PlayStation Home might still be far from where Sony wants it to be, but the public should be able to finally get its first hands-on look at it this November. Creative director Ron Festejo spoke with Eurogamer TV recently and told them that the beta currently contains between 8,000 and 10,000 users; a number which will be expanding further in or around July. Then in November the beta will be opened completely to the public.

Festejo also showed off the ability to launch a game from within Home to Eurogamer. You can check out the video of it here, but be warned: if the pronounciation of beta as “bee-tah” bothers you, you should steer clear.

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Dreambuilder Studios has released a demo of its upcoming Heresy War video game. This action game is a combat space simulator set after humanity has recovered from World War III. Players will use worm-holes for space travelas they play a role in a new civil war.

Keep in mind that the demo doesn’t represent the final polished version of the game. However, it should give you an idea of whether you’d be interested in investing further time and money in the title.

Gameplay features for the final version:

• Mission-based , story-driven gameplay
• Branching non-linear campaign based on player’s actions
• Intuitive interface and controls
• Complete freedom across all axes
• Squadron command
• Sequential capital ship destruction
• Self-adjusting difficulty level
• Arcade and simulation control

via FileFront

Concerns over the FilePlanet open Beta for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures have led some gamers to question whether the game will be ready for launch. A Q&A with Funcom’s Age of Conan Product Director Jorgen Tharaldsen answers the hard questions on the state of AoC and its readiness for launch.

The MMORPG Q&A covers the FilePlanet Beta build as well as questions on loading screens between zones. There is also talk about some systems experiencing poor performance on systems meeting the minimum requirements.
Tharaldsen also talks about the May 10 grand finale to the Open Beta as detailed earlier this week on Gaming Today.

via MMORPG

Remember the promised beta of LittleBigPlanet we were expecting sometime last year, which would give us something to keep busy with while LBP was finished up? And then, when the game was delayed, we presumed the beta was simply delayed right along with it?

Well it ain’t happenin’.

At this week’s PlayStation Day, PS3 Fanboy got some hands-on time with the game and also got to speak with two of the developers. When asked about the beta, both community development manager Sam Bennett and producer Pete Smith revealed that an open, public beta probably isn’t going to happen. Testing will instead be done internally at Sony, although some lucky gamers and members of the press might find themselves participating in the beta. Nothing’s set in stone, so don’t go getting all green with envy just yet.

There is still hope that you’ll get a chance to play the game before it’s officially released. A demo is certainly a possibility, although the what and when are still up in the air.

Killzone 2, Home, LBP… the delays are killing me, Sony.

FunCom has big plans to celebrate the end of the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Beta. On May 10th, the company plans to unleash havoc of epic proportions. The servers will go down for a short update; and when they come back on line, Funcom promises players PvP mayhem.

All servers will be PvP with no level restrictions. PK will be allowed every where but major cities. To give newer characters a fighting chance, all level 13 characters will be raised to level 20. Their inventory and gear will be changed out for lots of cash and level appropriate equipment. All characters will be zoned to their race’s hub, but will have access to all zones and levels after 20.

You can expect more detailed information on this deadman’s party soon.

via Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

The Spellborn International team is back from this year’s Role Playing Convention in Münster where it offered attendees a chance to experience The Chronicles of Spellborn Beta first hand. The team ran TCOS on six Ultraforce-Design Computers so that players could see just how well Unreal Engine 2.5 rendered the scenery. Players also got to create characters and experience the combat system.

TCOS’s combat is very dynamic featuring fast-paced, real time battles. Spellborn accomplishes this by using a shooter-based combat system. I’m really looking forward to playing TCOS. The formulaic combat most MMOs feature where you use the same skill combos for practically all members of the same MOB type gets old really fast. If the combat system is half as good as advertised, I could really get into this game.

via The Chronicles of Spellborn

The weekly “Metal Gear Mondays” post on PlayStation.Blog yesterday revealed the new content that has been made available to those in the Metal Gear Online beta: a new gameplay type, Sneaking Mission, and a new map, Midtown Maelstrom. The new map, pictured to the right, is a Middle Eastern level that focuses on combat in the streets and various back alleyways.

Sneaking Mission is a bit complex, as PS Blog explains: “In this rule, there will be one character and two teams in the game. Snake, Red team, and Blue team. Snake’s mission is to collect a certain number of dog tags, by having other players stunned or held up. Red and Blue teams’ mission is to defeat Snake certain times or defeat more players in the opposing team. If more than 10 people are in the game, another player may play as Snake’s mini robotic sidekick Mk. II, to assist the Snake player. If you are playing as Snake, you have many of his incredible abilities available to you – such as the camouflage!”

