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The Matrix Online : New Features & Fixes
Posted Apr 02, 2005 by Alexander Chopra
Several new features and improvements to game play have been made to The Matrix Online. The new patch includes many updates including an in-game media player.
Read the full article below:
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The MxO team is working hard to make improvements based on feedback we are getting from the community. If you haven't jacked-in recently, now is the time to take another look at The Matrix Online.
The latest patch version introduces several new features and improvements to the game like special beta tester clothing and an in-game media player. The largest new addition to The Matrix Online is the in-game media player Another large addition to this update will be the introduction of special beta tester clothing. This unique beta tester gear will be automatically deposited into the inventories of every former beta tester in the game. The clothing was specially designed by The Matrix Online Art Team, and is exclusive to former beta testers. Other changes included in this update are an increase in player inventory capacities, and the introduction of Organization vs. Organization PvP combat. Version 7.3063 Fixes and Miscellaneous Changes: New Features: . An in-game media player has been added. (Click Here) Abilities and Disciplines: . Strafing movements are now affected by movement enhancement upgrades. Artificial Intelligence: . NPC AI has been adjusted to improve responsiveness to nearby players. Camera and Controls: . Camera reaction to nearby objects has been improved. Game-Balance Changes: . NPC statistics have been adjusted for appropriate difficulty at high levels. User Interface: . Players can now block incoming AIM messages from users not on their buddy lists. (This doesn't affect in-game players or users with @thematrixonline.com AIM accounts.) |
Ragnarok Online : Long Term Player Rewards
Posted Apr 02, 2005 by Alexander Chopra
Ragnarok Online recently announced they will be rewarding all players who are registered to Ragnarok for a specified amount of time with an complementary in-game item. This will also result in server downtime because of the amount of players that are qualified to receive the item.
The full article below:
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To celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of International Ragnarok Online, we will be adding a very unique item to those players who have had their accounts registered since April, 2003.
This unique item represents Ragnarok Online player dedication and triumphs both in-game and offline. We will be taking down all servers for temporary maintenance for the implementation of these items, due to the amount of registered players, only 1 character per qualified account will receive this item. Estimated Maintenance Time is 15 minutes; - March 31, 2005 (11:00pm PST) We hope everyone enjoys this unique gift, and be sure to check your inventories once all the servers have been opened! iRO GM Team |
You can view the original post at this link.
*APRIL FOOLS*
World of Warcraft : Blizzard & Pandaren Xpress
Posted Apr 02, 2005 by Alexander Chopra
Blizzard has announced that they will be teaming up with Pandaren Xpress® to bring World of Warcraft players Pandaren Xpress® meals right to their home while they play. Customers who order through Pandaren Xpress® will also receive a special in-game fortune cookie that will give them a random buff. They also announced that the person that will be delivering your food will be wearing a Pandaren costume!
The full article below:
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Blizzard Entertainment, in conjunction with the Pandaren Xpress® chain of quality restaurants, is proud to announce the /panda program! Imagine you are on an instance run in Maraudon, Dire Maul, or even Blackrock Spire. Two long hours into the dungeon and you suddenly notice the hunter in your group feeding his pet. That triggers a rumbling in your belly, which reminds you that you haven't eaten anything all day! How can you satisfy your craving without abandoning your group?! Before, there was nothing for you to do but suffer in hunger. Now, thanks to Pandaren Xpress®, creators of low-priced gourmet meals, you no longer have to leave the group for a food break. In less time than it takes your party's casters to regain mana (even less if you don't have a mage), you can order Chinese take-out from the comfort of your chair! No more tedious walking over to the telephone! No more arduous pushing of unfamiliar phone numbers! Simply type "/panda" in the game, and a GM will take your food order through the use of our innovative in-game Pandaren Xpress® menu. Within minutes, a Pandaren Xpress® delivery person will arrive at your door with a veritable feast! With each /panda order, you will also receive an in-game Pandaren Fortune Cookie! The Pandaren Fortune Cookie not only tells you a fortune, but it also gives your player a random 30-minute buff (or debuff)! |
To read the original article click here.
