Online games sometimes get special treatment and forgiveness. Even after a title is officially released, we allow regular patches and updates that fine tune game mechanics and stability issues without a second look — a method of delivery which has bled over into console games (but that is another subject all together). Aren’t games that ship to the consumer supposed to be complete? Where does one draw the line?

As entertaining as it is, Fray, the latest online multiplayer squad tactic game from Brain Candy, can still be considered unfinished. Developer Brain Candy is hard at work constantly improving its product, rolling out substantial improvements, putting a big plus to its strengths, and eliminating its weaknesses.

Albeit, at the current moment, it faces a long road until it can really be called a complete experience.

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It might also be tempting to entitle this post “Cliché Limit: orc holding man over chasm”. However, knowing that the fabled orc will be taking the center stage — rather than the villain role — in the upcoming RPG, Of Orcs and Men, may change one’s mind.

The following screenshots attempt to show the other side of the orc race — the side that you get to play against vicious human oppressors.

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Red 5  Studios revealed that their upcoming free-to-play MMO-style shooter, Firefall, already has over 500,000 registered members.  In order to prepare all those members for the game, the studio also revealed the minimum requirements.

According to the press release, “the 500,000 mark represents Red 5’s commitment to nurturing a flourishing community which stands behind its innovative approach to online gaming.”

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The Secret World is nearly here, and those of you who pre-ordered the game can start accessing it this Friday. Based in the modern world, TSW is an MMO that features a lot of Love-craftian type themes, including zombies, vampires, and demons.

In addition to choosing one of the game’s various classes, you can select from the Templars, Illuminati, and the Dragons, all of which will be featured in the game’s Faction PVP system.

The Secret World is going to start off as a subscription based game, so it’ll  be interesting to see if they can maintain said model without converting to free to play (like Rift has). That isn’t to say that Free to Play is a failure in any way, as both models have their advantages.

[The Secret World]

Update: Brain Candy is now reporting that the major issues have been fixed. Albeit, smaller issues remain that may still contribute to availability issues.

The above message came from the Brain Candy development team on Tuesday, in light of major issues around the availability of their new online squad tactics game, Fray. Fingers point to their database provider who supposedly short changed resources. As a result, gamers are reporting everything from sessions all of a sudden dropping off to not even being able to log in.

Fray is touted as a game that focuses on simultaneous turn-based squad tactics. With plenty of maps, game modes and three corporations (races) to choose from, the game aims to deliver faster paced and more in-depth action than that of traditional turn-based squad games. If only they could get it up and running.

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Almost a full month after the release of Diablo III, the real-money auction house is finally live. For the past few weeks the in-game gold version was the only option for players to buy better gear.

The real-money auction house lets players use real currency to buy and sell in-game items. The currency earned for selling items can be converted to Battle.net credit or transferred to PayPal. However, know that to use the real-money auction house you will need an authenticator.

[Battle.net]

Sure, the highlight of this video is the ability to tear off a monster’s limb and beat him (or her) with it. Free-to-play MMO RaiderZ has so much more going for it, however. Take the fact that it has the Unreal 3 Engine under the hood.

This makes for a lot of detail and sheen, as would be expected from the engine that powers the BioShock and Batman: Arkham series’. Yes, there’s more!

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Today id Software announced they will be releasing Doom 3 BFG Edition on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this fall. But this is no ordinary console port! No sir. The BFG Edition is getting remastered graphics, new levels, Achievements and Trophies, and more.

This special edition also includes Doom, Doom 2, Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil, and seven brand new levels which id is calling the “Lost Mission.” Other features include 3D support, a new checkpoint system, and an armor-mounted flashlight, thus fixing one of the game’s biggest problems according to fans. Since Doom was one of the first games I ever played, I’m really looking forward to getting to experience a “director’s cut” of Doom 3.

[Source: Joystiq]

Diablo III has some big shoes to fill. Pretty much every dungeon crawler to date has copied or generously lifted elements from Diablo II, so given the series’ pedigree, Blizzard really had to bring out the big guns the third time around to ensure that they keep the legacy alive.

While at first glance Diablo III seems to be a step back from it’s predecessor, it’s actually more complicated, and ultimately, a more satisfying experience. Read more… »

Over the weekend, I spent approximately three hours farming the materials and the 150,000 gold required to enter the secret level in Diablo III. It was kind of a pain, but it was completely worth it to be able to send three of my friends in utterly free of charge, and enjoy it with them before most of it was sufficiently spoiled.

Because most of the guides I’ve found aren’t particularly concise in their directions, and provide spoilers to boot, I’m going to make a completely spoiler-free guide on how to access the secret level itself. Read more… »

Remember Hawken? That indie mech game that went free to play? While we’re still quite a bit away from it’s December 12th release, the PC cloud streaming service Gaikai has locked up a deal to demo the game in the near future. If you’re not familiar with Gaiaki, it’s basically a demo service similar to OnLive, in that it streams the game to your browser/PC with hardly any hardware requirements.

Of course, it’s not a good way to test and see if the full game can viably run on your machine, but at least it’s something. Keep your eyes peeled for PlayHawken.com.

Diablo III is finally here, and if you can get past the initial shock of playing a game with single player always-on DRM, you can experience it yourself. With five classes ranging from the Wizard, Monk, Barbarian, Demon Hunter, and Witch Doctor, there’s pretty much something for everyone here to experience — personally, I couldn’t resist the demonic gaze of the Demon Hunter.

For the purposes of this impressions piece, I have a level 30 Demon Hunter that just finished Act 4 (the final episode), but I have dabbled in every other class, and found them all fairly exciting in their own way. Join me as I muse on various aspects of Diablo III from levels 1-30, which encompasses all of the game’s Normal level difficulty.

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