AO Warcry has an exclusive interview with Marius Enge on the recently announced expansion for Anarchy Online, titled Alien Invasion. Here is a snippet:

Warcry: Will there be player controlled shops? and if so what will they be like? Marius: Yes, there will be player controlled shops. We are still toying around with several angles on what makes for the best execution, but the general idea is that the players will be able to have a outlet in one form or the other where they can sell their own items in an organized matter. With the new tradeskill interface and search options in the shop interface I foresee that shopping in AO will become easier, more effective and more fun after the launch of Alien Invasion.

You can read the full interview at this link.

We just got some terrific looking screen shots from Climax for Warhammer Online.  They feature a dwarf and a human encountering some nasty ogres in the forest.  The original shots were much darker (nightime shots), so we adjusted the levels a bit to bring out the details:

Codemasters kicked off another great newsletter today.  It covered many cool things, but noteably was a glimpse at what the lucky few in Beta 0.5 are up to:

So what have we been doing? As you are all probably aware, Beta0.5 is mainly a server stress test and as there isn't much gameplay as such, the beta-testers have been quite creative during their time in Fortitude. A hike took place last week in which around 25 of them walked from empire to empire to take in the breathtaking views and explore the delights of the world. I believe I heard that a race was being organised, more on that later. Our main objective of getting 800 people in the game simultaneously is still pending but we expect this to be achieved over the next couple of weeks. With the promise of special treats, we don't doubt that everyone will logon at the specified time!

It also featured a "Hot News" section that answers some of the rumors that have been circulating our forums about e-mails from Codemasters:

Hot news - Questionnaire - In the next few days we will be sending out a questionnaire to a selection of randomly   chosen people. The purpose of the questionnaire is to gauge how people would prefer to receive their beta   client in future beta phases. Don't worry if you do not receive one this time, we just want to get an idea of   what a cross-section of people think. Please also note that this is *not* an invitation to beta! - RPG Vault Q&A - In the latest question and answer session, Jonric talks to Phil White about Beta0.5. - Just RPG Dragon Empires Article - by Wendy Gasperazzo. An informative and interesting article about   everything Dragon Empires. With a bonus of five brand new screenshots!View here - Lead Artist dev diary - Adam brings us up to date on the art team's progress, plus kindly gives us a   whopping 9 new screenshots of spell effects! Read here - Beta0.5 invites and e-mail addresses - We have had several of our beta invitations e-mails bounced back.   We ask that you all please ensure your beta registration details are up to date! You can check here

   Many players will be pleased to hear that Cryptic Studios plans to release a monthly City of Heroes comic book based on their upcoming MMORPG: City of Heroes. The events in the comic book will reflect the past month's activity in CoH. This is definitely an intriguing development, what better way to encourage the role-playing environment.

"The comic will be distributed by Diamond Comic Distributors Inc., produced by Blue King Studios, written by Rick Dakan, with art by Brandon McKinney (Switchblade Honey, Planet of the Capes) and colors by Moose Bauman (Action Comics, Green Lantern). City of Heroes subscribers will receive the comic book in the mail as part of their monthly service (a good reason to make sure your mailing address stays current!). The comic will also be available for purchase at your friendly neighborhood comic book storeâ??for those who have not subscribed to the game, or in case you want a few extra copies to share with your friends." (Cryptic Studios/NCsoft Corp)

You can view the official Announcement here: http://www.coh.com/comic_announce.html

Sources: (http://www.coh.com/comic_annouce.html, "City of Heroes", Cryptic Studios, 2/19/04, City of Heroesâ?? �? 2004 NCsoft Corporation and Cryptic Studios, Inc. City of Heroes is a trademark or registered trademark of NCsoft Corporation.)

Blizzard has today updated the official "World of Warcraft" website with six new screenshots that can be found here. They have also made a announcement regarding the upcoming beta that can be found on the official website.

   This week's update at the Ultima X homepage includes information on the friend list, necromancers, and also includes some new screenshots. The friend list was designed for ease of use and has many different uses to facilitate communication between friends.  The necromancer path sounds like it will be very interesting, people who have played necromancers in past RPGs or MMORPGs will likely not be disappointed. Lastly, a few screenshots have been added to the media section, check them out!

Official UXO website: http://www.uxo.ea.com

Our own Mark Schembri recently sat down with Austin Smith, the President of EvilGamers and had a little Q&A session.  Here is a snippet:

Talk about the different ages (past, present and future) players can choose to play in and how those ages interact with each other on a global level. 3 ages by default, maybe more with expansion. The idea is players choose a time, and their "family" is stuck in that time. They can have a total Of 3 "families", 1 in each time zone. As for families, your first character is the "parent" character, or the Main Char. You can make an alt as soon As he/she hits age 18. By default you can only play as a human, but your "children" can be half of another race, half of human. This system will develop over time as we discuss it and have more players input.

You can read the full interview at our site by following this link.

It is that time of week again, more exclusive EQ2 goods!  This week we have a shot of an Ogre looking over a tower at the moon of Luclin.  Members who are logged in can view the high-rez 1600x1200 version using the link below.

