Fallout MMO Beta!

That’s right! Sign up for the Fallout MMO beta!

Photo courtesy of Interplay Entertainment

How about some non-E3 news for a change.

Today Interplay launched their beta sign-up and teaser website today for their upcoming Fallout Online MMORPG, or Project V13 if you want to keep calling it that.

Via MMOCrunch

Popularity: 1% [?]

Beta Opp: Zodiac Online

Zodiac Online is a new free-to-play, turn-based MMORPG opening an open beta test. Zodiac Online adds turn-based battles to the usual F2P fantasy MMORPG, making combat simpler, with less of a learning curve, hoping to cater to players new to MMO combat.

Zodiac Online offers an environment inspired by Chinese mythology. The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac feature prominently, as does the mythical Jade Emperors. Players take on the role of a “zodiac envoy,” helping in an epic battle between humans and demons. Sign up here!

Popularity: 1% [?]

ThumbGods in 2009

In 2009, I reviewed indie games like Funky Farm 2, A Case Of The Crabs, Rotoadventures Momo’sQuest, Slayer of Dragon,  Democracy 2,  Electric Box,  Faerie Solitaire, and CyberWord. I plan to keep focusing on creative, indie games next year. I also played major mainstream titles, like Cartoon Network’s new MMO Fusionfall, and James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club:  Games of Passion for the DS. ThumbGods reviewed the match-3 Atlantis, Totem Tribe, National Geographic’s Mystery of Cleopatra, Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, Sims 2 on the DS, and Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger! Major misses  this year were  My Boyfriend,  Create-a-Mall,  the disappointing Build-a-lot 3, and Jack in Lost in Blue 2. (Not all of LiB2. Just Jack.)

I tried to branch out a bit from reviews, and started writing some hints, including a guide to solving MyTribe mysteries and hints for Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger! I’ll probably keep doing this whenever I’m really proud of solving a puzzle and want to help out.

Thumb Gods had a great guest post when when Lexton Collins reviewed Runes Of Magic. I guest posted reviews of Cake Mania 3 and Ciao Bella, over on Casual Gamer Chick, Crayon Physics Deluxe review on Angry Gamers, Travians: Asterix Meets The Sims on SeeJaneGame, and contributed to several issues of Indie Game Mag.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Beta Opp: The Secret World

The Secret World is a new, dark modern-day MMO, where all players are members of secret factions. Beta sign-up is a creepy and fun test to see which faction you’d belong to in TSW’s dark future. This is an interesting and fun beta sign-up. After all the secrecy and paranoia, the application sets you up to share your results on Facebook.
Via D A R K   D A Y S   A R E   C O M I N G.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Beta Opp: Star Trek Online

The  Star Trek Online Official Site just announced beta signups for the upcoming Star Trek  game. Of course, if you already have a six-month or longer subscription to the new Champions Online, you’re already signed up for the Star Trek beta.

The Star Trek Online team is happy to announce we’re taking applications for the Star Trek Online closed beta, which will occur later this year!

As we proceed with testing the game, we’re relying on you, our fans, to help us work out kinks, squash bugs and create the best Star Trek experience we can. To apply for the beta, please visit this web form and answer the questions provided. We’ll randomly select from that group as we ramp up toward open beta.

Via Star Trek Online Closed Beta Signups: Taking Applications | Star Trek Online Official Site.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Hello Kitty Online

Sign up for the North American closed beta of Hello Kitty Online!

Or watch the trailer here:

Popularity: 15% [?]

D&D Online Beta Opp

Sign up for the upcoming closed beta of Dungeons & Dragons Online! DDO is a free-to-play MMO launching later this summer.

Apply for the DDO beta!.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Beta Opp: Huxley Beta on FilePlanet

If you’re a a FilePlanet member (and you probably already are), you’re able to sign up for the closed beta of the new Huxley game:

In a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has divided into three mutually hostile species, a battle for survival rages through the ruins of a ravaged Earth.

Huxley is an “MMOFPS,” a game that combines the white-knuckle action and player vs. player combat of your favorite first-person shooters with the social interactions, large-scale battles, character growth and persistent gameplay of your favorite online RPGs.

Sign up for the beta here: Huxley Beta on FilePlanet.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Florensia Battles

From VerticalWire:

Burda:ic, a leading publisher of online games worldwide, have announced that war is about to break out between the Royal Army and the Pirates of popular free-to-play MMORPG Florensia! Two existing in-game maps will be converted from standard adventuring areas into new player vs. player (PvP) War Zones for level 40 and above: the Hidden Port in the Pirates of the Black Dragon Base and the Rainbow Highland on Chester Island. Additionally, an all-new War Zone map, the Lava Plateau, will be added on Magnel Island.

