I got an extra key to this weekend's beta for The Secret World (possible everyone in the world did). But if you're interested, just reply and I'll hook you up!

Falloutthirteen just figured out the cause, I think!

Ding ding ding! We have a winner! I totally forgot about the level 13 cap in the starter edition. Good thinking, sir (or madam).

From a programming standpoint, I genuinely want to know how on earth "change your password" is a solution to this? I'm assuming something to do with the update breaking your connection to the server that contains your character info.

Dat music. Every time I hear any Elder Scrolls soundtrack I immediately want to go play.

I bit, and gotta say so far (by which I mean 3 hours in) it's pretty fun being a large rodent with a huge ass sword.

Unfortunately, the initial outlook is brim, until they can put a cap on exports. Those expecting to be bowlered over are in for a harsh fiscal year. But no one said being top hat was easy.

Jumped on the TERA free trial last night and actually found myself having a pretty great time, MMO conventions aside. The combat really goes far (at least in the first three hours) in terms of making the whole "Kill X" quest structure actually amusing and boss fights feel more like a test of skill and nerve than…

Separate ranking board, intense gameplay, and a massive ePeen. That's about it.

$10 off this week at Gamestop. There you go!

It includes the 5 map packs (some that have yet to be released) as well as a cheat to unlock all guns. It's basically the game plus their $70 knock off of CoD Elite.

Anyone interested in TERA can get a 50% off coupon through Raptr. You have to link a game account to the site to get the deal and be ranked Amateur in at least one specific game, including WoW, Elder Scrolls, SWToR, or Diablo, which isn't really hard. Basically if you have a decent leveled WoW character you qualify.

No, you should be relieved. He's a provocateur, not a political voice.

They actually offer a gameplay demo on the site through Gaikai (if your internet is fast enough). The combat felt pretty fun! But the quality was low thanks to streaming, and like you said, couldn't give a taste for the general MMO blandness that might follow.

I got a 50% off code for TERA through the gaming site Raptr (which you should check out for some good deals). But I am a bit on the fence it I want to drop $25 on the game, which I've heard is a little grindy. I read Fahey's impressions, but was wondering if any Kotaku-ites are playing and what they say is the reason…

Shivering Isles also ran $10 more on release, so you get 50% more content for 50% more in cost. Fair trade in my eyes.

They really do get screwed with deadlines so often. "Hey, this RPG did well and we need a sequel immediately! Call up Obsidian!"

Last I checked, casual gamers don't even know what backwards compatibility is. When the Wii came out it was revolutionary in that every day families could instantly see the benefits of moving to play games. Nothing on the market was like it.

You can see parallels between this and the difference between a good novel and a bad novel. A novel creates its own unique world, with its own rules, characters, locations, and more. Good ones can ease you into this world and present complex information seamlessly, so that you learn about everything in a natural and…

I had a friend over too which made it worse. We're playing a LAN game. He fights all the wars, I push all the research and earn the gold. Currently I am making 250 gold a turn, so I just send him money when he needs to roll out the war machine. We've made it to about the 1600s in game.