EVE Online

EVE online is an MMORPG game developed by CCP. EVE online is a game where players take to the stars in space-ships to fulfill tasks and earn money (known as ISK or interstellar kash). There are many paths or careers to choose from when playing EVE. Players may choose to be pirates, miners, mercenaries, business owners, and much more. In EVE, every player within the game is attack-able, if not docked in a station. This gives a sense of risk and endangerment within the game world. EVE itself is an unforgivable game. When a player loses a ship, the ship is gone forever. A player will have to work to get enough ISK to pay for another ship. As well as the stench of risk in EVE, the game also has a very steep learning curve.

            One of the most unique things about EVE would be the ability to explore. The EVE game world is absolutely gigantic. Over 1000 star systems are present in the game world. There are different types of star systems as well. The safest place in EVE are the 1.0 systems.( or High-sec) This is usually where new players reside as these systems are heavily guarded by CONCORD, the game police force. Players seeking more adventure, risk, and ISK would venture to low-sec. Low-sec is home to the majority of the pirate and rogue corporations. Low-sec is a dangerous place for the unwary traveler. The most dangerous places in EVE are wormholes, and Null-sec (or 0.0). Wormholes are interstellar portals that can take you from one system to the next. Wormholes may also collapse. A person who is stuck in a wormhole with no exit route will be forced to self-destruct if they wish to escape. Nullsec is where most of the large alliances reside. Many of those alliances hold territory or sovereignty systems. These systems are considered their own and incursion of these systems may result in the player being killed by that corporation.

             I am excited to see that EVE is flourishing at a time where the majority of RPG PC gamers play World of Warcraft. Many players (such as I) play EVE because of the risk and the adrenaline rush when you get into a fight. EVE is a special game. I like that EVE releases a new expansion with new content every 8-12 months. This ensures that the game stays fresh and players will keep playing. I hope that EVE survives for a long time, it surely deserves it.
 
           Many game critics usually rate EVE as being one of the best PC games of all time. The sheer uniqueness and capabilities astonish the players. The risk of EVE adds adrenaline to every fight. EVE online is my favorite PC game and one of the most highly praised games on the MMO market.

DragonBall Online Game

            DragonBall Online is a Korean made MMORPG set in the DragonBall universe. The game is based off of the ever so popular T.V. series; DragonBall and DragonBall Z. Players are able to choose different features of their characters. They are also able to customize them later on in the games storyline. Players have the ability to reach the powerful being of Super Saiyan also. There are three races to choose from when starting a new character in the DragonBall universe the Humans, Nemekians (green space men), and the Majin (pink pig like men). Players will be able to fight the evil super villains from the T.V. series such as Dr. Gero and Android 17.

I am interested to see how this game will turn out. The T.V. series is Japanese but a Korean gaming company makes the MMORPG video game. I would like to see what the Korean company does to keep the expansive DragonBall storyline alive. I am also interested in seeing how they will fit different characters in the same storyline. The characters of DragonBall do not appear all at once, it might take 10-20 or sometimes 100 episodes to reveal a new important character.

             I am hoping that this game will be very fun and exciting for people who adore the DragonBall series like I do. Many people that I have talked to want a DragonBall MMO ever since the DragonBall series ended in the 1990’. Video games were not  as technologically advanced as they are today. Now, a DragonBall MMO is possible. I hope that characters are able to take to the skies like in the T.V. series. I also hope there will be an English version of the game for US players to enjoy.

             I have high hopes for DragonBall Online, the game looks good as it is still in beta, once the game is released, it will most likely blow away cartoon graphic free-to-play MMO's of today. The costumization in the game will be huge, as well as exploring the DragonBall world!

