I’ve recently been invited to the local Hellgate: London launch, which is going to take place sometime during December next month. If you’re a regular here, then you may be aware that I’m not a big Hellgate fan.
Why then am I going?
Aside from the prospect of free chow, I’ve been itching to go because I’m very curious as to how IP e-Games, a local MMO publisher, would handle the game’s retail and payment scheme.

Nvidia’s GeForce 8800 GT video card is hitting store shelves today. If you’re desperate to run Crysis, all you have to do is shell out from $199 to $249. With all the upcoming games for the PC (i.e. Hellgate: London and Gears of War), you’ll likely need the upgrade.

What’s under the proverbial hood, you ask? According to the hype people, their new money trap product comes with 112 stream processors, a 256-bit memory interface, and HD technology. The 8800 GT was created using the 65nm process.

Pedigree means a lot, even if a developer is rolling out its first game. This is why expectations are high for Hellgate: London. Its creator is Flagship Studios, whose core is composed of ex-Blizzard employees who were responsible for the development of Diablo, Diablo 2, Warcraft, Starcraft, and World of Warcraft.

The game is heralded as the spiritual successor of Diablo and you’ll notice that once you start playing. Specifically, Hellgate feels like Diablo brought into 3D, with a few modifications. Gone is the point-and-click movement scheme, replaced by the familiar WASD prevalent in shooters.

Flagship Studios made Hellgate: London’s presence felt as we enter into the game’s launch month. Their news? Hellgate’s theme song is available for download. The Hellgate soundtrack was composed by Cris Velasco and Sascha Dikiciyan. These guys worked on titles like God of War II, Splinter Cell Double Agent, and Quake III.

According to Flagship, they included the soundtrack in Hellgate’s collector edition, but there was no mention of future downloads. It’s a stark difference to what 2K did: Bioshock’s orchestral scores are free for download. Shame that you have to get the expensive Hellgate version just to listen to …read more

So you’re the world’s only hope to rid all demons. Does that make you a chick magnet? Perhaps. Adulation from the masses? Check. Free armor? Fat chance. You’ve been in this situation before when you played Diablo, Ultima, or some other similar game. You’re the savior and fans love you. But when it comes to your gear, you have to cough up the cash.

Tricia Gray, the director for global marketing at Flagship Studios was kind enough to explain in a podcast at Gamerscore why Hellgate: London is charging you for your armor even if you’re out to save humanity.
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An article/blog entry from Philippines-based GAME! Magazine stated that there seems to be a confusion as to Hellgate: London’s pricing. The question: is the game free to play or not?

You see, IP E-games, an MMO publisher based in the Philippines, previously announced that it has “acquired the rights to Hellgate,” though no other details were revealed.

See, there’s the rub.

IP E-games uses a “free-to-play forever” business model for the MMOs that it publishes. The company’s revenue is primarily generated from the e-points that its patrons purchase. Well, Hellgate isn’t explicitly an MMO because of its single player component, …read more

It looks like we’ll really have a happy Halloween this year. According to EA and Namco Bandai, Hellgate: London, that drool-worthy action RPG/FPS by Flagship Studios, will start hitting retail stores in North America on October 31 and in Europe on November 2 for the PC.

Never heard of the game, you say?

Hellgate is primarily an RPG set in a post-apocalyptic London. It looks and plays like an FPS, but there’s number-crunching happening under the hood. Yes, you can level up your character and increase stats too. The best part? You can use high-powered rifles and cannons (i.e. big …read more