Almost 6 years ago in 2010, I penned an article entitled the Are Chatless MMOs a Precursor to Console MMOs? It was during that fateful year that Blizzard designed to automate the process of assembling groups for dungeons in their World of Warcraft MMO with a feature called the Dungeon Finder. WoW would never be the same. Back then that I predicted the bleak, anti-social future of MMOs that had decided to embrace the seductive path of convenience based game design. That future is finally here with WoW and it is not good. The closure of the Nostalrius legacy server has made world-wide news and touched a nerve. The very existence of legacy servers is a public repudiation of Blizzard’s stewardship of WoW. Many faithful fans are finally asking serious existential questions about the current state of WoW. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people are voting with their feet and rejecting the current version of WoW and instead are playing on legacy servers speaks volumes about the … [Read more...] about How a Video Exposes the Sorry State of World of Warcraft
Single player world of warcraft
World of Warcraft’s Diminishing Presence at BlizzCon 2016
As the month of November approached, I got to reminiscing about BlizzCon. For those of us that loved World of Warcraft and used to play it, the yearly BlizzCon event held by Blizzard was an obligatory annual MMORPG pilgrimage. Even long after I stopped playing, I would pay the $40 for the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket just to see the Blizzard artists and designers talk about their craft and a genre I love. This year I was seriously contemplating purchasing the BlizzCon 2016 PPV event dubbed by Blizzard as a cerebration of epic games and an epic community. But after reading reports that many of the World of Warcraft panels would not be live-streamed, I declined. After watching the opening ceremony and some of the panels on YouTube I am glad I didn’t waste my money. The BlizzCon that I was hoping would rekindle my passion for WoW wasn’t the BlizzCon I remembered. In the early days of BlizzCon, the fare was mostly about WoW. But the BlizzCon of today is all about e-sports and the … [Read more...] about World of Warcraft’s Diminishing Presence at BlizzCon 2016
Impressions of Project Gorgon from an Asheron’s Call player
It’s finally time for me talk about Project Gorgon as a released product. As you might have guessed, I was avoiding the game prior to launch. I’ve spoken out against early access a lot and have realized that, at this point in my gaming/career, playing games I’m passionate too early can be a threat to both work and play. I wanted a relationship with PG, but I didn’t want to rush into anything pre-release. I wanted it as complete as possible. MJ’s streamed it a bunch of times, including the day before launch. Eliot’s comments from his pre-release CMA feel spot on still post-release. However, as the resident old-man Asheron’s Call fan with a review copy, I think I can add a few comments about how Project Gorgon compares to AC1&2, plus how developer Eric Heimburg’s infused PG in AC-esque ways. The bad For those who might not realize this, I … [Read more...] about Impressions of Project Gorgon from an Asheron’s Call player
5 Reasons to get Hyped for World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
World of Warcraft is getting its newest expansion, Battle for Azeroth, on August 13th. We rounded up the five most prominent features and changes coming to World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. Allied races Possibly the most requested feature ever in WoW. Allied races are a form of sub races coming to BFA. Traditionally Blizzard has added between 0-2 new races with each expansion. However with allied races Blizzard are adding eight new races! For the alliance you have: Void Elf, Lightforged Draenei, Dark Iron Dwarf and Kul Tiran Humans. The horde are getting: Nightborne, Highmountain Tauren, Zandalari Troll and Mag’har Orc. Each allied race comes with all new passive and active racials, a unique race mount, and if you level a brand new character you also get a unique cool looking transmog set! One of the most interesting things about allied races is the way you unlock them. Up until now with every expansion the new races would simply be available to play when … [Read more...] about 5 Reasons to get Hyped for World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
E3 2018: Hands-on with ReEvolve, Perfect World’s new mobile sandbox MMORPG
Remember how we learned that Perfect World would be showing off some new games at E3? Well, things happen at conventions like this – they don’t always go to plan. My FarSide didn’t materialize, for example. However, ReEvolve did happen, just not without setbacks. Our PR contact, Michael Meyers, did his level best to help me understand what was up with the game, despite the realization that PWE’s Chinese branch hasn’t pushed much information westward just yet. All this could have ended with my not writing anything, but despite it all, enough of the game showed through, and I’m definitely intrigued. If a sandbox version of something like Adventure Quest 3D exclusively on mobile sounds like your thing, read on. Back to the future The game’s basic premise about traveling back in time is what got me curious about the game in the first place. How would the gameplay work with time travel? Would it go with something … [Read more...] about E3 2018: Hands-on with ReEvolve, Perfect World’s new mobile sandbox MMORPG