Sony Online Entertainment recently announced that EverQuest Next would be reworked into a true sandbox environment thanks to a new partnership with StoryBricks. In today's Devil's Advocate, we offer a few thoughts about that before asking you to head to the comments to continue the discussion.

Fast forward six or so months, and the latest announcement for Everquest Next came from the team at Namaste Entertainment. They sent out an announcement saying Namaste was going to collaborate on Everquest Next. Nothing else was really said, but there was enough in that teaser to get everyone speculating, because the running idea seems to be that Everquest Next will find a way to implement the Storybricks system. It's an interesting step, and one that I think deserves some attention.

Read more of Victor Barreiro Jr.'s The Devil's Advocate: Sandboxes and Storybricks.

The Neverwinter team has released a brand new video featuring the Whispering Caverns, the highest level zone in the game. It's a terrific peek at what lies ahead. Enjoy!

Defiance player with a competitive bent will want to head into the game this weekend to take part in the Dodge High Speed Challenge. Players can earn some pretty sweet Paradise Faction Colors from a vendor that will only be available on these special weekends.

Dodge Challenger Paradise Faction Merchant Color Options:
- Dodge Challenger Plum Crazy
- Dodge Challenger Bright White
- Dodge Challenger Billet Metallic

The Dodge High Speed Challenge events will only be held every few weeks, so take advantage of them each time they are activated to claim Paradise Faction!

Start Date: Friday, May 3rd 12:00pm PST (UTC Friday 7am)
End Date: Monday May 6th 12:00pm PST (UTC Monday 7am)

Read more on the Defiance site.

As of yesterday for two weeks until the 16th, new players logging into Atlantica Online will automatically receive an MMORPG.com gift box.  Log into atlantica.nexon.net to get registered and receive your gift pack today!

Players entering the world of Atlantica Online to explore the lost continent of Atlantis will receive the MMORPG.com box that contains nearly $80 worth of in-game goods, boosts and gear to get you into the new content where amazing challenges await.

This package decks you out with the complete Taoist costume and mount which, in addition to giving your stats a healthy boost, will channel powerful spirit energy to bolster your physical attacks and defense.

 You'll also get extra storage for both your items and mercenaries, some Water of Life to completely heal your entire formation, and Attila, a juggernaut of a mercenary whose axe cleaves straight through your enemies' armor!

Here is the full inventory of the MMORPG.com Atlantica Online box:

• Taoist Outfit
  • Taoist Headpiece (30 Day)
    • Defense: 600
    • Dexterity: +60
    • Intelligence: +60
    • Vitality: +60
    • Critical: 20
• Taoist Costume (30 Day)
  • Defense: 1000
  • Strength: +60
  • Dexterity: +60
  • Intelligence: +60
  • Vitality: +100

*NOTE* these outfits will show up normally for the regular Classes (Sword, Axe, Spear, etc) but they will not appear on the new Atlantian Classes ( Battle Mage and Blade Master), but they will still be able to wear the outfits and benefit from the stats.

• Taoist Barrier *Decoration* (30 Day)
  • Attack Power: 1650-1750
  • Defense: 500
  •  Vitality: +350
  • Magic: [Flame Barrier lv 10]
  • aoist Cloud *Mount* (30 Day)
  • ttack Power: 720-820
• 100x Water of Life (consumable) (7,990 NX)
  • This restores entire parties Health and Mana
• Attila Mercenary Box
  • Attila Mercenary (49,990 NX)
  • Tarkan’s Book Box (I) (3,990 NX)
  • Tarkan’s Book Box (II) (6,990 NX)
  • Tarkan’s Book Box (III) (9,990 NX)
• Tarkan’s Book Box’s come with 20 skill books to level up Attila (Tarkan). Players can pick from
  • Unstoppable Skill : Iron-clad will allow the user of this magic to hit harder and resist stun spells. (passive)
  • Tarkan’s Will: Goes into a rage, boosting Attack Power, Multi-Hit Rate, Accuracy, Critical, and AP.
  • Cleaving Blows: Gives basic attacks a chance to deal additional damage and weaken enemy forces.

Paladins are everybody's favorite good guy to pick on in most MMOs. But what are paladins? What makes them tick? How true are those found in games compared to paladins in history? Find out in today's Fair Game before heading to the comments.

Me? I always play the paladin. Even in games that don’t specifically have a paladin class, I play a paladin. Unfortunately, it seems that paladins get a bad rap in the gaming universe. Labeled everything from “Lawful Stupid” to prissy “Policemen”, paladins are largely perceived to be dim-witted goody-goodies, more invested in throwing themselves at lost causes and upholding the letter of the law than with doing actual good or maintaining certain principles.

