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Uncharted Waters Online discounts Steam packages before a big patch docks
Is your ship in Uncharted Waters Online something less than ship-shape? Perhaps you could put the wind back in your sails with one of the special item packs available for the game on Steam. In anticipation of the game's next major patch arriving on the 28th, Netmarble has lowered the prices on all three packs by 70%, allowing characters to leave port with big boosts for fewer of your hard-earned real money. The Booster pack is down to just $1.49 and provides faster experience gain, faster ship movement, and the ability to revive fallen sailors away from a port. The Premium pack is only $2.99, offers even faster experience gain, and also sets up you with 200 million ducats (in-game currency) and possibly even a rare ship. Last but not least, the Sea Adventure pack is down to $11.99 and offers the best possible experience boost, 300 million ducats, and several exclusive items. So if you're looking to set sail, a little money now will help you find your fortune.
Age of Empires Online adding new civilization and booster pack next week
The Babylonians are joining Age of Empires Online. In a recent interview, Gas Powered Games revealed that both this industrious new pro civilization and a new booster pack, Fertile Crescent, will be added to the game on August 16th to coincide with the game's one-year anniversary. The Babylonians bring with them new ways to build, protect, and conquer, from mobile storehouses called Ox Carts to The Siege Tower (think Trojan horse) to shield bearers. Additionally, the Babylonians can build out of wood instead of stone. The land of Mesopotamia also opens up the game with the Fertile Crescent booster pack. This area has level-scaling repeatable quests for the level 20 to 40 crowd. Lead designer Brian Frick noted that this type of scaling content is the direction the company is going in the future. He added, "We just want to have more of our content be fun for all levels to play." Both the new Babylon pro civ and the booster pack will be purchased using Empire Points, the in-game currency; Babylon will cost 900 EP, and the Fertile Crescent will cost 450 EP. You can read more details in the full interview.
Age of Empires Online gameplay, microtransactions detailed
New details on Microsoft's Age of Empires Online have surfaced at Gamasutra, with much of the information centered on the game's free-to-play business model and associated microtransaction offerings. The game will feature a Premium Civilization upgrade that unlocks all of a civilization's abilities simultaneously, as well as booster packs that add gameplay types, quests, and appearance customization items to the mix. Age of Empires Online will launch with Greek and Eqyptian civilizations, and will be the first entry in the long-running series to feature persistent gameplay (i.e., your city will evolve and earn resources even when you're logged off). The game also boasts PvP functionality as well as cooperative play on the vast majority of its quests. You can learn more about the game, as well as sign up for beta, at the official website.
First Infinity Blade update next week, multiplayer coming soon
The problem with releasing Infinity Blade, arguably the best looking iOS game ever? As Chair Entertainment has discovered, it's keeping up with the stream of new content that iOS players have come to expect. "We're all very thrilled with how cool it looks, but the same amount of time it takes to make a high-res character for Gears is the same amount of time it takes to make one for Infinity Blade or to make these environments," Chair's Donald Mustard told Joystiq. "It takes time to make this stuff look awesome, and we want it to look awesome." Make no mistake, Chair has a long-term plan for its slash-em-up, but it's a plan the 12-member development team has to be judicious about executing. Though players may have to wait for a bit for some of the big updates (like the multiplayer mode), Chair is taking advantage of the game's early popularity and pushing the first add-on through the App Store door next week.
City of Heroes has your Cyber Monday deals
You're no doubt familiar with the upcoming mall stampede known as Black Friday. If you haven't heard of Cyber Monday, we'll forgive you just this once (and no, it's not that kind of Cyber Monday, Mr. Perv). Cyber Monday is basically the online equivalent of Black Friday, and NCsoft is teaming up with BestBuy.com to bring you a steal of a deal on the City of Heroes Going Rogue Complete Collection to mark the occasion. For one day only (Monday, November 29th) you can pick up the compilation pack for a paltry $9.99. You can also hit up the NCsoft store afterwards and grab CoH booster packs for up to 50% off. The Cyborg, Magic, Science, Good vs. Evil, Wedding, and Mac packs are included in the deal, so mark your calendars and warm up those credit cards for the MMORPG deal of the season.
