ZAM @ PAX East: Hands-on with World of Warplanes

ZAM is also having a Twitter contest to give away 5000 Gold Codes for World of Tanks! Just tweet / follow @Pwyff and @ZAMOfficial with what you're most looking forward to in World of Warplanes, and we'll select some lucky winners throughout the weekend! You may enter once per Twitter account for a total of two entries! Be sure to follow us, or we can't directly message you with your winning code!

How do you take a notoriously difficult game genre and translate it into an accessible, free-to-play MMO that millions will play? This was the problem that strategy game developer Wargaming.net faced - and beat - two years ago with World of Tanks, and it's the same problem they're facing this year with World of Warplanes. At PAX East 2012, I got the chance to sit down with Wargaming's CEO, Victor Kislyi, to talk about Wargaming's trials and tribulations creating an accessible aerial-combat focused MMO. I also got the opportunity to do a little stunt flying of my own, so read on!

ZAM @ PAX East: Neverwinter Revealed

As I near the end of my PAX East coverage, I can't help but think of the old adage: "Saving the best for last." Mind you, Cryptic Studios' Neverwinter isn't quite the last of my previews, but I can definitely say it was one of the best MMORPG demos of the show. Allow me to explain why.

ZAM @ PAX East: Dungeons & Dragons Online

ZAM is also having a small twitter contest to give away Winter Wolf Pup Pet Codes! Just tweet / follow @ZAMOfficial or @Pwyff with why you should have a Winter Wolf Pup, and we'll select some lucky winners throughout today! You may enter once per twitter account for a total of two entries! Be sure to follow us, or we can't directly message you with your winning code!

If you win a Winter Wolf Pup code, just go to myaccount.turbine.com, and enter the code we give you. Then, log into the DDO game client and receive an item in your character inventory. You can then redeem this in-game item to Caypenn Drop-Axe near the Leaky Dinghy in the Stormreach Harbor to receive your swag bag and Winter Wolf Pup!

While the Turbine booth - a subset of the WB Games booth - at PAX East 2012 was a little understated in comparison to the huge, sprawling behemoths of other developer booths (I'm looking at you, 2K Games), the content they were showcasing was anything but. In focus this time around was, of course, the Dungeons & Dragons Online team with their Menace of the Underdark expansion set to launch June 25th, 2012. While my interview with Fernando Paiz covers most of the big features coming in Menace of the Underdark, I can't stress enough how great these graphical additions are looking in the game. After my interview with Fernando, I sat down for a brief guided tour through Eveningstar and the King's Forest, and I can easily say this is an expansion done right. Not only is the DDO team pursuing new concepts and themes with Forgotten Realms, but the whole thing just looks sharp. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what the DDO team can do with Forgotten Realms. Now on with the interview!

ZAM @ PAX East: Interviewing SWTOR's James Ohlen

ZAM is also having a small twitter contest to give away three Tauntaun Fawn mini-pet codes! Just tweet / follow @ZAMOfficial or @Pwyff with a Star Wars: The Old Republic themed haiku, and we'll select three lucky winners by 5pm EST! You may enter one haiku per twitter account for a total of two entries! Be sure to follow us, or we can't directly message you with your winning code!

Yesterday was an exciting day for Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR), as its long-awaited game update 1.2 launched, albeit without ranked warzones. Still, there's a lot of content - UI customization, a new warzone, a new operation, the entire legacy system - to be explored, so there don't appear to be too many complaints. At PAX East last week, we got the opportunity to sit down with SWTOR's Game Director, James Ohlen, to discuss some of the philosophical changes coming in 1.2, as well as some of the newly planned content for Update 1.3. Read on!

ZAM @ PAX East: Hands-on With The Secret World

ZAM is also having a twitter contest to give away about a dozen weekend beta keys for May! Just tweet / follow @ZAMOfficial or @Pwyff with what you're most looking forward to in The Secret World (one tweet per account, so two chances to win!), and we'll randomly select a few lucky tweeters throughout the day. Be sure to follow us, or we can't directly message you with your winning code!


This year's PAX East was a special event for the team at The Secret World (TSW), as this was their world first public hands-on demo with the game. As a member of the press, however, I've had the great pleasure to participate in not one but two hands-on previews with TSW, so I was more interested in what big changes had been made since February. If this is your first time ever hearing of The Secret World (get out from under that rock!), be sure to read my first two previews, as some systems (character progression in specific) are a little too deep to explain in every preview. A special thanks to Funcom's Junior Communications Manager, Tor Egil Andersen for putting up with all of my inquiries.

ZAM @ PAX East: Hands-on With Hecarim & Varrus


ZAM is also having a twitter contest to give away close to two dozen PAX Sivir skins! Just tweet / follow @ZAMOfficial or @Pwyff with why you think you should win (one tweet per account, so two chances to win!), and we'll randomly select a few lucky tweeters throughout the day. Be sure to follow us, or we can't directly message you with your winning code!


At PAX East, Riot Games was out in full force, dominating its corner of the venue with tournament streams, shoutcasted games of Dominion, cosplay celebrations, and even dance-offs for prizes. Also available for play were two new champions, Hecarim and Varrus, who will make their debut in the League within the next two content patches, respectively. Always eager to try new champions, I decided to spend much of my hands-on time experimenting with these new characters and, now, I can share those experiences with you.

Defiance: New Gameplay Video Unveiled at PAX East

 

Fresh out of PAX East is a brand new gameplay video for Defiance, the MMOFPS currently in development at Trion. This video is our first glimpse at the actual game, set in a radically transformed near-future Earth and inhabited by the disparate survivors of a universal war.

Defiance is an unusual breed, being both a television series on SyFy and a massively multiplayer online shooter. The title will be arriving on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, with events in-game having an impact on the TV series and vice versa. Casting for the show has already been announced, with information available on the official Defiance site.