NCsoft is operating six games at once? Yes they are, and Halloween is coming to each one of them. The Mad King Thorn returns to Guild Wars, Scarecrow Jack visits Lineage II, the original Lineage has a costume party, the City of Heroes faces a Halloween Apocalypse, and Exteel's Mechnaughts get painted orange and purple.

Yes, the festivities abound, but by far my favorite is what's going on in NCsoft's latest release, Aion. Since the world is split into two halves, there are two different celebrations! The Asmodians, otherwise known as the best faction, celebrate by going on a Wild Hunt, cooking special dishes and having a good time. The lowly Elyos, on the other hand, get plagued by zombies. They totally deserve it too.

Check out the full list of NCsoft's Halloween celebrations below!

Aion – Harvest Revel

During the Fall harvest, the people of Atreia have always celebrated the bounty of the land. Years ago, the joy of the annual revels was troubled by an eclipse-a peculiar and magical eclipse that brought darkness to Asmodae and Elysea. Ever since, for days during Harvest Revel, the sky goes dark and the people of Atreia join in the hunt.

Asmodians celebrate the bounty through the Wild Hunt, racing after the Wild Kurthanir hunt leader and cooking special dishes made from the meat. On the other side of Atreia, the Elyos encounter undead creatures pulled back into a semblance of life by the power of the eclipse. Elyos must join roving Dark Night bands to hunt and destroy the undead before they invade Elyos villages.

Each day during Harvest Revel players will be rewarded for their investment with new lore and tasty treats including a Halloween Hat and candy that will transform players into in game creatures!

· Starts: Sunday, October 25, 2009

· Ends: Saturday, October 31, 2009

Visit www.aiononline.com for more Aion-specific information.

Guild Wars – The Return of Mad King Thorn

It's Halloween in Tyria, and that means one thing: the return of Mad King Thorn ! Similar to years past, the maniacal monarch has come to play, and he's got a bag full of tricks and treats to delight and dismay. But non-tricksters fear not, there are plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween – participate in several special events (a new series of quests and a costume PvP brawl) or explore the decorated cities/towns adorned with Halloween décor.

· Starts: Friday, October 23, 2009

· Ends: Monday, November 2, 2009

Visit www.guildwars.com for more Guild Wars information.

City of Heroes – Triumph over the New Deadly Halloween Apocalypse

Players brace themselves for a new apocalypse as City of Heroes' annual Halloween Event returns with legions of Zombies, Werewolves, Jack-o-Lanterns, and other foul denizens descend upon Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. This year they're bringing even more powerful allies! The new apocalypse is deadlier than ever as mysterious monstrosities join forces with the Eidolons, Shivans, and others. Paragon City and the Rogue Isles are in terrible peril, and only the greatest Heroes and Villains can turn back the tide. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward!

· Starts: Tuesday, October 20, 2009

· Ends: Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Visit www.cityofheroes.com for more City of Heroes information.

Lineage II – "Scarecrow Jack" and Halloween Adena Art Contest

Halloween is just around the corner and players can win in-game prizes by showing off their creative holiday spirit. Players are encouraged to create and share their Halloween and/or autumn themed adena art (visual art created by dropping adena on the ground in-game to create an image seen from above.) For those just looking to have fun this Halloween, players can don a "Scarecrow Jack" illusion featuring two animated emotes. Along with the illusion, players will receive 5 revita pops to refill their vitality bars while in game.

· Starts: Wednesday, October 28, 2009

· Ends: Thursday, November 19, 2009

· Deadline for art submissions is Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 11:59pm CDT

Visit www.lineage2.com for more Lineage II information.

Lineage – " Cavern of Chaos" Costume Party

The Lineage team is hosting the in-game party of all parties this Halloween – costumes not required, but highly encouraged! In addition to free polymorph "costumes," most monsters will drop pumpkin seed, which is redeemable for prizes like a Pinewand to spawn monsters of choice, accessories, and Stat t-shirts from NPCs. No tricks about it, as an added bonus, players will be treated to increased item drops from Bosses. See you at the "Cavern of Chaos!"