Some various concerns were also addressed in the post, including microphone problems, accessing the community site, training modes, and adding friends. You can check all of that out here.

The Team Fortress 2-styled, free-to-play Battlefield game, Battlefield Heroes, is set to begin beta testing on May 6, according to Eurogamer. Registration will be conducted on the game’s official website, so keep an eye out for updates on that.

In case you missed any of our previous coverage, Battlefield Heroes is entirely free to play and will run primarily off of advertisements – although there will be no ads in the game itself. With a cartoony look and streamlined gameplay and low system requirements, EA is hoping to reach a broader audience with what is clearly a radical change for Battlefield on a number of levels. This isn’t, however, Battlefield 3, so diehard fans don’t need to worry – that’s still coming, even if EA isn’t talking about it right now.

As much as I like blowing up environments, I’m looking forward to Heroes much more than I am Bad Company. Luckily for me, I’ll be able to roll from the Bad Company beta right into Heroes, although I’m not exactly sure what will fill the gap between now and Heroes’ release in Q3 2008.

Those of you who have been enjoying (or not enjoying, in my case) the Bad Company beta who are also longtime fans of the core Battlefield franchise will know that the game is sorely lacking in the game modes department. In particular, the lack of the classic Conquest mode is a real bummer; Gold Rush is a fun mode, especially with the destructible environments, but some of us yearn for that classic Battlefield gameplay.

Luckily, DICE will be addressing this concern through some free downloadable content (free DLC from EA – shocking, I know) that will be available as soon as the game is released. And as Eurogamer points out, it’s being added because gamers wanted it.

You’ve gotta love that they were willing to implement the mode in response to community feedback. And the fact that it’s free makes it that much sweeter; it’s nice to see what amounts to a fairly significant gameplay feature being added through DLC for free in an EA published game.

Now, if they’ll just stop selling cheat codes, we’d really be in business.

It took a few more days of waiting than we first expected, but you can now head online and get in on some Metal Gear Online action. But be forewarned — you’ll have to download another patch that was released earlier today, but it’s much smaller than the previous one.

Folks have been reporting that there’s been some trouble connecting, which is (unfortunately) to be expected. Just keep trying, and you’ll get in. Make sure to come back afterward and let us know what you think, and if the wait was worth it.

Before we knew it was delayed, those of us who were lucky enough to secure a (working) beta key for Metal Gear Online were left to deal with a variety of problems. Some people had trouble downloading the client. Nearly everyone found the huge patch download to be slow and unresponsive at best. Then the Konami ID site that you have to register on stopped working.

With the beta now delayed, the site has been patched up and seems to be working as it should. If you’re in the beta, make sure to sign up now so that you don’t have to mess with it once the beta finally goes live, or just in case the site decides to break again.

via PS3 Fanboy

Today, PS3 owners the world over eagerly fired up the new Metal Gear Online beta…and promptly found themselves denied. The beta was supposed to begin worldwide today, but it seems Konami has been forced to limit it to Japan for now, due to an overwhelming demand. They plan to re-open the beta in other regions once they can stabilize the servers in Japan first; and who knows when that will be? On the plus side, the developer has stated they will now be extending the beta period by five days. Konami released this notice on the issue:

IMPORTANT NOTICE for all
METAL GEAR ONLINE PREMIERE BETA players

We would like to thank all players for their keen interest in taking part in the beta test. However, we regret to inform you that due to extraordinary levels of traffic from all around the globe, we have been unable to run the service to the level we expected. As a temporary measure, we will be deferring the start of the US public beta test until we are able to stabilize our server.

We would like to apologize for all inconveniences as well as confusion caused. We would like to add that due to the above reasons, we will be making the following changes to the schedule:

1) Starting date: TBA. We will be making another announcement on 22/4/2008 23:00(PDT)
2) Beta Test closure: This will now be on 11/05/2008 at 24:00(PDT) rather than 06/05/2008 at 24:00(PDT)

IMPORTANT: Please note that your voucher code will only be valid up until 05/06/2008, so please make sure to register them by then.

Well, I suppose it’s a good thing this is just a beta test and not the actual release of the game. Right now, someone in Konami is holding a clip board with some note paper, and right next to the words “More Servers?” he’s checking the box marked “Yes.”

Via Kombo

The developers of Quake Live (formerly known as “Quake Zero”) are now accepting sign ups for the game’s beta test. The game will pretty much be a port of Quake III, but completely free and playable via a web browser. Players will also be able to access friends lists, stat tracking, tournaments, and communication directly through a web browser. We’ll have to wait and see if all that can actually bring in a vibrant community. I have to admit, the prospect of being able to play a quality FPS on any computer is an enticing prospect.

