh judgement to read, and it has a ring of truth about it... the genre is having a bad time of it at the moment.
BUT I wonder if these tentative steps towards dynamic content that we are seeing with Tera and Guild Wars 2, will bring the developers back (almost full circle) to creating worlds (rather than instances) that have interacting entities rather than static quests?
If so, exciting times ahead!
I'm not going to lie, it's pretty depressing that you can't think of 5 good MMO things about the show.
Add to that that I'm not really interested in 3 of the games you mentioned, and that the best thing about 40K ( a game which is only due in a couple of years) was an animatronic doll......I thought things were supposed to be getting better?!:)
The gear in agency sounds interesting, but I'm old school RPG...I'd rather my character dictates my abilities rather than a piece of equipment.
I've only done a quick skim of the content that you guys collated, but from my point of view SWTOR player housing (ships) was probably my highlight. I expexted something like this, but wasn't convinced it would be in for launch. Now they just need to tell us how we go about creating our own rebel-base!:) There doesn't seem like there was much of 40k on show, but it was nice to see that they're planning on vehicles for launch.
Awwww how disappointing! I was hoping to see some nice things in this article when I first saw its title. I hope this doesn't indicate a bad year for MMOs and that in fact the more interesting ones of the year have already been released.
Kudos to Justin for putting 'booth babe' and spaceorks in the same sentence. It sparked mental images of boyz dancing around in bikinis
Other than orks, the thing that interested me the most in Justin's article was Rift. I've looked at screenshots, some trailers, etc on TERA and can't quite see why people are so excited about it. I guess I'd have to try it first to see what the hype is about for that game and why it's perceived to be so 'different'.
Didn't know about Tera's combat, now I am very interested. I can't even play MMOs for more than a few minutes any more due to the extremely boring combat.
The three things the author mentioned are mechanics that are new ideas for the genre - better combat, a more dynamic world, and playstyle variation within a class.
SWTOR and FFXIV are not offering much innovation, so there isn't much need to whine about them not being mentioned. They will sell a lot of boxes, theres no need to worry.
If you liked TERA's combat, you should also take a look at Vindictus' combat.
It's called by another name in the East, but the westernized name will be Vindictus.
Look at those 2 videos:
promotional video
gameplay shots video
Talk about depressing!!!
Maybe I’m a sadist but a large part of me really wouldn’t mind MMOs becoming niche once again. Everything felt so new and special back then. I really wish I could get that feeling back but no matter how hard I try, no matter how many MMOs I play, I simply cannot recapture that magic. It’s probably just because everything *was* new back then. <sigh>
"Many of the games I played were absolute dogs."
When you have a chance, I would like to hear more about the dogs so I can avoid them. :)
Yeah, I was hoping for more info from E3, unfortunately, no news that I didn't already expect to hear. Some nice trailers, that's about it.
Companies were also more apt and willing to take risks and implement innovations, since it was a new, pioneering genre, but also because game development could start smaller and the risks and losses at failures were smaller.
Dynamic combat feeling is seriously hindered in AoC as you have to WAIT between keystrokes. The shield system is also mostly useless and too slow/complicated to use.
Replace the wait feature with a more console type combo system and then you could say AoC compares to TERA.
I agree DDO feels more dynamic than AoC.
You can bet SOE will stock the agency item shop with lots of gadgets. Get ready to spend your life savings trying to be uber in that game. You can bet that SOE was watching Blizzard release that special mount.
How anyone can feel accomplishment by buying your way through a game is beyond me.
At a gaming convention and can't come up with one more thing to put on the list.....
Booth babes, scantily or tightly dressed booth babes should always be on the list. Let's face it games come and go, and often times don't meet expectations, but young pretty women are forever.
Taikodom (Living Universe, its like a second edition of the game) its a 5th MMORPG in E3....
Glad that you liked the combat in TERA as much as myself, it's insanely fun to just get a group and hit up an instance or do group quests.
The rift system in rifts sounds really cool and it would be nice if it works out well. But right now there isn't enough substance in the game to interest me, perhaps it will later on when more information is divulged.
Some of us don't play games for a feeling of accomplishment, real life does this much better, but to... have fun.
I'm sure it's been said a billion times already but so far combat in Tera doesn't sound all that "fresh" since AoC and the even more unique action combat of The Chronicles of Spellborn. I think so far TCoS has the most engaging and interesting combat system I've seen yet, too bad the game slipped through the cracks.
I still think Tera looks like a really cool game and all and I'm sure I'll try it out, but I just always love how marketing tries to make it seem like their product is fresh, new, and better than anything else.
meh, pretty sad when you can't even get 5 good things to say about mmo's coming out at e3...very dismal indeed....
And my 2cents just looking at the warhammer 40k trailer on first impression....
WOW+MECHS+PEW PEW PEW = WH40K
No FF14?
I get the impression that the author of this blogpost is not an FF-kind-of-guy.
I was watching a few gameplay videos of FF XIV. It's a different pace from other MMOs' combat. I think that's pretty cool myself but it did strike me that things looked very rough (atmosphere, models, UI, etc) in comparison to the videos I saw of TERA and Rift. Even though FF is at a different stage of development than the other two MMOs, it could play unconciously on what choices someone puts down in their posts as far as what struck them as the coolest games shown at E3. FF looks like it needs a hell of a lot more polish and work.
Tera's combat sounds cool! But it's not a new thing:) Asheron's Call, est 1999, had it and it was a riot!
Combat is EXTREMELY exciting when you can dodge and slide and evade your foes:) Adds a whole new element to the game. It's nice to have more control of your destiny in combat;)
Lori
But AoC is a themepark gear depended from day one with ezmode gameplay for casuals with small maps and instance instance and limited small maps with few players, perfect for wow kids and AoC kids:P
Why are you putting other players down for their playstyles? So what if people prefer WoW's playstyle or AoC's playstyle? Why does it mean they're automatically stupid or simplistic people, or kids for that matter.
I can't think of an MMO that has 'hardmode' gameplay right out of the box, unless you make your own challenges.