Lord of the Rings Online is a gorgeous game. Every once in a while, you'll be wandering the landscape hunting for that tenth boar head or last bear pelt and you'll just have to stop for a moment and admire the scenery...


The Town of Bree


Rainbow in the Shire


Dusk on the Shore of the Brandywine

There are also opportunities throughout the game to interact with some famous characters from the trilogy...


Posing with Gandalf


Posers with Gandalf


Losers with Gandalf

We crack ourselves up!

Details have been scarce since Marvel Comics announced the development of a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) called Marvel Universe Online based on their iconic superheroes Captain America, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Iron Man, Hulk, and many many others.

Cryptic Studios is developing the game in association with Marvel and Microsoft. Cryptic made the terrific City of Heroes/Villians games, so I am really looking forward to seeing what they can do with Marvel's rich history of stories and characters.

Unfortunately, even as more information is published about the game, those pesky details continue to remain elusive. So here are a few resources for fanboys like me...

• TenTonHammer Interview with Cryptic Studios
• Wikipedia Entry
• MUO page on IGN.com
• Hi-Res Trailer on IGN.com

Excelsior!

Blizzard set the gaming world in a frenzy recently when they released that they would be announcing details of their next game on May 19th at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, Korea.



A gaming/MMO blog named Wandering Goblin.com has a terrific article titled A Handful of Facts, A Spoonful of Reason analyzing the various rumors and speculation resulting from Blizzard's teaser announcement.

SPOILER WARNING! I tend to agree with WG's analysis/guess that Blizzard will be announcing a Starcraft MMO.

One thing we absolutely know about Blizzard is that they won't be rushed. I suppose we'll just have to wait until next week to learn how and when Blizzard will be relieving us from more of our hard-earned cash.

Lord of the Rings Online totally frakking rocks!!!

Whew! I've been dying to say that for weeks now.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a beta stress test for LotRO about a month ago, which ate up more than 15 hours of my time that weekend. I have since been invited to participate in the remainder of the beta phase for the game, which is scheduled to be released April 24, 2007.

A Non-Disclosure Agreement prevented beta participants like me from discussing the game publicly... Until yesterday that is, when game developers Turbine announced that the NDA had been officially lifted. Yay!

So now I can tell you how much I've been enjoying this game. I've played a number of other massively multiplayer online (MMO) games and can already tell that LotRO is going to be one of my favorites. With two more months of beta to go, LotRO is generally as stable (possibly even moreso) than some other games available now. <cough>

Character creation doesn't stray much from the standard MMO formula. You can select your gender, race, class, and name, as well as customizing your appearance. You get to play one of the good guys in the War of the Ring: human, hobbit, dwarf, or elf. Each choice you make is accompanied by all the appropriate Tolkienesque lore to get you into the spirit of the game.

The newbie instance demonstrates immediately how much time and love the developers have put into the game. The graphics are lush and fluid, the sound is immersive, and the user interface is clean and attractive.

As with any MMO, the game is all about leveling, which happens at a satisfyingly swift pace for the first ten levels or so. The grind does manage to remain interesting, partially because you are running around in the same world as Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest of the gang. You even get to participate in the epic storyline in the form of special quests that come along every four or five levels. In fact, I already ran a quest for Strider, who I found holed up in the Prancing Pony in Bree. How cool is that? (Tolkien geeks are probably the only ones who truly understand that last sentence. )

Of course, the game isn't 100% solid yet and there are certainly some minor performance and design issues that I'd love to see addressed. But with such a terrific start, I can't wait to see what else the fine folks at Turbine have in store for us.

Finally, any discussion of MMOs has to at least mention the 7 million pound gorilla that is Blizzard's World of Warcraft. With that many subscribers and a major expansion published just a few short weeks ago, I don't see how any other MMO is going to be able knock WoW off the top of the list. But if anything can, it might be Lord of the Rings. I know I'll be doing my part to overthrow the evil empire. (Mordor, not Blizzard. )

If you happen to be on the Meneldor server anytime soon, send me a /tell ("Deck" - level 16 Human Captain). See ya in Middle Earth!

