Some of us are just loners.  Rebels.  Lobos.  Lone gunmen without a grassy knoll.  We prefer to be by ourselves.  Most of us who game will at least occasionally want to be alone.  I admit that I play Facebook games primarily because I don’t have to interact with anyone in...

Gaming evolves and is continuing to evolve.  Unlike nature, however, there’s no argument over where video games started, but there is still a creation myth.  And like it or not, games are changing how we, as humanity, connect and interact. Back Then Back in the 1940s, a couple of...

The world of massive multiplayers is continually changing.  Game companies are attempting to stretch the limits and take risks as they develop new and more advanced content.  All of these moves are made in order to attract players and attempt to stay fresh and relevant in a fast-paced...

If you’re an MMO and RPG forum troll like I am, then you no doubt are very familiar with the old argument: “[Game X] was so awesome! It had a great story, innovative game play, and killer graphics!” vs. “[Game X] was a pile of crap and that’s why it’s...

For most of us, online role playing games (RPGs) have largely or entirely replaced face-to-face “dice off” games like Dungeons & Dragons and Palladium Fantasy.  Busy lives and the fact that playing online is just easier and can be done more often has taken its toll on the...

Subscription-based multiplayers are becoming a thing of the past.  A few holdouts still linger, but nearly every major MMO has gone free to play (F2P), marking a huge shift in the gaming market from premium play to freemium. Last month, one of the most venerable games in the MMO role...

A large number of dedicated Lord of the Rings Online players are big player vs player fans, getting their freep on regularly.  Others are lovers of the creep culture that comes with PvP and the ability to warg out or orc it all on the freeps in the zone.  The Ettenmoors is one of...

The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) updates coming this spring are huge.  When Riders of Rohan releases, it will include massive changes to the way the game is played, including adding mounted combat and a promised monthly update model from Turbine. The Great River is the newest region...

Anyone who’s been around long enough to remember the very beginning of computer games, as I have, knows that things have developed rapidly, but not always for the better.  Twenty years ago, the text-based multi-user dungeon (MUD) was king.  These games were based on well-written...

Turbine has announced that the content update Prince of Rohan will be coming to Lord of the Rings Online on Monday, December 12.  This update continues the Epic story in-game and adds 5 new Isengard instances. This is the first patch update with content additions to the game since the...

Turbine has released the Rise of Isengard purchase-able instance packs for Lord of the Rings Online.  The 5 instances in the latest expansion to LOTRO are now available for purchase by players who do not have access via the RoI expansion itself. The instances include: Dargnakh Unleashed,...

Turbine has announced that the European (EU) migration for Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) will end on November 9, 2011.  The EU migration service will be disabled and accounts that have not migrated will not be automatically moved because of European privacy laws regarding accounts. ...