If you ask me about Lineage II, all I can say is that I like its looks, and my wife was crazy about it a few months ago. Other than that, as you already know, probably, I am trying to stay away from games that may cause addiction, and since this proves to be true with most MMORPGs, I try to stay away from Lineage II, just as I managed to avoid WoW or Eve Online so far. Anyway, it's always a pleasure to talk about such games, and browse through some of the latest screenshots, because they always look great!

Obviously, we're not only going to talk about screenshots. After all, there's much more to MMORPGs than screenshots. Yes, I am talking about those regular updates that keep such games alive. After all, no virtual world is large enough yet to be self-sufficient from the release of a massive multiplayer online title, and today the time has come for Lineage II to receive a new update, called "Gracia."<-125x125 Button - right->

NCsoft Europe just announced the release of the Gracia - Part 1 update, and the promises that come with it sound pretty well, and I am thinking about leveling up at almost twice the speed previously possible here. After all, we all know that time is money, right?

According to Tim Tan, NCsoft’s North American producer, "Gracia represents a huge change to Lineage II. The increase in levelling speed allows players to create new characters and advance nearly twice as fast as before. This will allow players to experience the meat of Lineage II quickly, giving them the ability to visit new and exciting areas and cool high-level content much quicker than before."

Apart from the great idea of speeding up leveling, Gracia - Part 1 also comes with a selection of "new and improved skills, many new items, and improvements to the Cruma Tower, as well as other hunting zones," so now you have a few more reasons to give this game a try, if you're not into it already!

Do you remember the temptations of your teenage years? When I look back, I think that banning a certain "evil" doesn't help at all. It only helps irresponsible parents to grow frustrated young men and young women, that's all. For example, alcohol and cigarettes. I got my first smoke when I was about 4-5 years old, I can't remember well. All that I remember is that my mother or my father passed a cigarette to me(they are not smokers, but we had a smoker as a guest), and they all laughed at me coughing my brains out a minute later. Lesson learned, much better than "don't you ever smoke, it's a sin, it will kill you," and the rest of the mumbo jumbo. In the meantime, I ended up a few times with a cigarette in my mouth, by I never got addicted to the habit. Regarding video games, it's the same, more or less. As long as you take care of your kids and they don't end up spending all their free time in front of the computer, it doesn't matter they are playing Solitaire or GTA 4, but let's see the results of the last survey regarding violence in video games and other teenage temptations, shall we?

So...are video games harmful? According to What They Play, parents are more worried about their kids grabbing GTA 4 or another violent game than some weed, booze or porn. I think they underestimate adult movies showing cigarettes, alcohol and violence, but since there aren't so many movies in that category, let's see what I just promised - the general results of What They Play's latest studies!

In the first of them, What They Play had 3,000 respondents vote for the most dangerous activity for their children. The main choices were drinking beer(bring it on!), watching porn(unfortunately, they didn't mention what kind of porn - I would really be worried if I would find my kid watching gay porn or zoophilia), and - obviously - playing violent games. My advice would be to allow your kids play violent games and have some beer(at least beer without alcohol), because that would surely keep them occupied, and away from porn - unless they are going to play in a window, and watch dirty movies in another... Anyway, the result of the study was that parents are extremely worried about violent games, while drinking and adult movies are less objectionable. Well, their picks, their choices, I am not going to blame anyone.<-336x280 Large Rectangle - right->

Next, there was a poll about worries caused by a 17 year old's sleepover. 17 years? Let's be real - at 17, one boy or girl should be well prepared for anything, and communications with parents should be as good as possible. I wouldn't jump 10 feet high if my girl would come to me, tap my shoulder, and ask for a condom, but I would surely jump 20 feet high to see her come to me and say "Dad, I am pregnant." Anyway, those parents in the poll voted marijuana as the worst possible evil, with 49 percent(hey, guys, did you know that marijuana is used as medicine in a lot of places, and tobacco can prove to be much worse in the long run??!), followed by Grand Theft Auto, with only 19 percent(I agree with that, it would be extremely bad for my kids to play GTA...without calling me in!). Anyway, GTA still managed to arrive ahead of porn and liquor!

Just great! I am very curious about guns. Why didn't they include real guns in those studies? Come on, alcohol can only kill if you're a bit nuts and you don't know when to stop, GTA can give you some headaches, in the worst case - as long as you're sane, of course, while guns...but since this is a tabu subject, I think I'll leave guns aside, now.

So...are video games harmful? Ask me, and I'll say NO! Ask them, and they'll put GTA ahead Bin Laden, Saddam, Marilyn Manson or an earthquake with a magnitude of  9.5 on the Richter scale...

