Kotaku

First announced back in September of last year, InstantAction.com is a web-based video game network created by GarageGames and IAC, featuring multiplayer action of all shapes and sizes with no downloads involved - basically workplace poison. Well now they've released said poison into the water supply, inviting the entire world to sign up for the site's open beta. Games currently playable on the site include Marble Blast Online, Cyclomites, Think Tanks, and Screw Jumper, with the Tribes-like Fallen Empire: Legions on its way. Having spent a bit of time in the closed beta myself, all I can say is beware...the completely death of productivity lies within.

Worlds in Motion has a quick write—up of something that may become a new trend: passively multiplayer ... web browsing? From the GameLayer's website comes a description of a Firefox add on that turns web browsing into something else:

PMOG stands for Passively Multiplayer Online Game. Players play without playing; clicking around the internet turns into experience points and currency. A battle between Order and Chaos rages online, between people tagging and people spamming; this game gives people the weapons they need to wage that war in real-time in their browsers.

This unconventional massively multiplayer online game merges your web life with an alternate, hidden reality. The mundane takes on a layer of fantastic achievement. Player behavior generates characters and alliances, triggers interactions in the environment, and earns the player points to spend online beefing up their inventory. Suddenly the internet is not a series of untouchable exhibits, but a hackable, rewarding environment.

It's currently in beta, but this is a new take on the classic MMO and seems perfect for the lazy among us.

Multiplayer Web Surfing? [Worlds In Motion]

Nexon is adding to its US stable of free-to-play MMOs with Mabinogi, the Celtic and Welsh-themed game which launches a closed beta on 30 January. It sounds like MMO-meets-Harvest Moon, with promises of "offering players a 'life' experience" - characters age at a set rate, can participate in mundane tasks like farming, writing music, and getting married in addition to the usual battles-and-quests. I was delighted to see faint whispers of deliciously bad press releases for Asian MMOs:

President and CEO John H. Chi commented, "Playing Mabinogi is about more than just fighting and normal MMO fare. This is a chance for gamers to live a fantasy life in a place where communities build mutual beliefs of family, friendship and hard work."

And cute sheep prominently featured on the main page. I'm a sucker for fuzzy sheep - and if they're singing fuzzy sheep, so much the better. No details yet on when the doors of Mabinogi will be thrown open for the public at large, but it looks like they're still taking applications for closed beta testers over at the Mabinogi website

Nexon Announces Mabinogi [Worlds In Motion]

Oh, how I wish I had seen the original press release for Happy MMO's ELF Online. The sketchy translation both in-game and on their website leads me to believe the press release must have been a true gem. It's clearly a game that's not taking itself too seriously (running into a "wet nurse for newbie"? A "baby mode"?), and Jeff Freeman has a funny look at gameplay and environment in ELF Online. Considering the number of free to play Chinese MMOs that take themselves way too seriously, it's almost refreshing (though perhaps hiring some starving ex-pat to provide translation services wouldn't be such a bad idea):

All the quests that I completed were all of the kill 5 of this, kill 10 of that, collect 4 of these by killing 4 or more of those sorts, excluding quests sending me from one NPC to another. Stock MMO quests.

One other quest some might consider an exception, was the become-a-soldier-quest itself, after killing 7 of something, being required to swear that my little guy would fight to the death for the Imaginary Goddess.

But most people wouldn't consider that an exception, and would instead say, "What now? I didn't really read it." Stock MMO players.

One of my wishes for 2008? That gems like this and Shanda press releases continuing flowing freely from China.

How I Spent My Vacation: Elfing [via Worlds In Motion]

Huxley, that MMOFPS by Webzen that we all keep gushing about, had its beta go live in Korea back in September, so it's about time, I think for us to finally see some game play. I am not disappointed. Not at all.

Pirates of the Burning Sea, the best piratical MMO I haven't played, is launching its worldwide beta this Friday. North American players can sign up for access to the beta through File Planet, with FP subscribers getting priority access. The open beta is set to go live at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Meanwhile pre-orders for European players is scheduled to start on Dec. 12. Yurpeens who pre-order the game will get:
An invitation to the "Pre-Boarding Party" allowing them access to the live game up to 15 days prior to launch, and the ability to keep their characters, skills and equipment after launch with purchase of game and paid subscription. (characters will have a level cap of 20 during this time)
Captain's Best Friend - a blue and yellow parrot
Mighty Blades - Swedish Rapier, Old World Steel or Musketeer's Matching Blades (depending upon which fighting style is selected)
Original Game Soundtrack CD - 60 minutes of pirate themed music (comes in pre-order box)

I really need to check this game out. I think I must have some sort of mental block after playing through a chunk of one of the early betas for the Pirates of the Caribbean MMO.

Pirates of the Burning Sea

We are hoping to do a beta but I don't think we'll have anything ready before this year is over... it is something we are working on for next year.

The development team feels they're pretty close to being ready to release this so it could come out this week but for safety sake I'd say it should be out within two weeks.

The Crysis demo is still on target to hit September 25th, but FilePlanet Founders Club members now have access to the beta for Crytek and EA's gorgeous first person shooter. Not a Founders Club member? Tough. Those of us in steerage and economy will have to sit on our hands a little while longer for the next round of beta acceptance e-mails, all for FilePlanet subscribers, unfortunately, but that Enemy Territory: Quake Wars demo should help the time go a bit faster. In the meantime, I'm going to watch a slide show of Crysis screenshots and make up my own sound effects. Pyew pyew! Kathooom!

Crysis Beta [FilePlanet]

GameSpot is sitting on a whopping pile of one hundred thousand Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer beta tokens and one of them could be yours. You must be a registered GameSpot forum member as well as having an Xbox Live Gold Account and be over the age of 17. The information on GameSpot is a little confusing as they say to come back on Monday when the Beta goes live but then don't actually say where you sign up. Then this paragraph appears below:

How it works is quite simple: Our big stockpile of tokens will be broken up into five stashes. Each day we will release one of those stashes. If you get a beta token, great. If you don't, try again the next day. Once you sign up, you'll get a token code and a confirmation email. You'll use your Token Code to download the Beta from Xbox Live Marketplace.

I'm assuming this to mean that you come back the day the beta goes live and it will be on a first come first serve basis, but I could be wrong. I suppose if you're really hardcore you could just go debase yourself in the comments section of their article and beg for one, but you'd be one in a long line.

Experience Modern Warfare[GameSpot]
[Thanks, Steven]

The Infinity Ward people dropped me a note to let me know that starting at 1 p.m. Eastern they are going to be increasing the Rank level cap for the Call of Duty 4 beta to Level 16. This will allow gamers access to more weapons, perks and features, including Clan Tags which hit at Level 12.

This is the first of several level increases Infinity Ward will be doing throughout the beta.