The next expansion of World of Warcraft will have a lot of changes to the current game and player versus player (PvP) is no exception.

One of the biggest change to World of Warcraft’s PvP system is the introduction of the PvP point system. Currently to get high end PvP items you need honor points, arena points and a high personal arena rating. The new system in Cataclysm will introduce Conquest points which is explained here:

PvP

* Honor Points — Low-tier, easier-to-get PVP points. There will be a maximum cap to how many you can own, but no cap to how quickly you can earn them. Earned from most PvP activities.
* Conquest Points — High-tier, harder-to-get PvP points. There will be a maximum cap to how many you can own, and a cap to how many you can earn per week. Earned from winning Rated Battlegrounds or Arenas. (currently called Arena Points)

In other words the current Arena points will now be known as Conquest points and there will now be two ways to receive these points: Arena and Rated Battlegrounds.

Another big change to the PvP system will be the remove of almost all personal rating requirements on PvP items. The reasoning behind this is because Blizzard believed that rating requirements was a rich-get-richer syndrome.

More info on these changes can be found here.

Realtime Worlds and Electronic Arts have announced the release date for APB (All Points Bulletin) for the PC on June 29th in North America, July 1st in mainland Europe and July 2nd in the UK.

Pre-ordering the game gives exclusive access to the following:

• ‘APB VIP’ game time.
• ‘Key to the City’ demo.
• Exclusive in-game Asylum upgraded Criminal Car and Enforcer upgraded Patrol Car.
• C.S.A Enforcer and Asylum Criminal clothing.
• ‘Chicken’ and ‘Strike-a-pose’ exclusive Emotes.

The game includes 50 hours of game time out of the box. Once the 50 hours are up, players are given the option to pay £5.59 for an additional 20 hours, or the choice of purchasing a 30-day unlimited package for £7.99 with discounts available for 90 and 180 days. It was also announced that players can earn game time by actually playing the game.

David Jones, Creative Director of Realtime Worlds commented;

“We’re delighted to finally be announcing the release date for APB, and we’re looking forward to welcoming players on to the mean streets of San Paro. Gamers will soon get to experience a world of unparalleled customization, conflict and celebrity – whether they choose to be a Criminal or an Enforcer.”

If you are interested in making a preorder, head on over to either the official site or the EA Store. The game will be sold both via retail and digital distribution. The standard retail price will be £34.99.

For more information on All Points Bulletin, head on over to the official website.

Recruit-A-Friend (RAF) is a program that Blizzard implemented for World of Warcraft to give new players an easier time leveling and current players a way to bring in their friends and level alternate characters. The way it works a paying account sends out a referral to a friend and that person gets a free trial of World of Warcraft. If that person purchases the game and starts paying the subscription fee both players get triple experience as long as they level together and can summon each other. Of course the person that sent the referral gets additional perks like a free month of WoW and the exclusive Zhevra mount.

Just this week Blizzard announced that there would be a mount change in the Recruit-A-Friend program.They will be replacing the Zhevra mount which you received after doing RAF with the X-53 Touring Rocket. This is great news for mount collectors because as I mentioned before in this post, these rocket mounts are extremely rare but now there is an easy way to get one. I wish that they would upgrade the Zhevra mount to the X-53 rocket but unfortunately that won’t be happening.

Blizzard is set to release two powerhouse games this year: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and StarCraft 2. To celebrate these two games being released Blizzard has unveiled another World of Warcraft in-game pet much like the old Tyrael in-game pet that was made available a couple of years ago. Tyrael, for those of you who don’t know, is a character from Blizzard’s Diablo games and the pet was given to those who attended the 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in France.

The new StarCraft 2 based in-game pet for WoW will be the mini Thor. To get this exclusive pet you don’t need to go to one of Blizzard’s events like in the past but you do need to pay a little extra to get the Thor pet. People who purchase the Collector’s Edition of StarCraft 2 will be given a code to unlock the Thor for WoW. As of now the price for the Collector’s Edition is $99.99.

