We have talked a lot about TERA over the last few months. The game continues to give updates and information, but we always want more. In the month that kicks off the New Year I thought to contemplate the demos we will be seeing for 2011 from the upcoming MMO. In 2010 at both E3 and PAX we got some of the best demos from TERA. If you were a fan at the show then you might have experienced the same. Let’s see what 2011 has in store for game demos.
At E3 back in June we sat down to run through an instance dungeon for TERA. Justin Webb and I played through a series of encounters with 3 other members of the press/development world. The pace of the dungeon was fast and furious, the monsters unique and the skills and game play fun. I played a Berserker in the first demo and had a blast just doing the DPS role. This style of demo was repeated at PAX a few months later, new dungeon, new encounters, and a different class design. I played a Warrior the second time. Both demos were great fun and we thanked the team for the energy they put into impressing us with the game.
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Let’s move into 2011. The conference season has not started yet. There will be demos at all the shows and hopefully TERA will look to top their 2010 effort. One area that I would really like to see a demo in is PvP. Years ago, we went to a press event at Mythic and there was a Warhammer demo. The PvP battleground that they put us in was fun for the first time and they had all of the press playing against each other. The pace was great and both sides wanted bragging rights. This style of demo would be awesome at an E3 for TERA. Having press and fans sit down to battle it out would give an insight into PvP game play and how the classes were balancing out.
As the year moves forward there will be a much more heated competition between Guild Wars 2 and TERA. Both games are going head to head in Korea as the two most anticipated MMOs, this rivalry will continue during the North American show season. There is a lot to look forward to with both games. I do think that Guild Wars 2 will have much more in the realm of dynamic content and PvP for the 2011 season. However, TERA ran a fantastic campaign in 2010 to show game play and instance runs.
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Regardless of which game you are looking at, we allmust admit that both games have a lot to offer MMO players. This is the first time in over a year that we had two games coming out with such promise. Not to mention the other games that will be coming in 2011. This is a year for MMOs to shine. TERA has some great energy behind it and if they continue with fun demos like they had in 2010 they will make a strong impression on all of us. Hopefully, TERA will reach out to more fans and get them involved at shows.
