A Look At Skyforge, World of Speed & Armored Warfare
At Gamescom 2014, we were able to see and play three interesting games published by My.com for PC Windows. I’m talking about Skyforge (a MMORPG), World of Speed (a MMO-racing game) and Armored Warfare, clearly inspired by World of Tanks. As you’ll have noticed, they are all online games and they will all be playable without paying a dime, thanks to their Free-to-Play nature.
Another relevant thing to point out is the heavy involvement by Obsidian Entertainment, which is helping on Skyforge and working directly on Armored Warfare. World of Speed, on the other hand, is being developed by Slightly Mad Studios, the same team behind Project CARS - although this game is quite different. Look forward to more on all of these games soon on Worlds Factory!
Skyforge
Developed by the Allods Team with Obsidian’s support, this MMORPG is heavily inclined towards action and frantic combat.
First of all, the proprietary engine is very well done and produces impressive graphics, which can easily stand against games powered by Unreal Engine or CryEngine; animations look very smooth, too. During combat, the player can activate many combo attacks in order to maximize damage, similarly to action games; the world isn’t seamless, though there are big open zones, the developer promised.
The story and lore is quite unique indeed for the MMORPG genre. Players are immortals who protect the world against all kinds of dangers; the ultimate goal is to become a God. Interestingly, there is no level system (replaced by a Prestige system which seems akin to the one in Path of Exile) and players will be able to change their class with a mere click at any time.
You can look forward to both PvP and PvE content, including raids and dungeons. The closed beta test is scheduled for Q4 2014.
World of Speed
Even PC users will have something like Sony’s Driveclub. World of Speed is a very different game from Project CARS - its handling is decidedly arcade, as we found out while playing, and it reminded me of the old Need for Speed titles.
The main draw of the game is the competition between racing teams, much like in Driveclub; again, following the trend in racing games, it doesn’t just matter that you get the first place, but also how you do it, with stylish driving (drifting, etc.) heavily rewarded. World of Speed is expected to enter the closed beta testing phase between October and December.
Armored Warfare
Powered by CryEngine, Armored Warfare looks simply fantastic and that may be its biggest advantage on established competitors such as World of Tanks and War Thunder: Ground Forces. There won’t be just tanks though, as Obsidian is adding many other modern fighting vehicles for you to choose from. Both PvE & PvP modes are promised, though the latter part should be the most important one with clans and territory wars planned in “exciting destructible environments”.
It won’t be easy at all for Armored Warfare to gain traction against those two giants, but what I’ve seen is promising to say the least. The game should be available later this year on PC, with the chance for console versions at a later date if the public really wants it.