Rise of Immortals
Currently in open beta, Rise of Immortals is a MOBA that attracted me for one huge reason: they were plugging their PVE/comp-stomp. I’d played a MOBA or two in the past, and enjoyed them, but I didn’t want to primarily play competitively (also, the competitive communities for MOBAs is simply awful). RoI offers a unique 3v3 (or 3vE as they call it) map where a team of 3 can play against bots. There’s also the possibility that it may launch with even more PvE maps and options. This map offers a pretty decent challenge while still being fun. The bots work together pretty well, and the map is slightly stacked against the human players. RoI offers a dozen different Immortal heroes for players to pick from and also features a separate level-up system per Immortal on your account. Winning co-op games also nets you coins which you can save up and spend on unlocking Immortals or skins for Immortals. On launch, you will also be able to buy different coins with which to do the same thing.
League of Legends
Since I’ve been on a MOBA kick, I finally got around to trying out League of Legends. Several of my friends have been playing it since release, but I was never super interested due to it being purely competitive. After hearing about the co-op mode they added in relatively recently, I put it on my “to do” list, and finally got around to trying it a few weeks ago. LoL offers three different levels of difficulty for comp stomp: any number practice matches where you can put bots on your side too, and beginner and intermediate level bots in 5v5 co-op vs. AI mode. I was exceedingly pleased to learn that practice matches and co-op matches still net you a pretty decent amount of XP and IP (XP is for your summoner level, IP is currency you can use to unlock champions and runes). A friend of mine informed me that the XP and IP received a boost for these game modes, which is certainly heartening to hear.
What I Have My Eye On:
Star Wars: the Old Republic
The news sector for upcoming MMOs (at least the ones I have my eye on) has been relatively quiet. Hopefully Gamescom and PAX Prime will bring out some more good information. One tidbit I have to share, however, is that Bioware has shared some interesting information on their upcoming MMO, the Old Republic. Though currently still somewhat vaguely slotted for “Holiday 2011,” you can now pre-order one of three editions for the game: full blown collector’s edition ($150), Digital Deluxe Edition ($80) and Standard Edition ($60). If you’re curious, you can check out what each edition offers on their website. Pre-ordering will give you early access to the game when it launches. They also announced they will be having beta weekends in September.
Any great co-op updates to your current MMO of choice? Or do you have any new updates on a game you’re looking forward to?