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Magazine Game Informer's October issue (due to appear on stands any day now) will feature a ten page report on Star Trek Online, with new information and artwork. The game even graces the cover of the issue, which can already be seen online (to the right here). It's not a screenshot, though. It's just some artwork depicting Sovereign and Galaxy class starships.

Previously featured articles in Game Informer have generally been quite substantial; they have combined tons of new images with descriptions of gameplay and dozens of quotes from developers. We haven't seen the STO piece yet, but it's probably worth flipping through at your local newsstand.

There has to be at least something new to fill up ten pages, right? There probably aren't ten pages worth of info on the game out there at this point!

Part of the genius of Lord of the Rings Online is how Turbine managed to wrap seven genres into one game. No, I am not talking about their Web games promoting the Mines of Moria. Rather, I am talking about how utterly different the play of each class is while being in the same environment. This is great because it aids the replayability of a game whose content, shall we say, lends itself to considerable replay for the committed player.

Each class is its own game – so much so that each actually typifies not merely a different RPG character type, but actually completely different genre of gaming.

Can you match the genre to the character class?

Huxley promises to be a great game combining the MMO and FPS genres in a new and entertaining fashion, and I am all for creativity and license. But that's just the problem. When I heard about Huxley the game, my mind immediately leaped to the possibilities of some other first person shooter games derived from the other works of Aldous Huxley, and frankly, that boggles the mind.

Have you been pining away for a great golf MMO? We have, too! Look, even if you haven't, let's just go along with this, okay? Albatross 18 is an engaging, colorful, whimsical game that doesn't disappoint. When one considers golf, there really isn't too much to it -- hit the ball into the hole, rinse, repeat. The beauty of its simplicity is that a developer can go crazy with that concept and add all sorts of madness to it, and it can only improve the game.

And that's exactly what's going on with Albatross 18: beautiful environments, useful power-ups, crazy caddies, mascots, costumes -- this game is hilarious. Will you like it? Let's find out. As always, we remind you that this is not meant to be a full review of everything in the game; these are the first impressions we got after spending an hour or so playing. Excelsior!

Hello and thanks for joining me again for another fun filled feature here on Massively! I love my job, it totally rocks, I get to have all sorts of fun and hopefully you guys enjoy it a little bit too. I normally am happy with you guys turning up and leaving the odd comment or two below though this week I have to ask you for a favor. On Saturday, just after the WoW Insider Show, I was chatting to everyone's favorite Shaman Crybaby Crusader who was just heading off to a D&D game. I then posed the question to him, "which was the most awesome and manly of DnD characters." Obviously I chose the correct answer and Mike chose the wrong one. Let me know which way you swing in your comments: Bard or Wizard? Who wins? You decide!

(Oh and there is a video or something like that after the break!)

Today (and by 'today', of course, I'm talking 'earlier Tuesday', whereas for many of you reading this as it goes live, it'll be Wednesday already) I saw a vibrant new MMO called Freaky Creatures. By the end of my session with the creative team, I said this, and I quote: "You guys will hear this a lot from now on, so let me be the first: this is like Pokémon, but far, far cooler."

And it is. Freaky Creatures has a lot going for it, and it sounds like they're getting it all right. Given that the game has been in development for over 5 years now, Abandon Interactive has had the advantage of watching many an MMO rise and fall, and they're making sure they don't make the same mistakes. Read on, O Intrepid One, and lemme 'splain some things to you.

Lord of the Rings Online is a great game. It has been met with much acclaim and has managed to establish itself in an ever-growing field of MMOs that reside in the shadow of World of Warcraft. The game, however, is not without its critics and detractors. However, what they cannot deny is that LotRO manages to wrap itself comfortably in Tolkien's lore of Middle-earth.

When first logging on to LotRO and presented with the choice of races, the one that arguably stands out the most would be the loveable (or loath-able) Hobbit. Elves, dwarves, men; been there done that. Hobbits, however, unique to Tolkien's imagination, offer a different experience. What I present to you is a guided tour through the first five levels of a Hobbit in Lord of the Rings Online. So, take your shoes off and get ready to blow some smoke rings. (Note: Massively.com does not condone nor endorse the smoking of anything ... real or fictional.)

Dawn stretches its sleeping muscles and peeks out over the snow capped mountains, coaxing a faint mist to mist to take flight over a frozen lake. Animals of all shapes and sizes begin to stir and wake from a cold night's sleep huddled together in dens and burrows, and bird song threatens to break the night's quiet. A sharp echo snaps through the air as the heat from the rising sun causes the ice on the lake to crack and shift, marking the coming day as faithfully as a rooster's crow, and around the dog-leg in the road comes the faint tell tale sound of boots crunching snow, the clink of freshly polished armour, and a nervous laugh.

It is day break in the mountain valley of Dun Morogh, and the Wee Men march on the irradiated city of Gnomeregan. They have been made aware of the dangers that lurk in the caverns and halls beneath the mountains, and the horrific changes to the citizens that could not escape. Their blades are sharpened, spells learned and remembered, shields shined, and tools checked and re-checked. This is not a task they take lightly, as this city was once a place most of them called home. A place where their families lived, where they were born and grew, and where they had hoped one day to grow old and die in.

But all that changed the day the attacks began in the lowest parts of the city, and there was nothing they could do but grab anything and anyone close, and run for the surface. Now their lives are changed forever, forced into action they became the heroes that their city so desperately needed in it's darkest hour, the heroes that could have battered back the advancing forces and saved countless lives. Some simply call them adventurers, but they know themselves as liberators, saviours and champions to the causes so often forgot in todays world. Though in stature they may be small, in their actions and deeds they are giants.

Each week, Robin Torres contributes Gamer Interrupted, a column about balancing real life with MMOs.

There is an interesting article over at Channel Massive that states in very strong terms that "You can be a great parent or a great gamer but you can't be both." He defines a "great gamer" as someone who is in a hardcore raiding guild in WoW or a top level ranked PvPer. He compares gaming to other activities which parents indulge in to escape familial responsibilities. He also claims that these "great gamers" play more in their MMO of choice than the average person watches TV and that watching TV is more conducive to parenting than "hardcore" gaming is. He breaks down the hours that must be required to be a "great gamer" and that leave no time for being a great or even good parent, spouse, billpayer, etc.

Hi, my name is Robin Torres and this is the new home for my column about having a successful MMO life while still having a successful real life -- formerly Azeroth Interrupted on WoW Insider. I have a hard time with many of the opinions put forth by the article mentioned. I don't like the definition of "great gamer". I disagree with the playtime required to maintain a "great gamer" status. And I really dislike the judgmental tone directed at anyone who seems to be trying to achieve the balance of "hardcore" MMO gaming and living an otherwise successful life.