R.I.P. Tabula Rasa, Hellgate

As you may already know Tabula Rasa and Hellgate: London will be closing their servers in about 2 months. Both are free to play till they officially close down around the January-February window.

Ok, so Hellgate had a bad launch. Most MMO's do, with Age of Conan and Warhammer Online as exceptions. People were getting charged twice for their subscriptions or not receiving certain subscription-based items but that shouldn't have spelled doom for them. The gameplay was fun. For once you felt like you were in control of your attacks rather than watching your character swing at their own will. Hellgate gave you that Diablo feel with a twist. The traditional hack-and-slash forumla was enhanced by experiencing the action RPG from the first-person perspective and through nontraditional character classes and playstyles. I reached the late 30's of the game and I enjoyed getting there. The dialogue was even pretty witty for an MMO. I've seen walls of text and trust me, 90% of the time, it isn't really worth the read unless you're getting directions for your objective. Hellgate actually added some funny stuff worth reading. The story was interesting. I don't remember much since I haven't played inforever but I plan on giving Hellgate some attention before it leaves us.

It's a shame what happened to Bill Roper's crew. I read an interview with Bill explaining how he was paying out of his own pocket to support his team here. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3169356 It's a good read and educational actually. Bill touches on everything from the development process to the failed revenue model he tried to generate. I personally thought it was worth a try since nothing like that had been done but I think without the major factors like fleshed out auction houses or PVP, it failed to grasp the players' attention. So downers aside the game just got a bad deal financially. The MMO market doesn't lend itself to much diversity and Hellgate actually went against the bill for once. I liked it for it's sense of uniqeness and overall gameplay. So If you guys ever get a chance, give it a try before it shuts down.

Tabula Rasa....Richard Garriot's bastard child. With his flight to space and then sudden statement about moving on to other things you begin to think it was only a matter of time before they signaled the white flag for Tabula Rasa. But they really really really shouldn't have. I never got the chance to play TR but now that I freed up some time I'm playing this game wondering "What the hell?" How could a game like TR fail? It's got a kickass gameplay mechanic that is totally alien to MMO's (no pun intended) and it works. So how could it fail? It even has a character cloning system so you dont have to reroll! How cool is that? How could you not want a game like this? Set in space, humans are fighting aliens! I've experienced the first 3 hours to TR so far for the first time and I cant help but feel remorse for the loss of this game. It's truly a downer but I'm going to spend the next 2 months playing it till it goes offline.

Warhammer's patches haven't been letting my patcher work for some reason so something needs to fill my MMO void now!! I'll post about my time in Warhammer soon. For now, Tabula Rasa is pretty damn sweet. So there you have it, two MMO's just waiting for you to pop in and play. Play them now before its too late.

-Frank

Oddworld added to GOG.com

Oddworld has come to GOG.com's growing library. If you haven't heard about GOG yet you should head on over and check out their list of games. GOG celebrates the Good Old Games of back in the day. Headlining their library are games like Fallout 1, 2, tactics, Giant Citizens Kabuto, Gothic and Sacred Gold. This month, as a thanks to customers, they released 2 free adventure games for your enjoyment, Beneath a Steel Sky and Lure of the Temptress. GOG's games include free DRM, wallpapers, guides and digital licenses to all the games you buy a' la Steam. So go check it out!

-Frank

Top 5 PC games to look foward to in 2009

2008 was a big year for gaming and 2009 shows no signs of stopping. Competing for your wallets and time, these games are sure to hit the spot when it comes to your favorite gaming hobby. Now looking over this list I realized they're all pretty much real time strategy games but that doesn't change the fact that they are big contenders in the PC universe this year. These top 5 games are everything a PC gamer hopes for; single-player campaign, level progression, competitive multiplayer, the whole package.

5. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor

The third installment in the genre-revolutionizing real time strategy space. COH proved it could stand the test of time and remains to be one of the best RTS games out there. Adding a destructible enviroment and emphasis on your squads became a perfect formula for COH. The latest expansion isn't adding any new armies but its definately going to add new units, modes and maps. I found myself installing the other 2 just because I got the itch to play and dabble in those "small skirmishes that matter" campaigns. Tales of Valor is without a doubt an impulse-buy. Get it, play it, love it.

