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Today we're happy to announce the launch date of Vanguard Saga of Heroes!

VANGUARD: SAGA OF HEROES MAKES THE JOURNEY INTO RETAIL STORES ON JANUARY 30, 2007San Diego, CA - January 11, 2007 - Sony Online Entertainment and Sigil Games Online today announced that the upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will be released to retail outlets across North America and Europe on January 30, 2007, for the suggested retail price of US$49.99. A limited edition is also available for a suggested retail price of US$89.99.Currently in beta, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes features vibrant environments reminiscent of oil paintings, a robust character customization tool and three distinct spheres of advancement in a seamless world without zoning or instancing. The immersive fantasy world is comprised of three massive, uniquely-themed continents for players to discover new creatures, new items and unlimited adventure. Players have complete freedom to roam the world whether flying dragons to islands in the sky or riding swift steeds to exotic lands.

Happy Birthday to my lovely wife. Perhaps this will be the day that she doesn't cringe upon reading this column. Remember, remember the 5th of December. For it was the day that Blizzard revamped World of Warcraft, rendering every user interface add-on (U.I.) useless. The crying and gnashing of teeth will be unprecendented. The U.I. has been nerfed. I can hear the wailing already. Ironically the patch is titled "Before The Storm" A long long time ago...
I can still remember
How that U.I. used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could heal those miscreants
And, maybe, they'd be happy for a while

Who better to investigate all of the heavy-duty number crunching in Vanguard than Ten Ton Hammer's resident obsessive-compulsive Ralsu? That's right, nobody. He offers a thorough guide to racial attributes and bonuses in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, and discusses how stats affect a character's performance:

Litigations that Changed the Games Industry

The First Thing We Do, Let’s Kill All The Lawyers At conferences you will hear people wonder aloud about what it was like to work in the game industry before “lawyers ruined it with litigation.” Curse the dirty lawyers! Those were the good old days and we wish we could return to them. When were these days that game developers lived in happy little communes and even the word lawsuit was unknown to them? The answer is never and in some cases we should be glad of that. A portion of the litigation in every industry, even the game industry, actually leads to positive results for the industry as a whole.

• Been having fun in WoW or another MMOG, but looking for something new, something deeper?
• Are you an old school MMOG player looking for a game that will wrap yesterday’s magic into a next-gen package?
• Might you be new to massively multiplayer gaming (or online interactive entertainment as it’s beginning to be called) and looking for the game that will be right for you?
• If any of these descriptions sound like you, I’d like to cordially invite you to check out the next big massively multiplayer game coming your way the first quarter of 2007…