Think your MMO can take down World of Warcraft? Seriously?

Then you’re either Bill Gates or your bank just gave you the most generous loan in the history of banking.

Activision’s CEO admitted in an investor’s meeting that anyone who tried to compete should have a solid billion dollars laying around before trying anything. He cites examples of failed attempts (all of them in reality) to beat out the competition. It’s impossible to argue with the guy as this point. They seem to have a stronger hold on that section of the market than EA does with the NFL license, and EA owns the entire thing.

The question then becomes how long before someone tries a bogus lawsuit claiming Blizzard has a monopoly on their hands?

Even after Microsoft confirmed that the financial side of things didn’t pan out, the updated Goldeneye for the Live Arcade won’t leave gamers alone. The N64 classic remains one of the most beloved first-person shooters of all time (even though it barely holds up today), and the remixed graphics and online multi-player had many players frothing at the mouth.

Adding fuel to the rumors is the UK magazine Xbox World who claims to have the exclusive story about the game and its release date. However, Microsoft stands firm that they never contacted (or were contacted) by the magazine about the story, and repeat their initial stance on the issue that it’s not happening.

Undoubtedly, the game would be a huge seller, so either Microsoft or Nintendo needs to budge on this one and get a release. A ton of work has apparently been done, as the screen shots and video show nicely rendered graphics that represent a huge leap over the N64 original. With dual analog controls, it could even be brought up to today’s standards.

Grand Theft Auto. MLB 2K8. BioShock.

All of those came close to having an EA logo in front them when the company took a shot and tried to buy 60% of Take Two. EA offered $26 per share which is a substantial increase over the actual value of the stock.

Take Two then sent that offer back with a blatant no attached to it. Their claims about cramping creativity are shots directly at the company, and likely resonated with gamers. The company also defended their decision to stockholders, claiming EA’s offer was an opportunistic bid with the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV just down the line.

Formerly called Quake Zero, the freebie version of id’s Quake announced some time ago has more details. The entire game, which is set to be played completely in-browser, will be sponsored by IGA Worldwide. They’re specialists in getting advertisements into games, and if they have the ability to make a game free, more power to them.

Quake Live will be surprisingly robust, with friends lists and matchmaking features. A Live Arcade edition of Quake Arena is also in the works, though that has no release date yet either since its announcement back in August of ‘07. Keep watching www.quakelive.com for the eventual release, or sign up for the beta which is currently the only thing on the site.

The recently released Warcraft 3 patch, 1.21b, allows players to run the game without a CD in their drive, according to N4G.

In these days of DRM and strict anti-piracy measures, the most prolific developer in the world freeing its most recent RTS from CD limitations may come as a shock. However, most Warcraft 3 players are playing the game online, where they still need a valid CD-Key in order to access Battle.net, Blizzard’s proprietary mutliplayer gateway. As such, this new patch won’t trigger an onslaught of Warcraft 3 piracy. The game is nearly six years old; everyone who wanted to play the single player campaign, legally or otherwise, has already done so. Blizzard knows that the statute of limitations on pirating Warcraft 3 has passed. Think of this patch as a big “thank you” to the fans, but don’t expect Starcraft 2 to run without a CD when it hits store shelves this year… next year… sometime this decade, at least… please.

Warcraft 3 players can patch to the latest version by logging onto Battle.net through Warcraft 3 or downloading the patch manually from Blizzard’s official site here.

There are a great many free MMORPGs out there on the interwebs, and let’s face it: most of them are garbage. How are you supposed to know which of them are worth your hard-earned cash hard drive space and which ones aren’t worth the webspace they’re stored on?

In the first of a series of posts that will no doubt lead to long-term emotional scaring, I’ll be braving the not-so-wonderful world of free MMORPGs and reporting on the horrors (and occasional diamonds in the rough) I find there. Today I’ll be taking a look at two of the biggest free MMORPGs out of South Korea: Fly For Fun and Silkroad Online.

Hit the jump to find out just how they stack up against their larger, pay-to-play brethren.

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Xbox Live etiquette, in a perfect world, would be common sense. However, it’s inevitable that at some point, you’re going to run into someone who decided to pay $50 a year simply to ruin your day. These people come in a variety of categories, and not all commit the same offenses.

To see the full list of potential offenses, see the list. To see those who failed to follow the rules, keep reading.

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March hits the ground running with a week packed with solid releases.

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Pick of the Week: Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War: Soulstorm Real-Time Strategy | PC You shouldn’t just buy Soulstorm as a memorial to the recently deceased Iron Lore Entertainment (though, admittedly, that’s a pretty good reason). No, you should buy Soulstorm because it promises to be the best Dawn of War stand alone expansion yet, and given the quality of Dark Crusade, that’s really saying something. Like Dark Crusade, Soulstorm brings with it a non-linear single player campaign, two new playable races (The Dark Eldar and Sisters of Battle), and a new unit for all seven of the game’s already existing races. That’s right, Soulstorm brings Dawn of War’s playable roster up to nine completely unique races. Best RTS since Starcraft? You better believe it.

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Runner-Up: Army of Two Third-Person Shooter | 360, PS3 Army of Two’s come a long way; looks like the delay into ‘08 has done it good. As is often the case these days, players take control of an army operative in an nondescript Middle Eastern country. However, this time around you’ll have a buddy at your side from start to finish. Offline, the game’s AI will pick up the slack and take control of your partner-in-war, but you can also jump online and play through the entire game cooperatively with a friend. We love cooperating. Army of Two also features some needlessly in-depth weapon customization and fully-destructable environments, according to this press release here.

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Hit the jump for the rest of the week’s multiplayer offerings.
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Hello.

I win.

That’s about all you’ll be able to type when you head online with Mario Kart for the Wii. As reported on by IGN, “text chat” is a relative term. Instead of offering keyboard support or the 20th century version of communication known as voice chat, you’ll select from a number of pre-determined messages and shoot those out to the people in room. Hello PC Doom circa 1993.

In other somewhat related news, if you like using a steering wheel that isn’t attached to a base, you can plunk down an additional $11 or so dollars for a hunk of plastic know as the Wii Wheel. Why anyone would use the one bundled, let alone spend money for a second one, is beyond all logic.

It’s with genuine sadness that I report on Iron Lore’s closing. Founded in 2000 by Brian Sullivan (co-creator of the Age of Empire series) and Paul Chieffo, Iron Lore’s first game, Titan Quest, was the first action RPG to rise out of Diablo 2’s all-encompassing shadow. The game saw players battling hordes of mythical creatures across ancient Greece, Egypt, and China in the pursuit of the “teh phat loot.” And it was good. Their second title, the positively awesome looking Dawn of War: Soulstorm, the third expansion for Relic’s popular Warhammer 40k RTS, is set to hit store shelves and digital distribution services on March 5 of this year.

In their closing statement, Iron Lore cites their inability to secure funding for upcoming titles as the reason for their sudden and unexpected closure. It looks like rumormonger Surfer Girl was right. Their in-development title, described as “Titan Quest meets God of War meets Oblivion” won’t see release. I think I speak for every PC gamer on the planet when I say: