MMO Clerks

Case Zero, a downloadable game for Xbox 360, gives players a few hours’ worth of the zombie beatdowns that the full Dead Rising 2 game will feature in September.
Image courtesy Capcom

Let’s not mince words. Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is a demo that costs five bucks. It’s still worth it.

The idea of paying real money for a hands-on preview of a game might be a bitter pill for frugal gamers. But Case Zero, an exclusive prequel chapter to Capcom’s forthcoming zombie sandbox Dead Rising 2, is deep enough to merit a token payment.

Coming out nearly a month ahead of the full game, which ships for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on September 28, Case Zero gives players content that won’t be in the final product and rewards those who beat the episode when they finally get their hands on Dead Rising 2.

The Xbox 360 exclusive download, available Tuesday, takes place in the days before Dead Rising 2, setting up the predicament of protagonist Chuck Greene and his infected daughter Katey.

The pair are stuck in a desert town called Still Creek, just a skip and a jump away from Las Vegas, where Dead Rising 2 takes place. The sleepy burg was the site of a military quarantine, but all Hell broke loose and the zombies won the day. Greene’s not just trying to survive: He’s got his daughter to think of. In the tumult of the infection, she got bit. But Greene has been able prevent Katey from turning green and brain-hungry by giving her daily doses of Zombrex, an expensive pharmaceutical that can stave off infection.

That’s where players find themselves when they download Case Zero: stranded, weaponless and staring down a ticking clock. Greene has to find some Zombrex before Katey goes bad.

But all these problems have solutions. If an object isn’t bolted down, Chuck can pick it up and use it to dispatch flesh-eaters. He can also ply other survivors for favors by saving their hides from the slavering masses. Like the original Dead Rising, there’s a right way and a wrong way to juggle all the stuff Chuck has to tackle. Many paths lead to failure, and trial and error are all part of the fun.

Protagonist Chuck Greene must save his daughter from a zombie infection in Dead Rising 2: Case Zero.
Image courtesy Capcom

Even though it’s only a few hours long, Dead Rising: Case Zero has a fair amount of replay value.

Case Zero works like a tutorial for Dead Rising 2, introducing players to the way the game works. And the first, best new feature is the ability to save your game in one of three slots. That’s a fundamental change from the original game, which frustrated many with its solitary save slot.

Case Zero also introduces players to weapon crafting, in which certain specially marked items can be combined into bigger, badder implements of death. Lesson one is to always keep a spiked bat handy, which you make from nails and a baseball bat. The rest is up to you.

The simple act of picking up a chainsaw and hacking a crowd of zombies to pieces is extremely gratifying. Case Zero gives players hundreds of ways to kill the already-dead, so much so that it’s tempting to shrug off time-sensitive quests just to make mulch of Still Creek’s unfortunate residents.

But even in this truncated taste, Case Zero does a fine job of illustrating the tension between the pure fun of offing the undead and the time-sensitive tasks that Chuck must accomplish to get his daughter her medicine.

It took me four or five start-to-finish runs to save every survivor, give Katey her dose of Zombrex (an early injection would result in an overdose) and get out of Dodge. My save file, with its A-rating and five levels of progress for Chuck, will transfer over to Dead Rising 2 later this month.

But despite finishing Case Zero, I found myself drawn back to Still Creek. A couple dangling achievements compelled me to try again: I’d failed to discover one last weapon combination, and I was missing the point for killing a thousand zombies in one run. Those two goals were enough to keep me playing Case Zero another day.

WIRED Lots of content, zombies are still fun to kill, multiple save slots.

TIRED Only available for Xbox 360.

$5, Capcom

Rating:

Read Game|Life’s game ratings guide.

Images courtesy Capcom

See Also:

• Playboy Bunnies Join Dead Rising 2's Undead
• Dead Rising 2 Delayed to September

Fantasy University, a new Facebook game, uses parodic characters with classic role-playing game mechanics to draw in gamers that want more complexity than FarmVille.
Image courtesy Simutronics

Though Facebook games have a reputation for being addictive, they’re also seen as far too simple to satisfy the serious gamer. David Whatley, president and CEO of Simutronics, hopes that his company’s new game will live up to the rigorous standards of the hard-core.