Supreme Commander is a highly-anticipated real-time strategy (RTS) game from Chris Taylor, creator of classic games like Dungeon Siege and Total Annihilation. The 1.1GB single-player demo is available from WorthPlaying, FileShack, Gamespot, and Boomtown.

According to this article on Eurogamer.net, an executive from Blizzard Entertainment hinted that a sequel to the smash hit Starcraft might be in the works.

"As a Starcraft player I can tell you that I hope it wouldn't go a decade - we launched Starcraft in '98 - I hope it wouldn't go a decade before we stand here and celebrate the next Starcraft together."

I'm not a very good RTS player, but I'll be very interested to see what the almighty Blizzard might do with another Starcraft. We'll see...

On a totally unrelated note, I apologize for not blogging more often... I've been neglecting to pass on the interesting stuff that I find day to day, but I'll try to change that. Thanks much!

Happy New Year! Especially happy right now are the Springfield Bullhawks (#1 seed) who are the 2006 ESPN Fantasy Football Red Zone League Champions, after defeating the Houston Inferno (#3 seed) by an ever-so-close score of 192-191. LaDainian Tomlinson had only 7 points for the 'Hawks this week, but Steven Jackson made up the difference with a 43 point performance. However, the difference in the game was not points scored, but in missing points. Inferno RB Ron Dayne aggravated an ankle injury during pre-game warmups Sunday and did not play, resulting in a crushing 0 for the Inferno. Despite that, this was a terrific game between the two best teams in the league this year. Congratulations to Alan and Jeff for a great season!

Third place goes to my Spooky Boogeymen (#4 seed) with a 186-162 win over the P'burg PrairiePride (#2 seed). Despite a 5 point lead in this week's match-up, the 'Pride were unable to overcome the 29 point lead resulting from last week's game. Congratulations to Bob (and me!) on a great season.

The Kentucky Mad Max (#7 seed), last season's league champs, won fifth place this year with a 150-113 defeat of the Shelbyville Outkasts (#5 seed). Congratulations to Bret and Jack for a great season!

The Peoria OrangeCrush (#9 seed) crushed the Batavia Bulldogs (#6 seed) by a score of 210-116 for seventh place in the league. Congratulations to Charlie and Mike on a great season!

The Foreign Bodies (#10 seed) rallied this week to come back and beat the Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (#8 seed) by a total score of 169-136. So, the 'Puffs will (probably) receive the coveted first pick in next year's draft. Congratulations to Ben and Elizabeth on a great season!

So, here are the final winners for the Red Zone 2006...

WHAT?

WHY?

WHO?

We're Going to Disney World Award	1st Place	Springfield Bullhawks
The First Loser Award	2nd Place	Houston Inferno
There's Always Next Year Award	3rd Place	Spooky Boogeymen
The Break Even Award	4th Place	P'burg PrairiePride
Teamwork Award	Highest team game score	Springfield Bullhawks (157 points in Week 10)
Top Gun Award	Highest player game score	Foreign Bodies (51 points for RB Tiki Barber in Week 17)
Smackdown Award	Highest team win margin	Peoria OrangeCrush (81 point win in Week 16)

And finally now that it's all over with, I'll try to get back to a more regular blogging schedule about life, the universe, and everything (except for fantasy football ).

Only one more week to go... The Springfield Bullhawks (#1 seed) have taken a narrow early 104-99 lead over the Houston Inferno (#3 seed). LaDainian Tomlinson had an off week (only 14 points) for the 'Hawks, but Steven Jackson picked up the slack with a 39 point performance. Will the Inferno come back with one more big week, or will LT lead the 'Hawks to a league championship?

My Spooky Boogeymen (#4 seed) are leading the P'burg PrairiePride (#2 seed) by a score of 101-72. Both teams left big time points on the bench this week... 65 for me and 87 for the 'Pride.