*APRIL FOOLS*
The Matrix Online : Roleplaying in MxO
Posted Apr 01, 2005 by Craig McGregor
Our own Frank Frisina (FrankyBones) has put together a nice piece on some of the deep role-playing that is going on inside Warner Brothers new MMORPG The Matrix Online. He has coverage of a special in-game event as well. A preview is below:
| Refreshing and empowering, these are the words that might come to mind when playing the newly released and long awaited Matrix Online. These days one tends to forget the words behind the key letters that make up the acronym MMORPG, and that is role-playing. When playing your typical MMO the element that is lacking most on a broad scale is that of story and player interaction. Yet true role-players know that story is created by the players themselves and only need the designers or dungeon masters to provide the setting and to insure the world rules are followed. That being said however, in online gaming there is a story that should be advanced on a large scale for a player to feel that his or her character has an impact on the overall world that matters. Without mentioning other current games by name, there is very little role-playing let alone a substantial story going on these days, and forget about community. You have your typical initial impressed view of a particular game. You might have a grind period of a month to three and then you realize your efforts are pointless and the game itself hits the shelf. Quite possibly a big waste of your time and money and in the end your role in your chosen game meant nothing. |
To read it all - click here.
Rubies of Eventide : Human Intrest Story Contest
Posted Apr 01, 2005 by Alexander Chopra
Rubies of Eventide are hosting a human interest contest and they want to hear your stories.
The full article can be read below:
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Rubies is a small game insofar as mmorpgs go, but behind every avatar... a human drama is taking place. Now Rubies of Eventide would like to hear your story! Did you find a way to talk to your despondent teenaged son through RoE? Did you meet the person of your dreams? Did cope with a difficult time in your life thanks to the support of your guild? To submit your story Attach your spell checked writings saved as a Microsoft word document (or text file) to a support ticket directed to the COMMUNITY department of Rubies of Eventide which can be located here. In the ticket, please be sure to include:
Some ideas for topics include:
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To download Rubies of Eventide click here.
To view the original post click here.
Lineage 2 : Tax Day for Aden
Posted Apr 01, 2005 by Alexander Chopra
In recognition of April 15, 2005 being tax day, Lineage II has released information stating that they will be having a event for North American Lineage II players.
The full article below:
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In recognition of American Tax day On april 15th, we will be launching a unique event, just for the North American region of Lineage II! For seven days beginning at 12 midnight PST on April 15, all monster XP/adena/SP/spoil and drop rates will be reduced by 33%, as part of a "Hunting Tax" imposed by Aden. However, during the event, a certain percentage of every type of monster may drop unique "Tax Return" stamps that will allow you to reduce that tax from 33% to 25%, 20% or 15% Some information on the "Hunting Tax" below: -Tax Return stamps are not cumulative (you can’t use multiple stamps to increase your return).
-If you possess multiple Tax Return stamps, your rate will be set according to the stamp acquired first. -To receive a better rate when you possess multiple stamps, you must remove any undesirable stamps from your inventory. |
To view the original article click here.
*APRIL FOOLS!*
Star Wars Galaxies : Giant Ewoks Attack!
Posted Apr 01, 2005 by Craig McGregor
We have just received a urgent and very special report from LucasArts about breaking news in the Star Wars Galaxies online world:
;) Reports of extremely aggressive and unusually large Ewoks attacking cantina patrons and innocent bystanders waiting at star ports are pouring in from throughout the Galaxies. Intelligence accounts from the attack sites report armed Ewoks from the Panshee tribe shaking down people in popular cantina spots for food. Reports of giant warrior Ewoks has caused authorities to issue the following warning statement:The public is advised to act with great caution when confronted by Ewoks in cantinas and starports. Ewoks of the Panshee tribe are armed and extremely dangerous. In case of encounters with the Giant Warrior Ewok, the public is advised to run and seek the nearest safe haven. These unusually large Ewoks are extremely dangerous and appear to be on a mission to kill. Be safe, Stay Inside. Shoot any Ewoks on sight! |
Note, although this was all in April Fool's fun - this was a real in game event ;-)
Auto Assault : New Recon: Legerdemain
Posted Apr 01, 2005 by Craig McGregor
NetDevil and NCSoft have released a new recon section which gives out some new information about a new location in the game: "Legerdemain" - a glimpse of this area is below:
 It was by accident that Legerdemain was discovered. While navigating the terrain south of the Western Front on a series of Rite trials, a young Mutant radioed his clansmen to say that he’d noticed something glimmering in the distance and was going in to investigate. The plethora of colors, so unlike those in Tocado or Temple Mountain, drew him in. He exited the highway, and was never seen again.An INC repair lift found the abandoned vehicle sometime later, and made a ghastly discovery: a large, pointed ear, seemingly human, was caught in the radiator grill. The broken remains of what may have been some sort of carved staff with a cobra’s head encrusted with gems were found nearby. They had never seen anything like it. |
To read the full report - click here.
