Chris Taylor has always been on the cutting edge of RTS design, having birthed both Total Annihilation and the recent Supreme Commander. Gas Powered Games’ newest title, however, promises action on a significantly smaller scale. 1up has the scoop on Demigod, a DotA-inspired online PC game that puts players in control of a single powerful unit, requiring you to play nice with allies in order to raze the opponents’ base.

If you’ve somehow managed to avoid the largest user-created gaming phenomenon since Counter-Strike, DotA is short for Defense of the Ancients, and is a wildly popular Warcraft 3 map. So popular, in fact, that it’s virtually impossible to play any other type of non-ranked Warcraft 3 game over Battle.net. If DotA’s continued success is any indication, it looks like Gas Powered Games has another hit on their hands. The uninitiated should check out the map’s official site and welcome their new gaming addiction with open arms.

No word yet on when Demigod will get its very own Swedish techno hit.

Wired’s Game | Life blog is reporting that a Chinese MMO player (surname Zhang) sued Shandra Interactive after they failed to return his in-game items… and won. The game company has been ordered to pay Zhang the equivalent of $680 for items originally taken as part of a police investigation into the sale of stolen virtual goods in World of Legend, a Chinese MMO. Shandra failed to return the items after the investigation ended and now must pay for the mistake. Zhang also plans to take Shandra to court over the $20,000 he claims to have spent on the game over the last five years.

So, there you have it. Virtual items have real world value in China. It’ll be interesting to see how this scenario plays out when it inevitably ends up in courts in other parts of the world. It’s typical to sign away all your rights by agreeing to a draconian EULA before playing any MMO, but with more and more MMOs dumping monthly subscription models in favor of free to play schemes that allow players to spend real world currency on in-game items, the question of who owns these virtual items becomes increasingly relevant. It’s one thing to pay $5.99 to flip a variable on a server and wield an Ethereal Dagger of Demon Flaying; it’s another thing entirely to not even really own it.

I have a confession to make: For two years I played World of Warcraft like there wasn’t much else in the world worth doing. I have little to show for it, of course — some transactions on my bank statements, a growing sense of personal failure, and a massive collection of epic loot.

Figure Prints is a new service going live on December 11th that promises to make 3D printouts of your World of Warcraft character, gear and all. It’s an officially licensed Blizzard product, so the 4-inch statues themselves are of the highest quality. Check out the official FAQ for more information. Whether you’re still a hardcore WoW addict, or a former raider looking to remember your glory days, this looks to be the coolest (real world) World of Warcaft loot yet.

I’m seriously going to order one.

The sequel syndrome continues. Personally, I am getting bored with the same games adding a few more features. Yet, as far as game developing companies are concerned, this is what keeps their profits up. It has been confirmed that Guitar Hero 4, Call of Duty 5, and the 11th Tony Hawk are all in the works.

Obviously, these title games are not anywhere close to their release date, since each game has recently released its predecessor. By the time they come out, these games should have more advanced graphics and other bonus features. Unfortunately, the concepts of the games are surely going to be the very similar. Like the movie industry, original thoughts are lacking. The difference is that a sequel in a video game goes over much better than a movie. However, when is enough, enough?

A year or so from now, I can bet that I will be buying these games and checking them out. The newer technology will cause me to lose interest in the old games for the better quality. Yet, the new games that I will favor are the ones with new ideas. Originality and uniqueness will be first on my list. So, I would like to just send a message to the gaming designers to please give us something different for a change. If you need ideas, I do offer my services as an advisor, and I am sure about 95% of all other gamers would say the same.

Only one shopping week until Christmas! And oh, what a forgettable week it is.

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Pick of the Week: Rock Band Fear not, last gen supporters, the PS2 continues to soldier on with a downsized port of Harmonix’s excellent music game. While the PS2 version doesn’t support downloadable content (obviously) or online multiplayer (unfortunately), up to four friends can still rock out locally and live out their dreams of rock n’ roll super stardom vicariously through plastic instruments.

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Runner-Up: Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command Already available for the PSP, this pint-sized RTS is opening up a second front on the Nintendo DS. The game makes great use of the DS’ touch screen as well as its WiFi capabilities, with local and online multiplayer modes. After Dawn of War and its two excellent expansions, it looks like the terrible Warhammer 40k video game curse may finally be lifted. Praise the Emperor!

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Fury, the PvP MMO that already tried to coax potential subscribers by offering free, week-long trials, will be going completely free to play as of December 14. Free “Chosen” accounts will gain gold and essence more slowly than those with paid “Hero” accounts, but will still have access to all weapons, abilities, and game types. Auran, the Australian developer behind Fury, hopes the game will find a strong audience in China, but regardless, the failed MMO has cost the company a great deal of money. In fact, Auran announced that most of its employees would be losing their jobs as a direct result of Fury’s failure.

With Fury’s strict focus on player versus player combat, however, the game’s troubles should come as little surprise. While a purity of focus is unquestionably a good thing, sometimes a game’s focus is so narrow, it’s premise so simple, that there simply isn’t enough there to keep people entertained. In Fury’s case, it’s hard to imagine people being interested in paying a monthly fee for something that amounts to little more than a single component of other MMOs. World of Warcraft, the genre’s heavy hitter, for example, sports of wealth of soloable and group PvE content in addition to crafting and PvP. Some titles are too niche for their own good, and it’s sad to see a developer suffer so greatly for their missteps.

Over at its US blog, Capcom has announced their plans to bring down the multiplayer servers for PS2 classics Monster Hunter and Resident Evil: Outbreak. Sadly, this is something we’re going to see more of going forward. Sega brought down its Gamecube Phantasy Star Online servers in March of this year and Konami already shut down its Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence servers in April. All multiplayer games die, eventually. For some, it just takes a really, really long time.

