"Robotech" Live Action Movie Heading Our Way

I'm back from semi-retirement!

And why? Because of this awful (!?) news from The Hollywood Reporter:

Big-screen 'Robotech' lands scribes

Alfred Gough, Miles Millar to pen adaptation

By Borys Kit

Nov 17, 2008, 12:00 AM ET

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have been drafted to pen "Robotech," Warner Bros.' adaptation of the anime classic.

Akiva Goldsman and Chuck Roven are producing with Tobey Maguire and Drew Crevello.

"Robotech" was a 1980s cartoon series from Harmony Gold USA and Tatsunoko Prods. It was re-edited and re-dialogued to combine three Japanese anime series to give the producers enough episodes to air as a daily syndicated series.

A sprawling sci-fi epic, "Robotech" takes place at a time when Earth has developed giant robots from the technology on an alien spacecraft that crashed on a South Pacific isle. Mankind is forced to use the technology to fend off an alien invasion, with the fate of the human race ending up in the hands of two young pilots.

Lawrence Kasdan wrote a previous draft. Warners is intent on keeping the project moving forward, and Gough and Millar bring action and geek cred to the table. The WMA-repped duo worked on "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" and "Spider-Man 2," among other films, and were showrunners on TV's "Smallville" for many years.

Frank Agrama of rights-holder Harmony Gold is executive producing "Robotech," as is Jason Netter.

Head for the hillllz! Who's gonna' be cast as Minmay!? Is it going to be Jessica Biel!? Or the obligatory Asian Kristen Kruek since she's on "Smallville"? Either way, I love crap (I watch those terrible Sci Fi original movies like "Minotaur") so I'll definitely be watching out for this crap!

Wahahah.

Oh, and retirement = I had a baby. Yay me.

Don't worry "Call of Duty: World at War" and "Left 4 Dead". Mama hasn't forgotten you. Oh no. I just have to teach my little girl to use a mouse and we'll have another gamer girl!

WAR: Obligatory Open Beta Information (OB Starts Sept. 7th, 2008)

Unfortunately, I didn't care enough to post it when it first came out, BUT, for those who must know, WAR will enter it's Open Beta stage on September 7th, 2008.

Hmm, okay, that's about all the excitement I can muster at this point. I suggest you guys give it a go yourselves and formulate your own opinions.

Meanwhile, I'll put a space hat on a Squig and pretend it's a Tyranid. *pets the Tyranid*

EA REVEALS OPEN BETA DETAILS FOR
WARHAMMER® ONLINE: AGE OF RECKONING™

Mythic Begins Preparations for September 7th Open Beta

FAIRFAX, Va. - August 5, 2008 - Mythic Entertainment, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, today announced that the open beta for their highly anticipated MMORPG, Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ (WAR), will begin on September 7th, 2008. This means that hundreds of thousands of fans will be able to enter the gritty fantasy world of WAR to experience the thrill of Realm vs. Realm™ (RvR) combat before the game goes live on September 18th, 2008.

"For three years we have been saying that 'WAR is coming' and the team has been working hard to deliver on this promise," said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. "In just a few weeks, we are going to throw open our doors and invite more players into the game than ever before. They will have a chance to delve into the open beta and see for themselves that WAR has arrived and it is glorious!"

Players can get into the North American open beta by pre-ordering Warhammer Online from select retail partners. Participants of the North American closed beta will automatically be granted open beta access. For more information about the WAR open beta, visit www.warhammeronline.com/openbeta.

Available for PC, Warhammer Online is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. WAR will be the first MMORPG to launch servers simultaneously in North America, Europe, and Oceania when it goes live on September 18th, 2008. For more information, visit http://www.warhammeronline.com/

Atlantica Online: A Belated Bump

Since I've been a bit busier of late, I haven't been able to devote as much time to mah gaming addiction. I haven't touched AoC in ages (mainly because, urr, my guild and I were like 80 the first week or so and then we were bored as all fuck for the rest of our dreaded time there), and started cheating on it with some oldies but goodies (BF2142, COD4).

Anyhow, my friend introduced me to Atlantica Online, which I resisted for a long time, but...it turned out to be a good amount of fun for being a free game with an Item Mall deal (no Item Mall as of now however). It's not your typical F2P Asian grinder, but a turn based RTS type game system where you and two friends (and your mini armies) can join up forces to destroy all monsters (and gather sexy loots), which is actually quite a lot of fun. The best way to explain it would be like, old school Final Fantasy with a little Tactics thrown in, and instead of having 2 computer controlled allies, you substitute your stupid friends instead.

Here is the little blurb about the end of the 2nd closed beta. The 3rd Round of Closed Beta is due to start August 25th, 2008 @ 6:00 PDT, and I'll be there!

Go give it a whirl if you're looking to waste just a few hours at a time.

TCOS: Acclaim Named as US Publisher

Well, I've been scarce as of late (wahahaha), but I've been busy busy busy with stuffs! (Plus, for some reason, I got addicted to Atlantica Online for a bit!)

At any rate, the folks at TCOS have been shopping around for a US publisher, and they've found one that's almost legit. And from what I read, there's even going to be a "free to play" beginning area to hook you. Yay!

Are we still excited?

Here is the official blurbage and a link to the official press release:

North American publisher for Spellborn revealed!

TUESDAY, 19TH OF AUGUST 2008 :: POSTED BY BANSHEE :: 19 COMMENTS

We are very proud and delighted to announce that our North American publisher is Acclaim!
Acclaim is impressed by the work and dedication that has been put into The Chronicles of Spellborn and is looking forward to releasing TCoS in North America! You can read the press release here.

Also, here's a link to the open letter from David Perry, Acclaim dude and the US Director of Spellborn:

OPEN LETTER FROM DAVID PERRY TO THE SPELLBORN COMMUNITY

Hi,
My name is David Perry, and I’m the Chief Creative Officer of Acclaim Games (the new Acclaim) that is now the #1 American publisher of Free-to-Play Online Games. Some of you “old school” gamers might remember me from the old Sinclair Spectrum/Amstrad CPC/Commodore 64/Amiga/Atari ST days, back before the MMO concept even existed!

The CEO of Acclaim (Howard Marks) was the Chairman of Activision Studios through their massive growth during the 1990’s, and together we travel the world in search of the best new games that we can possibly find. Right now we’re tracking over 400 MMO games (yes it’s insane!). My poor old gaming PC is literally peppered with games in every conceivable language, and I’ve just kept playing, patiently waiting for that WHOA! moment. The game that finally got us there is Spellborn. When we saw it running, our jaws literally dropped to the floor. “Who the heck made this? We need to talk!”