· Starts: Wednesday, October 28, 2009

· Ends: Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Visit www.lineage.com for more Lineage information.

Exteel – Halloween Event
Smashing pumpkins and bag snatching is easy! Try picking on a Mechanaught your own size, even if it is painted Orange and Purple! Exteel players are encouraged to celebrate this Halloween colorfully with free Orange and Purple paint. But that's not all! Players will receive +50% bonus credits during the week-long Exteel Halloween celebration!

· Starts: Wednesday, October 28, 2009

· Ends: Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Visit www.exteel.com for more Exteel information.

Players take to the skies in the Gracia Final expansion for Lineage II, using the aerial transformation skills Aurabird Falcon, Aurabird Owl and the Kamael's special Final Flying Form to explore Gracia's new aerial and ground-based hunting grounds. As always, player versus player combat plays a large role in Lineage II, and Gracia Final brings new ways for the pretty players to kill each other. The Olympiad tournament expands to allow for 3-on-3 battles, and the new Aerial Cleft PvP arena allows players to sign up for random battles.

The expansion also introduces territory battles, which allows for both clans and un-allied players acting as mercenaries to participate in massive capture the flag style skirmishes.

NCsoft just dropped us a line to let us know that the expansion was now available on the public test server, so if you play, head over to FilePlanet to snag the test client. If not, enjoy the pretty new pictures of Gracia Final.

It almost makes me glad that Auto Assault failed, as an armed-to-the-grill road warrior vehicle wouldn't have fit in with this festive scene. Look at chibi Stateman. Isn't he just precious? And I'd daresay I like this look for the Aion and Lineage II characters much better than their cookie-cutter Korean MMO counterparts.

This really just makes me crave an MMO where players take up the roles of toys in a child's play room. There could be raids on pre-school recess, and fantastic journeys to the inside of the family mini-van. Perhaps I've just got toys on the brain. Christmas does that. Either way, Happy Holidays, NCsoft!

City of Heroes and City of Villains show off their holiday spirit with special gifts for every player logging in between today and January 4th, including a special holiday badge, fuzzy earmuff costume pieces, and two special temporary powers - Holiday Spirit and Holiday Cheer. Players will also be able to participate in special quests and ski challenges while pursuing gifts, such as candy canes and a special holiday enhancement set.

Guild Wars sees the return of all the special events from holidays past, complete with all the prizes, all of the quests, and the ever-entertaining annual snowball fight between the followers of Grenth and the followers of Dwayna. On top of the usual events, there will be new quests, more items, and a chance to see the Eye of the North lands in festive trimmings for the very first time.

Finally we have Lineage II, which celebrates Christmas with a kidnapping. Thomas D. Turkey, angered by the treatment of his fellow birds and jealous of the special treatment St. Nick gets every year, has kidnapped Santa Claus, and it's up to Lineage II players to find him and defeat him in a "turkey style" battle before it's too late.
You gotta love MMO holiday celebrations. Official blurbs follow!

City of Heroes Winter Event 2008

The City of Heroes developers have been making a list and checking it twice, but whether players are naughty or nice, Heroes and Villains alike will receive gifts this holiday season. By simply logging in between December 15th, 2008 and January 4th, 2009, City of Heroes players will receive a gifted badge, fuzzy earmuffs costume piece, the Holiday Spirit temporary power and the Holiday Cheer temporary power. Also available for players will be a new Father Time mission, ski challenges, holiday auras, candy canes and Gamester's gifts, as well as a winter gift enhancement set.