KingsIsle Entertainment has announced the two major content updates for their award-winning MMO Wizard101. The first one is an Advanced Pet system coming out this spring. The Advanced Pet system will bring a new dimension of interaction within Wizard101 as players can race their pets in the expansive Pet Derby, participate in new pet-themed minigames, feed and train them, and use them as allies in magic duels. Players will be able to level their pets from an egg to ancient beings with incredible powers.

The second big content update, the world of Celestia is coming out this summer and will give players a giant new location to explore. Inspired by Atlantis, it will put all you young wizards deep beneath the sea, filled with dangers and rewards. Celestia also increases the level cap in Wizard101 from level 50 up to level 60, as well as introducing three new secondary schools of magic. Celestia will officially open in late summer. Starting in June players can undertake new quests to discover the secrets of this new world and begin to unlock the story behind Celestia. These are Wizard101 updates planned this year. Visit the website for more info.

Faunasphere is holding its first annual Caretaker’s Celebration, and everyone is invited to join! The celebration offers continued bonus experience from the past week, as well as new backgrounds, new items, new nest ideas, and a commemorative gold trophy for every caretaker. There will also be a special hunt several times a day with extra special awards. A special goal is also available with a lucrative reward for those who participate, and community projects have had their restart time dropped to two minutes to help all players enjoy the festivities. More information on the game as well as the event is available here.

Global Agenda will hit store shelves in Europe, courtesy of premier-publisher Iceberg Interactive. After a successful digital-only launch, Hi-Rez Studios and Iceberg Interactive decided that the game should have a boxed version released in Europe. The English-language European Retail release is planned for early September 2010, with a German release following shortly after.  The release will include Global Agenda‘s upcoming Sandstorm expansion pack, as well as other previously unreleased content, introducing a wide array of new devices, weapons and content into the game, including Open PvE zones and a large-scale PvP Warzone featuring 64-player battles. So, Europeans, keep checking your local game stores for a boxed version of Global Agenda, soon. For more information on the game itself, visit the official site or read our detailed Global Agenda review.

Beta registration for the highly anticipated All Points Bulletin is now live. Hype has been high for this title as it is attempting to be the closest thing to a completely online version of Grand Theft Auto. The game is being developed by Realtime Worlds, the guys who brought us Crackdown. We have high hopes that this ambitious project is in good hands, the title even made MMOCrunch’s Most Anticipated MMOs of 2010 list.

The minimum requirements to run All Points Bulletin:

• Core 2 Duo 2Ghz or equivalent
• 2GB RAM (3GB for Vista64 / Windows 7 64)
• nVidia GeForce 7800 – 256MB or equivalent
• 20GB Hard disk space

For more information on the APB Beta, head on over to the official Beta page.

Jagex, the UK’s largest independent games company, has announced RuneFest 2010, which plans to be the biggest player event ever for the RuneScape community. RuneFest 2010 will be the first real-world player event of its size for the the company, and the UK.

RuneFest 2010 will be taking place on August 28th, 2010. The location of where the event will be held is currently unknown, but it has been described as “a very exciting central London venue.”

The event intends to replicate the RuneScape experience, with bringing various aspects of the game to life, such as featuring themed areas for players to experience real-world RuneScape activities.

Mark Gerhard, CEO of Jagex commented;

“The team is absolutely electric with enthusiasm for this event, we’ve always wanted to do a fan celebration for our players but crucially not just any old player convention – we insisted that it would be something that was not only different from tired conventions, but an intimate, memorable and naturally incredibly fun, festive fan celebration. This is certainly going to be a landmark event and one of the best parties we’ve ever had. The team and I are really excited about meeting and celebrating our biggest fans namely our epic community, we have also got a few surprises up our sleeve that I’m certain our players will love.”

Tickets for this event will go on sale later this month. For more information on RuneFest 2010, head on over to the official site.

Mir 2 is a very old MMORPG(but still great, so shut it), but old in Asia. About a year ago Gamepot USA started a Western server for the game for all us non-asians. The history of Mir 2 spans nine years and has been played by over 200 million gamers around the world, mostly in Korea and China. To celebrate its first year of service, Gamepot is holding an anniversary event where players can receive a unique hat that will grant powerful buffs and experience bonuses. Mysterious treasure boxes that contain stat boosting potions and teleportation scrolls will be scattered across the world.

To learn more about the event and Mir 2 itself, click here.