Two reasons why I knew this game was really cool:

REASON 1
I had been at the G-Star Game Conference in Korea, and I had a note in my notebook saying “Frogster �" Spellborn” with a big giant STAR beside it. From the zillion games at the show, it was this game that really stood out to me. I remember going back several times just to take another look.

REASON 2
My staff (who absolutely LIVE for these kinds of games) have been bugging me like crazy. “Have you heard of this ‘Spellborn’ game? Come on Dave, you know people, can’t you get us a developer account?” One of them just asked me again today!

So now the word is FINALLY out! I just want to officially say to the creators that we immensely appreciate the hard work that’s gone into this game, and I know, that they know, that I know just how tough that work is!

So congratulations to the entire Chronicles of Spellborn team for making this game. We will make you proud in the USA/Canada and will soon have tons of gamers eager to play with you all in this amazing new world. I also want to say thanks to the Closed Beta testers that are helping with balancing. At Acclaim, our players & testers are highly valued, and we form player advisory boards for each of our games so that the Gamers have a voice to Myself, the CEO, the Acclaim Team & the Developers of the game.

At the keynote speech of this year’s Leipzig Game Developers Conference, and I reminded everyone of the three golden rules of running an MMO like this:

(1) Community
(2) Community
(3) Community!

A game like this, using a cutting-edge engine (thanks to the talent over at Epic), is an incredible opportunity for us all to grow this world, to make it a success and to make new friends.

So I look forward to meeting many of you in the world of Spellborn!

David Perry.
USA Director - The Chronicles of Spellborn

Hollywood Rumours: Keanu to Play Spike Spiegel!?

I had to post this because it took my attention away from mocking the latest reviews for the "Mummy 3" on Rotten Tomatoes:

Rumor: Keanu Reeves as Spike in Cowboy Bebop Movie?!

July 30, 2008
by Alex Billington

Just last week IF Magazine discovered that Fox is developing a live-action Cowboy Bebop movie based on the popular anime series. Remarkably, the project still isn't officially announced and Fox is still keeping it under wraps. However, a good friend inside the industry who is a very reliable source wrote in to tell me that the film is being fast tracked inside the studio and will most likely be out by 2010. He also revealed that Keanu Reeves has been attached as the lead character Spike for over eight months now and is still set for the role. Unfortunately there isn't a writer or director attached yet, but with some new forward momentum coming from last week's announcement, I don't think it will take too long.

Yep, you heard that right, the same guy who played Neo will be taking on the role of Spike Spiegel, a former member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate who is haunted by the memory of his time in the organization. As we mentioned previously, the show first aired in Japan in early 1998 and was brought over to America in 2001 on Adult Swim. The series follows the adventures of a group of bounty hunters traveling on their spaceship, the Bebop, in the year 2071. If you're looking for more details regarding this live-action Cowboy Bebop movie, here's yet another juicy tidbit. With Keanu Reeves involved, it's obvious this is no small project. My source also told me that if everything stays the same, the budget on this will be insane.

Whether or not you believe it, the new trend in Hollywood is Asian culture. The first three big films that will open the door for more to come are Dragonball, Street Fighter, and Tekken. And we already announced live-action adaptations of Akira and Ghost in the Shell as well, so why not throw Cowboy Bebop into the mix as well? By 2012 we'll probably see all kinds of anime and manga adapted from Berserk to Hellsing and more. Jumping back to Cowboy Bebop, I have a feeling the initial reaction to Keanu is going to be negative, but just look at Day the Earth Stood Still. After seeing some additional footage, Keanu looks like the perfect fit for Klaatu and I can't wait to see that. Can we give him a chance in Cowboy Bebop?

What do you guys think? Spike...is one of the coolest anime characters from one of the sweetest animes. Keanu Reeves is just...whoa. Then again, I ate my words about Robert Downey Jr, didn't I?

Guess we have no choice but to see. Who would be your Ed?

BF2142: The Star Wars First Strike Mod

Since I've been busy busy the past few weeks with house buying and a few other things, I decided to pick a more casual game to try in addition to COD4.

And then, like an idiot, I noticed the Star Wars mod for Battlefield 2142, First Strike:

http://fsmod.com


Anyhow, it sent my geek blood into hyper drive (OMG, I am a loser!) so currently, I'm redownloading everything to pway!

It looks like it might be some fun...so long as you can find folks to play with!

STO: Boldly Going Forward...Again!

According to this message from Jack Emmert from MMORPG.COM, Star Trek is back in development! Next thing you know, they'll be bringing "Gods and Heroes" back. *giggles*

Will it be cheesey? Cartoony? Curiouser and curiouser.

Star Trek Online - Message from Jack Emmert

Today we learned that Cryptic Studios, the company behind the original City of Heroes and now Champions Online is the studio now behind the development of Star Trek Online. In this feature, we bring you a letter to the community from Jack Emmert as well as a promotional list that is meant to give players an idea of Cryptic's vision for the game.

Engage!

A letter from Jack Emmert

Star Trek® has been a part of my entire life. Few other of my geeky obsessions can make that claim.

I started watching the original Star Trek when it reached syndication and cult status. I can remember even more vividly where I was for the premiere of every subsequent Star Trek series. For Star Trek: The Next Generation, I watched "Encounter at Farpoint" lying on the floor of my childhood apartment. When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine rolled around, I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago. I watched the first episode in the basement of my dorm with a dozen other students. A few years later, I was at Ohio State and saw Voyager travel to the Delta Quadrant while sitting on a friend's couch in Columbus, Ohio. And I was thrilled to see the beginnings of Starfleet in Star Trek: Enterprise. At the time, I was just starting out as a game designer, with little to no idea that I'd be jumping into that very universe within several years.

When the opportunity came for Cryptic to obtain the license for Star Trek, we were absolutely thrilled. I realized how many people at Cryptic loved the IP when the possibility of us getting the rights leaked out to the rest of the company. I had more Trekkies in my office asking to work on the project than I ever imagined.

Cryptic would now be given the task of bringing to life this entire universe that has been so brilliantly conceived and executed over years of TV, movies, books and comics. There are few other fictional backgrounds that fit the MMORPG medium so well. After all, Star Trek was never about a single character, ship or even planet; Star Trek was always about an entire universe. And MMORPGs are uniquely suited to create such a thing and allow players to explore every inch.

Admittedly, Star Trek has its challenges. We want to make a game that best captures the real essence of Star Trek. We see Star Trek as much about exploration as combat. As much about the variety of alien civilizations as it is about the core Vulcans, Klingons, Humans, etc. It's going to be an exciting ride over the coming months as we begin to unveil STO. I can't wait.