Buccaneers beware, you’ll need a keen eye and fast fingers upon arrival to these new areas, as players are free to attack anything that moves… even if that happens to be a fellow adventurer. It’s every man, soldier, and pirate for himself on these battlegrounds, and it’s up to each player to decide his or her own fate. Help the Royal Army clear the areas of monsters and earn a boost in the ranks. Kill other players, and the Pirates are sure to take notice.

A war is brewing on the high seas of Florensia, and these new PvP War Zones are just a taste of the seafaring adventure and mayhem on the horizon!

For more information about the War Zones, scheduled to be added early next week, visit http://www.florensia-online.com/.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Beta Opp: Wonderking MMORPG

An upcoming MMOPRG from NDOORS:

NDOORS Interactive today officially announced their newest title, WonderKing. Planned for release in the second half of 2009, WonderKing is an unconventional MMORPG from the developer Ryu & Soft that is designed for gamers of all skill level. The beta is scheduled to launch early this summer.

“With the success of Atlantica Online and Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu in the US, we feel the market is eager for a variety of MMO games,” said Peter Kang, CEO of NDOORS Interactive. “WonderKing’s introduction to the North American market will offer a truly encapsulating experience for gamers of every taste and preference.”

WonderKing is a 2D, side-scrolling MMORPG that takes players on an adventurous journey with story-by-story quests, much like a fantasy novel. Along the way, players will travel from beautiful beaches to murky marshlands and frigid snowfields as they battle to save the world. Don’t let the lack of a third dimension fool you, as this game is a highly developed MMORPG, including features such as:

• Home Town System: Players can personally decorate a private room where they can rest and store items and trophies.
• Pet System: Adorable, loyal AI animals will aid in hunting, item collecting, and other tasks.
• Class Change: The game allows players to focus their character’s abilities and change between classes to learn powerful techniques (mage, swordsman, thief, and scout).
• Mounts and Vehicles: Get moving with a variety of vehicles to ride and animals to mount, providing boosts to attack and defense.
• Castle Battles: Engage in PvP battles using siege warfare across castles.
• Crafting and Cooking: Weapons, food, and potions can be made to give players an edge in battle.

Designed for gamers of all ages, WonderKing is set in a vibrantly colorful world and features some of the most uniquely creative character designs and gorgeous graphics in any game. As with all of NDOORS’ titles, the game is 100% free-to-play.

I’m not sure what makes it an “unconventional MMORPG”, it looks like a standard anime adventure game to me. (Not really complaining, I like that genre, but I don’t see what makes it unique) Watch the trailer and decide for yourself, or sign for the beta here.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Magic World Online Official Launch

Magic World Online, a new free-to-play MMORPG will officially launch on April 18th.

After months of open beta, MWO finally comes to a new era. On April 18th, 2009 the official launch will begin.

In the past few months, we have fixed a lot of bugs in the game and also we have improved this game in a lot of aspects upon the opinions of players. Thanks to all the MWO players! It is you who help us to make this game a great one!

Via Magic World Online.

Popularity: 13% [?]

BioWare Announces Mass Effect 2

Guildford, UK– March 17, 2009– Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today officially announced the development of Mass Effect™ 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the multi award-winning 2007 hit, Mass Effect. The Mass Effect trilogy is a masterful science-fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life forms and mysterious uncharted planets. In this dark second chapter, Saren’s evil army of Geth soldiers has just been defeated, and humans, still struggling to make their mark on the galactic stage, are now faced with an even greater peril…

“We’re going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, EA.“Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action.”

Mass Effect 2 is coming to PC and the Xbox 360 video game system in Early 2010. To see the exclusive new Mass Effect 2 teaser trailer check out the website here: www.masseffect.com

Popularity: 10% [?]

Beta Sign-Up: The Call Of Solum

Ys Online is ready for sign-ups for their closed beta of The Call of Solum. You’ll need to make an account on the site first, and then request a beta key, and then hope you’re chosen! The fantasy / anime graphics look great, check out the gallery.

Via Ys Online Europe – Call of Solum | Free MMO.

Popularity: 12% [?]

WoW Extras Without Leaving The House!

