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.
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.
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
3 comments:
Tabula Rasa is kick-ass, man. I wanted to play it too. But everytime I play an MMO, my life stops.
But I guess the real fault why TB failed is the lack of hype. True, they did enough marketing strategy and even the game's Sarah Morrison posed naked for Playboy. But it's a new IP, and releasing a game without an existing fanbase is really hard these days. Especially with WoW.
I agree. It's hard for new MMO's to appeal to the crowd when Blizzard keeps cranking out these great expansions and patches. I feel the same about MMOs sucking up all my time though, I try not to get caught up in them too much. TB had some definate potential, its a shame.
It's hard keeping up with MMOs. Especially to someone like me who have a lot of hobbies, which also requires time and money.
Last time I played WoW and LotR Online, I just played the games non stop. Not because I really wanted to. But because I feel that every minute spent not playing those games is a waste of money.
But, well see, Champions Online and Star Wars: The Old Republic are just around the corner.
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