In a move that isn't fooling anyone, the Flagship team has announced that the beta for their game, Mythos, is going to take a break.

Travelers of Uld,

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.

From the team:

We regretfully announce that on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:59 PST 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 say thank you to everyone for their support and assistance with Mythos Alpha and Beta testing and we will see you soon. The Mythos Team

This is nothing short of a sad story, and an incredibly hard time for those team members who were let go. The forums have been shut down , and we're all going to miss out on a fun MMO that went wrong long ago.

G4 has been at E3 this week covering the event, and of course, they've checked out the MMOs that have been presented there.

Casey looked at Runescape HD, Jumpgate: Evolution, and Warhammer Online. 

Click "more" to check out the video!

GU 47 is imminent, and Kiara brings us the second part of the preview of this highly anticipated update!

Storm Break preview... Part 2! Storm Break, is as full of yummy goodness as a halfling's pantry! So good, in fact, we had to show it off in two parts!

We have zone changes, smartloot spell drops, and could it be.. free wallpaper?

Its Q&A time over on the Camelot Herald, this week several of the team leaders try their hand with some of the A's, check it out :

Q. I just read the news on the Herald about closing the Ghost Keep Event. While from one side I'm not that happy (because it was a nice event and a useful addition), I was just wondering: "Who will now recharge the Ring of Undead Quickening and the Ghostly Medal of Honor?" Once they run out of charges, we can throw them away? (Well, not the Necklace, of course!).

A. Our fair Lady of the Jewels did some quick checking to make sure: The Ghostly Medal of Honor can be recharged at any of the Recharger NPCs throughout the realm. The Ring of Undead Quickening however will no longer be able to be recharged once the event has ended. You never know though, someday the boundary of the spirit world may weaken once again and the Ghostly Keep Lords may return.

Q. I have a Level 49 Nightshade and have noticed that I have trouble putting a Level 47 poison on my left handed weapon, yet I can put it on my primary weapon with no issues. I am dragging the poisons right up and onto the weapon from within my inventory. Why can’t I place this poison on my secondary, left handed weapon?

A. The evil Nightshade Team Lead Demonikeen says: You must have +envenom on your offhand weapon. This is an Assassin no-no. When poisoning your offhand, it un-equips it right before applying the poison. So during the time when it's supposed to be applying the poison to your offhand weapon, your envenom skill is not high enough.

Kiara posteth:

I know everyone is going to rush right out to see The Dark Knight (as well you should, it was awesome!!!), but after you get done with that, we've got the perfect way to spend the weekend!

Bonus Exp weekend!!

Have a happy and safe weekend and enjoy the bonus exp!

Many happy dings to all!

Have you checked out our MMO News Section lately?  If not you are missing quite a few interesting stories.  Here are some highlights from this past week:

• Reviews of Hello Kitty Online by both AutumnKiss and Calthine.
• An interview with NDoors CEO Peter Kang about Atlantica Online.
• An Interview with WoW player/poker player/playboy model Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh.
• Tabula Rasa Friday Night Fights Interview with TR Community Coordinator Amy "Critters" Crider.
• News stories, screen shots, updates and more covering dozens of current and upcoming MMO games you might want to play.

Check out our news page daily for even more coverage of the games you love.

With the closed beta ending at the end of this month, and official launch on the horizon, we felt it was time to sit down with the folks at NDOORS and discuss their upcoming title, Atlantica Online.  We chatted briefly with Peter Kang, CEO of NDOORS Interactive, and here's what we learned:

Allakhazam: Will players be able to explore the world like your traditional MMORPG? For example, the ability to swim in bodies of water freely and climb mountains, etc. for better views of the world.

Peter: Atlantica Online isn’t like traditional MMORPGs in that you can’t explore the world by doing things like swimming in bodies of water. The Atlantica world is unique in that it’s based more in reality, with the Earth’s continents being the same land masses in the game. Real-life locations are places players will have to travel to during the course of the game. Locales like the pyramids of Egypt and Bran Castle in Romania, which is believed to have been the home of Count Vlad of Dracula mythology, are a few of the places where players will have to battle enemies like mummies and vampires to find the fabled lost civilization of Atlantis. It’s a globe-hopping adventure and players will be able to explore many of the locations in-depth. But it’s a world that’s not completely fictional, with players getting to interact with places like the Great Wall of China and India’s Taj Mahal in a whole new way.

I’d also like to add that two of Atlantica’s features, the turn-based combat system and the ability to acquire mercenaries who help you in battle, are not the norm in MMORPGs, and help to distinguish our game further from traditional ones.

Allakhazam:How will Atlantica Online play in comparison to the more traditional turn based RPG such as Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger and Breath of Fire?