Cryptic's "About Star Trek Online"

Become part of Star Trek®: The Star Trek universe will appear for the first time in a massively multiplayer online game. Everything from the elegant domes of Starfleet Academy to the ancient temples of Vulcan, from the towers of Qo’noS to the Fire Caves of Bajor, from the mysterious Mutara Nebula to the unexplored voids of deep space, all will be represented in stunning 3-D graphics. Immerse yourself in the future of the Trek universe as it moves into the 25th century: a time of shifting alliances and new discoveries.

Adventure in the Final Frontier: Explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations in an expanding vast universe. Make contact with alien races, discover resources and uncover mysteries that will change the future of the Star Trek universe.

You Are the Captain: Command your own starship as a Federation Captain or a Klingon Warrior. Outfit it with the systems that you need to make your mark in the galaxy. Customize your ship as you see fit. Recruit, train and mold your crew into an elite force for exploration and combat.

Surface, Shipboard and Deep Space Adventures: Command your vessel in thrilling space battles, or beam down to planets with your away team for face-to-face confrontations. Missions will take you and your friends into space, planetside and even inside starships!

Powered by the Cryptic Engine, Star Trek® Online will be developed for both console and PC formats. With customizable ships and characters from the Klingon Empire and United Federation of Planets, ground, space and shipboard gameplay and unique options for player-generated content set in the Star Trek universe, Star Trek Online is the MMOG that allows you to boldly go where no one has gone before!

Star Wars: Return of the Huttlet

I wasn't that interested in the upcoming "Clone Wars" movie (due out August 15th, 2008), until I watched the trailer a few days ago and noticed a familiarly sexy face!

That playboy Jabba...has a son!?

So hot.

I can't wait for my order to go through. I'm such a sucker for Hutts.

Perfect World International: Closed Beta Begins August 19th, 2008

Here's your chance to play "Perfect World" without rubber banding every which way but the way you want to be heading!

Free closed beta keys are available from MMORPG here:

http://www.mmorpg.com/betas/perfectworld_beta.cfm

But make sure to check out the official International website below for more chances to win closed beta keys:

http://www.perfectworld.com/

WTF!? Mortal Kombat vs the DC Universe

At first, I thought I was tired from eating too much pizza, but apparently, it's real:

EA to Play in Knights of the Old Republic

The rumour mills have been going on about this for some time now, but now finally, some confirmation about the KOTOR MMO!

According to Portfolio.com:

But, the phrase that bothers me is:

"...it will most certainly have a massively multiplayer online component to it."

As in, what? You can duel other players and that's it? Need more information!! I don't need an MMOG. Bring me a MMORPG!

Jul 17 2008 12:44PM EDT

EA to Play in Knights of the Old Republic

N. Evan Van Zelfden in Los Angeles warns, watch out World of Warcraft. 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.

Moving into MMOs is an essential component for any gaming company, and it's a big part of the reason Vivendi merged with Activision, for that company's World of Warcraft MMO.

Riccitiello told Portfolio.com that he was interested in owning World of Warcraft, and that he did discuss it, but it wasn't in the cards. "Because [Vivendi] couldn't afford control of EA, and I wasn't giving it up."

But EA is firmly on that path now, with a KOTOR MMO, which would sidestep the consoles owned by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. "Increasingly, people are going to be talking about direct-to-customer in our business," said Riccitiello. "I think we'll be talking about it louder than most."

Today, two-thirds of the game industry is console systems and dedicated handhelds. "We expect in 2011 for it to be fifty-percent," Riccitiello said.

MMOs will also be useful as a way to expand into foreign territories.

"China's a growth market for us," he said. "We're launching some mid-session games on a micro-transaction model." In May of last year, the company announced an equity investment in a leading Chinese online game operator, The9, Ltd. "And there's a bunch more coming that we haven't announced. "

The company has stated that M&A is part of the strategy, and EA is looking for core game companies "only when they bring great [intellectual property] and great teams," he said. The company is also interested in businesses that "help us build our platform in the area of Asia, online, and direct-to-consumer."

"One is strategic and new, one is core and profitable -- and we're looking at both," explained Riccitiello.

Future games aside, Riccitiello is most proud of EA's revenues, its console-business growth, and what's currently on display to the army of reviewers and game journalists in Los Angeles this week.

"We added almost a billion dollars to the revenue last year," he notes. "This year, we've told the street that we're going to add a billion to a billion-three."

And console games are a market that's doing well. "It's grown 30 percent year-to-date," says Riccitiello. "All three of the consoles are way up. The PC business in terms of it's aggregate of subscriptions/micro-transactions is also way up. "

But at the end of the day, it's about the games themselves.

"I think, hands down, there's not a publisher or a platform that's got what we've got," he says. In his own life, he sees how EA's games are making an impact: "I've got twenty-two nephews and nieces. A couple years there, I couldn't buy everything I wanted for them at the holidays. I can do the entire holiday -- and capture my mother for the first time -- at the EA store. That's never been the case before."

Diablo 3: Gameplay Video from the Paris World Wide Invitational

My friends said they would disown me if I didn't post this video. Stupid "Diablo 3". Why do you mock me with stupid fat, super cute mobs to blow up?

Fallout 3: Brand New Sizzling Trailer

HoooOOoTTTT!

But you know what? Around the same time, guess what else comes out!

Rainbow Six Vegas 2: 1.03 Patch Released

You can downroaaad it from FilePlanet or your fave downloader:

FilePlanet

And the patch notes:

================================================================================

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Vegas 2 v1.03 Patch Contents

================================================================================


Features:

* Added (1)new gameplay features
* Added (2)UPnP support
* Added HostName and Ping sort for Match selection

Bugs fixed:

* Fixed Some (3)Ping issues
* Fixed Terrorist hunt Spawning
* Fixed automatic weapons shoot without holding the trigger
* Fixed spawn with leader in Streets map
* Fixed Custom search issues


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1)New Gameplay features
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* New Ranks
Many additional ranks have been added for you to unlock past the rank of Elite. XP you’ve already accumulated as Elite will be applied towards the new ranks.

* New A.C.E.S.
The A.C.E.S. now go up to 100 for each of the three categories: Marksman, CQB and Assault. Each A.C.E.S. level earned contains a substantial XP reward. Points you’ve already accumulated in each of the categories will be applied towards the new levels.

* Grenade Indicator
When inside the damage radius of a Frag or Incendiary Grenade, a grenade indicator Icon is displayed on the screen.

