exteel posts

At the very beginning of 2010, NCsoft shut down their free-to-play fantasy MMO Dungeon Runners. This week the publisher has decided to shut down another of its free-to-play games, the mech-themed multiplayer online game Exteel. In a note on the game's official web site it was announced that all global servers for Exteel will shut down on September 1.

The game launched on December 2007 but like Dungeon Runners it never seemed to catch on with a large enough audience. Indeed the announcement of Exteel's shut down was due to the game becoming "no longer financially viable" according to NCsoft. In late August all of the game's items will go on sale for one credit which will allow players access to any mech or weapon they want. Loyal players who have spent money on micro transactions in the game will be able to participate in a "loyalty rewards" program but details have yet to be announced.

[Via Blue's News]

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

A popular model of free-to-play games is the action-shooter model. This may be because players do not feel like paying monthly for what they are already playing (see: Call of Duty 4, Unreal Tournament), or it might be because they are easier to do than the traditional MMO model. Regardless of just why developers do this, Exteel is a good entry into this sub-genre of the free-to-play game. Run by NCSoft (the company that runs Guild Wars and City of Heroes, among others), it links directly into their system, much like the rest of their games. You might not give it the attention that a serious MMO might get, but it sure is fun!

Buying a PC game at Rite-Aid? With a new program via publisher NCSoft that's exactly what you will be able to do soon. The MMO publisher announced plans to ship special game cards for City of Heroes, Tabula Rasa and Exteel to Rite-Aid stores along with Target and Best Buy locations.

According to an email press release, NCSoft's new game card system will allow people to purchase games in stores without the need for a CD box. They buy the card, take it home, stratch off the unique serial number and activiate their game at the NCsoft web site.They then download the game client from the site. The City of Heroes game card comes with 30 days of play for $20 with a unique in game item. Tabula Rasa's card costs $14.95 for 30 days of gameplay with their own in-game item. The Exteel card costs $10 and allows players to upgrade their mechs in the free-to-play action game with additional items. The City of Heroes cards will be available at all three retailers listed above while the Exteel cards will be shiped to Target and Rite-Aid stores. The Tabula Rasa card will only be at Best Buy stores.

NCsoft will be spanning the globe this summer to show off their ever expanding MMO lineup. As we mentioned last week, they will be at the San Diego Comic Con (July 23-27, booth #5209) with stations up and running so that attendees can play the superhero themed City of Heroes, Richard Garriott's sci-fic epic Tabula Rasa and mech-mashing Exteel. Fanzine artist Dave Hamann will also be on hand to draw City of Heroes' character sketches for players.

A few days later, July 29 - 31 in Brighton, England, NCsoft Europe will be showing the media its highly anticipated fantasy, wing-sprouting MMO, Aion: The Tower of Eternity. This will be the first time western journalists will have seen Aion since the summer of 2007, and things have changed. Three weeks later (August 20 - 24) Aion will be on display again at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany (Hall 3, Booth B20).

The last stop on the NCsoft bus ride will be at the Penny Arcade Expo (booth #642) in Seattle, August 29 - 31. PAX has become a pretty significant gaming con, and for NCsoft to show up with many of the their games (Aion, Exteel, Dungeon Runners, CoX, Guild Wars, and Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa) says a lot. What's more, Guild Wars' fans will be treated to a special player tournament while Exteel and Dungeon Runners' teams will get play sessions in the special LAN area. There will also be speaking sessions in the auditorium for fans to learn more about their many MMOs.

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours.

	In-Depth: GRID GRID sets up a great mood for racing from the moment you set up your profile and put in an audio name. From that point on, the game greets you by name each time you load it up and refers to you personally with race updates. It seems like a minor addition, but it provides a strong sense of engagement with the game world as you build up your racing reputation, rake in the prize money, and race go on racing tours across the USA, Europe and Japan. The PC version sports great performance and fantastic graphics, but it's worthwhile to purchase a gamepad to play this one in order to get the best experience. More after the jump.
	Big Versus: GRID This week in Big Versus we're tackling Codemasters' latest entry in the Race Driver series, GRID, which hits retail for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 today. Shying away from its more realistic racers like other TOCA racing games and the recently released Dirt, Codemasters hopes to capture some of the underground scene with their latest arcade style racing title.
	Two very different Alone in the Dark trailers emerge We have two new trailers for Eden Games and Atari's upcoming reboot of the Alone in the Dark franchise. The videos couldn't be more different. One features gameplay footage and commentary by producer Nora Paloni about the various enemies, weapons, and combat strategies in the game. It's a continuation of an earlier video that focused on fire.
	LEGO Indiana Jones now available in stores As of today, you can go out, buy LEGO Indiana Jones, and re-experience the original trilogy, thereby pushing Crystal Skull's awfulness out of your mind. According to a LucasArts press release Big Download received earlier today via email, "LEGO Indiana Jones presents a tongue-in-cheek take on the first three cinematic adventures of pop culture's most iconic archaeologist."
	Unreal Tournament III 1.3 patch details The 1.3 patch for Unreal Tournament III hasn't been released quite yet, but that didn't stop PlanetUnreal from digging for concrete details. Among the substantial list of fixes and additions are numerous bot improvements, several mod-specific collision detection issues, increased Aegia support, and cut/copy/paste functionality for the game's console.
	Fallout 3 Collector's Edition finally visualized We have reported in the past on Bethesda Softworks' plans to release a collector's edition of their highly anticipated RPG Fallout 3 but today the developer's official blog site has finally given us a visual of what that special edition of the game will actually look like. As promised the Collector's Edition will be housed in a metal Vault TEC lunch box with some great looking artwork (we would love to see the reaction if a kid took that lunch box to school).

NCsoft has been developing their online mech action game Exteel for some time now. Technically the game is still in open beta testing but you can go ahead and start playing the game right now by downloading the client at the game's official web site. This week NCsoft released some new screenshots from the game showing off the Trooper Mechanaught vehicle which is one of the more powerful mechs you can drive in the game.

NCsoft also revealed the new Last Stand mode which has your player going up against waves of AI controlled enemies who are trying to capture two "Aerogates" in the arena. While Exteel is a free-to-play game, this is one of NCsoft's games that supports the recently revealed NCcoin feature that lets players use real money to pay for in-game items.

Makers of massively multiplayer titles are slowly moving away from the typical monthly fee model in the US and are now trying out new methods to gain revenue. One of those methods which is already being use in Asian countries is the micro-transaction model which allows folks to use real money to purchase in-game items and properties.

Today NCsoft announced its own plan to implement micro-transactions with the launch of NCcoin (catchy name). The new system will allow people to purchase 100 NCcoin for $1 for use in purchasing in-game items. The new system will be used first in Exteel, the online mech-style action game that is currently in beta testing. NCsoft stated that a number of their current and upcoming games will also incorporate the NCcoin economic model which may mean that Tabula Raza and City of Heroes players will be able to purchase things like new weapons, costume items and more from within the game world. You can go ahead and check out the NCcoin web site for more info.