For almost two years after I got a decent computer and a fast Internet connection, I didn't have the courage at least to try a MMORPG. Why? Well, something in my head was saying these games could make me an addict, and I've been there with Panzer General 2, but now I was involved in a lot of projects requiring time, so... Anyway, first tries made me become bored pretty easy, although I didn't pick games with low ratings, but that's me - MMORPGs are not my type of games, although I enjoyed single player RPGs like Neverwinter Nights (a lot!!). Since it's not about me, today I just found about a new MMORPG that reached "Open Beta," and since it's free...

...I am sure you won't mind if I tell you more, so here we go... Today, Burda:ic, a publisher of online games worldwide, announced the Open Beta version of Florensia, a free-to-play MMORPG from the Japanese developers at NETTS. Having four starting classes, and the usual variety of weapons and spells you'll encounter in most games of the genre,  Florensia blends nice 3D graphics with accessible MMORPG gameplay.

According to Achim Kaspers, managing director of Burda:ic, "Our top priority is providing subscription MMO quality in a free-to-play format. We received a lot of good feedback from our closed beta, so we're throwing open the doors as we prepare new features like second classes, expanded PvP gameplay, and additional creature updates."<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->

Going through the features of Florensia, I spotted the following highlights:

-Four entirely unique character classes: the Explorer, the Noble, the Mercenary, and the Elementalist
-An large variety of frightening monsters to battle
-Uncharted islands, dungeons, and treasures waiting to be discovered by daring captains
-Well-balanced solo and party-based gameplay
-Immersive PvP with everything from one-on-one fights to massive fleet battles
-Five basic ship classes, each one completely customizable

Interesting enough? Go ahead and download the Florensia client and get in the game NOW! Good luck! ;)

Okami is one of those games you don't get to see often, especially because its graphics. In its early development stages, the idea was to use a photorealistic style, as most games try to go as close as possible to reality these days but, in the end, the guys at Clover Studio decided to use the sumi-e style, highly influenced by the Japanese watercolor and wood carving art of the Ukiyo-e style, as you can see in the screenshot below...

Obviously, we're not here to talk about art, so leaving the looks aside, we have some Okami cheats for PS2 waiting to be discovered. This is one more reason to hold on to your old PlayStation 2, since Okami has been released in September 2006 in Northern America, and February 2007, in Europe, but the Wii version has just arrived in the first half of this year!

While this may not be what you expect, it's the best thing I could get, so here you have the list of unlockable items in Okami, and the things you should do to unlock them:

100th Stray Bead - Complete the game<-336x280 Large Rectangle - right->
Artwork - Complete the game
Invincibility - Collect all Stray Beads
Karmic Returner - Complete the game
Karmic Transformer 1 - Complete the game
Karmic Transformer 2 - Complete the game
Karmic Transformer 3 - Earn S-Rank for Deaths
Karmic Transformer 4 - Earn S-Rank for Enemies Defeated
Karmic Transformer 5 - Earn S-Rank for Money Gained
Karmic Transformer 6 - Earn S-Rank for Demon Fangs Found
Karmic Transformer 7 - Earn S-Rank for Praise Earned
Karmic Transformer 8 - Earn S-Rank for Praise Earned
Karmic Transformer 9 - Earn S-Rank for Praise Earned
Music Test - Complete the game
Secret Theater - Accumulate more than 31 hours of play
Video Log - Complete the game

See? A lot of reasons to play and replay this game, apart from the fact it got excellent ratings from everyone after its launch, and even I know a few PlayStation 2 gamers that praised this game in our discussions until I got full of it.

Okami cheats for PS2 or not, I hope you enjoyed these tips as much as I did enjoy hearing about this game in the first place, and having some short gaming sessions with my PlayStation 2 friends that I mentioned earlier. Since I am an avid antiques collector, I will surely remember about Okami and the PlayStation 2 10 years from now, and add them to my shopping list...

Ready for a little online gaming research? I know "research" may sound boring, but if we talk about online gaming, nothing can be boring...as long as we don't have to face one of those boring MMORPGs available as we speak! Don't get me wrong, I am not considering MMORPGs boring, but the sad truth is that most of them can be pretty boring at some stages along your "path to enlightenment." Anyway, we're not going to talk about the present of online gaming today, but its future.