4. Demigod

Demigod has what it takes to change the face of gaming again. Take a huge influence of DOTA and mix it with beautiful graphics, sprinkle some multiplayer tournament gameplay and add a level progression MMO-style skill tree. The result? A genre bending, Real time strategy action RPG. Demigod has some big shoes to fill if it plans on taking on the underground beast that is DOTA. I've really been looking foward to this title and its coming out first quarter of 09', how awesome is that? The wait is almost over and I cant wait to sink my teeth into this game.

3. Starcraft 2

You're damn right it's about time. Blizzard has kept us waiting for over 10 years now? Can't remember if it was 97' or 98' but it's been too long! Promising the same paper-rock-scissor gameplay, SC2 looks as promising as ever. The new units alone are something to be very excited for. Wether its adding a new queen unit to the scourge or the huge mothership for the protoss, SC2 has really outdone itself this time around. I would have to say the only negative is waiting for the expansions to play the rest of the campaigns. We'll have to wait and see how that turns out.

2. Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 2

Having discovered Warhammer this year I've grown to respect the lore and gameplay behind this series. I wasn't even aware I had purchased Mark of Chaos a while back. When Warhammer Online and Warhammer: Battlemarch released this year it gave me a chance to dive in headfirst into what has become my current obsession. Dawn of War 2 is being made by Relic, the geniuses behind Company of Heroes. Adding orcs and elves to the COH formula? In the future?!?! Count me in! Waaaaagggghhhh!!

1. Diablo 3

Is there no one else? Diablo 3 is going to be huge. It's crazy just how incredible this game looks. If you haven't seen any gameplay footage, get to the D3 website and watch their 15 minutes of epic awesomeness. Only 3 classes have been revealed but they're already creating buzz around the net. The skill trees look killer, the graphics look beautiful and it will fulfill your top-down gameplaying needs. I have to say I miss the dungeon crawling and with Mythos on hiatus at the moment, it's looking like D3 is going to fill that void. Long Live Diablo!

What is Dota?

Defense of the Ancients is a custom scenario for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The objective of the scenario is to destroy the opponents' "Ancient". The two teams' ancients are heavily guarded structures at opposing corners of the map. Players use powerful units known as heroes, and are assisted by allied heroes and AI-controlled fighters called "creeps". As in RPG's, players level up their hero and use gold to buy equipment during the mission.

Defense of the Ancients pits two teams of players against each other: the Sentinel and the Scourge. Each base is defended by towers and waves of units which guard the main paths leading to their base. In the center of each base is the "Ancient", a building that must be destroyed to win the game.






Each human player controls one Hero, a powerful unit with unique abilities. In Allstars, players on each side choose one of ninety-one heroes, each with different abilities and tactical advantages over other heroes. The scenario is highly team-oriented; it is difficult for one player to carry the team to victory alone. Nevertheless, some heroes, given enough time, can change the outcome single-handedly, while countering the opposing team's heroes. Defense of the Ancients allows up to ten players in a five versus five format and an additional two slots for referees or observers, often with an equal number of players on each side.

Because the gameplay revolves around strengthening individual heroes, it does not require one to focus on resource management and base-building, as in most traditional RTS games. Killing computer-controlled units earns the player experience points; when enough experience is accumulated, the player gains a level. Leveling up improves the hero's toughness and the damage it can inflict, and allows players to upgrade their spells or skills. In addition to accumulating experience, players also manage a single resource: gold. The typical resource gathering of Warcraft III is replaced by a combat-oriented money system; in addition to a small periodic income, heroes earn gold by killing hostile units, base structures, and enemy heroes. Using gold, players buy items to strengthen their hero and gain abilities. Certain items can be combined with recipes to create more powerful items. Buying items that suit one's hero is an important tactical element of the scenario.

Allstars offers a variety of game modes, selected by the game host at the beginning of the match. The game modes dictate the difficulty of the scenario, as well as whether people can choose their hero or are assigned one randomly. Many game modes can be combined (for example, an easy difficulty level and a random hero pick), allowing more flexible options.





In June 2008, Michael Walbridge, writing for Gamasutra, stated that DotA "is likely the most popular and most-discussed free, non-supported game mod in the world". In pointing to the strong community built around the game, Walbridge stated that DotA shows it is much easier for a community game to be maintained by the community, and this is one of the maps' greatest strengths. Defense of the Ancients has been credited as one of the influences for the upcoming Gas Powered Games title Demigod, with the video game publication GameSpy noting the game's premise revolved around aspiring gods "[playing] DotA in real life".



Post edited courtesy of Wikipedia.