For those heroes and heroines who hung up their capes due to DC Universe Online’s pricing, get ready to pull out the old costume once again. Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the popular comic booked themed MMO will switch to a free to play format in October. So if the subscription fee was turning you away from trying DC Universe Online, this is your chance to get in on the super heroics.

Sony Online Entertainment is providing three levels of subscriptions: free, premium and legendary. Each of these subscriptions will provide access to the game in its entirety (meaning missions and quests), but each level is different.

Free players (new players) who have never had a subscription before will have access to the current gameplay, not including any DLC. They can create two characters.

Members who have spent at least $5 USD or at least one month of subscription will qualify for Premium membership, these members will have more benefits including additional character slots, and inventory slots and higher cash limits within the game.

If you paid for a lifetime membership don’t freak out, Sony Online Entertainment will make you a Legendary Member. For lifetime members this upgrade brings everything a lifetime membership entitles, and for regular members hoping to upgrade it will cost $14.99 a month. Legendary members will have access to DLC packs at no cost, more than 80 inventory slots, and more than 15 character slots. They will also be able to form unrestricted-sized leagues.

Now that DC Universe is going to be a free online game, are any of you readers going to give it a try? Let us know in the comments below.

Gameloft’s iPhone and iPad clone machine continues with Order & Chaos Online, a none too subtle mobile spin on War of Warcraft. The $6.99 app is the first to bring console-quality real-time MMORPG action to the iPad, filling a gaping hole in the iOS platform for fantasy-action fans. I’ve been face down in Order & Chaos Online for a few days now, so I though it time to deliver some initial impressions.

Order & Chaos Online features four playable races that comprise theOrder and Chaos factions. Humans and elves are on team Order, while orcs and undead are team Chaos–all of which look very similar to World of Warcraft races. After you select a race, you’re prompted to pick a gender, and class: Warrior, mage, monk, or ranger. You can then tailor the character’s appearance to a limited degree. Order & Chaos Online gives you four character slots to fill, so you can tinker with character different set ups.

A short tutorial level introduces you to the play mechanics, and after that, you’re off to adventurin’. I spent the majority of my time in an open field slaying prairie wolves as I acclimated myself to the combat system. Thankfully, the virtual controls don’t get in the way; in fact, it’s remarkably smooth. Occasionally, I would sit back and enjoy some of the deeper MMO aspects such as engaging in battle with a quickly formed team, and communicating with other via text-based chat.

The graphics are solid–you won’t be wowed by them (ha!), but they do a good job of creating a believable fantasy universe. Some of the characters could use a few more polys, but its no big loss. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is particularly well, crafted with suitable, sweeping tunes.

The $6.99 price tag includes and incredible three months of online access at absolutely no cost to you. After that, Gameloft charges 99-cent for one month of online play, $1.99 for three months, and $2.99 for six months. Basically, one could play for the majority of the year for a fee that costs less than a glass of pignot grigio. Speaking of money, Order & Chao Online lets you make in-game gold purchases that you can use to purchase new gear and accessories.

Is it better, or at the very least, on a par with WOW? That I couldn’t say, as I’ve never played Blizzard’s beast of a game (I purposely avoided MMOs after an all-consuming City of Heroes addiction). But what Order & Chaos Online does, it does well. So if you have an iPad or iPad 2  (and potentially lots of time on your hands) this game is worth a download.

Pockie Ninja, a free-to-play browser-based 2D MMO brawler similar to Dungeon Fighter Online, is opening its doors to all gamers courtesy of an open beta that launches Friday, March 25th, at 20:00 (CST). Featuring tons of  familiar characters “inspired” by the Bleach and Naruto animes, Pockie Ninja focuses on thelife and journey of a ninja who is entrusted with defeating the world’s most evil and destructive warrior corporations.

Gamers, according to publisher NGames, “should prepare for pulsating action, gorgeous animations, a unique, none-rigid approach to character progression, near endless ways to approach the games battles, and unprecedented production values in a browser-based MMO.” Lofty goals. Lofty goals.

In addition, NGames plans numerous in-game events for the open beta phase, including plenty of opportunities to win in-game prizes. Gamers can win special items and gifts for everything from reaching certain levels of character progression, to simply logging in and enjoying the adventures.

