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City of Heroes Expansion, Issue 10: ‘Invasion’ Out Now!

NCsoft and Cryptic Studios have released the newest expansion to City of Heroes, Issue 10: “Invasion” where City of Heroes and City of Villains players join forces to thwart an attack by the evil Rikti aliens bent on the destruction of the Earth. The expansion, free to current subscribers, includes a major redesign of the Rikti Crash Site zone as well as a Rikti co-op task force where heroes and villains team up to defeat the toughest alien bosses.

The kick off invasion featured in Issue 10 continues the City of Heroes tradition of global events, and in this case the Rikti attack in constant waves through most of the games’ zones and threaten both Paragon City and the Rogue Isles.

“The Rikti maintain a very powerful position in the lore of City of Heroes and the Rikti invasion event we had during the beta stage of the game is still talked about by veteran players,” said Matt Miller, Cryptic Studio’s lead designer for City of Heroes and City of Villains. “We felt the time was right and it fit into the narrative of the game to unleash another invasion — with a vengeance — and transform the Rikti Crash site into the heart of the new alien incursion.”

The Rikti Crash Site zone has been renamed the Rikti War Zone and is the epicenter of the Rikti’s assault on Earth. The Rikti War Zone, designed for player levels 35 to 50, allows both hero and villain players to work together on missions. Centered around the crashed Rikti mother ship, the Rikti have a variety of new powerful weapons including Rikti Pylons and UXBs or “unexploded bombs.” The Rikti Pylons are heavily armed defensive points surrounding the crashed mother ship which need to be defeated in order to gain access to the ship.

Issue 10, however, provides players with powerful new tools used to combat the Rikti. The Vanguard base established in the Rikti War Zone includes a special Vanguard Workbench that allows players to create special costume pieces as well as Vanguard Support Machines, or “heavies”, that serve as deadly pets in altercations with the Rikti.

“This expansion unleashes total war where aliens and earthlings get great new weapons to bludgeon each other with. We think this will be great fun,” Miller said. “The fact that both heroes and villains need to join together to defeat a common enemy is a comic book convention that helps to add greater depth and excitement to City of Heroes and City of Villains.”

The Rikti co-op task force, set for player levels 45 to 50, can be obtained from the leader of the Vanguard in the Rikti War Zone and delivers high-level adventures for teams composed of both heroes and villains.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North Prerelease Bonus Pack UpDate!

NCsoft announced today that the prerelease bonus pack for Guild Wars: Eye of the North™ is set to arrive on retailer’s shelves on July 20th and will include a host of compelling features, including exclusive in-game items and access to the Guild Wars: Eye of the North Sneak Peek Weekend set for later this summer.

The Guild Wars: Eye of the North prerelease bonus pack will be available from retailers in North America and Europe as well as at the NCsoft store at PlayNC.com and via the Official Guild Wars online store.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North is the first ever expansion to the subscription-free Guild Wars franchise of fantasy online role playing games, which will be released to the public on August 31, 2007. This expansion will provide new content accessible to players who have any of the previously released Guild Wars campaigns (Guild Wars, Guild Wars: Factionsâ„¢, or Guild Wars: Nightfallâ„¢).

Players who pre-order Guild Wars: Eye of the North will gain access to the Sneak Peek Weekend, August 24–26, 2007, where they will be able to log into the game for a first look at Eye of the North. Players will be able to explore the Far Shiverpeaks region of the world, home of the barbaric Norn. Everything players obtain during the Sneak Peek Weekend, including items, XP, Heroes, and loot, will be permanent and available when the expansion goes live.

The Guild Wars: Eye of the North prerelease bonus pack also comes with exclusive weapons, including the Glacial Blade, the Hourglass Staff, and the Darksteel Longbow. These new weapons are based on the winning designs from the Guild Wars Design-a-Weapon Contest held earlier this year. In addition, the prerelease bonus pack includes a Guild Wars Trilogy Trial DVD that provides access to all three of the Guild Wars campaigns for a special trial promotion lasting 10 hours or 14 days, whichever comes first*.

“We believe this feature-packed prerelease delivers real value to our players,” said Mike O’Brien, co-founder of ArenaNet. “From past experience, we expect the Sneak Peek Weekend alone to be hugely popular, and players won’t want to miss this chance to get a leg-up before the game goes live.”

Guild Wars: Eye of the North Readies For August 31 Release

Guild Wars: Eye of the North, the first ever expansion to the subscription-free Guild Wars franchise of fantasy online role-playing games, will be released to the public on August 31, 2007. The Guild Wars: Eye of the North expansion will be available for an expected price of $39.99 in North America and €34.99 in Europe, as well as through the NCsoft store at PlayNC.com and in the Guild Wars in-game store.Guild Wars: Eye of the North will continue the no subscription fee model pioneered by ArenaNet, and will provide new content accessible to players who own both the expansion and any one of the three previously released Guild Wars campaigns (Guild Wars, Factions^TM, or Nightfall^TM).

The Guild Wars franchise has sold more than 3.5 million units since the release of the original Guild Wars campaign, in 2005, making it one of the most popular online role-playing games of all time.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North follows up on events told in the original Guild Wars campaign, and is set in previously unexplored areas of the continent of Tyria. The expansion contains a host of new features that will appeal directly to veteran Guild Wars players, including 18 large, multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across all ten Guild Wars professions, ten new Heroes, 40 new armor sets, and more items, weapons, and titles. Additionally, through the innovative Hall of Monuments, Guild Wars: Eye of the North creates a path for players to carry the legacy of their characters into the upcoming Guild Wars 2. The Hall of Monuments will allow players to preserve their accomplishments and titles from Guild Wars, Factions, and Nightfall, which can then be claimed in Guild Wars 2.