The goddess Erollisi Marr has gone missing, and only your stalwart band of adventurers can infiltrate her home shard of Love and get as much loot as possible, perhaps learning something about her fate in the process. The Shards of Destiny update brings several new features to EQ2, including a new four-man dungeon, the ability to dumb-down your skills and spells in order to take on earlier content you might have missed while leveling, and ... achievements? Achievements in an MMO? What a brilliant idea! Why didn't Blizzard think of that first?

Oh.

Video Games | EverQuest II: Shards of Destiny | Debut Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

The data used in the original survey has been pared down a bit for this new report, which studies gender difference amongst the unnaturally fit EQ2 populace. Along with echoing previous findings (females generally getting more into the games than men), lead researcher Scott Caplan of the University of Delaware explains that women who play MMO games are those more-likely to reject gender stereotypes. This conclusion is supported by the gathered data, indicating five times the amount of bisexuality among women in the game as compared to the general population.

Wow. That's a lot of physically fit bisexual women milling about, isn't it? It's as if they polled the population of any given college town.

"These are not people who are following strict gender stereotypes," said Prof Caplan.

"I think that the game itself is right now a very non-traditional activity for women, and so I think what you would find in this population are going to be people who are in other ways less traditional than the majority population."

Of course i have to stress once again - these are the results of a voluntary study in which participants received a free in-game item for participating, so I can't really see how they can even begin to pretend that they tallied accurate results. If I was told to complete a study in order to receive a free in-game item, I'd complete that puppy so fast that I might have wound up one of those hardcore bisexual raider women.

Think about that before you start fantasizing about that hot wood elf you saw running about Qeynos.

The virtual battle of the sexes [BBC - Thanks MaxS!]

Still, players scored well on physical health compared to the rest of the nation. They reported exercising vigorously once or twice a week, as opposed to 62 percent of American adults who don't exercise for more than 10 minutes at any time.

They also found that MMO players are on average 10 percent leaner than the average American.

Okay, so I ran the story as it was presented, now let's take a look at how we run it in reality land.

MSNBC is running an interesting story on a recent survey conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California that indicates that MMORPG players rank amongst the most apt to lie on a survey about their physical fitness to anonymous researchers in order to receive a limited-edition in-game item.

Still, players scored well on physical health compared to the rest of the nation. They reported exercising vigorously once or twice a week, as opposed to 62 percent of American adults who don't exercise for more than 10 minutes at any time.

They also found that MMO players are on average 10 percent leaner than the average American, due to the fact that they are so disconnected from their physical bodies that they have no idea what lean was and guessed low.

You cannot expect me to take a survey seriously that asks people, anonymously or not, to divulge their weight. You could have photographs of the 7,000 people on a giant scale, and I would still suspect there was cheating involved. "Please remove the helium balloons before stepping on the scale sir."

There were some interesting, if a bit expected results, such as less women than men playing, but women playing much more intensely. I've certainly noticed a trend of women I introduce to gaming getting far more into the games we play than I do.

But the weight issue? Please. This is the internet, after all, where only the very prettiest people post pictures of themselves that aren't at least five years old or severely photoshopped. Have you poked around MySpace lately? It's like a freaking time capsule from the late 90's.

Kudos to the University of Southern California for getting their hands on all that data, but I know players who would sell their children for a free in-game item and not think twice about it. Your data is severely compromised.

Video gamers are surprisingly fit, says study [MSNBC - Thanks Zach]

Not sure if they are of anticipation or dread, but I got chills just thinking about it.

The expansion opens up the lost continent of Kunark for the second time - we really need to chain it up or something - complete with new a new starting area, new quests, new equipment, and a new Rhino mount. It also sees the return of three of the old gods, as Bertoxxulous, Karana, and the Tribunal return to meddle in the affairs of mortals again. All level caps are being raised to 80.

Then there is the new playable race. If you played EQ you know them. You love them. You can't get enough of those whacky Sarnak! Those half-dragon creatures often seen following me in large packs as I ran screaming for the zone line are back and ready to take their homeland back from the Iksar once and for all.

