This trailer supports the launch of Torchlight, the action RPG from Runic Games, the company made up of veterans of projects like Diablo, Diablo II, Mythos and Fate.

Dungeons & Dragons is a game about fantasy characters fighting mythical creatures, overcoming great adversity and sometimes saving the world, or the kingdom, or the princess.. or themselves. What would the game be without monsters? Well a lot less interesting if you ask me, so when Wizards of the Coast released the second collection of foes for the 4th edition game I think it was easy to expect more of the same. But more of the same often means something lacks innovation, interest or excitement.

Guess what? Monster Manual 2 is more the same in many good ways.  Sure it is, at its core, just an updating of many previously published monsters. Monster tomes were of course written for previous editions, but in the case of Dungeons & Dragons there are so many iconic creatures that the first Monster Manual could not hope to contain every favorite -  just as combined Monster Manual 1 & 2 will fail to meet that goal.

The book’s cover creature, Demogorgon, follows in the wake of MM1’s Orcus and while “the big O” might have been the inspiration for the 4th Edition game (for the uninformed, 4E was called Orcus while it was undergoing internal development), Demogorgon and his crew really make this book sing as Wizards continues to flesh out the former Lords of the Nine Hells, reintroduces Cthulu Mythos Old ones and shepherds Metallic Dragons back into the official D&D rules.

It would be a simple thing to splay forth a list of all the monsters — new and old — that are included in this volume, but frankly you can find those sorts of details elsewhere. Instead I thought I’d focus on how useful the monsters included are in designing adventure scenarios. I’ve been running 4E for over a year but only now am I really preparing to run homegrown encounters.

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Turbine is giving Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar players a chance to prepare their favorite characters to explore the Mines of Moria. This weekend, you can earn 25% bonus experience starting Thursday October 2nd through October 6th.

As added incentive to look forward to the new expansion, Turbine developer Brian “Zombie Columbus” Aloisio has revealed more of the theory behind the new Rune-keeper class for Moria in the latest dev diary entry.

“The Minstrel sings words of Power and the Lore-master finds Power from ancient secrets, but there are more paths than these. Middle-earth is a land where language has Power, and such words are comprised of rune-letters. Put them together in the right order and the world can be changed in subtle and sometimes grand ways.”

The Rune-keeper rounds out the magic using classes of LOTRO quite nicely with the use of Battle and Healing Attunements. This class uses lightning for quick attacks and chill attacks to hit multiple targets or debuff enemies. Rune-keepers inflict fire damage over time which builds becoming more deadly the longer its maintained. Their healing is also over time supplementing healing skills of other classes without duplicating them.

The Rune-keeper class isn’t modeled after any specific character in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. However moon letters and runes are both part of the mythos so the class fits into the spirit of the world. For more on these linguistic mystics, check out Aloisio’s Rune-keeper dev diary on the LOTRO website.

Konami Digital Entertainment has sent out the good word that Silent Hill: Homecoming will soon be available the PC. Players can look forward to an enhanced combat system and a new soundtrack by acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka.

Silent Hill Homecoming marks the fifth story in the Silent Hill mythos, and introduces a new protagonist to the mysterious town. The story follows Alex Shepherd, who returns to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen to investigate the sudden disappearance of his brother and the strange occurrences taking place around town. Shepherd unravels a tale that takes him from his boyhood home to the fog-shrouded streets of Silent Hill, as he faces the darkest horrors of his soul to find his missing brother.

Gamers with Steam accounts will be able to download Silent Hill: Homecoming in September. Visit the Konami website for more information on the Silent Hill series.

One of my favorite things about the Silent Hill series is the soundtracks that very effectually enhance the surreal atmosphere of the games. I also admire the use of psychological horror rather than reliance on cheap thrills and gross out tactics.

After several attempts to try and save the flailing Flagship Studios, COO and co-founder Max Schaefer, has admitted that “for all intents and purposes it’s closed down”.

Speaking in a GameCyte interview, Schaefer noted several deals to try to save the company fell through and that at present, the studio was only working on taking care of “final affairs” and nothing more.

“We were in very advanced negotiations with a couple of people for deals that would have kept Flagship open and would have kept everything running. And in fact, for a good while it was looking like a near-certainty that one of those would have come to fruition.

In the end, it was just too entangled to get a good deal in place, and so we had to close down. It was really kind of a wrenching, horrible period actually, and we learned a lot from it. We’d do things differently next time for sure.

We all were up all night, every night, not getting any sleep, working every day trying to get it to work out for everyone, and in the end it just didn’t.”

You may recall that the creators of Hellgate: London and the upcoming Mythos have been rumored to be in dire straits since June when programmer Guy Somberg posted a depressing piece on his personal blog about employees leaving the studio “in droves”. After retractions, denials, lay-offs and rumored buyouts, Asian publisher T3 Entertainment took over the developmental reins of Hellgate: London and Mythos in July and plan on trying to keep the MMOs going.

I never played Hellgate: London, but I was a participant in the beta for Mythos, and I have to say that I enjoyed it rather well. Hopefully, T3 can turn things around for both MMOs, especially for those who actually enjoyed Hellgate: London.

Asian publisher T3 Entertainment has taken over the development of Hellgate: London and Mythos. The fate of these two Flagship Studios titles has been in question since the studio laid off most of its staff.

T3 has set up a development studio in San Fransisco and has sent out the word that it’s hiring.

“T3 Entertainment is searching for creative minds to passionately continue development of Hellgate: London and Mythos, along with other new games, which are being published by HanbitSoft Inc.”