Are you in?

Nexon America has announced a partnership with Microsoft Game Studios that will bring the international smash hit Dungeon Fighter Online (DFO) to Xbox Live Arcade later this year.

The MMO-meets-beat-’em-up 2D game will be jointly developed by Nexon and Softmax. Softmax has a proven track record as the developer of The War of Genesis, Magna Carta, and other console titles. Neople, the developer of Dungeon Fighter Online (PC) and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nexon, will direct the project. Microsoft Game Studios will handle the publishing duties in all territories.

This project marks the first time that Nexon is releasing a game on a console system, and is part of Nexon’s long-term plan to expand onto new platforms in order to introduce new audiences to its game franchises. Quotes from Nexon!

“This agreement is a significant step forward for Nexon,” said Min Suh, Nexon’s chief executive officer. “For some time we have been seeking opportunities to expand beyond online PC gaming and move into new platforms like Xbox LIVE Arcade. With the help of Microsoft Game Studios’ deep development and localization experience, we anticipate that Dungeon Fighter Online will bring enjoyment to entirely new audiences on Xbox LIVE Arcade.”

If you’re an Xbox 360 owner who always wanted to sample the goodness, your time has come. Meanwhile, check out our full Dungeon Fighter Online review.

The9 Interactive announced that it’s first title, Three Kingdoms Brawler, will be released this Spring as a free-to-play action MMO for Windows PCs.

Much like Dungeon Fighter Online, Three Kingdoms Brawler takes the classic 2D side-scrolling arcade beat-em-up and updates it. Inspired by the events and battles of the Three Kingdoms era in China, players take control of legendary warriors fighting to determine the future of the country. By choosing their guiding spirit and hero class, players can customize their fighting experience, and they progress, they will upgrade combos, armor, and weapons.

Players can create guilds and factions, and a robust crafting system allows the creation of unique weapons and armor. The online marketplace and auction house lets players to buy and sell their creations with others. With thousands of different weapon, skill, and armor combinations, each player will have their own unique experience tailored to their personal choices.

There’s also PVP combat, tag team matches, leaderboards, and in-game honorary titles that will show the world who has the most skill.

For more information or to register for an upcoming beta, please check out www.threekingdomsbrawler.com.

NEStalgia is a fascinating mashup of a title. Described by developer Silk Games as “Dragon Warrior III meets World of Warcarft,” this  8-bit-inspired, sprite-based 2D game features retro visuals that belie the MMO gameplay trappings. Although it looks very much like an NES game, NEStalgia features a turn-based multiplayer party system where old school archetypes engage in PVE and PVP matches–the old meets the new.

Like other free-to-play video games, NEStalgia can be played at no cost, but there are benefits for plopping down a bit of cash. The game’s author offers some additional goodies for those willing to financially contribute to the games further development: $9 per year or a one time $20 payment lets you create your own guild (the free version only lets your join others), play with four additional classes, fast travel routes, and more. Not too shabby at all considering that $20 doesn’t even cover two months access to AAA MMOs like DCUO.

The system requirements are appropriately meager. All that’s needed to get a-questin’ is a Windows machine running 2000 or higher, 512MB of RAM, and an internet connection (maybe some of those development fees should be used for creating a Mac version for OS X users such as myself).

If you’re ready to dive into this unique game, it’s available for download right now.

Twinkies will outlast us all when the world finally implodes, and it’s in honor of their stalwart fortitude that Raptr is giving away a year’s supply of them.

Working together with publisher Suba Games, Raptr is promoting the free FPS MMO Mission Against Terror: End of the World. Asking players to take arms against mummies, future soldiers, and other players, MAT is all about gaining power as the world comes to an end. There’s a diverse group of characters and weaponry to choose from (including real-world Gatling Guns and out-of-this-world items that turn opponents into beasts). The game’s a huge hit overseas, and it’s nice to see it make its way to the US.

All players have to do to enter the contest is register, use the Raptr service to track their hours, and play. The more hours they play, the better chance they have of scoring a prize. As with previous Raptr contests, players will be rewarded just for playing the game. Prizes are:

• Enter the contest = a chance to win 1 of 5 custom Raptr Snuggies
• Play 1 hour = win 500 MAT coins
• Play 5 hours = a chance to win 1 of 5 “How to Survive the End of the World” guides
• Play 10 hours = a chance to win 100,000 MAT coins
• Play 20 hours = a chance to win the grand prize: a year’s supply of Twinkies and $250 Amazon gift card

Rules, details and eligibility can be found here. The contest is open to legal residents of the US, Mexico, and Canada (except Quebec). The contest ends February 16. Get fragging.

