Just an update - 2/29/2012

Well it's still February since we're in a leap year and all. I figured that I'd get one more post in before I go into March:

For those that didn't read the my previous post: OnRPG teamed up with MMOHut to battle against PC Gamer UK in a Tribes: Ascend match.  Match was CTF with best two out of three. Most of the team had very little experience playing Tribes: Ascend and my skills at T:A were less than stellar. The result: We completely got our asses handed to us on a silver platter.

I'll admit: There was a lot of communication coming from my end, considering that I was the team's dedicated capper. I barely ever got any flag grabs due to the enemy's teams high defense. Even taking down their generators weren't enough to phase them out from defending that flag...
Plus their enemy team capper was grabbing our flag like crazy. Most of my team was on defense, but could never stop that capper in any way. He was just too good for us.

Even though we totally got ripped, me and the rest of the team had some fun, even if the defeat was painful to shallow. We're never going to talk about that match again, though. Ha.

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Next month, I will be taking a break from posting on my blog and writing for OnRPG and focus more on my college work. I'm currently taking 12 credits towards my communication degree and feel that I'm not focusing enough on it. I will upload one or two article posts for OnRPG that I did last month, but that's about it.

Tribes: Ascend - OnRPG vs. PC Gamer UK

So I have a tournament in Tribes: Ascend today. It's me, DizzyPW and a bunch of other guys on Team OnRPG (+MMOHut) up against team PC Gamer UK. I usually play as pathfinder, but my capping skills were less than adequate... until a few hours ago when I actually started practicing a bit. Someone gave me a few tips saying that shunting myself with a nade blast or a Spinfuser shot is a good way to pick up speed at the cost of some health. This tip helped me so damn much and now I'm grabbing around 180 K/M.

I'm not expecting much from this match, though. A few people on my team have FPS experience, but they're mostly strategy and MMO players. A few people on my team are also playing the game for the first time... Although T:A is team based, it's also very much about independent skill and a really good player can quite easily carry an entire team by himself against decent players. I really hope the entire team isn't godly at this game and hope even more that my capping skills are good enough.

Should be fun, though. The match will be today at 4PM EST. The streaming will be organized by Hi-Rez and LEVELUPTV (www.levelupyourgame.net)

*Pic related: It's the team we're going to be up against:

Super MNC - Steam Invite Giveaway (CLOSED)

EDIT: Well that was quick. Four users have already posted their requests for a Super MNC invite and will receive them shortly!

Well I was fixing to start this giveaway at the start of the week, but I got sidetracked by a few things. For those that don't know: Super Monday Night Combat (SMNC) is a Third Person Shooter turned MOBA style mutliplayer game. Uber Entertainment is planning for Super MNC to be a free-to-play title on Valve's Steam platform, but the game is currently in beta testing. Only way to get into the beta is by signing up on the official website or by receiving an invite.

I'm not a huge fan of the original MNC or MOBA games in general, but I figured I should give these invites out instead of letting them rot.

So here's the deal: If you want an invite, simply post your email address and a reason why you want to play. Simple as that!

I only have four invites to give out, so it's first come - first serve.

Play Log - TERA (NA) - 2/12 (cont.)

Check it: Here's the second half of my TERA online play log for 2/12/2012 is here! My time spent here was really winding down, as I only had a couple more hours to try out the game. Things were starting to get dull after the fairy quest in Fey Forest and the Vortex Shard quest in Scarwood, but things quickly turned around later when reached the Valley of Titans. You'll find out in a little bit, but first: here's a few shots I took in the Scarwood area. I sort of forgot what the quest here was about... Something about purifying the area or something, but whatever...

Play Log - TERA (NA) - 2/12

So another day was spent on TERA during the 1st closed beta. I headed for the outskirts of Velika to get my first mount, but not before completing a generic fetch quest! Didn't take too long for me to complete it, though.

Play Log - TERA (NA) - 2/11

Well the first weekend closed beta test for TERA is over. I managed to get my Popori Slayer to LV20 during the weekend; two levels shy of the level cap (22). On Saturday, my character was only around LV10 and I was still stuck on the Tainted Gorge of the beginner island.

I was just about ready to get off the island, though. I just had to complete a few kill quests and finish the tutorial dungeon.

I totally hated wearing this outfit... It made my character look so fat (well... extra fat.) I'm usually one that prefers style or stats, but I didn't want anything to get in my way, so I made an exception...

