Ether Saga Online is another one of these extremely adorable Asian MMO titles, this time based on the classic Chinese story Journey to the West, which I was told soon after posting my last story on ESO was pretty much the basis for everything ever created, ever. Good to know!

With the official launch comes a slew of changes and enhancements to the free-to-play title, which makes you wonder who was testing them while everyone else was testing the beta version. That question aside, 15 more levels tacked onto the already existing 90 is nothing to sneeze at, and the addition of Easy and Hard dungeon modes should make things appropriately easier or harder, as the case may be.

Check out the full list of launch enhancements below, or visit eso.perfectworld.com to wade into the cuteness.

The latest Ether Saga Online game play update includes additional features and enhancements such as:

* Increased Level Cap to 105 - Characters gain access to 13 new class skills from levels 91-105, effectively doubling the number of core player skills.
* Quest Line Enhancements – The main quest line from levels 1-45 has been streamlined to introduce players to the game mechanics and reduce the number of kill quests.
* New Raid Encounter – A new raid has been introduced. Designed for 6-24 players, The Obscurity is sure to challenge adventurers.
* New Difficulty Modes – Now features Easy and Hard modes for dungeons to encourage more casual gamers to compete in quests.
* Enhanced Gear Upgrading – Enhancements to the gear upgrading system provide players with new options to increase their chances for successful upgrades.
* New Monsters! – The addition of new elite monsters and the White Dragon world boss further adds to one of the most compelling aspects of Ether Saga Online's game play.

These new game play elements further bolster Ether Saga Online's extensive feature set, which also includes:

* Integrated Quest/Navigation System – Players will not be confused about where to go or what monsters to kill. Quests will have "link" which allow players to click on them and automatically navigate to their quest objectives.
* Unique Races and Classes – Three different races as well as six different classes. Each class having its own unique play style and gameplay.
* In-Depth Pet System – Every player starts with their own pet. Players can tame and capture new pets as they adventure through the world.
* Element Leveling System – As players level up, they receive points that can be assigned to specific elements. Each element has its own characteristics and affects the core gameplay of each user.
* Unique Skill System – Each class has a set of unique skills. Skills are not learned from trainers but rather on the fly through a battlefield menu system.
* Birthday Skills – Each character receives special abilities and skills related to the day their character was born.
* Clan Skills – Players can create clans/guilds and have opportunities to learn new abilities and skills as a group.
* Fusion System – Players can actually fuse with their pets and gain access to new abilities and gameplay options.
* Monster Card System – Players can collect monster cards which allow them to transform into specific monsters. In monster form, players gain access to new abilities and skills.
* Crafting System – Players can choose from 9 different crafting and gathering skills.
* Reputation System – Monsters will have their own factions in-game. Players can gain reputation with these creatures and gain access to new content.
* Alliance System – Clans can group up into Alliances in order to combat difficult monsters or even other Alliances.

Taylor tells us that the store specializes in rare, old-school collectible video games like Earthbound, Mario RPG and Bubble Bobble 2. The store stocks games for the Genesis, N64, SNES, PS1, Dreamcast, NES, Saturn, Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, PS3, Wii, 360, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advanced, DS, Game Gear and Atari.

When Taylor's single mom passed away about a year ago he dropped out of school, got his GED and landed a job at a local video game store. Last week he and a friend decided to launch the store together.

He told 9 News that he and his mother used to game together and that many of the titles he is now selling came from their collection.

"I could look through here and be like, 'Oh, I remember playing that with my mom when I was just kid,'" Taylor said. "I hope, you know, she'd be proud of me. I hope that, you know, if she were here now, she would be proud of all this. This is a store that she would like, you know, she would shop here."

Update: It's worth noting that there is another Game On video game store in Denver: Game On Denver.

The idea was to pack the pier's Crystal Gardens with Xbox 360s and let people play games on the system to their heart's content. They also decided to run a Guitar Hero World Tour tournament. Well, that was the idea at least.

Tristan and I decided to swing by the event to see what it looked like. First disappointment: The organizers decided to charge $5 a head for play time. I was told at the gate that for $5 Tristan could play as much as he wanted all day long. Sure, charging for Xbox 360 playtime seems a little absurd, especially when it doesn't include entry in the tournament, but I bit.

Once we started to wander around though, I was unhappy to discover that the Game On event had a grand total of 11 Xbox 360s. That's 11 consoles for the entirety of Chicago to play on as long as they wanted. Fortunately, very few people were there, so Tristan was able to snag a machine.

The first game he wanted to play was unavailable because someone had parked on it and looked like they would be there for the day. Since the machines all had one game on them, and were organized by rating, he was forced to play some Tennis title. He would have tried a different game, but the Xbox 360 was displaying a read disc error, so they were down to ten machines.

Oh and three of those working ten machines were put aside for the Guitar Hero Tournament.

I'm fairly certain Microsoft had nothing to do with this event, but if I were them I'd make sure that any events using their console isn't so poorly organized, it can't help but leave a bad taste in gamers' mouths.

Originally scheduled to be released last week (after a previous delay) both the free South Central map expansion and the premium paid downloadable content were held back due to an unforeseen bug in the title update. This of course makes perfect sense, because holding it back due to a foreseen bug would have been downright irresponsible.

Anyhow, both packs are now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Go play.

As we've touched on in previous stories, Australia's game classification stops at MA15+, lacking the R18+ rating that particularly violent films are afforded. Seeing as Silent Hill: Homecoming isn't exactly children's fare it was originally deemed too violent and graphic for an MA15+, which in effect banned the game from release in the country. Now an update to the Classification Board's website dated yesterday indicates the title has now been given the MA15+ rating, and therefor may see the shining light of those lovely Australian store shelves.

Now word on what if any cuts were made to the game to garner the new rating. I just think it's silly that a country filled with bears that drop out of trees to eat unsuspecting foreigners would be concerned with video game violence at all.

Silent Hill: Homecoming unbanned in Australia [GameStop]

"Sony Online Entertainment’s game, The Agency™, is still in development for release on both the PLAYSTATION®3 and PC platforms. The game sku has been reinstated to GameFly’s website. Feel free to add The Agency to your GameQ!"

There we go! Nothing at all to worry about. Just remember kids, retailers and rental establishments, while lovely places to visit and procure video games from, are no substitute for news directly from the game developers and publishers themselves. That's one to grow on.

While the servers are indeed live, there's still no sign of DLC for LBP, despite the in-game news page urging me to log into the PlayStation Store and download me some. I'm sure that will all be worked out by week's end. For now, get to creating and sharing! Can't wait to see what horrors you guys come up with.

The Board of Film Censors (BFC) said in a statement on Friday evening that it will selectively use games ratings to 'enable highly anticipated games to be launched in Singapore' until it puts in place a games classification system in January.

The claim to be using the game as an example of the effectiveness of the upcoming games rating system for the games industry and the public at large, but we know better. Come on MDA, it's natural to have these feelings. It's part of growing up. A beautiful thing.

MDA lifts ban on game with same-sex love scene [The Straits Times via GameAxis]
Thanks Tan!