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World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition welcomes all to open beta weekend
Listen up, tank commanders: If you have any hankering at all to try out the beta World of Tanks' Xbox 360 Edition, you better do so this weekend. Wargaming has kicked off an open beta weekend today that will continue through Sunday, November 10th, and it will be the last chance for anyone to get in on the beta as registrations will be closed afterward. To smooth the entry process, Wargaming will ensure that players don't have to sign up for a beta key but can simply download the client and boot up the game. To sweeten the entry process, the studio is giving a free premium USA T14 tier III heavy tank to beta testers and a premium USA Ram II tier V medium tank to those who fight at least five battles. World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition will also feature double XP during the beta weekend. [Source: Wargaming press release]
Steam begins selling The Secret World: Massive Edition
Steam has a new promotional bundle on sale for newcomers to The Secret World. Called The Secret World: Massive Edition, the bundle contains the core buy-to-play game, all of the issues to date, and this Halloween's Plague Doctor outfit (seen in the picture above). While Issues #1-4 were previously free with the core game, Issues #5-7 were sold as DLC. The promotional edition is on sale at half-off for $29.99. The game, its issues, and the Plague Doctor outfit can also be purchased separately. Funcom also announced that it will extend the game's current Halloween festivities through November 11th.
RIFT and Defiance throw in-game promotions
Trion is in the middle of a special promotion that's giving a serious boost to both RIFT and Defiance players in-game. In RIFT all players are receiving 20% boosts to all types of XP and currency gained, and this bonus is stackable with other boosts. Trion's also selling 160% XP potions and raid 1 rings in the store. Over on Defiance's side, players are enjoying 25% boosts to loot, XP, and weapon skill. Epic mod hoards have also made their way to the store. These promotions will continue through Friday, November 1st. Trion is throwing this "PC Gaming Week" to celebrate RIFT's return to Steam.
Vindictus celebrates two years in Europe with wings
It's not always easy for a game to make it to the second year of operation, but Vindictus has done just that in the European region. To celebrate, EU players are being given wings. Some of them, anyway. The rest are just going to have to purchase them. Here's how it works. When players are logged in at 6:00 p.m. GMT (1:00 p.m. EDT) between today and September 27th, they have a chance to receive the second anniversary gift box which contains a free set of Phoenix Wings. Players not logged in on at that time can purchase the wings directly for 35,000 NX during the limited sales windows: 4:00 p.m to 6:00 p.m. GMT (11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EDT), September 28th until October 3rd. Players who are uninterested in chasing wings can also take part in the new Siege Mode PvP matches by speaking to the Battlemaster in Rocheste. So everyone gets something for the second year.
Experience TERA with a free high-level character
Last March, En Masse enticed new players to join and get to high levels in TERA with a power-level promotion. But for some, even prizes couldn't make that much grinding worth it. If you fall in that crowd, then TERA's newest promotion is for you: For a limited time, new and existing accounts can get a free level 58 character! This Level Up Test Event is a chance for current players to get friends into the game and group up with them immediately as well as for new players who've been debating trying it to experience the newest content. To get your free level 58 character, you must create a brand-new character between 1:00 p.m. September 19th and 2:59 a.m. September 23rd and give it a name ending in ".Levelup" (i.e. Bob.Levelup, Jane.Levelup). All newly minted level 58 characters will be supplied with gear, a mount, access to all story quests, and a name change voucher. For full details, visit the official site. [Thanks to John for the tip!]
Neverwinter gives rewards for transferring ZEN
News flash: Perfect World Entertainment really, really wants you to spend money in its games. Now that you're shaking off the shock of that revelation, here's some more news for you: You can get additional rewards for doing so, at least in Neverwinter. From today through September 23rd, players who purchase ZEN (Perfect World's premium currency) and then transfer it into Neverwinter can receive rewards based on the amount of money spent. If you lock in 500 ZEN, you'll get a Sun Mask sent to all of your characters. Spend 3,000 ZEN and you'll get the mask and the Fey Wolf mount. And if you transfer 6,000 ZEN, you'll get all of the above and a Quickling companion. The in-game rewards will become available on September 27th.
EE's 'Swap' brings another option for chronic phone-changers
If you're the type to regard your six month-old handset like a relic from the stone age (and believe us, we are), then you've now got another option with EE's Swap program. UK customers can now trade in their smartphones six months or later into their 18 or 24 month plans starting at £49. That appears to be EE's attempt to catch up to plans like O2's Refresh and JUMP from Phones 4u, but there's a huge catch, of course. You'll have to start a new 24 month contract from scratch, and the trade up price depends on which you end up choosing. Those opting for the cheapest £36 plan, for instance, will have to pay a much steeper £249. Still, for those of us who can barely stand going out with a mere Samsung Galaxy Note II when the Galaxy Note 3 is now in the zeitgeist, it's a small price to pay.