There’s no word on whether the remaining Flagship staff have been offered positions at this time. I guess they can apply just like everyone else. On the other hand, maybe a fresh perspective would do Hellgate some good.

via Gamasutra

With Flagship Studios having laid off most of its staff and put the Mythos beta on hiatus, Hellgate: London players have been unsure about the game’s future. Zack “Ozuri” Karlsson, Sr. Director, Business Development for NAMCO BANDAI Games America, Inc. has issued a notice to reassure Hellgate players that the gate to the Hell dimension will remain open despite Flagship Studio’s troubles.

Hello Hellgaters,

I know everyone is looking for an announcement, and we’d love to make one — but right now, many things are in flux and we don’t have all the information yet. As soon as we do, we’ll post here on the forums, on the website, and anywhere else we can find you.

In the short term, please do not worry. The game is up, the servers are not going away in the short term and any major changes to status will be communicated in advance.

I’d like to ask for your patience as we try to figure it all out and chart a new course. We value your community, your commitment, and your passion for Hellgate and we will make sure that any solution that we architect will support all of you as best as we are able.

Thanks again. We hope to have a real announcement shortly.

The most interesting part of the notice is that it is from NAMCO BANDAI rather than Flagship personnel. Flagship is partnered with NAMCO BANDAI, but this announcement begs the question of whether the company will take the IP and run with it if Flagship goes under.

via Hellgate London Forums

Flagship Studios might still be open in some capacity, but the same can no longer be said about the Mythos beta. Word was released on Friday that the Mythos beta would be going on hiatus, which is a pretty ambiguous way of putting it given that circumstances.

We, the ancient elders of Uld are issuing this warning to all citizens and travelers. Hurry! The great darkness that once plagued Uld is returning. Everyone is ordered to close down their shops and prepare. We predict the when night is at its peak the darkness will arrive. The ancient elders of Uld will be leaving immediately in order to preserve the lore of this wonderful world. Citizens please prepare thyself and know that the elders will be back from their travels some day.

We regretfully announce that on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:59 CST the world of Uld known as Mythos will be going on hiatus. On behalf of all of the Devs and Community team we want to thank you to everyone for their support and assistance with Mythos Alpha and Beta testing and we hope to see you soon.

I’m really hoping that this is only a temporary measure while Flagship gets things in order. I had a great time with the game, which was really the closest thing to Diablo we’ve seen since Diablo 2 was released.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to bid farewell to both of my characters, Krycek and Rita Poon. So long, guys.

We (along with virtually everyone else in the media) jumped the gun a bit when we said that Flagship Studios had been closed, even though that certainly seemed to be the case. An official statement from the company has set the record straight, explaining that while most of the company’s staff has been laid off, the company remains open and still owns the rights to the IPs for both Hellgate: London and Mythos. As a result of the layoffs, Flagship won’t be accepting any further subscribers for Hellgate, and current subscribers will not be billed.

Here’s the official statement, straight from the Hellgate forums:

San Francisco, CA (July 14, 2008) — Flagship Studios has announced today that despite rumors to the contrary, the company is still operating.

“It is with deep regret that I must announce that Flagship Studios has laid off most employees. However, the core management and founding team members are still at Flagship.” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “The past five years have been an incredible experience for us, but unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain the size of the company any longer.”

Flagship Studios owns the rights to all its technology and IP, including Hellgate: London and Mythos. Due to the current situation, Flagship will not be taking any new subscribers for Hellgate: London, and all current subscriptions will not be billed.

Flagship wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to those that have supported the company and games over the past five years.

Flagship Studios’ Max Schaefer chatted with Eurogamer recently about Mythos, with a question eventually arising that asked Schaefer if he thought Mythos could ever become the biggest MMO in the world. He more or less sidestepped that question, but did offer up the idea that Mythos could possibly take down some of the big MMOs on the market.

Just not World of Warcraft.

“You always hope that something like that will happen, but it’s so unpredictable,” he said about the prospect of being the world’s biggest MMO. “What we really want to do is come out and provide a solid alternative to these games. We’re under no illusions. WOW had ten times the staff we did, took three times as long, had twenty times the budget – and those are pretty talented, hard-working guys as well, so to think that we could go straight head to head is probably unrealistic. However, what we can do is target it better and we can find out what the core gaming experience that people want is and really try to hit that. I think that the free model and the item sales model give us the potential to capture a lot more of an audience than if we had gone with a boxed product and subscription model.

“Can we take down the big boys? I think we can take down some of them. And I’d like to put a dent in the others.”

There were a lot of other interesting topics discussed throughout the interview, such as what Flagship Studios learned from Hellgate: London. He summed up the lesson pretty simply, saying, “[D]on’t try to do everything for everybody.”

As for the microtransaction items (the business model is that Mythos will be free to play, with small item microtransactions sustaining things), Schaefer once again provided some assurance that we won’t see people buy their way to the top — you won’t be buying the best sword in the game. In fact, it’s unlikely you’ll be buying any swords at all, or anything of the sort, for that matter.

“What we’re going to do instead is cosmetic things – funny hats and cool shirts, that sort of thing. We’re going to provide service-orientated things like being able to buy bigger Stashes or shared Stashes among your accounts, but then for gameplay itself what we’re going to sell to people is things like maps to dungeons that have more luck. So you’ll get slightly better drops in that dungeon, and maybe 15 per cent more experience,” Schaefer explains.

Doesn’t sound too bad. And in all honesty, I more than likely wouldn’t mind plopping down $1 or so for a badass hat for my character.