Read more of Lisa Jonte's Fair Game: On the Subject of Paladins.

Lineage II players looking to get a jump on the release of the huge content update, Lindvior, on May 29th will want to check out a great series of in-game events tailored to pave the way. Check out our exclusive announcement of how this can be accomplished!

Hero Power Weapons

Players will be able to purchase and use R-grade Hero weapons with boosted stats during the entire duration of the three-week event. The players can buy temporary hero weapons from the L2 Store.  These temporary weapons are very powerful and will aid players in every kind of XP adventure.

Read more Lineage II: Lindvior Arrives May 29th - Dragon Rising begins NOW!

During last week's FanFest, CCP spent a lot of time talking about the next ten years for EVE Online and what players might expect to see. These folks do not lack for ideas as you'll see in our peek into the crystal ball. Let us know what you think of the plans in the comments.

Since its launch on May 6th 2003, EVE Online has carved a niche for itself in the MMO world with a unique mix of intricacy, difficulty, and a metagame full of political inrigue. Now, on the cusp of its 10th anniversary, it seems as if parent company CCP is just beginning to scratch the surface of what they wish to accomplish with their flagship series. This year’s CCP Fan Fest, an annual celebration of all things EVE that the company holds in their hometown of Reykjavik, Iceland took a moment to reflect upon the accomplishments of the first 10 years of EVE Online’s existence, but didn’t pause there too long. This was really about the next decade and what we can expect from the ambitious series. There’s a lot to go over here, but I’ve broken down into three categories that I think best encompass the concepts, ideas and actual changes to the game itself that were represented during Fan Fest. 

Read more of Blake Morse's EVE Online: Peeking Into the Crystal Ball.

WeMade USA has announced that Lost Saga has officially launched with the addition of new content, characters, and special events tailored for the commencement of retail service.

To celebrate LOST SAGA’s launch, in-game events such as the opportunity to pick up a free a style item to customize the player’s Hero will be on tap. Along with the events, the re-launched fighting MMO features fresh experiences for new and returning players. Champion mode takes two players to vertically-constrained maps that simulate classic, 2D-style combat—complete with KOs. The single-player Crusade challenge mode is now extended to a whopping 60 floors of tough opponents and the dizzyingly high Sky Castle level brings a fresh locale to the game. A range of new characters first shown in the OBT are now available in the commercial game including the sexy Devil Ranger, the transforming Werewolf, and leather-clad Rockstar. More new features and Heroes will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Get started by visiting the Lost Saga site.

Darkfall: Unholy Wars launched late last month and promised to be true hardcore and a true sandbox. Today we continue our review in progress series leading up to our final review in a few weeks. See what we discovered in our next several hours in the game before heading to the comments to tell us about yours.

Crafting is one of the main focuses of Darkfall. But progression when crafting is pretty slow. While I intended to keep exploring with these few weeks I have the game, gearing up is an important aspect. I’m incredibly close to hitting the next milestone to craft new gear, I’ve found myself in a sort of rinse and repeat scenario. 

Read more of George Dimmock's Darkfall: Unholy Wars - Review In Progress #2.

EDIT: Servers were down last night, so the first episode will be TONIGHT! At 9:30pm ET!

Beginning Thursday, May 2nd at 9:30 p.m. EDT / 6:30 p.m. PDT, our own Rob "Grakulen" Lashley will be showcasing a brand new show. Called Neverwinter Foundry Focus, each week he'll spotlight and explore a new piece of content from the community.

This first week, we'll be running with one Rob likes himself, but in future episodes, we'll ask the community to submit their own or their favorites. Winning/Chosen submissions each week will be awarded 500 Zen!

Be sure to check it out in our MMORPG.com Live Stream channel at the appointed hour!

Now that we have finished our multi-week series of review in progress articles for Trion Worlds' Defiance, it's time to render the final verdict. See how Defiance fared in our exclusive review, then leave your thoughts in the comments.

Trion Worlds’ Defiance is a game that fights with its players to be loved, when there are likely plenty of reasons to be frustrated and demoralized. You see, the core of the game is hectic, pulse-pounding, explosive, and fun. But for every one thing that Defiance does right, several other bits are broken or half-wrought.  It’s clearly the sort of game that will grow in time, given enough support from its fans and the studio.  The show on SyFy is doing well in the ratings, which gives this gamer hope that some of those revenue dollars will flow the game’s direction. Because I want to keep playing and loving Defiance while watching the show.  But whether I will or not largely depends on how quickly Trion can fix some major issues, and how quickly they can add more layers to the game and its systems.

