How Strong is Your Kung Fu? 9 Dragons! 
Author: johnmilton
A new MMORPG is about to hit the scene. Its called 9 Dragons and is being published by acclaim. I downloaded and participated in its open beta (which is still going on - download it yourself!) and I have to say Im very impressed.
First of all the graphics are great. I purposely played it on my slower machine (Pentium 4, 2Ghz, 1gig Ram, Nvidia 5700LX Graphics Card) and its runs amazingly smooth. They also only have 2 servers up at the moment a USA and European Beta Server. The USA server is full of players at every turn you make and yet, barely any lag. Its amazing! Acclaim has programmed a game that not only runs smooth graphically but also doesn't lag out when you stand in an area with 50 other players.
Now onto the gameplay! When you create a character you can choose from 6 clans. Three are good and three are evil .. the Ying and the Yang. Based on what clan you decide to pursue you can begin to learn kung fu techniques based on historical information. For example .. you can join the Shaolin Monks, they will shave your head, give you a robe, and you will begin to learn the basics of praying mantis and polearm fighting, or you can choose to join the League of Beggars and live the simple life while learning the art of Drunken Boxing.
Each clan has more than 400 unique martial arts styles and over 500 different items of martial arts weaponry. Some clans use unarmed combat while other focus on weapons mastery or even assasination! This is a skill-based game, driven by the quest system. To learn a skill, player must find a master who will teach you the basics. Each skill has a sequence that player build up by practice. 9Dragons has more than 300 different skills and a character can have up to 60 at a time. Each skill also has 10 levels.
There is also PvP in this game. You can participate in arena duels .. or large scale PvP that is Good vs Evil in certain zones only. I definately say give this game a shot. Ohh and by the way, did I mention the game has no monthly fee to play? That is correct! Its ad supported so when you zone you have to look at ads. I believe they will offer a subscription fee to have the ads removed.
Here is the Link .. Enjoy!
February 2007 - 09:49am | johnmilton | 
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Life Sucks huh? Get a Second Life! Author: johnmilton
Second Life is a virtual world where they let you create anything that you want. When I say you can create anything .. I mean just that. Anything. They give the users basically full scripting access to land plots that you buy .. with real world money. In Fact the entire world is effected by real world economics. Just like in the real world, Sex sells in cyber space. I had some friends tell me about this game and how people are paying money to have cyber sex with users in the world. Its funny the lengths people go to get off. I was curious about this new world and decided to check out a few websites that talk about it.
The first website shows how to have sex in second life. If this doesnt make you laugh out loud .. then Im sure you will be the newest resident of the world. Click HERE for more information.
Another aspect of the world is to become a "Rock Star" You can not only become famous people but you can provide concerts in the world as your favorite rock band. These tools decided to become U2. I have linked the MTV article that covered this event in Second Life HERE
This is the "Official" description from the makers of Second Life:
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 2,882,432 people from around the globe.
- From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.
- You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow residents. Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other residents.
- The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world currency, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online currency exchanges.
Here is the Link to Second Life so you can check it out for yourselfs ... Second Life
This definately is not my cup o tea, I will stick with my MMORPG's. But if your Life sucks bad enough .. then get a second life. I'm tired of hearing you bitch anyways :)
A New Addiction is coming Author: johnmilton
Since the release of Ultima Online in 1997 I have been hopelessly addicted to MMORPG's. I have tried and played every MMO on the market today. A few I have played for years on end. Ultima Online I played over 4 years, Asherons Call got over 1 year of my life, Dark Age of Camelot I have played on and off for 5 years now. The games in between I usually played for a month or two. I did play Everquest 2 at launch, then returned again for the PvP servers. I am an advid fan of PvP on MMO's probably because of my early adoption to it on Ultima Online. Now a new game is about to hit the markey on January 30th. It has my full attention and I look forward to seeing the new world. Vanguard is coming ... are you ready?
You can check out the game HERE
Everquest 2 PvP Servers Author: johnmilton
Seriously .. I havent had this much fun in a MMORPG since the olden days of Ultima Online. The PvP servers are good versus evil .. and the level range you can PvP is only 8 above and below your current level. I suggest if your like your MMO's with the adrenaline of PvP ... check it out. Having a blast .. hope to see ya there!
Warhammer Online Author: johnmilton
I have been playing Dark Age of Camelot on and off since its release over 4 years ago. There is yet to be any game in my opinion that handles PvP better than Dark Age ... until now. Mythic Entertainment (developers of Dark Age) have teamed up with Warhammer to publish the latest MMORPG based solely around Realm Vs Realm (PVP) combat! They have just put up the official website so I figured I would link it here so we could watch its progress. Destin Bales, Content Director of Warhammer, states "Here, we express the core idea of the game. We outline the backstory, overall setting, and general game play. We also talk about how WAR will be designed as a Realm-based PvP (we call it Realm vs. Realm, or RvR for short) game from the ground up. Every aspect of the game, including PvE content, will be geared towards the greater war between the Realms in some important way."
Its not due for release until 2007.
Visit the Official WARHAMMER website located HERE
