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World of Warcraft goes free-to-play with new endle...

The free-to-play videogame scenario has become increasingly popular lately, with City of Heroes taking that route under the new name City of Heroes Freedom last week followed by Team Fortress 2 just a few days later. The latest game to join the club is World of Warcraft.

Blizzard is introducing a new endless trial mode that allows prospective subscribers to play WoW for as long as they want at no charge. The caveat is that players will only be able to reach level 20 during the trial mode. But there will be no specific restrictions on how many characters can be created.

If players enjoy the trial they can opt to purchase the game and the Burning Crusdade expansion for $20. In addition, current subscribers who don't already own Burning Crusade will have the expansion added to their account for...

L.A. Noire coming to PC this fall

L.A. Noire has found plenty of success on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 since its release last month. Now Rockstar has announced via press release that the game will be coming to the PC as well later this fall.

The development of the PC version was handled by Rockstar Leeds. The game is said to run on a large selection of PCs and will feature customization options such as remapping and gamepad functionality. Graphical enhancements will also be included, in addition to 3D support.

Sam Houser, founder of Rockstar Games, explained how L.A. Noire is a great fit for the PC.

"L.A. Noire is a new type of game that makes players see through a detective's eyes in 1940s Los Angeles," he said. "Its unique blend of story, action and crime solving will be perfect to play on PC."

L.A. Noire has sold approx...

City of Heroes to go free-to-play

City of Heroes, one of the biggest MMORPGs in the industry featuring a monthly subscription model, has decided to make the jump over to free-to-play. The move will also see the game's name change to City of Heroes Freedom.

The announcement came earlier today and has the super-powered MMO following in the footsteps of Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online, both of which have seen success in moving from subscription-based to free-to-play.

"Freedom is about getting more content into the hands of our players, whether they are subscribing or playing for free," said Brian Clayton, Executive Producer at Paragon Studios, the game's developer. "To do this, we've looked at City of Heroes from the ground up and focused on three ways to enhance the experience by giving our players more...

NCSoft confirms Guild Wars 2 beta for late 2011

NCSoft has announced via a conference call with company CFO Jaeho Lee that a Guild Wars 2 beta will happen in the second half of this year.

The game's developer, ArenaNet, had confirmed a couple months ago that a private beta is going on right now and that a more open one would take place once the first is over. However, the company never gave a firm window on when that would occur. This is also the first official recognition of a beta for the game from its publisher.

The announcements didn't stop there as Lee also revealed that Guild Wars 2 will be making its full release sometime in 2012.

"Starting from year 2012, we believe substantial growth will be driven by new blockbuster titles like [Blade & Soul] and Guild Wars 2," stated Lee to investors.

"Also, Guild Wars 2 will go into beta testing...

Creative Assembly working on new Total War game

Shogun 2: Total War was released just two months ago to critical acclaim, but that isn't stopping developer Creative Assembly from beginning work on the next game in the series.

When asked whether a new Total War title was under way, series mastermind Mike Simpson responded by saying, "We never stop, so yes." Studio director Tim Heaton added that work began "whilst we were finishing Shogun 2".

Simpson and Heaton would not go into what the new Total War game will be. Simpson was asked whether the time period in the new title will be before or after Shogun 2, but he responded with a very elusive "yes."

In the meantime, Shogun 2 has reached sales of 600,000 copies, and the game has been met with almost universal praise.

Simpson expressed his company's excitement over the strategy title's recent...

Star Wars: The Old Republic may be pushed back to ...

In an investor call today regarding Electronic Arts' fourth-quarter results, the major publisher revealed that BioWare's upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic may not make its targeted second half 2011 release.

"The launch date, while in our fiscal year (before March, 2012), is not yet certain," stated EA CEO John Riccitiello during the call.

According to CVG, the title was also not included in the company's release schedule. However, Joystiq reports that supplied documentation noted that the game is "expected to launch in either Q2 FY12 or Q3 FY12."

EA CFO Eric Brown seemed to later reiterate all of the above, stating, "While we fully anticipate launching Star Wars: The Old Republic in Q2 or Q3, the low end of our guidance range assumes the outside possibility of a January launch."

Though ...

Sony Online Entertainment servers temporarily shut...

The PlayStation Network breach and shutdown has affected millions of PlayStation 3 and PSP owners, and now it looks like there is some bad news for PC gamers as well.

Earlier today Sony Online Entertainment temporarily shut down its servers due to an intrusion.