LEGOs are lots of fun: they’re colorful, you can build anything you want out of them (from castles to functioning printers), and thanks to some adventurous kids they’re now too big to swallow. They’ve  even worked their magic in video games, making properties like Indiana Jones, Batman, and Star Wars more fun.

LEGO Universe, the online MMO aimed at kids of all ages, is not as fun.

The game begins well enough: well-rendered HD cut scenes and a vast orchestral score introduce you to the LEGO universe, where Imagination has just been discovered. It’s like a mineral in that it can be collected and discovered, but the real power of Imagination is that it allows you to create anything you want just by thinking about it. Naturally, the powers of Good and Evil battle over the power of Imagination – and that’s where you come in.

I was excited to get in there and see if my actions would determine what side I would become. That’s where the fun ended: the game had no interest in playing that way. Each time I signed in  to play the game, I had to create a new character and start the game over.

The character generator, while somewhat extensive, is a bit of a pain. It isn’t intuitive: you click on a part of your character and scroll right or left for different options. There are tons of choices, which is good—hair, eyebrows, eyes, mouth, decal, color, etc–but once you settle on one you like, God help you if you click past it; you’ll be hard pressed to find it again. Given the choices and placement of features, it was somehow a lot easier to get a guy character than a girl, even if you clicked the “random” button.

The first level introduces you to the gameplay mechanics. It’s the collapsing bridge of a space station that had been overseeing the Imagination mining operation, and you’ve got to get out of there before it explodes. There are basic smash and jump buttons to master, which are a piece of cake, but once you see other characters assembling lifts you’re instructed to “Talk to Bob” to unleash your imagination and all hell breaks loose. Why? You can’t see far enough into the level to find Bob. I understand that can be a drawback with MMOs, but still – no helpful pointers, no further instructions, no directions. I spent 20 minutes searching for Bob, resorting to the help menu, other confused players, and keyboard controls; only after teaching myself to double jump (the instructions came after I got on the platform) did I access the part of the level Bob was hiding in.

Once you find Bob, you collect deposits of Imagination. If you collect enough, you can build things you need – like a lift to get up to the female pilot offering to fly you out. Your build is limited only by how much Imagination you have, the kinds of LEGOs at your disposal, and what the game tells you will help you complete the challenge.

The game offers you lots of different quests and challenges after that, opening up its vast universe to medieval-themed levels, cities, pirate ships – all places that you could construct with real LEGOs. The challenges are typical MMO fare — explore the world, solve puzzles to open a new area, battle bad guys, deliver this package — and they get repetitive quickly. The difficulty of each challenge is almost randomly assigned, too; after the tutorial levels, all bets are off.

The LEGO twist came in with collecting different kinds of the colorful blocks in order to build structures. Your inventory becomes chock full of different types of LEGOs, and you’re able to build anything you want as long as you’ve got the bricks (though they don’t sort them by kind, so you’ll find yourself scrolling through your entire inventory to build almost everything). You can even design levels, though I didn’t get a chance to check that out, and raise pets (who don’t do much besides stand around and make noise).

Playing with other people was rather typical MMO fare, too. The game touts itself as an online hub of social worlds, but chatting worked just the same as in other games; you type your messages and they typed back. As per the LEGO image, the language had to be kid-friendly, meaning Windings and AIM shorthand were all fine but no potty mouths were allowed.

The worlds are diverse, the music and scenery are playful, and LEGOs are fun, but I don’t think I’d continue playing the game. It’s $10 a month, for one thing (though the first month is free with purchase). It’s oddly unintuitive for another — not as friendly to open world exploration as other MMOs, not as clear in its tutorials, not as organized with its inventory. I know kids are more tech savvy than ever, but still: if it took me that long to figure out how to find Bob, how is a kid supposed to? Would they enjoy the challenge? Would they want to keep playing after that? I wouldn’t.

Even though it looks pretty