Asteroids Online
One of the original space odysseys in video gaming, Asteroids, has reached Facebook in the much updated form of Asteroids Online. Made possible by its original publisher, Atari, Asteroids Online brings back the same gameplay you adored in the early 80s onward with a massive suite of features designed for the modern, social gaming crowds. Using the now-popular Unity 3D engine, much of this Asteroids overhaul is in 3D including its various ships and the infamous asteroids. But the overhaul doesn't stop there--this is not your average Facebook game. And that's the whole point.
"We're consciously trying to stay away from the mindless click fests," Atari's VP of Consumer Experience, Patrick Ford, told IGN. "There are millions of different types of people on Facebook. The FarmVille-playing housewives might not like Asteroids, but we're confident plenty of people will."
Find our full preview after the break.
Campaign Menu
While this is still Asteroids, nearly everything aside from the basic gameplay of steer and shoot has changed. And with that said, a detailed tutorial is in order, but don't worry--it won't be too long before you get to blow stuff up. Asteroids Online operates in Missions, like most social games, though these are far more interactive and skill-based than most . And while most of them involve blowing flying hunks of rock to bits, there are some that pit you against the clock or toe-to-toe with alien enemies.
In addition to the original combat of steering your ship via the arrows keys and firing away furiously with the space bar, the 'V' key activates an interesting ability called "Hyperspace." This new feature warps your ship into a wormhole of sorts and back out into usually a safe area, which is perfect for when you're in a pinch and need to get out fast. (Though, it does take time to recharge.) This is also useful for luring enemy aliens into asteroids, which can take them out too (and they don't have shields).
Damage report
Missions are split up into three Sectors, or rounds. Your job in each Sector is to destroy enough rock chunks to fill up the meter on the top right corner of the screen completely. However, each new round isn't exactly a fresh start as the damage to your shields will carry over into the next Sector until you complete the mission. Luckily in this version of the game, death isn't necessarily 'Game Over.' But if your ship sustains maximum damage, you will have to pay up in Credits to repair or if you're too low on Credits you may abandon the mission. Doing this will result in you losing the Energy needed to access the mission. Abort too many times and you'll be at a standstill.
Of course, Energy is what drives your actions in this game and you'll need gobs of it if you want to play for longer than a few missions at a time. In addition to Energy refilling over time, players can currently gift each other Energy in packs of 40. You can also purchase Atari Credits to pay for more Energy in packs of 400, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 for $5, $12.50, $25 and $50, respectively. This paid currency can also be used to speed along the timed process of ship upgrades which cost Credits regardless, the game's natural currency found through blasting asteroids while on Missions.
Galactic Map
Much unlike the original Asteroids, this update contains six ships with several different weapon and shield configurations. Believe it or not, this multitude of ships and weapons matters when it comes to dealing with the game's variety of enemies and situations. They'll also be necessary when moving onward to new star systems, which can be accessed through the game's Galactic Map feature. Each new area requires a certain amount of experience to enter and will be blocked off by a red beam until that time comes. These additional zones will certainly contain more missions and hopefully more ships and weapons, but it's too early to tell given the game just launched recently.
Keeping in mind that Asteroids Online is still in its beta phase. There are still a number of mysterious features like "Champion" and "Challenge" that have yet to surface in addition to what appears to be a worldwide leaderboard. Despite the lack of these features, Atari has come out swinging on Facebook through a massive overhaul to one of the most beloved retro games and transforming it into something relevant.
Click here to play Asteroids on Facebook Now>
Great Site to Earn Money Online
Showing posts with label atari. Show all posts
Showing posts with label atari. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter goes live on Facebook
Released previously only in a private beta, Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter has now officially gone live on Facebook. Developed by Atari and set in the Neverwinter realm, the game already has 166,000 monthly players from its time in beta, but if you'd like to join them, here's a taste of what you can expect.
When first starting Heroes of Neverwinter, you'll be allowed to create a character using either set templates of a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric or Rogue (each with their own stats and specialties), or can create a custom character to customize your gender, stats, class, race and more. In this, the game can immediately start out being as complex or as straightforward as you like.
Upon launching into the game proper, you're met with a story of amnesia and will be introduced to Edrick, a scout that was guiding you on your way to Neverwinter before a pack of Goblins knocked you unconscious. Through this introduction, you're told of Neverwinter, a place of hope and civilization that has survived the Ruining, and that you had originally wanted to travel there to purchase a home and earn your fortune. With this as a base, you're sent on your way.
