I was very excited to talk to you, my Not So MMO readers, about a game called Knights and Snails. It’s an interesting title with a few core mechanics like jousting, tower defense, Flappy Bird-style timing and the occasional snail. I am planning on featuring it in one of the upcoming articles, with an interview with the developer team who feature people from some of my favorite games like The Chronicles of Spellborn. Keep an eye out for that, coming soon.
In the meanwhile we had plenty of exciting Not So News (ha, I like that!) on the site, so I picked out the gems for you to read. If you’re a fan of multiplayer and pseudo-MMO gaming, the future looks dazzling indeed!
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Kabam, makers of games like Dragons of Atlantis and co-creators of Moonrise, recently released a teaser for their new mobile game Spirit Lords. The game offers some familiar types of gameplay, and our own Adam Tingle sat down to write a review of the game.
Check out Adam’s review right here.
SMITE, the game that allows players to control actual gods, showed off their latest design: Ah Puch. This God uses abilities like Undead Surge, Hollow Ground, Corpse Explosion, and Empty the Crypts. (Sounds very metal.) The SMITE team didn’t stop there! They also held their Spring Fling, a charity event that went on April 25th and 26th.
You can find more information about the event on the official website.
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If you’re eager to get in on the Skyforge beta, now’s your chance. GO! RUN! Hurry up because this one, number 3, will only last until May 13th. There’ll be a new social panel that will allow players to connect with each other so they can then go into the game to murder their new friends. Awww!
You can also check out some of these additional goodies:
- Two additional PvP zones
- 8v8 map Alcedon Facility - Payload Game Mode
- 12v12 map Esten Quarry - Capture the Flag Game Mode
- Open World Zone - Milene Caves
- Squad Adventure - Alakur Island
- 5-Man Adventure - Phoreus Test Area
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Marvel fans, do you feel the need to control your favorite characters? Do you ever wish that you could play as some of your favorite heroes? You can in Marvel Heroes, and now you can keep track of everything you have achieved in a very thorough achievement system that includes ten different categories. Go for collections, crafting, exploration, enemies, PvP and in five other categories. Check out the “Recent Additions” tab in the game to see the achievements.
On top of that, players who are level 60 and above can try out the Age of Ultron mode to defend New York and gain killer new gear. (Spader voice not included.)
Michael Bitton took over to give us a look at Scarlet Witch and Black Widow’s new test iterations. He wasn’t ecstatic about the changes, so found out why by reading his full preview here.
Ah, tanks. Who needs ‘em? You do of course! Now you can try out some more new tanks in World of Tanks, the match based slow-as-cold-molasses shooter. Xbox 360 players can get the Siberian Wolfpack update. The Soviet medium tanks include the A-43, the A-44, the Object 140 and the Object 430 II.
The A-43 is a great tank for those wimpy players like me who like sneaking up and flanking. Then you have the A-44, a tank that deals good damage and can take a hit or two. The Object 140 and the Object 430 tanks pack some surprises of their own, and I guess they have to do with explosions.
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Oh, shiny! A new Game of Thrones Ascent expansion launched recently. In it, players will enjoy a faster mode of play that still offers the game’s usual strategy and intrigue. From the official site:
“Tales of Ice and Fire! – In this all-new system, players can engage with Westeros in a whole new way - reaping epic rewards in quick-to-play Tales, assigning Sworn Swords to challenges, and completing tasks at each location. Players that succeed can earn and collect rewards immediately or rely on their Sworn Sword’s experience, gear, and some luck to push onto the next challenge – or fail in the attempt! Players can compare their results with their friends on a Tales-specific leaderboard system.”
Sound cool, doesn’t it? Yes, it does.
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If you’re an Elite: Dangerous fan, you’ll be very excited to hear about the latest announcement from the developers. “Powerplay” should bring a whole new level of strategy as they choose from one of the three factions with which to align. Once they do, they will work together to accomplish goals and earn rep.
Whatever your style, you should be able to find an organization to join up with that will fit your personality. If you’re all like “I am friendly and don’t like to kill people” then there’s an organization for you. If you’re usually like “Kill? KILL!” then the game will hook you up with an organization as well. All of this information will be accessed through a handy, informative in-game map. Awesome!
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If you’re the type who likes MOBAs… no, if you’re the type who LOVES MOBAs (as many of our readers do) then you might want to check out Brandon Casteel’s new review of Infinite Crisis, a new MOBA that lets players jump into the tights and capes of familiar heroes and villains. In fact, if you like MOBAs you’ll really dig this one because, according to Brandon, the game doesn’t really do much more than the standard MOBA set up with familiar heroes and villains. It’s very MOBA. It’s MOBA-esque. For some fans, that’s all they ask.
Check out the full review right here!
Ons On Soft (say that three times fast!) just released more information about Rodinia War, a new strategy-based, browser-based MMO that features 2D city-building mechanics alongside 3D world questing. It will also be available for desktop download.
If you have heard of Fiesta Online, you will know the developers. They are planning on using their expertise in 3D world-building and will match it with the standard quality of European browser-based strategy games to create this new world. The game promises depth and frantic PvP.
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Hearthstone fans, great news for you this time! Michael Bitton returns with another postmortem, this time on the Blackrock Mountain Week Three! He discusses new cards and the potential for Dragon Paladin. Leave it to Michael to fill out an entire, informative article while also stating that it was a light week.
In related-but-even-cooler news, the official Hearthstone Twitter tweeted out a Tweet that showed off a very familiar looking band of heroes. Recognize anyone in the art above?
Read Michael’s full postmortem right here!
Remember Call of Champions, the cool-looking mobile MOBA that was recently in the news? Well, they released a series of videos to help further explain many of the game’s mechanics. Cinco Barnes (you might remember him from some of the humorous Legends franchise videos) covers topics like The Orb, Power-Ups and the Class System.
The Orb is essential to lane pushing and defense, for example. Power-Ups are handy for controlling strategic objectives, and the Class System includes classics like the Tank, Fighter, Assassin, Mage, and Support. Be sure to watch the entire video; there’s a lot to cover!
Call of Champions will be available later this year and will offer quick, 5-minute matches of “core” MOBA gameplay. How will standard MOBA fans feel about the match lengths? We’ll have to wait and see!
World Zombination, while not exactly an MMO – and perfect for this column, then – is a very interesting mix of fun art, tower-defense, strategy and hundreds of units all on your mobile screen at once. Players can control either the undead or the survivors and can place more than 100 units, each with its own behaviors and skills! There is a single player and multiplayer mode, weekly competitions, a wicked 3D engine that allows for nearly 1,000 simultaneous units and procedurally-generated missions.
The game is currently out on iOS and Android. Check out more information on the game’s official website. Any of these almost MMOs striking your fancy lately?
