OGPlanet is known for its free-to-play games, and as of this week, there's another one on the table.

OGPlanet announced the launch of Lunia Chronicles on Tuesday. Lunia Chronicles is the story of the different races on the continent of Rodesia and their conflicts. Players can download the game and explore several different characters including Lime the Fighting Slime, friend and companion to Eir the Healing Princess. The official site carries a nice overview of the game's story and character histories, as well as tutorials on combat strategy and keyboard controls.

To get people playing and help celebrate the launch of their newest game, OGPlanet is offering up a nice incentive for those who check the game out. They're holding a 30-day launch event to celebrate. Players need to download the game and play to level 50 by December 16th (Yes, THIS December 16th), and they'll be entered in a drawing for a Dell XPS gaming laptop.

Well, it's a possibility, at any rate. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, was officially released November 10th with what the LA Times described as a "Hollywood-scale launch". The launch expenses turned out to be money well spent, as the game had generated $550 million in sales as of last Saturday. Fans lined up days in advance to pick up their copy of Modern Warfare 2, complete with free night vision goggles.

While this was all very nice for Activision Blizzard, it was the end of the article that really got MMO fans interested: "One person close to the company said it also was considering adapting Call of Duty as a massively multi-player online world. The genre, in which Activision's Blizzard Entertainment subsidiary is a leader, requires huge upfront investments but can be very profitable as players pay a monthly subscription fee."

The possibility of a Call of Duty MMO is an exciting one for a very large group of gamers, and Blizzard is certain to be aware of that. We will definitely be keeping an eye out at Massively for more news on this possibility.

[Thanks Abel!]

Darkfall is among the most specialized niche titles available now, but like many niche titles it fills a void that just can't be simulated anywhere else. That void might be confined to a certain frequently-reviled but very vocal sort of player, but it's still there. And if the promise of bonuses for recruiting new meat for the grinder wasn't enticing enough, fans of the game have even more to be happy about now -- the game's next free expansion is slated to release late next week according to an official developer post.

Conquer the Seas was originally slated to be released a bit sooner, but as developer Tasos explains, the expansion contains a larger number of bug fixes and minor updates than they had originally intended. It's a good sign that Aventurine is willing to take the extra time for development to produce something better in the end, and Darkfall players certainly should enjoy the new update. If you don't play the game... well, did we mention that any friends you have that do play can get some extra cash if you sign up? Just try not to read too much into the look of glee on their face at the time.

You've taken part in the endless debates online about pirates versus ninjas. Admit it, you have. Well, add cowboys, knights, wizards, and nurses into the mix, and you're nine-tenths of the way to Lost Saga, a new game launched by OGPlanet. Billed as a massively multiplayer online fighting game, it features a variety of different gameplay modes and "heroes" that combine for what looks like an entertaining and frantic experience. Character types run the gamut, from soldiers to assassins to (you guessed it) pirates and ninjas, each bringing a small collection of different abilities to the table.

It might sound a bit simplistic, but there are some interesting features such as the option to change heroes mid-battle -- in essence a quick class change whenever needed. The game also features some interesting battle modes beyond the prosaic Deathmatch style, such as Boss Raid, which allows one player to take the reins of an intensely powerful boss while the other players struggle to take said player down. And let's not forget that the game is also free-to-play, so you can satisfy your curiosity without commitment. Lost Saga won't revolutionize the industry, but it looks to be quite a bit of fun, so you might want to check out the official site for more information and to sign up.

The latest expansion for EverQuest II, EverQuest II: Sentinel's Fate, is slated for release in February both digitally and in retail, but why wait until then to pick up your copy? No, far better to pre-order the expansion and be ready for the day it launches -- which, not coincidentally, is now an option. There are both Regular and Collector editions available, as is the standard for MMOs these days, and each one comes with its own little bonuses as well as the usual little extras for ordering ahead of time.

