Next weekend, if you haven’t bought your Halloween costume yet, whip you up a superhero suit on Champions Online and spend some time making the city streets a better place by paticipating in their free weekend play session.

From Friday October 30th to Monday November 2nd, Cryptic is opening up Champions Online to any and all who want to come try it out. Simply head over to the free play promo page, sign up for an account, download the client, and then start desiging your hero.

The free play weekend coincides with Champions ”Blood Moon” Halloween event, which introduces invading zombie hordes and the introduction of the new Celestial power set. The event begins for current subscribers on the 27th. Free players can play around with it once the weekend starts.

Since MMO’s are an ongoing monthy investment, anytime the free downloads and plays are available we’d say “hey your crazy not to give it a whirl”.

[Source]

-BG Crew

Blizzard Entertainment’s annual “BlizzCon” event was in full swing this past weekend, and the first major announcement is the revelation of a new expansion pack for World of Warcraft called “Cataclysm”.

“Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deepholm will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents,” reads the press release. Deathwing is a mighty dragon hidden in a secluded sanctuary.

The expansion is to feature two new races: the werewolf-like worgen, a new race aligned with the Alliance, and the goblins, playing with the Horde. The level cap has been raised to 85 and the “classic zones” have been altered and updated with new content. More raid content will be added, along with new race and class combinations, such as gnome priests, blood elf warriors and more. Guilds can also progress to earn advancements, levels and achievements. New Player vs Player (PvP) objectives and new rated Battleground areas are also on the roster along with a new secondary profession “archeology” that lets you unearth artifacts and earn unique rewards.

We’ll also see the the ability to explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms using flying mounts.

Blizzard notes that there will be “incremental tweaks and updates” to the graphics engine in Cataclysm that will require some increases to the game’s minimum system requirements, but it refrained from identifying what those requirements will be.

No release date has been noted yet for the new expansion.

-BG Crew

Check out more about Cataclysm at World of Warcraft’s Web site.

Award-Winning EVE Online Developer Taking Console Gaming to New Heights

(Press Release) – CCP today revealed DUST 514™, a console-based hybrid MMO/FPS set within the EVE universe. The announcement, which included a video featuring gameplay footage, was made during a keynote address by CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Petursson at the Game Developers Conference in Cologne, Germany.

DUST 514, featuring first-person shooter and RTS-style gameplay, will interact directly with EVE Online, CCP’s critically acclaimed flagship MMO. This interplay between the two games opens the EVE universe to console gamers and gives them a chance to become part of one of the most massive cooperative play and social experiences ever.

“We launched EVE Online in 2003 and have experienced steady annual growth– a fact we appreciate as a rarity in the world of MMOs, especially given the global economy of the past year,??? said Petursson. “Our success with EVE Online has afforded us the highest caliber global design and production talent in gaming. With a team of the best minds in the industry, we conceived an ambitious new take on virtual world development with DUST 514.???

The primary gameplay of DUST 514 features brutal ground combat that takes place on the surface of planets from EVE, delivering the visceral, adrenaline-fueled experience of futuristic firefights. Developed for the current generation of consoles, DUST 514 combines equal parts battlefield reflexes and strategic planning, giving commanders and ground infantry real-time configurable weapons and modular vehicles to manage dynamic battlefield conditions.

Now entering its third year of production, DUST 514 is the primary development focus of CCP’s Shanghai studio. The team includes veteran designers of EVE Online and experienced talent from various sectors of the video game industry.

“Since opening our Shanghai studio, we have invested in building a team that wants to push the envelope in gaming and be pioneers in the industry,??? said Kjartan Pierre Emilsson, Managing Director of CCP Shanghai. “Having led the design and development efforts of the project from start to finish, our studio is honored to call DUST 514 our first title release.???

Further details will be revealed at CCP’s annual Fanfest event October 1-3, 2009 in Reykjavik, Iceland.

About CCP
CCP is widely recognized as an industry-leading pioneer of the single-server persistent universe architecture as the developer and publisher of EVE Online, the critically-acclaimed, science fiction-based massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). Utilizing a cross-discipline approach combining cutting-edge technology and artistic excellence, CCP is dedicated to providing vibrant, compelling products that transcend the boundaries of conventional MMOGs and facilitate social networking through virtual worlds. Privately held and founded in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1997, CCP’s international reach now spans the globe with offices in Atlanta and Shanghai as well as a base of operations in London. More information about CCP is available at the company’s website, www.ccpgames.com.

