Getting to pre-order your copy of Hellgate: London might be trickier for some of you. Not all regions will be having the same kind of bonuses as others would. For one, the Collector's Edition for the game will not be available for the whole of Europe. Those who want to score the bag of goodies included in the Collector's Edition (e.g. the soundtrack, extra artwork, a graphic novel, etc.) are advised to import their copy of the game from the US.

Meanwhile, pre-orders for the regular edition are well underway. Pre-ordering your copy gives you access to some in-game goodies: Dye Kits, Founders Offer, etc. Different countries will have different video game retailers participating in the pre-order campaign. Here's a full list of regions and their participating retailer(s):

• Germany - Gamestop
• Switzerland - World of Games
• Poland - Gram.pl and Ultima
• Finland - Tilt
• Sweden - GAME, EB Games/Gamestop
• Norway - GAME, EB Games/Gamestop
• Denmark - GAME, EB Games/Gamestop

Unfortunately for the UK, no retailers will be participating in the promotion. Yes, you can still pre-order the game (via HMV, Play, Amazon, or Game) but you won't be able to get the Dye Kit offer.

Not seeing much EB Games stores lately? That would be because it appears as though the merge of EB Games and GameStop sealed in 2005 is finally closing up all loose ties for good. Gaming Target reports that in Rochester, NY, two more branches of EB Games have been renamed to GameStop as of last week.

Although the merge happened two years back, both companies still retained their individual identities - until today, that is. Since GameStop acquired EB Games, the latter has been slowly assimilated into the GameStop profile, and today, it seems that the makeover is drawing its completion. Official announcements on the matter have yet to be given by the companies involved, but you yourself can check that EB Games stores have been silently "disappearing" from neighborhoods, and are instead replaced with GameStop stores.

But while EB Games will be sorely missed, we can only wish for good things to come out of this change. We'll be sure to keep you posted on more updates.

The WoW Online Store showing the irksome "Out of Stock" sign? Unable to pre-order The Burning Crusade?

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will fire up on launch date with Blizzard devs visiting four California retailers to autograph copies of the expansion. The stores will be open at midnight and line-up starts at 6:00 AM PCT, January 15 at each store simultaneously. It seems that the guys at Blizzard really enjoy midnight parties. Here's the list:

• Fry's Fountain Valley - 10800 Kalama River Ave, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
• Fry's Anaheim - 3370 E. La Palma Ave, Anaheim, CA 92806
• Fry's Sunnyvale - 1077 E. Arques Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94085
• Universal Citywalk Gamestop/EB Games - 1000 Universal Studios Blvd (Cross Street: Buddy Holly Drive), Universal City, CA 91608

Copies are limited, so sales will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Early birds receive wristbands along with the signed copies. The Fry's branches get 4500 copies each, while the Gamestop/EB Games store only get 1500.

But don't fret, non-CA residents, other retail stores will also be opening at midnight on launch date. You can check the websites of BestBuy, EBGames, and Gamestop for the full list of stores.

Well folks, GameStop is also doing its best to be one of the Power Rangers of gaming safety and responsibility. They've recently come out with their own campaign to educate parents about the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and their ratings for games.

Their campaign, known as "Respect the Ratings", is comprised of in-store and online information dispersal. GameStop and its companion company EB Games are putting up ESRB ratings info in their stores for parents to take a look at when they're shopping for the holidays. In the online sector, they've created respectthreratings.com, which also tries to explain the ratings system and responsible gaming in layman's terms by breaking down each category and explaining it, as well as offering additional resources for concerned parents.

Best of all, because of their Power Rangers team-up and some good press, the ESRB has also made public service announcements for TV viewers to see, which even has GameStop and Best Buy presidents Steve Morgan and Brian Dunn in them. With a polite request from GamePolitics, the ESRB has hosted the ads on YouTube for everyone to watch at their leisure. Enjoy the vids!

One more ad after the jump!