Fantasy University, a parody-driven role-playing game that riffs on pop culture, went into closed beta testing last week. And it is certainly a step in the right direction.

The game plays like a classic turn-based RPG. Players move around a game world, gathering quests and fighting beasties one whack at a time. But there’s more to the game than flavorless hack-and-slash. Fantasy University is funny, stylish and smart; in short, it’s no FarmVille.

“If you listen to Zynga they’ll say that the target demographic on Facebook is a 35-year-old housewife,” Whatley said to Wired.com. “Our game will probably not appeal to the demographic of Facebook.”

Rather, Simutronics hope to lure serious gamers to Facebook and get them hooked on stat-driven role-playing. If World of Warcraft can do it, so can a Facebook game.

Whatley is a long-time veteran of MUDs, the text-based online games that preceded the MMO. His company Simutronics runs GemStone IV, an online game that has been up and running since 1988 and earned his company millions.

Simutronics has also found success as a middleware vendor. It created the HeroEngine which will power BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. And Critical Thought Games, another venture of Whatley’s, did bang-up business on the iPhone with the popular GeoDefense games.

It is the job of a team of twenty developers in St. Louis to replicate those successes and leverage the company’s heritage of creating online communities in this new space. And they’re doing it the hard way — by being funny.

Fantasy University’s art and copy brim with in-jokes.
Image courtesy Simutronics

With an art style created by Tracy Butler, the artist behind the web comic Lackadaisy, and a plot brimming with pop culture references, the game feels like Mad magazine’s take on the fantasy videogame.

When you create your character you can pick between hairstyles that duplicates Gene Simmons’ heavy metal samurai coif or obscure Saturday Night Live character Ed Grimley’s pointed cowlick. The riffs come relentlessly, stuffed in the flavor text and in the many hand-drawn images that illustrate the game. References to H.P. Lovecraft mix with LOLcats, caricatures of megastars like Johnny Depp rub elbows with television microcelebs like Billy Mays.

“The game definitely appeals to the more clued-in,” Whatley says.

Simutronics has been focus-testing Fantasy University on everyone from game-addicted college kids to those fabled 35-year-old housewives. The point of the tests were to make sure that first moments of the game weren’t too off-putting for the casual gamer, Whatley said.

Fantasy University has a slowly-ramping complexity beneath the surface. Hardcore undertakings like weapon-crafting and guild quests await the player who enrolls, as do micro-transactions that’ll buy “fluff items” like clothing and in-game perks like increased experience, money or moves.

“First, we’ve got to hook ‘em,” Whatley says.

See Also:

• Farm Wars: How Facebook Games Harvest Big Bucks
• Report: Google Pumps Money Into FarmVille Maker Zynga

That’s right boys and girls STAR WARS is finally coming to the Blu-ray player in your Galaxy. Over the past 6 years since Blu-ray has entered the market one of the most commonly asked questions has been, “When will Star Wars be released on Blu-ray?” Well the answer was finally given at Star Wars Celebration V taking place in Orlando Florida this week. We will be able to view the saga in all it’s HD glory in the Fall of 2011 most likely around November. Expect a 6 movie box set that will include the Special Edition version of the films and what is sure to be hours and hours of extra features.

There is no mention of 3D but I’d expect not as the 3DTV install market will still be quite small at the time of the movies Blu-ray release. Install base is one of the things that has held back the Blu-Ray release for so long. LucasFilm got burned in the past by releasing the films too early in the life cycle of VHS and DVD, later releases preformed very well but the choice was made that it would be better to wait for HDTV and a HD disk format could stand on it’s own feet.

Buy the time the Star Wars Saga hits the shelves (once again) it is projected that there will be nearly 100 million Blu-ray devices in homes world wide.

