Star Trek Online Pre Order Bonuses
Just got an email in my inbox describing the pre-order bonuses that are available for Star Trek Online. Star Trek Online is breaking the usual pre-order mold and will offer different rewards depending on which retailer you pre-order STO from. In addition, pre-order customers also receive access to the Star Trek Online Open Beta (January 12 through January 26, 2010) and the Star Trek Online Head Start, which offers gamers an opportunity to begin playing Star Trek Online days before it releases.
Each retailer has it's own unique pre order bonus, so it is going to be a tough decision on where to get Star Trek Online. If you go with Gamestop, you get to pilot the Enterprise from the original series. On the other hand, if you go with Direct 2 Drive, you get a Multi-Spatial Personal Shield that regenerates both your shield AND health constantly. So if you are going to pre-order Star Trek Online, make sure to hit up the list below and figure out which retailer you need to get it from. At least everybody won't have the same exact bonus, thus you never know what you will encounter in the final frontier.
GameStop customers receive the ability to command the classic USS Enterprise from Star Trek The Original Series.
Amazon is offering an exclusive “Liberated Borg” Bridge Officer. This bridge officer, who comes with unique nanotechnology augmentations, assists in missions and gains experience as the player does.
Best Buy is offering their customers a fun in-game pet. As a Federation Captain, players own a Tribble of Star Trek lore that will accompany them on their travels into the final frontier. If you play a Klingon commander, you will control the boar-like Targ, a beast found on the Klingon home world of Qo’noS.
Wal-Mart has the Bonus Skill Points package. Players will receive addition skill points that enable players to improve their characters quickly.
Target customers who pre-order Star Trek Online receive a unique ground weapon – a TR-116. This rare projectile weapon is used in dampening fields and other challenging environments. The TR-116 is modified with a micro-transporter which beams the fired projectiles to targets at close range so that a user can fire without a direct line of site.
Direct2Drive customers receive an exclusive Multi-Spatial Personal Shield. This advanced personal shield system is based on Borg technology, which constantly regenerates itself and the health of its wearer.
STEAM is offering customers Chromodynamic Armor. This armor is based on technology brought back from the Delta Quadrant by U.S.S. Voyager improves the damage and critical hits of energy weapons.
Dungeons & Dragons Goes Free to Play
It seems that Turbine is looking to get some more players into Dungeons & Dragons Online and are targeting the penny-pinching crowd. The free DDO is going to happen just right now, you will have to wait until they release Eberron Unlimited later this summer to get your Dungeons and Dragons fix. The new version is going to be a hybrid version and allows players to download the game for free, but there will be some limitations between the DDO VIP and the Free To Play (FTP). In DDO Eberron unlimited, players can still subscribe and gain unlimited access to the game, along with a few other perks. Turbine could be onto something very interesting here, as there isn't much use of the Hybrid model in MMOs; Free Realms is the closest comparison out there.
I will probably give the free to play version a try; I was very excited when Dungeons and Dragons Online first came out. I got fed up with the monthly payments and gave up after a month or two. Now with the launch of new content (even though some of it will be restricted to the VIP players). Here is a list of the details and an image comparison of them as well (thanks to Massively.com)
- Brand New Content & Features - DDO Unlimited will deliver a new class, increase the level cap, introduce new adventure packs including a new 12 player raid, major combat improvements and more!
- The Fiercest Combat - DDO Unlimited features an extraordinary and heart stopping combat experience that requires players to fully engage in the battle by relying on their wits and reflexes in real time. No more clicking skills and watching the action from the sideline.
- Mind-blowing Visuals - Explore a vast and dangerous online world, featuring the most advanced graphics in the industry, that is stuffed with the legendary monsters, glorious treasures, devious traps, mind-bending puzzles and endless adventures from the world's best known RPG.
