Walking in a barbarian's footsteps

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!"

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.

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. :(

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:

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

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.

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!

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

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!

Loving our 2 1/4 days Early Access. <3 style="font-weight: bold;">

US Servers Downtime for Launch Preparation

The big date is very close now. Today we will prepare the servers in the US territory for the launch. All the US servers will therefore not be available from 9pm GMT. We expect the downtime to last about 5 hours.

European servers will not be affected by this.

We are very much looking forward to open Hyboria to the world and thank you all for your interest in our game.
__________________
Oliver 'Tarib' Kunz
Senior Community Manager

And another one:

The server preparations for launch are proceeding well. To be able to proper test everything and to ensure the best possible performance we need however to extend the scheduled downtime by 2 more hours.

The US servers should therefore be online again at around 4 am GMT.

Please see this link to see when the servers will be going up in your local timezone.

Thank you for your patience.
__________________
Oliver 'Tarib' Kunz
Senior Community Manager
Last edited by Tarib; Today at 07:53 PM.

Please, sir, may I have another?

The final checks and adjustments need to be done now. We therefore need to extend the downtime of the game servers by another hour.

The US servers should be online again at around 5 am GMT.

(Please see this link to see when the servers will be going up in your local timezone.)

Thank you for your patience and understanding.
__________________
Glen 'Famine' Swan
Community Manager (US) - Age of Conan

One more delay and I'm canceling my pre-order!!!! ...Oh wait...ahhh, shit.

Hurray for obligatory!

So, if you have been visiting this blog, you probably have noticed I've been obsessed of late with AOC despite my own warnings not to get too excited. (I have yet to live down the disappointment that was Vanguard.)

However, I am happy to say that so far, despite the mini late start, I am very very happy with AOC. Although I participated in the Open Beta, things were much too unstable to properly judge the game (I actually didn't have that much trouble, but I know my friends were), but lo and behold, a miracle patch did happen, and the game ran smoothly for me for (I'm ashamed to say this), 12 straight hours before I finally succumbed to sleep.

My friends and I ended up on Thog-PVE (we had planned on going to a FFA PVP server, but got outvoted on that by family members, acquaintances etc), but to be very honest, I haven't missed the spawn killing and gankage that much at all. I'm sure that as time goes by, the PVP servers will mellow out and have some real skilled PVP, but right now, I'm pretty happy to adventure with my friends as we plot our end game sieges.

I rolled a Tempest of Set and managed to get her through Tortage and the Destiny quest line, and I'm very glad that Funcom decided to cap the open beta. The story line, the cutscenes and voice acting are great, and really convey the atmosphere of the Howard books. I recommend going through it once on every character type as each of the stories has a slightly different twist.

Right now, my main group has an awesome balance (ToS, Conqueror, Guardian, Necromancer, Demonologist and Ranger), and we're all enjoying ourselves EVEN during the blasted "Collect 40 Crocodile Skins" quest. Fatalities and nipples help a lot! Heheh.

Really, AOC isn't a revolutionary concept, but they did a good job taking things that worked, tweaking them, and making combat fun again.

Love it so far, and can't wait to go back for moar!

If you're looking for some assholes to play with on Thog, come visit!

Our web and forum servers are currently experiencing an exceptional high volume of traffic. In the mean time please use the links below.

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is expected to open at GMT 21 / PST 12 / EST 15

At least Rainbow Six Loves me.

After losing a democratic vote for a PVP server, my friends and I were going to go Anu, but seems even those dreams have been crushed!

As we added a new PvP Ruleset (Culture PvP) we had to tweak the different numbers of servers and also names a little bit. So the new list now is as follows:

US Servers (Early Access 17th of May)

PvE Servers
• Set
• Dagoth
• Zug
• Omm
• Derketo
• Thog
• Wiccana
• Gwahlur (recommended Oceanic)

PvP Servers
• Tyranny
• Bane (Culture PvP)
• Deathwisper
• Bloodspire (recommended Oceanic)
• Doomsayer
• Stormrage

RP-PvP Server
• Cimmeria (RP)

And we will of course add mores servers for launch. Details to follow soon.

Meanwhile, Bane has turned into a Culture PVP server:

New PvP Ruleset: Culture PvP

As part of celebrating the release of Age of Conan we are happy to unravel a brand new PvP ruleset that has not previously been disclosed: The Culture PvP ruleset! Note that this new PvP server type is experimental and players on these servers must expect an ongoing change to the ruleset.

