Flagship Studios CEO Bill Roper dropped a bombshell (well, for those of us not expecting it) at CES recently that the multiplayer portion of their upcoming Diablo-ish FPS/RPG Hellgate: London will be subscription based. Now that came out of left field. So according to Mr. Roper the game will offer a free trial of some sort, and maybe even some sort of limited free play. And there will be a beta test of the service before the game launches. Mr. Roper states quite plainly that Flagship considers Hellgate an MMORPG, with a full guild system in place, continually added content and raiding and other such MMORPG-ish activities.
Of course, the Hellgate MMORPG is a Guild Wars like instanced affair apparently, so expect small groups of players together in instances. There will be some sort of PvP available, but he did not make it clear what it would be The main point of the game is grouping, and PvE content. Of course, just like the singleplayer portion of the game, dynamically generated areas and items will be keeping things fresh, while a dedicated team of workers will add new content to the game. There will also be a "hardcore" mode, probably similar to the one found in Diablo II.
So now begins the discussion of what makes a game an MMORPG. Does Hellgate: London fit the usual criteria of an MMORPG? If the multiplayer portion of the game is $5 a month, will you pay for it? If it is $15 a month, will you pay for it? Please, give us your opinions.
View: Original Story @ Shacknews
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