* High Stakes
- Experience the game modes in a more tactical way using the High Stakes setting.
- Limited HUD
- No Radar
- Enemies not visible on Tactical Map
- Grenade Indicator is disabled
- Health System
- Health Regeneration is disabled
- Changed the post-process effects of being in a Critical health state
- Take Cover
- Camera view has changed so that you must expose yourself to see around the side of a corner.
- Weapons & Gadgets
- Auto-aim is completely disabled
- Bullet spread is increased when not zoomed in. To be precise with your weapon, zoom in.
- Less ammunition.
- Kill Camera is always disabled
- Friendly Fire is always enabled

* Weapons & Gadgets Balancing
- Explosion delay of the incendiary grenade has been increased.
- Detonation speed of the C4 has been slightly increased.
- Increased the damage of Sniper Rifles at long range.
- Increased the base accuracy of the Light Machine Guns.
- Adjusted the Rate of Fire for some of the Assault Rifles, Shotguns and an SMG.
- Speed up the time it takes to zoom in & out with weapons to make it more responsive.

* Respawns in Team Deathmatch
Hosts can choose whether or not their match uses random respawns in Team Deathmatch.

* Voice Chat
Hosts can choose to enable voice chat between living and dead players of the same team so that when you die you can keep talking with your teammates. Player Match and System Link only.

* Score in Deathmatch
Your score, along with the top opponent, is displayed on your HUD in Deathmatch.

* Team Leader changes
Respawn next to your leader by default, unless you specifically choose to spawn back at your base.

* Show Dead Players in Lobby
Players that have no lives remaining will have a skull icon displayed next to their name in the lobby screen so that you can easily tell who’s still alive and who’s been eliminated.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2)UPnP Support Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Universal Plug and Play allows players behind a UPnP capable router to fully enjoy the online experience of Rainbow Six Vegas 2.

Network will be automatically configured to allow voice chat, custom head and ping features to work seamlessly behind a router.

You can enable/disable UPnP in the multiplayer tab in the options page.

Troubleshooting
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Ensure UPnP is enabled on the router.
* Firewall is not blocking the following ports
* Windows XP or above: 2869(TCP) and 1900 (UDP)
* Windows XP(SP1) or earlier: 5000(TCP) and 1900 (UDP)
* Windows Vista: Network discovery is turned ON

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3)Ping (Not using UPnP)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The port 11120 (UDP) should be added manualy to the router port mappings.

============================================================================

Aion: English Release Date Early 2009!

You can read the full interview here with NCSoft Europe's Marketing Manager, Mirko Gozzo, but, for those of us who have brains the size of goldfish (read: me), there's the lowdown:

What's in you personal opinion the development status of Aion, and when it will be on shops shelves?

M.G.: The game is on Closa beta testing(season 3) atm. Next step is open beta testing that is the preamble of release in Korea. We're working (hard) on English translation atm and we far seer the release date between first months of 2009.

RAWWWARRRRRAGGHGHGHGHGHH! Must hold out for another half a year +!?

Time to see how Spellbourne is doing!

Happy July 4th! Fireworks Safety Tips from Red Vs. Blue

Happy July 4th everybady!

Watch and learn!

Though in my neighbours' cases, I hope they blow themselves up. *giggles*

Diablo 3: Cinematic Teaser Trailer

Oh herro.

Have you wet yourself lately?

Yes, I'm slow, but I've been harvesting granite all weekend suckahs!

Anyhoo, Blizzard unveiled it's Diablo III Teaser revealed on Saturday, June 28th, at the 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris. It's not the fake trailer anymore! Its real!

Can't wait for its 2070 release date. XD

Call of Duty 5: World At War

You know, I never really liked the other non PC versions of "Call of Duty," but their trailers have always been pretty hot, COD5 being no exception:

Looks hot!! As in, lots of bodies on fire! This one's going to be out for PC as well so maybe I'll check it out.

Movies: Wiseman suits up for 'Gears of War'

It was only a matter of time! According to Variety:

Wiseman suits up for 'Gears of War'

Director set for videogame adaptation

By MARC GRASER

Wiseman

Len Wiseman is suiting up to direct New Line's "Gears of War," based on Microsoft and Epic Games' hit vidgame.

Chris Morgan is penning a new draft of the actioner that Stuart Beattie originally tackled. Scribe's credits include Universal's upcoming "Wanted" and "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift."

Fanboys have been speculating for nearly a year that Wiseman may helm the project; the game was featured in his most recent pic, "Live Free or Die Hard." But talks with New Line took place only over the last several months.

Wiseman will develop the story with Morgan. The two are also collaborating on the sci-fi action thriller "Shell Game" at Lakeshore Entertainment and Columbia Pictures. Wiseman, who established himself in the biz as an art director on pics like "Godzilla" and "Independence Day," is also producing the third installment of Screen Gems' "Underworld" franchise after having helmed the first two.

"Gears" revolves around a world reeling from an invasion by aliens known as the Locust, and a small team of elite soldiers who fight to retake the planet Sera and save its human inhabitants.

New Line landed the rights to create a bigscreen version of the game last year, with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey producing via their Temple Hill banner. "Gears" lead designer Cliff Bleszinski will exec produce the film and consult on its development for Epic.

"Gears" is Microsoft's second-biggest seller after the "Halo" franchise, and gamemaker Epic always intended to branch out the property into various media, such as films and novels, with an extensive backstory it developed.

A sequel game to "Gears'" first outing in late 2006, which was available for the Xbox 360 only, will ship in November. The game has sold more than 5 million copies.

New Line had initially aimed for a summer 2009 release for the pic, but further development on the project now will likely delay that plan.

"It's like with our games, you can have it right or have it right now," said Epic Games topper Mark Rein. "We want to get it right. There's no timetable for us. We just want to make as good a movie as we can, and we think (Wiseman's) the guy who will do it."

Spellborn: The Top Ten Hammer Interview

I've obviously been distracted by sexy AoC, but I did have some time today to read this very nice interview about "The Chronicles of Spellborn," from Ten Top Hammer.

It's 2 pages so I'll let you read it fully below at the following link:

Page 1
Page 2

Just a snippet:

Spellborn has a very unique clothing and combat system.

Ten Ton Hammer: For a U.S. player that’s unfamiliar with Spellborn, what’s the most important thing they should know about the game? Why should they be looking forward to this particular title?