The goal of this PvP server-type is to stimulate war behind the three cultures of Cimmeria, Aquilonia and Stygia. As a player on a Culture PvP server, you are shielded from lone travelers of your own culture, however you may still group with any culture and form a group and attack anyone.

The Culture PvP ruleset is an evolving ruleset that will be tweaked and polished based on player-feedback in the months to come. Although it is, at least currently, possible to make guilds across cultures, pure culture groups and guilds will be endorsed on this server, and as such players on the Culture PvP servers must prepare that the future will hold continued changes to the ruleset.

We have changed to ruleset on two servers that were previously flagged as full PvP. The homes for the Culture PvP servers are:

Bane (US)
Twilight (EU)

With best regards,

Funcom

Orly? Sounds like RvR lite.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Time to do the laundry.

...I'm doing work!

That way I has more time later on to play. *purr*

Sad, isn't it?

Remember, everyone, feed yo' pets! Feed them!

Also, AOC is currently re-patching itself with another massive patch (700+ MBs). So if you had your Early Access Download done a few days ago, load it up again and re-patch now! Right now it's going hella' fast, but I'm sure there'll be a mini slow down as we approach 17:00 GMT.

<3

Before I head out, I leave you with one of the sexiest songs ever recorded. EVER.

I hadn't listened to it in forever, and after playing it again, I think I remember why...because it never goes away!!

Be warned and Happy Friday!

As much as I hate to admit it, I watch VH1's "Flavor of Love 3." People love train wrecks, and there is nothing more broke ass than this show.

I knew I was done for when I caught my sorry ass cheering when Thing 2 came back on the show. Yes, a wave of sadness crashed over me for a moment there, but thanks to a bucket of ice cream, I overcame it. Anyhoo, but I hope she does well in Paris!

Meanwhile, if you thought the show was a mess, you need to check out the forums as well. There is so much goodness. Here is someone eloquently stating why the Twins (my Twins!) were ugly! The nerve!

RE: THE TWINS ARE NOT UGLY

They hasbustd grillz
They has bustd weeves
They hasthey outfits from Rainbow for $5.99
They has gone comits INCHEST w/FLAVE
They be hatas an sneeks
Thing 2 ant got no A!#
Thing 1 eatin to many biskits
They be egnorernt
I done has no love for them twin but I do says this that Thing 2 prolly really be down for Flave. Thing 2 to busy blowin fat greesy calvin.

Ahhh, so good. They never fail to put a smile on my face.

On that note, back to work!

I've been slightly (*cough*) sidetracked by AOC so I haven't been keeping up with TCoS, but, looks like the EU and US launches will be taking place simultaneously sometime optimistically in Q3 and realistically in Q4:

Hello Community members !

Today, we would like to share an important update with you about The Chronicles of Spellborn.

After we attended the GDC in San Francisco, TCoS and Frogster have been in contact with different parties regarding the distribution of Spellborn in the USA.

Recently, one major MMOG publisher has signed a letter of intent as a potential partner for the release of The Chronicles of Spellborn in the USA, assuming a time of six months so that Spellborn can be successfully introduced to the US public.

Frogster and we, TCoS Devs, decided to use this extra time to improve our server architecture as well as apply further polish and balancing.

Thanks to this additional development time, we will make sure that the flow of the gameplay and the performance correspond to the high quality expectations for the game even with high numbers of players.

The launch of Spellborn is now estimated to take place in Autumn 2008, simultaneously in Europe and in the USA.

Our current Beta planning remains the same, and our tester pool has been increased by one hundred community members recently, ramping up towards bigger numbers as more testing needs arise.

To conclude, we will make sure to reveal the USA partner as soon as a final deal is signed, but in the meantime, keep on being active and helpful to the community, for it’s your best chance to participate in the Beta test and make Spellborn an even better game!

For the Oracle !
_________________
*Mirage*
PR Manager
Community Manager
The Chronicles of Spellborn

The timing I think, will give people time to try out AOC, see if they like it and move on with a clear conscience if it wasn't what they were looking for.

If it delivers on its promises, I'd definitely like to try it regardless!

I know they mentioned that not everyone would get a spot in the Early Access, but damn, I guess they were serious. According to Tarib, the Funcom Senior Community Manager:

Hello everyone. We here at Funcom are extremely happy with the demand that has been for our Early Access program. That demand has been so immense, that we are now sold out! We know that several people will be unhappy to not receive their Early Access time, but please bear with us in the remaining days. So:
All English Early Access has sold out
Some Early Access still available in Germany and France
All Virtual items work will work on valid pre-order keys
Pre-orders on accounts that was later cancelled will have their keys/account disabled
Thank you and look forward to seeing you all in Hyboria very shortly!