Peter: It’s true turn-based. You have up to 30 seconds to assign a move for your main character and up to eight mercenaries. Then your opponent has his time to make his moves, and you have to just sit and watch the impact those actions have on your characters’ health points. It alternates like that for the entire battle. There is nothing else dictating which move gets made when.

In the combat action, there are some strategic and spatial similarities to Chrono Trigger, in that you have your characters in a specific formation and how certain moves you make will attack and impact the formation of your opponent. But we think we’ve been able to put together an exciting and fast-paced brand of action. Our development team in Korea spent most of the three years it took to create the game on the turn-based system, and fine-tuning it for an online game.

Direct from Champions Online, comes the profile and concept of the newest supervillian, Foxbat!

Hey girlie! Yeah, you! Get away from that computer! You're not qualified to write the epic tale of the rapid yet monumental rise to power of the greatest supervillain ever.

That's me. I'm Foxbat. And I'm awesome.

The day I was born, the earth shook and the heavens cracked open. The stars realigned. Rivers changed their courses. A comet appeared. Choirs of angels proclaimed my greatness. All ice cream was free.

Mumsie and Dadders were super rich, so of course I got the absolute best of everything, which is only what I deserve. I studied at the best schools, had every action figure ever made, and gave away ponies in the gift bags at my tenth birthday party. Boy howdy - those ponies were hard to get out of those little bags!

 To check out the full profile, click here!

Tabula Rasa’s community-driven (and dev supported) Friday Night Fights has become so popular and brought so many questions from the community that Tabula Rasa Community Coordinator, Amy “Critters” Crider has answered them, and we have video and screen shots! First though, on Friday, July 25 watch Richard "General British" Garriott and two time featherweight boxing champ, Jesus Chavez, in game as they fight it out in this amazing event!

Q: What are Friday Night Fights?
A: Friday Night Fights is a popular hand-to-hand boxing event that takes place every Friday night in Tabula Rasa. Based on the original Friday Night Fights event created by the Tabula Rasa Community Team, the now player-run event has its own meeting location in game, aptly named the C.E.L.L.A.R (Coalition of Enlistees Likely Looking for Aggressive Retaliation), and a weekly winner's bracket posted on the official Tabula Rasa website

 

Read on for the videos, and the rest of the Friday Night Fights FAQ! For the most recent screen shots check out our Tabula Rasa gallery !

Blizzard has won the first round of a legal battle against the maker of software that automates game play in World of Warcraft.

That's right folks, according to the following article , there has been some movement in the MMOGlider war Blizzard is fighting to prevent botting in WoW. Read on!

We've got five new screenies from Wakfu, the new game being developed by Ankama!

For more details on the game, or the other screen shots we have on file, visit our Wakfu games list entry !

WOO HOO

Welcome to the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Beta Test. The list below contains information on the current available content for testing and general information. This information is subject to change. Alpha testers should note that your characters have been temporarily locked out. In a few weeks time, we will unlock these characters and you will be able to continue to level them. Please visit the Beta forums to submit feedback and discuss the expansion development with others. http://beta.worldofwarcraft.com/forums

General

• The continent of Northrend is now available! To travel there, visit one of four transportation masters in either Orgrimmar, Undercity, Stormwind Harbor,or Menethil Harbor.
  
• The floating magical city of Dalaran is now available!
  
• The Barber Shop has been implemented and you can now visit one of the Barber Shops in the major cities to change your appearance.
  
• The all new Achievement System has been implemented.
  
• Transportation between Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra can be found at the Tuskarr villages in those zones.
  
• The level cap is currently set to 77.
  
• Hit Rating, Critical Strike Rating, and Haste Rating now modify both melee attacks and spells.
  
• Spellpower:
  

• All items and effects which grant bonuses to spell damage and spell healing are being consolidated into a single stat, Spellpower. This stat will appear with the same values found on items which grant “increased spell damage and healing” such as on typical Mage and Warlock itemization.
  
  • For classes which do not heal, they should see no change in the character sheet other than new tooltip wording.
  
  
• Healing characters will see their bonus healing numbers on the character sheet decrease, however, all healing spells have been modified to receive more benefit from spellpower than they received from bonus healing, with a net effect of no change to the amount healed by their spells. Some talents have had to be rebalanced to accommodate this change, but the amount healed will remain roughly the same. In addition, some talents will provide only healing spell power.
  

Read on for the entire patch notes that were included in the post !

Blizzard has announced today that on July 25th, World of Warcraft will be released in Latin America. On that date, players will be able to purchase localized versions of the original game, as well as the Burning Crusade expansion, and 60-day game cards. The initial launch will be in Mexico, Chile, and Argentina, with more countries to come.

The Latin American Spanish version of World of Warcraft is gearing up for release and will be available for purchase starting next Friday, July 25. See the press release and FAQ for further details.