Source NYT

Perfect World Co. has just announced their latest addition to the highly popular martial arts MMO; Jade Dynasty.  This upcoming expansion is titled Jade Dynasty: Vengeance and will release on August 25th, 2010 in North America, and in Europe with French and German versions of the game.  A slew of new features will arrive with this massive update such as two new races, a territory wars system, and new daily events.

The project manager behind Jade Dynasty; Andrew Brown, says:

“Jade Dynasty has been an international success and with Vengeance, we’ll be offering French and German versions for the first time to our European audience.  New and existing players can look forward to new features and content in the upcoming expansion that will help progress the ongoing story between humans and the immortals.”

Players will be forced to side with either the Humans or the Immortals in order to restore balance to either faction.  Players will also be granted the new opportunity to play as the Celan or Rayan parties in order to succeed in battle.  Both of these new playable classes reside under the Athan’s faction, each with their own play style and abilities.

For those that are bold enough, a new territory control system has been added, so that player factions may battle it out in epic warfare.  Player factions will be able to control their own territories after fighting to take and defend it.

As well as these massive updates, a new party system, daily quests, and a unique auction house will be added.  Players will now be able to chat with warriors across all the realms in order to make partying easier.  Once you have formed your group, try out some of the new daily events and quests for some great rewards and loot.  Finally the new auction house will allow players to reap the benefits of bidding on high-level items and one-use unique loot.  Players will be rewarded with items for having the lowest unique auction bid.

For more information on the upcoming content update, click here.

T3 Entertainment and Hanbitsoft inc have banded together to create the free to play fantasy MMO Aika.  This game has gotten a ton of response in Korea and has received numerous awards at last year’s Korean Game Awards.  Aika Global will be launching in the near future, but for now T3 and Hanbitsoft are starting up the Aika Closed Beta Key Giveaway for the game.

If you and a friend would love to take part in this epic online adventure, then click here for your chance to be selected for the beta.  Once you receive your beta invitational e-mail (if you get one), you will also be awarded with an extra beta key to invite one of your closest buddies.  So what are you waiting for? Grab your keys while it’s still possible.  Only a couple thousand are being handed out!

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, New titles, Star Wars: The Old Republic

In SWTOR’s Deceived trailer, there was an odd shot of the Jedi leader giving a signal to an astromech droid. Per usual, the writers at BioWare do not put anything into their trailers without a specific reason. This past Friday, that little droid was revealed to be a companion for the Jedi knight class, named T7-O1 (tee seven – oh one). This little bot calls back to both T3-M4 of Knights of the Old Republic and, of course, R2-D2 of the Star Wars movies. In fact, his attitude is very similar to R2-D2’s. According to the companion page on SWTOR’s official site, he considers his owners to be more like partners and less like masters.

T7-O1 was activated over two centuries before the Treaty of Coruscant and has yet to be memory-wiped in that whole time. He remembers every organic he has ever worked with, from the petty smugglers, to Senator Oodora of Manaan, to Captain Nico Okarr, and to Jedi Master Ven Zallow, whom we witnessed being killed by Darth Malgus in the previously mentioned trailer. For your Jedi knight character, you can expect this droid to be an invaluable source of information. His surveillance, cartography, and data-slicing skills are unmatched.

BioWare has not revealed where your Jedi knight will meet T7-O1, just like every other companion mentioned for this game, but rest assured, he’s waiting for you somewhere in that galaxy far, far away.

SWTOR finds a companion for the Jedi knight originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Lore, Opinion, EVE Evolved

In last week’s EVE Evolved, I looked at a few of EVE Online’s most famous outlaws. In the game’s open-ended sandbox, players are free to turn to a life of crime. Around every corner, you’ll find another thief making off with someone’s loot, or a pirate waiting for an unsuspecting victim to pass by. Worse still are the many scam artists and market manipulators you’ll find in trade hubs like Jita, making a dishonest living at the expense of other players. But it’s not all doom and gloom, and not all players are the dark, nefarious types EVE is famous for.

