The next Lord of the Rings Online content update is upon us. Next week Book 3 Echoes of the Dead will be released which will continue the Epic Story with a major quest arc & raid, and new cosmetic upgrades, among other updates. Echoes of the Dead will introduce three new instances as well.

• The Town of Stoneheight: The shadow erupts in the town of Stoneheight on the North Downs, where Ivar the Gaunt-lord spreads destruction as he searches for his helm of power.
• Northcotton Farm: Thadúr the Ravager has brought festering venom into the heart of the Shire and seeks to spread his poison to every Hobbit hole and hall.
• The Lost Temple: In a forgotten temple of ancient Arnor, Ferndúr the Virulent seeks to unleash plague and terror upon Middle-earth.

Below we have some new screenshots for Book 3, enjoy.

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The passing of this weekend also marks the conclusion of the notorious PAX Convention, a huge attraction for both the casual and the hardcore, as well as a celebration of the mouse, keyboard, controller, and of course, the pen & paper. For many diehard fans, the first order of business upon entry is a mad rush to the coveted demo booths. Here, developers and publicists stand ready to immerse each and every visitor in their respective products, from console platformers to Real-Time Strategy games to our beloved MMORPGs.

This weekend, BioWare offered attendees a hands-on gameplay session in the Taral V Flashpoint (That’s SWTOR-ian for an instance), wherein players exercised group tactics and reveled in the dynamic cutscene/conversation system. This video is a 16-minute session that was recorded and spliced together specifically for those of us who couldn’t be there. This being the first time I’ve witnessed the current UI, I was interested to watch as the character as he executed skills and other abilities using the spiffy new layout. Another feature to note is the aforementioned conversation system; in Star Wars: The Old Republic, players will each select a reply in conversation with a quest-giver. The catch is that only one person can reply at a time, so players will effectively “roll” (as with loot) to decide who speaks. This can lead to a single conversation taking multiple paths depending not just on who speaks, but what they say.

Check out the video above or head over to the official site to sniff out the details.

Today we have the official release of the new Silkroad expansion, Legend VII: Rise of the Thief-Hunter.

Rise of the Thief-Hunter puts more emphasis on jobs, as they will take on a bigger role for players. New skill sets that are dependent on the job and a character’s level. A player’s job title will change as they complete their job advancement tasks and gain reputation based upon the job activities to earn important ranks — a higher rank will help the player earn additional attribute bonuses.

Other new elements to the game include the trade and triangular conflict system, which has been revamped where players trade and complete smuggling quests. Launch into evolved conflicts between Thieves and Hunters, where users can obtain unique Job Items through Job activities and trading towards additional materials that can craft or reinforce Job items. Hunters gain profit by protecting caravan Trader NPCs and sweeping smuggling operations, while Thieves gain profit by raiding caravans and smuggling. Players can also participate in consignment trading where items are consigned to an NPC, or work the economy in target trading, where players directly trade by transporting goods which can earn a high profit but is far riskier. What trading quests are available will depend on the job players pursue.

The expansion introduces a new avatar, Saint Knight, and a newly designed Craft System, where users can create a variety of craftable items, including Siege Items like Battering rams and Catapults designed for Fortress War, or dive into Trade and Alchemy Items’, including improvements to the Fortress War and User Interface for more exciting and convenient game play.

To celebrate the official launch of Legend VII: Rise of the Thief-Hunter for Silkroad Online, various web events will be announced on their official site.

Forsaken World has officially launched and to help celebrate this, Perfect World has released a new trailer.  Check out the trailer below and head to Forsaken World’s official website to sign up and start exploring.

Sony Online Entertainment today announced that the free to play MMORPG Free Realms will be the first MMORPG to become available on the Playstation Network (PSN).  Free Realms will become available on PSN in North America on March 29th.

“Free Realms continues to break new ground in the gaming industry– it will be the first free-to-play MMO to hit any console, the first family-friendly MMO to hit any console, and the second MMO, after our recent release of DC Universe Online, to hit the PlayStation 3 to date,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “As the only online games publisher that creates accessible and diverse gameplay experiences for the full spectrum of gamers, we are committed to burgeoning innovation and growing the MMO genre by leaps and bounds, bringing in players of all ages.”

Free Realms originally launched in 2009 for the PC then later on for the Mac in 2010 and currently boosts nearly 17 million registered players across both platforms.

Hasbro is teaming up with MMO developer Jagex Limited, creators of the wildly popular MMORPG Runescape, to bring gamers the first online game based on Transformers.  Under the agreements, the two companies will be launching Transformers Online in North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia sometime in 2012.

“Hasbro’s decision to align with Jagex speaks to the quality of their award-winning development and publishing team that boasts an outstanding track record of delivering  innovative and fun online games capable of reaching millions of gamers across the globe,” said Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Gaming and Media at Hasbro.  “We are extremely excited to create a dream team that combines TRANSFORMERS brand stewards with Jagex development experts to deliver an epic TRANSFORMERS gaming experience to fans in 2012.”

“TRANSFORMERS is one of the most iconic brands in the world and we are delighted to team up with Hasbro in order to bring our shared vision to reality,” said Mark Gerhard, CEO at Jagex Games Studio. “There is a huge appetite for an online TRANSFORMERS game and we will utilize every bit of our development and publishing expertise to deliver a dynamic and action-packed game that TRANSFORMERS fans will find irresistible.”

After treating us to three new classes in the Big Bang update, MapleStory is now giving a character unlock reward to dedicated Cygnus Knight players. Once a Cygnus Knight character hits the max level 120, its owner will unlock the Ultimate Explorer which is a new character that can be played immediately at level 50, saving hours of level grinding. To make the climb to 120 easier for all Cygnus Knights, Nexon has equipped them with new skills like the Empress’ Shout and Empress’ Prayer.

Aside from letting you create your own Ultimate Explorer, the Aftershock Update also improves contribution tracking for guilds and delivers a new boss fight against Black Mage lieutenant Von Leon also known as the Red Lion King. High-level characters will be able to lay siege to his castle, while lowbies will have to settle for Von Leon’s dangerous pet Ani. The Aftershock update is now live, so start gunning for those Ultimate Explorers now.

Sony Online Entertainment has just released a new DC Universe Online origins video featuring Joker and Batman, the mentors of tech characters – characters that rely on technology for the powers in some way. The video talks about the Batman villain Scarcrow and some of his technologies. Tech characters in DCUO can select from two tech mentors, the Joker or Batman. Enjoy the video.

A new trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic called “Fate of the Galaxy” was released at PAX East today and features some in-game footage.  EA also announced this week the launch of their new Guild Headquarters where members of the community can register their guilds in preparation of the released of SWTOR.  Once the game is launched, guilds can directly import their member list into the game and hit the ground running.

Each guild will also receive their own mini-site on StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com, complete with a roster, recruitment status and public or private forums so member can communicate out of game.

Anyway check out the Fate of the Galaxy trailer below.

Today at PAX East, Nexon released a new trailer that previews some new content for their recently released MMORPG Vindictus.  The trailer previews some of the new content coming from the new update “Rocheste Royal Cadets” which will be released on March 23rd.  In the update the town of Rocheste will be introduced, Expertise crafting skills, the Dark Knight and Paladin character transformations, the beginning of PvP combat, as well as new dungeons, bosses and much more.