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Allakhazam E3 2006 Best of Show AwardMay 22nd, 2006 at 1:27 PM by Draknorr

E3 2006 was a ton of fun - and for fans of Persistant Worlds it was the best, with over 50 different titles being shown. It's really hard to narrow it down and say what game you thought was the best, but the staff of Allakhazam and OGaming has done so.






Best of Show - Gods & Heroes
Developer: Perpetual Entertainment
Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment
ETA: Q4 2006

E3 2006 presented us with an intriguing glimpse into the future of the MMO genre. Funcom teased us with a stellar demonstration of Age of Conan's cutting edge graphics engine and a unique approach to combat. Flying Labs and Disney both struck original cords with their respective Pirate MMOs. Blizzard reminded us why World of WarCraft has been such a phenomenal success with a great showing of their upcoming first expansion pack for the mega-hit. However, one persistent world stood out of the rest this year and captured our imaginations in terms of development progress and innovation.

We're pleased to announce that this year's Best of Show award goes to Perpetual Entertainment for their showing of Gods and Heroes.

Perpetual's original vision of ancient Rome splices mythological lore with history. Gods and Heroes hones in on several compelling game elements - such as a very refined squad-based combat system, evolving game plot lines and the influence of patron gods and goddesses on characters. Along with a very polished build of the client, we're absolutely convinced that this title will be one of the heavy contenders in the upcoming months.

Check out our E3 coverage of Gods and Heroes:

Video - Gods and Heroes, Pt. 1
http://www.allakhazam.com/e3/news/sdetail7357.html?story=7357

Video - Gods and Heroes, Pt. 2
http://www.allakhazam.com/e3/news/sdetail7375.html?story=7375

First Look - Gods and Heroes
http://www.allakhazam.com/e3/news/sdetail7343.html?story=7343
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Video Montage - E3 VicariouslyMay 18th, 2006 at 4:28 PM by ElFenix

Just because you didn't get to go to E3 2006 this year doesn't mean you have to miss it. Our very own Jim "Kudane" Garner put together a video montage to give you a first-hand look at the wonderment and craziness that is the Electronics Entertainment Expo.
In this montage, experience the sights and sounds of a spectacularly impressive show that has been growing every year. As thousands of enthusiasts file in and out of the exhibition hall, get an idea at just how immense this exposition actually is. Countless hands-on demos, awe-inspiring booths, and, of course, scantily clad E3 Babes are the norm, never failing to keep video game fans coming back for more.
Montage: E3 Vicariously
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E3 Video - Gods and Heroes Part IIMay 18th, 2006 at 2:43 PM by ElFenix

In this second part of our E3 Perpetual Entertainment video demo preview, company head Chris McKibbin showed us a hands on demonstration of this highly awaited journey into mythology.
In Part Two we venture with a Roman gladiator into an intrepid battle with a Strix Hatemonger, one of many mythological characters who will challenges you while you attempt to achieve your quest. As we see, in the immersive world of Gods & Heroes, the ability to evoke the power of the gods is based on a player's favor with them, which can increase or diminish depending on your choices. To survive, you must make the right ones as this Deus ex Machina power will be integral as you take on Chimeras, Medusa, and their minion of guards.
Perpetual's Gods and Heroes
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E3 Video - Pirates of the Burning SeaMay 17th, 2006 at 12:07 PM by ElFenix

At E3, we had the opportunity to get a hands-on demo from the creators of Pirates of the Burning Sea, producer John Scott Tynes and designer Kevin Maginn. This soon to be launched MMORPG, which is now in Beta, is set in the amongst the cutthroat world of Caribbean pirates.
In this clip, which includes actual music from the game's soundtrack, we see how each player gets to captain their own ship to tactically defeat their opponents in the high seas of the Spanish Main. But be careful of which choices you make and whom you choose to do business. With every benefit comes a drawback, which is one of the challenges of this game. Larger juggernauts with immense fire power can be difficult to maneuver. And your good friend, the buccaneer you completed a quest for today, may be your bitterest enemy tomorrow. But, this is the excitement of Pirates of the Burning Sea, an MMO whose open and persistent world's destiny is forged by the participants in the game.
Pirates of the Burning Sea
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Gods and Heroes Video First LookMay 12th, 2006 at 1:03 PM by ElFenix

Perpetual Entertainment, collaborating with SOE, showed off the latest iteration of their impressive histroically-based MMO Gods and Heroes. We shot a one-on-one video preview with Perpetual's co-founder and president Chris McKibbin and lead game designer Stieg Hedlund.
Gods and Heroes absorbs players into the mythical and historical world of ancient Rome during the years of the Republic. Players begin by selecting to be the son or daughter of a traditional Roman god and then have the opportunity to use their respective deity's divine powers. Everyone was impressed by the fluid animation of the squad-based combat and overall attention to detail.
Perpetual's Gods and Heroes
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Lord of the Rings Online - Exclusive Video PreviewMay 12th, 2006 at 12:39 PM by ElFenix

Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar made a big splash at this year's E3 and we have the video to prove it. Our reporting team met with the game's executive producer Jeffrey Steefel and discussed what this highly anticipated MMO has in store.
Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is the MMO officially based on J.R.R. Tolkien epic masterpiece. In this upcoming online adventure, players have the opportunity to actually interact with characters, take part in the war of the ring, and choose a persona from up to 7 classes.
Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
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Up close and personal with EQIIMay 12th, 2006 at 11:50 AM by ElFenix

As our whirlwind journey through E3 continued, we had the opportunity to visit Sony Online Entertainment's booth. Every year SOE puts on a spectacular show at E3 and this year was no exception. As is tradition, the booth was lined with several demo computers so event goers could try out games while SOE developers interacted among fans. Of course the immediate entrance to the booth was a special area where beautiful models costumed as EverQuest heroines pose with eager fans.
At the heart of the booth was a special VIP area where we had the privilege of getting up close and personal with SOE's flagship title EverQuest 2. We started out by talking with Ryan Shwayder and viewing a video of the next EQ2 expansion, Echoes of Faydwer. While details are slim as of now, the expansion looks to bring EverQuest 2 back to its classic roots. The biggest feature is the addition of the Fay race, small fairy-like creatures. In addition to the Fae race players will be able to adventure through over 20 zones with 40 new creature types that range from level 1-70. Also included in Echoes of Fader are the much-requested cloaks, armor sets, an increase for the maximum guild level, tinkering, and an expanded achievement system. Unfortunately the expansion was not being shown as playable, but we were assured it would be released in November of 2006.
Next we turned our attention turned to Erik Theisz, Associate Producer for EverQuest 2. Erik Theisz, who showed us "The Fallen Dynasty, EverQuest 2's next adventure pack. Fallen Dynasty was created with the Taiwan Studio, and it shows. The Asian influence is prevalent throughout the entire expansion, not only in the architecture but also the weapons. The upcoming adventure pack adds 3 huge zones, and at least one is outdoors. The level range, 55-70, should satisfy the higher end of players. The first zone we saw, Mystic Lake, was an extremely beautiful aboveground zone targeted to levels 60-70. The size was comparable to Antonica, and the look was also similar. One of the more unique things here was the Pig Race. What looked like a bunch of drunken party coding was actually a fun mini-game that anyone can play - simply pick a pig out of about 8, and see which one comes out first.
The next zone we saw was Nizara, City of the Nayad. This underground dungeon was filled with waterfalls and huge, arching land bridges. The dungeon is the home of the Nayad, "Large Snake Ladies, a mystical and magical race, that doesn't get along with many people, even though they look like booth babes. We also saw a few other things such as the new weapons that are unique to each class, and all have impressive graphics. Fallen Dynasty will be released June 13th, and carry a $7.99 price tag - no preview will be given for this Adventure Pack due to the non-instanced overland nature.
Overall EQ2 looks to be heading in the right direction and we appreciate SOE taking the time out of their busy schedule to give us the lowdown. Be sure to check out our video interview and our EQ2 site, known for the best databases in EQ2!

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SOE's Launchpad: An Exclusive Overview - VideoMay 12th, 2006 at 11:44 AM by ElFenix

In this video, we had a private audience with Sony Online Entertainment's Creative Director Nathan Pearce.
SOE's Launchpad contains features that make online gameplay more convenient than many of the other options out there. Users will have lots of choices in which to streamline their internet gaming experience such as a readily accessible inventory of the titles you play, the ability to purchase other SOE products, and the capability of receiving news updates, instant messages, character info, and more.
Sony Online Entertainment's Launchpad
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Everquest II: Echoes of Faydwer Preview Redux - VideoMay 11th, 2006 at 5:04 PM by ElFenix

At E3 this Thursday, we chatted again with Ryan Shwayder, community relations manager for SOE, about the next Everquest II expansion, Echoes of Faydwer. In this video exclusive, we get a detailed description of what this new adventure has in store.
Everquest II: Echoes of Faydwer has been much touted for its introduction of a new race, and has been designed to accommodate players from Level 1 all the way up to Level 70. Players will begin in an entirely new city and includes hundreds of new quests, 40 new creature types, armor bonuses for collecting full sets, and a new secondary trade skill, tinkering.
Everquest II: Echoes of Faydwer
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E3 by way of Lord of the Rings OnlineMay 11th, 2006 at 4:31 PM by ElFenix