This newsbit can be discussed in the forums right here.

Funcom is no joke. They are the gangstas of the srs intranetz!! They will cancel your fuckin' account if you thought you had scammed them out of keys.

If you don't behave, Funcom will fuckin' put a dead camel's head in your bed. FO REALZ!

By the way, if you registered your account prior to the shut down you should still be eligible, but I don't have a confirmation on that yet. Some people are saying it's only if your payment is pending.

p.s. I'm patching and would like to recommend GoGamer to everyone Stateside who had trouble getting their codes this time around. Though they weren't able to offer the War Rhino/War Mammoth, but they made sure to get those keys out to everyone. Their customer service is really really awesome, and I've seen (over a number of games) them step up to make sure of that!

p.p.s. Some people are reporting that they were able to input their codes today (others no.) Just give it a go if you got your key late!

If you're looking for a F2P to pass the time, "Requiem: The Bloodymare" will be going into Open Beta on Thursday, May 15th, 2008.

My friends and I tried it for a while during Closed Beta and while there's nothing really new with it (aside from you being able to decap dirty Devil Reindeers and other stuff), it's done better than its other, gory F2P predecessors (2Moons for example).

The World of Ethergia beckons to worthy Temperions to challenge the horrors that walk Ethergia’s lands. An opportunity to take up this challenge is coming on May 15, 2008.

We will begin our Open Beta test on May 15, 2008 at 7pm PDT. This Open Beta test session will be open to all currently registered accounts as well as all the new Temperions that decide to join us.

All accounts and characters will be reset prior to this test session and will be placed in a new starting zone called Truba Island.

The new Requiem game client, which is available on our Client Download Section, is necessary to play during the Open Beta test.

Please note that this is still part of the beta testing process, and as such, does not fully represent the final product. Players who participate during this period may experience some lag or connection issues as we work to fine-tune and optimize our server capacity.

If you have questions, comments or wish to stay updated on the progress of the Beta Test please Register for news and notifications or check our Forums.

Too much information (read: rumours) to process so early on a Monday morning! But I am such a suckah for train wreck movies based on comics news.

So first off, let's discuss the "Dragonball" incoming craptavaganza.

The comments by people who've seen the pic are pretty favourable but...this may also be their first adventure onto the big ole' intranets. Or as Flavor Flav would put it, "SAY WHAAAA!?"

And wasn't Emily Rossum in a real movie with Gerald Butler? (Phantom of the Opera.) But I guess now she gets to be Bulma. Same with Chow Yun Fat. Pay them bills!

Yes, we all know things are going to be quality when they hire from the immense talent pool that is the cast of the Real World.

Justin Chatwin as Goku (UPDATE)

Dragonball-live posted what appears to be our first look at Justin Chatwin as Goku. The scan was said to be taken from Shonen Jump #24 in Japan.

UPDATE: Higher quality scan thanks to Sour Mikan. Click to enlarge.

Sour Mikan informs me that the scan is from Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 24 which is available officially this Monday.

I saw the same picture at Shonen Jump Spoiler forum in Japan.
#24 is available at Monday officialy.
I hope official website will update something at Monday.

Along with that he also provides us with a translation.

I’ll grant you a wish…!!

Rumor after rumor but [now] Dragonball live action movie finally comes true !
Director James Wong of Final Destination, and producer the revolutionary film maker Stephen Chow of Shaolin Soccer. Remarkable casts are Son Goku is Justin Chatwin who played Tom Cruise’s son at Steven Spielberg movie War of the Worlds, and Master Roshi is Chow yun-fat of Pirates of the Caribbean.

All Dragonball fan’s wish are granted now ! We will continue to offer new information to you on Jump Cinema Island !

And the Chinese character on the Goku’s T-shirts is “Un”(means luck, fate, fortune)

We’ll keep you updated on any new developments. And while your processing this new information, why not check out the newly revamped crew page.

And now for some A-Team and Thor news courtesy of the Latino Review:

Lemme cut to the chase. Here's what the studios would like to see:

Thor = Brad Pitt!

Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith = Bruce Willis!

I'm actually all for those two choices, so hopefully one of them gets confirmed soon.

So when you start playing one of the most anticipated games of 2008, what sort of server will you be picking to make your mark upon?

PVE: FFA PVP in the Border Lands. (Care bear stare!)
PVP: FFA PVP. (Stupid names allowed.)
RP-PVP: Layeth the smacketh down everywhere!

