The Wrath of the Lich King is almost upon us, people! In preparation for this, Blizzard has wrapped up the expansion's beta test. Patch 3.0.3 has also been launched, with changes to several classes. Hopefully this means a smooth launch for the World of Warcraft expansion next week.

Patch notes after the link.

If you want a chance to properly flex those superpowered muscles of yours in either City of Heroes or City of Villains, you might find it useful to find out all the latest changes made to the Training Room Server. As expected, a host of bug fixes and gameplay enhancements were sneaked into the latest build of the test server. Check out the full list in our full article after the jump.

Chart Track has just revealed that Grand Theft Auto 4  (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) is still holding strong at the top of the list of the software sales list. However, the second and third place slots on the list have been taken over by two newcomers. To find out more, head on over to the full article.

The patch notes for the Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa test servers have been released much to the delight of some members of the QJ.NET team. Apparently, NCsoft is getting into the holiday spirit and has placed Festive Seasonal Holiday Observance Flora in various locations.

Those more interested in gameplay changes will be happy to know that every character has had their skill points and attribute points reset. Want to see the full patch notes? Check out the full article.

The launch of Square Enix' Dragon Quest IV for the Nintendo DS headlines Media Create's latest software sales numbers for November 19 to November 25. Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 scores across the board, while Nintendo's Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games race to take a spot.

Runner-ups await at the full article!

The developers of Codemaster's Dungeons & Dragons Online have given word that they are already testing some of the new features that they plan on adding in Module 6. While Module 5 focused more on game balance and bug fixes, this latest update adds more gameplay features such as a higher level cap, more spells, and new feats.

Players will be happy to know that the level cap has been increased to 16. This move opens up new spells such as Polar Ray, Sunburst, Horrid Wilting, Otto's Irresistible Dance, Greater Shout, Summon Monster VIII, Trap the Soul and Charm Monster for Wizards and Sorcerers. In addition, Clerics will now get both Mass Cure Critical Wounds and Mass Inflict Critical Wounds.

New feats have also been added to the game such as Force of Personality (Prq: Cha 13) which allows users to use the highest modifier from either the charisma or wisdom stats for Will saves and Insightful Reflexes (Prq: Int 13) which automatically chooses the higher modifier from both intelligence and dexterity when making a reflex save.

It looks like Codemasters plans to add a lot of changes to the MMORPG with Module 6. Hopefully, most of the planned additions make it into game since a lot of the features will undoubtedly be appreciated by the Dungeons & Dragons Online community.

The full Dungeons & Dragons Online patch notes can be found in the Full Article!

 

While the world was still reeling from the shock of the horrible tragedy that is the V-Tech shootings, a formal investigation into the murderer's background - as well as what could have been done, and what should be done to prevent anything like this from happening again - was launched, and has recently concluded. Its findings, which should provide at the very least, solace to the bereaved, also provide an answer to a question that the videogame community (as well as the rest of the world) had been asking: was violence in videogames a factor in Seung Hui Cho's outburst?

The answer is a resounding 'no'.

This comes directly from the full report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel, spearheaded by none other than Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, with the actual material hosted on his official website. Excerpts that best convey this affirmation presented as is:

Sun and her parents recall that Cho seemed to be doing better. He was enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do program for awhile, watched TV, and played video games like Sonic the Hedgehog. None of the video games were war games or had violent themes. He liked basketball and had a collection of figurines and remote controlled cars.

Years later when he was in high school, Cho was asked to write about his hobbies and interests. He wrote:

I like to listen to talk shows and alternative stations, and I like action movies…My favorite movie is X-Men, favorite actor is Nicolas Cage, favorite book is Night Over Water, favorite band is U2, favorite sport is basketball, favorite team is Portland Trailblazers, favorite food is pizza, and favorite color is green.

Cho’s roommate never saw him play video games. He would get movies from the library and watch them on his laptop. The roommate never saw what they were, but they always seemed dark.

With various critics of videogames such as Dr. Phil and Jack Thompson pointing to videogames as a major influence in the V-tech killings before the findings themselves were published, it's certainly interesting to find out just what the reaction of the masses will be, now that these results have come to the public light. We'll be here to update you on developments as they happen, and you can let us know what you think by your comments below.