Do you play WoW? Want to shop for upgrades and playtime without leaving the house? Instead of having a monthly fee debited from a bank account, some World of WarCraft players are using WoW game cards. These game cards offer 60 days of online playtime, and they can be sent as a code to your email for instant access, so you can buy World of WarCraft playtime immediately. While shopping online, you could also upgrade your basic WoW game with Burning Crusade and/or Wrath of the Lich King by buying a WoW battle chest. Gaming without leaving the house. That’s gamer convenience!

Popularity: 12% [?]

China’s Gamers

It’s not often when my interests in China and gaming collide. Nate, of the China blog Orientation, recently posted on Chinese gaming habits, particularly the huge numbers of MMO gamers in wang ba, or net cafes.

China contains an undulating 59 million online gamers. Despite the fact that 47m of them play free-to-play games, this is a massive amount. To put that into perspective, the 2007 estimate of England’s population was 51,092,000 while the 2008 census quoted America as having 306,068,000 million people. Imagine the entire country of England plunking down and playing a game everyday. Keep in mind that these are only online PC games.

The majority of Chinese gamers, though, seem to play in net cafes and not on personal computers. (Although this may be changing, I saw plenty of Beijing teens with their body weight in personal electronics, and laptops can’t be far behind). Playing in net cafes instead of at home changes the gamer culture quite a bit. No more jokes about nocturnal gamers living in their basements, although there are plenty of 24-hour wang ba for late-night gaming sessions.

Also, fewer games rely on the purchase of software (I’ll save the discussion of China and software piracy for a different post!), since one copy will be installed in the cafe and anyone who comes by will use it. Instead, games have an in-game cash shop or an hourly fee. While talking about Runes Of Magic, Lexton Collins credits the Asian game community for bringing us the free-to-play MMO model.

I also wrote on Chinese net cafes and gaming culture over on  Wang Ba: Gaming In A Strange Land on CNReviews. (It feels a bit odd to quote myself, but it’s better than re-writing my description):

Chinese net bars sell computer time by the hour, and most also sell juice, soda, candy, snacks, and instant noodles, the Chinese equivalent of a Hot Pocket. You can also buy cigarettes, smoking isn’t just permitted in net bars, at times I think it’s mandatory.

The library-like silence of an American net cafe is gone, replaced with the usual thousand-decibel cellphone conversations, Tudou or Youtube videos, and shouts from the boys playing CounterStrike. It might not be the most conductive environment for working, especially when compared with the headphones-wearing crowd back home, but the cheery shouts of videogame victory don’t need translation.

Another thing Nate noticed was the divide between guys playing combat-heavy games and girls spending their internet time using QQ, China’s answer to AIM. Chinese girls do play games but it’s more likely to be something cute on a handheld game or on their mobile phones than hardcore PC games.

I’m sure Chinese netizens and Old China Hands will see this as a very surface analysis, but it’s very interesting to me, to see how the gaming sub-culture translates into other countries! Share your thoughts in the comments!

Related: Travel in China is like a Fantasy Novel, Living In China Is Like an RPG.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Golemizer: Free Steampunk MMO!

New content for Golemizer, a browser-based steampunk MMO:

Blainville, Canada – March 30, 2009 — Dave Toulouse, an independent game developer, announced the first free content expansion, Diluculo Island, for the free web MMORPG Golemizer. A free 2D steampunk MMORPG, Golemizer requires no download or plug-in to play and features a rich sandbox environment.

Following the path of a mysterious scientist named Dr. Grant, players will discover an island where strange creatures, the bymizins, are living. Are they friendly? Are they hostile? Players will have to find out for themselves while facing the many dangers of the island like giant spiders, zombie velociraptors and the terrifying X-Rex (a steam powered dinosaur).

Along a storyline of 100 new quests, the Diluculo Island expansion features:

- Over 200 new zones to explore
- 3 new golems that players can create (zombie velociraptor, mecha repair-o-tron and even the X-Rex)
- 10 new skills available to all characters
- New island themed items that players can buy to customize their cities and dungeons
- The first vehicle in Golemizer, a blimp that can be built by players!

To meet the requirements of the constantly growing number of players and NPCs (over 10 000), Golemizer has recently been moved to a new server to provide the best gaming experience possible.

Since its release in September 2008, more than 19 000 players have roamed the creative world of Golemizer. In their journey, they have created 1 200 quests using the player quests creation system, crafted over 800 000 items and created more than 5 000 new zones using the player dungeon system.

