NCSoft is reminding the gamers City of Heroes' machinima contest deadline is fast approaching, meaning you will want to be finalizing your works by now. Further details on the contest are available in the full article.

A third year anniversary of anything is usually a cause for celebration. That applies to the community of The Matrix Online, too. Sony Online Entertainment hase some goodies lined up for players of the game.

Unfortunately, this article is just an illusion, so we won't discuss it here. For more info, turn to the real article after the jump.

What do you get when you combine guns, swords and Matrix-like moves in a game set in a semi-steampunk world? You get GunZ: The Duel, a game that turns players into a pumped-up-to-the-max action star with a predilection for running along walls and without the subtle philosophical and environmental lessons you usually get from a Steven Seagal movie. Hit the "read more" link below for QJ.NET's review of GunZ: The Duel.

Originally posted on Feb. 15, 2008 at 1:13 p.m.

If you've been playing The Matrix Online and felt that you need to get your friends in on the action, then you might want to take advantage of this. Sony Online Entertainment has just announced The Matrix Online Buddy Rewards Program which will run from July 25 to August 31.

This event allows players the opportunity to invite up to five buddies to play the game for up to 14 consecutive days for free. The trial account buddy keys to be issued are only good until 11:59 PM Pacific Daylight Time on August 31.

Remember though that trial keys will only work for new accounts. Players need to make sure that the friends they refer do not have an existing account for The Matrix Online or an active Station Access account.

If any of your friends want to continue after the 14-day trial period, they can turn their trial account into an active subscription by simply entering a valid credit card or loading an official SOE game card onto the account. So start asking your friends if they want to take the "Red Pill" and get into the Matrix Online. More updates on this game as it happens.

A new study by Brunel University may open up new possibilities for exploration on virtual worlds. The study was conducted by Dr. Simon Bradford and Nic Crowe over a period of three years following the world of Runescape, one of the more popular online games.

The study focused on the individual and social development of players inside and outside the game. The game essentially becomes something like the Matrix, where people live in a virtual universe independent of what is "real."

The virtual world provides players with the opportunity to explore what they can't do in the real world.  Well, aside from killing monsters and casting spells. Players are able to practice their entrepreneurial skills in ways they won't be able to do in the real world. They are also able to experiment with different social roles and identities, allowing them to express characteristics that are inhibited in the real world.

The virtual world also provides settings and themes that they can't experience in real life, offering them unlimited play on their imagination.  And on that note, it also provides the means to go to settings they can experience in real life but can't. Like going to the beach in the winter, or to clubs if they live in a rough neighborhood in the real life.

Says the study: "At a time when emerging technologies such as the internet, and computer games in particular, continue to be subject to suspicion and concern it is important that we also recognize the benefits of what is an increasingly popular and important activity for our young people."

Amazingly, even while some players find it hard to find purpose in their class due to Blizzard's class 'hybridization' complex, many of the speccers and builders in World of Warcraft seem to have a penchant for mixing and matching classes in The Burning Crusade and the original WoW content.

 

Xdragonman of Zul'jin asked fellow players if they could combine two existing classes to identify those to classes and explain why. While games such as Dungeons & Dragons (especially those using the latest rules) allows players to "diversify" their class matrix, we couldn't see why a WoW player would want to blend their already-blended character into another one.

But true enough, some mixes of class do present interesting combinations, although a choice of skill specialization and your preferred gameplay would greatly define what you'd choose overall. Shamadins, Shadowlocks, Shalocks...heck, anything combined with Warlock basically including its opposite class, the Paladin are wishful choices for the hopeful PvPer.

But "hybridizing," as this blogger would coin it, might send your character back to concept classes from one other game - the motherlode, you might call it: Warcraft III. Let's be a little realistic here: combining hybrid classes to form new hybrid classes would probably end up something like what Wrathbringer of Mug'Thol suggested:

Rogue + Warlock = Demon Hunter
Priest + Hunter = Priestess of the Moon
Hunter + Warlock = Dark Ranger
Warrior + Hunter = Beastmaster
Warrior + Shaman = Far Seer
Paladin + Warlock = Death Knight

Sounds familiar?

The annual Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) Fan Faire has been announced and it will be taking place this August 2-4 at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas. Hosted by Sony to "allow gamers from around the world the chance to meet in person with other members of their online community," this even has recently opened its doors for registration.

