KoramGame has released a brand new trailer to celebrate yesterday's commencement of the open beta for Spirit Tales. Enjoy!

Piranha Games has released a brand new trailer featuring some wicked game play action from MechWarrior Online. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments. Enjoy!

Rise of Dragonian Era (RODE) players will want to head into the game to check out the big new changes and additions with the latest update. Among other things, the level cap has increased and two new dungeons have been added.

• A Higher Level Cap: the level cap will be increased from level 41 to level 45, along with additions of numerous exciting story quests that players can take on to unveil the mysteries of Piral
• Two New Dungeons: Muspel Hell with open to Fireans in Alvis Forest and Saman’s Sand Hell will open to Azurians in Gray Desert. These new dungeons will enhance the PVE gameplay experience
• New Lot System: players will be rewarded for killing monsters by accumulating points and using those points to obtain helpful items
• New Events: including a Tribe Tournament, Dragon Coins to collect, and double Lot Points!

Find out more on the RODE page.

PlanetSide 2 is shaping up to be a 'must watch' game for many fans of the original game and for those who love to gun and run. We caught up with Assistant Game Designer Xander Clauss to talk about one of the three factions in the game, the Terran Republic. Check it out!

MMORPG.com: There are some great aspects to the empires in PlanetSide 2. Can you tell us what sets the Terran Republic apart from the other empires?

Xander Clauss: The Terran Republic is the militaristic government faction of Auraxis. They seek to bring peace to the planet under their rule, though the N.C. and V.S. think of them as oppressive and heavy-handed.

Read more of Bill Murphy's PlanetSide 2: Xander Clauss Talks Terran Republic.

The Fallen Earth blog has been updated with a new post outlining some of the recent changes to the overall player experience that includes things such as tooltips, skill detail pages and more. All of this is designed, according to the post, to give players more information and to make it more "accessible" to players.

The post then goes into a bit of detail about what players can expect from the next update.

Gear Slot Reduction

We have reduced the amount of gear slots necessary to fully equip your character. The amount of resistances are the same, but gloves, lower and upper arm armor and thigh pieces will now function like boots - equipping one will equip the set.   While this does limit some of the customizability, we will be addressing that through more custom clothing options rather than through forcing players to hunt out available matching sets.

Read more on the Fallen Earth blog.

Dragon Nest players looking to pit their guild against other guilds will want to check out the new Guild Rumble update. Each month will see new guild quests deployed as well as opportunities to take on other guilds in PvP matches galore.

Every month, the guilds of Altera will be called upon to fight monsters, earn achievements, and face off against each other in the arena to prove which guild is the best. Every player will be rewarded for their efforts as well as their performance, so everyone wins. The champion guild each month however will take home exclusive costumes, mounts, and all-important bragging rights.

Read more about the Guild Rumble update on the Dragon Nest site.

It looks like Funcom is also putting an emphasis on story with The Secret World, but the methods employed differ some from BioWare's story-centric Star Wars: The Old Republic. We've recently spent some time in the TSW beta and today we're offering a comparison of the story presentation in both games.

The Secret World does things a bit differently, even from Funcom’s previous game, Age of Conan, which also featured dialogue choices. In The Secret World, quests are broken down into seven types: story, action, item, investigation, sabotage, group/dungeon, and PvP. Your story is based on your faction (Illuminati, Templar, or Dragon) and will guide you through the world Funcom has created. The other mission types are mostly self-explanatory, though sabotage missions are notable in that they are generally geared towards stealthily completing objectives (such as avoiding surveillance cameras).  Each mission is broken up into several tiers (sets of objectives) that must be completed in sequential order and you can only have a limited amount of each type of mission. If you attempt to take another action mission while you’re currently on one, for example, you’ll be asked if you want to pause your progress and pick up the new mission.

Read more of Michael Bitton's The Secret World: SWTOR vs. TSW -- A Story Comparison.