I know I already have a long list of games to play… but the combination of crafting and steampunk makes me want to check this one out.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Looks So Fake

Even decades later, Pac-Man is still a fun classic game. It doesn’t rely on cutting-edge graphics. if you see Pac-Man next to a blue rectangle, and the blue rectangle turns white bit by bit, that’s Pac-Man drinking a glass of water. You’d never think it looks fake.

Have you noticed that as games get prettier, complaints about things “looking so fake” are more common? When playing a game with detailed graphics, something on the Unreal Tournament engine or similar, any awkward animation stands out. We notice a character’s arms held at a weird angle or the omnipresent mitten hands, and it seems like a glaring error when it’s in a pretty game.

The Sims 2 did a great job by keeping things cartoonish so it was easier to accept odd moments of animation (And some of the toddler animations were amazingly true to life!), but more importantly the game was also engaging and entertaining on other levels and didn’t rely entirely on pretty graphics. I guess game graphics are just like movie special effects. I won’t be turned off a solid, entertaining game just because the graphics aren’t cutting edge, and I’ll lose interest in a gorgeous game if it’s nothing but pretty.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Runes Of Magic Cinematic Trailer

The new free-to-play MMO RunesofMagic has their first cinematic trailer up! It’s called Rise of the Demon Lord! I know “free-to-play MMORPG” and “cinematic trailor” don’t usually go together, but as guest auther Lex said in our recent review of the Runes Of Magic beta, RoM offers more than the usual free MMO

Don’t forget, Runes of Magic officially launched on March 19th. If you’re playing the beta, rumor has it that all servers are going offline on March 18th to get everything ready for the official launch.

Via Runes Of Magic Official Cinematic Trailer Released! WATCH IT! – Runes of Magic – Curse.

Popularity: 15% [?]

SeeJaneGame on Second Life

I’m not a big fan of Second Life. Usually when I say that, people react like told them I hate kittens or sunshine. But to me, Second Life embodies all the annoying things about chatrooms, plus the clipping errors of MMOs, plus the look-but-don’t-touch aspect of the cash shop business model.

 Did not enjoy it.

In an article on User-Generated Content, See Jane Game describes her first foray into Second Life.

Here’s how my experience with Second Life went:

I logged in, created my character, and suddenly found myself in the middle of what could only be called a virtual and frightening sex land, filled with in-game pornographic conversations, men (yes, men) dressed in slutty cheerleading uniforms lying on top of each other (I kid you not) and saying things I shall not repeat here, virtual stores selling nothing but bodies complete with breasts and life-like v-jay jays, and to my dismay, a male character (meaning, another human being) showing me his virtual private parts and asking me if I was “new” there, and really, do I need to continue? To sum it up, it was like this: internet porn came into my personal life and exploded in my face. (Obscene metaphor not intentional!) It was not at all what I expected, little ole innocent me. And I left Second Life feeling disturbed and man-handled.

Via User-Generated Content: A Gaming Revolution – PART I | See Jane Game.

Popularity: 7% [?]

League of Legends Beta Sign Up

League of Legends beta signup has begun. League of Legends describes itself as a “competitive online game set in an imaginative world”, but not an MMORPG. Players are heroes fighting for control in the lands of Valoran. Here’s the trailer:

Interested? Sign up for the League of Legends beta here.

Via League of Legends.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Are Violent Videogames Adequately Preparing Children For the Apocalypse?

Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse? from the Onion News Network.

Thanks to ash::the blog for this!

Popularity: 15% [?]

Game Review: Electric Box

Electric Box, by Twinkle Star Games, is one of the games available on Kongregate. The object of the game is to get the electrical current from the On/Off switch to the goal. You can use wires, generators, wind, light and steam power to get to that goal!

If you enjoy the special pieces having special moves, as in chess or Stratego, you’ll like these electric puzzles.  I know some people find this style of game frustrating, especially in the type of game that keeps adding new pieces with new rules, but I thought the pacing of Electric Box’s new additions was perfect to keep it challenging.  Each level adds complexity, by adding icons like batteries, which provide a back-up charge, in case your power supply runs out or changes, and electro-magnets, which pull your other pieces towards them.  Each level has only one solution, and it’ll use all the pieces in your inventory to reach that solution.

My one complaint — and this is a common one for me — is that some of the icons looked too similar. I was confused a few times when I though I had, say, a stream-powered generator but it was really a refridgerator.

