Black Desert Online - A Korean MMO That Has The West's Attention

I've had a chance to play a wide range of MMO's over the years, never fully delving into them but limiting myself to 2-3 week playtests to get a feel for what each game had to offer. And during this time I really got a chance to develop an appreciation for Korean MMO's especially, which time and time again seemed to be a few steps ahead of their western developed counterparts in regards to gameplay ideas and innovations.

One of my most memorable experiences was playing Granado Espada a few years back, which allowed a player to control three characters simultaneously in a baroque styled setting (The awesome character concepts by Limha Lekan drew me in). My only frustration was that there was a generalized stigma against any Korean MMO for being 'too grindy,' a reputation that a few games managed to cast on that entire scene as a whole.

In the last few years it seems like developers have taken note of this reputation and have been trying to address it with newer games, including NC Soft's upcoming Blade and Soul and Black Desert Online. The latter recently caught the interest of the western gaming community for it's efforts to truly evolve online combat with a more dynamic action oriented approach rather than the rather outdated 'roll' based systems featured in games like World of Warcraft.



Black Desert is just one of many next gen MMO's being developed overseas, and hopefully this game will be able to make a transition to Western shores once it's released. I've seen so many games with truly amazing potential absolutely fall flat due to bad marketing, but hopefully this will be one of the exceptions. If you're in the mood to get a feel of how this game might play while we wait for Black Desert to released, I'd recommend giving the free to play Vindictus action MMO a shot (The only Korean MMO developed on Valve's source engine).

Wildstar Flick - Adventures

With the Wildstar beta in full swing and the release date drawing ever nearer, we're still getting some amazing cinematics from the team at Carbine along with additional pieces of the narrative. In Adventures we're introduced to The Caretaker, a digitized creation from the Eldan race - An artifact of a legendary civilization that mysteriously disappeared 1,000 years before the events of Wildstar.

As an originally benevolent figure afflicted by some rather interesting data corruption (His bipolarity kind of reminds me of Hades from Disney's Hercules)- You can just imagine what type of fun twists a character like this might introduce to any quest you might embark on via his simulation programs. Again, I can't stress enough how much I appreciate the folks at Carbine putting so much effort into imbuing each promo video with this much personality. Looking forward to giving the beta a shot! Sign up for access yourself over at the official Wildstar website.

Wildstar - Introducing The Classes

We haven't been shy about showing our love for Carbine's upcoming Wildstar MMO, and can you blame us for that? Aside from being a fresh new IP, the absolutely amazing art style (Spearheaded by the amazing Garrett Hanna) literally has me frothing at the mouth in anticipation.

This latest promo follows their clever marketing style of adding an animated narrative to videos that other companies would simply slap together using game footage and voice over work. To introduce their classes, we're offered a look from the perspective of Ish'mael the Bloodied, a marauder sharing his stories of the 'bloodthirsty psycopaths' found on Nexus. Check it out and sign up for the beta on the official Wildstar website!

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Launch Trailer Feels Like It's Not An MMO

I'm going to admit that I'm absolutely obsessed with Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn at the moment. After the trainwreck of the 1.0 release, it's incredible to see the turn around of quality thanks to the amazing team lead by Naoki Yoshida (better known in the community as Yoshi-P). While A Realm Reborn plays like a typical MMO, the pure quality of storytelling and design of the world is what instantly drew me in. The quest dialogue and the world exploration bring me back to the glory days of JRPGs, and really shows off the passion the team has for bringing some much needed life into this game.

To celebrate today's release, a launch trailer has been released to showcase the game's narrative, which manages to portray the game as just another Final Fantasy entry instead of an MMO. If you're looking for a timesink with quality, I definitely suggest taking a step down the road of FFXIV: A Realm Reborn, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Wildstar - Dirty Little Secrets Trailer Reveals Some Unseen Factions

Originally teased in the announcement videos for the Meet the Dominion and Exiles, the folks at Carbone have finally unveiled the final two races in their upcoming Wildstar MMO. The Chua, aligned with the Dominion are a race of furry, tinkering, psychopathic mad scientists with a knack for destruction. The Mordesh, aligned with the rebel Exile faction are an afflicted, mutated humanoid race, infected with a strange disease that they're desperately trying to cure.