For every low-life scammer trying to steal your hard-earned ISK, there are helpful individuals working to counteract scamming. For every war-mongering pirate preying on new players, there are hundreds of people willing to teach new players to defend themselves and stay safe. Despite all the talk of EVE’s anti-social element, you’ll also find a rich and diverse community, built around forums, chat channels and dozens of blogs. Programmers even spend their free time to provide the community with free tools to aid play. These are all people I would call heroes of EVE, either because they work to prevent the wrong-doings of outlaws, or because they selflessly enrich the EVE community.

In this opinion piece, I look at a few of the people and groups I consider to be true heroes of EVE. Who are your heroes?

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Heroes of EVE

EVE Evolved: Heroes of EVE originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gloamwood Firerift Pyromancer

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Trion Worlds revealed new details on the Pyromancer class for the upcoming MMORPG, Rift: Planes of Telara.  The Pyromancer is a specialist in fire, using it for destruction.  From incinerating blasts to walls of fire, the Pyromancer has a fearsome arsenal.  However, quick-footed foes who can charge in and deal melee damage prove to be a weakness of the Pyromancer.  Keeping enemies at bay is the key to successfully playing the Pyromancer.

From the official lore:

“Stay here. Those tricks the Elves taught you won’t frighten the Storm Legion,” Phynnious Rothmann’s brother said, laughing.

Imbecile, Phynnious thought, watching his fellow tribesmen ride to battle. My tricks frightened even my teachers!

Sickly son of a Mathosian chieftan, Phynnious Rothmann was sent to study magic with the Elves — less to bring the arcane arts to his people than to stay out from under stomping, booted feet. But the Elves sent him home early: not because his research into fire magic nearly burned their sacred grove to the ground, but because the urgency of human youth made them uncomfortable.

Rothmann trudged over to the edge of the cliff to watch as slowly, the valor of the united tribesmen overcame the mindless discipline of Crucia’s Storm Legion. Suddenly, an electric blast erupted in the middle of the battlefield. Whether thanks to lightning or terror, the hair on the back of Phynnious’s neck stood up and he whispered, “Stormtouched.”

Crucia herself, dragon of storms, had possessed the Legion’s commander. Phynnious knew she could bring to bear superhuman tactics and storm magic that would eradicate every northman in that valley. He knew this even as he rode to the battlefield, quick as a midsummer fire through dry scrub. Leaping off his horse, Phynneous turned into a streak of flame flashed toward the front line just as the Mathosians quavered on the edge of disaster.

Standing on the front line, Rothmann conjured exploding fissures of magma, completing in mere seconds an incantation that took his Elf tutors minutes. White-hot flame lanced from his fingers, sending charred chunks of Legionaries flying in all directions. The Storm Legion’s rally became a rout.

An arrow slammed into Rothmann’s shoulder, jarring him into a state of sharp focus. The possessed Storm Legion leader advanced, aiming his second arrow at the mage’s heart. Phynnious screamed at his assailant, exhaling waves of flame that burned the bow away. The general drew his sword and charged through the flames. Two steps from Phynnious he stopped, a statue of solid ash.

Phynnious’s laughter blew the ash away on the northern breeze, joined by with the roar of his clansmen as they ran down the fleeing Storm Legion, even as a voice hissed from the sky: “I will kill you, little mage.”

Years later, as Phynnious fixed the keystone to Crucia’s prison, he taunted, “Remember what you promised me?” and laughed again, breathy and crackling like a bonfire.

Rift: Planes of Telara is currently targetted for a 2011 release.  For more information, check out the official site.

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If you are a fan of Domo, you’ll be happy to know you can have your very own Domo pet in SOEs free-to-play MMORPG, Free Realms.  In addition to the pet, there will be other Domo-centric merchandise available to buy, including backpacks and hats.

SOE has also extended their Lifetime Membership promotion.  It expires tomorrow, but for anyone interested, it’s only $29.99 for a limetime membership, well worth it, since the premium content adds quite a bit to the game.