Using all the pieces in my inventory to move the power around the board made for a really interesting puzzle game, although I don’t know if it has much replay value. But that’s not a real problem. The free games portal Kongregate has dozens of other free puzzle games for when you finish one game or get bored.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Guest Review: Runes Of Magic

Lexton “Lunarhound” Collins was kind enough to review the upcoming MMORPG, Runes Of Magic, for us. Lexton has been playing the open beta of Runes of Magic for a few months now. Here he discusses Runes of Magic in particular and the free-to-play gaming model in general. Runes will be officially released on March 19th, 2009.

And now, there’s Runes of Magic. It’s aiming squarely for a more Western feel, with WASD controls (though point and click is still available for those who want it), a heavy focus on quests, brisk advancement pace, higher localization standards, and a user-friendly approachability sorely lacking in many other free games. Its creators are determined to prove that you can make a free MMO that’s just as good as any of the more expensive ones out there.

One way it’s doing this is by blatantly copying the current best. The term ‘WoW clone’ is tossed around a lot these days, but it usually doesn’t have much basis in fact. Here, though, the similarities in both graphics and game play are immediately obvious. While die hard fans of the game will protest mightily that this is absolutely not World of Warcraft in any way, an honest assessment quickly proves this to be wishful thinking. The aesthetic isn’t identical, but it comes extremely close sometimes. While it might have been nice if they’d set themselves apart a bit more in the art department, it’s hard not to feel that adopting the same interface, control scheme and core play mechanics was the right thing to do. If you’ve played WoW before, everything will feel immediately familiar and the learning curve, at least when it comes to the basics of getting around and playing with the UI, will be reduced to almost zero. If you haven’t, the same intuitiveness that makes Blizzard’s masterpiece so easy to get into will still ensure that you spend more time playing than learning how to play in Runes of Magic.

In many ways, it almost feels like an improvement over WoW as far as features are concerned. Visual customization options for your character are more extensive, with sliders for adjusting height and resizing various body parts. Once in the game, the customization options expand via the cash shop, with purchasable facial tattoos and the option to dye your clothing and mount in the colors of your choice. All players are granted a free house, without any rental fees, early in the game. This can be upgraded to larger sizes, decorated with furniture that grants a rest bonus similar to WoW‘s, equipped with crafting tools, and used to store possessions. Besides the standard instanced dungeons, there are varieties with randomly generated maps that yield a special treasure at the end. There’s a dual class system, allowing you to mix and match abilities from any two classes. It’s possible to wipe the stats from a favorite piece of equipment and transfer the stats of a different piece to it, so that if you find a great new breastplate but like the way your old one looks better, you can keep both the appearance of the old and the benefits of the new. The interface is even modifiable via XML, and a sizable collection of useful addons can already be found at curse.com.

What it doesn’t have down quite yet is World of Warcraft’s amazing diversity of environments. Nothing here looks bad and, taken individually, each area actually looks pretty good. But there are very few surprises or (excuse the pun) “wow” moments. The game has the basic fantasy staples – green fields and forests, dark caves, snowy mountains – but very little of the raw creativity that makes WoW so stunning. Blizzard‘s environments are brimming with personality and a sense of artistry that elevate them above standard fantasy fare, despite that being exactly what they are. Azeroth has a real sense of place. Taborea doesn’t. It’s not boring and it’s not bad, it just doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be besides a traditional pseudo-medieval fantasy RPG. The developers haven’t yet figured out how to capture that sense of wonder that seeing Darnassus or the underground tram for the first time can evoke.

One place where more creative energy has been spent is on the story. Taborea’s background is involved and interesting. There are no scene-setting cinematics or mood-setting cut scenes to draw you into it – you’re just dropped unceremoniously into the world – so some players might not take enough interest to pay attention to what the NPC’s are saying. If you do, you’ll be treated to a rather unique (as fantasy MMO’s go) pioneering storyline. Unfortunately, this will probably be lost on a large portion of players, as the fairly simple goals of many of the initial quests (talk to him, give this to her, kill that) don’t seem to be worth the large blocks of text that precede them.

