I am the Architect: City of Heroes Update Adds Mission Creator

For everyone out there who's ever played a game and wanted a crack at taking a turn in the driver's seat, your time has come. The latest update to NCsoft's comic-themed MMO City of Heroes includes, among other things, a mission creator which will allow users to create their own missions for other players in the CoH community to experience. According to the official site, the new update will allow players to determine the environments, objectives, and enemies in their custom missions. You can even write dialogue and story lines to round out the experience.

Issue 13: Architect also introduces offline-character-progression in the form of Day Jobs, which will allow players to sort out what their super-powered alter-egos get up to when they're not saving Paragon City from imminent destruction. New Powersets, missions, a merit rewards system and more are all packed into the latest update. Lead Designer Matt Miller states that the primary feature list for Issue 13 is live now. Check out his post on the official site for more details.

Crom Be Praised: Warhammer Online Open Beta Launches Sept 7th

We do a lot of cleaving around here. And outside of replacing our break room's counter tops with giant slabs of cutting board, nothing invites axe-wielding-mayhem quite like a pre-launch open beta. EA Mythic announced today that Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will launch an open public beta on September 7th. Giving players a full week and change to pillage, plunder, and maim before the game goes live on the 18th.

Players who wish to participate in the open beta need only pre-order the title at select retailers to obtain an open beta registration code. Closed beta members will be automatically granted open beta access. For more details read our previous WAR coverage or check out the game's official website. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, available for PC, will launch servers simultaneously in North America, Europe and Oceania on September 18th, 2008. WAR is rated "T" for Teen.

To Boldly Go Where MMO's Have Never Gone Before

The deafening silence you hear right now is the sound of trekkers, the wold over, holding their collective breath as their most beloved scifi IP moves at full impulse power towards its debut as a galaxy-spanning MMO. Star Trek Online made its public debut today as Cryptic Studios chief creative officer Jack Emmert and Trek veteran Leonard Nimoy unveiled the gameplay trailer at the 2008 Trek convention in Las Vegas. The trailer shows players engaging (pardon the pun) in epic ship-to-ship combat, as well as mano e mano drama both inside the massive Federation cruisers, as well as planet-side on several boldly-sought-out alien worlds.

Chronologically speaking, the game will take place “a few generations” after the last Star Trek film. Players will start their galactic adventure as the captain of a small Starfleet or Kilngon Empire vessel, acquiring larger ships with bigger crews as they increase in rank. Customization options are legion, with players being able to create characters based on many of the famous Trek alien races as well as dreaming up their own, entirely new, species.

After a long and troubled path through development, Star Trek Online was snatched up by Cryptic Studios earlier this year in the wake of Perpetual Entertainment’s unfortunate (though ironic) demise. Emmert indicated Star Trek online would be available for the PC and possibly next gen consoles, most likely Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. No release date has been set at this time though, judging by the entirely in-game footage shown in the trailer, it would seem the game may be beaming into your neck of the woods sooner rather than later.

Warhammer Online Release Date Revealed

After tons of delays, speculation and a few more delays, EA has announced the OFFICIAL release date for the upcoming EA Mythic-developed Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. The game will launch worldwide on September 18, 2008. Here's some info on the game (via press release) and the official website incase you're interested.

"Based on Games Workshop’s epic and longstanding tabletop fantasy war game, WAR is a unique MMORPG that features revolutionary Realm vs. Realm (RvR) gameplay that will immerse players in a world of perpetual conflict for years to come. WAR has been recognized for its unique play style that appeals to novice MMO players while offering incredible depth for more seasoned players.

“The countdown has officially begun. Mark your calendars! September 18th is the Day of Reckoning,” said Mark Jacobs, founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. “For the last three years, the entire team at Mythic has poured their hearts into making Warhammer Online the next great MMORPG. We are so excited to open up this world and share it with the fans that will live in it, quest in it, go to war in it and make it come alive.”

Fans looking forward to laying siege to their enemy’s capital city will have several pricing options available, beginning with a $14.99 monthly subscription. Additionally, collectible 30- and 60-day prepaid Game Time™ Cards will be available at many game retailers. WAR subscription options include:

* Monthly Subscription: $14.99 USD

* 3-Month Subscription: $41.97 ($13.99 per month)

* 6-Month Subscription: $77.94 ($12.99 per month)

Players can now pre-order their copy of WAR to secure their spots on the frontlines with a special pre-order package that includes:

* Open beta admission: Pre-order customers can experience the glory of battle and the thrill of WAR by participating in the open beta test.* Head Start program: Players can begin their adventures in the Age of Reckoning before the game’s official launch.

* Bonus in-game items: Players can equip their characters with two bonus in-game items by pre-ordering from select retail partners.* Universal Fighting System Battle Deck: The Emperor Karl Franz and Tchar’zanek, dread Champion of Tzeentch, go head-to-head in this exclusive collectible card game from Fantasy Flight Games. (Available in a limited supply from select retailers.)

Participating pre-order partners include Amazon.com, Best Buy, Circuit City, Direct2Drive, EAStore.com, EB Canada, EB Games, Fry’s, Futureshop, GameCrazy, GameStop, GoGamer.com, and Walmart.com. (Pre-order offers will vary by retailer.) The European pre-order program is scheduled to begin in late August. For more information about the North American pre-order program, visit this link

Available for the PC, WAR is rated “T” for TEEN by the ESRB. WAR will be the first MMORPG to launch servers simultaneously in North America, Europe, and Oceania when it goes live on September 18th, 2008.