Read more of Bill Murphy's Defiance: Can Fun Overcome Mediocrity?

Arkfalls are one of Defiance’s best bits.

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that PlanetSide 2 has been updated with the largest patch since launch. Included in the update are new vehicles, sci-fi inspired helmets and special decals in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

Sony Online Entertainment has released a new vehicle that may turn the tides in the Auraxian War -- The Harasser Assault Buggy. The Harasser is a speedy armored assault buggy that plays a dual role as both a troop transport and strike vehicle. This 3-man vehicle carries a dedicated driver, a gunner who has access to a top mounted 360 degree turret, and a rumble seat which can hold any infantry class, including a MAX.

Read all of the details on the PlanetSide 2 site.

We recently went on a guided tour of the most recent EverQuest 2 update, Scars of the Awakened. Find out more about what you can expect in Scars before heading to the comments to discuss!

If there is one thing that can be said of Sony Online Entertainment, it’s this: They are the Energizer Bunny of the MMO development world. They just keep going and going on a pair of our favorite titles. Two of the genre’s oldest and most venerated games, EverQuest and EverQuest 2, are still being updated and those updates aren’t just token efforts either.

Read more of Suzie Ford's EverQuest 2: Exploring Scars of the Awakened.

Trion Worlds has announced that over one million accounts have been registered for Defiance. Defiance is a collaborative effort between Trion Worlds and the Syfy Channel.

Fans of both the game and show have truly immersed themselves into the futuristic world of Defiance, with gamers eclipsing major milestones in game, while TV viewers are tuning in at record cable numbers for the first two episodes. 

Find out more about Defiance.

Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will (re)launch in the summer of 2013. In addition, the Playstation 3 and PC closed beta phase three will kick off in June. 

We’re also happy to announce that phase 3 of the beta test will start in June on both platforms – subscribe now to take part!

Europe/PAL: http://entry.ffxiv.com/beta/eu/
North America: http://entry.ffxiv.com/beta/na/

NOTE: Be sure to go to the correct region site as you may be denied access to the beta even if you receive a registration key.

Sign up at the links above!

MMOs are one of the few game genres that often embodies interactive storytelling, where players influence the direction of the story. In her latest column, Genese Davis talks more about interactive storytelling and what it means to games and gamers. Read on!

What is it about certain stories that “hook” us? I’ve been using a nickname for great narrative: Caffeinated writing. These are the stories that affect us, submerge into our subconscious, and blanket us with their mood. These are the stories that seem to stimulate our central nervous system, make us alert, and give us a sense of purpose and adrenaline. They make us feel addicted, and rabid to get to the end. Without caffeinated writing, a video game can get shelved and start collecting dust like a long forgotten book.

Read more of Genese Davis's Interactive Storytelling Evolution.

CCP's World of Darkness has been in development under the proverbial radar. But at last week's FanFest, CCP was ready to reveal new information about the game. We've got the full report so check it out!

Although WoD has been in development for a few years, it seems as if they’re just scraping the surface of what they wish to accomplish. Chris McDonough, the Executive Producer for World of Darkness made it abundantly clear during his presentation that while the game has come a long way, they still have an even longer way to go. The last few years have spent focused on the technological foundation of the newest CCP franchise and most of the keynote was focused on that fact. Videos highlighting the techniques and programs the developers were using to create their immersive world occupied a heavy amount of presentation time. Tools such as Athena, which is used for scripting the games code and Genesis, which is used to generate cities by populating "kits" which themselves are groups of graphics, were given the floor to show how the devs were busting their butts to generate the dark cities that will make up the game world. 

Read more of Blake Morse's World of Darkness: Pulling Back the Veil.

GankFirstGaming's own Smitten and Soapbox begin their tenure with our sister site, RTSGuru.com, to bring us their first of many SMITE god guides to come. This one is all about the latest and greatest addition to the game: Fenrir!

Check it out at RTSGuru.com!

Age of Wushu made a big splash on the MMO scene not too long ago. We have been faithfully playing AoW and reporting on it. Now ready to offer our official review, we hope you'll stop by the comments after reading to let us know what you think of the game.

I started this game confused and, in many ways, I still am. As was mentioned in my review in progress, I was lucky enough to have a walkthrough/question-and-answer session with some of the folks at Snail Games. And while their assistance certainly cleared up some of my questions, it wasn’t enough to make the game the fluid experience it should be, and I’m ending my tenure in the game exactly as I began it: Lacking Understanding.

Read more of Lisa Jonte's Age of Wushu: Potentially Great.