Without images, I felt better about cross-posting this bit :)
While
Lineage didn't enjoy a success in the U.S. nearly as large as it has in Korea, there is no doubt that
sequel is a quality product. Sure
I didn't like the game. But I didn't like the first one either. Considering even a
much more realistic number of subscribers, there are enough who
do like the games that I feel it's just a matter of taste.
And that's not all NC Soft has to offer either.
On Thursday, NC Soft
announced their E3 lineup. Two of
these titles were in their booth
last year. But three are new and offer an impressive variety.
Guild Wars — From the developers who helped create StarCraft® , Warcraft™, Diablo® and Battle.net™,
Guild Wars (
www.guildwars.com ) is the first Competitive Online Role Playing Game, where players will compete based on their gaming skill rather than hours played. Be among the first to play
Guild Wars–
before it goes into beta test – when ArenaNet and NCsoft welcome tens of thousands of players to join us online during a special promotion event, “E3 for Everyone.” Experience for yourself
Guild Wars' many innovations, such as skill-based gameplay, the combination of a social world with a personal story, and free online play during the three days of E3.
One element not mentioned is that this game have
no monthly fee. As announced in a recent PC Gamer issue, NC Soft has defrayed the fee in favor of a business model based on the sales of future expansion packs. This was a polished title
last year, so I look forward to experiencing what a year's worth of work has done for the game.
Tabula Rasa — Tabula Rasa is the latest massively multiplayer entertainment experience to come from the legendary creative mind of Richard Garriott and the all-star team of industry professionals at Destination Games™. Developed from the ground up to be stable, fast and fun, Tabula Rasa represents a refreshing new approach to the design of multiplayer online games. Immerse yourself within a richly-detailed game world featuring beautifully rendered 3D environments, unique alien creatures and characters, and imaginative technorganic fashion and architecture. Tabula Rasa includes fully integrated voice chat and an original, dynamically-mixed soundtrack by recording artist, Chris Vrenna.
From the mind of the man who brought us
the title that so completely sucked me into MMOGs. I've learned little beyond the name of the game and a rumoured liberal use of instancing, but mostly because I try not to follow games until there is something tangible to experience. Now there's something tangible.
Auto Assault — Combine fast-paced vehicular combat with high-tech, futuristic weaponry and hundreds of intense skills and you get Auto Assault – a unique departure from traditional Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs). Hop in your own customized cars, semis, and motorcycles and prepare to fight the mutated creatures and bandits of Auto Assault's post-apocalyptic world. Battle other players both in arenas and in epic race vs. race wars for control of the regions in a devastated Earth. Auto Assault uses the power of the Havok™ physics engine to let you make insane jumps, send obstacles flying and even blast bridges, buildings, fences and trees with your car-mounted rockets. Anything you can hit, you can destroy!
While I admit I had a knee-jerk doubt about this title (given the demise of Motor City Online), I realized this could be the extension of a 25-year-old dream to experience Spy Hunter online. Maybe it'll be
Knight Rider 2010. Maybe it'll be
Road Warrior. Whatever it is, I'm eager to see it.
City of Villains —Want to play the bad guy in Paragon City? You'll get your chance in Cryptic Studios' City of Villains , currently under development and to be shown in limited play at E3. While
City of Heroes (
www.cityofheroes.com ) is ready for an April 28 launch, Cryptic developers already are working on the first major expansion to the game that will allow players to take on the role of villain in Paragon's modern metropolis. Turn the tide on all the heroes and heroines and lead your crime syndicate into battle in the impressive 3D backdrop of Paragon City .
As
much fun as I had in the City of Heroes beta, and plan to continue through Live, I was one of those disappointed with the lack of PvP in CoH, much less the ability to play bad guys at all. Announcing the expansion now makes the initial offering that much more palpable to those folks who
weren't going to jump into the game at launch. Even if players can't engaged in PvP right away, they can develop a character for PvP-readiness down the road.
Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle —From the creators of
Lineage, the world's most successful online role playing game, comes a whole new experience in medieval massively multiplayer games.
Lineage II (
www.lineage2.com ) uses
Unreal technology to provide an incredibly rich 3D world in which to adventure, siege and conquer and the game's player vs. player combat system allows for a truly unique and player-driven in-game society.
I didn't enjoy this game, but many have, so it's really just a matter of preference. Interestingly, I do question "the world's most successful online" bit because of
information stumbled upon that shows Lineage having less
active subscriptions than even
Star Wars Galaxies. We've know for awhile that the Korean success is mainly predicated on players creating accounts in Internet Cafés. But those players are effectively playing the game for "free", paying their usage fees to the Café, and not having a monthly subscription to the actual game.
I think we could all agree that
all MMOGs would be doing a lot better if they didn't require a monthly fee.
In any case, NC Soft has a very diverse product line up. Even if I haven't enjoyed two of their three products, all three were playable, stable and content rich. And though
Cryptic Studios is the brains and brawn behind City of Heroes, it can take talent to recognize growth opportunities. I credit NC Soft for the "discovery" of this opportunity to enhance their portfolio.
With Microsoft shutting down Mythica, Ubi pulling out as publisher of The Matrix Online (though Warner is still developing) and the discontinuation of
Motor City Online from EA, it's obvious that some of the big studios have taken a step back to evaluate the actual revenue potential of this genre versus the amount of effort required to get it. And they've come up short.
NC Soft seems to have a different other point of view. I feel this makes them worth watching.
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