The Age of Reckoning is upon us! With the slow march of the Dark Elf army making its way to Ulthuan, EA Mythic has released some new screenshots featuring the targeted High Elven region of Saphery. Check out the beautiful screenshots of the highly contested zone in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning by clicking on the "read more" link below.

For those of us currently knee-deep defending Paragon City as our digital, spandex-clad selves in NCSoft's heroic MMORPG City of Heroes, here's another group of baddies we probably should keep an eye on, and it looks like they're an organization not to be tangled with easily. They're the group with the Greek duds and friendly, pleasant smiles on their faces, the Warriors!

Well, they're not really smiling all that pleasantly - it looks more like they're either suffering from a nasty bout of constipation, or they're just really, really vexed. But one thing's for sure - they mean business, with this particular villain group in City of Heroes proving to be one that's more than a match for our stalwart do-gooders, and even some of the do-badders.

So who - or what - are the Warriors? They're a violent street gang in the city of Paragon, operating mainly out of the Talos Island and Striga Isle zones. They're quite distinguishable from the usual folk and other nasty groups by their ornate bracers, their army fatigues, and most of all a red bandanna around their heads. Oh, and the signature smile with the pearly white teeth.

Besides committing the usual acts of crime and violence around the city, the Warriors also run an outfit of buying and selling magic artifacts on the side - much like a black market of mystical weapons. They also keep a very tight hold on their territory, with their street soldiers equipped from the standard fare of one-handed crossbows and swords to the not-so-standard fare of longbows, axes and maces.

And it doesn't stop there - rumor has it that those in the elite ranks of the Warriors have been imbued with magic, a by-product of their trading and selling of the mysterious artifacts. Not only does this boost their strength and affinity in close combat, but also makes them immune and resistant to all but the strongest magic. Care should be taken in tackling these brutes.

You have your work cut out for you, Hero. Paragon City needs your help in this time of need!

 

After being poetic about Aragorn and Arwen and telling you about the early access feature of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, we now receive word about the first update to LOTRO - Shores of Evendim. Slated to begin in June, LOTRO could start adventuring to the Shores of Evendim, which would be the first of many free updates to the game.

This lies about a 100 miles north of the Shire. This vast region is dominated by the "Lake of the Twilight" or Lake Nenuial. Aside from the vast body of water occupying Evendim, it was said that great wealth and powerful artifacts could be found on the ancient abandoned city of Annúminas. Located on the southern shore and is known as the former capital of kingdom of Arnor, Legends have said that wealth and artifacts abound the place - coupled with evil beings and the nefarious forces lurking in Angmar. Wealth and power comes at a price indeed. Key features include:

•  Discover the lands of Evendim
•  Explore over 60 new Quests
•  Raid in the Battle for Helegrod
•  Fight against 9 new monsters
•  Upgraded music system adds new instruments and lets you share your music with others
•  Equip collectible Armor Sets

Gandalf has asked for help in Aragorn's search of the ancient Evendim lands - specifically the ancient jewel that once belonged to the Sword of Elendil's hilt. Find the jewel, before Sauron finds it.

Hot off the press! Drunk pirate talks of precious booty in Realm of Torment! Jack Sparrow not amused! In a recent interview endorsed by the Order of Whispers, Guild War's intrepid correspondent, the Scribe, has uncovered information on this uncharted territory of Elona from an undead corsair who claims to have been to the land.

Undead pirate bares it all on Realm of Torment
In an exclusive interview with Captain Keg-leg Pete, it was discovered that the Realm of Torment may indeed exist, and the 'Cap speaks of gold and booty aplenty in its forbidding lands, just waiting to be collected by the next adventurer willing to brave the savage beasts that have shaken even the sealegs on the captain's crew. The Order of Whispers is fast seeking information on ways to reach this land - ways that do not involve drinking yourself into a stupor, passing out, and finding yourself in this land "in spirit."