Get your Kung Fu on in City of Heroes
Do you sometimes wish that when everybody is kung fu fighting they didn't all look so alike? NCsoft seems to feel the same way, because they've now made available the City of Heroes Super Booster IV: Martial Arts for ten bucks. Yes, now when you're fighting foes with malicious martial intent you'll look "spiffy" and whatever other adjective you feel like tossing into the equation. The booster comes with more than costume pieces, however. It also contains ninja-theme costume change animations and a ninja running power. There's also two new emotes for roleplayers, who tend to be the biggest emote fans. This makes the fourth booster pack since the original (or microtransaction bundle, if you like) for City of Heroes and you can bet there will be plenty more as long as these continue to sell. Our guess for the next addition? Mutants would be a safe bet; mutants or zombies.
The Free Realms trading card game arrives this week
We've known for a while now that the Sony Online Entertainment studio in Denver has been hard at work developing a collectible card game to coincide with the launch of Free Realms. SOE and Topps have partnered to create and distribute the Free Realms Trading Card Game which will hit store shelves this week. The Free Realms Trading Card Game bridges the gap between a physical card game and the MMO with virtual rewards like pets, clothing, and 'special character effects'. There will be over 180 game cards, with 50 virtual reward cards that can be redeemed for in-game items. In fact, each pack sold will have a virtual reward card. In addition, there will be 16 cards with codes that unlock their corresponding card in the game. Free Realms players interested in checking out the trading card game can pick up the 'Passport to Free Realms Starter Pack', at $10, which includes a 40 card deck with virtual benefits in the MMO: a card that unlocks a Black Lab, a t-shirt for your character, three jumbo health potions, a virtual 'Cardie Racer', and one month of full (subscriber) access to Free Realms. Booster packs will also be available at $4 each. Booster packs will include 10 game cards, one virtual reward card, and 50 Station Cash.%Gallery-37937%
Anarchy Online announces new expansion: Legacy of the Xan
These days, most discussion of sci-fi themed massively multiplayer online games tends to focus on Jumpgate Evolution, EVE Online, or the hotly anticipated post-apocalyptic titles that are on the way. But Anarchy Online is still going strong, and Funcom has just announced a new expansion for the title: Legacy of the Xan. The Anarchy Online (booster) expansion will feature two new adventure areas and bring players to the hidden city of the Xan civilization. There are also new team instanced encounters including a 12-player raid encounter, and two new storylines -- "Dust Brigade" and "Alien Invasion." Anarchy Online will also give you new ways to boost your characters, through symbiants, spirits, and deck items.
