MOGS

SOE Closing 12 SWG Servers

Well, they finally did it, SOE IS CLOSING 12 SWG Servers.
Due to the overwhelming success of the recent Free Character Transfer Service, we want to inform you that on October 15, 2009, at 5:00 PM PT, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) will close the following 12 Star Wars Galaxies servers:

• Corbantis
• Europe-Infinity
• Intrepid
• Kauri
• Kettemoor
• Lowca
• Naritus
• Scylla
• Tarquinas
• Tempest
• Valcyn
• Wanderhome

Character creation will be disabled on the affected servers beginning September 15, 2009 at 4:00 AM PDT.

In accordance with the server closure date, the Free Character Transfer service has been extended through October 15. 2009. Between September 15, 2009 and October 15, 2009 at 4:59 PM PT all characters on the affected servers are eligible for a one way, one time Free Character Transfer* to any of the remaining thirteen (13) Star Wars Galaxies servers. After October 15, 2009 at 5:00 PM PT, any characters and their associated items and structures remaining on the identified servers being closed will no longer be accessible on your Star Wars Galaxies or Station Access account.

Please visit http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com/freects/ for complete details on how to transfer your character using the Star Wars Galaxies Free Character Transfer Service.

Server Closure FAQ

I can’t believe it but I do have to say that playing on the more populated servers is pretty kick ass. Last night I got 30K GCW points in about 2-3 hrs of PvPing just in restuss. No BG’s, it was nice.

Thanks,

Mark
Mogs.com
SWG Guru

Plants vs. Zombies

I’m going on two months without playing WoW, and I have been looking for a new game. After reading reviews on a couple of sites, I stumbled on Plants vs. Zombies this $20 game from Popcap.com is strange in concept but a ton of fun to play. I played the trial on Friday then ended up purchasing the game minutes after the trial ended to play more. The game is a “tower defense” game, where wave after wave of zombies attempt to cross your lawn, pool, or even the roof of your house in hopes to eat your brains. It’s up to you to plant a garden using the 6×9 tile grid to plant various plants with different attacks, abilities and defenses as fast, and strategic as you can given the number of seed slots (different kinds of plants you have) for the level. For those who aren’t familiar with tower defense games, from either various flash games or Warcraft 3 custom tower defenses, this game has a small learning curve so almost anyone can learn (my 8 yr. old cousin had a blast with the game). With 49 different kinds of plants from gatling gun Pea shooters to giant piranha plants, and 26 different zombies that vary from the basic mindless zombie, to scuba-divers, zamboni drivers, and “gigantaur” there’s always something new in every level in the adventure mode to keep the game moving. The adventure mode is only 5 worlds long and takes about 4-5 hours to play through, but it’s all building up to prepare you for everything else the game has in store. After completing the adventure mode the first time around, you can play through it again with an added twist and a harder difficulty. Aside from the adventure mode, there’s a ton of fun mini-games, puzzle games, survival modes, and even a zen garden to keep the game changing with new and unique challenges to complete. Once you complete the survival mode challenges, you are presented with survival mode endless, where you try to see how many waves of zombies your defense can handle. First starting with 1-5 zombies per wave in the first levels, building up to hundreds of zombies per wave towards lvl 40. I’ve only made it to wave 42 on my first attempt, hoping to make it to wave 100 by the end of the week. Before I forget to mention it, one thing this game has that many take for granted, is a great soundtrack to keep you immersed in the game.  I’ve found myself lost in the folds of planting my garden, fending off waves of zombies, zoned into the music into the late hours of the night. Besides my normal video game binge, this game isn’t  a huge time commitment, levels take anywhere from 10-20 minutes to complete and you can pause it at any time to go do whatever you have to do.

On my zombie kick from this game, my favorite shirt site ended printing a shirt that fits the theme of the game on Saturday and I was the first to purchase it that night within .087seconds of it going up for the day’s sales: http://shirt.woot.com/friends.aspx?k=9633.

I recommend this game to anyone who is looking for a game that is cheap, has a lot of strategy, and isn’t a huge time commitment.

Jumpgate Evolution and Sci-fi’s Road Ahead

Jumpgate Evolution is the sequel to 2001’s Jumpgate. In 2001, when this game came out as one of the first MMORPG’s in the sci-fi realm, it did fairly well with the sci-fi community. Now with eight years between Jumpgate’s release and Jumpgate Evolution’s (JGE) upcoming release, I’m sure we can expect to see improved graphics, game play, social capabilities, and an increased player driven economy. Sci-fi games have had a rough go at it so far; certainly Star Wars Galaxies has made one of the best runs at tackling the sci-fi fan base, and EVE Online really changing the spectrum of game play with its intellectual and business minded necessity for success. A couple of years ago we saw a great deal of hype for Tabula Rasa which came and went as quickly as it was released.  The question remains, will JGE incorporate the successes of past endeavors and flee from the mistakes of other developers?

We can’t really answer that question just yet, but JGE has been in the works for some time now, with ample time to learn from other projects released and seemingly dead in the water.  Originally it was to be released in June of 2009, now it looks like fall 2009, just in time for competition with Stargate Worlds and Fallen Earth, but watch out for 2010 when Star Trek Online comes out and I’m sure tentative release dates for Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and the free to play 2029 come out.  There are all kinds of new sci-fi games on the horizon here, I hope they all don’t cancel each other out, of course who am I kidding Knights of the Old Republic should steamroll anyone trying to compete in the sci-fi market, with the exception of EVE Online. For the time being, JGE should have some moderate success as a sci-fi MMOG if it can get released before the hurricane of franchised based games with huge fan followings comes roaring into the sci-fi market. Sci-fi games will probably continue to have a difficult road ahead, but we wish you all well and look forward to seeing how it all pans out.

Dan@mogs.com

SteelSeries Releases AION Limited Edition Zboard

Following their line of WoW-themed gaming gear SteelSeries is releasing an AION-themed Zboard. It’s available now for pre-order ($19.99) It’s pretty…

-Christian

Champions Online: The new superhero MMORPG from Cryptic Studios!

Five years after the release of City of Heroes: the very first superhero MMORPG Cryptic Studios bring us Champions Online. It looks as though the key features separating this from it’s predecessor are better player customization and powers. As far as graphics are concerned they’re nearly identical, as the game uses a modified version of the original engine. This game has created some hype since it’s E3 debut last year, after Cryptic bought out NCSoft. Well we’ve finally reached the release date (September 1st) and there’s a new trailer which has surfaced on the web. Check it out!

-Christian