Don't you find organizing your bag just a drag sometimes? Won't it be just nice if there was a mod that can automatically store items in it using the commands or system you want? Well, don't fret anymore because Sentinelum just developed the BagMan Mod for World of Warcraft.

So what can it do? Let us count the ways. It can compress stacks, collapsing all items so that they'll occupy the beginning slots or from the last ones. It can also move items to correct bags. For instance you can place all herbs in the "herbs" bag and so on. For those who just wants to clean up the whole bag, you can clear it of all items - no need to take them out one by one anymore. If you need them back, you can undo them as long as it was the last command you typed.

Sorting them by quality, type, etc. can make looking for that special potion faster. The downside is that since it's still in early beta state, it has no UI interface and operates on existing content and sorts them as you tell it to. Don't worry, as soon as we get an update for this mod, we'll get to it right away.

Download: [BagMan Mod]

Last time, we reported on how Aaron Ruby, book author and writer for Next Generation, was disappointed with the ESRB System. He now gives his personal suggestions on how the system could be more effective to the buying public and less controlled by the people in the U.S. Gov.

1. Make the rating systems transparent, clear, and more in tune with the kind of media it is assigned to rate. In the article, he suggests that there should be a simpler rating system instead of having 5 categories of violence. He's suggesting one with increasingly restrictive ratings.

2. Gameplay oriented rating methods. Last time, playing games before reviewing was presented as a viable suggestion, but some naysayers mentioned that going though WOW and EQII was impossible. Aaron recommends that the raters be allowed to access any part of the game under any kind of level. Cheat codes, level skipping, etc. would be useful under these circumstances.

3. Add technology to new-gen consoles/PCs that can restrict certain rated games from playing. The writer also complains that the three major next-gen consoles have not installed this parental control technology on their platform. He advices that the three giants focus more on cultural wars.

4. Institute a system of online privacy seals. Rather than just rate particular websites, the board should find a way to indicate games with online components to be privacy safe. This means that with all the hackers these days, most people can obtain personal info or can monitor online activity without your knowledge.

He ends his article by saying this: "To some a project like this may seem like rocket science, but in an industry chock full of rocket scientists, this is should hardly be an obstacle." Well, do you think all of his suggestions are feasible or is he just aiming for something unreachable? Do you have other recommendations? You can discuss it here by commenting below.

Worldwide MMORPGs just hit the decade-old mark. In 1996 Nexon Inc. developed the game Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds. It was a game based on Korean myth and graphic novels. The graphics is 2D, the player movement intense, storyline solid, and the art has anime influence all over it. New Korean MMORPGs mushroomed all over the country and has been successful ever since, largely due to dipping internet broadband prices and new advances in IT.

Ten years later, the CEO of the company - David Lee - gives his thoughts on how to make online gaming more appealing for the next decade:

Diversification of Genres - online gaming used to just mean MMORPG, but now there are online FPS, sports, and racing games. These games provide gamers with a wide variety of choices. It also allows people to socialize and create online relationships.

Mass Marketing - it would be beneficial to game developers and companies to help each other out. Attaching another well-known product's name to the game will help boost not only the popularity of the game but also sales.

Exploration of International Markets - although Korea may be considered as the country with the most online players in the world, the rest of the other Asian countries are coming up as well. He predicts that western countries like Europe and the US will be following suit. Exploring these markets with innovative games would be profitable to both the parties.

Platform Independence and Ubiquity - in the future, most gamers will play the same online games regardless where they are and what console or PC they're playing with. Game companies should develop games that can be played on most, if not all, the new gen consoles and PCs.

Lord of the Rings has come and gone, yet here's proof of its immense popularity. It is a game where everyone can be any of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadow of Angmar racial class and come from different parts of the world, and still enjoy a beer or two at the Prancing Pony. In the video, we'll see our heroic dwarf go through a town and meet the dwarvenfolk. Although most seem to be busy talking with each other. He then makes his ways to the woods and meets up with some of grizzlies. Naturally, he battles them in self-defense.

This won't be a walk in the park though--it's more like a gauntlet. Late in the footage, our hero goes up against a couple of bears. He seems to have some sort of enchantment on him as he can produce a white magical shield from out of nowhere. The fight scene is nice and crisp. Although most of the animation looks smooth and detailed, we do see some possible adjustments.

The graphics need a bit of rehashing. There will be a point in the video where you will see two bears apparently merging into each other. We don't know if that's supposed to happen but we didn't notice any kind of magic spell or effect before the merging. Was it all just a glitch? You'll have to check it out for your own. Download the video below.

Download: [Lord of the Rings Online: Shadow of Angmar Dwarven assault]

Aaron Ruby, the underground gaming culture's spokesperson, has a score to settle with the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The ESRB has been independently applying and enforcing ratings, ad guidelines, and online privacy since 1994. The writer stated in his opinion column that the system applied to rating games should be different from those currently applied to TV and Movies. How do they give out ratings anyway?

They read and watch. After filling out a questionnaire on what the game's about, the game developers submit it with a footage of the most extreme scenes from the game. The three trained raters (not expert game players--check their site, it's true) from the board then hands out the rating based on what they read from the form and see from the vids--this was the reason why Aaron was disappointed with the board.

According to the writer, "I find it alarming that the ESRB does not bother to base its ratings on the entire experience of playing a game, instead relying far too much on submitted clips..." He ends his piece saying that the Truth In Videogame Ratings Act (which we touched on a few days ago) is proof that the rating system has failed.

We see his point here, game developers may influence the rating by submitting footage they want the board to see. What's the alternative then? According to some people in the community, the board might as well play the game. They might not finish it 100% but it will give more info than just reading a piece of paper or watching some vids.