Movement is achieved on a grid, with this turn-based game automatically allowing you to move at the beginning of each turn. When commanding a party, you'll be able to complete multiple actions, including attacking or opening your inventory with each character before needing to manually end their turn and start over with the next character. Once each "adventure" in the game is complete, you'll receive experience points for the battles you won and the tasks you completed in the process. For immediate prizes, you'll sometimes be able to loot your fallen enemies, selecting a prize from a list of ten. You can choose randomly from ten cards, or can use a potion to reveal items before you choose.
In terms of actual combat, you'll have a wide variety of options, depending on the classes of characters in your party. You might be able to attack an enemy from far away, eliminating them before they ever become a threat, or surround an enemy with multiple characters, giving everyone a combat advantage. There's enough strategy here to keep more hardcore players satisfied, but the initial sections of gameplay are incredibly simple and work well to help an unfamiliar player get up to speed.
Gallery: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook
Back in Neverwinter proper, you can access a variety of buildings including the Adventure Board where you'll accept new Adventures (Adventures require energy and have multiple difficulty levels), the Tavern where you can purchase energy potions or Adventure boosts to your stats, the Trade house where you'll purchase similar potions or new equipment items, and even your own home, which you'll be able to fill with treasures as you complete different achievements or tasks within the game (collecting a certain amount of gold, for instance).
That being said, the main focus here (understandably) is in the Adventures themselves. There are plenty of them to undertake, each with an additional focus on bringing your friends in to help you (early on, it's entirely possible to fail even the most basic of Adventures by simply going it alone). The lore within the game is presented through text boxes at the beginning and end of most scenes and encounters, and will likely satisfy current D&D fans. Still, this isn't the first game of its kind of Facebook, so hopefully the D&D name alone will help draw more followers into the fray.
Will D&D Heroes of Neverwinter win over the "Zynga" crowd with its fairly in-depth, and somewhat slow-going gameplay? Likely not, but there's plenty of content here for fans who go out specifically in search for it.
Play Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook -->
Have you tried Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook? What did you think of it? Sound off in the comments.
When first starting Heroes of Neverwinter, you'll be allowed to create a character using either set templates of a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric or Rogue (each with their own stats and specialties), or can create a custom character to customize your gender, stats, class, race and more. In this, the game can immediately start out being as complex or as straightforward as you like.
Upon launching into the game proper, you're met with a story of amnesia and will be introduced to Edrick, a scout that was guiding you on your way to Neverwinter before a pack of Goblins knocked you unconscious. Through this introduction, you're told of Neverwinter, a place of hope and civilization that has survived the Ruining, and that you had originally wanted to travel there to purchase a home and earn your fortune. With this as a base, you're sent on your way.
Movement is achieved on a grid, with this turn-based game automatically allowing you to move at the beginning of each turn. When commanding a party, you'll be able to complete multiple actions, including attacking or opening your inventory with each character before needing to manually end their turn and start over with the next character. Once each "adventure" in the game is complete, you'll receive experience points for the battles you won and the tasks you completed in the process. For immediate prizes, you'll sometimes be able to loot your fallen enemies, selecting a prize from a list of ten. You can choose randomly from ten cards, or can use a potion to reveal items before you choose.
In terms of actual combat, you'll have a wide variety of options, depending on the classes of characters in your party. You might be able to attack an enemy from far away, eliminating them before they ever become a threat, or surround an enemy with multiple characters, giving everyone a combat advantage. There's enough strategy here to keep more hardcore players satisfied, but the initial sections of gameplay are incredibly simple and work well to help an unfamiliar player get up to speed.
Gallery: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook
Back in Neverwinter proper, you can access a variety of buildings including the Adventure Board where you'll accept new Adventures (Adventures require energy and have multiple difficulty levels), the Tavern where you can purchase energy potions or Adventure boosts to your stats, the Trade house where you'll purchase similar potions or new equipment items, and even your own home, which you'll be able to fill with treasures as you complete different achievements or tasks within the game (collecting a certain amount of gold, for instance).
That being said, the main focus here (understandably) is in the Adventures themselves. There are plenty of them to undertake, each with an additional focus on bringing your friends in to help you (early on, it's entirely possible to fail even the most basic of Adventures by simply going it alone). The lore within the game is presented through text boxes at the beginning and end of most scenes and encounters, and will likely satisfy current D&D fans. Still, this isn't the first game of its kind of Facebook, so hopefully the D&D name alone will help draw more followers into the fray.
Will D&D Heroes of Neverwinter win over the "Zynga" crowd with its fairly in-depth, and somewhat slow-going gameplay? Likely not, but there's plenty of content here for fans who go out specifically in search for it.
Play Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook -->
Have you tried Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook? What did you think of it? Sound off in the comments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)