*APRIL FOOLS*
Second Life : Version 1.6 Goes Global
Posted Apr 01, 2005 by Craig McGregor
- International Keyboard Support, including Asian character sets, enables Second Life’s international audience to communicate in their own language.
- New in-world tools streamline and simplify the 3D design process.
- In-world video streaming offers the potential for the first Second Life Independent Film Festival, letting residents screen their original movies to an ever-expanding audience
Ryzom : Server Merger & Management
Posted Mar 31, 2005 by Alexander Chopra
Developer Nevrax recently announced a new server merges that will take place between two English speaking servers, as well as reports upon Themis handing off customer support and community management of the US playerbase to Jolt Online Gaming Ltd.
The full story below:
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Developer Nevrax recently announced that the two English language shards of The Saga of Ryzom, European English-speaking shard Arispotle and US shard Windermeer, will be merged into one shard in the coming few days. The new shard will keep the Arispotle name.
In conjunction with the server merger, Themis Group will be handing off customer support and community management of the US playerbase to Jolt Online Gaming Ltd. Jolt currently hosts all of Ryzom’s servers and manages the game’s English-speaking European community. Themis Group will continue to market and promote The Saga of Ryzom in North America. “Jolt Online Gaming is looking forward to the challenge of continuing the level of service established by the Themis Group and growing the newly integrated North American and European communities as The Saga of Ryzom enters this exciting new phase in its life,” said Dominic Silk, CEO of Jolt. The CEO of Themis Group, Alexander Macris, stated, “We are confident that the English speaking Ryzom community will benefit from this merger, and we look forward to continuing in our role as Nevrax’s partner in bringing The Saga of Ryzom to new audiences.” The organizational changes associated with the server merger will occur by the end of the month. In the announcement, CEO of Nevrax, David Cohen, assured players of an easy transition, and mentioned Nevrax’s plans for additional steps in the coming months to add to and streamline the current game, highlighting new features currently under development. “This is just the first of several important steps we are taking to ensure that The Saga of Ryzom lives up to its full potential,” said Cohen. “At this year's E3, we will open entirely new horizons for the players of Ryzom, with never before seen means to impact both the game world and the game story.” |
If you want to try The Saga of Ryzom free for 14 days click here.
Anarchy Online : Upcoming Content Patching
Posted Mar 31, 2005 by Alexander Chopra
More information on the new patch is released by Criag Morrison, the Community Manager for Anarchy Online. He talks about the current status of the patch, and some of the community events that you would be taking place once the patch is released.
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Now the short Easter break is out of the way we thought it would be a good time to give you all an update on the upcoming 15.9 patch series and when you can expect to see it on the live servers. The first version of the patch is now on our internal QA servers and being tested. This first stage of testing and tweaking will generally take a couple of weeks after which it will be patched out to the test live servers for further testing. Given there is at least one major new feature (in the shape of the new Shadowlands instanced quests) we would estimate that it should be on test live for a further couple of weeks at least. So whilst we are not ready to give an exact date for the patch yet, that should give you a good estimate for the new content. PvP Tournament Many of you will have seen the signs around Rubi-Ka with the `Rubi-Ka Rumble` logo, this is the name for the upcoming PvP tournaments. Congratulations go out to Escritores on our forums for choosing the name of the tournament. We are just finalizing the details for the tournament and expect an announcement soon! Craig -'Silirrion'- Morrison Community Manager Anarchy Online |
Asheron's Call 2 : The Drudge Revealed!
