halloween2009
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Pumpkin contest winners for Final Fantasy XI
As Halloween fades into a memory of candy, costumes, and cheaply-made outdoor decorations, the MMOsphere slowly closes its doors on the various holiday events. Final Fantasy XI's pumpkin-carving contest on Allakhazam has finally drawn to a close, with the votes in and tallied and the winners determined. And if you doubt that there's a great deal of talent and originality on display with the contest, the excellently-rendered San d'Orian knight charging into battle above wasn't the winner -- they placed fourth. Third place went to a rendition of the title image for this year's Halloween event, while second place went to Final Fantasy XI's resident mad professor herself. First place went -- quite deservedly -- to this hauntingly well-rendered image of a tonberry in the darkness. The official announcement includes a tally of the votes, but that might not be quite as exciting to casual observers as a gallery of all the entries. Congratulations to the winners, and here's hoping that next year brings still more pumpkin-carving fun for FFXI.
Sims 3 price dropped to $30 for one day only
The streak of brief yet impossibly frugal discounts continues! Until the end of the day, EA is selling The Sims 3 for the price of $29.99 -- a full twenty bucks off the standard cost of the game. Maxis' life simulators tend to retain their launch price long after hitting store shelves, so if you want to grab the title on the cheap, today might be your only chance for quite some time. Act quickly, though! We're losing daylight.
Team Fortress 2 Pumpkin Patch update now live
In our hurry to tell you about yesterday's two-hour-long Team Fortress 2 fire sale, we didn't really give you all the in-depth info about the accompanying Pumpkin Patch update which you so richly deserve. We'll rectify that now, but not before saying that a few short hours after the announcement was posted yesterday afternoon, the update went live! You can play it right now -- on PC, of course. Oh, you thought it might come to the 360? That's adorable. The update will temporarily introduce a King of the Hill map called "Harvest" into the mix, complete with Halloween-themed elements like collectible candy, exploding pumpkins, and the ghost of Zepheniah Mann, who temporarily freezes passersby in a gripping, powerful spell of fear. Five Achivements are available during the festivities, as well as a number of "Mildly Disturbing Halloween Hats," or paper bags with scary faces painted on them. If you're lucky, you might just get the one emblazoned with Joan Rivers' visage. Aaaaah!
Uncharted 2 getting title update, Halloween festivities
Okay, so our initial observation that Uncharted 2 would soon receive skeletal Helghast was a bit far from the truth. Naughty Dog's Arne Meyer recently announced on Playstation.Blog that the half-tucked title would receive an update which addresses a number of multiplayer issues today. On top of that, anyone who plays the game online during this Halloween weekend will receive a treat infinitely more sweet than a fistful of Necco Wafers: Loads and loads of (in-game) cash money. Yes, the next few days will be a "Double Cash Weekend" for Uncharted 2 multiplayer matches. As you can probably suss out from the title, you'll earn double the rank-progressing moolah you would normally gain for playing the various online playlists. In addition, a bunch of Naughty Dog staffers will be playing this weekend -- presumably appearing as the crimson-eyed, skinless abominations seen above. We appreciate the work these folks have done, but following our strict undead infestation protocols, they must be purged.
Champions Online going free-to-play on Halloween weekend
If you've yet to acquire plans for this Halloween weekend to go along with your totally rad costume, Cryptic Studios has a pretty great diversion you may want to sign up for. Starting October 30, you'll be able to download Champions Online at no cost, and take on the mantle of the superhero of your own design until November 2. The free-to-play weekend is being offered in an attempt to promote the title's first live update, Blood Moon. We expect that more than a handful of partially illiterate heroes will appear during the update's launch, and will be confused as to where all the sexy teenage vampires are located. [Via Big Download]
Massively's Fallen Earth trial key giveaway and in-game events
As we mentioned last week, we have quite a treat for you today as part of the Fallen Earth Halloween event. We're happy to present 2,000 trial keys for anyone interested in trying out this indie post-apocalyptic game before forking over the cash. This special trial key is good for 15 days, which will bring you through their entire Days of the Dead Halloween event, as well as our own upcoming in-game events.To get your trial key, simply visit our giveaway page and follow the posted directions. For more information on our in-game events - including a great developer interview - keep reading below.
