We just got wind of IGG's latest announcement for their MMORPG, Tales of Pirates: the coming of new expansions. Screenshots were released to accompany the announcement. The new expansions will let you experience a rebirth system for your character, participate in battles between the navy and the pirates, and get engagedin a marriage ceremony.

More information on the expansions after the jump!

Imagine this: two factions, having maintained an uneasy peace for fifty years, have now parted ways and abandoned a project that would have provided limitless, eco-friendly energy for an entire world. Now, a small handful of corporate capitalists have seized energy resources, acquiring huge fortunes and are holding the peoples of this world hostage, sucking up all the planet's resources for their own profits while impoverishing entire nations. While human needs are neglected, weapons manufacturers are doing a brisk business as most of the planet's resources are used to protect these corporate entities and their massive profits...

Sound familiar?

It should, if you have been to the Phillon planet, virtual world of the MMORPG, Space Cowboy Online. This 3D Space Shooter allows players to pilot their own fighter ships, known as "Gears." They have the option of upgrading their fighting skills as well as their gears. Unlike most MMO games, players have full control over their craft; there are four different kinds of ships available.

SCO combines features of First-Person Shooters with elements of Role Play. It's free to download and play. It doesn't appear to be a resource hog, either: recommended system requirements consist of a Pentium 4-1.7G,  512Mb RAM, 64MB hard drive space and an Nvidia GeForce4Ti accelerator VGA card, as well as a Headset.

The news today: Space Cowboy will open up a brand new server next Tuesday morning following regular weekly maintenance, called Trimus. All players will start on the new server at level 1, and there will not be any nation leaders on the new server until a brigade leader hits level 60. You can read a definition of the Leader System here. SCO is published by GPotato.

Space Cowboy will be opening up a brand new server, Trimus, on Tuesday morning after the regular weekly maintenance. All players will start on the new server at level 1, and there will not be any nation leaders on the new server until a brigade leader hits level 60, as defined in the Leader System.

If the "old west" is your thing this new MMO from Three Rings will give you plenty of reasons to yee-haw and have a good time! Visually, the characters in the game are somewhat reminiscent of recent anime characters like those found in the Cowboy Bebop series, but overall the game's backgrounds and themes look to be consistent with those found in other strategy-focused MMOs.

Being that the game is being billed as both turn based and real time strategy, players will get the best of both worlds. From the deep concentration necessary to plan an effective long term strategy, to the heated, fast-paced, reflexive instincts needed for effective real time combat this game covers both sides. 

In line with the massively multiplayer aspect of the game there is a focus on deep customizability. When dealing with Avatars, outfits and style of play, the player is given enough freedom to make his own reality. As a character ensconced in the world of the old west, Cowboys and Cowgirls must combine tactical strategy with quickness in order to avoid Buffalo stampedes, speeding trains and angry villains; all the while crossing the frontier in search of new territories to conquer.