Posted Mar 31, 2005 by Craig McGregor
Turbine Entertainment unveiled the newest Race in AC2 - the "Drudge". They have posted the full skill tree, a movie clip, and background information about this new playable race. The race can be unlocked on launch day by players who pre-ordered the Legions Bonus offer (currently available online at GameStop and EBGames).
A preview from their overview page is below:
 Long have they been in the shadow of the other races. Theirs is a dirty, cowardly, sickly, pasty, mean, brutish race. But a proud race! And a cunning one. They have learned many techniques for battles, and the wisest among them have even learned to tap into the power of their own Shrine of Transcendence. The time of the Drudge is at hand.By pre-ordering AC2: Legions, players will be able to create Drudge characters on Legions launch day. The Drudge is a fun new race with a lot of unique abilities. They do have some limitations, however. While you can choose to be a male or female Drudge, it’s hard for the other races to tell the difference between Drudge genders – they look and sound the same, aside from minor size variations. If you encounter a Drudge in the field are unsure, it's best to play it safe and just call him/her "my friend". Given their prolific numbers, though, we’re sure that Drudges, at least, have no trouble telling the difference! |
To read the full page with screens, a movie, a tech tree and more, click here!
NOTE: This news item was previously marked as being an "April Fools" gag by accident - however it was not...this was a mistake on our part!
Lord of the Rings Online : Alignment System Removed
Posted Mar 31, 2005 by Craig McGregor
Turbine Entertainment released a new developer diary today written by Teos. In this entry it announces that the "Alignment" system has been removed from the game design and goes into great detail about why this change took place. A preview is below:
| Alignment? GONE!!! OK, now that we have that out there, let’s talk about why Alignment had to go, what went into the decision, and how we’ll be approaching the evaluation of every other feature in our game. First, understand that the Alignment system (Good vs. Evil, Purity vs. Corruption, Virtue/Vice) as we have discussed it in the past is something I personally was heavily invested in - this was not a decision made lightly at all, but the story of its demise serves as a keen example of what we have been doing around here. For those of you new to the site, or just to refresh your memory, the Alignment system was designed to let all characters start out as “neutral” characters whose actions would determine their progress down a Pure or Corrupt path (coloring content experiences, class advancement and the like, not terribly unlike Knights of the Old Republic). |
Read the full dev diary at this link.
Fallen Earth : Newsletter Update & Movie
Posted Mar 31, 2005 by Craig McGregor
Icarus Studios recently released their third newsletter. It included many updates to the state of the game as well as a link to a movie download. Read it below:
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Let us first start by apologizing for not sending you this third newsletter sooner. We’ve been very focused on integrating new features into the game which hopefully you will enjoy when you see them. We have started populating the first starter towns and the outlying areas around them. We have added a number of mutant powers including biologic mutations endowing the player with super human abilities as well as certain mutations that allow the player to control the environment around them. Other major features we have added include projectile based grenades, rocket propelled grenades and mines. Additionally, we have added sniper scopes and vision enhancing visors as well as a host of other features. Take aim and shoot! Ever step on worms as a kid? C'mon baby, light my fire! A good part of our time has been spent on speed optimizations and we are pretty happy with the performance. We have increased the frame rate by three fold in the last two months and there are still some improvements we are hoping to ring-out. In addition to optimizations, we have spent much of our time on polishing the game and that is an ongoing process. There are still a number of features we want to add and gameplay issues we want to improve, and we are diligently working our way through them. This is just a sample of what we have worked on. We could say more, but we feel we would ruin some really exciting surprises coming down the road… so it’s best that we stop here for now and reserve some for the coming news… Forums? They’ll open when we start our closed betas. We’re tempted to say when, but we still have a great deal to do and it is hard to predict how long all these tasks will take. Some of the game features may require more time than we anticipate, so instead of augmenting your frustration, we ask you kindly to remain patient. We want to produce a game you will truly enjoy, not just work towards some arbitrary date. As far as selecting Beta testers, we haven’t decided how we’ll select them, but one thing is for certain, it will be fair to all, and the recipients of this newsletter will be among the first contacted. As a special bonus to thank you for your patience and support, Use this link to download an exclusive new video: Hunting the Sandworm (60 MB; AVI format) Thanks to the good folk at the WarCry Network for hosting the video! Thank You - The Editors  |
Dark and Light : Release Date Announced
Posted Mar 31, 2005 by Frank Frisina
The following is part of the press release that was issued today via the official website.
