Aion’s Open Beta Test featuring version 1.5 will take place September 6 – 13 and will include numerous Western enhancements, including improvements to Aion’s innovative character customization with a host of Western styles, as well as new zones, instances, skills, quests and continued game balancing and improvements. Open Beta will retain a level cap for both Elyos and Asmodians characters at 30 allowing players to focus on getting to the same level so they can explore the lands of Atreia together, as well as the Abyss.

Aion CBT to OBT Client Patch
Filename: Aion_CBT_OBT_installer.zip
Size: 3,075.1 MB

Aion Game Client
Filename: AionFullInstaller-FP.zip
Size: 9,325.1 MB

The above download links will take you to the corresponding Fileplanet download page.

Today, NCsoft, the world’s premier publisher and developer of MMOs, confirmed that Aion has been released to manufacturing. Aion is the highly anticipated game that has already taken Asia by storm and has quickly become one of the world’s largest MMO franchises ahead of its release in North America on September 22nd.

In advance of the game’s launch, Aion will be showcased at both GamesCom 2009 in Cologne, Germany, as well as the Penny Arcade Expo 2009 in Seattle, Washington. Both events will feature exclusive hands-on access to the 1.5 version of the game, which has yet to be unveiled to Western audiences. This version of the game introduces numerous enhancements, including continued improvements to Aion’s innovative character customization that will now include a host of Western styles, as well as new zones, instances, skills, quests and continued game balancing and improvements.

Aion has already built major momentum among gamers across Europe and North America, with more than three million hours of gameplay logged in the game’s closed best testing alone. Additionally, the Limited Collector’s Edition version of the game is nearly sold out in retailers, and Aion is currently on the best-seller lists for PC games weeks ahead of the game’s launch. Aion is available for pre-order from several participating online and brick-and-mortar retailers, including Aiononline.com, Amazon, Best Buy, EB Games Canada, Fry’s Electronics, GameStop, Steam and Target.

Unlike any MMO before it, Aion is a uniquely crafted online experience where flight offers much more than just a way to explore the landscape – it is a strategic and integral part of combat, quests, and exploration. Players will dive into battle and plunge through thousands of unique, story-driven quests, all while trying to save a world literally shattered in half from centuries of brutal conflict. Using one of the most flexible and in-depth character customization systems ever featured in an MMO, players will be able to create genuinely distinct characters and explore a visually stunning world of ethereal beauty brimming with otherworldly inhabitants, mysterious enemies, and ancient secrets.

For more information about Aion go to http://www.aiononline.com.

Updates to America’s Army 3 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

* Removed apparent lag caused by other players entering or leaving a server
* Improved start of round spawn issues
* Resolved problem with training results not saving
* Improved communication with Authentication server
* Eliminated freezing up when moving from one training mission to another
* Cleared up hesitation during training missions
* Significantly reduce number of authentication transactions between player and Authentication server
* Solved achievements save and display problems
* Improved Login communication with Authentication server
* Improved player statistics tracking for better accuracy
* Improved overall performance

Steam News Link

Click here to view the embedded video.

In America’s Army 3, Every Detail Counts and as a result, the game has more authentic military elements including training, technology, weapons, and audio than any other military game. Built on Unreal Engine 3, AA3 delivers stunningly realistic environments, lighting effects, animations, and team-based experiences so that America’s Army players can experience how Soldiers train, live, and advance in the Army. Players are bound by Rules of Engagement (ROE) and gain experience as they navigate challenges in team-based, multiplayer, force-on-force operations. In the game, a player’s actions and demonstrated Army values are integral to successful mission accomplishment and affect a player’s career progression.

The game is launching with five different environments, each with three different mission scenario options for a total of 15 different map/mission combinations. Initially, the core of the gameplay focuses on an Infantry Soldier (11B). Players first complete Basic Combat Training and then progress to Advanced Individual Training for a variety of specialized roles that the Infantry Soldier performs, such as Advanced Rifleman, Automatic Rifleman, Squad Designated Marksman, and Grenadier. This advanced training allows players to unlock new abilities and gear, customize their gear and equipment loads, increase their in-game skill level, and progress in their Army careers.

Click here for additional details on America’s Army 3.0.

Download America’s Army 3.0 FREE on Steam or get the download via BIG Download.

After months of financial statement teases and the initial reveal in an issue of Game Informer, Activision has officially released the first details of Guitar Hero 4, now known as Guitar Hero: World Tour. The game will be available this Fall on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. The same development teams that created Guitar Hero III are back on board with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions being developed by Neversoft, while Vicarious Visions is creating the Wii version and Budcat is bringing it to the PS2.

Guitar Hero: World Tour looks to be the beginning of a completely era for the Guitar Hero series. As was revealed by Game Informer, World Tour will feature a drumkit and microphone along with the Music Studio track editor and an eight-player Battle of the Bands mode. Any song created in the Music Studio can be shared with other gamers through the game’s online database GHTunes.

Other gameplay options will include a four-player “full band” mode (that can be played both online and locally) and singleplayer Career mode that can be played with any instrument. ..

Activision is saying that World Tour will feature the largest number of tracks in a music game ever. As of now, four bands have been confirmed to have a place in World Tour: Van Halen, Linkin Park, The Eagles and Sublime. And all of the songs will be master tracks; there will be no covers on Guitar Hero: World Tour. The game will also offer “significantly more localized downloadable music than ever before on all of the next-generation consoles.” So while it’s vaguely worded, it sounds like downloadable tracks are coming to the Wii as well as the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Finally, Activision has announced that the guitar controller will once again be redesigned, this time becoming “slick” and “more responsive.”

Source

In a single word, bitchin’.

A lot of gamers would know Uwe Boll. He’s the guy who directed several movie adaptations for video games such as House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark. He’s also the brains behind the new Far Cry movie.

Despite his long history in making movie adaptations of video games though, Boll doesn’t seem to be Blizzard’s prime choice for making the World of Warcraft movie. In fact, as MTV reports, they practically laughed at him when he offered to do so.

Boll recently got into contact with Paul Sams of Blizzard to make the movie. Boll relates the reply he got was a flat-out denial:

We will not sell the movie rights, not to you…especially not to you. Because it’s such a big online game success, maybe a bad movie would destroy that ongoing income, what the company has with it.

Source

Thank goodness Uwe Boll won’t get his hands on this popular game to make a movie. It’s been a good six or seven months, I’d say, since I pulled myself from the clutches of WoW (although I still have my level 70 toon just in case…), but still, if it was made into a movie, I’d prefer it be made into a good one. Blood Rayne was a serious letdown.

For all the Uwe Boll haters, the comment “not to you… especially not to you” has to be extremely humorous and rewarding. However, it is hard to dislike someone too much that doesn’t seem to mind putting that out there. I have to, at least, hand him that.