Marvel Heroes Adds Its First Playable Villain


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Marvel Heroes is poised to add its first playable villain in an upcoming update set to launch alongside the release of Thor: The Dark World. Yes, the next playable character will be Loki himself, god of mischief. Loki’s default outfit will be straight from the film, and his power set is based around illusion, sorcery, and crowd control. According to MMORPG.com’s coverage, players will not be sure if they are fighting Loki during PvP matches or one of his illusions. Loki is also capable of tapping into his Frost Giant lineage, serving as a melee tank.

Ghost Rider is also in the pipeline for release in the future.

RuneScape Bonds Eradicate Gold Farming


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In September, Jagex introduced bonds, an item that players could buy with real money and either trade to other players for gold or redeem for membership, spins, and runecoins. In a press release sent out today, Jagex has revealed that since bonds have been introduced, the amount of illegal gold being injected into the economy has dropped 81% by their own metrics.

“While we anticipated that the launch of Bonds would impact the flow of illegal wealth into the game, we are thrilled the initiative has resulted in such a strong and immediate impact. This action lays the foundations for RuneScape to continue going from strength to strength in its second successful decade!”

RuneScape has historically had a large problem with gold farming and bots, due to the ease of access to the client and grind-focused nature of the game. Bonds are just another step in an ongoing process to rid the game of gold farmers.

(Source: Jagex press release)

Planetside 2 Infographic


 

The Planetside 2 infographic is corny and probably inaccurate. I wouldn’t know, I’m too busy going through my formal attire.

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MMOrning Shots: Wizard ’08


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Today’s MMOrning Shot comes to us from KingsIsle, circa 2008, sent out almost five months before the game launched, alongside the following tagline.

More than three years in secret development, KingsIsle has designed Wizard101 as top quality entertainment in an online environment that is safe for families. It is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2008 and is not yet rated.

MMOrning Shots: Wizard '08


Ghoul_MMPR (1)

Today’s MMOrning Shot comes to us from KingsIsle, circa 2008, sent out almost five months before the game launched, alongside the following tagline.

More than three years in secret development, KingsIsle has designed Wizard101 as top quality entertainment in an online environment that is safe for families. It is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2008 and is not yet rated.

Video of the ___: The Xbox Fun


Xbox One? After this commercial, they should call it Xbox Fun. Wait, I already made that joke in the header. This is why you shouldn’t update your website via typewriter, no backspace key.

Mechanist Games Will Compensate Players


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As plenty of you already know, City of Steam’s English servers under R2 Games are shutting down November 21st. In a press release by Mechanist Games sent out today, the developer has revealed plans to compensate backers and restore the faith of their community. While not all of the details are final, when City of Steam: Arkadia launches in November, supporters will find their Electrum restored.

We will recharge all original supporter accounts their total Electrum’s worth on the new Mechanist servers. We want to restore faith in our players, especially those early adopters who believed in us.

Unfortunately, characters created on R2’s servers will not be brought over to Arkadia, however accounts will be compensated based on how far they managed to get in the original game.

Mechanist will be opening new servers, not continuing R2’s servers. But to honor the loyalty of returning players, compensation will be given on these new servers based on the specs of their old characters. We have a strong desire to give everyone the fresh new start this game deserves, but we also really want to thank the loyal players who stuck with City of Steam and welcome them home, whether they spent Electrum or not.

Gamers in City of Steam’s other territories will be happy to know that their service will be mostly uninterrupted. Foreign language versions of City of Steam will also be upgraded to Arkadia, but will continue to enjoy their current publisher.

Those game versions are not affected by the English version’s publishing handover. They can continue playing now, and enjoy the improvements that come along with City of Steam: Arkadia when it is ready. And just like any other version upgrade, all the non-English language versions will also receive it.

(Source: City of Steam)

Rift Shutting Down In Russia


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Rift is shutting down in yet another region, and much like the Chinese version before it, the blame seems to lie in Trion Worlds not supporting localization. As posted on the official website, Belver announced that the servers would shut down October 25th, noting that the reason stems from Trion Worlds refusing to support the localized version. As compensation, Belver is offering bonuses in several of their other games.

 

Everyone who wants to join the players of our other online projects, the prizes and bonuses. After creating the new characters in Black Fire, Runes of Magic Audition 2 or just email our technical support at support.belver.ru login and enter the game that you played in the Rift and the new character in another of our game – after bonuses will be credited to you within 5 working days.

Chinese developer Shanda Games also laid the blame squarely on Trion World’s shoulders, noting very poor international relations from the developer and ignoring requests to localize content. Rift in China shut down just six months after is launch, while the service in Russia began in December 2011.

(Source: Official website)

MMOrning Shots: Mad Hatting


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That hat is ridiculous, and I must have it. Today’s MMOrning Shot comes to us from Red 5 Studios and their open world shooter Firefall. There isn’t anything particularly spooky or scary about Firefall’s Halloween event, but there are skeletons. Kind of. Did you know that Firefall is valued at $100 million? Check out the open beta at http://www.firefallthegame.com/

Whatever Happened To: Hello Kitty Online


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Considering the recent library of kid-friendly MMOs shutting down, I decided to check in our friends at Sanrio Town and see how Hello Kitty Online was doing after all these years. We don’t talk about games like Hello Kitty Online much here at MMO Fallout, except to point to the company’s knack for charity work, and it’s been a good year or so since we last checked in with our feline friend. Unfortunately, while the lights are still on, it appears that no one is home. The servers are online, however the game has not received any new content since March 2012. To top it off, Google went berzerk as I tried to enter the forums, warning that the domain had been flagged for containing malware.

According to a few members of the forum, concurrent population is in the single digits assuming it doesn’t drop down to zero at times. It looks like Hello Kitty Online is essentially over and done with.