FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS: Bethesda have unveiled a first-look trailer for FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS. We get some lovely CG and a repeat performance of Ron Perlman’s deep VO. No actual gameplay as of yet - but still exciting. The game is set for Fall 2010 and Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, and Games for Windows users are in luck. View it.

“Experience all the sights and sounds of fabulous New Vegas, brought to you by Vault-Tec, America’s First Choice in Post Nuclear Simulation. Explore the treacherous wastes of the Great Southwest from the safety and comfort of your very own vault: Meet new people, confront terrifying creatures, and arm yourself with the latest high-tech weaponry as you make a name for yourself on a thrilling new journey across the Mojave wasteland. A word of warning, however - while Vault-Tec engineers have prepared for every contingency,* in Vegas, fortunes can change in an instant. Enjoy your stay.

* Should not be construed as a legally-binding claim.”

Fallout | No Comments »

Much has happened and much is threatening to happen in the world of persistent gaming of late. Let’s take a quick look at some MMO stories in the news.

Red 5 Studios have laid off workers and restructured. As a result, we may never see (here in the US at least) what the company has been working on in secret for FIVE YEARS! Kind of ironic. Red 5 at 5 years old basically cancels their game for North America. I’m disappointed. I’ve been paying attention for half a decade. Although it’s hard to feel too beat up when I never actually knew what it was I was looking forward to.

WONDERKING ONLINE, a free-to-play fantasy title from Ndoors, has launched this week.

GLOBAL AGENDA and STAR TREK ONLINE open for service in a few days. Early adopters are already busy leveling up.

Blizzard has revealed Season 8 Arena armor for WORLD OF WARCRAFT.

and BATTLEFIELD HEROES has added Vampires and Werewolves (watch below).

In non-MMO news; the fantastic MASS EFFECT 2 has already sold 2 million copies in the few days it’s been available and RED DEAD REDEMPTION has another must-watch trailer online. Have a great weekend!

Battlefield Heroes, Global Agenda, Mass Effect, Red Dead Redemption, Star Trek Online, Wonderking, World of WarCraft, gamebunny | No Comments »

DRAGONICA ONLINE: Here’s the latest DRAGONICA ONLINE vid from THQICE. This looker shows off a new end-game dungeon known as Van Cliff Mansion. Maybe they should have called it “Van Pelt” Mansion and players would have to fight bosses Linus and Lucy. Hmmm, might be a copyright problem there I suppose.

“Dragonica Online’s newest end-game dungeon invites brave heroes of the Dragon Fellowship who have reached level 60 and above to venture past the iron gate and explore the very bowels of the labyrinthine mansion. Fight terrifying monsters and your own mounting fear as you face off against the forbidding GateKeeper, the menacing Rahnoff the Werewolf, and Count Van Cliff himself.”

Dragonica | No Comments »

As I searched around the intranetz and through my promo emails today looking for something, ANYTHING, of interest to report on - a few “Deep” thoughts occurred to me.

1. APB (ALL POINTS BULLETIN) claims a release date of “March, 2010″. It is now nearing the end of January, 2010. We are conceivably six weeks away from the launch of the game. So far, there is no news of an Open Beta, Collector’s Edition box or of Pre-Oder bonuses, etc. We normally see info of this type when close to a game’s supposed release date. Any day now we should hear important news from Realtime Worlds regarding the APB release or latest launch delay.

2. The following MMOs are still under development and presumably heading for eventual release, despite having been in production for 5 to 10 years; ADELLION, ATRIARCH, GOON WORLD and HERO’S JOURNEY. Guys, please. Can you just cancel or release something already? I’m tired of caring. Especially you, HERO’S JOURNEY. Don’t tease me like that…anymore…for six years.

3. There are no known MMOs, available or in development, based on these potentially lucrative IPs; Harry Potter, Warner Bros. cartoons, POKEMON, GRAND THEFT AUTO.

That’s enough Deep Thoughts for one day. My brain hurts.