This week, we have had the opportunity to get our collective grubby hands on Funcom's The Secret World. We've got a slate of articles for your viewing pleasure today. In this particular piece of heaven, we take a look at the Templar starter area, at London and at Agartha. Read on!

Templar HQ is gigantic. No, I mean it. It’s huge. Kinda makes you wonder what those Templars are compensating for but that’s a whole ‘nother article.

Not only is the building huge but the rooms that you can access inside are big too. The building is guarded by Templars in the now-traditional red and white that Funcom has made us so accustomed to seeing. Most don’t speak but there are a few well-placed folks who can fill in lore about the Templars or even engage you with a snarky discussion about the riff-raff. Yeah, I’m talking to you, Lady What’s-Your-Name. *frowns*

Read more of Suzie Ford's The Secret World: The Templar Starter Area.

This week, we have had the opportunity to get our collective grubby hands on Funcom's The Secret World. We've got a slate of articles for your viewing pleasure today beginning with a look at the notion that The Secret World is the thinking man's MMO. Check it out!

Like my cohorts here on MMORPG.com, I spent a good chunk of time over the past few days playing Funcom’s The Secret World beta. And while I’m of the mind that certain things are a little rough around the edges, a few specific parts of the game really stood out to me as “holy crow, this is genius!” Those things are what Funcom’s been touting all this time: the unique take on questing, and the skill-based character development. Both have the potential to put TSW firmly in the camp of the most innovative games category. There’s a whole of “let’s do it different” here, but the quest design and character development are most notably what grabs me initially to keep logging in.

Read more of Bill Murphy's The Secret World: The Innovation Two-For.

This week, we have had the opportunity to get our collective grubby hands on Funcom's The Secret World. We've got a slate of articles for your viewing pleasure starting with a general overview of our experiences in The Secret World. Check it out and then leave us your thoughts in the comments.

Funcom developers are finally getting ready to let The Secret World and all its attendant mystery out of the proverbial bag. During this past week, we’ve had the opportunity to put the game through its paces to see how TSW is going to stand up to other MMO juggernauts that are either already on the scene or are imminently ready to hit the stage.

Read more of Suzie Ford's The Secret World: Removing Mystery's Shroud.

Arena.Net's Mike O'Brien has penned a new blog article featured on the Guild Wars 2 site. In it, O'Brien speaks about the first closed beta event in which "hundreds of thousands" of players took part. He discusses both the highs and lows of the event and gives a bit of insight into what the team has been doing since.

At the same time, we’re also working on server capacity to make sure that we’re prepared for the even greater flood of players who will participate in the next Beta. To that end, we’ve announced a Stress Test on Monday May 14th to test some changes we’ve implemented. This 7-hour test event, which runs from 11 AM to 6 PM PDT (-7 GMT) is open to all players who have pre-purchased Guild Wars 2. The good news is that we’re not wiping characters for this test; we’re using the same build that we used in the first Beta Weekend Event, so you’ll be able to pick up right where you left off. For more information about the Stress Test, log in to the Beta Forums. Please join us on May 14 if you can.

The Spirit Tales team has announced that the open beta for the game has officially kicked off complete with never-before-seen features and content as well as contests and give aways.

"We are thrilled to finally make Spirit Tales available to fans all over the world," says Yann Wang, General Manager. "Since the time of our closed beta, we have worked tirelessly adding new features and improving upon existing ones. In all, this has made Spirit Tales feel much more complete. However, the launch of open beta is really only the beginning for us. With the rapid content release schedule we have planned, we will continue to add fresh content to the world of Spirit Tales, ensuring that players can have ever-increasing, enjoyable experiences with our game for a very long time."

Head to the Spirit Tales for more.

Our resident pony, DarkPony, is back with a new update to his Disgruntled Pony blog. In this latest entry, DarkPony focuses on EVE Online, detailing (in typical DP style) his adventures baiting pirates in the space-faring MMO.

