Funcom: Going Casual


Sweet Robot, er, tiger?

With Funcom working on an expansion to Age of Conan, as well as the upcoming The Secret World, and the engine change to Anarchy Online, I admit I was both surprised and concerned when the announcement came that Funcom’s new division, Sweet Robot, would be working on a kid’s MMO: PetsVs Monsters. After playing Pets Vs Monsters: The Beta, the concern has relegated itself to my lower intestinal track.

But who knew? The same company that brought us layoffs and greatly lowered revenue is also bringing us more casual titles! Granted, this is nothing new. Back in a time when Ritual Entertainment made great first person shooters, they were gobbled up by Mumbojumbo and are now creating casual titles. Funcom announced that they have even more casual kid MMOs planned for the future, with Pets Vs Monsters in open beta currently.

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Fallen Earth: Take A Note, NCsoft.


If Funcom's money was gold-backed...
Fallen Earth will take you to the bank.

What is the difference between Fallen Earth and Aion? Ok, sure, there’s the wings, the combat, the currency, the crafting system, the point of view, the lore, the engine, and pretty much everything else. But what is really different about Fallen Earth? Given up? Fallen Earth doesn’t have the same problem with gold farmers that Aion does.

But how does Fallen Earth do it, you may say? In a recent interview with Massively.com, Project Manager Colin Dwan had these points to make, which he did after this break.

Continue reading “Fallen Earth: Take A Note, NCsoft.”

World of Warcraft: Misses You, China


Minister of Culture, at your service.

Hello, China! Enjoying your World of Warcraft? Between the switch from operators (The9 to Netease), subsequent banning, delay of The Burning Crusade expansion (yes, I said Burning Crusade), reopening under a test phase (no new registrations), and subsequent rebanning, it is unlikely anyone in China did much enjoying of World of Warcraft. China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has required that Blizzard and Netease change some content in the game, not specifying what. Certain content already altered in WoW China includes piles of bones being changed to piles of sacks, and the undead showing less bone and more skin. Players do not leave corpses, but leave behind gravestones. Players and monsters also spew green and black blood.

More after the break…

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Dungeon Runners: What Happened


“Dungeon Runners just isn’t cutting the mustard. If she were a ship, she’d be taking on water. Yeah, she’s been taking on water for a long time now. Are my cryptic references too hard to decipher? The game just isn’t profitable. And, the first rule of business is to be profitable!”
-Stephen Nichols, NCsoft, on Dungeon Runners.

Today marks the first day of a new year, as well as the death of two MMOs: Dungeon Runners and Metaplace. Dungeon Runners shut down earlier this morning following an event that saw a giant bomb explode in the game’s main city: Townston. Here at MMO Fallout, “What Happened” has to be my least favorite section as, despite popular opinion, I don’t get my jollies from watching companies fall.

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Atlantica Online Vs Child's Play: Blame The Players


Atlantica: You can't fire me!

“due to some negative player complaints, Child’s Play has regrettably asked to be withdrawn from our efforts to raise money for their cause. We were informed that Child’s Play received negative emails from Atlantica Online players around the nature of the donation and the box, causing them to request removal from our fundraising efforts. “

There’s an unwritten list of things that fall under the category of “burns you can’t recover from.” The list includes, but is not limited to, getting divorced via text message, getting fired via text message, starving while snowed in at a grocery store, and finally having a charity tell you “thanks, but no thanks” to your donations.

Continue reading “Atlantica Online Vs Child's Play: Blame The Players”

Atlantica Online Vs Child’s Play: Blame The Players


Atlantica: You can't fire me!

“due to some negative player complaints, Child’s Play has regrettably asked to be withdrawn from our efforts to raise money for their cause. We were informed that Child’s Play received negative emails from Atlantica Online players around the nature of the donation and the box, causing them to request removal from our fundraising efforts. “

There’s an unwritten list of things that fall under the category of “burns you can’t recover from.” The list includes, but is not limited to, getting divorced via text message, getting fired via text message, starving while snowed in at a grocery store, and finally having a charity tell you “thanks, but no thanks” to your donations.

Continue reading “Atlantica Online Vs Child’s Play: Blame The Players”

2010: The Blue Moon Year


We enter January as 2009 comes to a close, we look at the year before us, and the year ahead, and remember that life goes on, no matter what happens in the present. I’ve dubbed 2010 the blue moon year because it has the pleasure of beginning with a blue moon, an event that won’t be occurring on New Year’s Eve for a long time to come.

I’m going slightly out of character with this article, if anything just to be the one time a year I get to be a jerk and pick on the same companies I spend the other 364 days vying for the attention of (Thank you Tork, Hasbro, Aventurine, Cryptic). This is a comprehensive list of some questions I have going into the new year, that I hope to get answered by this time next year.

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2009: Surprise Sequels and Drama Aplenty


2009 in a nutshell...

2009 has come to a close, and has brought us plenty in terms of surprise sequels and drama. Here is a comprehensive list of the surprise sequels and drama that hit this past year.

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Check Out the Darkfall Demo!

According to the MMO Fallout reporters currently stationed in Greece, PC Master Magazine is currently giving away a promotional 10-day time card for Darkfall, alongside a client DVD.


A taste of things to come...

…for those of you living in Greece. According to the MMO Fallout reporters currently stationed in Greece, PC Master Magazine is currently giving away a promotional 10-day time card for Darkfall, alongside a client DVD. This is going to be a short article, but I felt it was worth mentioning for a couple of reasons:

  1. The trial will most likely expand to Europe and, eventually, North America.
  2. Darkfall will see a surge of new players.

This demo system will bring a lot of help to Darkfall, of which is currently in a sinkhole of sorts: The only way to obtain the title, currently, is to pay the full $50 price tag, which many players are not willing to do on a game they haven’t even been able to trial.

More on the Darkfall trial system as it appears.