“APB Beta FAQ: Yes, there is a beta…We’re starting small but we’ll be adding more people to the program as time goes on. If you’re not selected at the start of the program, don’t despair, we’ll keep your details and we’ll invite much bigger numbers into our beta as we approach release.”

APB, Adellion, Atriarch, Goon World, Hero's Journey, gamebunny | No Comments »

MASS EFFECT 2: OK, so we’ve been inundated by MASS EFFECT 2 vids over the past few months, but this here baby is the official “Launch” trailer. Zap the clicker below for all the dramatic action. I’ll be picking up my copy of ME2 on Tuesday. How about you?

“This is the launch trailer for Mass Effect 2. Watch Commander Shepard, Tali, Garrus, Grunt, Thane, Miranda, Jacob and the rest of your squad get ready to try to survive against the Collectors with the fate of humanity in the galaxy at stake!”

Mass Effect | No Comments »

A long-rumored ELDER SCROLLS MMO has been somewhat confirmed by clever video game journalists. Court records related to Bethesda versus Interplay have revealed a “World of Warcraft type MMO” and VG247 and Duck and Cover have provided “details”. (source: blues)

If rumors are to be believed, ZeniMax Media, Bethesda’s parent company, have been working on an ELDER SCROLLS MMO since “late 2006″, have spent “tens and tens of millions of dollars” and have nearly 100 devs slaving away on the project. This could be good. Investigate the links above for more!

“D&C Quote: At this point, we know that Zenimax Media, Bethesda’s parent company, opened up an MMO division headed by Dark Age of Camelot’s Matt Firor and have been working on an unannounced game. What we didn’t know was that Bethesda let slip some information in the court case against Interplay, and now they have filed to redact those statements so their competitors can’t find out about it.”

Elder Scrolls | No Comments »

GLOBAL AGENDA: Hi-Rez Studios have produced an official launch trailer for GLOBAL AGENDA. GA is set to arrive February 1st and has quite a good buzz surrounding it. I played a bit back at E3 and it seemed polished and fun. Might be one to investigate. At the very least - click away below.

“Hi-Rez Studios is the largest independent video game development studio in Georgia. Established in 2005 with the mission to create exceptional online interactive entertainment, Hi-Rez’s first project and debut title is Global Agenda, a fast-paced, action-oriented massive multiplayer online game set in the Earth’s near future — a spy-fi world of technology and player-driven conflict.”

Global Agenda | No Comments »

CITIES XL: Monte Cristo Multimedia’s persistent burg-building game, CITIES XL has been added to the gamebunny World List.

And now - a selection of arbitrary song lyrics about cities; “In the city there’s a thousand things I wanna say to you.” “Rock, rock…Clash City Rockers!”, and “Intoxicated by a quarter to ten. Lost and naked in the city again.” Thank you, goodnight.

“The game’s optional online features and services will let gamers create interconnected cities on virtual and persistent planets. By combining a fantastic single-player game with the social and multiplayer aspects of an MMO, CITIES XL™ will shape the future of the genre by offering more variety, bigger cities and multiple gameplay layers.”

Cities XL, gamebunny | No Comments »

LEGO UNIVERSE: We haven’t checked in with the blocky goodness of NetDevil’s LEGO UNIVERSE in quite a while and we rectify that today.

Below we have a handful of new screenshots (which made their media debut at CES) and after you soak those up, you can hop over to the official LEGO UNIVERSE web site. The site is now fully-featured and bulging with images and details. All they need to do now is actually release the thing. Maybe that will happen one day. Beta sign-ups and hands-on demos at CES bode well.

“The first MMOG – massively-multiplayer online game – based on the LEGO play experience, LEGO Universe will launch on the PC during the second half of 2010…Developed by The LEGO Group and NetDevil, LEGO Universe is a family-friendly online game, appropriate for players aged eight and above. The LEGO brick lies at the center of the experience, and several levels of building are available, from simple gameplay-oriented challenges all the way up to sophisticated brick-by-brick building.”