So what happens if your husband, an avid gamer, dies in a car wreck, leaving his online life and virtual assets behind in limbo. His World of Warcraft guild sends out countless emails wondering why he missed three Naxx runs in a row.

With the online site Legacy Locker, you can lock up all your passwords and create an ‘online will’ to designate who will receive access (user names and passwords) to these accounts once you are gone. Not only of course online gaming, but email, ebay and social networking sites too.

Jeremy Toeman, the founder of the site Legacy Locker, recognized that when he was on a plane and wondered what would happen to his online life if it crashed. While his will leaves everything to his wife, including all of his digital assets, Toeman realized how difficult it would be for her to access his accounts.

A Legacy Locker account costs $29.99 a year, which allows users set up their accounts to specify who gets access to their posthumous online information, along with “legacy letters,” or messages, that can be sent to loved ones.

Someone can contact Legacy Locker to report a client’s death, causing the service to send the customer four e-mails in 48 hours. If there’s no response, Legacy Locker will then contact the people the client listed as verifiers in the event of his or her death. Even then, the service would not release digital assets without examining a copy of the deceased death certificate.

You can find out more about Legacy Locker at www.legacylocker.com.

[Source]

-BG Crew

(Gamestop) – The Dungeons and Dragons Online upgrade, slated for this summer, will allow players to download and play the game free of charge, with revenue coming from microtransactions. Current subscribers will automatically be enrolled in its VIP program, which includes exclusive access to additional races, adventure packs, locales, and the upcoming Monk class.

Moreover, current subscribers will get a “priority access” in the closed Beta of the new DDO Unlimited upgrade, which began today.

Players who choose the free-to-play plan are encouraged to buy additional content, such as potions, equipment, and adventure packs via the new DDO Store which coincides with the release of the Eberron Unlimited upgrade. VIP customers will accrue Turbine Points each month which can be used at the store to purchase virtual goods.

DDO Unlimited will offer over 100 updates, skills, quests, feats, and enhancements. It will also raise the level cap to 20, introduce the Monk class, and add more than a dozen new dungeons.

Last year at PAX ’08, we had the great fortune of meeting some of the people working on the upcoming MMO Champions Online at the after party they hosted. Three things happened that night: First, we consumed copious amounts of alcohol… really, no surprise there. Second, the bits of the game we saw and the discussions we had with the people working on it had us hooked. Again, if you’re at all familiar with the Reckon Crew’s love of all things comics, this shouldn’t be much of a shock.

The third was the surprise. Along came Nellie Hughes. Aside from being one of the most interesting people we met while we were at PAX, being a content designer for Champions Online, she had an unnatural obsession with the word “koozie” after hearing it for the very first time from us of all people. Almost a yearmeeting us, she’s finally able to talk about what makes a good MMO, the future of player created content, and how she really, really, really wants to see the Reckon Crew in spandex.  True story.

BG: To begin, are you a Busy Gamer?
Nellie Hughes: Yes, I have a 2 year old and trying to get gaming in while being the world’s best parent means you can only game in small amounts. I usually only play for one or 2 hours a night, in between cleaning and other domestic duties.

BG: What’s your favorite type of game?
Nellie Hughes: I would say currently these days MMO’s, Of all time, it would have to be older adventure games like Kings Quest or Monkey Island

BG: What’s your all time favorite game?
Nellie Hughes: I would say for nostalgic reasons it would have to be Legend of Kyrandia.

BG: What are you currently playing?
Nellie Hughes: Warcraft, Champions, Fallout 3, Katmari Damacy on my phone.

BG: Since you’re working on Champions Online, what’s your super hero name and your powers?
Nellie Hughes: I haven’t picked one out yet. There is so much to choose from in the different power sets we offer in Champions Online that I wanted to test drive them all before I settled down with a set I’m comfy playing with. I’m usually a ranged player, so I’ll most likely make myself a fire or darkness build.

(more…)

All Points Bulletin (APB), the upcoming crime-based MMO from Realtime Worlds, will be showing at E3 this year. Players will choose between cops and gangs engaged with never ending street battles and gang wars. This is a newer, or rather rarely visited MMO genre set away from elves, magic and the banging of swords and shields. We’re thinking of more like Grand Theft Auto gone wild.

