eurogamer expo – Mana Obscura

One of the allegations I often hear thrown at the MMO genre is that it’s become stale and generic, with newer games rushing out to mimic the most common or popular features instead of innovating and looking at new ways to progress the genre.

Over the weekend a group of us headed out to the Eurogamer Expo to have a look at the latest developments in MMO gaming. Although a couple of titles such as RIFT and World of Tanks had been out for some time, we also got the chance to take a look at three upcoming games: End of Nations, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2.

Through the presentations I saw and the discussions I had with developers, one thing became quickly apparent – all three games have a different focus in how they hope to appeal to MMO gamers. It’s clear that the days of identikit MMOs are numbered, with each of these games hoping to push the genre in a different direction.

Continue reading “MMOs: Heading in Three Directions”

Besides keeping an eye on new releases, there are traditionally a handful of important dates in the gaming calendar. The season starts with the Game Developers Conference in early March, sweeps through to E3 in June. You then get a cluster of them up to September with PAX, Gamescom and the Tokyo Games Show. You’ll even find video games spilling over into the San Diego Comic Con and Gen Con.

Over in the UK we’re blessed with a single visit from the game industry. The Eurogamer Expo lands in London towards the end of September, being one of the last stops for the year. It’s a rare chance for British gamers to try out some of the upcoming releases. On Saturday 24th September I’ll be there, soaking up the atmosphere in Earls Court.

There’s two main reasons I’m attending: Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. I’m keen to get a look at both games since they’re the two hottest MMOs that are talked about at the moment, plus it’s going to be interesting to play them off against each other. I’m also interested to see if people are planning an MMO “flight path” from Warcraft to Rift to The Old Republic to Guild Wars 2, instead of betting on a game for months or years.

Continue reading “A Thoroughly European Convention”