To celebrate the release, we'll be holding a launch event in Plaza Satelite, a mall located in Estado de Mexico, on July 26 and 27. We'll have activities to participate in and prizes to win, and you'll be able to meet members of our Latin American team and other Blizzard Entertainment employees. For more details, please visit the event webpage .

Its a festival of fun over on the Gaheris server this weekend, check out the planned events :

After the overwhelming support for the Play on Gaheris weekends and all the wonderful new players that have come to play on Gaheris. Aquilonia and Marrian are hosting a Play on Gaheris Week from July 20th - 27th . They will be hosting a week full of fun, games and of course RAIDS!

Who: Everyone, Veterans and New Players!
What: Come see what Gaheris has to offer and the uniqueness of the PvE server. Enjoy raiding areas that you haven't visited in years.
Where: Gaheris (PvE Server)
When: A week long event that begins July 20th and runs until July 27th
Why: To see the game from a fresh point of view, and just have a good time.
How: Load up Dark Ages and either start a new character, dust off a character you forgot about, or play with ones already on Gaheris.

The events are planned for new and veteran players to the Gaheris Server. We will be hosting different events every night of the week for all levels of players. New players are encouraged to come on over and roll characters anytime between now and then; contact any member of Blue Knights to get ahold of Amy or Marrian to get Aurulite to get you started. All times are Eastern.

Turbine has just released a new batch of screenshots for Book 14: The Ring-forges of Eregion , the next free content update for The Lord of the Rings Online.

The screenshots illustrate new and improved Minstrel animations as well as the continuation of the epic questline. Take a look:

Aeria Games has acquired Cronous for publication in North America. Beta testing sign ups are open , and invites will start July 28th.

Santa Clara, Calif. (July 16, 2008) - Free-to-play PC game publisher, Aeria Games has acquired Cronous - the classic MMORPG game developed by Lizard Interactive for distribution in North America.

Aeria Games will add Cronous to its portfolio of free MMORPG games such as Shaiya and Last Chaos to offer a release that may have a different appeal to players. Cronous is a more traditional MMORPG game that has game play which is familiar to original Dungeons & Dragons and Diablo fans. Players can choose from classes such as Fighters, Valkryries (like Rogues), Magicians (like Wizards) and Savages (like Barbarians). Game characters gain special attacks and magic spells specific to their classes through leveling.

It's been rumored. It's been speculated about. It's been begged for. And now, it's been confirmed: Knights of the Old Republic will be released as an MMO. Portfolio.com reported:

In an interview at E3 this week, Electronic Arts chief executive John Riccitiello said that EA is working on the next version of Star Wars game Knights of the Old Republic, and it will most certainly have a massively multiplayer online component to it.

"We've got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development," said Riccitiello. The first title, based on the Warhammer property, will launch soon. "And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about -- in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it."

Does Riccitiello mean the oft rumored Knights of the Old Republic Online? "Yes," he said.

Check out the whole article here , and start dusting off those lightsabers!

Angels Online has introduced the family system! Families can have up to 10 members, and as long as they have at least 3 are eligible to recieve a weekly reward. With each family level increase, further rewards will be handed out.

Today, the AO team has brought a brand-new system, the Family Funds, to players. This new system offers players a broader game environment and helps players easily acclimatize themselves to the game.

After the system is released, players can log into the Family Funds page and create a family. You can have 3-10 players in your family; and as the players in your group level-up, your family will be rewarded with some great rewards.

For more information about the Family Fund, visit here .

Following up on our editorial yesterday we present another tester's experience in Hello Kitty Online.

I don't often do beta tests just for the sake of doing them. Between Allakhazam and the kids I'm usually short of time, and I have this low-key fear that some game will seduce me away from my beloved EverQuest II. But I got the chance to slip into Hello Kitty Online's Closed Beta, and I figured, oh, why not?

Now, I'm not one of the millions of people who dote on Hello Kitty. The 34 year old sweetie drives one billion dollars in world-wide sales a year , but in 1974 when she hit the scene Alaska was a bit out of step with current trends, and I don't think I even saw any Hello Kitty merchandise until I was out of high school (that'd be nineteen eighty-mumbledy-something). So the initial draw, that of "OMG! It's HELLO KITTY!! *squeal*" completely passes me by. It does, however, give the game a huge advantage with a large and diverse consumer base that is ready to embrace everything and anything Hello Kitty. I'm quite willing to embrace the game experience despite my lack of Hello Kitty savvy.

So, it appears that in addition to the new class, zones and talents Blizzard has been teasing us with, they have another trick up their sleeve...Achievements . Yes, you heard me, Blizzard is adding a new feature to WotLK and you can read all about it below.