From Realtime’s blog:
“Hi everyone at APB-Evolved, we just wanted to quickly say thanks for all your patience recently whilst we’ve been quietly pushing forward with the development of APB. We know this can be frustrating for fans, so to show our appreciation we have decided to inform you guys that yes we WILL be at E3 this year and this will mark the start of lots more news, activities and information coming out about APB: All Points Bulletin. Here is a brand new screenshot made especially for you guys to give you another look at the awesome character customizations that will make up a large part of APB. See you all at E3. Realtime Worlds???

The game is definitely coming to PCs, but versions for both the PS3 and 360 are still not out of the question. It would be good to see a new type of Massive RPG online that would give players a fix on storming buildings and running from the fuzz instead of the all so popular ‘getting ganked at the summoning stone’. That actually sounded dirty.

[Source]

(Press Release) – Jolt Online Gaming, the leading browser games publisher, is more than a little excited to announce the launch of Playboy Manager, the Massively Casual Online Game (MCOG) you can play on any Internet browser at any time.

In Playboy Manager, you play a crack talent agent managing the career of some of Playboy’s hottest up-and-coming models. Competing against thousands of other players, you will guide your model’s career toward her ultimate goal: Becoming a world-renowned Playmate with a permanent room in the Playboy Mansion!

“We’ve wanted to do a Playboy game forever,??? exclaimed Dylan Collins, CEO of Jolt. “As enormous fans of the articles, we jumped at the opportunity to bring the game online for a huge audience. Who hasn’t wanted to manage a Playboy model????

“We are delighted to work with Jolt in offering our fans this great new way to experience and enjoy the World of Playboy,??? said Scott Stephen, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Playboy Digital.

Combining the best elements of trading card and turn-based gaming, Playboy Manager is the only online game to feature exclusive content from Playboy, including videos and photos of breathtaking Playboy models. The game, to launch in Summer 2009, will be playable for free at www.playboymanager.com.

Playboy Manager is a continuous game designed to be played in short bursts from any Internet browser at any time. Play it during a lecture, on your phone or even in the office (when the boss isn’t looking!). Bookmark www.playboymanager.com now!

Acquire wealth, fame, and a bevy of beautiful models while you compete with thousands of other players — all of them after exactly the same things. Strive to drive the finest cars, throw the biggest parties, and encounter the world’s sexiest women – the luxurious Playboy lifestyle presented in an online game packed full of wit, style, and pictures which can only be described as titillating.

If you pre-register right now at www.playboymanager.com, you could win one of several lifetime subscriptions to Playboy magazine – a prize offered only to pre-registered users!

Last week, NCsoft’s massive multiplayer online rpg City of Heroes went live with a new update that allows the players (you), to build and orchestrate your own story arcs for other player generated heroes to participate in. It is no secret that us here at BusyGamer.com are no novices to the MMOG realms, and the fact that in this game now, there will be user generated content – something that is rare to find in a large scale MMO.

Several of the larger game publications are talking great things about this innovative feature that NCsoft has implemented into their online game, granting them a nice edge on the competition.

Ever wanted to see your own story line in the game? Now you can. And others can too.

-Crutchboy Out

(Gamespot) – Screen Digest’s study found that the North American and European MMOG markets rose 22 percent in 2008, achieving total revenues of $1.4 billion. The leading contributor to that tally is, of course, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft, which had surpassed 11.5 million subscribers worldwide through 2008. WOW’s success, Screen Digest notes, has helped drive the market, as competitors attempt to mimic the title’s meteoric rise, to varying degrees of success.

“Some games are eroding World of Warcraft’s (WoW) position–Warhammer Online and Age of Conan being the two most significant–but that’s more down to their growth rather than any decline on WoW’s part,” said Screen Digest senior analyst Piers Harding-Rolls to the BBC. “WoW’s market share was 60 percent in 2007 and 58 percent in 2008, but in terms of revenue, it went up year-on-year.”

The study notes that there are now more than 220 titles that fall into the MMOG category, though Screen Digest says that many are exclusive to South East Asia. Harding-Rolls went on to say that the continued rollout of new MMOGs, as well as the various payment systems and demographic-specific titles, have helped the market defy the current economic recession.

“If you look at the example of RuneScape, this is a game pitched at a teenage audience,” said Harding-Rolls. “You can play it for free or you can pay a premium and get a better service without advertising. It’s an effective way to build a subscription base, rather than the traditional routes that involve PR, hype and having a service that has to be almost perfect from day one.”