Som Pourfarzaneh

I’m not quite sure how much money I spent on Magic Online when it initially began to gain some popularity, but I can tell you that even trying to estimate that number results in no small amount of embarrassment for me. I love TCGs, and have spent a good amount of time (and cash) dabbling in a range of games, from open-ended classics like Magic: The Gathering to more discrete releases such as The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.

There’s no denying that the Baldur’s Gate series is foundational in the evolution of single-player RPGs. The gameplay in Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn, along with their expansions, inspired a generation of isometric RPGs, including genre favorites Planescape: Torment and the Icewind Dale series.

When the original Defense of the Ancients rose to popularity as a mod for Warcraft III, I had already moved on from Blizzard’s RTS to the next hotness (probably Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time). Hence, it wasn’t until many years later that I became aware of DotA in its modern iteration, particularly as a reference point for new MOBAs like League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, Demigod, Smite, and of course, DotA 2.

As MMO gamers, we’re conditioned to expect a handful of specific tropes in our favorite genre. When a new game hits the shelves, we’re certain to line it up against a series of checkboxes to determine if it represents our cultured interests. For some, that means an MMORPG has to have a solid character progression system and an open world worth interacting with and exploring.

Earlier this week, we posted our musings about Sony Online Entertainment’s acquisition by Columbus Nova and transition to Daybreak Game Company. It’s big news for fans of SOE...err...DGC’s games, particularly when considering the potential for seeing their titles released on platforms other than PC and PS3/PS4.

We’ve been waiting a good long while for any peep about a full-fledged expansion for Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet’s flagship has seen a host of Living World updates, gameplay and feature additions, and balance tweaks, but the promise of a canonical expansion has been elusive. Just last month, I wrote about some alternatives to GW2’s Living World, with an expansion being the obvious choice to drive the post-launch game forward and create a new revenue stream.

I’ll admit it: Borderlands is one of my favorite single-player/multiplayer RPG series du jour. There’s something about Gearbox’s tried and true formula of wacky humor, satisfying gameplay, and insane amounts of loot that gets me hooked and looking forward to whatever kinds of crazy DLC updates they have planned.

Once upon a 2002, there was a little single-player RPG called The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, which sucked up so much of my gaming time you’d think it could have moonlighted as an MMO. Fast forward to 2006 and then 2011, and you’ve got the fourth and fifth installments of The Elder Scrolls series in Oblivion and Skyrim, both vying for my attention almost as strongly as their predecessor.

One of the best ways to spread holiday cheer is to give presents to other people, but let’s be honest: getting a gift that you want (or one that you didn’t know you wanted) is sure to make you feel just as warm and tingly inside. Last week, David Jagneaux shared 5 Awesome Gift Ideas for the MMO Gamer, and I’d be just as happy buying one of those items for myself as I would be getting it for one of my guildmates.

When Guild Wars 2 launched, ArenaNet informed its player base that it would be pursuing a fairly aggressive update schedule, especially pertaining to its Living World. Rather than implementing simple content updates or full-blown expansions, the developers would focus on building out the world and lore of the game while taking players along for the ride.

When it first launched, WildStar was met with a mix of praise and criticism from press and players alike. Over time, Carbine Studios’ game has come under fire for a variety of issues, ranging from low server populations to deferred update schedules. It’s quite possible that the phenomenal amount of hype for the game resulted in its initial acclaim, which tends to happen with large scale AAA titles.

In a column last month, I took a look at the potential for good gameplay to trump other outdated systems and keep us hooked on otherwise mediocre games. The example I used was Destiny, which has a solid core shooter experience but is relatively uninteresting in the story, content, and loot departments. I’ve been playing more of Bungie’s pseudo-MMOFPS, and suffice it to say that even its fun twitch gameplay is starting to wear thin.

The video games industry is relatively porous, and it’s no secret that its subgenres have been borrowing from one another for quite some time. First-person behemoths like Call of Duty have been iteratively employing RPG-like mechanics to bolster their replayability, while MMORPGs such as TERA have taken cues from third-person action games to improve upon traditional MMO combat.

With BlizzCon ramping up for this weekend, there’s a fair amount of buzz here among the staffers regarding the Warlords of Draenor release. I myself have received the customary pre-launch emails from Blizzard encouraging me to re-activate my World of Warcraft account with seven free days of game time. Like with previous WoW expansions, I’ve given the thought of resubscribing more than a passing thought. Unlike previous releases, however, I’m not as convinced that I need to jump back in.

As far as free-to-play monetization models go, there are a couple of different overarching strategies that dominate today’s market. You have games like ArcheAge, which offers convenience bonuses like elevated experience gain, increased labor points, and more. You can see titles like The Lord of the Rings Online steadily offering some convenience and cosmetic items in their cash shops but doing a great deal of business selling content through quests and expansions.