To sign for the Quake Live beta, you just have to head over to the official website and submit your e-mail address.

Yes, once again there’s going to be nothing new in the way of downloadable content for PlayStation 3 owners this week. The store remains open but frozen as the renovations are completed. But next Thursday should make for one hell of an update, with all the catching up to do plus Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and hopefully plenty more.

In the meantime, I’d once again signal you to focus on the barrage of awesomeness that the PS3 is receiving this month, which will be topped off with Grand Theft Auto IV at the end of the month. Suddenly a lack of DLC doesn’t seem so bad, does it?

Or if the anticipation of all that is too great, go pick up March of the Penguins on Blu-ray. It looks great, and it’s simply fascinating.

A video featuring footage from the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning closed beta was unleashed this morning. If you were interested in playing WAR before, you will be gagging for it after watching this - well, at least I felt that way.

Based upon Games Workshop’s tabletop fantasy war game, EA Mythic’s Warhammer Online: AoR will hit the PC sometime this Fall. For more information and tons of assets you can look back over our previous posts here.

Flagship Studios has release the long awaited Hellgate: London single player patch v. 1.2 to beta. Players can voluntarily test the patch which contains a huge amount of bug fixes, tweaks and new content from Patch 0.7, Patch 1.0, Patch 1.1, Patch 1.1b, and Patch 1.2 multiplayer.

Those brave enough to test the beta of this patch can download it here and the full patch notes can be found here.

Flagship is asking that players post all bugs in the Single Player Bugs forum and clarify that you’re using the Single Player Patch 1.2 Beta.

via Hellgate: London Underground

Normally I’d be writing about the new demos/games/videos/downloadable content that’ve been released on the PlayStation Store today, but as per part of the ongoing store upgrade, there won’t be any new content added either today or next Thursday.

Look on the bright side: this is a rocking month to be a PlayStation 3 owner. Aside from the new PlayStation Store, there’s also Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, DualShock 3, Warhawk’s second expansion and the 1.3 patch, the Metal Gear Online beta… it’s a flurry of awesomeness on PS3.

Spellborn International has released screenshots from The Chronicles of Spellborn beta. These screens come from the Quarterstone area of the upcoming MMO.  The shots with the cliffs rising up as far as the eye can see really give these screens depth. The detail is incredible and the colors make each scene seem ominous and foreboding. I can imagine this setting would make a character feel very small indeed.

Players can view more incredible screenshots of the Quarterstone area on FileFront.

via Press Release

Mark Jacobs, the General Manager for EA Mythic recently stated in a blog post that the possibility of one million users for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning could be surpassed once the title is opened up to the Asia markets. The closed beta for the MMORPG has ongoing for over a year now, and the number of users has already surpassed 500,000.

Jacobs had this to say regarding the number of beta testers:

“Actually, I’d be surprised if we didn’t hit one million once we start taking beta apps for our Asian partners. Even without Asia, based on our current sign-up rate, we should blow through 750,000 and we have a decent shot at one million. Since we have already far surpassed my initial goal, I’m quite happy with what we have. And since I’m sure somebody will ask this, my goal, post EA, was to have 500K signed up in North America and Europe.”

Despite some delays, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is currently scheduled to be released in the Fall.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

The newest video from Flagship Studios shows off not only the different races to choose from in their free MMORPG Mythos, but also goes into detail on three of the different classes to choose from.

The Bloodletter is your typical melee warrior, and if you like a character who is more hands on with their weapons and one that can get in the middle of a fight, then this will be the best melee class to choose. Bloodletters can also summon blood minions to help you do your dirty work in the heat of battle.

Pyromancers are basically wizards or magicians who can summon elementals to help them out in a pinch. Like most classes of this type, Pyromancers are best used at a distance when in battle, but if faced with a surrounding horde of enemies, they can still hold their own, but not as well as the Bloodletter.

Gadgeteers are also a class best used at a distance. Although guns and rifles are their primary weapons, the attacks are slower, and while more powerful the delay when using these weapons can cause an enemy to get close enough to attack. Gadgeteers will probably be better suited to standing in the back like a bowman or a hunter.

Mythos is shaping up to be a great game, especially for one that is free. The graphics are pretty nice compared to other free MMORPGs on the market and I have had a lot of fun so far with the beta. The third chapter was released on Monday and so far it is proving to be a highly entertaining game addition.

For more information on Mythos, check out our previous posts.

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