In the past few years it's no lie that the success of Minecraft (a game which is now miles apart from back when I gave a summary of it in 2010!) has more than just gave Markus Persson enough money to do insane things, including the likes of offering to fund Psychonauts 2, but it has in fact altered the way we see both the industry and the development process in a consumer view.
Well, now that the painful part is over, you can stop wincing and start smiling, because the good news is that you can go better than me at Tribes: Ascend right now. The game is in a public beta has just had it's grand release at the start of this week, meaning that while work is still being done, anyone can download the client, make an account and get fragging away! Seriously, if not for fun but for the sake of people on my team, I'm asking you to go try your hand at some skii-shootouts. On a final note: it's possible to unlock all items and classes via gradual gaining experience points, but buying gold will also unlock the VIP status for your account, yield 50% extra exp per match permanently, and at the end of the day it's a smooth, pretty unique and hella' fun game to play, so remember to support the people who bring us such mind-numbing fun.
The huge success of Minecraft's creative model, in which players have been able to purchase the game at different stages and jump right in alongside development has brought forth a wave of developers using this model to fund their game during development. It's even shown an increase in gamer's interest in such things as beta testing phases and alpha-testing.
Its for this reason that I'm making this an 'on-going post' of sorts, as I intend to create a summarized set of different upcoming titles, both using the same/similar model of Minecraft and those in beta-testing, to allow you the reader to get on board with the future of gaming right now, as it occurs. [On a side note: If any of you already have Diablo III or DOTA 2 access, leave this place. I'm still waiting on keys and refuse to let you hoard them. I'm watching you]
Without much further ado, here is the current Compendium of Beta's, and All Things Free Week 1:
Tribes: Ascend - A game which I can only describe as the bastard child of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, SSX Tricky, Unreal Tournament and Battlefield 2142. A First Person Shooter which uses the standard mechanics, but with the added feature of 'skiing'. By pressing space on a downward piece of terrain the player gains momentum and speed, vice versa by using the right mouse to activate the jetpack. The result is high-octane speed-shootouts with guns and sexplosions galore. Tribes: Ascend uses a class system with loadouts, meaning that while the games main portion is flying around the map wishing there was less to look at, you can take a backwards seat for example by using a class such as the sentinel more or less the sniper class of the game.
Below is a video which I've just recorded of myself playing a team deathmatch. I however have difficulty adjusting my reaction times, and so play this game in a way more expected to be used in the Total War franchise. In other words, I'm fucking slow and spend most my time running.
Below is a video which I've just recorded of myself playing a team deathmatch. I however have difficulty adjusting my reaction times, and so play this game in a way more expected to be used in the Total War franchise. In other words, I'm fucking slow and spend most my time running.
Join The Action Now
Path of Exile - For those of us who remember spending hours explaining to our families that "we can't just come for tea right now, only after I've perfected my new build" thanks to the titans that were Diablo & Diablo II, you may have seen mixed feedback on Blizzard's comeback kid of the decade, with some worrying comments implying that the core of what Diablo is has been changed completely. But fear not! Path of Exile is looking like the up and coming cure for that traditional itch.
Take a look at some gameplay footage and try your best not to nostalgiasm!
I've seen plenty of analogies comparing this beautiful indie developer's diablo-clone to the godfather itself, but perhaps the best and most truthful one was this (since the wisest chunks of knowledge are often found in the murky depths of Global Chat) - "Blizzard are trying to redefine with Diablo with Diablo III; Grinding Gear Games on the other hand are trying to perfect what we experienced with Diablo II"
Very true indeed. The game is in a close beta, with an open beta coming in June, but you can in fact get in on the action AND help fund the production by purchasing a support package. These packages range from $10 to $1000 (a formidable 5 packages have been sold at this top-tier! ) and give beta key's, cash-shop currency and follower kiwi pets ranging in beauty. The game is truly 'free-to-play' as the developers are highly against paying to win and will rather fund the game with a vanity store instead of game changing items.
On a final note in regards to Path of Exile, there's a certain sweet tooth I have, which this particular title satisfied for me unlike any other; skill tree's. They come in a wide variety of 'ooh's and ahh's', but none has ever been as vast and impressive as this. If you thought that Final Fantasy X's sphere grid was brilliant open and vast; IT FUCKING LIED TO YOU. Path of Exile's doesn't. It really is a map. I mean, talking about it with my friend actually required us to navigate visually with compass terms. You can actually see this for yourself here, and even design your build on the site!
So what are you waiting for,
Join me in the slaughter fellow warrior!
(Seriously, if anyone would like to play some, add Newmeme and I'll gladly party with you some time.)
Path of Exile - For those of us who remember spending hours explaining to our families that "we can't just come for tea right now, only after I've perfected my new build" thanks to the titans that were Diablo & Diablo II, you may have seen mixed feedback on Blizzard's comeback kid of the decade, with some worrying comments implying that the core of what Diablo is has been changed completely. But fear not! Path of Exile is looking like the up and coming cure for that traditional itch.
Take a look at some gameplay footage and try your best not to nostalgiasm!
I've seen plenty of analogies comparing this beautiful indie developer's diablo-clone to the godfather itself, but perhaps the best and most truthful one was this (since the wisest chunks of knowledge are often found in the murky depths of Global Chat) - "Blizzard are trying to redefine with Diablo with Diablo III; Grinding Gear Games on the other hand are trying to perfect what we experienced with Diablo II"
Very true indeed. The game is in a close beta, with an open beta coming in June, but you can in fact get in on the action AND help fund the production by purchasing a support package. These packages range from $10 to $1000 (a formidable 5 packages have been sold at this top-tier! ) and give beta key's, cash-shop currency and follower kiwi pets ranging in beauty. The game is truly 'free-to-play' as the developers are highly against paying to win and will rather fund the game with a vanity store instead of game changing items.
On a final note in regards to Path of Exile, there's a certain sweet tooth I have, which this particular title satisfied for me unlike any other; skill tree's. They come in a wide variety of 'ooh's and ahh's', but none has ever been as vast and impressive as this. If you thought that Final Fantasy X's sphere grid was brilliant open and vast; IT FUCKING LIED TO YOU. Path of Exile's doesn't. It really is a map. I mean, talking about it with my friend actually required us to navigate visually with compass terms. You can actually see this for yourself here, and even design your build on the site!
So what are you waiting for,
Join me in the slaughter fellow warrior!
(Seriously, if anyone would like to play some, add Newmeme and I'll gladly party with you some time.)
And those are the two main games for this week's issue of the Compendium! Make sure to post in the comments what you like/dislike about the games, and if you have any suggestion games that you think should make their appearance e-mail me your thoughts!
When is your next post going to be on?
ReplyDeleteSorry, it certainly has been some time! But I've been testing out a good few games recently to write up a 'I've got some friends, wut do with online play' post about new releases/long standing games that are great multiplayer choices with friends! That should by on within the next 3 days, and there will be a prize giveaway on the same day as that so keep an eye out!
Deletejust read the comment above and wanted to know if this blog is still running? :3
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting for nearly a year for a new post ;
ReplyDelete