Acclaim games down and out

     Acclaim is apparently dead again. Barely three months after the free-to-play online game publisher was acquired by Playdom, the social gaming company has pulled the plug on Acclaim's entire catalog.

     On what used to be the official Acclaim Web site, visitors are given a short message saying that Acclaim games will no longer be in service, effective yesterday. The site also contains instructions on how customers can be reimbursed for unused Acclaim Coins (the in-game currency that drove the company's microtransactions) and plugs for Playdom's lineup of Facebook games. The site gives no indication that the Acclaim name will continue in any form.

      Originally founded in 1987 as a publisher for consoles, PCs, and arcades, Acclaim enjoyed mixed success until its filing for bankruptcy in 2004. The company published critically lauded titles, such as Turok and Burnout 1 and 2, as well as less warmly received titles, such as BMX XXX, Batman Forever, and Space Jam.

      Following the breakup of the company, Throwback Entertainment purchased many of Acclaim's key intellectual properties, while former Activision executive Howard Marks purchased the brand name. Marks went on to reboot Acclaim Games as a free-to-play games portal and had some success with titles like Bots, 9Dragons, and the rhythm action game RockFree, which at one point boasted 15 million registered players.

EverQuest II Extended goes live

     The big news surrounding Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest franchise occurred earlier this month, when the storied massively multiplayer online role-playing game maker announced Everquest Next, a working title. The third flagship installment in SOE's MMORPG universe, Next is a reimagining of the land of Norrath, telling all-new stories in locations that will be familiar to the franchise faithful.

     However, that isn't the only notable development out of SOE. Last month, the publisher said that 2004's EverQuest II would soon offer a free-to-play option in addition to the game's standard subscription fee. Today, SOE announced that EQII's free-to-play scenario, called EverQuest II Extended, is now available, and players can sign up for access through the game's official Web site. 

     EQII's new business model breaks the game's payment plan up into four tiers: bronze (free), silver (one-time, $10), gold ($15 a month), and platinum ($200 per year, available August 31). At the lowest three tiers, players are limited to four races, of 19 total. Bronze and silver memberships are limited to eight character classes, out of a total 24 options. A comprehensive breakdown of what each payment level offers is available on SOE's Web site.

Lord of the Rings Online Goes Free To Play In September

     Good news for fans of Turbine’s Lord of the Rings Online.

     The conversion from subscription service to free-to-play game is coming September 10th.

     Like Dungeons & Dragons Online, LOTRO will allow players to play completely for free, but also offers micro-transactions to purchase new character types and expansions to the game. Players can still sign up for a subscription service that grants them more character slots per server and a stipend of points for use in the Turbine Store each month.

      Founders and Lifetime Subscription holders get a few more bonuses but are still guaranteed they will not have to spend any additional money to play the game

Dragon Age II Release Date Set

     Aside from announcing Mass Effect 2 on the PS3 in 2011, EA also had another big BioWare announcement at their GamesCom press conference: the release date for Dragon Age II. Which is March 8, 2011. Yay! That’s not very long from now, and it’s less than a year and a half after the first game hit. BioWare's workin’ fast on this one.

Age of Empires Online, Microsoft Flight Announced

    
     Microsoft’s been talking up their “renewed commitment” to PC gaming for a while now. Fable III was the first big PC release they added to their roster, and now they’ve announced two more at Gamescom.
 
     First up is Age of Empires Online, the newest games in the venerable series. Age of Empires Online will be developed by Robot Entertainment, and will drop players into an online world. You’ll get a chance to build your empire from a village in a Greek civilization by completing quests both alone and with friends. Here’s a feature list that Microsoft released:

• A persistent online capital city that lives and grows even when you’re offline
• Cooperative multiplayer quests, trading and a level-based system that lets you progress at your own pace
• Fun, approachable style and storylines
• Free-to-play experiences via Games for Windows – LIVE

     The second announcement will bring tears of joy to fans of flight simulators. It looked like Microsoft Flight Simulator was destined for the ash heap when longtime developer ACES was closed by Microsoft last year. Instead, it appears that the series will be making a comeback soon with the reveal of Microsoft Flight.
Microsoft says that the new title (which loses the ‘Simulator’ tag), “will bring a new perspective” to the genre. They haven’t dropped a ton of information, but you can check out the teaser below.