Hasta La Gadget!

Sure, you’ve controlled minions and vast armies in the Civilization games, but here’s your chance to actually be one of those underlings — at least if you live in South Korea. Civilization Online, announced late last year, is an in-development MMORPG title set in the Civ universe, and Massively has learned some of its finer details from the folks at XL Games and 2K Games (the companies crafting it in CryEngine 3). At the start, players will join one of four societies, and all will have to work together to expand across the sandbox environment and progress through the ages.

Unlike most MMOs, there will come a time when one civilization achieves certain goals and effectively “wins,” at which point the world will reset. Although combat is a part of the game, societies will also need to research, build and do various other things to become number one, much like the traditional strategy titles. Head to the source link for more info on the specifics, but don’t get too excited — Civilization Online will be launching first in Korea, and there are currently “no plans for a North American release.” Not used to things being out of your control, are you?

Filed under: Gaming, Software

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Via: Destructoid, Massively

Source: Massively, PC Gamer

In case you haven’t already lost enough sleep (and probably a few girlfriends) to the Elder Scrolls Saga, Bethesda is turning the world into a next-gen MMO. The title appears to have many of the same, non-traditional (for an RPG) elements that made titles like Skyrim so successful but brings them to a massively multiplayer world int he vein of WoW. And, if any franchise has the ability to unseat the current king on online RPGs, it’s the Elder Scrolls. There will be a beta period kicking off, starting with the PS4, before the title will officially hit shelves in the Spring of 2014. It’s probably best to start stocking up on Red Bull and Cliff Bars now.

Follow all of our E3 2013 coverage at our event hub.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony

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Gamers familiar with the Ultima video game series have likely heard of its award-winning designer and creator, Richard “Lord British” Garriott. Garriott has launched his latest project, a new fantasy role-playing game called Shroud of the Avatar, and is seeking to fund development via Kickstarter. The game designer and his team want to reinvent the classic role-playing fantasy experience using state-of-the-art tools and technology.

Garriott promises that the game will focus on what made the Ultima series so popular by creating a world which allows the adventurer to explore and discover new places, and focusing on role-playing elements. Players will be able to choose the life of a homesteader within the safety of established villages and cities or on the wild frontier. Interestingly, the developers promise that players won’t be limited to the class of player they selected the beginning of the game.

Players will venture into a persistent shared world where real estate has real value. You’ll even have to pay taxes regularly on the homes you purchase. While you can get in on the digital download of the game for $30(USD), fans that spend enough money will be able to go tax-free, assuming they pledge enough money. The minimum cost for tax-free housing in the game is $500. Insanely, nine people have pledged $10,000 or more to the game already landing themselves Lord of the Manor status.

MMORPGs and other kinds of online games can take over your life, if you’re not careful. Just like most things, there’s something to be said about moderation. In order to save his son from his growing gaming addiction, a father in China decided to take matters into his virtual hands – hiring some online hitmen to go after his son’s character.

Mr. Feng wanted his grown son to spend less time on video games and get a job. The 23-year old is addicted to MMORPGs and RPGs. Mr. Feng decided to hire some online help to frag his son’s player character. The assassins were of higher level than his son, and they would kill his son’s character each time he joined the game. The father is hopeful that his son will eventually be discouraged from playing games as a result of the regular beat-down.

Apparently, it has started to work. The son has stated that he wants take time to find a job that suited him. The game that he’s been playing wasn’t disclosed.

[Sanqing Daily via Kotaku]

Mac gamers are grateful for Blizzard, because it’s one of the few major companies that release Mac versions of their games alongside the more popular Windows version. ArenaNet says better late than never by announcing that they will be releasing a Mac version of their new MMORPG Guild Wars 2. You can even play the beta of said Mac version right now… as long as you buy or already bought the Windows version of the game. Weird, but it’s better than nothing.

So what do we Mac owners have to do to play the beta? Buy the PC version – the only version that’s out now. This will allow you to make a Guild Wars 2 account, which in turn will grant you the privilege of downloading the Mac beta client online. And don’t worry about having to pay twice. Similar to what Blizzard does with their games, your purchase of Guild Wars 2 nets you both the PC and Mac version when the latter finally comes out.

If you think of it as a pre-order that grants you beta access, then it’s not so bad. If you then think harder and wonder why ArenaNet didn’t just have an open or even closed beta for Mac users without requiring a purchase, then it becomes weird again. Head to the Guild Wars 2 website for more details on the announcement.