Sony Online Entertainment's Director of Community Relations Alan Crosby spoke about this event saying:

Fan Faire is an example of SOE’s commitment to our dedicated and passionate fan base of players. A majority of this year’s attendees will have been actively playing our titles for many years and this event is a terrific opportunity to provide them with a 'thank you' in the form of a fun-filled and community-driven weekend experience.

Those who choose to attend this event will be very busy indeed. Gamers who visit will be able to attend a poolside party, the SOE player Hall of Fame inductions and ceremony, How-To forums, and a workshop for those who are interested in getting into the gaming industry. Other highlights of the event include getting an opportunity to meet development teams of a few popular online games.

This year's SOE Fan Faire will feature a variety of games including Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Star Wars Galaxies, The Matrix Online, EverQuest, EverQuest II, EverQuest Online Adventures, and PlanetSide. For those who want more info on Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, they will even be hosting the demo version of it for attendees to try out.

If this got your interest, you can head over to the SOE site via our read link to register for this event. This looks to be a very fun and casual event for online gamers who can make the trip to Las Vegas.

We had a feeling of deja vu while surfing the World of Warcraft forums today (and we thought something was getting changed in the Matrix). We found a number of players starting threads with nearly the same opening post (OP).

Actually, they have nearly exact OP save for: one from a player named Draena was griping over the Nether drake mount, the other was from Oddig and was about the Marshfang mount. The discussion was, as these kinds of discussions go, very anti-Blizzard. The players were complaining about the time restricted quests to get the said mounts (how many quests players can do per day and gaining reputation).

The question actually boils down to players thinking that Blizzard is making the World of Warcraft a time sink with every patch - reeling in casual players to play more than they can. They don't want the time restricted quests to control how much they play and when they want to play. Drysc addressed the concern:

The 'one-a-day' quests and turn-ins obviously restrict the amount of times those quests can be completed, and this affords us a few things as far as the rewards we can then provide. These quests are specifically designed for those players that maybe have a few hours a day, or less, to log in and play. With that short amount of time we can guarantee them a solid reward, or solid increment toward a reward, without needing to compensate for the type of player that has a lot of time to devote to simply grinding on them. This is due to limiting the amount of times it can be completed, and thus gearing it towards a more casual playstyle.

So the content is actually geared toward the casual player. The explanation got split reactions from players as some actually preferred to have quests that are time-restricted. Plus the time investment will be both for the hardcore and the casual players. With time restrictions, a player can't just grind all day and get the mount.

So what do you think? Would it be better to have no time restrictions at all? Or will the one-a-day quests take players one step closer to having a sort of equality between the hardcore and casual players?

We've heard of off-shore banks and virtual banking, but banking in a virtual world? Hmm, is that another step closer into the Matrix?

MindArk's Entropia Universe with it's Real Cash Economy is going to auction out five two-year virtual banking licenses for those who want to be the next virtual millionaire. What would it mean to set up a virtual Bank of America in Entropia? Well, the winning player will be able to conduct 27/7 banking service.

They can give out loans and collect interest, be involved with the design and naming of their virtual bank, use advertising opportunities, and draft their own bank staff.

Yet another interesting investment opportunity for Entropia players. Remember Deathifier's Treasure Island and NEVERDIE's planet resort? This new banking possibility might just take the cake for the most expensive virtual property.

Public bidding starts mid-January within the Entropia Universe.

Been having fun with Matrix Online for quite some time now, haven't you? Well, if you think you've had enough of Neo (or what's left of him) and the gang, and you can't put up with the game glitches you've been experiencing, think again podnah. The release notes for Update 48 have just been...errr...released, and they bring tons of changes AND fixes to improve your gameplay experience.

Aside from your traditional bug fixes and changes, the latest release notes says that the 6.2 storyline missions and cinematic are now available in-game. To get a gist of what these missions are, let's get it straight from Sony, shall we? "The Machines have placed Neo's partially assembled RSI in the Matrix for the edification of their redpill operatives. A remote location was chosen so as to cause minimal disturbance in the lives of those plugged in to the simulation."

However, you're gonna have to wait for the patch to go live before you can take on the first 6.2 critical mission. As for the remaining four missions, they will be made available on succeeding Thursdays (Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, and Dec. 14) at 1:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time (0900 hours GMT).

Tons more changes and fixes await in the release notes so if you wanna check 'em out, just head on to the game site which you can access by clicking on the read link below. We'll keep you posted for more.