Rift open beta kicks off today
The slick inter-dimensional MMO Rift is about to throw open its gates anyone wants to give the game a go. A six day beta is about to launch. Read on for details of how to get in, and to see a spectacular new trailer showing one of the game’s dynamic portal attacks in action.
DC Universe Online beta key giveaway
Are the two weeks between now and January 11th just too long of a time to wait to get your superhero action on? Jump into the DCUO beta right now as a hero prancing about Metropolis or a villain scheming in the dark recesses of Gotham’s Ace Chemical plant! Details inside.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm free trial now available
Blizzard have launched a ten day free trial of Cataclysm. If you have World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King then you’ll be able to upgrade your account and get a free look at the new content. You’ll need a level 78 character to start enjoying the new zones and quests the expansion offers. For more information, have a look at the FAQ site, or just head over to Battle.Net to activate your free trial. For a few reasons why you’ll want to check out World of Warcraft’s huge expansion, check out our World of Warcraft: Cataclysm review.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Review
It’s big. Oh god, it’s big.
World of Warcraft is the world’s most successful subscription MMO. Orcs and humans, fighting dragons. It’s four games welded into one vast whole: a multiplayer cooperative RPG in which you quest. A competitive fantasy team battleground game. A three-versus-three arena competitive ladder. And a 10- or 25-man dragon bashing cooperative raiding thing.
Together, those elements make for a deep and terrifyingly compulsive mix. The trouble was that to get anywhere in the latter three games, you had to go through the former.
80 levels of questing in WoW translates to around a month of fairly solid play. And pre-Cataclysm, that was a month of trawling through some of PC gaming’s most mindnumbingly boring tasks. Ferrying packages across continents. Crawling through shit to find excreted seeds. Massacring leopards en route to killing more leopards.
Vindictus – King of the Gnolls update out today [Giveaway]
Uncover the truth behind the Gnoll’s attack in Perilous Ruins with Vindictus’ newest update, King of the Gnolls. Featuring new dungeons, enemies, armors, skills, and a higher level cap, hop onto the unlocked fourth boat and sail off to the new lands.
Contest: See how you can win one of three Vindictus Polar Bear hoodies below!
Rift’s dynamic invasions [beta key giveaway]
In Rift: Planes of Telara, your world is under invasion by dimensional invaders who are systematically ripping holes in the space-time fabric around your planet. Not good, but it gets worse. If you and the other players don’t push in and close the rift (via a slick and co-op-able party quest), the interlopers will establish a foothold in the region, erect structures, terraform the land to resemble their plane, and send war parties at nearby towns that battle with local guards. If left to their own devices, the invaders will bring in a huge monster boss that marches toward the town, crushing everything in its wake (but offering incredible rewards for players that band together to defeat it).
Contest: Fifty beta keys are up for grabs; details at the end of the post.
Thighboned in Vindictus [Giveaway]
See this piece of ham? It’s about to be lodged down the throat of a dirty Kobold that’s squirming around on the ground in front of me. I could just use my sword or a spear but the sight of a giant thighbone smacking a Kobold is just so much more satisfying than pinning it up against a wall or slashing it apart. This is just one reason why I’m having fun playing in the beta of the free-to-play MMO, Vindictus.
Giveaway: Tell us in the comments what food, decorations, or random debris in a dungeon that you want to kill kobolds with and why. 50 winners will receive open beta keys for Vindictus. Winners will be selected tomorrow (September 30). Only residents in North America (see ‘Contest rules’ below) are eligible for this contest.
Free games for the long weekend [Giveaway]
Those of us in the United States have a three-day weekend coming up, and this isn’t one of those “family” holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. This is boring ol’ Labor Day, which, for gamers, means that we’re looking at a solid 72 hours of prime gaming time. But what about the gamer whose gaming collection has run low? How will they possibly fill the long weekend without new games to play? Don’t worry, as always, PC Gamer’s got your back. Here’s our roundup of games with free-to-play weekends, open betas, or recently launched free-to-play games to keep you interested. And if that’s not enough, we’re giving away five retail games to keep you gaming all weekend long and beyond!
Aion 2.0: Silentera Canyon survival guide
Here it is, the final installment to our guide through Assault on Balaurea, Aion’s upcoming free expansion. Within this tome, we’ll reveal the ins-and-outs of Silentera Canyon with selfless devotion to your survival; many Shugo died to bring us this information. Behold–the future.
Aion 2.0: Elyos Leveling Guide (53-55)
At long last, we guide the Elyos to level 55 in Aion’s September 7 free expansion, Assault on Balaurea. You’ve likely slain many beasts to get this far, but you’ve faced nothing so fearsome as what awaits in the Abyssal Splinter. If you’re clueless right now, maybe try the level 51-52 baby Elyos leveling guide first.
Aion 2.0: Asmodian Leveling Guide (53-55)
As our journey continues through Assault on Balaurea, Aion’s huge free expansion releasing on September 7, we take a look at levels 53-55 as an Asmodian. In this update, NCSoft hopes to alleviate many of the problems early adopters had with the game, like too much grinding and a distracting number of bugs. One thing’s for sure, no matter how user-friendly they make it, the blue guy with crystals coming out of his head will always want to kill you.
Aion 2.0: Elyos Leveling Guide (51-52)
Yesterday we took you on a tour of levels 51-52 in Aion’s upcoming free expansion, Assault on Balaurea, from an Asmodian‘s-eye-view. Today, it’s all about navigating those first treacherous two levels as the Elyos, and of course, we have new usually-friendly guides to lead the way.
EverQuest II launching free-to-play servers!
In a bold, unexpected move, SOE announced today that EverQuest II will be free-to-play…on some servers. It’s a bit confusing, so allow us to break it down for you. EQII’s existing subscription model will remain completely unchanged on existing servers, but in addition to them , SOE is launching new servers that will house an “EverQuest II Extended” version of the game that allows anyone to download the client and play through all of the content up through, and including, The Shadow Oddyssey expansion for free.
Join us for a free Need for Speed World beta key
We’ve got 5,000 beta keys to give away for EA’s new driving MMO: Need for Speed World. All you have to do to get one is become a member of our community – it’s free, open to all, and only takes a sec. You can then post on our forums, comment on articles, and if you’re one of the first 5,000, you’ll get access to the Need for Speed World beta. It runs from June 28 to June 30, so make sure you sign up by Monday. If you’re already a member of our community, you will of course get one too – but read on for an important requirement.
Update: The beta has now ended.
Global Agenda scraps the subscription
Hi-Rez studios announced today that they’re dropping the subscription model for its Tribes-esque online shooter, Global Agenda. Effective immediately, players can download and play Global Agenda up through level 15 with no money down. Players will still need to purchase a boxed copy of the game (conveniently currently on sale on Steam) to play the game beyond the trial, and optional paid expansions will be released going forward.