The Kentucky Mad Max (#7 seed) took a 78-67 lead this week over the Shelbyville Outkasts (#5 seed). Ladell Betts' 26 point performance made the difference for the Max despite five double-digit scorers on the Outkasts.

Peoria OrangeCrush (#9 seed) had a big week and built a nearly unsurmountable lead over the Batavia Bulldogs (#6 seed) with a 132-51 score. I have a feeling the 'Dogs got distracted by the holidays and neglected to update their lineup, with two players listed as "Out" and four total zeros.

The Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (#8 seed) took a narrow lead over the Foreign Bodies (#10 seed) with a 67-62 score. Although the Bodies left 53 points on the bench, they only need to deal with a five-point deficit next week.

Good luck to everyone next week... Especially Jeff!

The Springfield Bullhawks (#1 seed) defeated my Spooky Boogeymen (#4 seed) by a final score of 205-158. LaDainian Tomlinson lead the 'Hawks to a 98-92 win in this week's game, which was the second half of Round 1 in the Champions bracket.

The Houston Inferno (#3 seed) beat the P'burg PrairiePride (#2 seed) with a total 187-147 score. The Inferno won the second half game 84-69. The Inferno will meet the Bullhawks starting next week to decide the 2006 Red Zone Fantasy Football League Championship.

The Shelbyville Outkasts (#5 seed) defeated the Batavia Bulldogs (#6 seed) 202-177 total. The 'Dogs actually won the second half this week 86-81, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Outkasts large first-half lead.

The Kentucky Mad Max (#7 seed) won 179-140 over the Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (#8 seed). The Max got a big game from Michael Vick in an 85-48 second half win this week, while the 'Puffs only managed one scorer in double-digits.

The Peoria OrangeCrush (#9 seed) climbed out of the cellar with a convincing 192-127 victory over the Foreign Bodies (#10 seed). The 'Crush got a big game out of Peyton Manning winning this week 96-61.

So, in two short weeks the FFL crown will be awarded. Here are the final round match-ups...

Championship Game #1 Springfield Bullhawks vs. #3 Houston Inferno Everybody Else #2 P'burg PrairiePride vs. #4 Spooky Boogeyman #5 Shelbyville Outkasts vs. #7 Kentucky Mad Max #6 Batavia Bulldogs vs. #9 Peoria OrangeCrush #8 PowerPuff Girls vs. #10 Foreign Bodies

Good luck everybody!

This week was the first half of the Red Zone playoff round 1. The Springfield Bullhawks (#1 seed) took an early 107-66 lead over my Sucky, uh, Spooky Boogeymen (#4 seed). The running backs scored big for the 'Hawks as LaDainian Tomlinson and former Boogeyman Steven Jackson earned 29 and 25 points respectively. Yeah, that was a good trade.

In the other half of the Champions Bracket, the Houston Inferno (#3 seed) are on top of the P'burg PrairiePride (#2 seed) with a 103-77 score. The Inferno got double-digit scoring from six of their players.

The Shelbyville Outkasts (#5 seed) are ahead of the Batavia Bulldogs (#6 seed) 121-91. Drew Brees had a record-setting week for the Outkasts with a 50 point score. Theoretically speaking, if there were money awarded to the team with the leading single game scorer, I'd say that the Outkasts would be in good shape. So far, anyway...

In the only close game this week, the Kentucky Mad Max (#7 seed) hold a slight two-point lead over the Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (#8 seed) with a 94-92 score. Even the bench scoring was close so far in this game with a 55-51 edge to the 'Puffs.

And finally, in the effort to avoid the league cellar, the Peoria OrangeCrush (#9 seed) hold the lead over the Foreign Bodies (#10 seed) 96-66. Rookie running back Maurice Jones-Drew lead the way with 38 points for the 'Crush.

p.s. Sorry for the late post... Busy week.