Project Lore

Via Joystiq

2008 was supposed to be the year when World of Warcraft would meet its first real challengers in years in Age of Conan and Warhammer Online.  Since coming out on top in late 2004/early 2005 against EverQuest II and Guild Wars, the MMORPG had lacked any major market, highly advertised competition.  Dungeon & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online made splashes upon their releases in 2006 and 2007, respectively, and continue to maintain market share. Many other MMOs, on the other hand, have utterly failed.  Tabula Rasa and the pseudo-MMOG Hellgate: London are the most recent. Both of the big MMOs that made their debut in 2008 remain online and under development, although one's overall health is in question.  Age of Conan launched in May 2008 to "generally favorable reviews" and solid sales.  Initially, it looked like a success despite its bugginess and Beta feel.  Months later, it became clear that users flocked from the title after the initial 30-day free trial period ended.  The drop in fanfare may be disheartening, but Funcom keeps on truckin'. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has done far better since its release in September 2008.  Although the title has not held on to Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs' target subscription rate of 500,000, the developer, and more importantly Electronic Arts, continue to support and advertise the title.  This has allowed Mythic to further develop the PvP-heavy MMO, including the free addition of features that were cut from launch.  Both titles will surely remain online for sometime, coming out of 2008 as the few non-F2P, mass market MMOGs with a notable impact.  Neither of them believed they would be "WoW killers," but that didn't stop the gaming public from making the obvious comparisons. The Year of the Rat is behind us though.  Titles have failed, floundered and flourished during that time, but it's time to look ahead.  I am a firm believer that competition breeds creativity, and hope that a few of these upcoming titles while keep the WoW development team at the top of their game.

• Champions Online (Cryptic/Atari; June; Closed Beta) - The New York Comic Con enabled me to get some hands-on time with this super hero themed MMORPG.  Champions Online comes from the same studio that created NCSoft's City of Heroes/Villains franchise.  Now the company is brandishing its own license, the Champions board game license that they purchased from Hero Game.  CO is also heading to Xbox 360.
• DC Universe Online (SOE; 2009; Pre-Alpha) - This is another MMORPG that I got to play around with at NYCC.  If you are looking for a new experience in your super hero/super villain MMOG then this seems to be the place.  DC Comics is hands-on with the title, rather than simply licensing the story and allowing Sony Online Entertainment to bootstrap in approved storylines.  An obvious direct competitor to Champions, DCUO has been given the "when it's done" release mantra, so there is a good chance PC and PS3 gamers will not see it this year.
• Aion: The Tower of Eternity (NCSoft; Q4 2009; Beta) - Aion is the latest title to come from Korean MMOG giant NCSoft.  The developer/publisher has not had much luck with their attempt at Western games - see Tabula Rasa or Auto Assault -  so they have gone back to their old formula of localizing successful Korean titles.  Aion is already available in Korean and features a fantasy dream setting where its inhabitants can fly.
• Jumpgate Evolution (NetDevil/Codemasters; Q2 2009) - As the title infers, Jumpgate Evolution is not an original property.  Rather JE is a sequel to NetDevil's 2001 freshman MMO Jumpgate.  The new title is essentially a space flight simulator complete with PvP, factions, and non-random combat.  It also lacks a strict class system thanks to the ability to train as a pilot for multiple ships (cargo, mining, fighter, etc).

That's really it for the big players, but there are many smaller fish looking to take a bite out of the billion dollar market.

• Darkfall Online (Aventurine SA; Q1 2009; Closed Beta)
• Earthrise (Masthead; Q3/Q4 2009; Beta)
• Stargate Worlds (Cheyenne Mountain; Q4 2009; Beta) - These guys have had some trouble with funding lately.
• The Chronicles of Spellborn (Spellborn International; 2009; Live in UK)
• Fallen Earth (Fallen Earth LLC; TBA; Beta)

Free-2-Play MMOGs don't get nearly the same press as their subscription based counterparts, but that doesn't mean they inherently suck.  There are a few of them coming out this year including one from Sony Online Entertainment.

