William Murphy

I’m a stalwart iPhone user. I have been since the iPhone 4, after two failed attempts at enjoying a Droid Eris and (I know) a Palm Pixi. But curiosity about the other side of the phone world has been getting to me, and when Razer offered up the Razer Phone 2 to test out and review for the site, I leapt at the chance. Worst case, I’d have a spare phone to use for games and movies. Best case, I’d make the switch to Droid with one of the most powerful handheld devices on the market. In this case, it was the latter.

Ten years. It’s been TEN-FREAKING-YEARS since I first started as a writer here at MMORPG. In that time, I’ve gone to more events than I can count, written more articles than I ever expected, helped start and end RTS and FPSGuru, revamped GameSpace.com and took it over with the indomitable Suzie Ford, and most importantly - I’ve been able to make something happen that I never thought I could - I made my passion my career. But all good things must come to an end, even I can’t outlast Meridian 59...

I’m not a big Lovecraft buff, but I’ve always appreciated the tangential games and what little bits of knowledge of Cthulu-inspired lore I’ve picked up along the way. The existential cosmic horror is nightmarish indeed, but few games have really tapped into the feelings and stories presented by the hellscape Lovecraft invented. Frogware’s The Sinking City, thankfully, is one such game. This is our review.

It’s summer. You know what that means! It’s way too hot to go outside, and the perfect time to play games all day (at least, that’s what I tell myself). The problem? There’s just not a whole lot I find that I want to play. So, that begs the question – what are you waiting for? In the world of MMOs, specifically, I’m going to rattle off what’s on my “do want” list, and hope you’ll join in me in needlessly wishing for games that aren’t here yet.

I was going to write about Elder Scrolls Online’s E3 announcements after BE3, but then the unexpected happened - Fallout 76 had the most interesting announcements from the online Bethesda games. Namely? Fallout 76 is adding actual NPCs, branching dialog, more quests, and a whole lot more in the next big update, Wastlanders. But, get this, they’re also adding a Battle Royale mode that will give you rewards to use in the main survival game too. I don’t even know what to think...

Elsweyr is the latest, and possibly most significant, Chapter to be added to Online's Elder Scrolls Online. It is, for all intents and purposes, an excellent piece of MMORPG gaming. I've spent twenty hours in its grasp so far, and have enjoyed it far more than Summerset. But not all is purrfect in the home of the Khajiit. This is our review.

The most recent patch to the Torchlight Frontiers Alpha fixes what could likely be the biggest problem I’ve had with the Action RPG MMO – character progression. While it’s still a work in progress (it is Alpha), the new and more traditional skill trees and levels prove that Torchlight Frontiers doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel to make an impact.

Elder Scrolls Online's latest chapter, Elsweyr, launched on PC yesterday and to the surprise of no one - it's good stuff. It's no secret that ESO has been my go-to MMO for the past several years, and this Khajiit and Dragon infused expansion seems to be more icing and an already delightful cake.

Today, the team at Darewise Entertainment pulled the curtain back on their upcoming online persistent open world – Project C. That’s it’s working title, because at its core, the game set on the world of Corvus is going to be player-driven throughout all of the testing process. Described as a blend of everything from Zelda: Breath of the Wild to World of Warcraft, Project C’s ambitions are through the roof. The team, comprised of folks from games like Assassin’s Creed, Half-Life 2 and Dishonored, is no slouch either.

Back in 2015 (I can't believe it's been that long), Avalanche put out an excellent but flawed open world game, Mad Max. Its driving combat mechanics and style were on point for the universe, but its repetitive nature and weak on-foot action dragged it down. Fast forward four years and a partnership with Bethesda and id Software bring us the sequel to 2011's own flawed FPS - Rage. In short, Rage 2 is the perfect melding of what made the original Rage great, and what made Mad Max worth playing. It's loud, and it's brash, it's over the top and just plain fun to play.

As we learned yesterday, ZOS is indeed working on at least one new game that’s not Elder Scrolls Online. Judging by hiring calls on their website, it looks like it may be two new games - one PC and console focused, and one mobile F2P focused. Or perhaps it’s one larger project that somehow merges the two. The question is - just WTF is their next big game?

In an interview with the Official Xbox Magazine, Zenimx Online's Matt Firor has confirmed that the studio is working on a new project, but doesn't divulge much more info than that.

Dave Eddings is not just the voice behind Claptrap, the lovable but annoying robot mascot of the Borderlands franchise, he's also a former VP of Business Development at Gearbox, and now the driving force behind Rooster Teeth Games' publishing. But he won't be back to voice Claptrap in Borderlands 3, and we might now know why...

Remember Realm of the Mad God? The bullet-hell MMO gained a cult following when Spry Fox released it a few years back, and now the indie studio is back with a new take on the genre they basically co-invented - Steambirds Alliance. A massively cooperative shoot-em-up that blends Ikaruga with beloved Action MMOs like Marvel Heroes, this one’s a title you all may want to keep an eye on.

Elsweyr is almost upon us, as May 20th marks the start date for those of us who play Elder Scrolls Online on PC. In the next month I’ll be basically biding my time until I can make my black Khajiit Necromancer, but until then - why not get hyped about the four big pillars of content coming in ESO’s next chapter?