Raptr revives RIFT rewards, Defiance discount
Back in March, Trion partnered with Raptr to introduce a four-tiered reward system to help revitalize RIFT. Three months later, another reward incentive gave folks in-game armor, an exclusive mount, and a special Raptr pet. And now, it's time for another bout of rewards! Raptr has revived those very June rewards for RIFT, offering once again the armor, mount, and pet to those who join the community. The rewards, however, don't end with RIFT. Raptr has also revived the Defiance rewards (30% off the game) and added exclusive limited access to the alpha version of End of Nations. [Source: Raptr press release] [Update: Trion has let us know that part or all of this morning's press release may have been in error. Stand by for clarification from the source!]
Gamestop offers $50 credit with trade of select 360 games for Xbox One versions
Gamestop will offer $50 trade-in credit to PowerUp Rewards members who buy a new, Xbox 360 version of a game and then trade it back in for the Xbox One version. The promotion is valid for the Xbox versions of Call of Duty: Ghosts, Madden 25, FIFA 14, Battlefield 4 or Assassin's Creed 4. In order to be eligible to receive the trade-in credit, patrons must be PowerUp Rewards members at the time of the initial purchase, which must take place within 30 days of the game's release date. Then, upon trading the game in for the Xbox One version, the customer will be emailed a coupon that grants $50 trade-in credit for the Xbox 360 version, for use when upgrading to the Xbox One version before December 31 of this year. No mention of the PlayStation 4 was made in the press release, so whether a similar offer will be made for PS3/PS4 cross-generation games remains to be seen. Update: Gamestop has informed us that the $50 coupon is delivered in tandem with the purchase of the Xbox 360 version of the game, rather than after the upgrade to the Xbox One version. This article has been altered slightly to reflect that information.
Defiance drops to $10 for PC version
Are you currently wallowing in regret that you didn't pick up Defiance when it was on sale for $13.59 on Steam earlier this month? Your hesitation has paid off, my friend, as Trion Worlds is now offering the game for even cheaper. The studio has the standard digital PC edition of Defiance on sale for $9.99 through its website. The deluxe digital PC edition is also marked down from $44.99 to $24.99. Both editions come with several in-game goodies, although the deluxe edition has more. [Thanks to Dengar and Jose for the tip!]
MechWarrior Online launches Sarah's Jenner in honor of 5-year-old cancer victim
Five-year-old Sarah Parries loved the Jenner in MechWarrior Online. She and her father would sit and play the game, with Sarah loving the streak SRM variant so that she could lock on and move quickly. Unfortunately, Sarah was a victim of cancer, but her story made an impact on the developers of MechWarrior Online and led to the creation of a new champion 'Mech crafted in her image, the appropriately named Sarah's Jenner. Sarah's Jenner will set you back $10, but the team at Piranha Games won't be seeing a nickel of it. Minus sales tax, all of the proceeds from the sale of this 'Mech will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society, supporting others suffering from the same ailment as the girl who inspired this decor. You can take a look at the machine in action just past the break, and if you're an experienced 'Mech pilot you should consider picking up a special machine to honor an unfortunate victim. [Source: Piranha Games press release]
EVE Online on sale for $5 on Steam
If there's one thing that EVE Online teaches you, it's that you've got to put a lot of thought into where your money is going. (If there's a second thing, it's that people are awful. Third thing is that you can take a nap during space battles.) Perhaps you've taken that lesson to heart and decided not to spend money on the game, but Steam is once again tempting everyone by selling the game at a mere $5 today. Not enough? You can also purchase a subscription plan at a discount in addition to the game, saving yourself money and getting in on the dynamic action of tabulating spreadsheets. The deal will be active today and tomorrow, so feel free to give it some thought, but make your decision soon before the discount is gone forever. (Or at least until the next summer sale.)
The Secret World at half price on Steam
The Steam Summer Sale is a hard time for any gamer to save money. There was a time when MMOs were at least somewhat safe, since a discounted MMO still requires the full subscription price. But right now The Secret World is on sale for half price, and those of you who have followed the game for a while know that this is a buy-to-play title. Once you've purchased this game, you can play for free forever. Need a little time to think this over? That's understandable. The sale is running for 48 hours (well, 47 hours as of this writing), so you don't have to decide right now. But if you've been waiting for a chance to get into this modern horror and conspiracy game, $15 isn't a bad price to start in. And the game did just get a secret agent-themed update, if that floats your boat. [Thanks to Zach for the tip!]