Star Trek Online

                  Star Trek Online is a massively multiplayer online role playing game or MMORPG for short. Players are able to create an avatar and then venture around the universe solving problems and fighting against ones enemies.  There are two kinds of personas, space, where you see and control your space ship in actual space. The other persona is when you are on a planet and you can directly control your character. The game features and easy to level system to make sure that no pilot is restricted to one ship for a lengthy amount of time. The articles I have read are about the seasons that STO has. STO is now on season 3, which will bring many positive updates to the game world. The article on season 3 was written by the STO developers.

                 Many people believe that this game is not very unique. Many people criticize it because it was rushed out of production in only one year. Many successful MMO’s usually taken well over three years to develop. EVE is probably the most successful space MMO on the market today. STO is still thriving as a result of the numerous amounts of Star Trek fans. This game will defiantly evolve to become a great arcade style space game.

                I hope that this game will listen to the players more, and I hope that future games from Atari will not be rushed out of production like STO was. The numerous bugs and glitches in the game and severely hurt the player base. I hope that the STO will also keep its players informed about updates and patches.

                Overall this game will be a good game is Atari and the STO works hard and listen to its customers.  The arcade like game play is packed with action and mayhem. The personas also add a little bit of uniqueness to the game also.

http://www.startrekonline.com/splash?redir=frontpage

Battlefield Play4Free

                Battlefield Play4Free is a free to play massively multiplayer online first person shooter or MMOFPS for short. The game is developed by the EA team (the same people who brought you Battlefield: Bad Company 1&2). The game is derived from Battlefield 2 and is going to be a game where people can play a great MMOFPS game for free of charge. The game is still in early beta, so there are still various bugs and glitches. The game play is similar, but less complicated than Battlefield 2. The game features 2 playable factions. With those factions come an array of weapons and vehicles, such as the aek-971 (assault rifle) and the T-90(main battle tank). The game is set to release later this year in EA’s “Play4Free” franchise. The articles are written by the Battlefield Play4Free developers as players are prohibited from speaking about the game outside of the forums. The articles on the website briefly explain what the game will be like. The developers have not released large amounts of information due to"Users Agreement".

                Even though this game is still in beta, it is always growing. The game went from having 9,000 players at one point in time, to 25,000+ players. This game will set the stage for other MMOFPS game as a result of the maps being enormous, as the vast amount of vehicles that players are able to control. The developers at EA are working hard to uplift this game out of beta. Many people are eagerly awaiting their chance to experience this game.

                I am somewhat worried about the number of hackers that will ruin the game. Forum users have already started complaining about the numbers of cheaters and exploiters that are resent in the game. The developers of EA use a security system known as Punkbuster for Battlefield Play4Free. PunkBuster is known to do a bad job with denying hackers of cheating. I hope that in the near future (before the games release) that the developers upgrade to a different, more powerful anti-hacker system. If they do not, this game may be filled with the vile people we call hackers.

http://battlefield.play4free.com/en/

StarCraft II

Starcraft 2 is a massively multiplayer real time strategy (MMORTS/ RTS) developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The game features 3 playable races. The human race is known as the Terran, the high-tech alien race is called the Protoss, and the biological weapon wielding aliens are called the Zerg. It is possible to play the campaign missions with all of the playable races. The game was released in November 2010 and received 2+ million sales in the first week. Starcraft 2 was nominated as the most anticipated game of 2010. The article was written by Ryan Fleming of Digital Threads.

The article explains everything that a beginner needs to know when first playing Starcraft 2. It describes the movement system, the flavor and the uniqueness of the game. Many people have been patiently waiting for the release of Starcraft 2. The article also explains the background history of the Terran and why they fight the other races of the galaxy. I am happy to see that the mineral system (the way of getting “money” is renewed and used again.) The mineral system used in Starcraft 2 is considered the best way to gain money in any RTS game.

I am eagerly awaiting an expansion pack that is coming to the Starcraft 2 franchise. Starcraft 1 had an expansion, so I am predicting that Starcraft 2 will have an expansion as well.  I am also happy that the game is much more balanced than the original Starcraft. I am also surprised to see Starcraft 2. Starcraft 1 was released in 1996. Starcraft 2 came out 14 years later!