It's another hazy day in Los Angeles. The L.A. Convention Center looms into view from behind dusty brick buildings standing sentry-like in the middle of down-town; the white of the Convention Center Complex in dull contrast to the ashen skies. In fact, we may as well be in Centralia, Pennsylvania there is so much low-hanging grey. But who's concerned about the weather when we are on our way to E3 2006? Today's quest will take us indoors into a public dungeon, and its definitely going to be a long day.
After the NPC parking attendant takes my lunch money I park my car and make way through the underground parking garage towards the lobby area following signs with arrows each spaced not less than four feet apart - in a strait line. I wonder if they are expecting a mob of near-sited teens with short attention-spans today. Someone should have told them that they would be getting a mob of near-sited adults with A.D.D. instead. My quest markers lead me to my second NPC of the day: The Bag Checker. This light-security NPC gives me a few choice directions and lets me continue on in search of my goal. I pass through the checkpoint, follow a ramp up and to the left, and behold! I have made it to the Golden Gates of E3. The thrum of moving people and escalators and automatic doors give way to amplified speakers beckoning us to come closer to magnificent displays of the near-future in electronic entertainment. There are video screens and gaming banners as large as my automobile to the left and to the right advertising the latest in gaming development. The air is thick with the sounds of video game demos both interactive and cinematic; and this is only the foyer. Ahead lay my next goal in this quest: the West Hall. But before I can gain entry I have to do a side quest to obtain my E3 Early Access Media pass. With this pass I will be able to enter at 9 am rather than 11 am thus avoiding long lines and crowds. After a successful negotiation with the E3 Media Pass Administrator-NPC I have completed my side quest and will now continue on to the West Hall. A high-level NPC Security Guard monitors the door closely, but I am allowed in due to having obtained my E3 Early Access Media pass. Now the real adventure begins� The main dungeon in the L.A. Convention Center quest, also known as West Hall, is alive with ambient sound and glowing walls. Now I see display screens that are two stories high and twice as loud. This area can be described in two words: sensory overload. In the West Hall there is Nintendo, Turbine, Bethesda, Wizards of the Coast, Temco, UK Pavilion - the list goes on. The elephant in the room is of course Sony to whom a massive portion of West Hall is dedicated. Playstation 3 is large on everyone's' quest list today, as well as Nintendo's Wii (Formerly known as the Revolution). Lines of people will stretch like Nordic wyrms in legendary proportions for these two products alone.
I continue on in search of the main goal of this quest which is to be found in the Turbine, Inc. exhibition booth. I have a mini-boss to face at the end of today's quest by the name of Nik Davison, Lead Game System Designer. Turbine's booth sure isn't hard find with a 25-foot Gandalf overlooking the show floor on one side, and a 10-foot picture of the Witch-king of Angmar on the other. It is here that the quest will finally lead me; it is here that my mettle will finally be tested. The Turbine exhibition booth looks great. Swarms of gamers, fans, media and observers move to and fro through the immediate area all a-buzz with the new Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) based on J.R.R. Tolkien's opus. The game is entitled: "The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar" (LOTRO: SoA). The Turbine people are welcoming and seem to be very organized. Questions from passers-by are fielded and deftly answered by a pair of developers each operating their own demo versions of LOTRO: SoA while just behind and to the side is a bank of playable demos where the game itself can be experienced first-hand by E3 attendees. This playable demo involves a group of four players and takes place upon an orc-infested path to a point of interest called "Weathertop" (You may remember this name from the movie). If anyone makes it to the top alive within the time limit a "golden ticket" to beta is earned for all members of the team. Let me tell you that this is no ordinary hack'n'slash MMORPG. Team work is vital for survival as mob AI has achieved new levels of intelligence. It is no longer feasible to simply "pull and isolate" to kill enemies individually. Now they are going to bring friends with a shout, or perhaps turn and run to a strengthened position. I even saw one orc engage me in melee, then just before his health got too low he turned and ran to a large bell that when rung brought reinforcements! And if you think you can ignore archers and leave them for last, think again. Archers are the hardest hitting in the game according to current information, and the old techniques are no longer applicable. In short, the demo was a blast! Game-play was fun and immersive from the first moment. This is a mature game, well crafted and well-designed. LOTRO: SoA is a perfect fit for both hard-core gamers and hard-core fans of the literary works. An enormous amount of developer attention is devoted to lore-compliance. I overheard one developer mention that the attention given to lore is one of the largest and most laborious aspects of the development process for LOTRO: SoA. And mention must be made of the absolutely beautiful artistic design of the game itself. You will be stunned at the beautiful, hand-crafted skies and valleys. Trees and grassy areas are placed with care. Even now, though the shipping-world is mapped out and landscaped, the art department is still going through everything and double-checking according to Harry Teasley, Lead Production Artist.
