Over the past year we have seen a lot come out of the MMO market.  Rift launched in early 2011, Star Wars: The Old Republic in late 2011, and most recently, Guild Wars 2 and the latest World of Warcraft expansion. And despite the miriad of options we have had there is still plenty of room for more.

Let’s face it, Star Wars: The Old Republic was a massive failure and World of Warcraft has been getting stale since Cataclysm. In my opinion, Rift and Guild Wars 2 are the most solid experiences available at the moment. What some may not realize though is that Guild Wars 2 borrowed a lot of what made Rift so great – multi-role classes, dynamic world events, and level scaling.

Trion once again puts themselves in a great position to excel and my experience with the beta has once again validated what I have been saying for a long time: you need to experience the world of Telara. Read more… »

I was a huge Need for Speed fan back in the day. But eventually, Burnout, and most notably Burnout Paradise, stole my heart and changed my perception of the series. For years I’ve felt like the NFS franchise needed some shaking up, just like Paradise did, when it shook up the entire racing genre.

Thankfully, Criterion Games has stepped up to the plate, and crafted an open world Need For Speed game with a worldmap that tops even Paradise City. Oh yea, and the game looks great so far to boot. Read more… »

At the recent Guild Wars 2 preview event, we were able to test out a number of general mechanics, but what about the professions? At launch, the game will ship with the Guardian, Warrior, Engineer, Ranger, Thief, Elementalist, Mesmer and Necromancer classes.

Although I did try out quite a few professions, the Necromancer is the one I spent most of my time with. So without further ado, onto the my discussion about the paranormal, undead, and various other terrifying creatures that go bump in the digital night. Read more… »

Guild Wars 2 carries a lot of expectations in the gaming community. Considering Guild Wars 1 was basically a dungeon crawler and not an MMO, many gamers are skeptical whether or not ArenaNet will be able to pull off a truly persistent world. On top of that immediate concern, there other claims ArenaNet has made, that if true, will chance the face of MMOs as we know it– enhanced grouping; event driven quests; truly competitive even-ground PVP.

Even with all of my skepticism intact, after previewing the game at ArenaNet’s recent press event, it looks like the famed developer is poised to succeed with Guild Wars 2. Read more… »

My last week steeped in gore, I offer up to you Project Zomboid. It is an isometric zombie survival RPG. These last words may not whet your appetite, especially with last month’s release of Dead Island and the (re)release of Resident Evil CODE: Veronica X. You can say the world is pretty much zombie’d out.

There are just so many things to love about this title, however; and considering that it’s still in alpha development gives cause for excitement. Not only for zombie aficionados, but also for fans of well crafted games in general, PZ is already a polished gem that is bound to have an uncanny luster by the time it’s considered a full fledged game.

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MORPG Rusty Hearts (RH for short) made a big splash at E3 this year. Captivating hardcore MO and traditional hack-and-slash fans alike, RH has been compared to such titles as Guardian Heroes and Devil May Cry. This has been on account of its stylized presentation, fast paced dungeon crawling action and deep, yet accessible RPG elements. Add in PvP and the fact that RH is free to play, it has people clamoring for access to the closed beta, which began Wednesday morning.

Gamer Limit sat down with Perfect World product manager Mark Hill to get an in-depth look at what makes RH a stand out game. We toured the streets of fictional Slatina, braved its lower canals and decimated waves of skeleton warriors. Judging from what we saw, gamers won’t want to miss this gem from Perfect World and Stairway Games.

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Originally landing on the Wii in early 2008, No More Heroes was met with critical acclaim and has since become something of a cult hit for punk rock game visionary Suda 51 and his studio, Grasshopper Manufacture. The game has since spawned a sequel, a first for the studio, in 2010’s Desperate Struggle. Now there’s talk of a mobile game in the works, but first, Konami will be bringing Travis Touchdown to the PS3 later this summer with Heroes’ Paradise.

While I managed to get my hands on the game last month at E3, playing games in overcrowded rooms for hours on end doesn’t always make for ideal conditions. Now having played the demo in the comfort of my home today, I have some concerns for the impeding PlayStation 3 release of Grasshopper Manufacture’s celebrated Wii title.

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A beta for hot upcoming indie title Journey landed on the PlayStation Network this week. While the beta is limited to a relatively small number of playtesters, I am one of the fortunate few.  Having played through the beta several times now, I would like to share my thoughts on the Journey experience with you.

With Journey thatgamecompany is crafting an entire experience that focuses an aspect often overlooked in gaming. Doing something new and interesting would be enough for most developers, but the Los Angeles-based studio isn’t just stopping at reinventing the adventure game with Journey, players are also in store for a refreshing take on online multiplayer.

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Have you heard of WayForward Technologies? Well, if you’re a fan of Nintendo consoles the answer is…well actually still probably no. They have an unfortunate track record of making awesome games that just don’t seem to sell. They’re the guys behind awesome games like Contra 4, the Shantae series, Lit, and (my personal favourite) A Boy and His Blob.

BloodRayne: Betrayal mark’s WayForward’s first entry on the high definition consoles. So now that WayForward are on your system of choice, with an established IP to boot, you’d better not ignore this one.

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Every 25 minutes, like clock work, press huddle into a cramped screening booth replete with dark red velvet and stifling heat, to get a glimpse at Saint’s Row: The Third. To refresh the weary, THQ splashes a new 20 minute video of in-game footage on our faces. The video shows off more open world exploration, heavy duty/heavily insane weapons and ends with a bank heist.

Comparing the Saint’s Row series to GTA, as many do, is comparing two completely different series’ on opposite ends of the propriety spectrum. While GTA tends to inject more or less a realistic story line of gangs and guns, Saint’s Row uses these tropes for pure caricature. The new video shows that developer Volition, Inc. aims to widen this gap even more.

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Gamer Limit went hands on with Star Fox 64 3D on the Nintendo 3DS. There were three levels to choose from for this demo, essentially easy, medium and hard. We chose the middle, Meteo level. First impressions equate to the original Nintendo 64 title, just a little more sharp and a little more enjoyable.

The gameplay ports very well to the handheld device. The default button layout makes for almost the same experience fans had with the original game, with the circle pad just as responsive as the joystick. The depth of field with 3D offers an immersion that seems perfect for the game. Especially for the Meteo level, with humongous space rocks and bots  flying in and out of the screen, it all at once reminds fans why the game was so exciting on the 64, and how 3D can contribute to a new experience if done right.

For the most part it’s right. For the most part.

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Gamer Limit recently got its hands on a preview of The Next Big Thing, Pendulo Studios’ latest adventure set to release in just a little over two weeks. Pendulo has been trickling teasers for some time now — videos and pics touting the game’s seemingly sleek and shiny art style, and its zany characters, but not much has been revealed about the overall story or gameplay. The preview spoke volumes to all these points and then some.

Now, if you haven’t heard about Pendulo Studios or The Next Big Thing until now, you get a pass. Pendulo, in their five game career, have focused solely on point-and-click adventures. Gamers old enough to have owned a PC with Windows 3.1 understand when I say this genre has seen better days. This is not to mention the fact that the studios hail from Spain where, according to the developers themselves, gaming didn’t hit it big until the 90′s. These can be insurmountable odds for the faint of heart. From the first few chapters we were able to preview, the title will go above and beyond beating them while bringing vibrant life to PCs and Macs worldwide.

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