View 1600x1200

Cyber Warrior today announced that they have closed the Rubies of Eventide MMORPG.  This is the third blow to the MMORPG genre in the past 7 days, which included closure announcements for Microsoft's Mythica and Tektonic Studios Ninth Domain.

The following was posted in the official RoE forums today:

I am sorry to be the one who has to do this, but unfortunately nobody else is around to make an official announcement. Rubies of Eventide is closing today. The refunds that you have received will hopefully compensate everybody who has paid beyond today. I have just finished taking down the servers, and will wait a few minutes to take the forums offline. After that, the router gets the connection pulled from it, and therefore everything falls into history. On behalf of all of us here at Cyber Warrior, and especially Marc Howe who can not be with us at this time, I thank you for all of your support, good spirits, and most of all for being with us through the thick of it. Again, I am sorry we have to do this. We waited until the very last minute trying to find a way out of our crisis, but with the server population lower than it has ever been, there is no way around it. I can't say for sure what is going to happen to the game. I would like to be able to say that we could start again under different circumstances, but I just don't know at this moment whether or not we'll be able to. As for me, I will be in other MMORPGs in the coming months. Look for me possibly on Horizons and World of Warcraft. I currently play Planetside as Rahiem, and whatever other game I will either be Rahiem or Fantomas. Thanks again, and sorry. Jeff Grubb Fantomas - Rahiem

We will leave Rubies of Eventide on our list for at least another month. 

A new "World of Warcraft" preview as been posted at Gamespot which you can read here.

For more information on "World of Warcraft" visit the official website.

We have just received some new exclusive shots from Warhammer online.  These feature a female human character in what appears to be a very weathered town setting.  Enjoy!

This just came in on the press wire today:

FAIRFAX, VA - February 18, 2004 - Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of the award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game "Dark Age of Camelot," today announced "Dark Age of Camelot: New Frontiers," a free downloadable expansion that reinvents the game's unique Realm vs. Realm combat system, where player characters from the game's three different Realms engage in life and death struggles across numerous battlegrounds, keeps and through the expansive frontier areas. The Realm vs. Realm system was recognized upon the game's original release by players and reviewers alike as one of the many features which truly distinguished "Dark Age of Camelot" from other MMORPGs. "New Frontiers" will make battles more accessible to players, deepen the tactical possibilities and diversity of warfare styles, and establish a concrete rewards system for Realm vs. Realm combat. Mythic plans to make "New Frontiers" available in Q2 2004. Mythic is working closing with the "Dark Age of Camelot" community in the development of "New Frontiers" through open beta testing and frequent communication of design philosophy, goals, specific features, and implementation to its members, inviting their comments and feedback. Mythic will continue to release detailed information on the "New Frontiers" website (www.camelotherald.com/newfrontiers/) to ensure that fans can provide input on the design and testing process. "The 'Dark Age of Camelot' community has been anticipating a revamped RvR system for a long time, and we're proud to offer 'New Frontiers,'" said Matt Firor, Executive Producer at Mythic Entertainment. "There will be no secrets in the design and testing process of 'New Frontiers.' 'Dark Age of Camelot' players know the game best, and we look forward to updating the game's RvR systems with their input." "'New Frontiers' will make Realm vs. Realm combat even more fun, well-balanced, and add more strategic options to the system," added Firor. "We want to continue to give back to the player community by continuing to improve the 'Camelot' experience as part of the game's regular subscription service. We began this tradition soon after launch with the addition of the 'Darkness Falls' dungeon and continued it with the launch of 'Foundations,' our player housing expansion." About "Dark Age of Camelot: New Frontiers" "New Frontiers," the free downloadable Realm vs. Realm expansion to "Dark Age of Camelot," restructures the award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game's Realm vs. Realm combat system, where players from the game's three different Realms vie for supremacy by sieging keeps, invading enemy lands, and fighting one another in pitched battles. "New Frontiers" makes it easier to locate battles, adds more tactics and diversity to combat, and integrates more concrete bonuses and abilities as rewards for RvR combat. The design and testing process of "New Frontiers" is open to comment from the "Dark Age of Camelot" community, and the final version will reflect fans' input. "New Frontiers" revamps both the geography of the Realm frontiers, and Realm abilities. In addition, there is a new travel system including boats and the ability for players to teleport directly to a friendly keep. The expansion also revamps the game's Realm Ability system to further balance characters, as well as offers newly redesigned keeps and geography for more strategic battles. For more information about "New Frontiers," visit www.camelotherald.com/newfrontiers/ .

  An interview with the developer Christophe Nazaret has been posted on the Dark and Light website. Nazaret is primarily responsible for the 3D rendering and animation engine of Dark and Light. You can find the link to the interview below.

Interview with Christophe Nazaret: http://www.darkandlight.com/Reviews+index-req-showcontent-id-51.html

The official Realms of Torment site has posted eleven new screen shots of dwarven dwellings.  We have added three of these screen shots to our own gallery.

You can view all of the new screen shots at the official site by following this link.

Breaking News: We have just heard from the sponsors of our contest that Canadian residents are eligible to enter our Saga of Ryzom 500 beta contest!

You can enter at this link: http://www.mmorpg.com/ryzom_promo.cfm

Good luck to you all!