MMO News Roundup – 6th April

It’s pre-order bonus time for The Secret World with exclusive Beta Weekends, early name registration, in-game items and PETS! The Beta Weekends start from May 11th and with the game releasing June 19th that’s a good few weekends to get in to the swing of secret societies, no classes and no levels. For those that enjoy videos with serious sounding voice overs Funcom have released a pre-order trailer and further information is available here. I’ve not played early beta for this release so I can’t advise on whether it’s shaping up to be the next great thing but the mould-breaking character development is enough to tempt me in to having a look, so money has been put where the mouth is on this one. Fingers crossed!

There is a time for new trailers. There is a time for endless repetition of a key point. There is a time for a “really difficult to find any useful information on website”. There is a time for wars over magical resources. There is a time for an “engaging cross-platform strategy gaming experience”. There is a time for Prime World. Watch the trailer, you’ll get that I’m being funny then. This isn’t just snark for the sake of it, I’m interested in this release because of the option to use connected applications on mobiles and tablets. There’s actually a brand new trailer to go along with the updated English website which involves some very rousing music and lots of information on what you can expect from the battle between technology and magic.

Something from SWTOR I didn’t feature last week was a blog post from Gabe Amatangelo (Principal Lead PvP & Endgame Designer) discussing the introduction of Ranked Warzones. Still in the early phases, or what BioWare are calling “Pre-Season”, there’s too much detail included for me to give you a quick synopsis but for people still playing this game I should think it will add another level of purpose to keep you subbing… I mean, engaged.

I completely managed to miss Warhammer Online’s Wrath of Heroes appearing on the MMO radar. I shall blame my woeful ignorance on a cold and too much Minecraft. The game is currently in beta and has a functioning in-game store to support the free-to-play title. Any currency bought during the beta phase will carry over however so you can check this out without worrying about being out of pocket. Having watched a couple of the trailers it looks very fast and very frantic.

Finally, for those who like give-aways for easy things like signing up to the Spirit Tales beta, look no further. Koramgame are giving away over $2000 worth of goodies including the new iPad – all you have to do is register for the beta and try not to be put off by the painful cuteness that abounds. I will (slightly shamefacedly) admit to liking the idea that finding a “sweetheart” in the game will unlock unique benefits, though the bitter and twisted cynic in me would like to label those benefits as “nagging” and “disappointment”.