The UO Herald came online today with an announcement that UO is offering a 14-day free trial:

If you have never played Ultima Online before, this is the place to begin! Follow Gwen through the New Player Experience and begin adventuring through the massive worlds of Britannia.

Trial requires the entry of a registration key provided below. A major credit card is required to validate your account but will not be charged during the trial period. Please note the credit card will be automatically charged at the end of the trial unless cancelled.

Check out the link above for download sites. You can also view the Kingdom Reborn trailer. Enjoy!

New images, media and an overview of the zone "Saphery" were released today. Here's what players will find in store in Saphery:

In all of Ulthuan, Saphery is the most mysterious and enchanting of Ulthuan's kingdoms. It is a land of magic, and serves as a training ground for the mages of Ulthuan. The White Tower of Hoeth is the central monument of this breathtaking land, and houses the length and breadth of arcane knowledge held by the High Elves. The best and brightest High Elf Archmages, including luminaries such as Teclis, have practiced and perfected their craft within the White Tower.

The White Tower of Hoeth was built during the reign of Bel-Korhandis. Bel-Korhandis the Scholar King was a wizard prince of Saphery who ruled as Phoenix King following the death of Tethlis the Slayer. Though he lived to see the White Tower completed, Bel-Korhandis died a short time later, and his remains were interred within the Tower's foundations.

Keep reading by clicking below.

EVE Online announced that some unexpected database errors were discovered after launching the Trinity patch. As a result, developers expect extended server downtime:

Tranquility is currently undergoing an extended downtime to deploy the Trinity 1.1: Boost Patch
This downtime was originally scheduled to end at 16:00 GMT. While monitoring the progress of the patch deployment, a database issue came to light that we felt was important to address as quickly as possible. In order to ensure the best quality patch possible for our players, the estimated time for the downtime has been extended as we correct that issue. Please watch the MOTD and our website for more information as it becomes available.

UPDATE: Click below for the most up-to-date information.

Atari announced today that it will be partnering with Valve and bringing many of its games to Steam.

Atari, Inc. , one of the world's most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher and distributor, brings a variety of PC games from the Atari catalog to Steam. Starting today, gamers in North America may add the following Atari titles to their Steam games library:

- Act of War: Direct Action - a real-time strategy experience that puts players squarely in control of counterterrorist forces and delivers a first look at tomorrow's war.
- Act of War: High Treason - an ultra-realistic modern military real-time strategy game.
- ArmA: Combat Operations - a first person tactical military shooter with large elements of realism and simulation.
- Atari® 80 Classics in 1 - the ultimate collection of the original games that inspired generations of gamers.
- Death to Spies - third-person stealth action game that immerses the player into the atmosphere of World War II military intelligence operations.
- Desperados® 2: Cooper's Revenge - an RTS set in a thrilling Western atmosphere.
- Indigo Prophecy® - a thrilling supernatural mystery adventure game.
- RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3: Platinum - combines the roller coaster theme park fun of the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 with included expansion packs Soaked! and Wild!
- Tycoon City™: New York - a tycoon simulation game set in one of America's most exciting metropolises.

Click below for more.

As promised earlier this year, Fallen Earth team released three screenshots depicting the visual upgrade the game is undergoing towards improving the characters and overall look of the game world. Lead Designer Lee Hammock also delivered a progress report along with a slew of answers to the fans' forum questions concerning vehicles, weapons, explosives, skills and clan rewards. Check the before and after screenshots below and a snippet of the report:

We're mixing things up in the office a bit now, trying out some new management strategies and methodologies. This week we're doing some work on some starter towns while also working on tuning up our mutations and special attacks. Most of the teams will be working on the same things next week as we move toward a two-week-oriented work schedule.

Last week I mentioned that the functionality of Evade was getting folded into Melee, and some folks seemed curious about this. We did this for two reasons...

Read More for the full report and questions!

NCSoft has announced their next expansion for City of Heroes. Issue 12, "Midnight Hour" will bring new content and features to the game. Including new Roman style maps, costumes, and User Interface improvements.

NEW ROMAN-STYLE ZONE MAPS (LEVELS 35 - 50)
The Midnighters hold many secrets within their walls, including a highly coveted Ouroboros crystal, enabling them to travel to the far reaches of time. There is a familiar threat in an ancient land and the Midnighters need the help of both Heroes and Villains to stop it. Players step foot upon the ancient land of the Roman Cimeroran Peninsula, where they battle deadly creatures, defend an ancient city and ultimately come face to face with the enemy of time itself. Throughout this journey players uncover the mysteries of power and the origins that guide them today.

UNLOCK ROMAN-STYLE ARMOR COSTUMES
Through their accomplishments, players unlock the new Roman themed armor costume set.

Click "Read More" to see all the details.

This week, we were treated to the tantalizing prospects of a Grand Theft Auto IV MMO, a BioWare-produced KOTOR MMO, and the resurrection of Star Trek Online. But there are plenty of other possible titles and franchises out there that could use the MMO treatment. For this week's discussion, we want to know:

What game, series or fictional world would you like to see become an MMO?

I'll cast my vote for an MMO based on EA's skate. How about you?

Fresh on the heels of a report indicating the number of M-rated games released in 2007 declined from the previous year, the NPD has released new findings that point to an increase in the overall revenue earned by Mature titles.

On average each E-rated console software title released in 2007 earned an average of $7.6 million. The previous year the same category of software earned $7.7 million per game. A similar modest decrease can be seen in average revenue of T-rated console software. A much more significant decrease can be seen in the revenues of E10+ rated console software.

The real story here is what happened with M-rated console software. A jump of nearly 64% revenue for M-rated console games between 2006 and 2007.

Source: Next-Gen

The Zu Online site has been updated with the "Secrets Revealed #3" article. Featuring a look at design detail, here's a snip of the article:

Knowing that the design team for Zu Online pays such close attention to details, is it any surprise that they would even strive to make Zu easier for you AND your computer? A unique feature that would probably have otherwise gone unnoticed is the seamless map transition. The design team felt that using up RAM on your computer to store different maps would be an unnecessary burden so they designed their maps to seamlessly transfer from one to the next. No more waiting for the next map to load, while also reducing computer lag. Now that's thinking outside the box.

Check out the rest of the article and a couple of nice looking screens at the link above.

The Interplay website has a new placeholder in place.

Rumors had been floating around last week about a possible resurrection of the Fallout series, including a possible MMO. At this point, there's no confirmation of any rumor but the site does indicate activity. We'll keep you posted.