Deslandes: The uniqueness of Spellborn resides in several main features, the first one being the manual targeting combat system, where players have to aim at their opponent to damage it thanks to a reticule à la FPS. There are absolutely no random dice rolls in Spellborn. You won’t see any randomly generated critical hits. In addition all attacks can be dodged, evaded, by moving around the target. The combat is 100% real-time, so if a player stands in front of an enemy and hacks at it, it’s almost certain death. Moreover, The Chronicles of Spellborn introduces a unique six-tiered and 5 slotted rotating skill deck. Like in a trading card game, players can configure this combat bar before every encounter. After every attack the deck turns and offers a new row of five skills to be chosen from. You can imagine that this skill deck is a very powerful strategic feature, because every player can configure it the way he or she wants – may it be offensive, defensive, for solo game, group fights, you name it…

Besides, Spellborn features a system we labelled “Dress to Impress”. Since gear doesn’t have any statistics, players are not bound to wear the same armour just because without it, they would die like flies. From level 1 to 50 (level cap) players can wear whatever they want; it’s not going to make them less powerful. There are no class and race restrictions, so even a Rune Mage can wear plate looking-like armour, it’s not a problem.

Our classes (9 in total) are completely unique and all have some healing abilities which gives more survival abilities to the players. Their skills are totally different from anything you saw before.

To sum up, Spellborn is a new game with a brand new Lore taking place in a fantasy setting. We implemented lots of innovative gameplay features (manual targeting, rotating skill deck, dress to impress…) so that players are totally free to play the game the way they want to without any limitations. We hope it will bring some fresh air to the MMO genre, and players like it as much as we do.

Crysis: Crytek Announces the Warhead Add On

So personally, the Multiplayer wasn't so sexy, but the Single Player was gorgeous and kicked some ass. And now, Part Deux be coming!

For Korea!

Jun. 05 2008

EA and Crytek Announce Development of Crysis Warhead

The Next Installment of One of the Highest Rated Games of 2007 Blasts its way onto PCs this Fall

Redwood City, Calif. - June 5, 2008 - Maximum freedom, maximum explosions and maximum Psycho! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and award-winning independent studio Crytek today announced Crysis Warhead ® - the parallel story to Crysis , one of the most critically-acclaimed first person shooters and PC games of 2007. Shipping exclusively for the PC this fall, Crysis Warhead is the first title to be developed at Crytek´s Budapest studio, and is built on a new, enhanced and optimized version of Crytek's CryENGINE® 2 technology.

"We were very pleased with the reception of Crysis from both gamers and media after our launch last year," said Cevat Yerli, CEO and President of Crytek. "That being said, one of the key principles of our studio is to always raise the bar. With Warhead , we are focusing on refining our storytelling and game performance, while also delivering more of the visually stunning graphics and immersive, free-roaming gameplay everyone loved in Crysis ."

"The best result of a partnership that we can ask for in the EA Partners program is when a world class independent studio like Crytek chooses to continue to work with us," said David DeMartini, Vice President and Global General Manager, EA Partners. " Crysis was an amazing game and is going to be a blockbuster franchise. We could not be more excited to be working with Crytek to launch another hit with Crysis Warhead this year."

In Crysis Warhead , players will don the Nanosuit of Sergeant Sykes, also known as 'Psycho', one of the most memorable characters from Crysis . More brash and aggressive than his Delta Force squadmate Nomad, players will experience Psycho's parallel story during the events of the original game, finding that life on the other side of the island is even more intense and explosive than they ever could have imagined. Luckily, Psycho's Nanosuit is just as capable and he's equipped with an even bigger arsenal of fully customizable weapons and new vehicles, giving players access to the tools they need to dominate any situation. Aside from this new, exciting single player campaign, Crysis Warhead will also feature new multiplayer content. Stay tuned for more details this summer.

Crysis Warhead has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI. For more information about the game, please visit www.crysisthegame.com .

Aion: Korea Announces the 3rd Phase of Beta Testing (Korea)

This is a sexy step in the right direction and means that Aion US is getting closer and closer!

According to Aion Online:

June 18, 2008

In an announcement presented to company investors, NCsoft Korea announced the third phase of the Korean Aion Closed Beta Test (CBT) will start July 1st and end on July 20th.

Features available during this round of testing include Faction versus Faction combat in the Abyss, a zone where the two races battle for control of land, fortresses, resources and artifacts. Testers will also have the option of experiencing enhanced content such as item crafting, more quests, increased character level advancement and an improved user interface.

More information will be provided in the near future.

Please note: This announcement pertains to the Korean Closed Beta Test only. North American and European Beta Testing have not commenced nor has a schedule been announced.

The Fat Police! They're Coming to Take You Away!

First Airlines threatening to charge by the pound and now a Fat Tax! Hide the bacon because the Fat Police are incoming!

According to a snippet from the NY Times:

Under a national law that came into effect two months ago, companies and local governments must now measure the waistlines of Japanese people between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual checkups. That represents more than 56 million waistlines, or about 44 percent of the entire population.

Those exceeding government limits — 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, which are identical to thresholds established in 2005 for Japan by the International Diabetes Federation as an easy guideline for identifying health risks — and having a weight-related ailment will be given dieting guidance if after three months they do not lose weight. If necessary, those people will be steered toward further re-education after six more months.

To reach its goals of shrinking the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years and 25 percent over the next seven years, the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets. The country’s Ministry of Health argues that the campaign will keep the spread of diseases like diabetes and strokes in check.

And then further along, the thing that blew my mind:

Mr. Ogushi was actually a little harder on Americans than they deserved. A survey by the National Center for Health Statistics found that the average waist size for Caucasian American men was 39 inches, a full inch lower than the 40-inch threshold established by the International Diabetes Federation. American women did not fare as well, with an average waist size of 36.5 inches, about two inches above their threshold of 34.6 inches. The differences in thresholds reflected variations in height and body type from Japanese men and women.

36.5!! 36.5!!!!!!!!!

And then I remembered this morning I had a Quarter Pounder. MmMMmmm. And the Fat Tax was forgotten.

Postcards From Stygia

Just a couple shots of Ikusa (80 ToS) in her Stygian threads. They're not really Tempest gear but they're hot (and in the end, that's what really matters.)



To quote MXC's Guy Le Douche, "Guy like!"

<3 Hanuman. Come visit =HP= Hidden Power there!

COD4: New Maps Released Patch 1.6

If you haven't tried it out yet, just a reminder to go ahead and download 1.6.

FilePlanet

It comes with the XBOX maps, but to be honest, some of the player made maps are a lot more detailed and...urr...better?

Anyhoo, gonna' go try it out but damn am I rusty!

Stone Age 2: WTF!? A Prehistoric MMO!?

So check out my mail:

Valued Aeria Games Member,

Welcome to the invitation-only beta release of Stone Age 2 - the online multiplayer prehistoric role - playing game that will club you over the head with adventure.

Catch cute dinosaur pals and raise them to be battle masters. Fight primeval threats alongside your friendly allies. Duel against other players and creatures. Build up your team with a combination of over 200 dinosaur species - each with unique personalities and special abilities. Enter your dinosaur pals into battle tournaments or just ride them around town.