TERA (NA) - "Dress Rehearsal" Impressions

En Masse decided to host a little "Dress Rehearsal " for TERA before this weekend. It started at 5 PM PST (8 PM EST) and lasted for three hours. With my client all ready to go: I jumped in and played from start to finish. I created a Popori Slayer and leveled my way up to eight.

To be brief: My whole experience from start to finish was a complete, definite "meh". Again, these are just my impressions and not a final opinion since the game is still being "worked on."

APB:Reloaded - Review

It’s time to once again visit the mean streets of San Paro for a live and reloaded look at the infamous All Points Bulletin. APB: Reloaded is a GamersFirst re-release of the original APB, originally created by the now defunct developer “Realtime Worlds”. What the original APB promised was a completely online, GTA style action game filled with instance third person shooter and driving mechanics along with fun faction on faction competition with criminals against enforcers.

Unfortunately, what all players got was laggy driving mechanics, unbalanced gunplay and a truckload of empty promises. Now the game has been revived as a free-to-play title. It’s time to see if all the tweaks to this refurbished machine will finally turn this APB into the high action online game we’ve all been hoping for.

Play Log - C9 - 2/3

One more day in the C9 VVIP Test... One more day to fool around all by myself! Today, I took the time to make use of the game's video record function. Even though many games like C9 have record functions built in, I never seem to make use of them. Maybe be cause I'm too lazy to wait for them to upload on YouTube.

But anyway: I took a couple more screenshots around town, increased my hunter's level to 15 and got a chance to ask the GMs some extra questions:

Play Log - C9 - 2/1 to 2/2

Webzen is currently hosting a press only event for C9. Me, JamesBlone and DizzyPW got around to trying the game out yesterday to see what it was like, and so far I'd have to say that it's pretty decent.

If I would have to describe it in a short sentence: C9 is sort of a mix between the vibe ofVindictus and the fast action of Dragon Nest. I only managed to get around level 8 during my first few hours.

Character customization is solid. There's a good amount of options available allowing you to tweak body sizes and face styles. Soooo many tattoo options, as well. I spent a good 20 minutes alone on deciding on how I wanted my face tattoo to look.

After a quick solo tutorial, I dropped into the starting town. It's a nice and quaint little village with a shipping dock on the beach. Has all the NPCs and store areas you would expect (Weapon/armor sellers, storage, etc.), plus a few NPCs that teach player professions like blacksmithing and tailoring, so this game won't just be all about hacking and slashing.

 

MMO-FO: MMO gamer movement or viral marketing campaign for TERA Online? (UPDATED)

So I came across some interesting news over at the OnRPG forums. DizzyPW, Chief-in-Editor for OnRPG got word of a new MMO gamer movement called "MMO-FO". According to their facebook page, they promote action and skill based MMOs over the point & click + tab based target combat of traditonal MMORPGs. Their description for the website reads:

"The MMO-FO movement rejects boring, easy-mode, childish MMORPGs. We hate no-skill tab-targeting, repetitive attack rotations, and mindless grinding. We want games that require player skill, games that reward mastery, and games that actually challenge us."

 Sounds like an intriguting and worthy cause, but DizzyPW of OnRPG had this to say:

"The PR agency representing En Masse sent me a free t-shirt that said MMO-FO on it. That PR agency only represents Aeria Games and En Masse as far as I know. Now I don't know of any Aeria Games products coming out this year that match MMO-FO's description.

Next clue: Notice which walls MMO-FO sent the call out on. It's mostly AAA MMOs expected to make a splash in 2012. Which did they not send a call out to? TERA's facebook page. Why recruit from the player base you're trying to build after all?

Final clue: TERA Online announced today that their beta testing schedule is coming later this week. MMO-FO is making a big announcement.. later this week. Coincidence? You decide!"

Could it be just a clever ruse to market En Masse's upcoming TERA Online? Maybe. Maybe not... But one thing is for sure: They're dead set on taking a huge steaming dump over the MMOs of old:

If you're interested in this so-called "movement": Their facebook and twitter pages can be found here: Are You An MMO-FO? and MMO-FO via Twitter

Thanks goes to DizzyPW for the info: http://www.onrpg.com/boards/190547.html

UPDATE: It looks like the buzz was all true: MMO-FO is indeed a marketing campaign to promote En Masse's TERA Online. They've just released a new trailer for MMO-FO on their official webite: http://tera.enmasse.com/news/posts/are-you-an-mmo-fo