Sentinel's Fate promises to be a broad expansion for everyone playing EverQuest II, offering a level cap of 90, several hundred new quests, new dungeons, and new alternate advancement systems for characters. If you're a dedicated player of the game, they probably had you at "EQII expansion," but the expansion also looks to be the perfect point for new players to jump in and start getting involved in the world of Norrath. Take a look at the full list of the expansion's features, go ahead and pre-order, and get ready for February to be booked solid.

Atlantica Online just celebrated its first year in the US, but the free-to-play game apparently had another trick up its sleeve -- namely, allowing players interested in the game a chance to get in and start playing even faster. After all, it can be obnoxious to download a client and wait for it to patch through updates when you just want to dive in and get to playing. Ndoors Interactive has just launched the game's lite client, a way for a smaller initial download to let you start playing the game as fast as possible.

The new client's trick is to only frontload the first twenty levels of play while downloading the rest via background processes. This allows new players to log in and start playing their character faster, but it can cause issues for existing players who might be at a higher level (and the press release specifically suggests avoiding the lite client if that's the case). For everyone who hasn't started the game, it's an interesting way to make the startup more accessible and significantly faster. Consider taking a look over the weekend, and possibly getting in on some of the one year celebration goodies Atlantica Online has to offer.

Linden Lab, the company behind the Second Life platform is launching the open beta of Project Nebraska today. Project Nebraska was the working title for what is now called Second Life Enterprise, a standalone Second Life solution for enterprise use.

This "Second Life in a box" solution, is actually in two boxes. It consists of a combined software and hardware bundle, including two 1RU rack-mount servers, prepackaged as an appliance and configured to provide virtual environment and voice services, ready to use with standard Second Life viewer software.

But that's not all.

Are you excited about Alganon? Excited enough, perhaps, that you might have chosen to take a couple days off from work in anticipation of its scheduled launch on October 31st? If so, we've got some kind of bad news for you. It's not coming out then after all. As a matter of fact, it isn't going to release until December 1st, according to community manager Tork at the official site.

What's the reason for the delay? The official post is shy of concrete reasons, but it mentions that the decision was reached in order to test on a larger scale as well as refine the game further. It also mentions that they're looking forward to running more contests and improving their visibility -- both excellent aims. Community response has been surprisingly positive and moderate, which might be a good sign in advance. If you are one of the people who pre-ordered, however, the announcement isn't just bad news -- everyone who pre-ordered the game by October 31st will get a free month in compensation. Actually playing Alganon will have to wait for a little while, but an extra month certainly helps take the edge off.

IGG Inc., source of several free-to-play games, is gearing up for the alpha test of its upcoming browser-based RTS/RPG game Heroes of Bestia, and it's giving fans a chance to take part in the alpha. Certainly sounds exciting... but that reaction might cool a bit when it becomes clear that in order to get in on said alpha test, they want you to spam forums. The alpha test officially begins on October 26th, and in order to receive a pass into the game, "all you have to do is simply post a thread in another forum (except the IGG forums)." Make three posts, and you get your access.

To be fair, the offer specifically states that any posts violating the rules of the forum in question will be grounds for immediate disqualification, but this is still something of a dodgy advertising tactic. It's not exactly without precedent, however, and judging the entire game on those merits would be rather unfair, wouldn't it? Take a look at the official forums, and if it looks interesting, you still have some time to be eligible for your slot in the upcoming alpha test.

Cryptic Studios unveiled Star Trek Online over a year ago, and since then we've had lots of questions. One of the foremost is the same with any highly anticipated game: When? The answer we've been waiting for is finally here: Craig Zinkievich, Star Trek Online's executive producer, confirmed the news to Videogamer.com. "Without giving you the date, which I'm not allowed to give out or else the marketing people will come and smack me in the back of the head, I can tell you that the game will be out the first quarter of 2010."

Possibly risking that smack on the back of the head anyway, Zinkievich went on to give a little more information, mentioning the closed beta. "The closed beta is really just right around the corner. I think that there's a press release that's going to go out in just a couple of days."

We're just as excited as you are, so we'll be keeping a very close eye out for that announcement.