...so have you decided what you'll be playing yet?

I have a feeling that there will be a gabazillion Tempests of Sets running around there (but face it, they got a root, a stun, lightning bolts coming out of their asses AND healing by level 13), so I don't want to be one of the "lightning bolt, lightning bolt" masses but...damn you, they are sexy to play.

My buddies are going Demonologist, Dark Templar and Assassin, so I think helping them out using my "COBRA STARE" might be useful but...despite hating Blah Shaman at first, they do grow on you with their Nature's Wrath stackable healing....

Oh what to do, what to do. So many choices. So much time I'm gonna' spend being dddddead meat.

And then I got my newsletter in the mail about the player buildings which my future Architect ass can't wait to have a crack at. *purrrrrrrrrrrr*

Anyhoo, we'll be on OpenBeta02. See you guys there! I'll be the one with the 5 death penalties on me. <3

It was only a matter of time for the mutated ass bellhops with hooks made it to the big screen! Hope they stay true to the game atmosphere (i.e., don't become "Alone in the Dark," or "Super Mario Bros.")

Gore Verbinski to direct 'Bioshock'
Universal bringing videogame to bigscreen

By MICHAEL FLEMING, BEN FRITZ

'Bioshock'

Verbinski

Universal and Gore Verbinski are going into "Bioshock."
Studio has signed a deal to turn last year's hit videogame, which won numerous awards and sold more than 2 million units worldwide, into a film.
The "Pirates of the Caribbean" helmer is attached to direct and produce. "Aviator" scribe John Logan is in talks to pen the screenplay.
"Bioshock" publisher Take-Two Interactive is getting a multimillion-dollar advance against gross points on the pic. It's believed to be the biggest videogame-to-movie deal since 2005, when U and Fox signed onto the since aborted "Halo" pic, for which Microsoft got $5 million against 10%.
Take-Two executive chairman Strauss Zelnick said the "state of the art" deal is structured so that "Bioshock" won't end up in turnaround like "Halo," which is back with Microsoft.
"The reason I structured it the way I did is to make sure it gets made," he emphasized.
"Bioshock" takes place in an underwater city based on the free market principles of Ayn Rand, but things have gone disastrously wrong. Players control a pilot who crash-lands at a secret entrance to the city, called Rapture, and is drawn into a power struggle during which he discovers that his will is not as free as he'd thought.
"I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that's cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential," said Verbinski. "Of all the games I've played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative."
Take-Two has been approached by a number of producers and studios since the game came out in August but waited until it had swept most of the end-of-year industry awards and racked up impressive holiday sales before working with CAA to package the project. Universal got a first look and made a preemptive bid.
Zelnick, who was president of Fox in the early '90s, led the dealmaking for his company, rather than set the project up with a producer.
"One of the things we decided early on is that we didn't want to go through a producer," he commented. "It's terribly important to us to have a meaningful influence on how this project is produced. We didn't want any insulation between us."
Verbinski noted that Rapture's art deco design and visually arresting characters, such as the mechanical Big Daddys who protect genetically mutated girls called Little Sisters, particularly inspired him to see the game as a film.
Though no release date is even being targeted, Verbinski said he plans to start pre-production as soon as Logan's script is finished and approved by all involved.
Helmer has been regularly consulting with Ken Levine, the game's creative director, though it's not yet clear if the game developer will have a formal role in the film.
For Universal, project marks a return to the videogame space after the disastrous "Halo" experience. After more than a year of development, during which Peter Jackson was signed to exec produce and Neil Blomkamp to direct the "Halo" feature, U and Fox shut down the project over cost concerns.
"This deal gives Universal the opportunity to have the immersive, addictive universe of 'Bioshock' interpreted by a filmmaker with unrivaled abilities to convey story, action and large-scale, fantastical visuals," said U co-chairman David Linde.
Take-Two is developing a "Bioshock" sequel that will be released in 2009, almost certainly before the film comes out.
Though numerous videogames have been turned into movies and others are in the works, very few have been commercial or critical successes. Take-Two itself has turned down numerous attempts by Hollywood to option its Rockstar label's hit franchise "Grand Theft Auto." "Bioshock" marks the first movie deal ever for the publisher.

Christopher Eccleston is definitely one of those ugly hot guys.

And if you want to see more, just visit here for pics of the Baroness, Heavy Duty and Breaker as well.

I haven't played FFXI in a while so I really saw no need to keep up with the expansion and its stories but...then I saw my firstest real Manthra. Lehko Habhoka is at your service. (And at the service of every single female Mithra in Vana'diel.)

