Champions Online is a 3D comic-book-style MMORPG where players create their own unique superheroes and villains. Champions Online has stylish cel-shaded graphics and allows players to do battle against aliens, monsters, evil organizations, and even their fellow superheroes!
Publisher: Arc Games Playerbase: Medium Type: MMORPG Release Date: September 1, 2009 PvP: Arenas / Duels Pros: +Detailed character customization. +Wide variety of powers (Archetypes) to mix and match. +Useful, but optional tutorial. Cons: -Long grind required to acquire certain items. -Many features only available to Gold members (subscribers.) -Awkward controls.
It appears the Grinch has struck Steam on Christmas Day. Valve's popular PC gaming platform has been targeted by a hacking collective known as "SkidNP" who have stated their intention to take the service down, along with the servers for Minecraft.
Reports of the attack surfaced Christmas Day morning and have continued throughout the day. Users are experiencing issues with the Steam Community while others can't even log in. Perhaps the most frightening experience users are having is being logged in as a totally different person. When one reddit user tried purchasing a game, he was able to see the address and other personal information of a total stranger. Luckily the payment information was hidden.
So, I went to go checkout on Steam after selecting a few games and I was taken to the checkout page which gave an error message, but still allowed me to select a payment method. When I went to choose a payment method, it opened the payment information forum like usual.
Except, the information filled in wasn't mine. I was for someone completely different than me that I'd never heard of before. Full name and address. The creditcard, thankfully, was not saved. As a IT security guy, this is some serious shit and could be a sign of a major vulnerability.
Until these issues are fixed, users should avoid trading, gifting, or purchasing items on Steam. Why a group of hackers would target gaming platforms on Christmas Day remains unexplained. We were unable to find an official twitter account or other statement from the group, but interested parties can learn more about the attack as it develops through the #SkidNP twitter feed. Best estimates so far are that the group is using a common form of of disruption known as a 'distributed denial-of-service' or DDoS for short attack. Learn more about being a l33t h4x0r this Christmas on Wikipedia!
Issues users have reported thus far:
Logged in as a random user, with payment info still saved
Steam Community Down
Unable to Connect to Server
Repeated requests to log in
Change in language and country preference settings
Star Wars Galaxies was a 3D sci-fi MMORPG based on the original Star Wars trilogy. The game required a monthly subscription and was renowned for its sandbox gameplay and intricate skill and crafting system.
Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment Type: MMORPG Release Date: June 26, 2003 (NA) Closure Date: December 11, 2011 Pros: +Sandbox gameplay. +Persistent Player Housing +Unique skill based progression. +Many non-combat roles +Great crafting system. Cons: -Steep learning curve. -Major balance issues. -Clunky user interface.
Aura Kingdom is an anime-inspired 3D fantasy MMORPG where players form pacts with powerful spirits called Eidolons. Set in the verdant world of Azuria, Aura Kingdom is a bright, beautiful game that offers plenty of class and skill options.
Publisher: X-Legend Playerbase: Low Type: MMORPG Release Date: January 6, 2014 PvP: Dueling / Arenas (lvl 40+) Pros: +Well designed world and characters. +In-depth Eidolon (pet) system. +Wide variety of classes and subclasses. +Fishing, digging, and other activities to break up the grind. Cons: -Limited number of dungeons. -Linear and repetitive progression. -Excessive number of botters and gold spammers.
New revenue numbers gathered by SuperData reveal the continued growth in mobile gaming. The combined revenues of the top 15 mobile games totaled $3.75 billion USD in the 12 month period between November 28, 2014 and November 27, 2015. That's a 5.5% growth in revenues compared to the same period last year. SuperData reports these numbers with Black Friday of each year as the cutoff date. It should also be noted that these numbers are for the USA and specifically for the iOS (iPhone/iPad) platform only.
After analyzing the chart we can draw several insights from these numbers. The first of which is the meteoric rise of Game of War. The fantasy themed mobile strategy game by Machine Zone amassed $916 million in revenue this year, or about 25% of total mobile gaming revenues! This result represents a stark reversal in fortunes between Game of War's primary rival: Clash of Clans. Supercell's strategy game saw its revenue decline from $869 million in 2014 to $583 million this year. Even with that massive decline, Clash of Clans was still comfortably in the number 2 position.
And that leads us to our final conclusion -- the stickiness of the Top 15 list. 9 games on the list were 2014 incumbents with only 6 managing to fight their way up. Those newcomers were: MARVEL Contest of Champions, Summoners War, Episode -- Choose Your Story, Brave Frontier, GSN Casino, and Mobile Strike. All 6 of the newcomers were concentrated on the bottom half of the list.
A rare newcomer to the Top 15 mobile list
This chart may prove to be a wake up call for studios chasing the mobile gaming market with starry eyed dreams of instant wealth. With so many older games maintaining their top positions and with 40% of revenues going to the top 2 games alone, the mobile market may not be as lucrative or easy to crack for new entrants as previously imaged.
Looking forward, the game to watch this year is Mobile Strike, also by Machine Zone. Mobile Strike is a strategy game but with a modern rather than fantasy setting. The studio has had great success with its marketing campaigns featuring Kate Upton and Mariah Carey. For Mobile Strike, the studio has enlisted action star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Despite launching only last month (November 11, 2015), Mobile Strike managed to crack the Top 15 list. At this rate, Mobile Strike may very well dethrone Game of War in 2016. I'm sure Machine Zone which develops both titles won't mind.