For more information, please visit the official site at http://www.cityofheroes.com

Guild Wars Wintersday 2008

Once again, it’s time to celebrate the season in true Guild Wars fashion. This year’s annual Wintersday festival is bigger and better than ever, with new NPCs, quests, rewards, and even holiday-themed PvP tournaments. Players also get another chance at the best prizes and quests from previous Wintersday festivities, including the traditional snowball fight between the followers of Grenth and those of Dwayna. Plus, for the first time ever, players will get to see the Eye of the North all decked out in its best holiday finery!

Guild Wars players are encouraged to clear their schedule from December 19th through January 5th, and make plans to join Lt. Thackeray of the Ebon Vanguard as he oversees and coordinates the most spectacular Wintersday festival ever!

For more information on the Wintersday event, please visit the official site at http://guildwars.com/events/ingame/wintersday2008

Lineage II Saving Santa Event

Santa's Helpers throughout Aden and Elmore are begging for the assistance of Lineage II players. It seems that Santa Claus has been imprisoned by the jealous and fanatical Thomas D. Turkey. Outraged by the treatment that he and his brethren have endured over the centuries, Thomas is holding Santa hostage in an undisclosed location to show the world that turkeys mean business. It is up to the citizens of this fair land to help free Santa. The fate of this and all future holidays depend on all Lineage II players. They must find Thomas and defeat him in a "turkey style" battle. Only then will Santa be free from turkey tyranny. Help Santa's Helpers, help Santa, but most of all, help save the holidays for us all.

For more information, please visit the official site at http://www.lineage2.com/

Hit the jump for more details, including what's in store for Lineage II, and Exteel players. Did someone say free giant mech paint jobs?

Guild Wars

On Friday, October 24, Mad King Thorn makes his return to Guild Wars in yet another ghoulish Halloween season in Tyria. Players can take on the king and his maniacal mini-games, jokes and riddles at their own risk. But the rewards will be worth the effort. Winners will earn fabulous prizes. Losers will be killed. But like any good Halloween event, you can always come back to try again. Other events for this Halloween season include a costume brawl in a newly designed area of Guild Wars, dreadful Halloween peddlers located in Lion’s Arch and Kamadan who will barter for their creepy items and photo ops where you can take your character’s picture amongst some of the holiday props and settings. More information on all the frightful happenings in Guild Wars can be found here, http://www.guildwars.com/events/ingame/halloween2008/.

City of Heroes

City of Heroes’ annual Halloween event is back again with even more evil twists. This season, gruesome zombies are on the prowl and they’re after all heroes and villains. In addition to fighting off the dead guys, City of Heroes’ Halloween event has a familiar look with Classical Costumes. Badges will be awarded to those who collect the most costumes. But don’t stop there. Wear your costumes and go out trick or treating in Paragon City. Check out http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/archives/2008/10/halloween_event.html for more info.

Lineage II

Lineage II players will be celebrating Halloween along with the launch of the latest update to the game, Gracia – Part 2. On Tuesday, October 28th, the day Gracia – Part 2 launches, all players level 20 and above who go to their warehouse will receive a Pumpkin Transformation Stick which will change the player into a pumpkin ghost. Additionally there will be a surprise gift, but we can’t tell you what this is until next week when the event starts. All the details about Lineage II’s special Halloween Haunt can be found here, http://www.lineage2.com/archive/2008/10/halloween_haunt.html.

Tabula Rasa

For the next two weeks players can participate in special Halloween missions scattered throughout Tabula Rasa’s expansive world. Complete them and you’ll get a trick or treat emote and one of nine masks. If you played trick or treat in Tabula Rasa last year, you may recognize some of the masks but some will be brand new. For more information visit http://www.rgtr.com/news/latest_news/trick_or_treat.html.

Exteel

Starting Wednesday, October 29, Exteel will be celebrating its first Halloween by giving all of its players the opportunity to paint their robotic Mechanaughts orange and black at no extra cost. They’ll also be able to enjoy their new Halloween-themed paint schemes while earning 50% more credits and experience for every match played in the game. Be sure to take advantage of it quickly—Exteeloween ends on November 5! For more information about Exteel go to http://www.exteel.com.

