Hot on the heels of stand-alone motion comic’s launch comes Episode 2 of Chronicles of Doom. The second of four installments to the mini-series, Episode 2 continues the story of the rise of Doctor Doom, the main antagonist for Marvel Heroes. Penned by Marvel scribe Brian Michael Bendis, the second comic clocks in at a lengthier 3+ minutes of original story and art.
Marvel Heroes is rapidly approaching its June 4 full release, with Founders access opening on May 28. Continue Reading
SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.
Lore: Isis, the Goddess of motherhood, fertility and magic, was one of the numerous pervasive gods in Egyptian mythology to crossover into later pantheons in the region. Adapted by the Greco-Roman world, she was worshipped as the ideal women, mother and wife. Like many of the old gods of the Nile region, the realms guarded by Isis changed dramatically over her reign.
Born of the union between Sky and Earth, Nut and Geb, Isis wed her brother Osiris. Their union bore Horus.
Isis’ most famous myth is not for the sibling union specifically, but for her life-giving properties. Set, the sister of both, plotted to kill Osiris by deception. The strategic Set had measured her brother the night before and offered an ornamented box to anyone that could fit inside. Osiris being the only capable, Set tested the fit by closing the lid, sealing Osiris inside. After placing himself in a now-coffin, Osiris and box was pitched into the Nile. The river didn’t do its task. Isis and Nephthys quickly found the box. Continue Reading
That’s right, WildStar, the upcoming MMORPG from Carbine Studios with a whole lot of cheekiness has finally revealed its final two professions, so to speak. Known as Paths in WildStar, the Scientist and Settler have finally had their day to shine in a recent media blitz and we’ve got the official trailers after the cut.
The latest Devspeak video explains exactly what a Path is at length, using the already-revealed Explorer to titillate the audience. Then viewers are launched into a discussion about the other options for advanced character customization. The second trailer is more of a lore-based reveal of the Paths feature. It showcases the offbeat and hilarious writing and trailer ninja that’s become a staple to the WildStar community.
Just remember not to feel too special when using a Settlers structure. They’re not doing it to help you, but gain Path XP. The selfish jerks.
Both video reveals of Paths are after the cut followed by a collection of the latest screenshots for the upcoming NCSoft-published title. Continue Reading
Over the weekend a nasty exploit plagued the economy of Neverwinter. The action-oriented Dungeons & Dragons MMORPG saw its economy torn to shreds after a large-enough amount of players began using a recently-discovered exploit. The investigation itself took hours, resulting in numerous restarts, prolonged downtime and the possibility of full rollbacks. This is all due to the bug touching so much of the economy, including the RMT-based Astral Diamonds.
After mulling over the data, Cryptic Studios was forced to do a minor rollback of seven hours. Any progress made on May 19 from 8:20 EST until 3:20 EST was negated. But there’s a bit of a silver lining for all the troubles. Aside from the bans against the exploiters that is. A cat’s paw’s purse, as it may be.
Any character made before Tuesday, May 21 at 6:00 AM can login to receive the Caterday Survivor’s Pack. The pack contains a variety of goodies to ease the downtime and regain trust. Armor, health and even scrolls of teleportation and XP boosts.
Check your mailboxes for the “You Survived” message.
SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.
Lore: A giant wolf and son of Loki, Fenrir was prophesied to be the murderer of Odin. Should he have carried out the act of killing the All Father, monstrous beast would have began Ragnarök, the expected apocalypse of Norse mythology. The ensuing war would have seen the death of Thor, Tyr, Freyr, Heimdallr and Loki. Fenrir would have gained little but his own death at the hands of Víðarr, a son of Odin’s. The calamity would not have left the mortal realms safe. Various natural disasters and an ultimate flood would have made sure only two lone humans would survive.
Fenrir wasn’t just the beginning of the end. Loki’s furrier child was renowned for his strength. The great wolf broke numerous bounds as he continued to grow from the daily meals at Tyr’s hand. After two failed bounds, Leyding and Dromi, Odin had the crafty dwarves complete a third fetter, Gleipnir. The Aesir promised that if a bind could hold the great wolf he’d be freed for posing no threat. To be sure Fenrir wasn’t sandbagging his effort Tyr chose to place his hand in the beast’s mouth as a pledge that he was trying his hardest. Tyr’s loss of that hand marked Fenrir’s freedom and one of the best known tales of Norse mythology. Continue Reading
Players aren’t just going to be experiencing a dungeon crawling MMOG when Marvel Heroes launches on June 4 (May 28 for Founders). No, no. Whether you’re an Iron Man fan or a webslinger, gamers will experience the full force of the Marvel universe, including original stories penned by none other than Brian Michael Bendis.
First shown in the recent PAX East interview, Gazillion Entertainment will not be using simple stills or quest dialog to inform the masses of the original story. Included in certain zone introductions and throughout the complex storylines will be ‘Motion Comics.’ The first of these episodes can be found after the cut.
Episode One of “Chronicles of Doom” features the beginning of Doctor Doom’s rise to power, the beginning lore of Marvel Heroes. Check out the 2+ minute trailer after the cut. Continue Reading
The ‘free’ part of that equation is subjective. If you want to upgrade a few of your SMITE gods to their Epic skins you previously had one option, pony up some cold hard cash. No Favor grinds for that Sobek ‘High Seas’ doodad or ‘Lil’ Mana’. Now you can trade some marketing information and a bit of your time for free Gems, the MOBA’s in-game currency.
In some people’s minds it’s still a bit of work, but the cross-promotional tool is become more and more common in the F2P genre. Developers open up easy avenues of revenue that are opt in for the player base. Players get in-game currency to pimp out their characters. Don’t mind giving up some details and a few moments of time, then by all means dive right in.
Personally, I’ve always been weary of these. Perhaps even cynical. I believe it dilutes the brand, as the developer does not control what’s being advertised, nor the Terms of Service that its players agree to. It also opens up additional support costs, as players that have issues (incorrectly) seek help from the developer. In fact, Hi-Rez is already seeing some issues.
Economically for the gamer, you’re putting all sorts of time and effort into very little return. Makes sense for those without cash flows (or credit cards). For the rest of us, farming Favor and money is far more time efficient.
The latest addition to the roster of Infinite Crisis is Gaslight Joker, yet another Batman villain. This multiverse character is a hardcore beefcake, capable of absorbing ridiculous amounts of damage. That’s a good attribute to have, as Gaslight Joker loses health each time he uses an ability. His passive replaces it as the character picks up credits.
Playing a bit like Zac of League of Legends fame, Batman’s arch nemesis isn’t a one-trick pony. Gaslight Joker features many support capabilities, including a healing debuff and fear. In addition, the trickster can be built to produce a substantial amount of damage in his own right.
The reveal trailer after the cut markets Gaslight Joker as a high sustain tank. Yet one can easily see that Gaslight Joker can seemingly be built in a variety of ways, depending on need. Now if only I could get in the closed beta to see if my suspicions are correct.
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Eve Online Score: 8.75
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| Rank | Game Title | Score |
| 2 | Runes of Magic | 8.38 |
| 3 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | 8.25 |
| 4 | TERA | 7.94 |
| 5 | RIFT | 7.94 |
| 6 | World of Warcraft | 7.88 |
| 7 | SMITE | 7.88 |
| 8 | Guild Wars | 7.81 |
| 9 | Star Trek Online | 7.75 |
| 10 | Global Agenda | 7.75 |
