As someone who plays an alarming amount of games on a wide-variety of platforms, holding my attention past journalistic obligations can be a real challenge. More often than not, when I’ve turned in a review or preview, I’m immediately off to the next game. Very few titles manage to stick around and when they do I know I they are special. Only a couple games in recent memory have succeeded, including Battlefield Bad Company 2, MLB 10 The Show, the glorious Mount&Blade and my eternal passion, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved on XBLA, which I will apparently be playing until the day I die. I can now add Pocket Legends from Spacetime Studios, a mobile action/MMO for iPhone and iPad.

If you haven’t heard of Pocket Legends then listen up: imagine having a portable version of a game like Diablo and World of Warcraft on your iPhone and/or iPad, featuring fully-realized 3D graphics, great sound, instanced dungeons, tons of loot, 3 character classes and low-latency multiplayer. Too good to be true? That’s what I thought. Pocket Legends will make a believer out of you.

I recently conducted an interview with Cinco Barnes, Creative Director at Spacetime Studios, which you can find here.

I’ve been following the development of Pocket Legends since the day it was released and have been very impressed by Spacetime Studios relentless updates. This is a game company hell-bent on winning, delivering fan-requested features and functionality at a blistering pace. Recently, Spacetime Studios released their biggest update yet in 1.1 and in so doing, have evolved Pocket Legends into something even more grand.

Here are some of the biggest changes:

• Players can now trade items, which is great because prior to this, you couldn’t give your bestest friend in the whole wide-world that epic sword you randomly looted, so now you can silence the bitching and moaning.
• You can now stash lucrative items in a vault for later use and expand the size of the vault by paying a small fee.
• Instead of purchasing items like potions from the Store tab from within the character interface, players can now visit a proper vendor and, like World of Warcraft, marvel at the sheer number of players standing around, showing off their spell effects and emotes.
• NPCs have a little more soul now, engaging the player in conversations and serving as tutorial guides for the uninitiated.
• Players can now use Private Tells to secretly communicate. This is especially useful now in light of player trading, as you can easily pester that warrior in your group to kindly trade you that epic bow in exchange for something else.
• The host of a game can now kick players, so that level 6 warrior who joined your level 25 group to leech XP can now be properly shown the door.

Those are the biggest changes, with quite a number of smaller features that add a great deal of polish. As awesome as this update is, Spacetime Studios isn’t going to just kick back and leave well enough alone. They have big plans in store for Pocket Legends, plans that include the following:

• Increased Player Customization
• Bank
• Mailboxes
• Quests
• Secure Trades
• Pets
• PvP
• Guilds
• World Map
• Player Housing
• Auction House
• Achievements and Leaderboards
• Randomized Dungeons (oh God yes!)

That’s a hell of a list for a hell of a game.

If you haven’t joined the Pocket Legends bandwagon then you should get off your ass and start downloading. If you have just a shred of interest in MMOs then you owe it too yourself to see where the genre is going and how effective the mobile platform can be in handling this game type. Hell, even the Xbox 360 and PS3 continue to suffer an MMO drought; meanwhile, who would have thought the iPad and iPhone would fill the void? Blizzard may not want to dilly-dally on their mobile plans too much longer…

If I’ve piqued your interest then great. You can start downloading Pocket Legends right now, free of charge. Still not convinced? Check out the video below:

Pocket Legends for iPhone

Pocket Legends for iPad

Despite what Microsoft or Blizzard may lead to you believe, real life achievements existed long before the video game ones.

The most specific example that comes to mind is Boy Scouts.  Where else, besides the military, will you get the chance to show off every challenge you have conquered, such as a rank advancement or a sports achievement, with a fancy addition to your clothing for everyone to see?  It’s an even better way of saying, “Hey, look at me!  I have more achievements than that guy!”

So really, we can see that Xbox Live and World of Warcraft just copied merit badges.  Digital merit badges.  It makes sense.

Need proof?  The Cub Scouts (the younger version of the Boy Scouts) have just introduced a video games belt loop and pin for all aspiring scouts.  These are the requirements for the belt loop:

1. Explain why it is important to have a rating system for video games. Check your video games to be sure they are right for your age.

2. With an adult, create a schedule for you to do things that includes your chores, homework, and video gaming. Do your best to follow this schedule.

3. Learn to play a new video game that is approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher.

For comparison’s sake, let’s take a look at some comparable Xbox 360 achievements – say, from Modern Warfare 2:

Look Ma Two Hands

- Kill 10 enemies in a row using akimbo weapons in Single Player or Special Ops.

Colonel Sanderson

- Kill 7 chickens in under 10 seconds in “The Hornet’s Nest.”

Back in the Saddle

- Help train the local militia.