Legends of Norrath launches fifth expansion: Ethernauts
Today marks the release of the fifth expansion to the Legends of Norrath digital trading card game -- Ethernauts. More than 280 cards join the existing arsenal, including four avatar cards, two new unit races, and 20 loot cards. They all play into a story that sets the stage for EverQuest II's upcoming The Shadow Odyssey expansion. In fact, there are even some scenarios based on never-before-seen TSO content. In an attempt to give would-be newbies an incentive to buy in, SOE has also introduced the Legendary Starter Pack at the price of $19.99. If you're a vet, though, you can pick up Ethernauts booster packs for $2.99 each. Current EverQuest or EQ2 subscribers will get a free starter deck, 'cause, y'know -- you're not hooked on Norrath enough already, right? Oh, and there are a bunch of special events all weekend celebrating the launch. Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest! %Gallery-17086%
World of Warcraft miniatures game hits shelves November 11th
A World of Warcraft miniatures game will be released on November 11th. It has been designed and will be published by Upper Deck, the company behind the WoW TCG. For those curious how the game works, there are a number of gameplay previews at the News section of the game's website.According to the FAQ, you can play with between one and five characters (each represented by a 40mm miniature) on each side of a battle (there are three sides -- Alliance, Horde, and Monster). Each character has an "action bar" which can be customized with abilities from WoW. Starter sets (priced at $24.99) will include basics like dice, rules, etc. as well as two Alliance and two Horde miniatures. Booster packs ($14.99) will include three random miniatures from one faction. The company plans to release expansions based on famous WoW raids in the future.This is perhaps most interesting in that Warcraft has taken the opposite approach of its initial inspiration, Warhammer, by starting with video games and later moving on to miniature-based board games![Via MMORPG] One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Saga (MMORTS) Trailer: What WoW should have been
Years ago when Blizzard sounded the trumpets and announced that WoW was in the works I dreamt RTS and MMORPG mechanics would fuse together to whisk in a new era in massively online gaming. I swore that if Blizzard copied the Diku formula popularized by EverQuest I wouldn't bother playing it. That is until magical forces intervened, and I found myself in the WoW friends and family alpha and loving every second. WoW improved on familiar loot-n-scoot, and level based PvE gameplay, but I still hoped that I'd someday play an MMORTS or some bastardized attempt at one and actually like it. That's not to say there isn't anything out there or in development. Two games come to mind are Mankind and Dreamlords, take them for what you will, but it looks like Saga is a real solid attempt to fill a void. The graphics aren't top notch, but the gameplay looks interesting, and I hope others would appreciate the efforts from a smaller independent development studio as I do. There is a free client available, but several features are not usable unless you upgrade to the full version. There is no expiration date on the trial, and if you are concerned about a monthly subscription fee, don't be because there isn't one. The payment model is based on the purchase of booster packs. The booster packs contain cards, and these cards portray units and spells that you then use to build armies and maintain your nation. The end game actually revolves around PvP against other player built nations. You can read a much better detailed account on the missions, PvP, the card system, in this great first look posted on Brandon Reinhart's blog. You can find more information about the game and where to download it on Saga's official site. I'm about to try it out firsthand, and if you've played it please feel free to share your thoughts about Saga below.
Final beta date revealed for MMORTS Saga
Developer Silverlode Interactive issued a press release revealing the date for the final beta phase of Saga. The MMO real-time-strategy game will open up Beta 2 on December the 11th, with players from Beta 1 being offered places first, and the rest on a first-come first-served basis after signing up.The press release also explains a little about Saga's business model, which will be microtransaction based, with players purchasing 'booster packs' that have new units and spells to use, and a subscription fee will not be charged. We have not covered this game before, so a quick visit to the homepage's FAQ was necessary to learn a bit more. It is basically what you would expect from an MMORTS -- an RTS with a persistent world. The world is based on traditional fantasy (dwarves, elves, spells etc.) and you will be able to trade troops with other players. In-game activities include building armies, cities and kingdoms, taking over new lands, and multiplayer questing.If you want to be considered for this last Beta phase, visit the sign-up page and create your account.[Via IGN]
Limited Legends of Norrath promo pack on sale
If you missed out on this past weekend's increased booster pack drop rate or the weekend before last's special limited edition tourney, you still have a chance to snag some unique Legends of Norrath playing cards.Until the 12th, the LoN store is going to be playing host to the Lucan D'lere Promo Pack. For the cost of $10, you'll get three normal booster packs for Legends of Norrath: Oathbound, the Lucan D'Lere, Ruthless Tactician promotional card (illustrated by Jim Lee) and a choice of either an EverQuest Scale of Rodcet Nife or EverQuest II Bottled Breath loot card. Just so you know what they're offering:Scale of Rodcet Nife: A bauble that graces the user with the touch of Rodcet Nife. Heals 5,000 hit points – usable once per day.Bottled Breath: A bauble that heals the caster for 100% of max health – usable once per day. After the 12th this deal will be off the table, so make your decision before then.