European Lord of the Rings Online fans are anxious to get their hands on Siege of Mirkwood, especially after Codemasters told them about the great pre-order deals being offered. Players who purchase the expansion will receive the Harbinger's Cloak, and players purchasing the expansion and the Adventurer's Pack add-on will receive the cloak and an extra mount. So they've heard the story of Mirkwood, seen the screenshots, watched the trailer, been offered some extra items with their purchase and are just left with the big question: when?

Sam "Satine" Russell, the Director of Community Relations for Codemasters, answered that question recently when she commented that Siege of Mirkwood "is currently tracking 3rd December for launch", two days after the scheduled December 1st release date for Mirkwood in North America.

It's important to note the phrasing "currently tracking", meaning that this isn't an engraved-in-stone date. However, that date isn't too far off, so we feel pretty good about Satine's statement. We also feel pretty anxious to get our hands on Siege of Mirkwood, so it's great to have some dates to look forward to!

Have you ever felt like a game or expansion is languishing forever in beta? Soul of the Ultimate Nation, the upcoming free-to-play MMORPG from developer WEBZEN, has an interesting approach to this particular problem -- they're running a short beta. A very short beta. A beta so short that it's easy to miss it until it's almost over. A three-day beta, specifically.

That might sound like a recipe for disaster, but it might not be. According to the official press release, the game has already been running for quite some time in Asia, and the beta is primarily for the global version of the game which is going live at the end of the month. In order to appeal to more players, the developers are giving away free items to players who take part in the beta test, including those which are normally part of the game's microtransaction system. If you're interested in checking out Soul of the Ultimate Nation and want to get your hands on these items, of course, you'd better hurry -- the beta is ending October 16th, with the global version officially launching at the end of October.

With the launch of the Lord of the Rings Online expansion Siege of Mirkwood just over six weeks away, we're seeing more and more news to pique our interest. European players were given some great pre-order deals just yesterday, we learned of an exciting new instance, screenshots have been released, and now we've got a trailer! Turbine released the first video trailer today, offering up a little over two minutes of beautiful footage and a compelling enough backstory to get even those unfamiliar with the game interested.

Take a look at the trailer after the jump. Galadriel laments the loss of Greenwood, telling a story of the great forest and it's ruin at the hands of Sauron. "Greenwood is no more. Now we face a land dread and suffering: the black forest of Mirkwood." Her tale segues into a montage of battle clips showing an assortment of creatures that have presumably invaded Mirkwood, and ends with an invitation to "Answer the call of war!"

Yes thank you, we think we will. In fact, we can't wait.

Dragonica Online, the free-to-play MMO from THQ*ICE is finished with open beta and ready to party. They celebrate their grand opening today with contests, extra loot and XP, special items for sale, and...an expansion? Yep, that's right. The Tales of the Damned expansion releases at the same time, so it's safe to say that a lack of new content is not going to be a problem.

The Dragonica Online team clearly had a great time planning the grand opening, and their sense of fun is communicated throughout the game. The open market has temporarily become the Dragonica Online Black Market, offering up extra special items for a limited time. Logging in daily gets you a chance at a Dragonica Online game card, and they are getting their forums in on the act, opening a contest that requires posting screenshots. Throughout the fun are hints of an upcoming Halloween event as well. Best of all, Dragonica Online promises no character resets, so those of you who have already checked it out can head straight for the new level 50+ content.

If you haven't checked it out, it looks like THQ*ICE has put in more than enough time and effort on this to make it worth a look.

We're not entirely sure how this one slipped under our radar. Perhaps it was a quiet launch, or perhaps it was a flash based massively multiplayer game, but we somehow failed to mention Sacred Seasons.

So now we're going to take the time to correct that error -- enter Sacred Seasons, an MMO that runs entirely in flash and entirely in your internet browser. The game tells the story of the Heartlands, a world that's much like ours except in hyperbole, where the seasons dominate so strongly that they resonate in humanity itself. The people of the world have broken off into four separate tribes, one each dedicated to one of the seasons. All of them ally together, however, to fight a plague spreading across the world -- the growing corruption of the badlands, areas of nothingness.