As we can see, Microsoft and Blizzard blatantly ripped off the Boy Scouts and no one bothered to call them out on it.  Killing seven chickens might as well be the cooking merit badge in video game form.  And training your local militia?  Hell, that’s a good deed for the day.  Even better than helping an old lady cross the street.

Now, I just have one question:  Where was this wonderful achievement when I was in the organization?  Back in my day, the oh-so-long-ago early ’90s, we had to earn belt loops based on archaic physical activities such as archery, soccer and physical fitness – things modern day kids only experience in their most recent round of Wii Sports Resort.

If my NES-obsessed brain had been given the chance to earn a video games belt loop back then, I would have not only worn it on the front of my belt, but I would have ordered a second one and proudly glued it over the Cub Scouts logo on my hat.

Too little, too late I suppose.  But at least this current generation of kids will have something more digital entertainment-based to help them connect Cub Scouts with their lives.  Hopefully the Boy Scouts follow suit and offer a video games merit badge soon.

You can check out the full information for both achievements on the Official Boy Scouts of America website.

Countless people lose control of their World of Warcraft accounts on a daily basis, whether through good old-fashioned hacking, falling for phishing scams, clicking on bogus email links, etc. In answer this ever-growing problems, Blizzard released the World of Warcraft Authenticator at an extra charge, offering participating players a solid layer of security between their passwords and WoW account. Up till recently, the WoW Authenticator proved robust and secure, but has since been the target of a successful hacking attempt.

Blizzard suspects a keylogger may be involved. A Keylogger is a nefarious bit of code that sits on your computer and reports all keyboard interaction, ultimately ratting out your passwords so a hacker.

MMOCrunch article:

So the Authenticator is not a fail safe way to keep accounts safe but it is still a very good investment. If you want to check to see if you have the virus just search for the file “emcor.dll” on your computer. If you have it then your account most likely has already been hacked.

Tools like the Authenticator can only do so much. It is really unfortunate that people are getting hacked even with this security measure but it all comes down to the user. Safe browsing habits, a good anti-virus, common sense (against phishers) and things like an Authenticator can make your account virtually hack proof.

Going outside. It’s quite dangerous. Just ask a World of Warcraft player. Gang fights, turf disputes, trade swindling, imposing authorities, Mr. T. – and we’re not even talking about WoW yet.

So imagine what happens when you mix those things, rampant drug and alcohol usage, internet anonymity, a cross between GTA-style violence and Harry Potter-style witchery, 13-year-olds, and good old FPS teabagging. You get a rather dangerous place called a “PvP Realm.” Roughly translated for those who haven’t yet mastered WoW-speak, it means “open season on your ass.” But since Blizzard has yet to debut its patented in-game butt cup (available soon for only $10, limit one per account) to shield your character (aka toon) from unwanted posterior intrusions, you’ll have to settle with my $5 “Don’t-even-think-about-going-there” tour guide, provided to you free of charge.

So, without further adieu, I bring you, ranging from “hunting guide for Dick Cheney” to “sparring partner for Chuck Norris,” the top 10 most dangerous world PvP areas of WoW.

[A quick note to WoW players not yet accustomed to the sheer lunacy of PvP realms:

PvEers - pretend every zone not exclusively controlled by your faction is simply one of those magical places you call a "battleground," only with flight paths.

RPers - replace "you" with "thou," and "teabagging" with "a sampling of ye olde family jewels."]

#10 – Karazhan

Above: A typical Tuesday night outside Karazhan in 2007.

The old level-70, 10-man raid instance from Burning Crusade may be responsible for many things – starting a new approach that made making raid instances more accessible, causing Blizzard to incorporate 10-man options for all of its raid content in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion – but it will always be known for giving us one startling revelation above all: meeting stones and ganking go together like hookers and the clap.

Sure, Karazhan may not be much of a hot spot anymore, what with the level cap being raised to 80 and all, but back before WoW’s second expansion launched you couldn’t hover around the instance’s meeting stone on a weekday night for more than 10 seconds (let alone during the weekend) without getting gang raped by numerous members of the opposing faction.

The fact that both Horde and Alliance had to summon their raid members face-to-face while some dickweed rogue decided to run his own Sap-a-thon would often cause an arms race that rivaled the Soviet/American nuclear weapons buildup during the Cold War. The first side to amass a full 10-man group – or simply a larger group during more pressing moments – instantly waged full-scale war on the other side.

Beer, weed, energy drinks and A.D.D. all combined with impatience over waiting on that last raid member who just wouldn’t seem to get out of Warsong Gulch no matter how many times you told him. And when more raid groups started showing up, it simply boiled down to who wanted it the most, and who simply wanted some Tier 4.