Following the reveal I think we'll definitely be getting our hands on those crazy Chua when we get a chance to take the beta for a spin. Really been loving these hand crafted promos, especially the amount of personality they manage to imbue in each of them. Head on over to the Dirty Little Secrets page to learn more about the two races, as well as for signing up for the beta!

Wildstar - The Devspeak Series

While the title of this video might not seem terribly exciting on first glance, you really should check this video out to hear about how important of a mechanic aiming is going to be in Wildstar, turning combat into an actual skill shot oriented affair. I don't know about you but I've played my fair share of MMO's, and over time grown tired of the mostly mechanical, turn based combat. There are exceptions of course, like the more action oriented Tera and even Vindictus, but ultimately the developers are hoping to take those initial steps and streamline them into something altogether new.

What the folks at Carbine intend to introduce is a freeform targeting system which will absolutely make it crucial to line up and properly aim in order to deliver your attacks, dodge, block and even heal your allies. After having had a chance to talk to the incredibly friendly and passionate devs at E3, I'm getting the feeling that Wildstar might finally revitalize the Western MMO market. Check out the devspeak episodes regarding player paths, movement and housing after the break to further delve into the mechanics of the world of Wildstar, and if you're joining us a new reader, be sure to check out What Is Wildstar? for an overview of the world and gameplay.

What Is Wildstar?

NCSoft and Carbine Studios just released their latest trailer for Wildstar as they head into beta, and I couldn't think of a better promo to get people excited for what's to come and everything the the game will have to offer. The passion behind the game is palpable, and we're looking forward to giving the game a spin once we infiltrate the beta.

If you haven't seen the promo videos for the two factions (The Dominion and Exiles), get on it..Stat. Considering how genuinely enthusiastic the devs have been in regards to their game, keep your eyes peeled for beta at Wildstar HQ.

The Races Of Project Copernicus By Gorrem

(Via)

It's been nearly a year since 38 Studios went down in a controversial ball of flame, but the art for the Amalur MMO, codename Project Copernicus has continued to trickle out in a steady stream. Despite anyone involved with the project still being covered with a slew of NDA's (Non disclosure agreements), some artists still wanted to show off the years of work that would otherwise never see the light of day.

Gorrem (Devon Cady-Lee) is a veteran concept artist in the MMO and fantasy art field, having previously worked on Lord Of The Rings Online at Turbine studios and freelanced at Wizards Of the Coast. His till now unreleased marketing art pieces offer a look at the many colorful races of the world that has yet to see the light of day. Check out his take on eight of the races after the break, and be sure to also head over to the Copernicus concept art dump that we did a few months back over here.

Worth Checking Out: Bombermine (The Unnofficial Bomberman MMO)

 

With video games, there isn't really a universal agreement that bigger is always better, but in the case of Bomberman it definitely is. After the sad dismantlement of Hudson Soft, I didn't think I'd ever see more of Bomberman, and while Bombermine might not be an official release it's a god damn blast. Using the classic top-down view, over 1000 players are given the ability to blow the sh*t out of each other at basically every given moment. It's a cluster f*ck, but it's a cluster f*ck that I can't help but love.

Yes, I admit, the game is incredibly difficult to play for more than 20 minutes at a time, but those 20 minutes are pretty freaking sweet. If you find even a small amount of free time in your busy day, I suggest you head on over to the website and check it out.  While you play, make sure to look out for the Awesome Robo tag on a character, one of us might be playing.

Wildstar : Meet The Exiles

Following the reveal of the snobbish, elitist Dominion forces just a few weeks back, the folks at Carbine also released a new trailer from the perspective of the scrappy Exiles for their upcoming Wildstar MMO (Which still sounds like an 80's cartoon series to me, not a bad thing). If there's one thing that impressed us about this game, it's the amount of personality that they've imbued into the promotion of their stylized title, giving off the impression of some truly fleshed out factions and motivations, a as well as a great sense of humor.

Always looking for a scrap with the technologically superior Dominion forces, the Exiles are simply seeking a peaceful existence on their own planet. The last few weeks also brought some new information about the playable Dominion classes, although the trailers for both factions hinted at a fourth one for each. Check out some awesome new art for the Cassians, Draken and Mechari factions after the break.