The dual class system is interesting and useful, but can often feel cumbersome. Though each class holds up well on its own, the fact that your secondary eventually provides all of your base stats with a bonus means that going without one will leave your character crippled later in the game. Because each of your two classes must be leveled independently (you can swap your primary and secondary at your house, and only the primary is able to gain experience points or raise its skills), it often feels as if you’re being forced to play two characters. Some won’t mind this, but those that don’t have as much time to devote to the game or simply don’t like playing alts will likely find it irritating. The flip side of this is that the system allows for a lot of great options and it really is fun to play with different class combinations. If you enjoy a traditional paladin character, a knight/priest fits the bill and comes with the added benefit of being able to change to a full-on healer if the need ever arises. What if you like tanking but aren’t so fond of the low damage output? Try a knight/warrior or knight/rogue. A rogue/mage can hurl fireballs from the shadows as well as holds its own in melee, a mage/priest can both dish out serious punishment and make up for its lack of fortitude with healing spells, and a warrior/scout can hold its own in both melee and ranged combat. The individual classes feel complete on their own, but each pairing also feels like its own specific class, with its own strengths and weaknesses. It’s just too bad that it has the downside of requiring you to essentially level two separate characters.

One of the features that could still use a bit of work is upgrading. Runes of Magic features an upgrade system that allows you to bolster the power of your equipment in several ways. One is with runes. Through defeating enemies and dismantling equipment, you’ll be able to gain runes that can enhance equipment with various bonuses. How many bonuses one piece can support depends on how many rune slots it has. With the use of a special device that you’ll acquire early in the game, you can combine lower tiered runes of the same type into more powerful, higher tiered runes of that type. This all works fine. What isn’t so polished are the direct stat upgrades through the use of jewels. Certain special jewels offer the chance to increase a piece of equipment’s base stats, with the risk that you could also get nothing at all, or even a downgrade. Each increase will put a +1, +2, etc. after the name of the equipment, up to +6. The problem with this is that increasing a piece of equipment to the point that you’ll notice any tangible benefits is so low as to make the entire system almost pointless. Getting to +1 after a few tries isn’t too difficult, but beyond that, the chance of failure or a downgrade seem to be so much higher than the chance of an upgrade that it’s not even worth the effort. The jewels are expensive and you can often end up spending thousands of gold with no positive result, or even a negative one, to show for it. Worse, these jewels are offered for sale in the cash shop. While their tooltips clearly warn of the chance of failure or downgrade, they don’t highlight just how high that chance is, and several players have already complained of spending significant amounts of real money hoping for an upgrade, with nothing at all to show for it. What’s even more baffling is that the upgrades, when successful, are so slight. If the developers were so afraid of equipment becoming too powerful, it’s hard to understand why they decided to include the upgrade system at all.

All in all, Runes of Magic is a pretty impressive package. It has a solid beginning, it’s at least as good as a lot of other games that require a fee, and it puts a number of features from the genre’s best in one place. There’s nothing revolutionary about the game design itself, and if you’re sick to death of traditional MMO’s, it likely won’t do anything for you. What makes it stand out is the fact that, despite a few flaws (and it’s still early enough that they could be worked out), it’s both free and a genuinely good game. If you’ve played pay to play MMO’s in the past, it’s easy to forget, while playing this one, that it doesn’t have to cost anything. Though it falls just short, it comes closer than any other completely free game has to being able to stand toe-to-toe with the big boys. Hopefully, it will become popular and visible enough that it will start a trend.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Lego Universe Delayed

I saw this over on Virtual Worlds News: Lego Universe Delayed Until After 2009

Lego Universe, first announced and teased back in 2007, was initially set for a release in Q4 2008. When we spoke to Mark Hansen, Director of Business Development, Lego Universe, last fall, he said that the world would definitely see the light in 2009. Today Lego Universe told MTV, though, that the project would be delayed until after 2009 to make room for other products launching this year.

If you haven’t seen the Lego Universe trailer already, here it is:

Via Virtual Worlds News: Lego Universe Delayed Until After 2009.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Runes Of Magic Valentine’s Day Treats

Site of the Gaming Dead has some news about Runes Of Magic, the free-to-play MMO.

Love and romance is filling the the virtual air all over Taborea, the world of Runes of Magic. Players can make handcrafted chocolates, guaranteed to woo and restore 35% of a love interests HP. What girl could say no?!? …

If you have more of a green thumb than a sweet tooth, never fear, part of the celebrations include collecting and culturing rose seeds. The beautiful blossoms reward the gardener in a number of ways, the player receives a buff when the flower blooms and there are special rewards for collecting a large bouquet…

I’ve already admitted my weakness for gamer romance, and romance that restores HP is even better!  Don’t go out to a crowded restaurant for Valentine’s Day, stay home and play games with your sweetie!

Read more (and look at pretty pictures) over on Runes of Magic Gets Romantic for Valentine’s Day | Site of the Gaming Dead.

Popularity: 12% [?]