[I was going to summarize, but hey... you know I'm lazy, so here's the pasted press release: --Hoza]

Disney Online today announced that Pirates of the Caribbean Online (www.PiratesOnline.com), an immersive massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) and virtual world inspired by the popular film franchise, has launched for the PC and Mac platforms. Pirates of the Caribbean Online allows thousands of players to fully experience the adventures made famous in the films and explore beyond these boundaries in a quest to become the most legendary pirate on the high seas.

A bit of "congrats!" is in order as the team at Intent Software has launched their new Astonia world Urd out from beta. The announcement from Alexander J. von der Geest at Intent says: "During the one month beta test Astonia attracted 10.000 registered players. Astonia is free to play. Players can upgrade to paid premium accounts, which offer even more game features."

Well... that's it for a quick "press release comes in, so I post it" moment. Now, if you can all just get me to do that every day, you'll be standing in freezing rain of fire, 'cause it will be a cold day in He... wait. That's not really what I meant to say...

[Let's just get to the point... here's the announcement as it came into my mailbox:  --Hoza] 

BatMUD (http://www.bat.org/) , the now 17-year old online Fantasy game Veteran has renewed its strategies in order to respond to the Commercial onslaught of MMORPGs of the later date; and has turned partially graphical. By providing an up-to-date Java-based lightweight Game Client, it shifts the whole MUD Community towards the younger MMORPG generation.

In their prime, text-based hack & slash MUDs were thought as the most advanced multiplayer online games feature-wise, already having implemented with such features as City ownership and very deeply customizable guild, skill and spell paths; and by utilizing the 'most powerful graphics engine' of all time - your own imagination. BatMUD has lived up to its promise, by still being one of the most diverse games available on the Internet, with constant development during its 17-years of existence. Generally, back in the day, MUDs were thought as terribly hard to adapt to due to the text-based playing style, but BatMUD's new Game Client shifts the odds on this and does its job remarkably well without losing the old magic feeling of playing a true MUD.

Screenshots and feature list available at http://www.bat.org/batclient/ , the Client is a Free download and playing includes no hidden charges. Take a look at this ancient game, which truly re-introduces the word newbie into your consciousness, properly written.

Just a quick note to send you out for some fun play... Dungeon Runners has launched and it's quite a lot of fun! I haven't gotten time to play it much yet (darn worky gunk!) but what I've seen got me really giddy inside. The humor in the voice-overs and the world in general is a ton of fun that had an interesting effect on my level of acceptance/enjoyment, I think. The art is really nice, the gameplay is generally solid and... well, fun! Fun. Good word, that.

So, I'll leave you to go try the free version of the game instead of reading me say little of consequence about it. Actually "free version" isn't quite right, since you can download the game and play for free... you just don't get all the bells & whistles unless you stoke the fires with a paid membership . Even then, the membership is only $4.99/month which is downright refreshing in its own right.

There really appears to be a ton of fun wrapped up in this puppy... but you risk nothing to find out for yourself. I'll get deeper into it as soon as I can, and not because I have to -- because I want to. That's a Good Thing. The loot system alone makes me want to collect stuff just to see what wacky mad loot I'll find... and then there's Karl. I laughed pretty good at Karl... at first he seemed a bit "off" for inclusion in the game, but soon I was happy to have him as a companion. I realize you have no idea what I'm talking about, so I'll let you go find out. Have fun!

PoxNoraHot on the heels of my (late) news of the PoxNora open beta, Octopi has officially launched their online strategy game PoxNora and announced a slight price shift in the downward direction. Where starter packs and booster packs were $9.99 and $4.99 respectively, their prices have been reduced to $8.49 and $2.99, also respectively. That's a lot of respect.

I should be slapping down some of the screenshots I was sent, but I'm tired and you will get good mileage out of the video linked to in the previous post anyway. Just go to the site and check the game out for yourself, since free client download beats screenshots any day... well, I think so, anyway.

Again with the slow news... I know, I'm not helping you all get your timely MassMOG fix. Sorry 'bout that. :P Today, I bring you (late) news that the free online FPS War Rock is in open beta! Wheee! Ain't that grand? "Yes," is the answer, in case you're confused.

Yet another of the free play games coming out (K2 Network's calling it Free2Play, specifically)... War Rock is an online first-person shooter featuring modern weapons and vehicles ala Battlefield games and the like. It's looking really, really sweet on the outside. As usual, though, I'm having trouble scrounging the time to get in there and check it out myself. Thus, I don't have a review for you or anything like that. I will drop this bit of marketing text to get you interested, though:

Though still in Beta test, gamers can play all three game modes (Mission, Infantry and Vehicle), pick from five distinct combat specialties and tote an armory-full of guns into the frontlines while driving the combat vehicle of their choice. Depending on the game-mode selected, players can duel up close and personal in war-torn streets or take their battles to land, sea and sky. Combatant vehicles range from motorcycles and Humvees, to gunboats and Blackhawk attack-choppers.

The commercial launch, set for later this summer, will include an ever wider selection of weaponry, vehicles, and maps; K2 Network also expects to update the game on a regular basis with new content, as well as host tournaments and provide support for a growing competitive clan community.

"The game is free to download, free to play, and players can advance to the top tiers of competitive play without ever paying a dime to K2 Network. There will be options that some gamers may want to buy to customize their in-game experience, but they will not affect play balance at all," according to War Rock Producer Matt Norton.

