FunCom has seen fit to grace us with 15 new Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures screenshots. This latest batch gives us a first glimpse at the larger than life creatures awaiting players in-game. That is if FunCom gets the game out the door before we’re all sailing the high seas, Yarr!!

Tenderfoot Games has announced Wild West Online, the first massively multiplayer game set in the American Wild West. They must have been hiding under a bush in stealth mode for the last year or so because this is the first anyone has heard of their company and game.

Wild West Online will capture the authentic feel of the Wild West with numerous scenarios based on history and fiction. Players will experience intense situations reminiscent of famous stories including corral shootouts, bank and stage robberies, bounty hunting quests and easily recognizable set scenarios inspired by sources like “The Magnificent Seven”, “High Noon” and “Tombstone.”

Players will be able to have showdowns — tension filled mano-a-mano contests between gunfighters that will have a higher level of adrenaline than an open gunfight. They will also be able to join gangs, form posses, hunt, explore and play in highly crafted environments that will provide an authentic open range feel. Wild West Online will also support a robust and exciting economy with players having the option to purchase objects, skills, and abilities otherwise only accessible through game play.

Wild West Online will be faithful to the Western mystique we all grew up with as kids,” said Mike Reynolds, game designer at Tenderfoot Games. “The American frontier culture is an important part of our history, so we are working hard to re-create that atmosphere and to honor the mythology from which so many modern fiction settings drew inspiration.”

No release date has been set yet. Their current web site is pretty sparse with no further information on features or plans. Their claim as the “first” Wild West MMO may be in contention, there was another announcement made as far back as 2004 for the Wild West Sim MMO, but nothing had been heard from the would-be rival since.

Prospective players can reserve their name from a real world list of first and over 90,000 last names (Sorry, Jesse James is already taken..). However there is a very real world $4.95 charge for a very non-existant MMO being produced by an new company with no publisher or track record in the industry.

We did speak with a Tenderfoot Games representative via email, Ariel Butler had the following to say:

A successful name reservation grants the holder the use of that name exclusively across all future Wild West OnlineT games. In the current schedule, that means both the MMO and the Wild West Online: Gunfighter game. It also means that, however many shards each game has, there’d only be one player with a given name. For example, if the MMO had 100 shards and you choose to be “Bob Thornton”, no one else could be “Bob Thornton” on any of those shards except you. We consider this to be a premium service, worthy of the very moderate, one-time charge we’re established.

In the unlikely event that all Wild West Online games are cancelled or indefinitely postponed before a reservation holder can activate their reserved name, TFG will make a refund available on request. I hope this will reassure potential players that their investment in an identity is a reasonably secure one.

We would like to note for our readers that online payment processing services such as PayPal, 2Checkout, and others do not honor refunds in any case beyond 30-60 days, and PayPal as an example will not refund money in the case of a ‘virtual transaction’ where non-physical goods have been sold. In the case of WWO’s payment processor, Pay By Cash, no refunds are allowed after purchase unless specificly authorized by Tenderfoot Games. For the reasons outlined earlier we feel its only right to caution gamers against such as purchase until at such a time we know more about WWO and its developer.

Forcing name registration from a pre-authorized list is an extremely odd choice for a MMO, but could be significant for keeping within realism by not having players running around as ShadowSn1p3r in the rough and tumble Wild West setting. Whether players take to this idea will be an interesting test for the MMO market.

Tenderfoot Games is also promoting their Free Multiplayer title Wild West Online: Gunfighter, set to be released in December 2007. The WWO: Gunfighter website does show off several screenshots which may be a good indicator of what to expect from Wild West Online.

Perpetual Entertainment has replaced SOE’s Platform Publishing as the official publisher of Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising. Previously, the two companies had been in a co-publishing agreement. SOE Senior Brand Manager Debysue Wolfcale characterized the move as clarification of the actual roles each company play in the development of the game. SOE continues to handle marketing and retail distribution for the title, the same roles they held before this move.

Leave it to the SOE PR folks to downplay this as a “good” thing for them and poor little fledgling Perpetual Entertainment’s striking of the SOE brand as their publisher.

With SOE still responsible for all marketing and retail distribution of Gods and Heroes, it remains to be seen if this has any material impact on SOE’s role supporting Perpetual, or if its simply an easy way for both companies to distance themselves and appease the SOE haters.

Source: Perpetual Reassumes Publishing Duties From SOE [Warcry]

Codemasters has announced ArchLord is now FREE to play. The client download is FREE. You also get the latest expansion for FREE.

What else is free you ask? The game is also FREE of quality gameplay. FREE of any redeeming notion of FUN. Also FREE is a big dose of GRIND, GRIND, and more GRIND.

Ed Relf, Director of Marketing, Codemasters Online commented “We are ecstatic to be in a position now to release ArchLord as an entirely FREE MMORPG and this marks a milestone in the games ongoing development. Since its release, ArchLord has grown consistently and we are excited to throw open the doors to players across N.America and Europe looking to play a premium 100% FREE MMORPG. Players are now only a download away from entering one of the most rich and rewarding PvP experiences in MMO gaming!” more >>>

Now I must admit there seems to be a bit of confusion from Ed Relf. I’m not even sure if he’s talking about ArchLord or if he’s accidentally confused the “rich and rewarding PvP experiences in MMO gaming” with competition like World of Warcraft that’s actually worth playing.

The term “grown consistently” also seems curious, I’m guessing the Codemaster marketing department doesn’t believe in subtracting unsubscribed accounts, which won’t be a problem anymore now that it’s free (Expect micro-transactions very soon).

Codemasters Secret Business Plan:

Phase One: License Asian MMORPG with sexy Moon Elves for pennies on the dollar, and Localize it.
Phase Two: ?
Phase Three: Profit.

Question of the day for our readers, if you were forced by gunpoint to choose between playing ArchLord for 2 hours or watching the movie “Postal” by Owe Boll, which would it be?

In what is hopefully the last MMO delay of the year, Funcom announced in a press release today that Age of Conan is being pushed back to March 25th, 2008 as the final “Fo Realz” release date.

Durham, USA – August 10th, 2007 – Funcom announce a new release date for ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’. The highly anticipated MMO is now set to release on the 25th of March 2008. By setting a new release date for the game, Funcom can continue the focus on honing, polishing and improving the heralded qualities of the game, ensuring a fantastic MMO experience when it launches next spring.

“We naturally regret that we have to push back ‘Age of Conan’. However, after careful consideration, and analysis of recent Beta feedback, we believe that the new release date is in the best interest of the gamers, our company and our owners,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. “We are fully committed to delivering games with absolute qualities, and in the current MMO marketplace we know that only the best is good enough to truly succeed. With the new release date we have therefore given ourselves more time to meet and deliver on the massive expectations for the game. We are certain that our choice will ultimately pay off, and that all ‘Age of Conan’ players will get a special online experience.”

Given the news I wouldn’t be too surprised if you see a few Barbarian’s pirates setting sail on the open seas later this year out of desperation.

After Funcom’s rocky history and the vile unfiltered swearing and hatred I held for them after the ill-fated Anarchy Online launch (Yes I was one of many beta testers screaming for all that is Holy that they hold back the launch 3 more months), I’m actually downright impressed they learned from that experience. They’re not the only MMO launch that should be delayed to save itself from mediocrity this year, but I’m not going to a point any fingers. more >>