Tracer's Firm ButtoxIssue 144: The open beta of Overwatch has captured the attention of hundreds of gamers and thus has been making the usual headlines around the various gaming news media outlets. The superfluity of the news about Overwatch, however, is a pleasant change from the excessive political garbage on television and Facebook. I think that’s why I read more gaming news than actual news; for the most part, its politically agnostic. The Overwatch open beta has wrapped up, which is unfortunate if you haven’t pre-ordered the game. I hope you got a chance to play it and if so, I’d like to hear your thoughts. I will express mine in a separate post.

Be that as it may, this is a post about gaming news and not an editorial. We have a few posts about some console games in this issue (because consoles started it all for most of us). Blizzard titles are the more prolific games mentioned since everyone is talking about Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm and Legion. The Legion posts are more about fun and interesting things that await us in the coming expansion. I know August 30th is still a long way away so these little Legion treats help keep us somewhat satiated. KCGO.

Uncharted 4 Is A Great Action Game

Posted 5.5.16 – I didn’t play any of the Uncharted games but the fact that they made four of them means that are enough folks that really enjoyed playing it. Uncharted 4 is allegedly the final game in the series (but we all know how that goes sometimes) and it has been getting some pretty good reviews. It’s rare to hear that about the 4th installment of a game; sometimes games are like movies in that their sequels often lack the originality of the first installment (although some same the story is weak). If you’re into this series, what are your thoughts?
ars technica post

Chromie & Medivh Join HotS

Chromie-196x300Posted 5.6.16 – If you are not familiar with the various characters from Warcraft lore then these new heroes might not seem familiar. Medivh is probably the one that people will recognize the most if you have played any of the games but Chromie might be less familiar. She’s your miniature timelord with a pretty fierce alter ego, although based on the video demonstrating game play, she never actually changes into her dragon form, but the animation of her spells seem pretty cool. Medivh, however, does come with Raven Form. If you’re playing Heroes of the Storm, I hope you enjoy these new heroes in your arsenal.
Blizzard Watch post

Witcher 3 Second (and Final) Expansion

Posted 5.10.16 – The Witcher 3 has had quite a year, including the 2015 Game of the Year at the Game Awards last year. The first expansion, Hearts of Stone, released late last year and now we have details of the next expansion. The good news is the game’s second expansion will be available for download at the end of the month, however the sad news is this is the games final expansion. Will there be another Witcher title? E3 is just around the corner, maybe there will be something there to help carry fans through the games final levels.
Gamespot article

Wait, Warcraft Movie Transmog Items??!!


Posted 5.10.16 – It has come to my attention that after the Warcraft movie hits theaters, players logging into the game will be granted special cosmetic items that are BoA and look like weapons from the movie! If you are kind of a transmog-nut, like me, then you might find this as exciting as I do. I was wondering if Blizzard was going to do anything special in WoW to commemorate the premiere of the movie. There is a link within the post that will take you to wowhead.com to see how the items will appear. There is also a video that recreated the Warcraft movie trailer using WoW artifacts and its pretty cool.
Massively Overpowered post

Legion Artifact/Talent Calculators

doomhammer_by_wolfgan-d5dzgc7Posted 5.10.16 – There comes a time, in the months prior to a WoW expansion, when we get to play around with the updated talent calculators. While we all know that it’s based on beta data and everything is subject to change at a moments notice, it still gives us an idea of the powers our level 110 characters will wield (and yes, it does include the Demon Hunter). I think what is especially exciting with Legion’s beta calculators is there is also one for your Artifact weapon. WoWDB does caution you that the data for the artifact calculator is from a very early version; so it may not actually reflect what is currently on the PTR.
Artifact Calculator | Talent Calculator

Disney Infinite Now Finite

Posted 5.10.16 – It was some pretty shocking news when Disney announced they are pulling the plug on Disney Infinite. I guess I’m not terribly surprised. I didn’t know anybody that played it and the fact that they kept trying to shove it in our face through various media outlets should have been an indication that it was suffering. They are no longer developing games or the associated toys, which are collectibles (hmm, maybe I should grab some of the Star Wars Infinity figures). Ultimately it appears Disney is no longer in the console gaming business.
ars technica post

STO Boldly Going Console

perspective_constitutionPosted 5.12.16 – Here is some interesting Star Trek Online news; this fall the game will launch on consoles. This isn’t the first MMO-gone-console that Cryptic has ported, they were quite successful porting Neverwinter to consoles. You will only be able to play it on XBox One and Playstation 4, but I’m going to guess that, like Neverwinter, it will be a free download from their respective stores. I wonder if this will start becoming a new trend in the MMO genre. I know folks have wondered about a console version of WoW.
Massively Overpowered post
The MMO Times is a post I put together periodically of different MMO/gaming news articles that I think are interesting, fun and/or exciting. If you are interested in receiving these posts in an e-mail please click here to subscribe.