But assuming your raid somehow succeeded in neutralizing all nearby hostiles, you’d still end up waiting on that supposed second tank your resto druid said he found in trade chat over 30 minutes ago. Thankfully, you could always fall back on dueling your guildies while you waited.

Chances of teabagging: medium.

As MMOs increase in popularity, an alarming number of people are having their accounts hacked on a daily basis. The problem has become so epidemic that its overall weight is dragging down respective customer support centers as they attempt to placate irate and confused customers. In some cases, it can take weeks to retrieve your character and if you’re lucky, you may get your items back.

Now, the vast majority of these problems could be avoided if gamers used their heads, but with the increased casual appeal of your typical MMO, we’re finding more players who simply don’t know better until it’s too late. It’s a hell of a way to learn. How are hackers getting account information? A variety of ways:

1. You get an email that looks like it’s from the Customer Service department of the MMO in question, asking you to update account information. You click the supplied link and are taken to a site that looks legit. Unfortunately, it isn’t…and you have just supplied all relevant account information to a hacker.

I get these emails on a daily basis. Here’s what one looks like (DO NOT CLICK THE LINKS!):

Blizzard Entertainment -> Legal -> Terms of Use

A 3-hour probationary suspension is pending on this account, awaiting confirmation from a specialist. A

final warning has been issued. The investigation will be continued by the Account Administration team

to determine the any further suspensions. If the account in question is found in violation of the EULA

and Terms of Use, further action will be taken. Be aware that any additional inappropriate actions may

result in the permanent closure of the account.

Thank you for respecting our position on this matter.

=======================================================================================================

===========
** We request that you verify your legitimate ownership of the account here:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/login/login/
Blizzard staff will verify your account information submitted in two days, please do not modify your

account information during this time . It will not affect your game uptime.

1.) WHY DID THIS HAPPEN AND HOW CAN I STOP IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN?

which state that your Password is to be kept confidential at all times and you are solely responsible

for the security of your Password. You may not disclose your Password to anyone, or allow your Password

to be used by anyone other than yourself and/or your one (1) minor child. This includes, but is not

limited to, compensated third parties accessing the account to advance characters in any way.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Password, and you will be responsible

for all uses of your Password, whether or not authorized by you. Also, note that the security of the

Account is your responsibility. Furthermore, Blizzard Entertainment does not recognize the transfer of

Accounts, and any authorized transfer of the World of Warcraft software (as set forth on the

worldofwarcraft.com website) will result in the permanent deletion of the Account attached to that

software. You may not offer any Account for sale or trade, and any such offer is a violation of this

Agreement and may result in suspension or termination of the Account.

To help ensure that no viruses are present that may threaten your account, please regularly scan all

computer systems that you use to remove all viruses, including Trojan files, spy-ware and key loggers.

You can find links to scanners in our article about computer and Internet security tips at

http://www.blizzard.com/support/?id=msi0504p. Also be sure to change your account password regularly at

https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account.

2.) I SENT MY SUBMISSION, NOW WHAT?

We will contact you again once your submission is received and processed. If you do not receive a reply

within 48 hours of sending your submission, please resend it and notify us at

http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowaa/?id=eSupport000. If you send your submission by postal mail,

please allow time for delivery. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience.

Only Account Administration is able to assist with account retrieval issues. To learn more about how

Account Administration is able to assist you, please visit us at

http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowaa/.com

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter, and your continued interest in World of Warcraft.

Sincerely,
Amanda

When you receive an email with a link, hover your mouse over the link and analyze the URL that appears in your browser. Chances are extremely high the URL points to a shady site, a site that is named in such a way that it fools you into thinking it’s legitimate.

The above example clearly illustrates that you are one-click away from having your account hacked, but you have to examine the links in that email to know better.

2. You visited a site that placed a “keylogger” on your system. The keylogger monitors every input of the keyboard and sends this information to a remote hacker, who weeds out password and account information. At this point, you have bigger worries, like protecting the sanctity of your bank account.

#1 is the most common. #2 is a worst-case-scenario, but still very common.

As for #2, you should have a virus protector installed that will prevent most keyloggers from being placed on your computer. I personally recommend Avast, as it’s free and doesn’t hog up system resources, nor does it interfere with my games like McCaffe and Norton.

Protecting yourself is YOUR responsibility, not the responsibility of MMO companies who now have to clean up your ignorance. That doesn’t mean MMO companies are not entirely to blame, however. Let’s face it: security measures for your typical MMO suck. If the same companies who run MMOs ran banks, none of us would have any money remaining in our accounts.

So both sides in this ever-growing issue need to behave better. MMO companies need to enhance their security measures and gamers need to get their head out of their ass and stop falling for lame hacker tricks.

A good website, MMOCrunch, has a fine feature up specifically about Aion and security that is worth your time.