Octopi has released a new gameplay trailer showcasing their upcoming online strategy game called PoxNora. If you're up for a run-through of that puppy, get a move-on. The open beta only goes through this month and the game will be launching on August 1. This is another "free play" game where you get a basic set of goodies (in this case, they're "Runes") and you can purchase additional game content in packs as you see fit. This is becoming a rather popular method of running online games... and I can't say I wholly disagree with it. I would much rather keep an account running on a game with less capability than have to pay monthly when I'm not able to play much. That's a whole 'nother discussion there, so I'll drop that like it is the hot.

Here's a clip of info to get you running to download PoxNora. It sounds (and looks, from the trailer) pretty sweet:

The game is played out across a variety of maps where champions do battle to collect Nora, a vital resource used to bring Runes into play. Runes allow players to summon champions, equipment, relics and spells to the battlefield. Champions gain experience during play that can be used to upgrade or learn new attributes and abilities, meaning that as your play style evolves, so do your champions. The construction of your battlegroup and careful use of powers and attacks are vital to success.

PoxNora runs on Java-enabled Internet browsers on Windows, Macintosh and Linux computers. The game is free to download, install and play. For more information, visit the official website - http://www.poxnora.com.

I've mentioned Shot-Online in these pages before, but I hadn't discussed it for about a year now. I got a prodding from PR folks to give it a try and I'm happy to say it's really fun! The game isn't quite launched in its full retail state (should be September 12, 2006) but there's a lot of activity in the game now. It's been in widespread beta and stress testing for a long while now, so there are plenty of people in there knocking balls around 450+ meters while my initial driving range shots were closer to 170m max. I'm not sure if that means I just suck, or that they have great equipment and built-up skills... I'm sure it's the latter! ...can't be that I'm a poor player. Can't.

So, my initial look at the game is very pleasant, although brief at the moment. I haven't committed any of my hard-earned in-game cash to buy upgrades yet, since I have no real idea when my user skills will be the fault of my poor scores, requiring some equipment shopping. The game is on the "free to play" list of MMOGs, with in-game cash won through playing but ultimately you can add cash to your account by removing cash from your wallet. Upgrades to your character's wardrobe and equipment, as well as course fees and tournament entry fees will eventually start to drain your character's bank account. At that point, there are a few ways to gain money - one being to plop down some real world cash. When the retail box comes out, you can pay $29 (retail) to get a lot of goodies with the box that people downloading the free client won't get up-front. Again, the initial free experience is looking very good so far. Definitely give it a shot. (bah.. unintentional pun)

I'll smack some balls around later to get a more thorough look at the inner workings soon. I just figured you could use a quick reminder of the existence of this game so you can go snag the free client download and get on the course! Good stuff. I'll talk about it more soon.

Oh yeah... I'm late on this (sorry) but there's still time for you to power-level your way into the Shot-Online Summer Kickoff Festival. You have to register by 7/26/06 so it's cutting close.

News about an open beta and development for the increasingly-popular Knight Online:

The popular and free medieval fantasy MMO, KNIGHT ONLINE, has expanded. Players new and experienced can join an epic war of mass proportion, hunt many new monsters and compete in exciting Player vs. Player battles. The KNIGHT ONLINE: REIGN OF THE FIRE DRAKE expansion open beta is now available. In the KNIGHT ONLINE expansion, venture into the rumored Land of 7 Sins. Millions of other players worldwide will clash to ultimately slay the dragon.

Exciting additions include:

-Level cap has been raised from 70 to 80 with extra never-before-seen abilities
-Additional hunting territories with intriguing new monsters and bosses
-PvP updates with new fighting zones and tactical objectives
-A completely revamped user interface
-And more...

Drop by their site for more info and a bunch of screenshots (since my gallery isn't quite up yet.)

Gene Endrody from MaidMarian.com sent word that their new iteration of Sherwood has gone into open beta testing.  Sherwood Dungeon is a free MMOG that runs in a web browser using Shockwave tech, which supports up to 2000 simultaneous players.  It's a 3D world that honestly really surprised me when I logged in.  I've done some development in Shockwave 3D in the past, but didn't get all that far into it.  I knew a lot about what was possible, but it was great to see a MMO experience shape up this nicely in a web browser.  Of course, I'm sure I was just sleeping through other projects that have been out a while, considering the other offerings from MaidMarian.com.  Color me clueless, I guess.

Sherwood Dungeon looks really nice and I look forward to playing it more.. and playing some other games over there.  Here's a post about the beta from their developer diary:

April 9, 2006
Sherwood Dungeon is in Open Beta.

 

I'm exhausted but very happy. It's taken seven months, but I hope Sherwood Dungeon lives up to expectations. This game features an infinitely deep dungeon filled with monsters and treasure. It includes character advancement, new weapons, magic rings and more. The new code base is faster and should provide a stable foundation for future enhancements. Sherwood Dungeon is in Open Beta, which means I'm still finding and fixing bugs.

 

Important Game Notes:

 

-Games are saved on exit and when you leave dungeon levels, but if you remove Shockwave from your computer, you will lose the saved game.

 

-The Dungeon entrance is in the Keep of Sherwood Castle. Player vs Player combat is valid only outside the Keep and away from the two smaller towers near the spawn point.

 

-The monsters get tougher the deeper you go, but you'll get more XP points. If you team up on a monster with a friend, the XP earned is based on the damage you do. The monsters in the Castle Level scale to level of the player, however you'll get only a small amount of experience from these. There's no level cap and the dungeon is infinitely deep.

 

-Make sure you keep re-equipping with higher level weapons as you go; you'll need them. The level of the weapon is listed along with the damage and magic bonus when you mouse over them in the equipment bar or inventory.

 

I hope you enjoy the game.

 

Gene Endrody

MaidMarian.com