Rare Elonioan Weapons Stolen!
This is in conjunction with the recent flooding of the Elonian market with rare weapons by unscrupulous vendors out to make a fast buck during these tense times. During a recent negotiation between Vabbian officials and the offending merchants regarding this recent market saturation, a fierce army of heket and harpy soldiers attacked the warehouses carrying these goods. With such a large number of these weapons now in the hands of those loyal to Abaddon, all citizens of Elonia are now being rallied to recover as many of these artifacts as they can.

Not all is bad news however, and the Scribe brings once again reports of random acts of kindness witnessed in these lands:

• Kodash Bazaar: Jene Ossa was spotted giving a lecture on trade contracts to the uninformed masses, ensuring that these innocents will be more aware in case the unscrupulous tries to draw them into an unfair trade deal.
• Tihark Orchard: Okibo Scythe Of Aia was smoothing relations for a young Elonian, saying that Prince Mehtu the Wise had a weakness for Mina, and that he showed an openness to anyone who also treated Mina with kindness.
• Champion's Dawn: Karl The Blade was seen offering his services for parties and quests, Grievous Accuratti was giving away free rare hammers, and Sunn Ryyu gave out free iboga petals to those who needed them.
• Rilohn Refuge: Lord Mevrick handed out a free water staff to an Elementalist who needed one

Yet another beta-stage world event is being planned for Archlord. Called "The Battle for Chantra", it's looking to be a race to find and kill four mysterious entities, as well a chance to swear allegiance to one of four distinct heroes of Chantra.

They haven't really revealed much about the event, and neither have they given a specific date for releasing this new world event. AD Liaison Manager Ulric did assure commenters that "the nature of this planned event will enable people from various timezones to attend," so anyone who can play the game right now will probably have a chance to join in the fun.

Currently, what can be assumed is that the four mysterious new enemies have legendary artifacts on them, which may just mean some sweet loot, if not a lot of experience. This new event also allows players to become loyal to one of four champions, which apparently means you get to interact directly with the Codemasters staff, as well as Ulric. The four champions are Ulric of Zylok, an evil warrior recruiting through fear, Ktat of Tulan, a power-hungry sorcerer hoping for greater strength, Rockett of Anchorville, a sneaky thief who has greater dreams than thieving, and Diggler of Terranoa, a scarred archer trying to take Chantra back.

Keep checking QJ for more on this new event as we get the info on it.

We're amazed we haven't covered this MMO yet; so again we have to thank bugga12 for telling us about this interesting MMO from Softstar.

In Dream of Mirror Online, the powers that create and destroy this world lie in the different sacred and powerful artifacts. One of the famous sacred objects is the Kunlun mirror that created two worlds - the real world, and the world that reflects everything in the real one.

Twelve Mirror Kings are responsible for the Kunlun Mirror world but something happened that made the Kunlun Mirror lose most of its functions, making it difficult to reflect everything in real world. The "delusions" created by human beings in the real world are causing so much chaos in the Kunlun Mirror world that odd life forms started appearing and unusual events started occurring, disrupting the normal operation of the mirror world.

The Mirror Kings (with some of them already missing because of the disruption) called upon real world human beings to enter the Kunlun Mirror and help the kings deal with the effects of these delusions. Dangerous monsters and ghosts have already popped up in this world which these humans (the players) will have to take care of.

There are several races from which players can choose their characters from: the Human race, the Shura race, the Soft Heaven race, and the Mirror race (also called Mirror kids). In-game characters can also have one of the several occupations available in the Kunlun Mirror: Swordsman, Saber fighter, Mercenary, Kungfu master, Taoist, Thief, Hunter, Doctor, Occult Master, Musician, Dancer, or Gu keeper (the most unknown occupation).

One aspect of the game that I find interesting is the human relationship system, which allows the players to develop relationships with community interactions. The five types of human relationships in the game include "relative", "disciple" (brother), "friend", "master", and "lover". Players of the game are actually saying that building relationships with other players is the most challenging aspect of the game.

Interesting, eh? If you want to experience the game hands-on, then go ahead and create your own character to take on the different missions the Mirror kings will give you in Dream of Mirror Online. Enjoy!