Wildstar - Meet The Dominion

Carbine Studios' Wildstar continues to perplex me with it's interesting direction. Aside from it's very appealing, highly stylized art direction, the developers are layering some really interesting gameplay on top of the traditional class system, called 'paths.' This path system will offer interesting perks based off your preferred style of gameplay, rewarding players who prefer combat over say, exploration. In a way it's similar to how Guild Wars 2 asked questions during character creation to customize your play experience, but it's shaping up to be a little more in depth.

The latest promo video offers some truly charming, amazingly well animated goodness, offering a perspective on the world of Wildstar through the eyes of a rather villainous sounding Dominion officer, dropping hints about races and some motivations behind colonizing the galaxy. It looks like the folks at Carbine have put a great deal of thought into fleshing out their world, and we really look forward to learning more about this universe. Wildstar has yet to receive a release date, but we're hoping to get a chance to play it sometime in 2013.

TERA: Rising Is Now F2P

I should probably just come out and say that after being burned by countless MMO's in the past I've become somewhat callous to new releases. When I see something even remotely interesting it generally ends with me stating, "I'll wait for when it's free to play." When all but one MMO has proven that it can last, it's really difficult to justify putting money into a title that's almost destined to be free within the year. Still, even if the game wasn't capable of dethroning the now mythical World of Warcraft, it is still possible for the game to be equally enjoyable if not more so. Recently, TERA (which launched earlier in 2012) provided new players with a free trial allowing for a brief taste of what the game is all about. I jumped at the chance for a free game, especially after the recent announcement of a F2P client coming within a month, and found myself really enjoying the game.

Before you say, "Wow, if Chris likes it then I'll probably like it too!" I must warn you, this game is incredibly heavy on generic MMO quests (fetch 5 of these, kill 10 of those, craft 3 butts, etc.) but that isn't where this game shines, it's the combat. TERA has probably some of the most fun "skill based" combat I have ever gotten to use in an MMO. Each attack feels incredibly fluid, giving each weapon a feeling of weight without being too slow. PVP battles actually feel like battles, and each win or defeat is based on your own gaming capabilities.

While the characters are described by a few of my friends and coworkers as anime as f*ck, the game sports some incredible creature design and some truly awe inspiring set pieces. TERA is actually one of the few MMOs where I'm excited to get to the new area only to see what crazy monsters I might stumble upon next.

The game is now officially released under the name TERA: Rising, giving players complete access to the game's content (honestly, I feel like this is a little too generous). If you have been looking for something new to give a spin on, TERA: Rising might be right up your alley. For a complete breakdown of the content included in the game hit the jump or just head over to their website and download it here.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

'Every End Marks A New Beginning,' the hopeful slogan for Square's attempt to correct the mistakes of the past. It was supremely disappointing to see Final Fantasy XIV disappoint in every way imaginable as a result of a rushed development cycle, a title that had promised to improve on it's previous online installation, XI. I was one of those customers, and was treated to an MMO that was pretty much unfinished, including baffling decisions made in regards to fundamental gameplay mechanics, lack of content and a slew of other issues. The game was so universally panned that Square had to issue a formal apology, promise to address the shortcomings and admit that the title had 'Greatly damaged the Final Fantasy brand.' After Final Fantasy XIII, I didn't know if they could salvage players overall perception of the franchise, myself included.

Fast forward about a year and a half later, and as of today the servers for the original game have pretty much ceased to exist, following an in game event which pretty much wiped out the entire world in both a fictional, and physical sense. I didn't expect them to create such an epic cinematic to mark the end of a failed world, including the truly haunting images of the  but in a sense it gave me a mild speck of hope that they might actually care about putting out a title worthy of carrying the Final Fantasy name. The followup and rebooting of the title, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is set to go into alpha shortly and promises to address every single aspect that its predecessor couldn't deliver on. A general skepticism still looms, but deep down I somehow hope that the company can redeem itself with this one.

State Of Decay - A Zombie MMO On A Console?

While many people have been fixated on the Arma II 'DayZ' mod phenomenon, the folks at the Seattle based Undead Labs have finally released the first gameplay trailer for their upcoming console MMO title, which hopes to capture that same kind of crowd on the Xbox.