I know some people that wouldn't watch adventure films in a thousand years, not even with a gun to their heads. Considering that this genre produced a lot of bad movies, I can't blame them, but I am not against adventure movies either. After all, look at the Pirates of the Carribean series! While guys go crazy about Keira Knightley, most of the opposite sex audience surely dream about Johnny Depp and
Orlando Bloom, but I am sure all of them enjoy the overall feeling you get from this movie, and the story. Anyway, if you watched the movie, did you ever try the MMORPG?

If you hear about the Pirates of the Carribean online game for the first time, here's the story...

"Set sail on the vast blue waters of the Caribbean in search of adventure, fortune, and fame in the world of the infamous Jack Sparrow and the evil Davy Jones. <-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->Create and customize your own pirate, build and outfit your own ship, and assemble a crew of your fellow rogues. Set your own course, your own adventure, and truly live the Legend!

In Pirates of the Caribbean Online, a massively-multiplayer online game for the PC and Mac platforms, you, alongside thousands of other players, will be able to fully experience the adventure of the films and explore beyond these boundaries to discover new myths and untold stories. Forge alliances, hunt for buried treasure, battle evil undead forces, and use cunning and strategy to outwit your foes - all to become the most legendary pirate on the high seas."

Leaving the above aside, the story is that Disney will be holding a free play weekend for the game between the 15th and 18th of August, so Basic Access players will be able to enjoy the Unlimited Access otherwise available to those paying the $9.95 monthly fee, while those paying already will be able to buy all customizable items for half the price.

This is folks, so if you have some time to spare this weekend and become a pirate...enjoy the Pirates of the Caribbean online game!

If you ever played a game from the Tomb Raider series, or seen one of the Tomb Raider movies, you can't say you never dreamed about more bikini snaps of Angelina Jolie! Well, don't get me wrong - you can say that, especially if you're not a male, but if you're not a chick and you will say that, nobody will believe you! Don't ask why, just watch the movies again, and you'll find your answer! Anyway, this is not about the movie, because the next game in the series is getting closer, and the pre-release campaign needed a "real life" Lara Croft, so here she is...

...ladies and gentlemen, meet Alison Carroll from Croydon, London, the new incarnation of Lara Croft! Not as near as Angelina, if you ask me, but that doesn't really matter, for now. Let's see what do we know about the game instead, shall we?

Some time ago, Eidos announced that Tomb Raider Underworld will drop by this November, with the 23 year old Alison replacing Karima Adebibe as the hot chick pushing the Tomb Raider marketing machine forward.<-125x125 Button - right->

For those interested, I am sure the fact that Alison Carroll is currently single will give a lot of hopes, but you should beware - she said to The Sun that "I'm single and having fun, I'm not looking for a long-term relationship as most men can't keep up with me. But playing Lara Croft, the sexiest game heroine there is, should get me a few more dates!"

Sounds pretty tempting, don't you think? Well, go form a nice line, boys, and maybe you'll get your date with the new Lara Croft, who knows? I am already taken, so I won't compete - you have one extra chance! Just go get some nice clothes, work out for a few months so you'll be able to keep up, and stop dreaming about more bikini snaps of Angelina Jolie, all right? ;)

...is not enough to help you survive, but it can surely help you enjoy the view, don't you think? Although I would really enjoy going to see the top of the world, I know I don't have the training required, so I'll pass for now. After all, there are faster suicide methods, but since I have no suicidal tendencies, let's see what can be said about the map of Himalayan mountains...turned into a virtual landscape and involved in a horror survival game!

Today, Sproing Interactive Media GmbH from Vienna announced that, together with Deep Silver, they are developing a Wii survival horror game called Cursed Mountain. In the game, you are taking the role of a mountaineer in search of his lost brother, and while ascending the mountain, you encounter an ancient curse...the souls of those that died in the region before are caught in the Shadow World, obviously.

Harald Riegler, Sproing's CEO, said "Aside from the challenge to develop an innovative title with spectacular levels and new controls, the focus in Cursed Mountain is the overwhelming environment of the Himalayas. <-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->It is really important to us that the player experiences nature's powers as realistically as possible, and that the game's viewing distance allows the player to see the monumental landscapes at all times. We are also going to great lengths to make the dead souls look as convincing as possible in order to deliver the level of immersion necessary for really effective and believable survival horror."

Leaving gameplay aside, you should also get ready for the "Athena" game engine, able to provide "HDR-Rendering, shader simulations developed especially for Wii in order to display ice, heat and water (realistic reflections and refractions), an ultra-fast particle system for amazing snow storms, soft particles for realistic fog and smoke, depth of field, motion blur, dynamic soft shadows, spherical harmonics lighting, as well as a high performance level-of-detail and streaming system in order to provide long viewing distance of the entire surrounding."

I am not crazy about horror games, but all the above made me really curious about this project. If only they would add some videos and screenshots to that website faster...because I'll get tired of studying the map of Himalayan mountains, sooner or later!