I always love it when games launch. I love eagerly awaiting the opening of servers, I love making new characters, I love those first few moments of a game, before people start throwing around requirements for accepting people into dungeon groups, before the very “best builds” have been worked out, before video guides to all the dungeons have been posted online, and quest spoilers are all over the internet. There’s something magical about learning a new game, although these days it seems that magic lasts a shorter and shorter length of time.
This week I’ve been immersing myself in The Secret World, and I’ll admit I’ve artificially prolonged that magic – I made a cabal just for myself and a few friends and have been completely ignoring the public chats. I ruined it this morning though, when I logged in to find none of my friends online. So I hopped into the general chat only to discover that there are people demanding anyone joining their dungeon group have gear that’s superior to the gear the dungeon drops. I’ve seen that in other games too, and once again I’m wondering – what’s the point in that? I’ve been slacking off playing way too much The Secret World, it was the 4th of July, and I’m off to attend a local convention this weekend, so this week has largely passed me by in a whirl. But it’s been a somewhat eventful week – two games were born, and a third has entered its death cycle. It’s always sad when a game dies, even if it’s not one I’ve played or enjoyed.
- iTZKooPA reported the upcoming appearance of Guan Yu – the first new combatant for SMITE. There’s no release date yet, but iTZKooPA did provide a nifty video. Want to learn more about Guan Yu? He’s also got you covered. He also told us about Sobek.
- Looking for some new games to play to keep out of the summer heat? Mike shared Amazon’s big July sale. The closest thing to an MMO that I saw on the list was Borderlands, but this was too good not to be shared.
- Sony wants users to experience their games even faster than ever. iTZKooPA mulled over the possibilities of Sony’s acquisition of cloud gaming specialist Gaikai.
- Like a little Minecraft with your LoreHound? Mordil invites anyone to join the Amalos minecraft server beta test. Download all needed files here.
- European account resellers had some good news! Mike talked about the European Court of Justice’s recent ruling that it’s legal to sell your game account.
- Mike reported on the cancellation of Eligium. I gave this game a try a few months ago, and uninstalled it after about a half an hour. But I’m still sad to see a game being shut down.
- George R. R. Martin fans can rejoice! Bigpoint officially announced Game of Thrones Seven Kingdoms, an MMO based on the Game of Thrones TV series. iTZKooPA had the details.
- Another new game was born! Phantasy Star Online 2 launched on America’s Independence Day. iTZKooPA covered the launch, as well as the amazing customization available in its cash shop.
- Betas are almost as exciting as launches. iTZKooPA has the details on the closed beta of End of Nations as well as the founders edition. If you’re interested in the game, that seems like a steal.
- If there’s one thing that’s always in short supply in a game, it’s content. We gamers run through everything a game has to offer in far quicker time than developers can create it. So it’s always exciting when new dungeons are available. iTZKooPA has some screenshots from the House of Broken Chains, an upcoming new Dungeons and Dragons Online dungeon.
