Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The latest Jumpgate Evolution trailer seems to confirm that the game is out in June. The beta sign up pages are live on the main site, although there’s no open beta yet in progress. The trailer is interesting, showing loads of in-game footage, including some of those capital ship takedown battles that NetDevil have been talking up over the past few months. For more on this interesting-looking space-flight sequel, take a look at our interview with the developers.

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Reader Handsdown spotted that there’s another remnant of PAX footage that we hadn’t yet posted – the cam-footage of Jumpgate Evolution in action. I do believe this is the first time we’ve seen the game played live, and it’s clear that it’ll be important to see how this works as an action game, as much as an MMO. NetDevil were very much inclined to talk up their action-game with AutoAssault, so I hope they’re able to pull it off with more precision in this, their second run at the Jumpgate concept. The footage we see here sees the player taking on some enemy ships – it’s pretty, if rather slow-paced. I suspect with a group of people we could see some interesting space-combat dynamics, especially if NetDevil figure out some ways for players to support each other in that classic MMO way. Take a look at the trailer after the jump, I think you’ll be intrigued.
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There sure is a lot of darkness in the Jumpgate universe, at least if this new trailer is to be believed. Well, it is space, I suppose. Anyway, this has some in-engine (if not in-game) splendidness, and it all looks rather pretty indeed – darkness permitting. And it’s about time someone came up with an alternative to that space MMO, so I’m rather anxious to get hold of the beta and get playing. Could this be NetDevil’s great redemption? Have a nose at our recent interview if this tickles your space-glands.

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There’s an outside chance that Jumpgate Evolution is going to be really good. Netdevil don’t have the best track record but, well, there’s just something about what we’ve seen so far that intrigues me. Not that free-flight space MMOs haven’t crashed and burned before, or that it’s ever going to supplant the many years I’ve spent in Eve Online but… let’s just say I don’t quite sign on to the idea that every MMO for the next five years is necessarily going to be a waste of time. If any of them grab me, it’s likely to be this one.

Anyway, all of that waffling goes by way of announcing that the beta signups have started. I’ll be in there as Eurogamer’s embedded reporter, so I expect to see some of you in there too. For a little more information check out our recent Jumpgate Evolution developer interview.

NetDevil have had an interesting journey. They’re a privately owned, Colorado-based company that started out by making a niche space-combat MMO, Jumpgate, in 2001. They then went on to create the disastrous post-apocalyptic vehicle combat MMO Auto Assault in 2006 – a game so unpopular that it was switched off just over a year after release by owners NCSoft. Now NetDevil are back on track and working on two projects: a remake of their original MMO, JumpGate Evolution, and the LEGO Universe MMO. Both are looking extremely promising, but in this interview with executive producer Hermann Peterscheck we focus on lessons learned from the failure of Auto Assault, and what we can expect from this second attempt at Jumpgate.
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