So...what about the future of online gaming? Did you play any online game so far? I am sure the answer would be affirmative to that question, but there are still gamers who always enjoy single player games more than going online to play. In the future, they may become an extinct gamer type, at least according to the latest statements coming from Electronic Arts, as we're going to see right away...

According to EA Sports label president Peter Moore, Electronic Arts has a "totally digitally-focused" future in mind, looking to embrace digital distribution, so instead of going to the store, you'll get your game online, play it online, probably even discuss about it with your close friends online...am I seeing a problem here?<-336x280 Large Rectangle - right->

All right, I understand their fear of becoming "another music industry," but I don't think the music industry has died. All right, piracy is high, but people still go to concerts, so maybe that's the problem. If all gaming companies would do more to try turning casual gamers into professional ones, at least for some titles, they would surely buy licenses. The future as I see it - games free to download, a lot of contests, license required to go into the contest. Just as easy as that!

Just hear this - "EA will lead the charge - by that I mean that we don't get marginalized because we continue to deliver physical discs. We have a cost there that's a drain on the industry, it's expensive, and we have every intention over a period of time - whether it's three years, or five years - of moving this company to be one that is totally digitally-focused, that sees a tremendous opportunity in interacting with our consumer twenty-four-seven."

I know it's an industry, but I would rather pay and get the disc, maybe a nice book with it and some other additional items, instead of simply downloading and paying, everything online. Are we headed towards the Matrix? :|

Do you know why I love the games in the FlatOut series? The answer is pretty simple - because they are the closest games to Destruction Derby 2 I could found in the last years! Why Destruction Derby 2? Well, simply because it's one of the best racing games I was playing in 1998-1999, and that's enough! Now, let's leave aside FlatOut and its sequel, FlatOut 2, and move to the latest installment in the series, FlatOut Ultimate Carnage, soon to drop on our computers...

According to Empire Interactive, the publisher of the FlatOut series in the US & Europe via retail outlets, FlatOut Ultimate Carnage should be coming to Windows PCs later this year, first in Europe, and then in the US.<-125x125 Button - right->

Regarding this third title in the series, Sean Walsh, Empire Interactive Product Manager, said "This really is the first Windows title to offer Arcade destruction racing combined with eye-popping graphics all packaged up with one of the most advanced physics engines ever seen in a racing game."

So far, so good, but I really don't know if I should cheer or not the promised Windows Live functionality, considering the reliability problems had by most games using this, such as Gears of War. Talking about the dates, Europe should see Ultimate Carnage on the 1st of August, while North America, during the first quarter of next year.

If you say that turn-based strategy is a dead genre, you may be right...almost right, in fact. Leaving aside those great games belonging to it and launched in the past, there are still producers that are keeping it alive, for the joy of all hardcore strategy fans, and I don't have to tell you how glad I felt when I found out that, thanks to an upcoming TBS title, I'll be able to try and change the history once again. Obviously, the war chosen is World War 2, and to make it even more accurate, Matrix Games and Strategic Studies Group have decided to focus on battles fought in a single place, Kharkov.

In the Decisive Battles games series, the Battle of Kharkov has a special place, especially if we think about the fact that history provided not one or two, but three battles fought in that area, between 1941 and 1943, so there's a lot of to try and change as a Soviet commander...but, as you can see in the trailer, I guess those that didn't play any similar game so far won't be crazy about this one, either.

According to David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, "The latest masterpiece from the award-winning Strategic Studies Group has been at the top of many gamers' wish lists and for good reason. Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets brings together the riveting and enjoyable mechanics of the Decisive Battles and Battlefront titles and combines it with plenty of innovation and novel gameplay!"<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->

The feature list of the game includes improved and simplified supply, movement and direct combat systems, improved combat tables that better model diminishing returns and new HQ bonuses that can affect Direct and Indirect Fire, battalion and regimental combat, as well as improved strong points and new hedgehog rules, amongst many others.

Since Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets is already available, and the system requirements are very low, I am sure those trying to bring back those good old TBS times of the late 1990s will be happy to give this game a try.