Keep in mind, however, that these latest server closures aren’t entirely Capcom’s fault. They write:

And just so you know, although these are older titles, we did want to make an effort to keep the fans happy and continue supporting online play. We’ve tried to extend the contract, move it someplace else, etc. It’s not happening. The hosting partner (who I guess remains nameless here) is just quitting the business entirely and doesn’t want to mess around with the time/money involved in porting anything. Thanks to everyone who has kept these games fun online for so many years.

So, who’s next to the proverbial chopping block?

Another week of mostly ignorable titles as we draw ever closer to Christmas. The PS3 offers a trio of interesting FPS games and casual-friendly sports titles continue to dominate the Wii’s software library.

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Pick of the Week: Unreal Tournament 3 Epic’s latest installment in their long-running, deathmatch-focused FPS series hits the PS3 this week. Besides being one of the few FPS titles available for Sony’s console, Unreal Tournament 3 is also the only one of them which supports bots. Good news for those of you that prefer your multiplayer action in the absence of other people. The same breakneck speed, larger-than-life weaponry, and varied gameplay modes that have endeared the franchise to PC gamers are still intact in this console port. And best of all, the PS3 version will also support fan-made mods. Basically, if you’re still reading this, own a PS3, and haven’t started fragging other players online yet, you clearly have a pretty twisted sense of priorities. Get playing!

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Runner-Up: The Orange Box Everybody already knows The Orange Box is great, terrible box art aside, because we’ve all played it for the PC and 360. If you still haven’t spent some quality time with the single greatest gaming compilation in history – which includes Half Life 2, Episode 1, Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal - you literally have no excuse now that it’s on the PS3. And about those reported framerate hiccups that rendered the game “unplayable?” 1up assures us they’ve been corrected in the final code. Don’t worry, diehard detractors, we’re sure Gabe Newell still hates the console.

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It’s no secret that Vivendi has been trying to sell its gaming division for years. Now, in a surprising Sunday statement, Business Wire is reporting that Activision and Vivendi have announced they are merging to form Activision Blizzard, unquestionably the largest third-party video game publisher in the world. Gaming series falling under Activision Blizzard’s umbrella include Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Guitar Hero, Warcraft, and Diablo. Blizzard has a helpful FAQ on their web site assuring fans that the merger will not affect their games, management, or day-to-day operations in any way. Though, the chances of seeing some Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftan songs as downloadable content for Guitar Hero III just increased exponentially.

This merger is huge and no doubt leaves EA and Ubisoft execs shaking in their boots. If little ol’ Eidos allegedly has the power to get a Gamespot editor fired, we shudder to think of the pull Activision Blizzard will have. Hopefully it’s enough, from the Activision side of the things, at least, to finally get some of Vivendi’s games on Steam. We get it, Vivendi, you don’t like Valve. Now stop holding your grudge so we can buy games without leaving our homes.

The post-Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) slump continues with an influx of licensed games and quick ports. And yet, a few brightly shining rays of hope pierce the shovelware darkness.

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Pick of the Week: Universe at War: Earth Assault Developed by Petroglyph, the fine folks behind the excellent Star Wars: Empire at War, this Sega-published title promises to be one of the most interesting RTS games in recent memory. You can control one of three distinctly different aliens factions and use Earth as your fully-destructible battleground. Each race features wildly different units, tech trees, and resource gathering methods. Be sure to check out the demo at the game’s official site. Universe at War will be hitting the Xbox 360 in early 2008, with PC and 360 owners able to duke it out online.

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Runner-Up: Eve Online: Trinity Eve’s latest free expansion introduces new ships, missions, items, and a massive graphical overhaul to the successful sci-fi MMORPG. The game’s about as hardcore as they come, but the greatly improved graphics should help ease recovering WoW-aholics into their next MMO addiction. If you have the time and the patience, Eve’s an incredibly deep game that’s worth looking into, and with this free expansion just now hitting servers, there’s never been a better time to get started. How many other MMOs are powered by absurdly powerful super computers, after all?

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Flagship’s freshman game has been having a rough time of it. As the Hellgate: London beta ended, the game was still filled with bugs and design issues and, like the demo itself, did little to impress many potential buyers. Then came news that subscribers were being billed multiple times and the game’s lower-than-expected review scores, some harsher than others. Now, Amazon.com has cut the game’s price to $34.99, barely a month after its release. The Collector’s Edition is the same price. In this thread, NeoGAF user Jibber Hack reports he bought the game at Best Buy for the reduced price.

Even with its recent 0.6 patch, the same problems that plagued the beta persist: bugs, frequent crashes, balance issues. The fact that Hellgate: London still hasn’t reached version 1.0 should be a huge warning sign to those of you still on the fence about purchasing the game. This is a game that was rushed to retail and now Flagship is trying to play catch-up. Will they manage to scrape together a worthwhile game six months down the road? Only time will tell. Hopefully there are still some people playing it when and if they finally get it right.

Sure to be one of the largest stories of the year, third-party publishing giant and World of Warcraft producing Blizzard has become one. They’ll be known as (wait for it) Activision Blizzard.

The deal is worth $18.8 billion. Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick will take the top spot, and is a very, very rich man. Imagine having 9 million World of Warcraft subscriptions on your paycheck. The official press release can be found here.

It’s incredible to see how far Activision has come. Formed in 1979 by disgruntled Atari employees, they’ve now become one of the largest third party companies in the industry. That’s one amazing ride.