BRIGHTON, England (10th April 2008) - NCsoft®, the world-leading, publisher of massively multiplayer online games such as Guild Wars®, Lineage® II and City of Heroes®, today announced that it was stepping up its fight against the growing menace of intellectual property theft. This action comes as a direct response to the rise of illegal online game servers throughout Eastern Europe, particularly in Greece and Russia where NCsoft's fantasy-based online role playing game, Lineage II, is extremely popular.

The fraudulent servers in question are being used by players playing at home and in internet cafes, but such unauthorised servers often feature - or require users to download - illegally modified and potentially harmful game data, thereby changing the intended online experience.

NCsoft's European office has identified several prominent illegal servers across Europe and is in the process of taking action against individuals and corporations deemed to be in breach of international copyright laws. In a lawsuit that was commenced last year in Greece, NCsoft successfully obtained a court order against Internet Cafe business, 'e-GLOBAL' following which four of its cafes were raided and illegal software was seized. This led to the shutting down of illegal servers on which pirate copies of Lineage II software was loaded. Georgios Katostaris - Chairman of the Board and Managing Director, Constantinos Zygouras - Vice-Chairman of the Board and Managing Director, Athanassios Dobros - Deputy Managing Director and Dimitrios Koutsoukos - Administrator of the company under the name 'INTERNET DYNAMICS LLC' have all been made personal defendants to the proceedings that are continuing in the Greek Courts in which NCsoft is seeking damages as well as criminal remedies.

"Illegal game servers, such as those operating from e-GLOBAL, have a hugely negative impact on both NCsoft Europe and its customers," commented Max Brown, NCsoft Europe's Sales & Operations Director. "They seriously affect the player's experience of our products and rob the company of potential revenue that is used to further enhance the player experience on official servers. NCsoft's loss in revenue from e-GLOBAL's operation is estimated in excess of six million Euros. We are defiant in our resolve to stamp out theft of NCsoft's intellectual properties and are prepared to take the strongest measures to do so."

NCsoft has a proven track record in combating illegal servers, having worked with the FBI in November 2006 to shut down a substantial unofficial Lineage II server run by US-based website, L2Extreme.com. Following multiple raids across cities throughout the US, L2Extreme's fraudulent servers - which claimed to support 50,000 active users - were taken offline, as was the L2Extreme.com website.

Lineage II Account Services Page [NCsoft]

What's worse is this isn't the first Lineage II-related death in Russia. Back in January one player stomped another to death while he was trying to break up a fight sparked during a real life meet-up.

What's even more crazy is that members of the Coo-clocks continue to harass the dead man's family, going as far as to threaten the life of his sister. That's some pretty insane clan loyalty right there if you ask me. One isolated crazy I can understand, but once a member of your clan beats a man to death...that's generally when you want to back off on the team spirit. Hit up the link below for the full story. More fuel for the fire.

Online game rivalry ends with real life murder [Russia Today via Game Politics]

NCsoft® today announced the release of Kamael, the newest and largest addition to the Lineage® II franchise. At more than 1 Gigabyte, Kamael is the largest expansion ever for the massively multiplayer online PC game and adds an entirely new playable race, new lands, ongoing fortress battles, instanced dungeons and new account services to the game, which has continued to increase in depth and story.

The huge Kamael expansion is free to all current Lineage II subscribers. Lineage II is known as the gaming market's premier player-versus-player (PvP) MMO, and since its launch in late 2003, has reached more than 17 million players worldwide.

The main feature of the expansion is a new playable race called the Kamael, one-winged soldiers who control a form of dark magic and are presented in different class paths based on gender, with both male and female characters possessing distinct combat abilities. The ultimate goal of the Kamael warriors, born on the Isle of Souls, is to earn a second wing and reach the powerful "final form."

