Sometimes the setting of a new game makes the difference between a game that you will wait to play, if at all, and so interesting you start to anticipate playing it. When first looking at Rock Hippo Production’s first MMOTPS (Third Person Shooter) MicroVolts, my first reaction was, “Oh, another shooter”, yet as I watched the trailer, browsed the website and looked at some of the in-game screenshots, it began to pique my interest.

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I’ve got some good news and some bad news, well, it’s now mostly good news. If you tried to log into EVE Online for the past day or two and have had problems, this is due to some unexpected downtime for testing, movement and updating of EVE Online’s Tranquility server clusters.

In response to this downtime, CCP will give all active accounts a pool of skill points appropriately sized to the amount of downtime experienced; this gift will be extended to both paid and trial accounts. There will be more downtime next Tuesday for patch deployment on the Tranquility server as mentioned in the developer’s notes, that will be followed up by another gift to all active players as compensation. Lock onto MMOCRUNCH for more upcoming EVE Online news and you can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

At this years E3 convention Denmark’s LEGO Group along with Netdevil had announced the release date of their first MMOG: LEGO Universe Online. Worldwide release is scheduled for October 26th of this year, but “Founders” can start playing as soon as October 12th. If you are interested in becoming a LEGO Universe founder, then go to the LEGO Universe website to create a LEGO ID and sign up for  the closed beta. LEGO Group has just announced the first round of closed beta invites have been sent out, so its not too late to get involved.

Players that get into the closed beta phases will have a chance to be the first people to play LEGO Universe Online. I can tell just by the screenshots that it looks upbeat and fun! Make sure you stop by MMOCRUNCH.com for more information on LEGO Universe.

Beta Testing is not just a way to play a game for free. It gives players a chance to get a top down look at the way that MMORPGs are made and have a hand in their development. I’ve participated in many beta tests for all sorts of different games. Often, it’s very fun and rewarding; other times it may feel as if I am playing a broken game that needs another year or two in the cooker. I’ve isolated three fun and interesting games that are entering both closed and open beta phases.

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After three long weeks of grueling space battles the winners of the Eighth Annual EVE Online Alliance Tournament are ***drum roll** : Pandemic Legion have taken first place. This will be their third straight win for Pandemic Legion. HYDRA RELOADED came in second place in this tournament.

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As the EVE Online Alliance Tournament VIII moves forward into the finals, CCP has published a teaser video to get players excited. I have to say it has got some potential but needs a few tweaks. One, lose the dude and put a pair of headphones on the lady. Show me some action in regards to a female getting involved with EVE-style PVP. EVE Online is a game that is noted for a few things, but its female population is not one of them, except for the Hellcats. They are a lean, mean, all female pirate machine in the Metropolis region.

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Photo courtesy of Interplay Entertainment

How about some non-E3 news for a change.

Today Interplay launched their beta sign-up and teaser website today for their upcoming Fallout Online MMORPG, or Project V13 if you want to keep calling it that.

Since the dust has settled during the legal shootout between Interplay and Bethesda over the rights to work with the Fallout IP, Interplay is showing some forward momentum by launching the Fallout Online Website. This is great news for Fallout fans (including yours truly) and we are looking forward to more information coming down the pipe.

Holy Nuka Cola! What are you still doing here, go sign up for the Fallout Online Beta.

Today at the E3 Convention in Los Angeles, CA the LEGO Group announced the release date for their MMOG LEGO Universe.   It is set for October 12th, 2010 for LEGO “founders.”  The Official launch will be October 26th, 2010.

LEGO Universe will also allow players to create their own content using a simple programming language. Fans or “Founders” will be able to get into LEGO Universe before the official launch.  The game will be sold exclusively through LEGO channels including LEGO Stores, LEGO Online Shop and LEGOLAND.

On October 26th, the official launch date, LEGO Universe will be available through all retail channels distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Also, being planned for global release, LEGO Universe will be rolled out to additional territories after the initial launch.

We’ll have a slew of new assets from E3 soon, so check back.

Until then,

Play safe.

In the grim dark future of MMO’s there is only war.

Los Angeles, CA – Today game publisher THQ released a trailer for their new MMORPG Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium at the E3 conference today. Watch video courtesy of Vigil Games.

The science-fiction IP originally created for tabletop gaming by Games Workshop has reaped enormous popularity from the real-time strategy based games previously released by THQ. Considering the overwhelming success of both WH40K: Dawn of War and the sequel Dawn of War II, we can just imagine what a great job they do to bring to the Warhammer 40K Universe to life in an MMORPG.

Play safe.

The latest news from the 8^th Annual Eve Online Alliance Tournament has entered the second set of qualifiers. 64 teams made from some of the strongest corporations from across the EVE Online galaxy have come together in a winner-take all tournament to see who is the biggest and the best in team based PvP.

Part of the announcement from the Interstellar Correspondents has peaked my interest. The most commonly fielded ship so far in the tournament has been the Caldari Drake Battlecruiser. For years the Caldari Drakes sleek design and 7 punishing missile silos have often made it the PVP player’s ship of choice by unanimous decision.

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