Disney Buys Marvel

WOW! Disney has made a bid for $4 Billion for Marvel Comics. Considering all of Marvel's licensing deals out there (console games, movies, MMOs, books, toys, etc.) this could be pretty big. On the other hand, Disney can really help to build the Marvel property.

Full story on gamasutra: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=25079

New Issue at Just-RPG

Here's the latest from Just-RPG!

• Dragon Age Demo Preview


• Dragon Age Press Event Coverage


• New Runes of Magic Launch Trailer


• Cursed Mountain Screenshots


• And more!

http://www.just-rpg.com/.

Habbo Cards at Wal-mart

Starting today, Wal-Mart stores are now carrying pre-paid Habbo Hotel cards. This should make the cards even more easily accessible to players.

The real news here, though, is if you buy a $10 card at Wal-Mart, you will get 20% more coins and will have a chance at winning the rare Sky Dragon Lamp. This is a limited time offer and ends August 30th.

I have to admit, I hate shopping at Wal-Mart. Always so slow and crowded. I usually pick up my Habbo cards at Target instead. However, for 20% more coins and a chance at a freebie, I'll make sure to stop in Wal-Mart this weekend.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs & Free Realms

Some wacky weather has struck the world of Free Realms today. Storms are popping up all over and pouring food across the landscape! Of course, this is all part of a promo with the upcoming film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.


To participate in the special events, visit one of the three FFA Reps (Farnum's Farm, Lakeshore and Seaside) to start one of the three Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Quests. One quest will require you to gather up meatballs that fall from the sky, another will have you gathering fruit, and the final will require you to find veggies.


Weather reports are being announced every 15 minutes or so, letting you know where you need to go to catch the next storm of food. The rain will begin around a minute after the announcement, and will continue for about 3 minutes. Be sure to hurry, though, because everyone is fighting over the same falling food!


Each of these Quests you complete will reward you with a Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs t-shirt (there are 3 different colors). After you've finished all 3 quests, you'll learn the special Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe by visiting Helga in Sanctuary, which will transform you into a meatball if consumed.


Lots of fun! I'd better run, the next storm of food should be coming up any time now...

Update: Looks like after you have all of the food collected and learn the recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs, you then have to gather MORE fruits, veggies, and meatballs to exchange for the recipe ingredients. This is a neat promo, but it sure is time consuming. :(

8/14/09 Issue at Just-RPG

Better late than never.

• Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate Review
• Cursed Mountain Preview
• Champions Online Videos and Dev. Diary
• Risen Box Art and Screenshots
• And More!!!

Visit http://www.just-rpg.com to read the full articles. And as always, don't forget to sign up for our Newsletter!!

Dragonica Online Open Beta

Dragonica Online, a fantasy MMORPG by THQ, has launched into Open Beta today, August 18 2009.




Publisher THQ describes the game as "Set in a world of Dragons and magic, Dragonica Online takes adventurers across the windswept land of El Grego to the far reaches of the world. Gorgeous hand-drawn style visuals complement lightning fast combat while 3D battlegrounds let you get the upper hand on opponents. "

They also hype partying with friends, PvP battles, massive guild brawls, deep character customization, many hidden combos and skills, and exciting events that constantly shape and expand the world of Dragonica Online.

Sounds interesting. I plan on taking a few minutes to at least check the game out. I'll post feedback when I can. Visit the link below for more info.


Site: http://dragonica.thqice.com/

Free Realms Create a Card

I get the impression this is a fairly new feature to Free Realms because it's the first I've seen of it, but I may be wrong. I just jumped in and started exploring it for the first time today either way. Anyway...

So in the Free Realms online card game, you can create a card of your character. Yep, your character. Your picture. Your name. Your selected job class. Everything! You get to choose between all of the job classes and equipment that you have in Free Realms and then you can choose the abilities for your card. Each job class has unique abilities associated with it, and the higher level you are, the more powerful your card will be.

The fact that they have this feature open for players is pretty cool, but the most interesting part is that you can order real-world print versions of your card. Then you can play with YOUR character in the real world. And on top of that, you'll get a code to redeem a virtual version of your card in the online card game, so you can battle your friends with your own unique card.