Adding to the intrigue and massive battles Lineage II is known for are clan-based, daily fortress battles. Smaller in scale to the enormous castle sieges, the fortress battles will allow smaller clans to gain a foothold on territory and elevating their clan in the larger political and military background.

Highlights for veteran players of the game include the addition of lands for those above level 70, Hellbound and the Isle of Prayer. Also coming soon, highly-requested game features such as character server transfers, name changes and gender changes will become available for purchase.

Newer players will enjoy new items and enhancements that will aid the solo play experience for those at lower levels, helping to make Lineage II more accessible without diluting the challenge for which the game is well known.

"The Kamael expansion is so epic that it is hard to pin down which feature is the most exciting," said Tim Tan, NCsoft's North American producer of Lineage II. "The new Kamael race is very unique and adds a new world of playability to the game. The new high-level lands will benefit our longtime players seeking harder challenges, while the new-player and soloing features will make getting to the heart of the game easier for more players. The sheer amount of content in this expansion is unbelievable and I really look forward to seeing the players' response."

Additional new features include a set of instanced dungeons and new item slots and items that include new more powerful weapons and armor. Instanced dungeons provide players a place where they can hunt by themselves, untouched by players or creatures. There are two different kinds of Instanced Dungeons: one that requires a quest to enter, and the other that requires the acquisition of a castle or fortress to enter.

Also, when players tackle particularly challenging adventures or overcome monsterous bosses, they can capture the moment on video with the game's newly polished record and replay system that allows players to speed up or slow down their footage when they view their captured battles.

Lineage II is available digitally in The Epic Collection edition, which includes the original game plus all five expansions in one box at the PlayNC® online store for an estimated street price of US $29.99. To purchase the game or other Lineage II merchandise, go to the PlayNC store at: https://store.plaync.com.

Said Epic vice president Jay Wilbur, "AcroGames is a promising team comprised of top talent and we look forward to working with them. We are committed to supporting the Asian game market with best of breed development tools, and our agreement with AcroGames marks a significant achievement in this effort."

AcroGames Licenses Unreal Engine 3 For Online PC Title [Gamasutra]

The update introduces a new dinosaur-themed zone, over 15,000 new items, more weapon upgrade options, a dueling system where you can get your fight on without harassing new players, more quests and over 60 new skills. Also of note are Shadow Weapons, which are cheap versions of high-level weapons with a limited duration, an innovation I completely approve of. The update will hit sometime in April of this year. Michael Fahey

NCsoft Announce Details Of The Latest Lineage II Update "The Chaotic Throne - Interlude"
Interlude is the conclusion of the "Chaotic Chronicle" and the start of a new era

Wednesday 21st February/...NCsoft Corporation is pleased to announce the impending conclusion to Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle , one of the world's largest and most popular massively multiplayer online role-play games (MMORPG) already enjoyed by 14 million gamers worldwide. The ending of The Chaotic Chronicle marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the expanding Lineage II saga, with the launch of The Chaotic Throne . The first chapter; Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne - Interlude is expected on European and US servers from April 2007.

Interlude is the bridging link between Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle, and the beginning of a new chapter, The Chaotic Throne. Over the past three years since the launch of Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle, the game has seen vast changes to its strong visual style and game play, in the form of free updates for its subscribing players. Interlude will build on this tradition, starting players on an epic new adventure with new lands to explore, new adversaries to defeat and new challenges to overcome.

SUMMARY:

New Zone - Primeval Isle - Pterodactyls dominate the skies and vicious dinosaurs prowl the earth in a hunting ground for top-level players.

New Items - 15,000 different items to be discovered

More weapon augmentations for incredible bonuses - With the help of a Blacksmith, players can receive even more spectacular bonuses to abilities, battle values and skills

Shadow Weapons - Weapons can be expensive - limiting their acquisition to advanced players with enough money. Shadow Weapons look and behave like 'the real thing' but are cheap enough for new players to afford them. However, as shadows of real weapons, they will eventually wear out and disappear.