Of course, that's not all! We have the best community of players and Game Masters to make a world you want to play in. Chat online, make friends, and create a guild. Decorate your personal home den and live stylishly. Invite friends over for Jurassic tea, then go out and discover new species of wooly and saber-toothed animals together.
Are you the next Stone Age 2 Dinosaur Master?

First off, if this game didn't club me over the head with adventure, its potential for Engrish did. So awesome I just might have to check it out. Second, notice it's not "Stone Age," it's "Stone Age TWO."

Where was I for Stone Age? How could I have missed it!?

Meanwhile, if you can't tell from the sorry hours I've racked up on XFire, I "MIGHT" have been playing Conan. Just maybe? Just a wittle. A wittle teeny weeny bit. XD

Oh, and I almost forgot! If you actually did want to raise baby dinosaurs to "ride" them, you can download the game here:

http://stoneage2.aeriagames.com

Wow Wee

I can't believe it.

How time flies when you're having a butt load of fun.

My guildies and I have been wasting WAY too much time playing "Age of Conan," and I've totally neglected stuff elsewhere. (How many times have we ordered pizza this week? I don't think I can count that high.)

Anyhow, people can say what they want, but alls I know is that we're having a lot of fun. Tempest of Set is simply awesome!

And building our keeps?

Check check it out!

Here's one of our guild city from a distance:

There is a keep on top of the hill that looks pretty hot and tasty, a temple in the way way distance, and a trading post in the foreground.

Lots more walls to put up, but we're doing great for being a more casual guild.

Wanna' join us on Hanuman? Send Ikusa a /tell!!

Movies: Flash Gordon Remake INC!!

Ah-ahhh! But why? Some things are just better left alone. Like spoiled pork, or anything with green stuff growing on it that isn't a plant.

But the scariest thing is that if you read a little ways down, there's the possibility of a "Red Dawn"!! Head for ze hills!

#1 FLASH, AHH-AHH, HE'LL SAVE EVERYONE OF US!

With Iron Man showing that a movie can prominently feature a man being propelled into the heavens on a rocket, and make a bajillion dollars, it's apparently okay again to show a man inside a rocket being propelled into the heavens as well. As the winners of a studio bidding war, Sony Pictures announced this week their plans to revive Flash Gordon as a feature film franchise, bringing back the football star who travels to the planet Mongo, and helps a variety of exotic races fight against the evil Ming the Merciless. Flash Gordon started off in the 1930s as the star of comic strips and a series of extremely popular serials (basically a movie broken up into parts, shown before other movies back then), and was then being remade as a flamboyantly campy Queen-soundtrack-driven adventure (and box office flop) in 1980.

This time around, Breck Eisner (director of Sahara; and son of Disney's famous former boss), who is also remaking The Creature from the Black Lagoon and George A. Romero's The Crazies, has been given the enviable challenge of bringing Flash's fantastic adventures to life. I'm not terribly excited by just how rampant the current remake trend is becoming, but Flash Gordon is definitely a pretty awesome candidate, I think. More interesting than Flash himself, I think, is the prospect of seeing Ming the Merciless return as a movie icon. Absence from popular culture for 25+ years has hurt his legacy a bit, but Ming easily deserves a place on any top 10 list of the most classic movie villains ever. "Pathetic Earthlings!"

AOC: Yay, Collector's Edition

I finally got my Collector's Edition sent to me in the mail late yesterday afternoon, and along with it, the AOC art book. I have been gushing about it ever since, because of all the attention to detail and immense quality of Funcom's artists.

Unfortunately, my scanner's broken or I'd put up a couple choice images. Luckily, there are a few on the net. This one, showing the movements of a Scorpion Archer are tight:

And then there's high quality pics of stuff like this:

Gorgeous! (Looks Lichy to me.)

They did a great job of converting everything into the game as well. Get up close and personal to the mobs and and they're just so detailed.

Anyhow, Memorial Day's coming up for us Stateside and lots of events to to gorge myself at (though I see myself hunched over the computer decapitating shit.

But however you decide to spend it, have a great weekend!!

p.s. I thought HG:L had wasted a tree to make their boxes, but Funcom must have mowed down an entire forest.

Tabula Rasa: 3 Day Trial for MMORPG.COM Members

In case you were still curious about Richard Garriot's "Tabula Rasa," MMORPG.COM is offering some 3 day trials:

MMORPG.com is very pleased to announce that we have teamed up with NCsoft to bring you a limited free trial of Tabula Rasa, the newest MMORPG from NCsoft featuring action-packed combat in the planets of Foreas and Arieki!

* Offer only valid while supplies last.

GOLD SPAMMERS BEWARE: You will not be able to use trial accounts to advertise to any Tabula Rasa players.

NOTE: This trial is only valid in North America. Our European visitors should visit this link to get a trial: http://eu.rgtr.com/en/news_article/new_trials_available_now.

About Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa is a massively multiplayer online action game that takes you into the heat of battle at the frontlines of an epic war between a xenophobic alien race bent on galactic conquest and the coalition of rebel soldiers who've traveled across the galaxy to stop them.

Combining the action of a first person shooter and the immersion of a role-playing game, Tabula Rasa takes the player on an intergalactic adventure where the individual has an opportunity to significantly impact the pace of battle on a global scale. Players enter the game as rebel soldiers wielding a variety of futuristic weapons, potent demolitions and the mystical power of "Logos". It is up to each individual to use their stealth, ingenuity and skill to assist a ragtag coalition of rebels in their efforts to stop an enemy known for its intelligence and unyielding determination to enslave the Universe.

Features:

• Go to the frontlines of a futuristic war in a massively multiplayer war game that combines the character growth of an RPG with the action of a shooter.
• Players will participate in large scale battles with NPC allies against an intelligent enemy known as The Bane for control of entire planets.
• Players will go behind enemy lines in missions that directly impact the war effort, either solo or with teammates.
• Rich storyline and fictional universe features Richard Garriott’s signature creative vision and attention to detail.
• It's not all guts and guns; a mysterious power known commonly as "Logos," allows players to harness the very fabric of the cosmos to offer rebel forces an advantage against an overwhelming foe.
• Simplified game interface is complimented by built-in voice chat technology to create a seamless cooperative gaming experience.

Benefits

• Role-playing game fans will enjoy a game design that focuses more on depth than complexity, with an immersive story and rich character growth driven by player choices.
• First person shooter fans who crave a richer gaming experience will appreciate a massively multiplayer game that is reactive to player choices and allows for a broad range of character movement. They'll also find FPS standards including explosions, vehicles and big guns.
• Massively multiplayer online game fans will enjoy being able to garner rare collectibles and inventory, a large community to interact with, and frequently updated content to both the game and the storyline.