After getting a glimpse of Tabula Rasa's weapons and equipment, it's high time to meet the creatures who'll most likely be the unwilling victims of your target practice. We've heard about them in the past, but seeing what they actually look like would help us strategize when we enter the world of Tabula Rasa.

They're quite a mean bunch, but you'd have to watch out for Light Benders who happen to be the Bane's stealth units. Be careful when you go deep in the forests of Foreas as this is where the tree-dwelling carnivourous predator called The Lurker lives. The Warnet and the Xanx may look a tad like your favorite seafood, but that doesn't mean they're not lethal. Warnet are flying creatures, while Xanx are agressive parasitical arachnid who's has nothing else in mind but to defend their nests.

Rounding up the creatures list are the following:

• Howler - as the name suggests, these creatures use energy to propel their voice, which empowers the Bane forces, but at the same time causing terror to enemy forces.
• Flare Gasher  - cracks its prey's hardened shells using extremely high-pitched sonic attack.
• Maw - a worm that disguises as a large bush/flower when it hunts its prey
• Amoeboid - vomits a ball of slime that jams weapons used by its enemies
• Penal Robots of Ariek - ordered to maintain discipline in the penal colonies on Ariekie; self-repairing
• Brann - came from a once-thriving society destroyed by the Bane.

   

 
More creatures await after the jump!

We've previously introduced to you guys the London Games Festival, we've told you what it's designed for, what it's about, the goals of the thing, and so on, but now that the event is getting closer, we think that we better start giving you guys some more details regarding the London event. Here's just some of the public events that attendees can look forward to as the First London Games Festival opens its doors to guests by October 2.

October 5 to 7, HMV Games Showcase, 12:00-6:00pm
HMV - Oxford Circus 150 Oxford Street, London Z1D 1DJ
The London Games Festival 2006 kicks off here. This stage of the event will bring together well-known figures from the world of video games throughout the week and the event will feature celebrities (gaming and real world celebrities) competing against each other in a series of high profile tournaments, with the winners crowned the kings of the gaming world.

October 2 to October 7, at HMV main stage, Oxford Street, 7:00-9:30pm
October 3, Lizard's Lair, Visit London 2 More London, Riverside, London SE1 2RR
This event is free but it requires you to pre-register. The Lizard's Lair is open to anyone who has a great idea for a video game and wants the chance to pitch it to the top people in the industry. So if you want to sell your idea to people from Eidos or other such developers, this is the place to be.

October 5, The BAFTA Video Games Awards, 6:30pm-1:00am
The Roundhouse Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8EH
The special thing about this event is that this is the first time that the winners of the Video Game Categories will get to sit side by side with the winners of more socially-recognized events. A definite elevation of status in the field of electronic entertainment don't you think?

October 6 to October 8, World Series of Video Games, 10:00am-10:00pm
London Trocadero 7 - 14 Coventry Street, London, W1D 7DH
Free if you've registered, otherwise a fee of £1 will be charged at the door. The event basically features professional gaming tournaments in Counter-Strike 1.6, Quake 4 and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne. Attendees of the event can compete in these tournaments or watch the world's best gamers as they battle for over £40,000 in cash and prizes.

November 25, Video Games Live, 6:00pm-12:00am
Hammersmith Apollo Queen Caroline Street, W6 9QH
The event is all about Video Games Live coming to London to provide stunning orchestral and choir renditions of some of the most memorable and popular tunes in gaming, which highlights how games have embedded itself in our art and culture. Many of the classic tunes from gaming’s past and present are featured, including themes from Sonic, Mario, Zelda, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy and God of War. With over 50 different games included, it promises to be a musical night you will never forget.

Dungeons and Dragons Online have just posted the new updates on their database which include new and updated items and enhancements. They have thrown in updated spells as well, including Holy, Anarchic, Ghost Touch, and Axiomatic. See, if there's one thing that players can't complain about DDO, it's their sensitivity to their gamers need to be constantly updated about changes in the game. So, enough with this intro already, let us present to you the full list of new items and enhancements in DDO along with their updated counterparts:

New Items:

 +2 Chainmail of Lesser Acid Resistance 
- +2 Chainmail of Lesser Cold Resistance
- +2 Chainmail of Lesser Fire Resistance 
- +2 Chainmail of Lesser Lightning Resistance
- +2 Chainmail of Lesser Sonic Resistance 
- Choker of the Silver Tongue

The complete list awaits after the jump!