A notice released by the company on SOE websites reads:

"We have had to take the SOE service down temporarily. In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effective immediately. We will provide an update later today (Monday)."

Though it was not stated that the PlayStation Network hack has anything to do with SOE's server issues, it seems to be the likely cause.

SOE is in charge of many MMO franchises and games, including E...

Fable III available through Steam and Windows Mark...

From April 21 this year PC gamers will be able to pre-order copies of Fable III through both Steam and Windows Marketplace.

As well as the game itself, in an attempt to boost download sales both Steam and Windows have secured some added incentives.

Players who download the game through Steam will be rewarded the "Rebel's Weapon and Tattoo Pack", while those using Windows Marketplace will earn themselves a free copy of Fable: The Lost Chapters.

The press release detailed Lionhead Studios' promise to ensure that all content available through Xbox LIVE will be made available through Steam and Windows Marketplace. Additionally, the PC version of the game is set to house both "a challenging Hardcore mode" and full 3D functionality.

Those that don't wish to pre-order the game will be able to downl...

ArenaNet gives closer look at ferocious, feline Ch...

This week has been known as "Charr Week" for ArenaNet, as the developer of Guild Wars 2 celebrates the game's vicious race of humanoid felines. With today's entry came information on the race as a whole, its history, a few new images, and a new video.

The Charr were one of the main antagonists of the original Guild Wars, a brutal race of warriors who believe that true strength is shown on the battlefield and that life should be ripped out by force. In the 250 years since players last saw them, the race has become the most industrial and technologically superior in all of Tyria and taken over almost all the land east of the Shiverpeak Mountains.

However that doesn't mean they are without problems. Fighting a losing war with the Charr, the last king of Ascalon used dark magic to turn his army ...

Dark Angels set to invade this April

In a recent press release THQ has confirmed the brooding Dark Angels Space Marine chapter will be available as a multiplayer team for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II this April.

Available for around $8 through the Steam marketplace, the DLC will allow players to play as the famous brooding-bad-boy wing of the Space Marines in all of the game's multiplayer modes.

For their money, players will be rewarded eight unique models that will replace the standard major units and a new colour scheme for all the others.

Specifically, the Force Commander will be replaced by the Dark Angels Company Master, the Tactical Marine Squad will be draped in the iconic Dark Angel robes and the Scout, Assault and Terminator squads will all receive as yet undisclosed "chapter-specific revisions".

Released on April...

Blizzard's new MMO coming after Diablo 3

Blizzard has millions of people playing World of Warcraft and StarCraft II while Diablo fans eagerly await the third entry in that series. But the company isn't slowing down as they set their sights on another big project.

The developer is currently working on a full-fledged MMO, codenamed "Titan." In a recent interview company COO Paul Sams shed some light on the game, explaining its ambition and the company's plans to focus on it after Diablo III's release.

"As it relates to that other [MMO], we think that it's going to be very impactful in our industry and, we hope, very impactful to the world," he said. "We think that that will be, after Diablo III, the next big thing from us. The thing that we hope will happen is that it will not stop World of Warcraft but we believe will eclipse it."

S...

Crysis 2 PC multiplayer demo available March 1

EA announced today that a Crysis 2 multiplayer demo will be ready for PC gamers on March 1, 2011.

Players will be able to play six-on-six matches in two dilapidated Manhattan maps. The first is called Skyline, which takes place on rooftops and inside buildings. The second is the Pier 17 map, which is described as "an open environment with limited cover".

Two modes will also be playable with the demo: Team Instant Action and Crash Site. The former sees which of two teams can rack up the most amount of kills while the latter is about gaining control of "alien drop pods", which need to be defended in order to earn points.

The demo can be downloaded at the game's website.

Also, those who pre-order Crysis 2 will receive a limited edition version of the game that includes the following unlocka...

ArenaNet bringing "brand new" Guild Wars 2 demo to...

On ArenaNet's official blog last night, the developer of Guild Wars 2 became one of the first game companies to officially announce that it will be attending PAX East 2011. With the announcement also came the reveal that not only would their highly-anticipated MMORPG be on hand at the event, but that the demo available will be "brand new".

While no details were given on what will be included in the demo, Martin Kerstein, ArenaNet's German community manager and writer of the blog post, stated that it will have "loads of new content."

The demo will be present on Friday, March 11 at the NCSoft PAX East Meet and Greet at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. What time the event will take place was not revealed, but Kerstein wrote that players will be able to meet with ArenaNet developers like Lead...