The first thing that probably comes to mind is "aren't players going to just make their characters really, really strong, which will destroy the balance of the game?". That's a valid concern, but because the player can only choose from a list of pre-selected stats and abilities for their cards, it's a non-issue.

Very, very cool feature if you ask me. I went ahead and created a card of my character (as a Wizard) and ordered a real world card. While I am starting to build up a decent sized collection of the physical cards, I don't really play it. But I do play the virtual card game enough that I'm excited to add my personal character to my collection. And most exciting of all, I can't wait to have a real-world collectible card of myself to show off!

Ponyo

So I just got back from seeing Ponyo at the theatre. If you aren't familiar with it, Ponyo is the latest animated film from Disney and Studio Ghibli. And if you aren't familiar with Ghibli, they're responsible for animated movies like Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, Nausica, and Princess Mononoke.

Ponyo wasn't exactly my cup of tea... it was much more like Kiki's Delivery Service than it was like my personal favorite Ghibli film, Princess Mononoke. However, it was a cute, high quality animated film. Probably better for the young ones, though.

My opinion? Better than Porco Rosso (which I couldn't even sit through) or Kiki's Delivery Service, but far inferior to Princess Mononoke (no shame there, though, most films are) and Spirited Away.

Links: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/ponyo/

How I Feel Right Now...

Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!

(Star Trek references are always good...)

8/07/09 Issue at Just-RPG

In the latest issue over at Just-RPG, there are new reviews of both Neverwinter Nights 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir. They've also got new screenshots, trailers, and more RPG info. Full issue details below!

• Neverwinter Nights 2 Review
• Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir Review
• New Demon's Souls Screenshots
• New Aion Screenshots
• New Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Videos and Screenshots
• New Trailer and Team Diary for the Fallout 3 DLC, Mothership Zeta

Read it all here - http://www.just-rpg.com/.

MagiQuest Update

Just noticed the MagiQuest site has been updated. It's still in development, but it's a peek at what's coming, including MagiQuest Online and 'My MagiQuest' which will track your character. You can also now purchase items through the site.

http://www.magiquest.com/.

Worth a look...

Update: Looks like MagiQuest Online has been delayed further. Rather than 'late summer' it now has a release date of 'early fall'. A bit disappointing, but I'd much rather it be pushed back if it will result in a superior product.

Community Manager FAIL Article

Just found this article about community management online. Pretty good stuff!

http://kommein.com/how-to-set-your-community-manager-up-for-failure/

Virtual Worlds Deals

So I stopped in Toys R’ Us today and noticed that they’ve got FREE Free Realms Starter Cards. These cards give new players a 1-month membership, some station cash to spend in game, and other freebies. These are the same kind of cards I made reference to back here on sale for 99 cents at Target. I knew they had previously been available for free, but wasn't aware that it was still going on. So, if you’re interested in expanding your Free Realms experience, head to Toys R’ Us and get a trial membership at no cost. Or you could just ask me for a code because I’ve got a small stack of these things sitting around. Remember, though, these are only good for new members. If you’ve got an existing Free Realms account, then the Starter Card isn’t for you.

In further Free Realms news, I stopped by a local comic book store yesterday and bought the first issue of the new Free Realms comic. I haven’t bothered reading it yet, but I got my Spider Bite sword from the code inside the comic. W00t! I’m a loser. Of course, I’m not a level 20 Ninja yet, so the sword is basically worthless right now. I admit, I was a bit distraught over the fact that the code was in no way protected (no scratch off silver stuff, no seal, etc), so anyone in the store could easily write the code down and use it without actually buying the comic. Then of course, when you get home and your code doesn't work? Epic Fail. Beware.

Another deal out there right now is that Habbo Hotel coins are 33% off at Toys R’ Us (which is why I was at Toys R’ Us in the first place). That means you can get $10 worth of coins for only $6.70! I don’t have any huge need for Habbo coins right now, but as long as Toys R’ Us has such a spiffy sale going on, I figured this was the time to buy. Promotion ends August 15 and it's exclusively at Toys R’ Us.