Happy Halloween from Taborea
Earlier this week we mentioned that Runes of Magic is one of the many games celebrating Halloween for the next week or so, but their celebration is definitely worth a closer look. The party in Taborea includes everyone's favorite event: a giveaway. Give your character a Bat Witch Hat on us, and keep an eye on the Runes of Magic Facebook and Twitter pages for more freebies. If a hat isn't enough to satisfy your Halloween spirit, decorate yourself, your house, and even your pet with the Halloween bundles. They'll be around until November 1st. Once you're suited up and decorated to your heart's content, log in and show it off for the in-game decoration contest. Screenshot your costume, house, or guild castle and send it in by the 28th for a chance to win an in-game Halloween decoration. You'll also want to keep your costume on for the in-game events from the Community Events Team. There are three games to participate in: Hide-n-Seek, Your Scary Costume, and Offer to the Goblin King, scheduled for each Friday and Tuesday until Halloween. Finally, RoM goes real life -- they want photos of your real life Halloween decorations that have a Runes of Magic theme. Send them in by the 30th, and if your entry is posted you'll win even more in-game goodies. Runes of Magic has put together quite a party - happy Halloween from Taborea, indeed.
Massively's exclusive Runes of Magic Halloween item giveaway
Today we're happy to announce another Runes of Magic item code giveaway, but this time it's for an exclusive in-game Halloween item called the Bat Witch Hat. This hat, as seen here, is strictly a fun holiday event item to help celebrate their Halloween event in style. Only 1,000 of these hats are available, so you must act quickly! Head on over to our giveaway page to grab yourself a code and more information on applying it to your account. Good luck!
Thrice the Halloween update hath patch'd
We are well into that time of year - Halloween is almost here and a quick look into nearly any MMO out there will show it. We've been talking about quite a few games out there and how they're celebrating, but they're certainly not the only ones putting jack-o-lanterns in their windows. Follow after the jump for a look at how some of our other favorite MMOs are celebrating.
Warhammer Online brings the scary with Daemon Moon Rising
"The Moon Rises and Chaos Reigns" begins the announcement over on the Warhammer Online site. Warhammer Online is hosting an in-game event for Halloween from October 23rd until November 2nd.Mythic Entertainment Executive Producer Jeff Hickman says "This is a terrifying time of year within the world of Warhammer and the Daemon Moon Rising live event is our way of fighting against the darkness that encompasses the land, We call on all players to rise up against the malevolent creatures that threaten the land and keep safe the Realms. But beware, for under the cold, dark madness of the Daemon Moon, anything can happen!"Sounds good to us. Daemon Moon Rising offers treats throughout the empire, a new Realm vs. Realm scenario, a public quest with the intriguing title of Daemonball Rally, and an event quest that charges players with the task of collecting and defeating daemon-possessed carnival masks. Event participants are offered quite a few souveniers and rewards, so Warhammer fans will want to be sure they don't miss out. After all, who wouldn't want something called the Face-Eater's Mask?
Fallen Earth announces Halloween event and trial key giveaway
Let's see a show of hands for those of you who love zombies. They might come in all shapes and sizes, but we all have our favorites. Are you more a fan of the slow-moving George Romero zombies, or the leaping-over-cars infected zombies? Perhaps you're more of a vampire-zombie aficionado. Regardless of your preference, it's still fun to smash a few in the head, am I right?There are already several types of Infected in Fallen Earth, but starting next week, there's about to be a whole lot more. The folks at Fallen Earth have announced their Halloween event -- aptly named Days of the Dead -- where you will have a chance to kill throngs of Infected as they pour from the Lifenet pods into the wasteland. Of course you'll need some back-up for this, so we'll also have 2,000 15-day trial keys to give away to your zombie-hunter buddies. In addition to this, we'll have our own in-game events in association with Post Apoc Radio to be held during Days of the Dead. The giveaway and our in-game events won't start until next week, but we're getting you prepared for the onslaught now. Follow along after the jump for complete information on the Days of the Dead event.
Neo Steam lets in the soul reapers
It's October, and that means all of the spooky Halloween events are coming out of the woodwork. But how many of them are offering you a pair of steampunk goggles for completing them? Well, only one right now -- Neo Steam.Atlus is throwing open the doors to the Underworld, and all sorts of creepy-crawlies are invading their fantasy steampunk MMO. Defeating these event monsters will get you souls to trade in to special soul reapers to claim pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie for recovery purposes, but the big 250 soul turn in will get you a special pumpkin hat (as seen above) to commemorate the event.However, some monsters will drop event tickets, which enters your account in for a chance to win a pair of handcrafted steampunk goggles. So, what are you waiting for, an invitation? Kill stuff, get loots!