All hell broke loose yesterday in the world of Spider-Man, with Sam Raimi leaving his directorial position for Spider-Man 4 and Tobe Maguire retiring from the costume. As such, Sony canned the script they were working on and are now going in a completely different direction. Unfortunately, the direction indicated by Sony’s press-release indicates we may be in for a terrible film.

“Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.”

High school? So this is going to to be Twilight with Spider-Man?

Color me completely uninterested.

On the upside, Sam Raimi is now a free man and that means he has all the time in the world to devote to the cinematic version World of Warcraft, which Mr. Raimi signed on to adapt last year. At that point, Sam indicated he would begin production of World of Warcraft after the next Spider-Man movie. With no Spider-Man movie, Sam can now accelerate his plans on Warcraft.

There is one little problem though: a small movie called Avatar. Avatar has raised the bar so high in terms of world-building and effects that Mr. Raimi will now have to at least equal, if not surpass, the visual wonders delivered by James Cameron. Sam will have to channel new abiltiies, for he has never worked on a project of this magnitude, despite the huge budgets on Spider-Man. Warcraft is a whole new beast that comes saddled with massive expectations and a fan base that will hunt you down and murder you in your sleep if you screw up this adaptation.

I haven’t played World of Warcraft in a long time, mainly because I could rarely find anyone to group and raid with and guild politics always rubbed me the wrong way (get a life people). Recently Blizzard tried to address folks such as myself who tend to solo but would still like to venture into a dungeon now and then without standing around for 4 hours looking for a group.

Enter “Dungeon Finder”, the overhauled Looking For Group feature that radically alters how players can tackle WoW.

What’s it do?

• This feature has replaced the Looking For Group tool and provides all-new dungeon party creation functionality.
• Players can join as individuals, as a full group, or a partial group to look for additional party members.
• Groups using this tool will be able to teleport directly to the selected instance. Upon leaving the instance, players will be returned to their original location. If any party member needs to temporarily leave the instance for reagents or repairs, they will have the option to teleport back to the instance.
• Players can choose the Random Dungeon option.
• The Heroic Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Frost no more than once a day.

• The normal Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Triumph no more than once a day.
• Continuing to complete Wrath of the Lich King Heroic instances using the Daily Random Dungeon option will award players two additional Emblems of Triumph each time.
• Daily Heroic and normal dungeon quests have been removed. These quests have been replaced with weekly raid quests (see the “Quests” section for details).
• Level-appropriate rewards will be offered to players who choose the Random Dungeon option for pre-Wrath of the Lich King dungeons.
• Players can be placed in a group for a random dungeon no more than once every 15 minutes.
• Random Dungeon rewards will be placed in each player’s inventory automatically upon completion of the dungeon (final boss killed). A pop-up notification will display any rewards earned through the Dungeon Finder.
• Instead of choosing a random dungeon, players can also choose specific dungeons appropriate for their level range. Multiple instances can be selected at one time. The feature no longer limits the choice to look for only 3 dungeon groups at one time.
• Pick-Up Groups
• Cross-realm instances are now available and use an improved matchmaking system to assist players in looking for additional party members. As with Battlegrounds, the realms in each Battlegroup are connected.
• As part of the matchmaking system, some of the more difficult dungeons will have a minimum gear requirement. Players also need to meet the requirements for dungeons that require attunement, such as keys or quests. If a player does not meet the requirements for a particular dungeon, a lock icon will be displayed next to that dungeon. Hovering over this icon will display the requirements which have not been met.
• Only conjured items and loot dropped in a dungeon for which other party members are eligible can be traded between players from different realms.
• A Vote Kick feature will be available in the event a member of a party is not performing to the expectations of the other members.
• Players who leave the group prematurely are subject to a Deserter debuff preventing them from using the Dungeon Finder for 15 minutes.
• If an existing group loses a member, the leader will be asked if he or she wants to continue the dungeon. Choosing to continue will automatically place the group back into the Dungeon Finder queue.
• A Player will not be placed in a group with people on his or her Ignore list.
• Players who take part in groups who have one or more members who have been matched with them randomly from within the Dungeon Finder will receive extra rewards, up to and including the coveted Perky Pug non-combat pet. The more random players with whom one groups, the faster the pet can be obtained.
• The Need Before Greed loot system will be the unalterable default looting system for pick-up groups in the Dungeon Finder and has been updated.
• Need Before Greed will now recognize gear appropriate for a class in three ways: the class must be able to equip the item, pure melee will be unable to roll on spell power items, and classes are limited to their dominant armor type (ex. paladins for plate). All items will still be available via Greed rolls as well as the new Disenchant option should no member be able to use the item.
• Players will be able to roll on items with a required minimum level higher than a player’s current level.