A few days ago, GameStop and EB Games have started taking pre-orders for Codemaster's much awaited fantasy-themed MMORPG, ArchLord. Codemasters is banking on man's eternal thirst for world domination to make the game appealing to gamers who can't simply tear themselves away from World of Warcraft or Guild Wars.

We know by now that the ArchLord will feature diverse character types with eight different classifications. There's enough options for players to create a unique identity for their chosen characters - Knight, Archer, Mage, Berzeker, Hunter, Sorcerer, Ranger and Elementalist. Throughout the game, these characters will grow and adapt to changes while they compete with each other to become the supreme ruler of world.

We're lucky to get a screenshot of ArchLord's Chantra Shop menu, and we're sharing it to you as it will definitely help you plan out your world domination strategies.

As you can see, the items available for purchase are just the right stuff to add to your arsenal. We're actually looking forward to getting that Resurrection Orb and Extra-Large Defense Potion. We reckon that if we want to rule the world, we'd have to focus more on things that would keep us alive long enough.

The MMORPG, ArchLord, has been one of the most awaited games around and to quench the thirst of the gaming community, Codemaster has announced that Pre-Order Packs of the game are now available at GameStop and EB Games. This pre-order pack can be purchased and downloaded online at the GameStop website. Aside from that, some of the people behind the game has been answering some questions about it and had been shedding light about how the game was conceived, where is it gonna go, and what could be in store for all of us. One of those people is Dae Hwan Kim -- head of ArchLord's design team.

The Chief Designer gamely shared about the rich and vast characters that players could choose from. He says that every character has its strengths and flaws. "Human is the first race to learn to use fire, and as a result were the first race that were able to learn to use iron...They have the highest defense power of all the races. The Orcs talents lie with the Earth. They are also blessed, or cursed, with a strong desire to win. This means that they have a higher tendency to attack than all the other races. Moon Elfs have a great ability to control water, but due to their background they also have strong abilities in all the other elements. Their main strengths lie in magic and summoning as a result of which their magic skills are set higher than other races."

It was also surprising to note that Dae Hwan Kim mentioned that "in fact almost 80% of ArchLord is solo play. The rest is made of group play in the form of quests, raid bosses and guild related adventures." On the other hand, PvP gameplay will be focused around guild vs. guild battles.

For now, they have decided that players won't be able to customize their UI. As for character accessories, "weapons and armor suits are divided into normal/rare/unique and can be obtained from the world in this order of difficulty. In order to fully make the most of the gaming experience players are going to have to strive to obtain the best weapons and amour as they play through the game."

He also divulged that "beta numbers are going very well and we are already oversubscribed hugely! The BETA will commence in August and we urge gamers to sign up asap to avoid disappointment."

You can check out what else Dae Hwan Kim has to say about ArchLord by clicking the link below.

Finally! Light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not New Jersey - it's the long awaited release of Codemaster's MMORPG, ArchLord. No, it hasn't actually come out yet, but the publisher has announced that Pre-Order Packs are now available at GameStop and EB Games. This preorder pack can be purchased and downloaded online at  the GameStop website.

Those of you who demonstrate an early interest in the game will be rewarded. The preorder pack contains a number of exclusive and very cool game-related items, which include a special key for obtaining one of four exclusive in-game objects, stickers, cool art postcards and an exclusive soundtrack CD of music from the game.

This offer is available in North America only, at the moment.  However, European gamers should not despair; details of the European pre-order campaign are currently in the process of being finalized, so hopefully, it will just be matter of a few days.

Codemaster's ArchLord takes place on the mythical world of Chantra where humans, Moon-Elves and Orcs vie for dominance. Three races and eight classes promises a great deal of variety. The graphics are described as "lush," and the game features a  "soft, sensual soundtrack brilliantly scored by the London Symphony Orchestra" (which by itself be reason enough to pick this one up). The game will accommodate both PvP fans and solo players.