Hell was frozen over for 2 months and I didn't know!? But then I saw the video below and I knew that I had completely gotten over my FFXI days.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH (and no, I wasn't laughing with the skit):

During the great MMO Drought of 2007-2008, I was desperate enough to be interested in a Korean F2P, SUN, Soul of Ultimate Nation from Webzen. However, the game doesn't seem to be making much headway over in the US, with it in OB status in Japan right now.

The SUN story:

Under the reign of the Immortal Emperor Schwarz, the Geist Empire has ruled the Blandis continent for five hundred years. By possessing Ether, the secret knowledge of Mother Nature, Emperor Schwarz converted the precious Ether into dark energy and used it to conquer the entire continent with his formidable armies. Continues extraction of Ether has impoverished the main land, causing the Empire to turn its eyes on rich lands of neighboring districts for its supremacy. Bringing about an inevitable insurrection, Ignis, a rebel leader formed an elite force called the Guidance declaring war against the Empire.

So...long story short, those of us Stateside prolly won't be seeing it for a while, but really, with the MMOs coming out, I might completely forget it by the time it does. But before I do, Game Watch had some pretty screenies and a mini review.

The Valkyrie character creation:

From the screenie, you can pick the standards for Korean games customization wise. First off is Hair Style, Face Type, Height, and Costume Type.

The Elementalist character creation screen:

It doesn't seem like you can pick stats, which is pretty normal, but there are two types of each class you can pick which influence the pre-determined stats. For the two tank/DPS classes: Berserker class, "Berserk" and "Defender," and Dragon Knight, "Combat" and "Draconic." For the two support/healing classes: Valkyrie, "Offensive," and "Summon," and finally Elementalist, "Ether" and "Circle."

Movement is WASD or by left mouse click, and attacks are performed by right clicking.

Leveling can be done in an eight man group via "Battle Zones," (like raid dungeons), or by questing and killing monster on the world field. The one nice thing it seems that if you're in a BZ, each member that participates receives the same items as everyone else. So sorry, Assholes out there, there will be no Ninja Looting. According to the reviewer however, questing was confusing as appropriate directions were not given in the quest logs.

Here is a slut in booty shorts attempting to fight in one of them so called Battle Zones:

And of course, there's the obligatory Enchanting and tearing your hair out breaking shit trying to make it glow crafting system.

Being a F2P game, there is a cash shop that utilizes Gems (in Japan, it was 1 Y to 1 Gem, so approximately $0.01 to 1 Gem.)

End game wise (Levels 60-80), there be talks of massive PVP battlegrounds and guild wars, however, at the time they don't seem to be implemented yet.

Ya, it was touted to be innovative and different but...seems like the same ole' same ole' to me. Still, free is free, and I'll never turn down a free game. Even "Pirates of the Caribbean!"

I sorta' got frustrated with BF2142 while waiting that long ass stretch for the 1.4 patch to actually come out, but every so often I do get an urge to reinstall (same with BF2). Anyhoo, this Q&A from EA about 1.50 managed to tickle my fancy:

[Battlefield 2142] Q&A covering the upcoming Battlefield 2142 Update 1.50
. What new content will we see in Battlefield 2142 Update 1.50?

A. As well as a number of bug fixes and tweaks based on community feedback we are going to be releasing two new maps created by community members. Wake Island makes its return to Battlefield PC thanks to the guys at Sir. Community and a map which you may have heard of called Anzio will be appearing with a name change as Operation Shingle created by Jason Brice. We are also bringing a No Vehicles option to a number of 2142 maps for those players who want to fight it out on foot as well as allowing you to access 16:9 and 16:10 resolutions for those widescreen monitors. We also heard your cries for movement in pods to be re-introduced on transport ship escape pods so we have been working on giving that back to you while still limiting pod surfing use.

Q. How did you select the community maps to include in Update 1.50?

A. Both maps we decided to include in Update 1.50 were selected from a wide choice of maps that are out there in the community, it was felt they brought something new to Battlefield 2142 and although some of you will have seen them before in previous forms, they have now been updated and are new maps to Battlefield 2142. Both groups have worked closely with DICE Live and have gone through extensive testing to get the best balance and Battlefield experience from the maps. Wake Island 2142 also holds a little twist to the way Conquest game mode is usually played so watch out for that.

Q. When will Battlefield 2142 Update 1.50 be released?

A. Update 1.50 will be released for public beta in the not too distant future and is there to get your feedback as well as run checks on server stability. Visit www.battlefield.com for more announcements regarding the beta and launch and leave your feedback on the forums.

