Last week I finally had some time to sit down and right my analytic piece on the post-P2P transition of “Final Fantasy XIV” for WhatMMORPG.  It certainly is interesting to talk about a game that has gone from free-to-play to pay-to-play, which is essentially the reverse of what games seem to do these days.

Some of you might know this game quite well (such as Aylis, who is mentioned and quoted in this article), and some of you may have avoided it with a 10-foot pole.  But, regardless, I think this will make for an interesting read nonetheless!

So, if you want to hear more about the game’s transition, head on over to WhatMMORPG to give it a read!

Today’s theme seems to be “Guild Wars 2,” because continuing with the information about GW2 is the fact that the game is now entering a sign-up period for the closed beta (held in March and April).

The catch?

You only have 48 hours to sign-up!

So, if you are interested in getting in on the game’s closed beta, head on over to their beta page and get the process started ASAP!

It’s funny how many games in the past have claimed to be the true “World of Warcraft” killer or the next big thing in MMORPGs.  Likewise, when a new game comes out it’s interesting to see how quickly the camp divides between those who believe it is the best game ever and those who claim it to be little more than a clone of games past.  This has been an age old discussion these days and it likely isn’t something that’s going to change.

Yet, my friend Mike pointed out an article that was posted by one of the writers at GameInformer yesterday in regards to “Guild Wars 2″ and, in his words, “them’s fighting words!”

I could sit here and try to summarize the entire article, but I think you would do better to simply read it for yourself.  The long story short though is that while the author certainly has enjoyed “Star Wars: The Old Republic” since its December 2011 release, he feels that “Guild Wars 2″ has so much more to offer that could be defined as “revolutionary” that it outclasses TOR by a longshot.  What’s more, the game will be totally free to play online.

“Mega Man Unlimited” is a fan game through-and-through.  It has been in development since before the release of “Mega Man 10″ in 2010 and, in fact, it was once titled “Mega Man 10″ before the official game was released.  The game started out as kind of a what-if flash video designed by YouTube user MegaPhilX and due to the overwhelming praise that the video received from the community he decided to turn it into an actual game.  The project has had its ups and downs and has been redone a few times due to changes in the game engine and such, but the game is getting closer to release.  The developer has not commented on when he thinks he will be finished with the game, but I’d certainly like to see it done by the end of 2012.

The game features a totally original cast of Robot Masters, an original story, wonderfully-made 8-bit tunes, and much more.  In fact, the game was so professional that when Capcom came out with a press release for “Mega Man 10,” they accidentally ripped some of the graphics and stuff from his project and put it in the release!  Oops!

If you would like to keep up with the latest news on this fan game, go ahead and add his website to your bookmarks.

Thanks for pointing this out, Protodude!

A friend of mine brought my attention to two things this evening: One is the existence of an awesome webcomic called The Order of the Stick and the other is a special drive that has been going on for about the past month to raise money for reprints of its older strips.  For those that don’t know anything about Kickstarter, as I didn’t until this afternoon, it’s a way to allow fans and supporters to put money forth for projects they believe in.  Thus, a person can request a certain amount of funds and then there are 30-days for others to donate the funds.  If said funds are not donated within the time specified, all the money is refunded to those that donated.

Of note is the fact that the project’s creator wanted to raise $57,750 and yet despite the fact that the donation doesn’t end until February 21 they have raised a whopping $1.1M.  This shows the sheer love that the fans have for a webcomic that began in September of 2003 and went into print format in 2005.

If you would like to read more about the project or donate to the cause, you can do so here.

Thanks for pointing this out, Mark.

Ah, yet another week has gone by, but this means that there is another podcast for you all to listen to and enjoy.  I had at one point planned to do a special podcast and have it release in time for Valentine’s Day, but real-life intervened on various accounts so I ended up scrapping that idea for now.  However, this podcast does contain a Valentine-related theme: Doing things out of love for your fellow man.  In this case, I talked about gaming for charity, and specifically my coming involvement with Iron Man Mode.

Beyond the talk about Iron Man Mode, this week I discussed the Guild Wars 2 beta, “Sonic the Hedgehog 4 – Episode II” and its coming release, “Rockman Online” going into closed beta in Asia, “Final Fantasy Legends” for Android devices, and then I talk about my new Kindle Fire briefly and my new GPU that I hope to set up soon.

This podcast clocks in at 32 minutes and 58 seconds.

As always, you can download the podcast from the podcast archive here on the site or you can download it directly right here.

A recent conference call with ArenaNet and NCSoft has let slip a few more details about the upcoming MMORPG “Guild Wars 2.”

Apparently, the game will be entering a more open Closed Beta phase starting next month (March 2012) and the beta will continue into April.  Depending on the success of the beta and how many bugs are discovered that need to be corrected before the release of the game, an official release date will be set for the game by the developers.  In the call, they discuss the risks and benefits of various release windows and that due to some issues they’ve had with other year-end launches they will likely try to avoid anything later in the year (e.g. the fourth quarter).

Also of interest is that a console version of the game is still being planned.  It was not directly said what consoles were under consideration, but more than likely they are the PlayStation 3 and the XBox 360.

Stay tuned as I will provide you with more information as I discover things!

SOURCE: Guild Wars Insider

It has been a disappointing time lately for Rockman fans around the world, but finally we are hearing a bit more about “Rockman Online,” the online installment into the franchise being put together by NeoWiz.  The developers are offering beta keys to the closed beta as rewards for naming two NPC characters that will appear in the game.  Of course, this contest is closed to those who live outside of Asia (presumably though those living outside of South Korea and Japan for now), but this means that the game is finally reaching a point where it is less in development and entering a beta phase.  It is still uncertain as to when this game will be released in South Korea, though if I was forced to hazard a guess I would say that it will be in late-2012 (most likely in the fourth quarter).

There is still no news about any plans for an international release, although that may very well depend on the game’s success in Asia.

Thanks for pointing this out, Protodude!

As previously alluded to, I had planned on doing a review of “Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals” for the Nintendo DS in the near future, and I finally have gotten it written and posted on Anjel Syndicate.  The game is quite enjoyable, even for those who have not played the older titles, and I think it is a game certainly worth checking out if you haven’t done so yet.

To read the full review, head on over to Anjel Syndicate and take a look!

In my last podcast I alluded to the fact that I recently wrote a piece focusing on the social aspects of “Star Wars: The Old Republic” for WhatMMORPG, and that article has been online since February 8.  I think the piece takes a fair and hopefully unbiased look at the realities of partying and other social aspects of the game, and hopefully it will make for an interesting read even for those of you who don’t play the game or are still on the fence about whether or not you want to get into it.

So, if you’d like to read the full article, head on over to WhatMMORPG and give it a glance!

I’ve got a piece on “Final Fantasy XIV” in the post-P2P mode planned for them for the near future and others that might include a talk about “EverQuest” and then the whole censorship issue with “TERA Online.”  Stay tuned!