Joe Iuliani and Anthony Love over at MMORPG.com got hands on time with the eagerly awaited Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning at the Games Workshop Games Day in Baltimore, MD. Warhammer’s beta test surpassed 200,000 interested testers, and it ranks on MMORPG.com as the number one most anticipated upcoming release.

Anthony Love stated in his review that the EA booth “consisted of two distinct areas, one with twenty computers set up for ten on ten Player verses Player scenarios and another with about five computers allowing people to quest in the initial starting areas of the game. All of the characters were pre-generated on the sweet Alienware machines that were provided, so we just had to pick the race and class desired”.

Wow. Alienware. Pardon my drool.

Anthony goes on to say: “I can see why the hype surrounds this game. Even though I had only around 45 minutes of hands on time, I was hooked and wanted more. Both the Order and Destruction sides have compelling character classes that I wished I could try, yet the choices are simple and straightforward. Each side is well balanced with skills and the motive is to go out and fight (hear that healer types). Little or no drudgery is promised by the creators, and so far I see none”.

According to Joe Iuliani, exploring the game will pay off for players and it will bode well to check out every nook and cranny in the realms instead of just hacking and slashing your way to the top: “It was my impression that it will be well worth your time to explore all parts of the realms. You never know what may be on top of that mountain in the far Northwest of a map. WAR will be what a gamer wants it to be. If you feel like logging in one day and RvRing, smashing your foes and gloating in their misery, this game is for you. On the other hand, if you feel like logging in, just doing your own thing without worrying about being pwned by power gamers, this game is for you. Warhammer: Age of Reckoning will have it all.”

Sounds like another game that will make me eat crow – never again will I make fun of or dismiss an MMO so readily after reading these two reviews.

Tales of Pirates has seen a huge surge in popularity since its beta test. This compelled IGG to make further development of the game, and will launch the eighth server named Phoenix Isle on June 27th in order to meet the needs of players. In celebration of the new server, the TOP site will include a leveling competition where winners will be rewarded as usual, but will also include rewards for players who rank 100, 200, 300 ….1000 respectively. Below are some details of the upcoming leveling competition:

Leveling Competition:

The event will commence at EST 04:00 a.m., June, 26th and end at EST 04:00 a.m., July, 4th. The 25 highest level players at EST 04:00 a.m., July, 4th will be the final winners. In addition, the lucky players who rank 100, 200, 300…1000 respectively at that moment will be awarded 200,000 coins each.

Prizes:

1. The First Prize (one in total): a suit of pirate dress plus 5 million coins
2. The Second Prizes (three in total): a suit of pirate dress plus 3 million coins for each
3. The Third Prizes (five in total): a suit of pirate dress plus 1 million coins for each
4. Honorable Mentions: (sixteen in total): 500 thousand coins for each

For more detail about those events, please visit the official site.

For more screens, patches, information, and downloads click here.

Red Stone is a Free2Play episodic MMORPG that offers players a unique fantasy experience with a deep storyline. Red Stone takes players deep into dangerous lands with 8 different character classes and compelling strategic missions, and players will quest to recover the lost shards of a powerful jewel in order to restore peace to the destroyed world.

Red Stone’s has a unique Transform System where all characters have the ability to change jobs and weapons as well as transform into other characters, enabling unique, strategic gameplay. Also setting it apart from other MMORPG’s, Red Stone characters do not use Mana when spells and skills are used; instead, they use a rechargeable Charge Point system, challenging players to use their skills strategically.

Developed by L & K Logic Korea Co. Ltd, the game is hugely popular in Japan, with over one million people playing it. Through the partnership between K2 Network and L & K , Red Stone will be released in five countries including North and South America, Turkey, India and Poland this summer. An actual release date from K2 Network was not provided with the press release, but as soon as more information becomes available we will let you know.

More Screens

Below are the first details released on four of the eight unique transforming character classes in the game. The Squire/Warrior, the Magic Archer/Magic Lancer, the Magician/Werewolf and the Priest/Fallen Angel.

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The fifth entry in Sega’s hallowed franchise, Virtua Fighter 5, ups the ante on realism, graphics, and next-gen lighting and detail on characters and environments. Featuring an all-star cast of 17 fighters which includes previous favorites and two new ones, Virtua Fighter 5 allows players to customize their characters by selecting from four uniquely patterned costumes and a wide array of attachable items to be placed on the fighter for defensive and offensive purposes. Players will not only achieve victory by defeating highly-skilled opponents, but will also compete for prizes and earn in-game money through the match to buy many items at an in-game shop. Slated for a late fall release for the Xbox 360, it have been available for the PS3 since February.