Ahh, COD4, when will you be getting vehicles?

And now to check on that Crysis/MechWarrior MOD!

If you visited EA's "Battlefield Heroes" website yesterday like me to check in on the closed beta, you are equally as guilty as me of 1) breaking the website and 2) being tricked! TRICKED I SAY!

So here is their official explanation of the Beta process.

Closed Beta Clarification May 6

Hello Heroes!

As you may have noticed, you killed our website. We are not angry. We’re very pleased you want to be in the Beta.

The beta for Heroes will be divided into several stages, the first of which is all about testing out this new way of getting games to you all; by downloading and installing them from a website. We’ll also be trying out some other dull stuff to do with servers, so we are expecting the systems to be down as much as they are up.

To help us track down all the technical issues, we have asked a third party to find us some specialist Beta testers. We are doing all this because we want to be sure that when we launch Heroes, everything will work smoothly.

So hang in there! We will announce here when it’s time to sign up for the public stage of the Beta.

Goodman
Community Manager

Like I haven't been AOC obsessed these past few weeks, but just one more tidbit of news for May 10th. I gotta roll up a brand new PvP character instead of my sorry ass rezzing and non-rezzing gaggle of priests.

That's right bitches. Time to die. (Though really, it'll be me that's lying on the ground dead.)

Epic ending to the Age of Conan Open Beta

On the 10th of May Funcom is transforming the entire Open Beta into PvP MAYHEM, while at the same time giving testers access to all which Hyboria has to offer!

Here's the whole information going out to Open Beta testers:

Quote:
Dear Age of Conan beta tester

We hope you are merrily chopping off Pict heads in the Age of Conan Open Beta, and that your journey in Hyboria has been a memorable one so far. You have only seen the beginning though, as we prepare an EPIC ending to your Open Beta experience.

On the 10th of May we are transforming the entire Open Beta into PvP MAYHEM, while at the same time giving you access to all which Hyboria has to offer! That is right, as we take down our servers for a short period we are at the same time changing the entire server rule-set to Free For All PvP carnage! Your servers will ALL become PvP! Participate if you dare, or make a new character and stay in the safety of Tortage!

Details:

* All servers become PvP servers. You can kill each other – no level restrictions on killing or getting killed, but you cannot PvP in the major cities.
* All level 13 characters becomes level 20. Their inventory is wiped, but they have “tons” of money and really nice equipment suitable for level 20’s. Shopping bonanza!
* You have access to ALL zones and ALL levels after level 20!
* You will be zoned to your Race’s Hub. (Cimmerians – Conarch Village, Aquillonians – Old Tarantia and Stygians – Khemi!

This means bye bye Tortage! Welcome Hyboria at large, and what a blast you will have. It all starts at level 20, and then it’s up to you, but you can be sure your fellow players will do their best to stop you!

We will get back with detailed information on the exact time it starts on the official Open Beta forums at IGN, as well as on the Age of Conan forums and community site.

You may ask, why skip levels 14-20? The reason is simple – the story. We take it seriously, and we would like for you to experience it at launch.

We urge you to join us for some epic PvP mayhem on the 10th of May, and we hope you will leave Hyboria with a bloodied smile on your face.

Heads will roll!

Sincerely
The Age of Conan development team

__________________
Oliver 'Tarib' Kunz
Senior Community Manager

According to an article published today by the NZ Herald:

Pole dancing comes to the Wii

10:56AM Tuesday May 06, 2008

The company that sells Carmen Electra's 'Electra Pole' kit is planning to bring pole dancing to Nintendo Wii.

After the runaway success of Wii Fit, a pole dancing company is cashing in on the games-meet-fitness phenomena.
Peekaboo, a company which specialises in stripper poles and recently did a deal with Carmen Electra to sell the 'Electra Pole Professional Pole Dancing Kit', announced that it is in negotiations to bring pole dancing to the Nintendo Wii.
It will focus on the 'fun and fitness benefits', rather the seedier origins of pole dancing.
"Peekaboo and its partners are focussed on using Wii friendly hardware to make aerobic pole dancing instantly accessible just as Guitar Hero did for rock'n'roll," the company said in a statement.
It believes that the plans will meet a "mainstream demand" for pole dancing fitness.
"With pole dancing classes springing up in gyms and health clubs across Europe and the USA, the number of women seeking the body-sculpting and fat-burning effects of this aerobic form of exercise has never been greater."