As gamers, we'd like to get know how you feel about the way the ESRB gives its ratings. If you don't agree with it, what would you suggest? If you do, how can it be improved? Feel free to comment below.

After the "third-party program" fracas, Square Enix updated a couple of jobs in Final Fantasy XI. There's a lot of additional skills and changes to the existing Samurai, Summoner, Dark Knight, and Dragoon lines. Let's take a look at what the major changes will be:

Samurai: They've modified this to be more support-friendly to the main jobs that uses two-handed weapons. This will encourage players to move on to other higher appointments.

Summoner: No more simultaneous Attack and Healing magic. Blood Pact has been split into 2 commands to allow other gamers to fit the correct tactic at the right time.

Dark Knight: TP absorbable amount is decreased so that players will be able to time the spell well.

Dragoon: This job will have faster recast Jump times (from five to three minutes) and able to apply Stoneskin to their Wyverns. We pity the monsters going up against characters with this job, a Dragoon that Jumps faster, riding on a well-armored steed.

Seeing the change list, it seems the company is improving, rather than limiting, the game to encourage real gamers (instead of bots) to take FFXI gaming seriously. It might take a bit of adjusting, but gamers are a flexible lot and will be able to create new and interesting ways to use (or abuse) the new abilities.

We've seen the Conan movie and one thing really bothered us. If you push a large wheel for a couple of years, will it make your body pump up like Arnold's? So far, we've been pushing like crazy and we're still nowhere near the guy's physique. Well, we guess we should just blame the screenwriter for that one and just focus on the Conan of today.

The big guy seems to be all over the 21st Century these days. Proof? Check these out: Funcom's Age of Conan-Hyborian Adventures MMORPG, Boaz Yakin Conan movie, and even a throne worthy of Conan-like buttness. Conan-mania ain't that far behind. Since we'll be dealing more with the game, here's the basic info below.

There are two game modes. The single player mode - where one can afford to level up their character without the thought of getting PK'd by one of the stronger PCs; and the MMORPG mode - they'll be exposed to not only possibly stronger monsters/players, but also join guilds and battle for territories. The game will be out December 2006.

So while we wait for the game to smash the MMORPG world, we'll be presenting you with some excellent concept art. These are rough sketches of what the game may look like.

The rest of the artworks await after the jump!

Don't be surprised if the people who beats you on online games seem to be getting younger and younger these days--because they really are!

The younger you are, the more chances that you're a gamer. According to the latest NPD Group Study, 45% of "Heavy Gamers" and 1/3 of "Avid Console Gamers" are between the ages of 6-17 debunking the assumption that most hardcore players are within the 18-34 age bracket. Regarding the Gaming Handhelds 1 in 3 are aged 18 to 44. In short, there are more younger hardcore players than thought of initially.

There were other surprising results gathered from the survey. The ladies have begun to play harder - 21% of the mentioned "Heavy Gamers" are females. This supports the report by Nintendo last GC, stating that 44% of the NDS sales came from the women side. It used to be "Hide all the women and children," now it's "Where's my little girl? She'll beat this big boss in minutes."

So should game developers and retailers focus mainly on the heavy gamers? According to Anita Frazier, they shouldn't as there are more broader and larger consumer base than the Heavy Gamers. Whatever your age, sex, or race is... just keep on playing.

If you were given NZ$ 140,000.00 what would you do? Dr. Gareth Schott of Waikato University's screen and media department, decided to run two video game clubs, but it's for researching purposes only. His objective is to observe teenagers in a natural environment (Yeah, a game club is as natural as you get for 13-year olds). His study mainly deals whether and to what degree, violent games negatively affect the young. According to the good doctor, this study will finally give young people a voice in the debate about violent games.

As part of researching, he'll be doing some interviews with gamers regarding their social lives in relation with the games they play, as well as the anti-violent game group members about why they hate these games so much. One of his main questions would be why teenagers are attracted to violent games. 

Maybe we can help Dr. Schott, we ask the teenagers out there: Why do you choose, interact with, and enjoy games with violence?

Ever seen those truckers use their Citizen Band Radio Service (CB) before? You'd hear them talk in weird languages and laugh all the time. They'd also give each other tips on where the heavy traffic locations are, so that the other truckers would be able to avoid them. Cool thing. Well, EVE Online, has something like that now, via-Vivox technology. It's a technology that delivers high quality and real-time  in-game voice communication. Now, your character doesn't have to die because your typing speed was too slow.

Although we reported that it's already being used in EVE Online and Fallen Earth, we'd like to delve further into how it's being used in the game. So far, almost all chat text-based channels have been overlaid with voice chat audio. Traditional chat functions like kick, ban, mute, un-mute are being voice implemented. One of the more creative gameplay applications so far is during fleet combats. Remember old Star Trek episodes where they needed to go on "radio silence" to not get noticed by the enemy? Yep, they do that here now. It's a way so that the enemy doesn't hear their plans.

Monty Sharma, Vivox's VP of Product Management and Marketing, also mentioned that they're planning to add voice font tools--it allows voice pitch and modulation. Therefore you should have the voice to match your avatar. Another thing they'd love to add is a player calling out from within the game from a virtual phone booth. The tentative date for voice font implementation will be around December, while the phone booth capability is still in the works.

How will this affect the overhead and how heavy will the patch be? It seems that there shouldn't be any additional overhead to the game on any broadband connected PC, once the voice font tools have been implemented. The patch should weigh in about 2MB to the game file base. In short, it shouldn't leave a dent to your gameplay and pockets. Wouldn't it be nice if EVE Online users have their own CB-like Slang? Like the idea? Nodamene? Forty two!