The Arma II mod, which succeeded in simulating the experience of a dynamic, persistent open world zombie invasion and has now been picked up for a full release by Bohemia Interactive (The Arma folks), so how will State of Decay carve out it's own niche? The studio hasn't released much in terms of details just yet, but a console MMO on the Xbox 360 would be a first, if this title turns out to be just that. For folks still looking for a fresh zombie survival fix, this might be a title worth keeping tabs on.

E3 : Elder Scrolls Online Underwhelms In Every Way Imaginable

Sometimes at Awesome-Robo we like to co-write our editorials, this particular entry is brought to you by RoboBrain and Chris Riley.

Elder Scrolls Online was one of the biggest unknowns at E3 this year, with a massive, gameplay free announcement preceding its reveal behind closed doors this year. We'd all heard for years that Zenimax, the Online division of Bethesda had been working on some kind of MMO based off one of their franchises, so the expectations were rather high considering the caliber of titles that Bethesda has released over the last few years.

Before I move on, I'd like to state that our impressions are based off what the developers decided to show off to supposedly impress us and the other press outlets, and that we were honestly very hopeful that they'd do something that would blow us away. Unfortunately, the presentation turned out to be one of the most uncomfortable experiences we had at E3 and ultimately ended up leaving a terrible taste in our mouth. The main question that came to mind throughout the 30 minute presentation was, 'What the hell were they thinking?'

Guild Wars 2 : New Heroes Of Tyria

This excellent fanmade trailer for Guild Wars 2 created by Youtube user Wetwillyhip recently got some attention from Horia Dociu, the son of the art director of Arenanet's upcoming, potential World Of Warcraft slayer. Taking all the trailers and features created released over the last few years, Wet crafted an excellent new narrative trailer showcasing all the races, kingdoms and the overarching story set to Noisia's excellent 'Machinegun' track. I keep forgetting how insanely epic the environments in this game are, and how badly I want to play this game. Just a few more months to go!

Blizzard's Diabolical Offer

Many lives will be lost as a result of this cataclysm.

This email was just sent to all Battle.net account holders, after being announced at Blizzcon earlier. For those of you unaware, in exchange for you committing to the World Of Warcraft Annual Pass, which is a contract binding you to paying for one year of subscription fees for the monster MMO, you'll get Diablo 3 and an exclusive Diablo 3 flavored mount, Tyrael's Charger. Its not a subscription, you literally just have to pay for one year of the MMO at the minimum of $13.99 a month on a dual six month plan.

In a way I can see that they're trying to gain new subscribers to WoW and prevent losing old ones, but doesn't this kind of cheapen the value of Diablo 3 before its even out? Nonetheless, its a pretty damn aggressive marketing ploy from the gaming powerhouse, possibly to recoup for the 10+% drop in subscribers that they've experienced since March 2011. It's a pretty tempting offer, but thankfully I'm strong enough to resist the lifestealing grasp of this MMO.

I Would Really Like To Play Guild Wars 2 Now

I can definitely appreciate Guild Wars for taking a more subtle approach to their trailers, and trying to emphasize the beauty, and epic scale of the world and all the beautiful art that went into making the game. Note to self: Orchestral music makes everything ten times more epic. I had a chance to try out the game in beta form a few months back, and in my opinion...It's got the potential to be the next big player in the MMO space. Keep an eye out on this one, and enjoy the five minute long trailer crammed with epic moments.

Wildstar: Looking Quite Awesome

When I initially saw this trailer, I thought I was looking at a trailer for some kind of animated movie, or some sort of pilot for a TV show. But nope, this is actually NCSoft's newest foray into the MMO space with a colorful, stylized approach and characters brimming with personality. How will this trailer translate into the MMO? That remains to be seen, because gameplay footage is pretty much nonexistent at this point. Check out their website for screenshots, art and some tidbits about the classes.

City Of Heroes Going Free To Play

Later this year, City of Heroes will be re-named as City of Heroes Freedom and offer both subscription-based and free-to-play models. Following their merger with free to play specialists, Perfect World, this move seemed pretty obvious.