Registering with MMORPG.COM is free so don't worry, you've nothing to lose (except for precious precious time.)

I played TR in closed and open beta quite a bit, but I think I might have been a little too hard core for the game (seeing that my friends and I made it past 30 in a couple days). For casual, sci-fi loving player, I think, there's enough to keep a person occupied for about a month or two (like you out there, waiting for the WAR open beta.) And FPS enthusiasts, despite it's designation, it's sticky targeting (i.e., I can look at that tree growing in Brooklyn and still hit shit...at least when I was playing that is.)

It's not a bad game, just not incredibly good, and I found it kinda' boring after a while. I don't think it was worth it's original price tag or the monthly fee, but right now you can purchase the whole game with the 1st month free for under $20 if you know where to look.

p.s. Yes, I am guilty of being a disgruntled Engineer. :(

LANDMASS: Offensive and Quick Machine Battle

I mentioned this game a long while back because I like Mechs, blowing up stuff and urm...blowing up more stuff, so I was pretty happy seeing some brand new screenshots and reading the first impressions article featured on today's Game Watch. (It began it's official service in Japan May 9th, 2008.)

For those of you who don't know, "LANDMASS" is a F2P, Robotic-FPS, funded by an in-game item mall. The basic story (as if you really need one for an FPS), is a 3 nation struggle for a new energy source called "G3" found abundantly all over Mass Isle.

Instead of knifing each other directly, players used powered suits named MO-RATS (which are influenced by the designs of games like "Front Mission" and the anime, "Gundam") to pummel one another into submission.

Pick from customisable Assault, Sniper (pictured 1st), Defender (pictured 2nd) and Engineer MO-RATS to deliver your head shot boom:

Now you might be thinking. Shit, an item mall FPS!? All those rich little whores will have uber mechs. Well, have no fear. You cannot buy better gear from the item mall. The item mall was set up pretty much for people who didn't have time (or were too lazy) to collect their own in game funds through battle. In fact, the cost of buying a weapon as opposed to earning it, is actually higher. EXP or in game currency boosting items can be bought from the mall however. The other draw of the item mall would be to purchase paint kits to further customise your rig (desert camo, urban camo, some obnoxious bright red shit, and a cameleon--think Ghost in the Shellish--camo.)

Time for some moar screenies. Here are some in-game battle shots:

According to the reviewer, the balancing between the classes has greatly improved from beta, thus making the team or death match style, 16 v 16, battles even more intense.

IPs are not blocked from what I can tell so head over to the official site if you're interested. Also, I read that the the game has been released in Brazil as well (I don't know Portuguese) so do a search on yer own.

Meanwhile, it seems that you can deploy chaff when you have a shit ton of missiles coming at you.

Now THAT...is hella' sexy.

Last but not least, the teaser trailer:

AOC: Tempest of Set For Your Face!

Finally remembered to take a frickin' screenshot and here she be:

Those are the smallest I could make her titties, and though you can't see it, I gave her a nice booty and some thunder thighs. XD

AOC: Walking in a barbarian's footsteps

Good buzz is going around so far. Happy happy. Then again, I think we know how I feel about the game just looking at my XFIRE numbers. In the 2 days of Early Access we had, I had managed a whopping 24 hours wasted after all. But then I saw people who had been on longer than me, and I felt cool again. Yay!

Time to get some of my dericious screenshotties up!

Walking in a barbarian's footsteps

Age of Conan is all about carving your destiny with a sword

By Mark Ward Technology Correspondent, BBC News website

The talking is over and the time has come for action.

After a long build up, including an eight-week delay to apply the final polish, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (AoC) has been launched.

The game is widely seen as one that has a chance of taking on the current king of the online gaming heap - World of Warcraft (WoW).

That battle for a share of the global online gaming world is one that the mighty Conan himself would relish. At stake are fame, respect and untold riches.

The BBC News website got a chance to play through the early levels of the game and right from the opening moments it is obvious that the cosy world of WoW has been left far behind. It's not for nothing that the game is rated 18.

The game opens on a galley ship on which both male and female characters are slaves. Under attack, the ship sinks and the character is washed up on the beach of an island called Tortage naked but for a loin cloth and shackles.

Age of Conan game play

From those opening moments the graphical detail of the game is a huge leap forward from the rather "cartoon-y" look of WoW. It even rivals Lord of The Rings Online in the graphical stakes. That detail comes at a price - the minimum specs are quite high.

Joe Best, associate producer at publishers Eidos, said: "We really want this to be full fat but also scalable to the PCs of the last few years."

The opening is worthy of a Conan story in which the hero is left to craft his, or her, destiny with their bare hands. The first quests involve finding a way to remove the shackles and then kill the man who enslaved you.

For the first 20 levels of the game, players will be pretty much alone, said Joe Best, an associate producer at Eidos.

The "linear" nature of those early levels on Tortage is where players become familiar with the game world, the abilities of their character and how to play. After that they get to join the larger MMO world of AoC.

Combat in Age of Conan looks like it will be testing Enlarge Image

During those early levels the most important lessons learned are those that show how to fight.

Combat, bloody visceral combat, is at the heart of the Conan stories and the game is no exception. One of the first decisions made when the game was being drawn up, said Mr Best, was that the combat would be "ferocious".

"It's not about watching your character fight for you," he said. "they really wanted to break away from that "point and click" aspect of MMOs."

In games such as World of Warcraft characters attack automatically once they are directed to a target. In AoC the on-screen character only does what it is told. That's necessary as enemies adapt their fighting style to defend against the way they are attacked so that involvement is key.

And the combat is involving, much more so than WoW, where the same attacks and spells will despatch the same types of foe.

There is no doubt that it is fun to use combos and alter your attacks to beat a foe to the ground, or knock them back and then leap forward to finish them off with a panther-like grace that would win a nod of approval from the massive Cimmerian, Conan himself.

AGE OF CONAN: SPECIFICATIONS Minimum Processor: 3GHz Ram: 1GB Video: Nvidia GeForce 5800 or ATI 9800 OS: Windows Vista/XP Recommended Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or better Ram: 2GB or better Video: NVIDIA GeForce 7950GX2 or better OS: Windows Vista/XP

It was odd, said Mr Best, that given combat centrality to most MMOs that no-one had tried such a thing before.

AoC's distinctiveness does not stop with blood, gore and intense combat. At the higher levels players can get a mount, (horse, mammoth or war rhino) that can be used for trampling enemies in to the dust. Those on horseback can swing a weapon and use the momentum of a charge to inflict huge amounts of damage.

