Video Game Pulse

MMORPG is probably one of the longest and most tongue twisting acronyms in the gaming industry. This word may strike fear in the hearts of many, and may strike happiness in others. Personally, I have never had a great MMORPG experience to justify the expense of a monthly subscription. Many of my friends; even the ones without jobs, play World of Warcraft and they constantly try to suck me into their realm. Members of my own family have gotten so addicted to these types of games that they spend hundreds a month on the game.

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game’s are something that has had roots since the early days of Phantasy Star Online and Everquest. The question you need to ask your self is simple though, have you heard of SoG? Well, from the acronym I haven’t a clue what it is. SoG is the prequel to Dark and Light. The game takes place in the land of Ganareth, where you will be part of the first territorial conquest to build the fortresses of Ysatis and Agnar. Settlers of Ganareth (SoG) is not only the prequel of Dark and Light, but it also doesn’t cost a dime!

Don’t get the wrong idea though, just because it is free doesn’t mean that it is going to suck. Many fun and great MMORPG’s start out free, many made by the Koreans. This game could suck, but it could rock, the real thing many may have to worry about is if this will eventually got to a pay service like all the other MMORPG’s of its kind.

“Settlers of Ganareth is a cost-free prelude to the most anticipated MMORPG game of 2006, Dark and Light.” said Jason Ovitt of SSPR. I’ll let you ponder that quote for a second. They are stating that it is the prelude to a game that hasn’t even been released yet. Are they going to get people hooked to the free prequel and then pull it, forcing people to continue their fix playing Dark and Light? Can this game really be called a prequel when it is coming out before Dark and Light? Wouldn’t that make Dark and Light a sequel? Maybe I’m just reading too much into it, I’m sure it will be a great baiter…. err… game.

Last week there was apparently something foul about as they tried to rebuild the Ostarian Bridge, which links players from English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian countries. It was a failed attempt to reclaim it as a free territory of Ganareth. With that, I will leave it to you to keep and eye out to see who wins the race to release. Will SoG be a prequel, or will Dark and Light be a sequel? All this and more in the wacky and wild world of miss-reporting!

The people who come to this blog often (you know who you are) will notice from time to time that I publish press releases that I receive from various companies, Most notably, I-Play’s Anna Brog, and SNK’s Michael Meyers. I have no bias however when I post press releases, as long as it is topical to gaming. So it seemed odd when I received an email from a learning software company by the name of Fogware. “Thank you for taking the time to review our press release.” says Mike Rothstein, Fogware’s co-founder and president.

I immediately started thinking, “hmm, well I’m glad that my PR work has been noticed”. I decided to hunt down the post where I talked about whatever product they e-mailed me about, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I looked through my email and still, I could not find any traces from Fogware. To suffice, I am either reading this wrong, or they are out and out lying to me. Either way, I have a few choice words about the product they are trying to push off onto me.

STUDENT HOME LEARNING SYSTEM is the newest from Fogware, set to release on February 27, 2006. The Student Home Learning System is comprised of 200 educational software titles, 20 hours of DVD video, over 200 hours of audio books, a total of over 20,000 lessons, activities and Q&As, as well as an array of top reference materials, all meant for grades 2-12 and at an affordable price of under $150, it is everything needed to provide a full range of educational materials.

Mike Rothstein, Fogware’s co-founder and president goes on to state that, “The Fogware Learning System contains everything the student will ever need, without having to go on-line at all.”. This is where I am a little biased in this area, I used the internet for everything when I was in grade school. Everything from Math to Science to Literature, the internet had the answers I was looking for. I’m not saying that this software is bad or anything, or isn’t very informative, But the reasoning why you should use it is illogical, there is no way that any piece of software can contain the expansive knowledge of the internet. Consider this, Fogware wants people to buy this product by having people advertise it on their websites and blogs, but you give the parents good enough reason not to have internet, and you just cut your self off from them.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, the internet can be a wild and dangerous place, full of graphic images, violent depictions, and crude language. The same can be said about TV and Magazines and Video Games. That is why there is content blockers, be it the MPAA, ESRB, or AOL, or Parents themselves. I suggest that if you have children, you should buy them this software, because I believe that every child deserves the opportunity at learning all they can at a young age, but don’t buy it to replace the internet. Until next time, when I rip apart Game On, yet another piece of controversial software from Fogware.