• Priston Tale (SUBA Games; Live)
• Runes of Magic (Runewalker; April 2009; Open Beta)
• Free Realms (SOE; April 2009)

This is a look at 2009's incoming titles, but it can't hurt to look a bit past that.  We have already heard about some of the next decades big-name MMORPGs:

• Star Trek Online (Cryptic/Atari; 2010)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare/EA; TBA)

If I had to chose which of the subscription based MMOGs would make the biggest splash in 2009, I definitely would go with DC Universe Online.  Although it and Champions are still a ways from launch, DCUO seems far more advanced graphically and technologically, yet it maintains the same level of playability of Champions in their respected forms. The Year of the Ox may finally see a winning MMORPG that isn't fantasy based, which would be a breath of fresh air.  To boot, 2010 should add some kindling to the age old debate of Trek versus Wars.  Anyone else keeping a watchful eye on the market space or is WoW all that matters to you? WoW will remain my drug of choice for the foreseeable future.

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Can't post images from the other games in action. :*(

At the last minute I decided to take the short ride up to New York and stick around for this year's Comic Con.  I am not a huge comic buff by any means, but with the video game industry's annual trade show being nerfed a few year's ago, the comic con circuit has changed.  The publishers of the finest video games have branched out to other venues (PAX , San Diego Comic Con, the former Leipzig Games Convention, now Gamescon, and others) to reach their adoring public.  With no ticket to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this year, I took the plunge and headed to NYC. When I arrived at the venue I wasn't exactly sure I had the correct facility.   I expected there to be a good amount of fanfare going on outside the glass-enclosed venue, yet it lacked ridiculously sized banners, a steady stream of cosplayers or huge buses with teams of satellites on top.  Turns out everything was inside, rather than spilling onto the streets. I went to the show knowing that I'd miss Blizzard's presentations - and they won't be at E3 - but enough other anticipated games, including a pair of upcoming superhero MMOGs, were still available to me.

• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Mythic Entertainment/Electronic Arts) - Mythic Entertainment's MMOG has been hit by some hard times lately.  The company - along with numerous other internal developers - has been handed down directions from their overlords to cut costs.  This has caused over 60 people to lose their jobs , including development staff.  There really wasn't anything new shown in their hands-on area, but the panel discussion talked about their upcoming Call to Arms Live Expansion (free is good).  I also scored the spiffy, reversible poster you see above.  Regardless of the lack of new material, I was happy to see that EA is still throwing money around for WAR.
• Champions Online (Cryptic Studios/Atari) - Cryptic's newly purchased intellectual property is shaping up pretty nicely.  While it essentially looks and feels like City of Heroes 2.0, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  The developer purchased the Champions property outright, giving them free reign over the material rather than being hamstrung by licensing ties.  I played through a bit of a mini-instance - essentially a small dungeon designed to be soloed or done in a small group - complete with destructible objects and numerous mini-bosses wrapped in a comic-inspired presentation.  Champions Online is supposed to be out this Spring and is currently in closed-beta, which I scored access to.
• DC Universe Online (SOE Austin/Sony) - DCUO is still in its pre-alpha stage according to the developer.  The game looks more advanced - and less polished - than its superhero competitor above, but both are to be expected.  According to the booth manager, Sony is treating DCUO like Blizzard treats its titles, it will be done when it is done.  While it was originally announced for 2009, that can change at any moment.  PS3 play also looked surprisingly manageable. What had me most excited about the title was the licensing agreement that is in place.  Rather than SOE having have all aspect of the title approved, DC is apparently working with them at every level.  The comic company is helping and/or developing the overall story arcs, quests and encounters as a team with SOE, with Jim Lee at the helm of the creative side.  From what I was told, players that manage to stand-out from the run of the mill MMO gamer may even have an opportunity to have their character brought into the larger DCU, such as a limited comic appearance!

It may be my deep appreciation for the arcade days gone by, or my fascination with all things of B quality, but the title that stole the show for me was the latest entry in the House of the Dead franchise.  The campy series has longed needed a reboot - HotD 2 was the last good one - and the first game to launch on a console will honor us with just what the franchise needed.  House of the Dead: Overkill looks fantastic (for a Wii title) and plays very well.  The release is tomorrow and I am slated to review it elsewhere, hopefully we find out why G was bleeding. Did anyone else manage to swing by the con?

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