Carmen Electra has confirmed that she will not be involved in the game, said the Peekaboo statement.
- NZ HERALD STAFF

There is nothing sexier than a woman straddling a Wii Fit board. DERICIOUS!!

So lemme get this right. Make sure to RP a "nice" guy who could hate other races (as long as they aren't real), and don't name your sorry ass Legolas or any variant.

Friday Update: Preliminary Roleplaying Server Rules
Posted: - 02.05.2008

These are the rules we are considering for the Roleplaying-tagged servers for Age of Conan.
We are extremely interested in the feedback of our hardcore roleplayers on this issue and hope you will let us know your thoughts in this thread. Please note nothing is final. We’re planning a meeting to talk out some of the issues we’re already seeing, so now is the perfect time to give us your input.

Preliminary Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Roleplaying Server Rules

All names must fit within the universe of Hyboria. Sephiroths or Pikachus or names that are out of place with the setting are not permitted. This is in addition to our usual naming policy (for example, no copyrighted names).

No names (or obviously similar names) may be those used in the works of Robert E. Howard. Conan, Kohnan, Konan, Kohnan are all examples of names that are forbidden under this policy.

Please avoid Out of Character (OOC) chat as much as possible in the public channels. You are welcome to discuss whatever you like in your guild channels or in private messages. Examples of Out of Character chat include sports events, the weather, what you had for lunch, internet memes, catchphrases, and so on.

Please respect roleplayers. We recognize that not everyone is willing or able to maintain a persona at all times, and we welcome you to enjoy the atmosphere. However, please do not insult or harass the people in character, call them silly, or otherwise try to ruin their immersion.

Harassment and other behaviors covered in the rules of conduct are still covered on roleplaying servers. “I’m just roleplaying a homicidal maniac” is not an excuse for harassing, griefing, etc., other players. This extends to racism/nationalism as well. Roleplaying someone that hates Stygians/Aquilonians/Cimmerians is perfectly alright, however, real world racism is not acceptable.

Player-run events, guild meetings, and other roleplaying sessions may be present at anytime. Please do not interfere or harass players that are in character or running an event. We encourage you to join in and have a good time, but disrupting a wedding, guild meeting, etc. for non-roleplaying reasons may be cause for punishment.

Please keep in mind this is a mature setting for an M-rated game and the roleplay setting and environment may not be suitable for all players and temperaments. Likewise, while this is an M-rated game, please keep in mind that even in Hyboria, there are standards of conduct. Please keep overt and detailed adult conduct and chat in private channels.

In addition to the official rules provided by Funcom, the roleplaying community may have its own rules and customs. We encourage you to observe these as much as possible on your server of choice.

I think I'll stick to Loot Playing.

Sonic sent me a note about this a couple days ago and I totally forgot to post it thanks to that silly little "AOC" beta.

Anyhoo, their official website be below:

http://zombies.totalgamingnetwork.com/

And just some info:

THE MOD IS HERE!

The official Release is Official!

Anyone can now download the mod and upload it to your server and run your own zombie server.

Whats different from this to 82ndID?
You wont be getting the music when there 15% hunters left :( 82ndID only
You wont get the Kill counter i.e. Ultra kill, God like. :( 82ndID only too.
You wont get the special Admin tools that our admins use to burn/switch peoples team.

But we have a nice thing for our true fans :)

We will be Selling Servers with custom features like the Admin tools and constant updates, every time there is an update. you will get it!(more info on the forums)

DOWNLOAD HERE!

Post your Comments here on the forums!

It's first come first server so hurry there! (The page has been loading funny so just keep trying!)

Check out the link here:

http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/ageofconan/beta/

Important Beta Information

• Keys are limited and will be released on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Signup, get a key and download NOW! Gameplay has started.

• Read the Age of Conan Beta F.A.Q. for more information about this event.

• Learn more about the Age of Conan Beta contest.

*UPDATE* They ran out of keys at about 7:00 Central. At least, when I checked then they were aallll gone!

Whether you love the game or hate the game, there's no denying that my Cobra Commander hat is the bomb diggity:

Alls I know is that my friends and I are enjoying the game in its half-assed state, so once the retail version is released, they will be some good times to be had. (But more importantly, loots!)

I still don't quite get why followers of Set shoot lightning though...if anything I would have just given the Bear Shamans the lightning, but oh well. Just call me an electric eel. *sniff*

p.s. I won't be reviewing the Stress Test. I'm gonna' wait for the Release for this one. Conspiracy!? I think not!

According to SuperHeroHype:

Marvel Studios Sets Four More Release Dates!