Take The Sims, Everquest, Dark Cloud 1 & 2 and mix it together to “Discover Your Medieval Life!” A game that slightly caught my attention in all the hustle of last years E3 was The Guild 2. I’m not much for reality based simulators, but this one was different, it has stunning graphics, and the video makes it look very expansive.

In “The Guild 2″, you’ll taking [sic] the role of a young, prospering citizen in a prospering town – it’s your turn to master all aspects of your medieval life, from business over the fiercy [sic] fields of intrigues & politics to your very own relationships. If you do well, you won’t forge your future only, but also the fate of the town!

-JoWooD Productions

More information such as video’s, screenshots, characters and much more can be found at The Guild 2 website. Expect to see this game on shelves near you in Quarter 2; that is April to June. I am awaiting a response on a more definite date for this title, until then.

A plea from Techland just came over the wire; they want me to get the word out about their newest game. “Could you please publish this at your site. Thanks in advance” says Adam Tutaj.

So here we go with yet another press release, this one is all about racing, and not just any racing, but racing ONLY Volkswagens! While I have no issue with the Volkswagen, I own one my self, I’m not sure about a game dedicated to one type of car. I personally haven’t seen the game, or played it, the website is currently lacking any of the above. I’m sure though that this game will be a lot of fun. It includes all five generations of the VW Golf, including the GTI, G60 and the R32 for a total of 15 Golf vehicles alone! There are also quite a few concept cars to pick from.

GTI Racing is the name of the game, and it takes customization to a whole new level, Not only are all the cars licensed, but all the parts and tuning equipment is licensed too! The visual and performance parts are available in a wide array from the world’s best in modification experts, companies like Bilstein, Brembo, Eibach, Kamei, Kerscher, König, Remus, Zender are just a few of the licensed companies.

The career mode isn’t lacking either, featuring over 70 races against challenging AI opponents in 6 different scenarios. The race modes will not only include the standard race mode, but also drift, drag, SP and MP. The level of intensity is heightened by the physics of the game, with hundreds of interactive objects on the tracks, all of which provides the pure enjoyment of dynamic car driving.

This game is currently only targeted as a PC game launch, it will however offer online and LAN capabilities. Would make for an interesting XBOX game though with the Live features. Adam does promise me though that the website will be up pretty soon with downloadable gameplay footage, screenshots and game arts, samples of GTI Racing’s soundtrack and a lot more. So stay tuned and go check it out!

Have you ever wanted to play as a crash test dummy, you know the guys with the yellow and black symbol on their foreheads. Well our press contact from Schanz Gaming has just informed me that this has become a reality with the newest game from Twelve Games. Their newest addition to their line-up of games is “Crash Dummy vs. the evil D-Troit”. Yes, that is a burn on the city of Detroit.

You play as a Crash Dummy as you would expect in a 2D world with a 3D twist; in the same fashion as Viewtiful Joe. The game has destructible environments, and interaction with objects such as boxes, barrels and weapons. The game looks quirky and fun, all while reminding me of Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus and Alien Hominid. As far as an action game, it looks to have the key elements such as coin-like pickups and more. When it comes to the Music, this game has its groove on, the soundtrack features a pop/rap/jazz like undertone which can be downloaded from their website.

The Weapons are pretty interesting looking too, nothing too violent, just your standard fare of Freeze Rays, Glue Guns, or Flame Throwers (ok, maybe that last one is a bit violent). Schanz also promises for Movie like Effects using the graphic library PYRO. Below is a quote from Schanz describing a bit more of the technical aspects of the game and a little recap of what was just said.

… thanks to the use of the incorporated HAVOC physics engine you can fight with many different styles in an unique and interactive environment against evil D-Troit´s prototypes-dummies – move cases, throw barrels, climb walls, swim and use weapons like the Liquid-Bazooka to freeze, glue or burn the bad dummies. In other words just have fun, fun and more fun with the character and the gameplay!

-Schanz International Consultants

You can expect to see “Crash Dummy vs. the evil D-Troit” sometime in 2006 on the PC, XBOX, PS2 and PSP