- Full-featured MMO - Experience sophisticated systems found only in the best games including auctions, arena death matches (Player versus Player), NPC hirelings, gambling, crafting, and powerful social tools for finding a group, forming a guild or planning an epic raid!
- Easier Than Ever! - DDO Unlimited gets you playing in minutes instead of hours, using new proprietary Turbine technology. Creating a new character is incredibly simple with guides and templates that speed you through the process. Features an all-new new player experience that gives gamers their first taste of excitement quickly while teaching them how to play solo or with a group of fellow adventurers.
Ultimate Soccer Boss Closed Beta Key Giveaway
Down to the Last Save was able to secure 30 (yes, thirty) Ultimate Soccer Boss closed beta keys to give away. Ultimate Soccer Boss is a free to play browser game where you, as a player, take the role as the team manager. So you don't actually play soccer, but train your individual players, schedule matches, etc. If you enjoy simulation games, this could be a great game for you. The really interesting part, is that the makers claim that no two players will be alike, due to the fact that the player's skills evolve over time based on a lot of different variables. And if you are like me and no nothing about soccer, don't fret!. Ultimate Soccer Boss has an "ask the experts" what the hell I should be doing feature.
The closed beta goes live tomorrow, Wednesday 25th. To sign up at www.ultimatesoccerboss.com and actually play, you will need a closed beta key from Down to the Last Save (or one of the other sites that may have them). Just post a comment with your email here, and I will send out keys on a first come, first serve basis. Even if you don't think you will like it, why not give it a try?
Here is (part) of the Ultimate Soccer Boss press release:
Ultimate Soccer Boss™ Enters Closed Beta Testing
Ultimate Soccer Boss to distribute thousands of closed beta keys to MMOABC and leading game portal destinations
El Monte, CA, February 24, 2009 -- MMOABC, a leading massively-multiplayer online (MMO) portal, is proud to announce the start of closed beta testing for Ultimate Soccer Boss, an MMO Sports Manager powered by Digenetics, Inc. Ultimate Soccer Boss (USB) is the first ever free-to-play soccer manager browser game powered by Digenetics' patented technology which allows players' skills to evolve. Players interested in participating in the closed beta can sign up at www.ultimatesoccerboss.com starting February 25th through March 11th.
Unlike other sports manager games, Ultimate Soccer Boss will feature players that actually evolve their skills over time based on variables such as numbers of plays, training matches, and overall management of the club, thus resulting in a truly unique game play.Ultimate Soccer Boss updates include improved recruitment and communication features for friends and managers, tournaments and instant match mode, tactics modification, player transfer market, shop, messaging system, and management of players, employees, stadium, and finances. The move to closed beta will allow managers to have the opportunity to piece together all features and aspects of the Ultimate Soccer Boss to gain a better understanding of how the game will look and feel at launch. Closed beta testing also allows the development team to better observe overall game play, perform system stress tests, and ultimately perfect the Ultimate Soccer Boss experience.
Ultimate Soccer Boss is slated for released in spring 2009.
Here are some screen shots of the Ultimate Soccer Boss interface.
EVE Online: The end of Band of Brothers
If you used to play EVE Online, (or if you like drama), this is for you. Band of Brothers were the absolute rulers of the EVE Universe, but now the underdog GoonSwarm alliance has ended that.
From Destructoid.com:
Literally, Band of Brothers is no more. They got a spy into the executor corp at director level, kicked out every corp, stole all the assets they could lay their hands on, and altered standings so that everyone will start shooting everyone else. And then they closed the alliance, and created a new corporation called Band of Brothers with the same corp ticker, so they can't even have the old alliance name back.
This kind of "metagame" really is what makes EVE Online; What other game can you play that allows players to use social engineering to take down their enemies? The other staggering thing about this news is that those Titan ships (if you were to sell it for cash that is) are estimated to be $5,000 to $6,000 PER SHIP. If Band of Brothers doesn't get soverignty back, they stand to lose ALOT ( well, and they allready have lost alot)