LEGO Universe | No Comments »

CALL OF DUTY/HALO: Rumors are hotting up once again that MMOs set in the CALL OF DUTY and HALO universes are under development.

Although we must take all rumors with a hearty pinch or three of salt - I’m going to put my bottom on the line and say I believe we will indeed see both of these IPs as massively multiplayer titles in the near future. It’s not really a big stretch is it? Both CALL OF DUTY and HALO have proven themselves to be major money makers time and time again. Adding a monthly fee for fans is a no-brainer for Activision and Microsoft.

Curiously, we already learned that Ensemble were developing a now-canceled Halo MMO as far back as 2006. That one could have been interesting.

Hit IncGamers, Destructoid and Blues for more.

“Destructoid CoD Quote: We’ve gotten word that IW is hiring people from Sony Online Entertainment, one of which may be the lead designer of EverQuest II, and that a member of Blizzard employees may also be involved to help Infinity Ward get this new title off the ground. Our Intel seems to indicate that Call of Duty will continue as an annual franchise while IW runs this MMO alongside it.”

Call of Duty, Halo | No Comments »

2029 ONLINE: IGG’s (I Got Game) new Sci Fi RTS MMO, 2029 ONLINE has been added to the gamebunny World List.

This one is a recent addition to IGG’s slate of Free-to-Play titles and appears to be a translated Asian import with older graphics. Will the world really be this futuristic in 19 years? Hey, who knows. That’s why they call it Science “Fiction”, right? The game is free! Investigate.

“As you progress in the game, you can easily develop your skills and gain a reputation as a raider of unique skill. If you hit a high level, you can run feral raids to solidify your heroic reputation, but remember, this MMO is not just about killing, but about fame and faith.”

2029 Online | No Comments »

STAR TREK ONLINE: Cryptic’s STAR TREK ONLINE is fast approaching its February release date and the new “Exploration” trailer below may help to tide you over until then. Hit the clicker for hot ‘n’ heavy Trek action.

“Blue’s News Quote: A new Star Trek Online trailer highlights exploration in Cryptic’s upcoming Trekkie MMORPG, which apparently consists of the brief interludes of ship and ground-based travel before the phasers come out and everyone starts blasting everything to Ceti Alpha Five and back (which is also portrayed in the clip).”

Star Trek Online | No Comments »

ADVENTUREQUEST WORLDS: Artix Entertainment’s web-based MMO, ADVENTUREQUEST WORLDS has been added to the gamebunny World List.

Hop on over for the lowdown on this free-to-play fantasy game. This ‘Quest might just be the most Adventurous in the World. Only one way to find out, I suppose.

“AQWorlds is a 100% browser based game with real time combat, original art, and an entire world to explore. Battle monsters and obtain weapons, armor, pets and items.”

AdventureQuest Worlds | No Comments »

Hi kids! Grab a viewing of this well-made Star Wars meets A-Team mash-up video (source: extra-life).

If you’ve ever wondered what Star Wars would look like as a cheesy, episodic TV series in the late 70s/early 80s - wonder no longer. Nice editing job, kalleanka71 of Sweden!

gamebunny | No Comments »

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: Respected game industry news site Gamasutra.com has published a list of their ‘Top 12 Games of the Decade‘.

The big winner? Blizzard’s MMO game changer, WORLD OF WARCRAFT. Not a surprise really, but I’m pleased to see it sitting at the top of the heap. I’m also in agreement with GRAND THEFT AUTO III, MASS EFFECT and HALF-LIFE 2 charting. Check the full article for the dirty dozen.

“Matt Allmer (on WoW): As developers, we envy those who are a part of it. As gamers, we are fully engaged in its addictive gameplay. As critics, we marvel at its level of polish, game progression and design aesthetics. As industry experts we still monitor its shelf life and ever-growing list of achievements.”

World of WarCraft | No Comments »