Source: Marvel Entertainment

May 5, 2008

Marvel Entertainment released their first quarter report to its shareholders this morning to coincide with the announcement about the success this past weekend of Marvel Studios' first production Iron Man, which grossed an estimated $104.2 million domestically and over $201 million worldwide. The announcement included an update of Marvel Studios' feature film slate with the already-rumored Iron Man 2 announced for a release on April 30, 2010, followed by three more movies for the summers of '10 and '11. Matthew Vaughn's Thor is set for a release on June 4, 2010, and The First Avenger: Captain America (the working title) will kick off the summer of 2011 on May 6, followed by the highly-anticipated and foreshadowed The Avengers scheduled for July 2011. (Edgar Wright's Ant-Man is also listed as being in development with no release date set.)

In a conference call this morning, Marvel Studios' David Maisel said that Iron Man 2 will be used to introduce Thor. Regarding more "Hulk" movies, Maisel said "We definitely plan on continuing." He added that development continues on Spider-Man 4. "I can't give any other updates other than to say it's in development and everybody's excited about 'Spider-Man 4,'" he said.

With that in mind, one can start expecting a lot more announcements in the coming months about creative teams and casting for those movies including who might direct the Captain America and Avengers movies. (Whomever plays Steve Rogers AKA Captain America presumably will be making two movies at once.)

Equals dericious is what!

So I finally went to see the movie earlier today (and not just on the Intranetz!) and it was pretty damn good. Even my grumpy ass Comic Book stickler guy said they did, "Alright." Yeah, so it wasn't set in the jungles of Vietnam, but really, did we need to see Tony Stark in bell bottoms? That's right, mature and smart contemporary adaption FTW! (No bamn, biff.)

I wasn't sure about Robert Downey Jr at first because my image of Tony Stark was a bit different, but he dun did a good job. One of the first movies I've paid for and enjoyed in a long ass time and Iron Man looked fuckin' sexah.

Go see it!

And...if you missed the end credits...click below for some *hint* mother fuckin' sexiness:

According to a comment Joseph Young left yesterday, Open Beta sign ups opened just today, May 2nd, 2008. So if you are a Western fanatic, I suggest you mosey on over there and sign up!

Thank you Joseph for keeping us informed!

In Wild West Online^®: Gunfighter^™, you will take on the role of gunslinger in the 19th Century American West. Your calling: To make your way across the country forging a name for yourself at the expense of every two-bit hayseed and cocksure tinhorn in your path. A bright flash, a sharp report... a cloud of acrid smoke. Then it’s on to the next town, the next territory and a new challenger anxious to test their mettle. But lest you get too big for your britches, be forewarned: ahead of you famous gunfighters from history lie in wait, ready to push your skills to the edge — or beyond.

Free to play
A game of tactics and strategy that’s easy to learn and hard to master
1-on-1 Multiplayer and Single player
100 upgradable skills to customize your style of play
Extensive inventory system with hundreds of weapons, clothing, and gear choices
Fight in unique locations from around the old west
Fight historical gunfighters and earn special rewards
Use our Golden Eagle coin system to unlock extra content

The sign up page is located at:

http://gunfighter.wildwestonline.com/signin.php

And check out the screenies on the front page:

http://www.wildwestonline.com/

New Start Time for Open Beta

To add an extra patch to improve the gaming experience and quality of gameplay, the official start time of the IGN Open Beta now is:

20:00 GMT (8 pm GMT)
(to check the current GMT time please refer to http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/)

We wanted to add the extra update prior to launching the servers rather than to fix it shortly after the start of the Open Beta.

Users who have registered for the Open Beta will also receive an information e-mail about this in their inboxes shortly.

Thanks for your understanding.

__________________

Oliver 'Tarib' Kunz
Senior Community Manager

NOOOOOOOOOOO. Is nappy time now. Nappy time.

As if that weren't bad enough, UPDATE:

The start of the Open Beta is delayed by 2 hours to further test some of the changes in detail. We want to make sure everything works as intended before we open the servers to the testers.

The official start time of the IGN Age of Conan Open Beta is therefore 22:00 GMT.
(to find out the current GMT time please refer to http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/ )

Thanks for your patience.

__________________

Oliver 'Tarib' Kunz
Senior Community Manager

That smiley face is really beginning to piss me off. But I'm too tired to be disappointed. *sniffles* And back to sweep I go.

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By MICHAEL FLEMING, BEN FRITZ

Thursday, May 8, 2008

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Closed Beta Clarification May 6

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

10:56AM Tuesday May 06, 2008

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