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NPCUBE, developer of the MMORPG Dark and Light, and publisher Farlan Entertainment, jointly announce today that the release date for Dark and Light has been set to November 2005. César Jacquet, CEO of NPCube, says: "The development team has been reorganized and reinforced in order to strengthen its technical experience and to rewrite the elements of the game engine that were too slow and lacked the flexibility required for DnL expectations. The game has to be able to permanently evolve along with its community". Frédéric Caille, CEO of Farlan, adds: "This important task allows us to set the release date to November 2005, and to open DnL gates for 2500 new beta testers". This new reorganization of the production team allowed us to hire new artists, in order to propose you a varied and enriched vision of the world of Ganareth. Among the 12 playable races of DnL, you will be able to play charismatic characters with distinctive facial traits. Role-players will appreciate this! |
The entire statement can be found here.
Guild Wars : New Gameplay Movie Released
Posted Mar 31, 2005 by Craig McGregor
ArenaNet has just released a new Guild Wars Gameplay Movie. You'll find all sorts of action, and those famous Tyrian landscapes, in this new movie. And, if you listen carefully, you'll hear a preview of some of the new Guild Wars music by composer Jeremy Soule. Some stills from the movie are below:
You can download the video in several sizes and formats at this page.
The Matrix Online : The Live Events Team Preview
Posted Mar 30, 2005 by Alexander Chopra
Aether, The Community Events Lead for The Matrix Online, has reported that The Live Events Team will be hosting a variety of events in game, ranging from chats with storyline characters, to different scavenger hunts, and even dueling tournaments.
Their full press review is below:
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It has been a few weeks since we last had a chance to chat - and there is a world of information to share. Many of you may have read reports of a “Live Events Team” that is being created to support the story that makes up The Matrix Online experience. And we’ve been so busy running events, that we haven’t had the chance to give you the low-down before now! So while we catch our breath, I’d like to fill you in on some of the details related to The Matrix Online Live Event Team. First of all, there is always an event going on inside the Matrix. Every day, our Live Event Team is visiting every server, plotting and scheming along side players as they make organizational alliances, infiltrate opposing factions, and generally delve into the evolving story line of The Matrix Online. While I cannot confirm exactly what the major characters are up to... there are reports from all sides talking about secretive gatherings and clandestine cabals. Key players from all three of the major organizations, represented by Zion, Machines, and the Merovingian, appear to be taking steps to build their respective power bases. More than one redpill has reported a solicitation seeking support for a particular Organization’s social and political objectives. The opportunity to interact with key figures within The Matrix Online story isn't reserved for one special group - our goal is to involve as many different people as possible in our live events. A lower level redpill fighting for Zion has just as much a chance to play a key role in the unfolding story as a higher level Merovingian faction leader.
Regardless of your affiliations with the Machines, the Merovingian, or the Zionites, everyone has the chance to interact with the story elements of The Matrix Online. Your guarantee of involvement is showing active interest in the storyline (I promise, it really is that simple). Although, applying ingenuity and creativity in your dealings amongst yourselves, and any key storyline figures, wouldn't hurt your chances either. Beta testers will recall the dramatic close to our Beta test, an event I like to refer to as the “Eye-pocalypse”. If you weren’t there to witness it, you have no doubt heard the stories and seen the screenshots and video of the world altering events that unfolded over a span of four days. Redpills can expect to witness and participate (and maybe even.. cause?) events just as dramatic, but in an entirely different vein. But rest assured, major events will break out from time to time within the Mega City that will affect every single player in the game. While I can’t be too specific, I suspect something along those lines may show up in a week or two. Certain aspects of the storyline will take place in-game, but there will be many different ways that a player can gather key pieces of the sthe features integrated into our game is AIM, or AOL Instant Messenger. Using that service, players may be able to chat with storyline characters that cannot be seen in-game (Tyndall was born in Zion, Link as well). In addition to chat, there are rumors that some players have already begun receiving urgent requests for assistance from Morpheus and directives from the Merovingian via email. The Live Events Team has a lot of momentum, and we are very excited to work alongside the Dev Team to bring you some of the most immersive, entertaining, surprising and revolutionary MMO environments to date- a place where you can truly experience life as a redpill in Mega City. Cheers! Aether |
You can read the original post at this link.
