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There's been a Lord of the Rings MMORPG in the works for a long while now, and the game will be releasing to the public soon. In honor of this the game creators have announced a MASSIVE open beta event, offering one million slots to the beta. It's a first come first serve sort of deal, but it's open to anyone. (I imagine you need to be 18, though, honestly) This, world tour as they're calling it begins in about three days.

If you're a fan of Lord of the Rings, or are just curious about the new kid on the MMORPG block, you should check this out.

Lord of the Rings World Tour site

Just go to the site and follow the instructions and you'll be ready to go.

The full game will launch April 24th and will allow you to experience Middle Earth in all its glory. The game will feature classic characters from the novel as NPCs, such as Gandalf, Gimli, Aragorn, and Frodo. The game seems to be set during the events of the Lord of the Rings novels, even, and as such you'll be able to fight against the forces of Sauron and perhaps help the Fellowship rid Middle Earth of his scourge. In addition you'll be able to create one of four races (Human, Dwarf, Elf, or Hobbit) with customizable features, and then choose one of seven classes (Champion, Guardian, Captain, Burglar, Hunter, Minstrel, Lore-Master)

This game really possesses a lot of potential, but whether it lives up to it is yet to be seen. So if you're curious, like me, why not sign up for the World Tour? Do it quick though, spots are definitely going fast.

It still isn't $40 and bundled with Final Fantasy Tactics, but gamers critical of Sony's expensive handheld can now confirm what they've been saying all along: the PlayStation Portable was just too expensive.

Originally sold as a $249.99 "Value Pack" bundle, the PSP received it's first price drop when the package was cut down to the $199.99 "Core Pack" containing only the PSP, a battery, and an AC adapter. This move was criticized by those who noted that the price of the handheld itself remained virtually the same, as a memory stick still needed to be purchased in order to use most of its functions.

Finally, Sony seems to have realized what the rest of the world has always known: if they want the PSP to compete with the $129.99 Nintendo DS and it's massive developer support, they were going to have to do something about the price. Effective immediately, the PSP Core Pack will retail for $169.99, but, this time, without a hit to features or accessories.

Industry analysts have greeted this news happily, generally affirming what seemed like common sense to the rest of us... Things sell better when people can afford them.

Source: GameSpot

I've toyed with the idea of getting a used PSP somewhere along the line, but now I'm wondering if this will dry up the supply even more. Currently, a PSP trades in at Game Stop/EB Games for something in the neighborhood of $40, and we just don't see very many people who wouldn't rather just keep the darn thing. Since the new price is now less than Game Stop's preowned price, the trade-in value is going to have to dip even lower... You'd have to be an idiot to put up with it when eBay is right there.

Square-Enix's official website for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII recently updated, giving us a great deal of new information. The game takes places seven years before Final Fantasy VII, when Shinra is gaining influence in the world by controlling the planet's supply of Mako energy. Sephiroth, Zack, and a third SOLDIER named Angeal Hewley are dispatched to Wutai in order to investigate the mysterious disappearance of another SOLDIER unit and also to resolve the military situation taking place there. Many other characters from Final Fantasy VII, including Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris, are confirmed to be in the game, but their role in the plot is unclear as of yet.

So that's all. Crisis Core does not have a confirmed release date, but is slated to be released in Japan later this year.

Sources:
Crisis Core's official website
RPGfan

"Final Fantasy Forever", a compilation of all twelve games in the Final Fantasy series, will be hitting the PS3 along with Final Fantasy XIII sometime in the third quarter of 2008.

The six-disc collection will retail for $149.99 and include a 120 page art booklet with character designs and extra information about each game in the series. Each game will be released in its original form (though Americans will finally be receiving Final Fantasy X International) with no translation changes or graphics updates.

Source: GameSpot

With the X-Box 360 launching a full year before either of the other next-gen (this-gen?) consoles, Microsoft must have found it hard to stay in the limelight. Sure, the 360 had the highest holiday sales, but no one was lining up at four AM to find one, and, as a proven success, there was little speculation regarding 360 titles. But now, with a new name and new features, the X-Box 360 Elite just jumped back into the discussion.

As rumored for months, one of the major changes for new console will be hard drive size. The X-Box Elite will have a 120 GB drive in order to accommodate huge file sizes from the game and video X-Box Live download services. The color scheme will be switched over to black (or "premium" black, as Microsoft puts it), and the console will ship with a matching wireless controller and headset. The X-Box Elite will also have an HDMI output port and come bundled with an HDMI cable. Take that, Sony.

The new console will retail for $479 in the United States, a full $20 less expensive than the "cheap" PS3. The 120 GB harddrive plus a data transfer cable will also be released separately for $179.

Source: GameSpot

Despite Sony's snotty reminder that the new X-Box still won't come with high-def DVD playback that no one has any use for anyway, this looks to me like Microsoft is giving gamers what they want. If Sony could knock the PS3's price into this range by making BluRay optional, I'd be right there. It seems ironic to me that Microsoft, the same company that insists on huge bundles for their PC products, is allowing consumers to decide for themselves whether or not they want a video game console or an entire entertainment center.

After months of delays, product detail changes, and other reasons for European gamers to grumble against Sony, the PS3 has finally launched in Sony's largest European market, the United Kingdom.

Though only a few hardcore fans took to sleeping on the pavement in order to secure a console, the line did improve as the midnight launch at an Oxford Virgin Megastore drew closer. And those truly rabid fans found themselves with a terrific pay-off for their determination to get a console at launch. No, silly, not the mere fact of having a console at launch. Mere minutes before midnight, a Sony rep announced that everyone already in line would receive not only a complimentary copy of the game Resistance: Fall of Man, but a 46" Bravia plasma HDTV.

Clearly, the PS3 launch went well for those who chose to show up for the midnight launch, and this is an unprecedented show of generosity on the part of a company that has been known to void a user's warranty if they admit to using 3rd-party AV cables. But as much as I wish I'd been in that line, what does this really say about Sony? Isn't giving away free plasma TVs for buying a video game system kind of like handing out cookies to secure votes for prom queen?

Source: GameSpot