All good things must end. And so it is that we received word today that the BlogFaction sites, omgRPG included, will be closing their doors today. There are a lot of heavy hearts on our end, as you can imagine, as we have spent nearly two years writing about the games we love, and sharing that writing with you. I for one had a great many plans for the site that we never got to see bloom into reality.
A few weeks ago NCSoft released their latest MMO, Aion: The Tower of Eternity. Having got the chance to first see this game at GDC and wiggle my fingers through its incredibly beautiful guts, I was both trepidacious and excited to get to play it. Why was I so hesitant you ask? Aion reminded me too much of that gorgeous guy I had a crush on in high school. And just like that chisled chin and blue eyes, this game caught my eye immediately. I admit after playing with the character creator for an hour (or two) last year I had a bit of a crush. But crushes make me nervous, and I was worried that just like my high school crush, I would one day actually hear Aion speak, and realize it's not what it's cracked up to be.
And so I loaded the game with my guard up -- I admit it. But as it is with all love affairs, you have to start somewhere, even if that somewhere is from behind a barbed wire fence.
As much as I wished and prayed and begged in a completely unprofessional manner, I did not get the opportunity to go to the Tokyo Games Show. Therefore I was right there at my computer last night when the email came in letting us know that the first official Final Fantasy XIV trailer was being released at TGS today. Here it is in all its glory. I've been saying for a while that Final Fantasy XI needed an update, and I guess the MMO gods heard me, because XIV promises to give me not only the graphics I asked for, but also the story.
While some might be unhappy that the new game is set in the same world as its predecessor, but in my view it's good news. After all, the point of an MMO is to get lost in a world, and if you fall in love with a world, you want to spend more time with it, explore new storylines, and see it through new eyes. I'm sure we'll hear more about the game as TGS unfolds, but for now, enjoy this introduction to the realm of Eorzea. And no, it's not filled with mopey little purple donkeys.
Normally I shy away from posting confidential insider information, but when Joystiq wrote this morning about the leaked The Witcher 2: Assassion of Kings video, I simply had to share. It's all over the Net anyway. For those of you who have been reading omgRPG for a while now, you'll remember what joys I had reviewing the original Witcher, aside from loadtimes that made me take naps between scenes of course.
I was definitely sad to hear word that CD Projekt Red had canceled development of a console version of their masterpiece, but it turns out I need not have worried. It appears they simply started development on a kick ass sequel, building a deeper living world with NPCs living their lives in an Oblivion-esque manner. I still would like to see a console version released with the sequel as I really feel this series' combo-rich combat lends itself well to the control pad. We will have to wait for the official announcement to hear the details of the project, but I'm satisfied to know that one of my favorite RPG games is getting a nice, bloody sequel.
While this certainly isn’t the first MMO for Cryptic Studios, it is the first title to break out of the “City of” genre that left to join forces with NCSoft some time ago. Champions Online is set in an already rich universe, that of the tabletop RPG of the same name. Even if you haven’t had the opportunity to experience the pen-and-paper game for yourself, stepping into the world of Champions Online definitely feels as if you are walking around in a world that already has a history, and it’s not always a happy one. The crowning jewel that is Millennium City looks shiny and new, and that’s because it is; its citizens raised the city on the bones of Detroit after it was completely leveled by the maniacal Dr. Destroyer. What can a superhero hope to accomplish in a world built on the remains of mass murder? Whatever they can.
It's early morning in Sanctuary, the birds are chirping and the pitter-patter of locals pumping water from the village well outside sounds like an elephant is stampeding through your head. The rising sun illuminates your quaint village on the edge of Tristram but all you can think about is how your mouth is dryer then that witch doctor you came home with last night.
You don't remember the moments that pass between when you got out of bed and when the coffee hit your palate, but you're thankful it's black with two sugars. As you sit at your sad excuse for a kitchen table, trying to piece together the blotchy events of the previous night, you're forced to take notice of a scuffle taking place just outside your crib.
The plywood board that you call your door swings open as each step you take is arduous and methodical. Before you can lift your axe above your head, the action is over. Nearly ten Fallen Imps lay mangled on the ground and all you saw was a cloud of dust and a few bright flashes. Out of that cloud emerges this rather tall, bald dude with a long scraggly beard who says, “just another day in the life of a Monk in Diablo III.”
OK, so maybe that isn't exactly the story Blizzard told in their cinematic announcement at BlizzCon '09, but it has a similar theme: the Monk is bad ass. I had a chance to get my hands on Diablo III while I was out in Anaheim, and after the jump I'll share the juicy details with you.
Almost everyone in World of Warcraft has been part of a guild at some stage in their journey. Whether it be a small group of friends, a levelling guild, social, casual, hardcore or otherwise, guilds and what goes on inside them are an integral part of WoW life. Some seem to flourish and stand the test of time, succeeding over whatever the game throws at them, while others tend to fail after only a short distance. So what makes the successful guilds last? If you ask me, a lot of it is to do with how the players (particularly the leaders) act and mesh with each other. It makes sense that in order to be able to work together to conquer whatever it is that you're up against, a leader needs to be able to sustain a nurturing and positive environment full of like-minded individuals (and perhaps a naked gnome or two).
Last night, my guild was lucky enough to inherit five new people who had all come from the same guild, and I expect more to follow. This is great news for me, as I have spent the last few weeks getting to know them and I am confident that they will slot in to our current guild environment with ease, and in a double stroke of luck they will be padding out our raiding ranks nicely. But what happened in their old guild to make them leave? After talking to them all, there was one common complaint that stood out among them: the guild was stagnating. The atmosphere of their guild had changed, no longer as enthusiastic, active or fun as it had been when they first started out. So I sat down and asked myself - what are some things that I can do, as the leader of Requiém, to make sure that the same doesn't happen to my guild?
Thursday afternoon, while we were still on our World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Blizzcon announcement high, I got the chance to sit down with WoW Quest Designer Alex Afrasiabi. The result was the interview above, where Alex dropped a couple nuggets of lore gold and hinted at godly boss battles to come. Again we here that Cataclysm is a reforging of Azeroth, and to a largest extent the entire game of WoW.
As I said yesterday, the Monk is a frail yet powerful character who is difficult to play with. Should you survive, you'll be rewarded with a very satisfying feeling. Should you be destoryed -- over and over and over again -- you'll probably find yourself cursing at your monitor. Whatever the outcome, there's no denying that the Monk looks impressive in battle. See for yourself, below. Part 2 is after the jump.
I was looking back at how very depressed I was during the Opening Ceremonies at last year's Blizzcon, and smiling to myself as I rewatched the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm trailer. Where last year us WoW lovers received hardly a handshake and a how do you do from Blizzard, this year the floodgates opened and once again I felt like Blizzcon was ours.
Cataclysm represents much about what we've been wanting in the game as fans, players, and lovers of the MMO genre. It makes sense that Blizzard is stepping up to the plate and reinventing their game, especially with the stiff competition that Star Wars: The Old Republic promises them coming in 2010. Watch this trailer with me again, will you? I dare you to try and not jump out of your seat at the end. I know I did.
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