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Steam offers up a bunch of great last-minute MMO deals
Been looking for a last-minute gift for the MMO fiend in your life, but stuck for ideas? Or perhaps you have lots of ideas, but cash is tight this year. Well, if you said "yes" to either of the above, you'll want to head over to the Steam store and check out their MMO specials. With discounts ranging from 10% off all the way up to 80% off, you can net some crazy excellent deals on games from old to new. Some of the titles up for grab over on Steam are: EverQuest II Rise of Kunark starter pack or The Shadow Odyssey for $4.99 each EVE Online for $5.00 City of Heroes for $9.99 Champions Online for $10.19 Final Fantasy XI for $11.00 Global Agenda for $44.99 Aion for $44.99 As a matter of fact, the only MMOs not currently on sale over at Steam are CrimeCraft and Warhammer Online, which we thought was kind of interesting. That said, demand is insanely high (as you can imagine) so the Steam store is getting hammered right now. With deals like this, along with other spectacular non-MMO titles (like we aren't all game junkies) to choose from, this may well prove to be the easiest, fastest, and most fun shopping you do this season. You know, barring that whole "slow webserver as everyone stampedes for cheap games" thing. Alternately, you could ask for Steam credit as a last-minute gift, since the sale will be on until January 3rd.[Thanks, Ferno!]
Steam-powered Batmobile choo choos to world record 140mph (updated with video)
We'll burst that bubble right quick and say it's not actually a Batmobile, but it sure reminds us of one. The British Steam Car Challenge might not have reached its original goal of 200mph, but it has finally succeeded in becoming the world's fastest boiler on wheels. We noted preparations for the world record attempt back in April and, somewhat surprisingly, all has gone to plan and pilot Charles Burnett III now has broken a 100 year old record to go with his flamboyant pair of spectacles. That's the Brits for you -- break records in the morning, have tea and crumpets in the afternoon. Update: We've got video now! See the rocket of steam after the break.
Steam-powered vehicle looks to scald world record
Sheesh -- what is it with UKers and their stupidly fast alternatively powered vehicles? Just days after Britain's own Richard Jenkins set a new world record by going 126MPH in a wind-powered vehicle, Charles Burnett III is gearing up to smash a record of his own in the contraption pictured above. Hailed as the planet's fastest kettle, this steam-powered automobile is currently being shipped to Southern California in order to blister the Mojave Desert and hopefully obliterate the current record of 127.659MPH. For the historians in the crowd, we needn't tell you that said record was set way back in 1906 by American Fred Marriott, but we won't be surprised in the least to see this honor head across the pond in late June. Lots more images and nitty-gritty details are positioned in the read link.[Thanks, Robert]
EVE's Quantum Rise on Steam at reduced price, 21-day trial
EVE Online's latest expansion Quantum Rise is here. We've written a fair amount on this expansion thus far, but it's primarily been a multi-staged release that introduces some new features and enhancements to benefit EVE's industry-focused players. We just noticed EVE Online's Quantum Rise pricing on Steam -- it's $9.99, down from Steam's already reduced $14.99; the initial cost when directly dealing with CCP Games is $19.99. Steam also offers a 21-day trial which trumps the standard 14-day trial you get from CCP Games. Based on these numbers, Steam certainly looks like a good way to go. However, none of us at Massively have ever gotten our MMOs via Steam to date. We're curious, have any of our readers done so, and were the the lower pricing and other perks worth going through Steam in your opinion?
The steam powered internet machine
Ok, so we're not exactly certain how Apple will incorporate this feat into their next batch of "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" ads, but running an internet connected iMac off a steam engine is impressive, for lack of better words. Two Brits struggling for an artistic concept to connect the "industrial revolution to the digital revolution" somehow settled on this contraption, and have garnered a good bit of attention. The demand for the spectacle has become so large that the creators, Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane, are touring through Kent and Margate over the next month to show off their machine; it can also be seen at the Turner Contemporary. Be sure to stop by if you can, because who knows when you'll next get to see a steam engine facilitate Engadget access.[Via Guardian]
RC Rover runs on steam, human fear
Mad scientist Steam-powered RC enthusiast I-Wei Huang, has posted yet another impressive creation over at his website, Crabfu. The six-wheeled RC Steam Rover was born of a decidedly retro-looking Cheddar Puffin engine and two Tamiya 4x4 chassis, using a mixture of butane and propane as fuel. The videos on his site suggest that it won't be breaking any land speed records, but we're still hoping it'll eventually play a part in protecting us from these little steam-powered robots, should they go all Skynet on us.[Via Makezine]