My excitement is only dulled by the realization that SOE has pretty much been building EQ2 by misplacing most of EQ1 Norrath and then slowly finding it again until they create what the players wanted in the first place, but at least they're heading in the right direction. Michael Fahey

EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark [Everquest II Allakhazam - Thanks Cyanbane!]

And I'm being kind. It's worse—wooden, dull and way too slick. At some point, it's admirable, because I've always wondered what a press release read under creepy EverQuest music sounds like. Cutting them some slack, this is SOE's first podcast, and the guy at the end was okay, but still... Ease up on the PR hard-sell, guys. The point is to connect with players, not alienate them.

Microsoft's Major Nelson linked this podcast for all to mock. That bully. Brian Ashcraft

Find the Podcast Here [Major Nelson]

Over at Game Set Watch, we saw this entertaining video of naked EverQuest 2 avatars making improbable jumps across rooftops and gorges. Until a sequel comes out, this remains the only entertaining thing to ever have come out of EverQuest 2. - Florian Eckhardt

EverQuest II Goes... Parkouring? [Game Set Watch]

The event will be at the Atlanta Mariott Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue, from Thursday through Saturday. It runs 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Here's a break-down of the faire:

Special appearance by Curt Schilling, All Star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, an EverQuest II fan, on Thursday, April 6.
Costume contest during the Fan Faire banquet on Saturday night, April 8. Fans clad in exotic EverQuest and EverQuest II character costumes inspired by the incredibly popular massively multiplayer online games.
Hundreds of fans from all over the world meet Sony Online Entertainment game developers and their online friends for the first time in real life.
Huge Fan Faire party at the Tabernacle nightclub (152 Luckie St.), with local Atlanta music acts.
EverQuest "Best of the Best" Tournament: On Friday, from 9 AM to 3 PM, 50 players will represent their servers and fight in-game for their fellow Norrathians' glory — the last one standing wins.
EverQuest II "Take to the Sky": Saturday, from 9 AM to 3 PM, dozens of players compete in a timed race to complete a high-level adventure within EverQuest II.
Real-life quest and wild scavenger hunt, featuring actors in EverQuest and EverQuest II costumes.

SOE Fan Faire 2006 in Atlanta this Week [Gamersmark]

We knew Red Sox Curt Schilling was an Everquest II fan, but dark elves? At least he plays in the first level 40 guil to hit the Unrest server in EQ2. Three words for you Schilling: World of Warcraft.

They're going to... [Boston Dirt Dogs]

The game launched a year ago today. To celebrate, Sony's offering a revamp. Futher info after the jump.

Sony's press release reads:

- EverQuest II celebrates its first birthday by introducing Veteran Rewards! - Griffon tamers are seeking your assistance in the Thundering Steppes and Nektulos Forest! - Give the residents of Norrath a fresh look with the new SOGA character models! - Two new iksar scale patterns now available for each gender! - Crusaders, Mages, and Priests can now equip symbols in their ranged slot! - Carry extra ammo in quivers you can equip! - Using clickable items is now even easier, and food and drink get their own inventory slots! - Population and item improvements made in some of Norrath's deadly dungeons! - Can't reach your spirit shard? Now you can have your spirit restored... for a price! - Guild quest raids now scale according to player level and reward additional status! - The user interface gets a spiffy new look!

Hey Sony, I'm excited too, but just lay off the exclamation marks. It's like laughing at yer own jokes.

More Info Here [Sony Forums]

In an incredibly thoughtful move, Sony has added the /donate command to Everquest 2. Typing it in while playing the massively multiplayer game jumps you straight to the Red Cross s Hurricane 2005 relief page where you can make donations. Sony goes on to say that they estimate that 13,000 of their players were effected by Katrinia and that they will be suspending their accounts until they can play again.

Sony wraps up by saying that effected gamers items will be preserved until they logon again, meaning their digital houses won t erode or decay.

If you hear of any other game-related Katrina fund-raisers, let me know and I'll try to post an item about it.

Please Lend a Helping Hand in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina [EQ2 Players]