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Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled a new 10 day trial offer for Cataclysm, the latest expansion for the company's popular World of Warcraft MMO. Currrent players who also own The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King expansions can sign up for a ten day tour of Cataclysm's new content.

If you or a friend are currently playing Wrath of the Lich King and haven’t yet experienced the content Cataclysm has to offer, you can sign up now to play a 10-day free trial version of this latest expansion for World of Warcraft.

During your free trial, you'll undertake epic new quests, explore the reshaped and newly discovered lands of Azeroth, and see the world from a whole new perspective as one of the shape-changing worgen or crafty goblins.

To participate, you’ll need full versions of World of Warcraft and the first two expansions, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. Note that a character of at least level 78 is required to explore the new, high-level zones. More information on the 10-day free trial is available in our FAQ. We look forward to seeing you in the new Azeroth!

What content do I have access to during the 10-day free trial?
The trial account will have access to all of the expansion content, including creation of the new Goblin and Worgen races, as well as access to Cataclysm-exclusive areas such as Hyjal, Vashj'ir, and more. These new zones are recommended for characters who have reached level 78 or higher. While you can complete Cataclysm quests and even pick up some powerful new items, any characters you play during the trial can only advance up to one experience point below level 81.

What happens to my characters and items after the 10 free days expire?
Any new Goblin or Worgen characters you've created will be saved and will be inaccessible until you upgrade to the full version of Cataclysm. Once you've upgraded, they will be unlocked just as you left them and ready for further adventures. All items and gold you gain during the trial period are yours to keep. Any characters that find themselves still in Hyjal, Vashj'ir, or any other expansion zone at the trial expiration will be transported to their bind point in Azeroth or Outland. If the character's bind point was set in a Cataclysm exclusive zone, he or she will be transported to his or her home city.

WoW: Cataclysm Trial

Blizzard Entertainment

World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm

In the fourth installment of IMG's holiday interview series Jon Carr has interviewed Basilisk Games' Thomas Riegsecker about a variety of issues including the importance of his close ties to fans, Eschalon's story and future, DRM and what he is planning for Basilisk's next project.

A snippet from the interview:

JC: I've heard Book III of Eschalon will include a toolset so fans can make their own adventures. Mac gamers often get left out in the cold when it comes to creation tools. Can you provide some info about what your toolset will offer?

TR: We hope that Book III continues to live on through an active community of modders long after we’ve moved on to our next game. To achieve this we are releasing our own Map Editor and several other tools that we use ourselves to make these games. I am honestly excited to play a few fan-made adventures since I never get to enjoy a “fresh” Eschalon game myself.

The tools are made with the same language and compiler that the game is made with, so they should compile just fine on all supported platforms. We are certainly planning to make the tools available to everyone, not just Windows users.

Basilisk Games Q&A

Basilisk Games

Inside Mac Games has posted a new review of Aspyr Media's latest Mac title, Sid Meier's Civilization V. The fifth edtion of the world building strategy series includes a redesigned game engine, new combat system, improved visuals, and the addition of ranged bombardment.

Here's an excerpt from the review:

The sounds and music are also of equal caliber to Civilization IV. Civ V has the usual array of gunshots, sword clangs, yelling men, and screams found in the other releases. It also contains the music themes unique to each nation, altered variations of those themes based on whether you were in a golden age, at war, or if it was just an ordinary year. The different leaders speak appropriate phrases based on how they take your requests, albeit in languages most people won't understand, and everything just feels complete. When it comes down to it, it's hard to think of a way in which the sound for Civilization could be improved. It's excellent in every area.

IMG Review: Civilization V

Aspyr Media

Civilization V

Buy Civilization V

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PC Gamer has posted a new preview of Diablo III, the much anticipated next installment of the popular action RPG series from Blizzard Entertainment. The preview includes commentary from Diablo III lead designer Jay Wilson and technical designer Wyatt Cheng.

The power of this system is extraordinary. Combine the different skill builds, the passive abilities, the runes and where players spend points, and you’re left with a big number ofpossible builds. Over 97 billion, in fact. Wyatt starts laughing as we talk this number over. “Yeah, it’s silly. But we’re convinced that at least 80 billion of those will be fun. Heads are going to explode with the possibilities.”

Aren’t they going to be overpowered? Aren’t they going to devastate your PvP? World of Warcraft has spent years trying to balance PvP powers with PvE powers. “Part of the appeal,” says Wyatt, “is finding that overpowered build. So we’re not worried about someone finding a really good build.”

PC Gamer: Diablo III Preview

Blizzard Entertainment

Diablo III

Buy Diablo III

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