Facing the mini-boss, Nik Davidson, was a pleasure indeed. As Nik took us on a tour of LOTRO: SoA he explained that his department is responsible for much of "the mechanics, the behind the scenes, the monster behaviors, character classes, skills... if there's numbers and data involved its pretty much us." He went on to say that they are but part of a larger team that is putting together LOTRO: SoA. Turbine, Inc. is one of the largest independently owned massively multiplayer game-studios, and Lord of the Rings Online is "the only online role-playing game that is based on the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien. What that means is that whereas the movies and even previous games based on Tolkien's work took you on a very narrow path through the story, following the books in this way allows us to open up the rest of the story." In effect, the player is allowed to "live and breath" the world of Middle-earth in a fuller context and is allowed to adventure on their own where-ever they wish, experiencing events and taking in scenes previously only found in the books while simultaneously witnessing the effects of more familiar events. Nik then proceeded to take us on a journey through the Old Forest, an ancient, maze-like forest of mystery and wonder -- not to mention that it is infested with "intelligent" spiders rumored to be the evil spawn of Shelob. "All of these details," continues Nik, "are re-created from Tolkien's Middle-earth. We've been in the business of making [MMORPGs] for about 11 years now and it would be easy enough to make a game-world and plop Tolkien on top of it. In order to do this right you really have to set out from the beginning to re-create Tolkien's Middle-earth. And that's what we've done." And from what I have seen Turbine is doing an outstanding job. Just wait until you see this game for yourself. Not only are the in-game graphics some of the best I've witnessed but the scenery has been designed with such care that the "Tolkien-feel" is virtually uncompromised.
Next we went to The Shire and had a look around. Standing in the sunny afternoon of The Shire, the starting area for Hobbits by the way, Nik explained the class-system to us and provided a few details about how each class will interact with the others. Grouping is encouraged but not forced; but after that playable demo I am looking forward to grouping with others, let me tell you. Two of the classes that piqued my interest are the Lore-master class and the Minstrel class due to the fact that these classes represent the closest thing to "magic-classes" that will be in LOTRO. Nik explains: "Magic in the world of Tolkien is very important and very specific in its use. Tolkien was very clear that if mortal races use magic it can have a corrupting influence. At the same time there are a lot of things in Tolkien's world that have magical properties: "song" is very powerful, "names" are powerful. The Minstrel as a master of songs is able to create magical effects with the power of his music. The Lore-master is a special case as well. He does get to use a little bit of magic using existing elements." So rather than "creating" a ball of fire to throw at an enemy "the Lore-master would use flaming oil and use his knowledge to amplify the effects". "Whatever we do with magic stays very consistent with Tolkien's work." Nik then reminds us that there are only five wizards that have been mentioned in Middle-earth, and no we don't get to play them.
While talking about some of the details of crafting available to players in LOTRO, Nik took us over to see Tom Bombadil's house. For those of you that care to know: yes, he does dance and frolic about. And Goldberry herself is a site to behold as well. Bombadil takes us on a quest through the Great Barrow, which as you may know did not make it into the movie. But here again much attention is paid to lore and Bombadil is represented faithfully according to Tolkien's work -- all the way down to the yellow boots. "Basically we are set during the first book. Frodo has left The Shire; The Fellowship has not yet assembled. There's a lot that we know about this time-period and a lot that isn't made explicitly clear. The individual members of what will be The Fellowship are still out having adventures at this point on their own -- characters that will probably be encountered in the world as you travel, and this gives us free reign to explore a lot of the story that wasn't explicitly told but that was definitely implied. There is a larger context in the [events surrounding] The War of the Ring going on. Everyone knows about what happened to The Fellowship, but it is made very clear that much went on behind the scenes in order to allow The Fellowship to accomplish their goal. And the players get to be a very real part of that [behind-the-scenes work]. They get to take part as meaningful heroes in Tolkien's world to make sure that The Fellowship is safe."
We are at the end of the demo now, and what a ride it has been. Nik is due for a much-needed break and concludes the Q&A with a little more info on the current state of racial modifiers in the crafting system, which is still as of yet to be finally determined. Afterward Nik shakes our hand in parting; today's quest is complete. "It's been an absolute pleasure working on this game because we have all grown up with Tolkien. LOTRO is very much a landscape-game; it's a game about exploration and an individual character's travels through the world of Middle-earth." I can hardly wait. -- Charles "kinudig" Kindig
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