Those mounts are likely to be very useful in another of AoC's selling points - siege warfare. Guilds can build their own cities or battle keeps, once their members have gathered enough raw materials for the buildings. As Mr Best said creating a city is a "very social experience".

But once built it may not be safe. Rival factions can gather their war mammoths, trebuchets and troops to lay waste to their enemies' homes and businesses. Pitched battles featuring huge groups of players are likely to become very popular.

Mr Best said many of the decisions that have driven the development of Age of Conan were taken to make it stand out.

"If you are going up against World of Warcraft you cannot imitate it, you have to go your own path and do it your way," he said.

And that's something Conan would doubtless agree with. But it remains to be seen whether that list of features not seen in many other MMOs is a recipe for the one feature WoW has in spades: success.

Video Gaming Industry to Go Green?

Greenpeace has launched a campaign to force industry gaming giants to go green (or greener!) according to this article from BBC Tech. With exception of EVIL Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft seem to be polishing up their act:

Greenpeace takes on gaming giants

Greenpeace is hoping to speak to manufacturers via gamers

Greenpeace has called on gamers to persuade Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to make their consoles greener.

According to the environmental campaign group, game console makers have so far "failed to reduce the toxic burden of their products".

It accuses Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony of lagging behind mobile phone and PC manufacturers.

The initiative is part of Greenpeace's campaign to persuade the electronics industry to be greener.

"Game console manufacturers are lagging way behind the makers of mobile phones and PCs who have been reducing the toxic load of the products over the past year," said Zenia Al Hajj, Greenpeace International's toxics campaigner.

"Game consoles contain many of the same components as PCs so manufacturers can do a lot more," she added.

Workers "at risk"

As part of its campaign, Greenpeace has launched a 90-second video featuring some of the iconic games console characters - Microsoft's Master Chief, Nintendo's Mario and Sony's Kratos - competing for the prize of a greener games console.

Gamers can compare how each console meaures up on toxic materials, recycling and energy efficiency, as well as logging their support for the campaign.

The campaign is aimed at the big three game console manufacturers - Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.

Nintendo said that it is looking to establish a dialogue with Greenpeace but that it adhered to all European standards.

It is signed up to the European WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive - which makes manufacturers responsible for recycling their goods.

"We make sure that all of our products comply with European standards which we understand are the highest in the world," said a spokesman.

Greenpeace is engaged in a wider campaign to persuade the whole electronics industry to eliminate hazardous chemicals across the board.

It does not believe that current legislation goes far enough and on its hazard hit list are brominated fire retardants and PVC, the use of which it claims can lead to dangerous chemicals building up in the environment and in human and animal tissue.

It said that Chinese and Indian workers in production facilities and scrap yards where goods are dismantled could be at risk.

Nintendo's spokesman said that no PVC was used in the production of its consoles, although he couldn't confirm whether brominated fire retardants were banned.

Leading mobile phone makers, including Motorola, LG, Sony Ericsson and Philips, have all implemented eco-design aspects into their production lines, including reducing the amount of hazardous substances used in their products.

Global warming

Global warming campaign launched in the virtual world

Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, produces a handset every nine seconds. It has decided to implement requirements set out in the EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive in all 10 of its factories around the globe.

The RoHS Directive bans six substances (lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB and PDBE) from products that are either made or sold in the EU.

Greenpeace has been busy garnering support for its various initiatives from the web community. Earlier this month it teamed up with teenage social networking site Habbo to find out more about youngsters attitudes to global warming.

50,000 teenagers responded to the survey, with 74% rating global warming over drugs, violence and war as the issue they were most concerned about.

According to this follow up article, the evil Mario empire of Nintendo is at the bottom of Greenpeace's list! I told you Mario was a son of bitch!

AOC: Update Notes 1.1.2.3 - 19th of May 2008

I was in sleepy land when the game finally came up and here be the patch notes to check out:

Update Notes 1.1.2.3 - 19th of May 2008

---

General

• Guildmembers should now be able again to deposit money in the Guild bank.
• Fixed some camera issues with Cassilda on the beach.
• Fixed an issue causing the OOC chat channel to be inactive after teleports
• It should be possible to resurrect properly in Epic Mode instances now.

Quests

• The Awakening II: Killing Renton should now more consistently update the quest
  
• The Awakening II: You should no longer get stuck when talking to Renton during the "Make Renton Speak" quest.
  
• The Awakening II: Renton now behaves correctly including not showing up in his home again after he has been killed.
  
• Idogbe is now ready to give out a quest to players in Tortage.
  
• Arias should no longer hide inside a big boulder on White Sands Isle (Night).
  
• 'Tailored Task' now should require less camping on White Sands Isle.
• 'Unholy Magic' quest in Acheronian Temple has been adjusted so the Elder Shaman will now spawn automatically after a certain time. The huts will still have to be destroyed to fulfill the quest though.
  
• The Atzel Warders are now again updating the quest goals in various quests in the playfield Atzel's Approach.

NPC

• Tradepost NPC traders are now activated again
• Cerdic the Food and Drinks seller has arrived on White Sands Isle (Day) now.
• The merchant at the docks at Tortage (Night) has decided to now work at night anymore.
• NPCs, who help players untrain feats, can now be found in all major cities.
• Ciar the General Goods merchant has arrived in Conarch Village.
• Merchant Waudreen should yet again sell armor in Conarch Village.

Player Character

• Advanced Riding can now be trained again correctly.
• Dancing-state should now work correctly again.

Necromancer

• Pestilential Blast should now inflict damage on one nearby target.

Ranger

• Tracking cooldown increased to 60 seconds.

Guardian

• The damage debuff obtained from later ranks of Vengeance is now a percentage-based debuff so it scales better.

Mages

• The absorb shields are now granted to Mages at level 5 already. Mages who are already higher than level 5 will get it the next time the gain a level.

Client/Server

• Several client asserts and crashes have been fixed.

Combat

• PvP: Attacking someone who is under the effect of 'Shield of the Risen' will now lead to severe damage to the attacker.

__________________
Glen 'Famine' Swan
Community Manager (US) - Age of Conan

Servers are down -- Announcement

Mr. Sulu To Tie the Knot

Awwww. So cute.

Saw this on Perez about George Takei getting hitched in Cali. Yay!

Here's his wedding announcment:

Our California dream is reality. Brad Altman and I can now marry. We are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of our state!

The California Supreme Court has ruled that all Californians have a fundamental right to marry the person he or she loves. Brad and I have shared our lives together for over 21 years. We've worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing. We've traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily…For now, Brad and I are enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will be married. Marriage equality took a long time, but, like fine wine, its bouquet is simply exquisite.

Live long and prosper!