Riccitello: Old Republic can be profitable with 50...

Speaking at Electronic Arts' third-quarter conference call to investors, CEO John Riccitello declared that the publisher's upcoming MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic has the ability to be profitable with just 500,000 subscribers.

While he said the number is "not the sort of thing we would write home about,"it would make the game "substantially profitable."

"Anything north of one million subscribers is a very profitable business," Riccitello continued. "Essentially it turns on a dime from being quite sharply negative in terms of its EPS impact to positive the day the product ships."

Though he stated earlier in the report that the game has brought about "significant development costs," Riccitello claimed that rumors from the press and a very angry former EA developer that the game's budget is ...

Raptr entices gamers with Twinkies

Raptr has created a competition that rewards gamers for using the service while playing Suba Games' online, free-to-play MMO title Mission Against Terror.

Working in partnership with Suba Games, Raptr has orchestrated a prize system that scales the potential rewards available to the player in correlation to the amount of hours they have been playing.

To enter the competition all players have to do is play the game using the Raptr client to track the amount of time they have been online. To have a chance at winning the grand prize, which is a year's supply of Twinkies and a $250 Amazon voucher, players will have to log over 20 hours of game time.

For those without the time or inclination there also several smaller prizes up for grabs. Just entering the contest gives you chance to win one of ...

New guardian profession revealed for Guild Wars 2

ArenaNet has revealed the first profession coming to Guild Wars 2 that was not featured in the original Guild Wars. The second of the game's two fighter professions, the guardian is the first brand-new class for the game.

Guardians will be more defensive- and protective-based fighters than their warrior counterparts. They use passive abilities that allow them to either endure long-standing battles on their own or pass them over to their allies for a brief period of time.

"The guardian is a devoted fighter who calls upon powerful virtues to smite enemies and protect allies," read the profession description. "As dangerous with a staff as he is with a mighty two-handed hammer, a true guardian is a master tactician who knows when to sacrifice his own defenses to empower his allies to achieve vi...

Old Republic to now release in September

Star Wars: The Old Republic has a substantial release window yet again, but this time it falls on the opposite side of summer. The MMO from Electronic Arts and BioWare will be coming to the PC in September of 2011.

The report comes from MCV, where anonymous development sources have told the site that this is when the game will finally see the light of day not just in North America, but worldwide.

It's been a bizarre road for The Old Republic, which was confirmed last year for a spring 2011 release by both EA CEO John Ricitello and BioWare Community Manager Sean Dahlberg. Then in November 2010, EA's CFO Eric Brown changed that to an extremely vague "fiscal year 2012" for EA that starts April 2011 and ends March 2012.

That announcement came after a former EA developer called out the quality of ...

Champions Online goes free to play

Atari and Cryptic Studios have announced that their superhero-themed massively multiplayer online game, Champions Online, will be free to play starting January 25.

This means all of the game's core content will require no extra charge, with the exception of the game's "Adventure Packs." The developer and publisher are still allowing players to purchase premium content through the game's C-Store.

Lord of the Rings Online went a similar route back in September and ended up tripling its revenue as a result. Time will tell whether Champions Online can find similar success in the coming months.

[Destructoid]

Hacker holds Runes of Magic developer Frogster hos...

A player -- username augustus87 -- has hacked the popular MMO Runes of Magic's western databases.

Claiming to have access to the account names and passwords of over 3.5 million of the game's users, augustus87 has threatened to gradually release the information unless his demands are met.

While his demands are many, in general they involve Frogster relaxing moderation in the game's forums, implementing better online security and being more open and honest in its dealings with customers. Frogster has responded to the attack claiming that all the information is "outdated log-in data from 2007". The company went on to add that it's treating the attack as a "serious criminal offense" and that German law enforcement authorities have been notified.

You can read a complete copy of Frogster's offic...

New Jurassic Park game details and screens emerge

Telltale Games, the studio behind the recent Sam & Max and Back to the Future games acquired another known license recently in the form of Jurassic Park.

The developer has made a name for itself by reviving the presumed dead point and click adventure game genre. Jurassic Park they say will be a little bit different than what they are typically known for.

Rather than just be strictly point and click, apparently Telltale Games' Jurassic Park game will also have action elements in it. The studio is citing Heavy Rain as a point of influence. There will be moments of contemplative puzzles and character development, which could break into action sequences requiring quick input from the player.

The screenshots from the game are low quality, but that is the nature of leaked media, unfortunately.

Th...