Dota 2 Patch 6.86 also known as The Balance of Power is now live. Valve gave the Dota 2 community an early Christmas gift by launching the latest update to its popular MOBA a day earlier than anticipated. The new update has been highly anticipated by fans since the close of The Summit 4, the final competitive Dota 2 event of the year.
The Balance of Power offers massive changes to the game with the biggest being a new hero -- The Arc Warden. Only one hero, Pit Lord is still missing from the Dota 2 roster. Other major changes in the new patch include:
New Arcana for Zeus - New base model, effects, portrait, and more when equipped.
Desert Terrain unlocked for all owners of The International 2015 Compendium.
Ultra Shadow Quality - A new option to render shadows at twice the previous resolution!
New Desert Map for the Colosseum custom map.
New Rune Type - Arcane runes reduces spell cooldowns and mana costs.
4 New Items - Faerie Fire, Dragon Lance, Aether Lens, and Iron Talon
Map Changes - Slightly altered paths and two new neutral camps to explore.
Hero and Item Tweaks - Almost every hero and dozens of items have been tweaked.
Dota 2 has seen a slight fall in revenues and player numbers since The International 5 as the community grew tired of the current meta and lack of new content. This has led to MapleStory overtaking Dota 2 as the 5th highest grossing F2P MMO for the month of October 2015. With a new patch and a new professional season to follow, player enthusiasm will hopefully pick back pick up. Despite many new entrants in the MOBA field including Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm, Dota 2 remains the second most popular title behind League of Legends.
For a look at all the patch notes and new features in The Balance of Power Update, check out the official post.
Sphere 3: Enchanted World Gameplay First Look HD - MMOs.com
Sphere 3: Enchanted World Gameplay First Look by Omer
Sphere 3: Enchanted World is a free to play fantasy PvP MMORPG developed and published by Nikita Online. It features non-targeted combat similar to action MMORPGs. The game offers thousands of quests, a strong emphasis on PvP, including siege warfare where players attack or defend castles owned by other guilds. There are a variety of races and classes to chose from in Sphere 3: Enchanted World along with a healthy mix of both PvE and PvP content.
Nearly five years since its original release, the North American version of Blade & Soul is finally playable. While slight changes between regional versions of a MMORPG are common, many users have noticed a few controversial changes and cases of downright censorship in the current Closed Beta version of the NA servers.
Reddit user SafeguardKilly has compiled a list of changes and censored content. Many of these changes are minor but some severely alter the story line and visual ascetics of the game. Highlights include:
Censorship Related
The localization team is deleting posts on the forums which criticize their decisions instead of forwarding the posts to CM's/Moderators.
Quests are being altered to remove content they find personally offensive or not "welcoming" enough.
Story/NPC dialogue being altered to turn the player into a strict hero archetype with no moral failings or ambiguity. Villains are now stereotypical cartoon-tier evil.
Lingerie removed and turned into cash shop item. Replaced with regular bra and panties, default poses also changed.
Surnames are being erased by mashing them together with given names (example: Bruce Wayne becomes Brucewayne, Do Chun becomes Dochun)
Localization Related
Memes have been added and in many cases it turns a situation meant to be taken seriously into a comical one.
Story being dumbed down. Removal of foreshadowing is resulting in a confusing/inferior experience.
Game lore is being altered or changed outright because they feel it doesn't make sense.
NPC personalities changed or randomly swapped around with other NPC's for no discernible reason.
Titles are replacing names entirely in some cases.
Some of these changes sound like bugs, others like the lingerie change are no big deal, but as someone who actually enjoys reading the lore and storylines in MMORPGs its a shame that NCsoft has chosen to 'dumb down' the story experience.
For a more complete list of changes and ongoing debate on these issues, check out the original reddit thread and the official Blade & Souls forums. It should be noted that Blade & Soul is still in Closed Beta and many of these issues may yet be resolved.
Twin Saga (also known as Astral Realm / Astral Tale) is a 3D fantasy MMORPG with two warring factions, each worshiping their own goddess deity. Players switch between the game's nine available classes on one character and travel a charming anime-inspired world. Twin Saga has since been renamed 'Astral Tales' and has relaunched on Steam.
Publisher: Aeria Games Playerbase: Medium Type: Anime MMORPG PvP: Duels Release Date: September 1, 2016 (NA/EU) Shut Down Date: April 29, 2021 Relaunch Date: January 7, 2024 (as Astral Tale) Pros: +Class Switching. +Mobile player housing. +Bright, attractive, anime-inspired visuals. +Great translations. Cons: -Grindy gameplay. -Casual focus. -Feels too simple.
Uncharted Waters Online is a 3D trading and exploration MMORPG set during the European Age of Exploration. Choose from six nationalities and chart your own destiny as either a merchant, adventurer, or soldier!
Publisher: PapayaPlay Playerbase: Medium PvP: Naval PvP / Duels / Arenas Type: Nautical MMORPG Release Date: October 1, 2010 (NA Open Beta) Pros: +Unique setting and genre. +Lengthy single player storyline. +Years of content updates. +Dozens of classes and skills. Cons: -Dated game engine and interface. -Steep learning curve. -Tedious tutorial and NPC text. -Slow-paced gameplay.