"Deringor in a Hurricane is primary! Deringor in a Hurricane is primary! Buggernaps in a Hurricane is secondary!" Crap, had been targeting some other guys. Targeting the canes now too.
 

Too far out of optimal! I tell myself to stop shaking. Breath in ... breath out ...

 

Defying orders and unleashing my mega pulse lasers on the nearby Harbinger I had already locked. Beams of righteous light surge forth, tearing down his shields in a single volley.
 

BURNING ... LASERS ... IN YOUR ... FACE!!!
 

Somehow the moment when you start dishing out actual damage is a huge relief. And a Geddon equiped for dps in favorable conditions can really lay down some hurt on a battlecruiser.
 

Am I in optimal range? Close enough. Disruptor, ON, web, ON. The Harbinger is going down fast now with the help of some torpedoes from my CEO, who had also started to remote repair Squik with his other ship.
 

Harbinger IS down!

Read more of DarkPony's The Disgruntled Pony: Burning Lasers in Your Face!

Interested fans are invited to try out Storybricks during its current alpha phase of development with the web demo. It's a quick and simple process. Head to the official Storybricks link, wait for the Unity engine to load and you're off!

To the fearless 30 who braved our skeletal and oh-so-incomplete alpha, we thank you. Your feedback was invaluable and we look forward to working with you again when the public alpha ends. We wouldn't have made it this far without you.

Funcom has announced that a million players have registered for closed beta access for The Secret World. The first closed beta event is slated to begin on May 11th and run through May 13th.

In the first Beta Weekend, named ‘Kingsmouth Calling’, players will get to join the Templar secret society starting out in London, before they get to visit parts of Solomon Island to investigate the mysterious events that have occurred there. Players will get to play around with the groundbreaking progression system that is free of restrictions such as classes and levels, and will have the chance to experience the unique storyline that ‘The Secret World’ offers.

Find out more about The Secret World.

Gala-Net has laid out the plans for the EU Allods Online first anniversary celebration. Players will receive several anniversary gifts if registered to play Allods prior to May 11th.

For those under level 32, the gift box will award a unique wolf mount, mount food and three recruits chests, which have contents to replace out-levelled gear. Players over level 32 will receive the same gifts but also a certificate that grants a choice of some very special items for their astral vessels, which can be a set of astral layer 3 ship weaponry, an elven statue for their ship or two coupons to spend on other ship customisations.

The Allods GMs will also be running in-game events between May 11th and June 11th. Lastly, the Astral Storm patch will be deployed at the end of May that will bring new features including the Mentor System into game.

Find out more on the Allods Online EU site.

Arena.Net has announced that a Guild Wars 2 beta stress test will be conducted for a limited number of hours on Monday, May 14th from 11:00 a.m. PDT to 6:00 p.m. PDT. The goal of the test is to pack the servers with players to ensure stability.

This special test event is open only to Pre-Purchase customers who have registered their accounts. With your help, we can conduct important tests and address some of the issues we identified during our first Beta Weekend Event. During this event, all you need to do is play normally with a new or existing character on your Beta account using the same game client. Please note that since this is a stress test of our servers, you may experience some in-game performance issues. If you’ve pre-purchased Guild Wars 2 and wish to participate in the stress test, we recommend that you register the account and download the game client.

Source: GW2 Facebook page

Recently released, Tribes Ascend has scored big for fans of the shooter genre which gives pause for thought to we who are eagerly anticipating Tribes Universe, a much more MMO-ish sort of game. We've got a few thoughts about what we would like to see in Tribes Universe so keep reading!

During the downtime between shooting things in the face and jumping skyward though, I have gotten to some thinking - which is handy otherwise this article might be titled "quiet time" - looking at Hi-Rez's resume as developers, hustling amongst the two credits of Global Agenda and this latest frag-fest is the arousal-inducing title "Tribes Universe."

Read more of Adam Tingle's Tribes: Ascend - What We Want in Tribes Universe.