DUST 514 issues a challenge to all players
There are a lot of players who have been enjoying themselves in DUST 514. Veterans and potential new players alike will have more reasons to enjoy themselves, as the Mordu's Challenge event starts today and runs until Thursday, July 18th. Mordu's Legion is one of the most respected mercenary companies in the universe of EVE Online, and as cloned mercenaries take to the battlefield in greater numbers, the company is issuing challenges to these clones to see if they can stand up to the pressure. So what can you get out of participation? A whole lot of weapons and armor, that's what. Kill 100 enemies, hack 100 objectives, assist in 100 kills, or destroy 100 installations, and you get an appropriate set of gear for your preferred playstyle. Hit all four objectives and you get an even bigger prize. There's no registration required, so take the time over the next week to log in and start showing how great you can be.
Defiance is currently 66% off on Steam
If you still haven't picked up Defiance and you're at all interested in Trion's Syfy shooter MMO, Steam has a summer sale you'll want to check out. Technically it's called the Summer Getaway Sale, and in addition to a bunch of cheap single-player titles that will keep you inside and out of the humid, sweat-soaked nastiness that is the middle months on your calendar, Defiance can be had for a whopping 66 percent discount. That works out to $13.59 if you're wondering. More info on the game itself can of course be had via its official website.
Ragnarok Online: Prequel coming to browsers
The long-running Ragnarok Online will seek to reinvent itself on browsers in the near future. Chinese developer Dream² acquired the license to remake the title into Ragnarok Online: Prequel (or New Ragnarok Online, according to its splash screen). Ragnarok Online: Prequel will be quite familiar to fans of the franchise. It's currently in testing for an unknown release date. The browser version is not to be confused with Ragnarok Online 2, which recently released in Europe. You can check out Ragnarok Online: Prequel's debut trailer after the jump! [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
World of Tanks celebrates July 4th via a big tank tournament
Tomorrow is the fourth of July, and if you're not aware, in the United States that date is kind of a big deal. So the staff behind World of Tanks decided that the best way to celebrate America's independence day is by having a bunch of armored vehicles take potshots at one another for big prizes. A tournament is running through the weekend for Tier III through Tier X tanks, with a big package of microtransaction cash going to the winning teams. All teams will be paired up into groups, fight other teams in the same group, and be scored according to victory or loss. Battles will be limited to 10 minutes maximum. The big winners will be the teams with the highest score after the dust settles. If this sounds like it's your sort of celebration, there's still time to gather your team and register; if you'd rather just play the game, there are also plenty of promotions running over the holiday weekend just the same. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
EVE Online event encourages players to channel their inner photographers
There are some beautiful vistas in EVE Online. You can be forgiven for not noticing when you're trying to sneak your way through dangerous space without getting blown up, but the stellar landscape is gorgeous. So the newest in-game event isn't focused on shooting other players; it's focused on giving everyone a reason to fly around and take pictures of the scenery. Successfully taking these pictures means the requisite fantastic prizes, and you won't even have to stab anyone in the back to do so! For the duration of the event, a forum thread will be used to post existing screenshots in three groups of 10. Players who successfully find the listed locations and recreate the screenshots will be rewarded, as will a lucky winner who takes all of the screenshots correctly. All prizes are in-game, with the grand prize including a special monument and 10 PLEX. For more lore on the event and the official rules, you can take a look at the official posting.
RIFT offers early access to a new dimension
If you're enjoying RIFT's free-to-play model, you're probably also enjoying the game's various Dimensions. This means that you're no doubt excited about the upcoming launch of a new Dimension, Three Springs, complete with its own unique Dimension items. But you don't have to wait for its full release, as the development team is offering a select few players a chance to get early access to this Dimension. How do you manage that? By being awesome. On July 9th, the owner of the top weekly rated Dimension on each server will receive a special early access key to Three Springs and the associated items on a character of the owner's choice. That means you'll need to have the most awesome Dimension on your server during voting from July 3rd through the 9th to try it before you can buy it. So what are you waiting for? Crack your knuckles and get decorating -- there's a new space to create!
AT&T cuts smartphone prices in half, jumps on the discount bandwagon
If you're looking for a new smartphone, this is apparently the weekend to go shopping. Following Radio Shack's promise to chip in a $100 Google Play credit with purchase an HTC One and Walmart's deep iPhone discounts, AT&T has quietly tacked on a 50% discount for phones under $199. This puts devices like the HTC One, Samsung's Galaxy S4 (and the S4 Active), the Note II, both of BlackBerry's latest handsets and iPhone 5 at an enticing $100. Naturally, Ma Bell has attached the usual hooks: the deal necessitates a new 2-year agreement or contract renewal, and in-store purchases require a trade-in device to activate the discount. Not a bad deal if you're hankering for new hardware -- just make sure you don't walk away with buyer's remorse.