Features:

• Two New Characters: El Blaze is a Mexican fighting champion that defeats unsuspecting opponents with his lightning-quick Lucha Libre fighting style and Eileen uses a Monkey Kung Fu fighting style which she learned from her grandfather, a former Kung Fu master.
• Stunning, Highly-Detailed 3-D Fighting Environments inspired by locales around the world where players can challenge their opponents in unique types of arenas.
• Offensive Move lets players to easily move around their opponent from the side and back allowing players to be more strategic with their battles.
• Customize your character with the enhanced attachment system and customization engine giving players more flexibility than ever before when creating their characters.
• Next Gen Presentation includes HD resolution widescreen and 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround.

More Screens

 

When Soul Caliber IV makes its way into stores for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2008, it will feature online networking. Most fighting games of this ”caliber” haven’t had online capabilities due to the need for split-second timing, but with powerful seventh generation consoles and faster networks than ever before, the opportunity has presented itself and Soul Calibur IV Director Katsutoshi Sasaki is seizing that opportunity. “We’ve heard from fans that they really want the game to be online, so we figured that, with the current environment, we really couldn’t make SC4 without online play.”

This is the first time the Soul series will feature online competitive play. The game will also feature character customizations that will be usable online, but it is uncertain whether or not gamers will be able to trade those characters with friends. One thing gamers will be able to trade is over-the-phone insults and trash-talk.

Sierra announced in a press release today that they are releasing two new game types for the highly acclaimed first-person shooter title this summer. The new modes are called Control and Conquer All. The title update will enable both of the game modes, and is available free on the XBox Live marketplace.

In the Control mode, your team attempts to gain control of three points. The winner will be the team that seizes and controls these points for the most time.

The Conquer All mode incorporates five control points. Players will control these much like a Control match. However, in order to win, a team must hold all five points simultaneously. If no one accomplishes this feat, time of possession and teal kills determine the winner.

In addition to these two new game modes, Sierra has also announced that later this summer, there will be three map packs available for purchase through XBLM. These will be the Nightmare Pack, Synchronicity Pack, and Bonus Pack.

If you haven’t given F.E.A.R. a try yet, you’re missing out. The graphics are excellent, and the AI is second to none. I enjoyed the title thoroughly on the PC, and I’m sure the XBox 360 version is just as much fun.

If you want to see what leaked information looks like, this is the place to be. This thread in the Gametap Forums has all the details of the ‘leak’, confirming the impressive list of new franchises.

The graphically depicted thread includes the information that the Hitman series, Thief series, and the Bloodrayne series are all coming to Gametap. Not only that, but the thread goes on to detail the fact that the Legacy of Kain series and Wing Commander IV are also coming to the online gaming service.

If more game announcements were done like this one, I’d really enjoy my job more, I can tell you that.

Activision has released another Transformers trailer, and it’s a doozy. For all of us that grew up with the Transformers, check out Starscream taking on Jazz. While the trailer is noticeably short on actual combat, one thing that stand out for me is the transformations from vehicle to robot. It was always harder to manipulate the plastic than these trailers make it look.

As I’ve said before, this game just looks better with every asset we receive. It’s definitely on my ‘must play’ list. I expect that the movie, if it’s successful, will help drive the game’s sales as well.

Have you been thinking about picking up Supreme Commander or S.T.A.L.K.E.R., but just didn’t want to drive to the store? Now you don’t have to.

Direct2Drive has announced an agreement to distribute games from THQ digitally. Direct2Drive’s Jamie Berger said, “We’re proud to be the first to offer THQ’s roster of hit games to our consumers via digital distribution. Our customers are passionate about great games and blockbusters like Supreme Commander, the award-winning Company of Heroes, and the full Dawn of War series are exciting additions to our unparalleled library of AAA games available for download.”

THQ is just another big name in a host of them making titles available on Direct2Drive. Other companies such as 2K Games, Atari, Activision, Blizzard, Eidos, EA, Namco, NCSoft, SEGA, SOE, Ubisoft, and Vivendi-Universal have previously made titles available through the digital content distributor.

Digital distribution may be the future, but I’m not a huge fan right now. The biggest reason for that feeling is that I tend to change hardware and platforms on a fairly regular basis, and digital distributors like Direct2Drive tend to limit the number of installations that the end user can do before their key no longer works. Hopefully, this is something we’ll see change in the near future.

Ever wanted to be on TV? Well, if you’re an EVE Online player, you’re now one step closer to realizing that dream. MMM Publishing, Ltd. and CCP have announced the launch of EVE TV, a weekly on-demand broadcast dedicated to the virtual universe of EVE Online.

EVE TV will report on EVE’s virtual online society, including in-game news, skirmishes, market trends, human interest stories, exclusive interviews and game-related features. The program will be anchored by SpiralJunkie and StevieSG. If you’re interested in who else will be part of the show, you can get all the info about the team here. Originally formed to broadcast EVE Online’s Alliance PVP Tournament last year, EVE TV is now taking the next step.

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