Columns

Enjoy a run-down of our recent long-form pieces, both game-specific and more general. You might also be interested in our list of all of our columns and recurring articles. [Follow this category’s RSS feed]

One Shots: C.R.E.E.P.S.

29
Whatever happened to bad acronyms as titles for movies and TV shows? Where are our C.H.U.D.s? Our C.H.i.P.s? I guess we have Agents of...

Nexus Telegraph: Six little WildStar elements that I love

32
With the free-to-play launch calming down somewhat (look man, I can log onto the server!) and fall events kicking off in WildStar, I've been...

Marvel Heroics: Rating Scarlet Witch and Rogue

17
I'm back with another installment of rating two Marvel Heroes characters that I've leveled up to 60. Last time I looked at Squirrel Girl...

EverQuesting: Preparing for EQII’s Terrors of Thalumbra expansion

0
Time's a-wasting! With just a month left to get ready for those terrors that await down in the subterranean world of Thalumbra, EverQuest II...
There were some decent tabletop Star Trek games, but no.

Perfect Ten: MMO systems that could be great (but I haven’t seen it yet)

80
Before I start this column, I want to say two important things. First, my experiences do not extend outward to the limits of the...

Choose My Adventure: Unearthing the mysteries of WildStar’s Levian Bay

5
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Choose My Adventure. Last week, you fine folks voted on whether my pwecious wittle Chua Spellslinger would continue his...

Massively Opinionated: Which is the best open-world PvP, WvW or FFA?

89
It's a real battle to the death when Larry Everett invites Tina Lauro and Brendan Drain to debate WvW and FFA PvP.

Stick and Rudder: The best bits of Star CitizenCon 2015

131
Wow, so, where to start with this week's Stick and Rudder? I guess I picked the wrong time for a vacation, and shame on...

Tamriel Infinium: Orsinium makes me forget the things I don’t like about ESO leveling

36
Anyone reading this column regularly understands that I have a bit of a tiff with ZeniMax because of the way it's handled the leveling...
It's not just me, right?

Wisdom of Nym: Surpassing Final Fantasy XIV’s cross-class legacy

25
In one respect, Final Fantasy XIV is an incredibly flexible game. You are never actually locked into a single role or job; even if...

Chaos Theory: The Secret World’s Carter and Issue 12.5

15
It's pretty common knowledge by now that Lead Designer Romain Amiel really likes to give teasers and spoilers for The Secret World. Unlike Twitter,...

MMO Mechanics: Three ways non-MMO IPs could create great mechanics

47
I really enjoy being a guest on Larry Everett's video series Massively Opinionated, a series in which MMO enthusiasts answer some tough questions and...

One Shots: Skyscraping

28
Look up on that building! It's a bird! It's a gargoyle! It's... MOP reader Epelesker showing off his hero in Champions Online! "Unlike a grand...

The Game Archaeologist: Dark Sun Online

43
Computer RPG players in the late '80s and early '90s were surely familiar with Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) and its now-famous Gold Box series....
More soon.

Betawatch: Camelot Unchained begins beta next year (October 9, 2015)

14
The good news is that Camelot Unchained will indeed be hitting the shores of the land of betas. The bad news? It's not going...
Yeah, this is a thing.

WoW Factor: Cataclysm was bad, but revamping the world isn’t

153
For about four years, Cataclysm handily defended its title of Worst World of Warcraft Expansion, coming in behind all of the actual expansions as...

Perfect Ten: Weird questions that I want answered before I play an MMO

89
Jumping into a new-to-me MMO can be a heady, nerve-wracking event. I think there's a reason why we find our "comfort" games and feel...

Hyperspace Beacon: Quality-of-life tweaks in SWTOR’s Knights of the Fallen Empire

112
BioWare's Eric Musco delivered an amazing livestream last week. Many of the questions that players have been asking about the upcoming expansion for Star...

Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2 raid beta impressions

24
I don't believe I've ever been more excited -- and simultaneously nervous -- about a beta test than I was for Guild Wars 2's third beta...

Choose My Adventure: Mad science and spellslinging in WildStar

40
Hello, everyone, and welcome once again to the formulaic introduction to yet another installment of Choose My Adventure. As is tradition, let's start with...