New Duelling system -PvP almost anywhere with no penalties. No need to go to an arena and for the first time - see your opponent's hit points!

Multiple New Quests - enter the mighty Siren's lair or capture a Tyrannosaurus to bring fame and fortune to your clan. Just one of the many new quests that will test the mettle of the most hardened players

Multiple New Skills - over 60 new high level skills added to the game let players expand and develop even further and bring new dynamics to PvP and PvE combat. Players will have no shortage of ingenious ways of dealing with their adversaries

Since its launch in 2003, Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle has reached more than 14 million customers worldwide. Already a widely popular and established game brand in Korea and other Asian counties, the title started as a cult favourite of many MMORPG gamers in Europe and North America striving to compete in what is considered the premiere player-versus-player (PvP) online role-playing game.

Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle is available at retail as a DVD pack, featuring the most recent update Chronicle 5: Oath of Blood.

A 22-year-old Ukrainian gamer, considered one of the top Lineage II players in Europe, stomped another gamer to death after the man tried to stop a fight between rival clan members, The Moscow Times reports.

Alexander "DVP" Ponamorenko has been arrested and charged with the beating death of Alexander "Sverkh" Blyoskin, 22, who was trying to break-up a fight between Ponamorenko and his online nemesis, known only as Shtai, a friend of Blyoskin, according to the Basmanny District Prosecutor's Office.

The three were at a gathering of 20 to 30 Lineage II gamers at a cafe in central Moscow on Jan. 12 when the fight broke out.

Everybody in the room noticed how the expression on DVP's face changed when he saw Shtai," a witness and fellow gamer, identified only as Pavel, told Rossia television on Saturday.

Ponamorenko and Kirill took things outside, and after the two came to blows, Blyoskin, a student at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and a friend of Kirill's, tried to calm Ponamorenko down, Tatarinova said.

Accounts differ as to what happened next. Some witnesses say Ponamorenko punched Blyoskin, who played Lineage II under the nickname "Sverkh," and that the student fell and hit his head on the asphalt, Rossia television reported.

Tatarinova, however, said Ponamorenko stomped on Blyoskin's head while he lay on the ground.

Blyoskin was taken to a local hospital where he died four days later. He was buried at Moscow's Domodedovskoye cemetery on Jan. 19.

As one of my friend's pointed out when I told him about this sad story: If it wasn't a game gathering it would have been a soccer match or just everyday barroom brawl. Brian Crecente

Virtual Conflict Ends in Real Death [Moscow Times, via Koster]

Check out these new monsters for Lineage II. The Chronicle 4: Scions of Destiny expansion pack is expected to hit early next year. New creatures include vampires, tomb monsters and pets.

I had a quick chat with Aaron Rigby, NCsoft s North American producer for Lineage II, this afternoon about the new program.

Rigby said the biggest problem Lineage II was having was with people who use programs to automate their characters in small hunting areas. These bots would sit in a cave or along a forest path killing all of the creatures respawning in the area. The problem was, he said, that if you happened by, you became the next target.

Player versus player is fine, he said. But you don t have a chance against a terminator.

These bots would sometimes hunker down in crossroads critical to traveling in the game, in essence bottlenecking the game. Rigby hopes that GameGuard will put an end to that, and as of this morning it seemed to be working. Rigby hopped onto the game and checked out some of the regular bot haunts and found them free and clear.

One thing GameGuard won t do, Rigby added, is autoban peoples' accounts.

It s not about auto-banning the accounts, he said. It s about making sure that players are going to run Lineage II without a hacking program running in the background.

Not that NCsoft is opposed to banning people who fragrantly cheat or harass other players. Since the Lineage II launch in North America, about 4,000 accounts have been shut down and a team of NCsoft gamers are constantly hunting down cheaters and hackers.