David Jagneaux / David is a freelance writer and full-time nerd. He loves to play, write about, talk about and think about all things gaming. It's dangerous to go alone, so follow him on Twitter at @David_Jagneaux
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Buy-to-play MMOs are becoming more and more popular around the industry. It’s clear that free-to-play games are expanding and they're becoming more and more popular, but they’re not the only alternative to subscription based games. Even for MMOs, options exist for you to buy the game itself (or a registration code, in most instances) then never have to pay another dime again, unless you want to.
Pillars of Eternity is a game that does a lot of things right for not only its genre, but in general. MMOs and other types of games across our industry could learn a thing or two from what Obsidian has delivered to use in 2015. It’s a game that’s equal parts nostalgic and fresh, both approachable and challenging, and above all else, immensely engaging.
Chances are you’ve probably heard about how great Pillars of Eternity is and if you’re not already playing it, then you likely will be soon. But if you have somehow managed to evade the recent hype, ignore the reviews flooding the internet, and just generally don’t think it’s worth your time, this article’s mission is to convince you otherwise. Pillars of Eternity isn’t going to be the perfect game for everyone, but it’s a game that everyone should at least play.
When a new MMO launches, sometimes it seems like the “new player experience” wasn’t very high on the priority list for some developers. Which, in the grand scheme of things, makes sense to a certain degree. While every player starts at the bottom and has to go through the new player experience at least once, the reality is that the vast majority of gameplay takes place once a character has reached max-level, otherwise known as the “end game.”
Right now we are in a bit of a lull in the MMO release schedule. Crowdfunding campaigns like Crowfall keep on trucking and the astronomically high level of hype around Star Citizen continues to escalate, but both of those games are pretty far off from a real release. This list isn’t going to mention any current crowdfunding games, nor will it mention stuff that will go into a closed alpha of any kind – only open betas and full releases.
It seems like a new VR headset is announced every few months now. First there was the Oculus Rift, pioneering a newly discovered market segment. Now we have Sony’s Project Morpheus, Steam and HTC’s Vive, the Samsung Gear, and a whole host of other companies clamoring to get in on the topic while it’s still hot. Since they’re not widely owned yet and are still very much in developmental stages, it’s tough to tell exactly how it will play out, but it’s an exciting time for sure.
Being a guild leader is hard. It’s really hard. In fact, it may as well be considered a full-time job in a lot of cases. Between knowing all of your members just like a manager at work, running websites and forums just like a standard website owner, and organizing activities for everyone like some type of deranged virtual event planner, being a guild leader can bring out the best (or worst) in anyone.
Love is in the air this time of year. Stores are lines with pink and red decorations, flowers poke out in every direction, and romantic gifts are littered across the aisles. In fact, the upcoming holiday Valentine’s Day just so happens to be on a Saturday this year.
When I first played Dragon’s Dogma back at its launch in 2012, I felt like I had stumbled across something that would surely go down as a cult classic. It was rough around the edges, had some quirks that wouldn’t appeal to everyone, and lacked a true multiplayer mode. As it turns out, I wasn’t far off.
The zombie survival genre has grown to become something decidedly different from anything else in the industry. With a combination of elements from several different existing conventions, zombie survival games have worked out their own niche that continues to rise in popularity. It makes sense when you think about it.
Sword Art Online II recently wrapped up. I haven’t actually watched the second leg of the Sword Art Online story as I’m late to the party on this topic, but I’ve seen all of Sword Art Online I and was enamored with the concept. If you’re unaware, Sword Art Online, or SAO for short, is an anime about a group of people that get trapped inside of an MMORPG. The catch is that if they die in the game, they die in real life as well.
Warhammer Quest is the perfect example of what’s wrong with the gaming industry in 2015. Rather than creating new experiences that people want to play, developers and publishers are shoving these types of quick, cash-grab games out by the truckload. Let me give you a bit of a history lesson on Warhammer Quest and why you should stay far away.
Now that the bold new year of 2015 is upon us and we’re striking out into unknown territory, I felt like it was only appropriate that we take a look at MMOs that let you embark on grand voyages of your own. When doing research for this list, I noticed that there are shockingly few MMOs with robust sea-based content. As a result, some of the games on this list feature sailing as an extra feature, while some of the games have sea adventures as the primary gameplay mechanic.
Well, 2014 is almost over. It has been a year full of…stuff. Overall, the gaming industry as a whole was pretty disappointing. It seems like the biggest moments of the year are underscored by horrible launches, broken games, greedy publishers, and lazy developers. There were plenty of bright spots, no doubt, but overall it’s hard to argue that the year wasn’t disappointing.
The concept of letting players shape and build a game world in a sandbox environment is far from unique at this point in the game industry. While Minecraft popularized the idea with its simplistic visuals, similar games existed before and continue to exist afterwards that employ related gameplay elements.