Sure, there are other good things about Ultima Online as well. It'll run on your toaster, and there isn't any of that third-person camera view you get in today's MMORPG titles that makes you feel uncomfortably semi-immersed. No, Ultimate Online is old school, and EA hopes that lapsed players are feeling a little nostalgic about old Britannia. At least nostalgic enough to take advantage of a little free game time.

"We're hoping that, as part of the Return to Britannia Campaign, former players will once again rediscover the joys of Ultima Online," said Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer for Mythic Entertainment. "UO was the first love of many MMORPG players, and it still holds a special place in their hearts after 12 glorious years. I think returning players will be pleasantly surprised to find a thriving and vibrant community from around the world ready to welcome back their former compatriots and include them in their ongoing adventures."

Returning players will have access to all expansions through Mondain's Legacy, so they'll be able to create elves and hunt for mailboxes to dance naked near. Those wanting a taste of the new Gargoyle race recently introduced in the Stygian Abyss expansion are welcome to pay for it.

Visit the game's official site to hop back onboard. The free play time runs from now until October 16th.

Acclaim refers to The Chronicles of Spellborn as a "Freemium" massively multiplayer online game. This means the game limits free customers to a specific area and enforces a level cap, giving players enough to time to get a taste of the gameplay before yanking it away and holding out its hand for their wallets. At launch, this cap was 7.9, stopping players from progressing to level 8 or higher. Now they've raised the cap to 9.9, giving free players another couple of levels to mull things over in the starter zones of Hawksmouth and Aldenvault.

The change is part of patch 1.0.4.2, which also includes an improved tutorial for Spellborn's unique Skill Deck hot bar substitute, which was desperately needed.

Whether the increased cap will be enough to convince players to stick around for $14.99 a month remains to be seen.

Hit the jump for a clip of the liberation.

Akiba Liberation [Japan Sugoi]
Akiba March [Japan Probe]

Wired's Clive Thompson puts forth a burning question: Who are these mythical 40-hour gamers? Thompson, like most, wants to tear through an involved game title, but doesn't have the time to play for 8 or 9 hours at a stretch in order to finish it. A job, family, etc. make only short bursts possible for most, and gaming comes an hour at a time. Thus, the problem writes Thompson:

The demographic schism over 40-hour gameplay is gradually becoming a big problem for game designers. Their options are unenviable. If they develop a game aimed at the hard-core crowd, a wuss like me will almost certainly never finish it. If they do the opposite, the power cartel will blow through the game in afternoon and feel justifiably ripped off: I paid $50 for this?

At Sakaguchi's TGS press conference, I remember the famed game creator saying it took him 40 hours to finish Blue Dragon. And that's the guy who made it, so it will take normal players longer. That's supposed to be a good thing? Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Wired]