Overall, Starcraft 2 is a superb game, and the article shows it. The article states that a vast amount of new units will be seen on the battlefield. I cannot wait to play Starcraft 2 sometime this weekend!

A Company of Heroes!

Company of Heroes is a free online massively multiplayer online real time strategy game (MMORTS). The game is based in the WWII European campaign. As of now, there are two playable factions, the Germans and the United States military. The game has 6 playable classes, 3 for each faction. The class you choose is the class with the play style that best fits the player. There are two game modes, one is objective based and in the other you have to destroy your adversary’s headquarters. The map sizes range from small 1v1 battles to large 4v4 battles. Some 4v4 can last for 4 or more hours. The articles are located on the main website, http://www.companyofheroes.com/ the articles are written by the Company of Heroes team and its developers, THQ and Relic.

The article describes all of the upcoming patches and expansions to Company of Heroes. It also discusses game mechanics and techniques for winning battles. The main website gives individual articles for topics that can be discussed by players on the forums. The forums provide a place where players can discuss issues, and where THQ and Relic can fix the issues. I am very relieved that Company of Heroes costumer support is so good. I also found that each article is important for the games community, it is not just unimportant blabbering. 

I am very happy to see that THQ and Relic have expanded their gaming universe. Before, people would have to purchase Company of Heroes in a store, now; people can play the free version with the full campaign and multiplayer modes. This is a great leap in MMO history as high quality games usually have to be paid for. Now player will be able to play a high quality game, free!

Company of Heroes provides allot of fun for its players, the game does not require high computer specifications and can be accessed by almost anyone. I am hoping that they will add more playable factions as well as new maps in the near future.

ARMED ASSAULT II

Armed Assault 2 is a multiplayer simulator game that was developed by Bohemia Interactive studios. The game features real mechanics to enhance the simulator feel. Armed Assault 2 (or ArmA2 for short) is the world’s leading military simulator game. The game is too advanced for a console game as a result of the many controls that the players can use to achieve their mission. It is possible to use every single button on the key-board. The game takes modern military simulators to extreme measures due to the amount of realism in the game, one of those real life things being real commands, and co-ordinates. The computer controlled players are no fools either, on hardest difficulty, it could be nearly impossible to complete a mission.  The computer controlled players are called AI which means artificial intelligence Arma2 was first released as a standalone package in 2009, but since then 3 expansion packs have been released. The article found on ComputerandVideogames.com gives an in depth looks of the game. The article is written by Craig Pearson. They reveal the uniqueness and realism of this MFPS SIM (multiplayer first person shooter simulator). ComputerandVideogames.com gives the game an 8.3/10

I found it interesting that ComputerandVideogames.com literally gives you a survival guide for ArmA2. It explains how hard this game is. Bullets will kill you in one hit and AI soldiers can spot you as a sniper from 1000+ m. away.  This is a very detailed article on some of the features that are present in Arma2. One would be the extensive squad control system that lets you direct your squad mates. The review is very much unbiased in my opinion; it gives good things and bad about this game.

I am ecstatic to know how this game will continue on, it does not have a high player base but players have the ability to join squads and do missions with them. I have a few experiences of ArmA2 of my own and they are mostly positive.  This game requires skill, careful thinking, and observation. You cannot simply go into a battlefield and start shooting at everything that moves. For example, friendly fire is always on*you could kill your own team-mates) or you could reveal your position to enemy aircraft. This is by far the best military simulator I have ever played. I am looking forward to more great expansions.

Arma2 is a step above other military simulators.  The world map is gigantic with over 50 hours of land, air, and sea.  Bohemia has really done a great job installing real mechanics and life like characters into a computer game.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=217542

Soviet Mi-24's at the Utes Airfield (Armed Assault II)

Arma2 Attack on Utes Airfield