Elder Scrolls Online - Not What I Expected

It was inevitable really, but the Elder Scrolls Online is now official. While I thought it would be cool to have an MMO of the Elder Scrolls world, first information about this game is what I had in mind. Down from the first images of the game to the game not being played in a first person perspective left me worried for the worse.

I bet Elder Scrolls fanboys are flaming the MMO as I type this. From what I'm reading so far and with the images leaked; This will come out as yet another generic MMO with just a famous franchise stamped in front of it to draw people in. ZeniMax Online is developing Elder Scrolls Online, and I hope they have something unique to show gamers in the next few months because all I see and read so far is not enough for this MMO to be the one to watch for 2013.

I still believe an online Elder Scrolls would work, but if only they stay true to why we love the Elder Scrolls. The fact that we are going to be playing Elder Scrolls Online in third person, not in real-time, and abilities accessible via the hotkeys makes it not Elder Scrolls at all.  When I heard about the changes in gameplay, I already lost all hope for the Elder Scrolls Online. Then I saw how the game will look like thanks to the leaked images, which makes it even worse.

I'm sorry, the graphics look a bit dumbed down to the level of MMO's like Lord of the Rings Online or EverQuest. A bit underwhelming and looks like a step backwards in terms of visuals. The first image above was the first image officially released. The rest are leaked images of the game which doesn't change what I think of how the game looks like.

Its 2012. MMO's have been around for years now and have been built on what is considered as a generic formula that makes a good MMO. They all look the same to me now. Its time for something revolutionary - A big step forward to get people excited for an online game again. With this planned for 2013, I can tell you already that this won't be it. Elder Scrolls Online will have the usual features of any MMO - PVP, questing, dungeons to explore with groups but nothing unique to keep it apart from the rest.

Together with the reveal, a teaser trailer was released. Which is pretty much the Skyrim teaser all over again that shows absolutely nothing. This is actually worse since it's just the game's logo in close up.

A unique feature is what MMO is going for nowadays. That's the only way to survive alongside  the behemoth that is World of Warcraft and millions of other MMO's trying to stay alive as well. What is Elder Scrolls Online's unique feature? I have no idea. GameInfomer's June issue is said to have a full coverage of the game and hopefully they can answer that question. Also, IGN has a great wiki that has all the information so far about Elder Scrolls Online. So if you want to educate yourself further about this game, click here now.

I was really hoping for Elder Scrolls Online to be Skyrim or Morrowind but with online features, but I guess that was too good to be true. Maybe its a bit too soon to judge this title, but like I said - Not what I expected at all. What do you guys think of this reveal? Excited? or do you feel the same way.

Star Wars: The Old Republic weekend pass starts now

Bioware is giving curious gamers a treat this weekend. From Thursday, March 15th, 12:01AM CT / 5:01AM GMT to Monday, March 19th at 2:00AM CT / 7:00AM GMT, you get a free pass to Star Wars of The Old Republic.

It's not a full access to the game, but it sure gives enough meat to see if it's a game worth investing in. You get full access to all eight of the classes origin worlds and their faction worlds. You can also try out the pvp aspect of the game by joining the warzones provided. If your curious of pve play,  you will have access to two flashpoints(The dungeons in the game), The Esseles and The Black Talon. Sadly, your weekend can only make you reach up to level 15.

If you have anymore questions about this free weekend pass, check out the FAQ for more information and any restrictions. You can also head to the official site for more information about the game and the Weekend Pass.

I've tried the game in one of its beta testing weekends for a day, so wasn't able to experience much. Going to give it another shot this weekend to see how the game feels after it's release.  The weekend trial has started and the client is around 26GB so I suggest you start downloading.

Star Wars: The Old Republic was released last December and received a good reception to critics and has a steady population so far.

Age of Conan's new free to play system is paying off

Funcom's Age of Conan is actually doing better now thanks to the free to play setup they just launched a month ago. Yea I know, Age of Conan might not seem good for some, I even thought this MMO was dead. But this is actual proof that free to play can be as profitable as monthly fees.

How good are they doing now? well in just a short span of time, they have quadrupled their server activity and doubled in revenue. It could go down in the coming months since this free to play plan is new, but 300,000 new players have joined to try out Age of Conan. Regardless, this is a win for them, their doing so much better now even when it first came out.

This free to play plan seems to be the IT thing now in MMO's. Giving the players the chance to play the game for free with some restrictions, and adding an in-game store to earn money. It's a win-win strategy for both players wanting to dodge the monthly fee and a company that needs to earn. We got Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, APB Reloaded, now Age of Conan. It's effective, and getting famous fast.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksXQx8UX9Ng]

I've actually tried APB Reloaded, yea it's free but not my kind of game, plus it's such a demanding game in the graphics department. Since Age of Conan is free, might as well try it for myself too. No harm in trying, right? we'll see.

Congrats to Funcom for finding a way to keep Age of Conan alive..... for now. If you wanna try out Age of Conan: Unchained, head over their official site to get started.

[Source: Gaminformer]

Chinese couple sell their kids to pay for an MMO

I literally had a wide eyed "WTF" face for about 3 whole seconds when I heard about this. Two parents have been apprehended by Chinese authorities after having sold their three children to fund their MMO addiction.

From [Destructoid];

Li Lin and Li Juan sold their baby daughter for roughly $500, their first son for around $4600, and their second son for the same price. Li Lin's mother contacted officials after she had found out what happened, and the couple was taken into custody.

According to reports, the couple didn't know that selling babies so they could play computer games was illegal. In a country where political prisoners are forced into MMO gold-farming labor, it's hard to distinguish the lines, I guess.

"We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money," said the couple, when asked if they missed them. To be fair, you can't fault them for their honesty.

Chinese Couple Sells All Three Kids to Play Online Games [ABC]

Transformers MMO in the works

"Troll-epticon"

Hasbro has struck a deal with UK developer Jagex, the folks behind the free-to-play browser-based MMO Runescape, to make a Transformers MMO that is apparently in demand. Jagex CEO Mark Gerard stated, ”There is a huge appetite for an online Transformers game.”

This is set to release in America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand in 2010. As to which Transformers universe will be used has not been announced.

Source: 4playerpodcast