General : WoW Zboard Keyset Reviewed
Posted Mar 30, 2005 by Craig McGregor
Frank Frisina (FrankyBones) has just completed his review of the World of Warcraft keyset for the Zboard gaming keyboard system. A preview from the review is below:
 The appearance of this keyset is what stands out the most. The main eye catch is the sticker overlay of a female Night Elf and what appears to be an Orc Hunter. They fall onto the number pad side of the keyboard and appear airbrushed. Clearly defined in the center of the two are the words "World of Warcraft". The right side also has button hotkeys defined as the following, Action Bar up/down, Camera View & Pitch, Chat Scroll up/down, Say, Yell, Whisper, Reply, Party Chat, Guild Chat, Auto Run, Show/Hide UI, Character, Spellbook, Abilities, Talents, Quest, Skills, Social, & Reputaion. The arrow keys are also there and represented by the same arrows that are over the WASD keys. The board sports well defined main keys with each letter and number in an old style big and bold Celtic font. The WASD keys again are clearly marked with arrows and your Q & E keys are marked with double arrows representing strafe. There is sticker overlay above the 1-0 keys and represent your F-keys and your emotes. |
To read the complete review, click here.
World of Warcraft : Message From The President
Posted Mar 30, 2005 by Craig McGregor
Mike Morhaime, the President of Blizzard Entertainment made an announcement today regarding recent downtimes. They will be giving players a one-day free time extension. His letter is posted below:
| Due to the increase in downtime caused by today’s hardware maintenance, we will be giving all players with characters on the realms listed below a one-day time extension. In addition, players on the realms below will also receive a rested experience bonus, whether or not they had left their characters logged out at an Inn. We realize that this extended downtime is very inconvenient, but it is a necessary step for us to take in our efforts to increase performance and stability on these realms. For the last few weeks, these realms have experienced poor stability during peak times, which resulted in NPCs not spawning, lag, and frequent disconnects. We have determined that a large percentage of realms on the same backend infrastructure were operating at maximum capacity. This overpopulation caused problems with the service that ultimately led to the issues mentioned above. Our first step in trying to alleviate the situation was to offer character transfers to reduce the amount of players on these high-population realms. The character transfers did reduce the total amount of players on the shared infrastructure, and we noticed an immediate performance increase. However, this increase only lasted a few days, as populations continued to rise. Once it was shown that the character transfers did not sufficiently disperse the population, we began to modify the hardware backend for the affected realms. The most recent and substantial step of that process involved transferring the realm data to a new hardware setup. The goal of this procedure is to decrease the overall load on the infrastructure that the affected realms share. The new hardware infrastructure was completed yesterday, and we are currently copying the character data from eight of these realms onto the new hardware. This transfer will significantly decrease the load on the current infrastructure, which should result in improved performance on all of the realms listed below. The data transfer is taking us longer than expected, but it is vital for providing stability to these realms. We are totally committed to providing our players with the best play experience possible, and we will continue to streamline our code and add new hardware to our infrastructure until we accomplish that goal. We once again thank you for your patience during this time, and wish you continued good fortunes on your adventures in Azeroth! Please note that this time extension discussed above is in addition to the two-day time extension announced yesterday that is being provided to players on all realms. Sincerely, Mike Morhaime President, Blizzard Entertainment |
You can read the original post at this link.
Ogre Island : New Game Addition
Posted Mar 29, 2005 by Craig McGregor
We have just added another MMORPG to our ever-expanding game list. This time we bring you "Ogre Island" - a totally free game that is currently in open beta testing. The game uses Macromedia Flash and a true client/server connection.
To play you will only require a flash-enabled web browser and a free account registration at their site.
You can get more info at our Ogre Island page or at the official site. Some screen shots are below:
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