Van Hemlock

Sword-swinging Elf-fests come and go, but this looks interesting:

Pirates of the Burning Sea

Yarr! Details of actual gameplay seem sketchy at this point, but theres a lot of pretty screenshots there, and frankly, who doesn't want a huge beard, thirty cannon and weevils?

Seriously though, this does seem to be the latest in an inspiring set of novel and different MMORPG projects in the works. I mean I like Magic Missles and +5 Long Swords of Iritability as much as the next obsessive sociopathic stay-at-home loner, but sometimes I get really, really tired of abusing poor hapless innocent Orcs.

I expect I'll always have at least one Goblin-Molesting Level-Quest on the go, but it's nice to have a bit of variety. If you're sick of swinging swords, also look out for Auto Assault - MMORPG Mad Max, Atriarch - Alien Wierdness Online, or even Shot Online - bizzarrely enough, a MMORPG about Golf.

Pirates are always cool though, as shown by this <ul> tag:

• Talk Like A Pirate Day - Only 128 days to go!
• World of Piratecraft - As found by pretty much every other MMO blogger first.
• CptJackSprrrowz69432 pwns YOU for 476 points of Broadside damage! - Coming soon, but probably not as good as Burning Sea, above.
• Fifteen irregularly shaped coloured blocks on a dead man's chest! - I think I've found the next Operation Cheapseats candidate!
• Where have all the pirates gone? - a short essay on the lamentable lack of pirates in contemporary advertising.

Yarr!

(Fun fact: According to 'The Sillmarillion', by J.R.R.Hartley, the prequel to 'The Hobbit', and 'The Lord of the Rings', Gandalf, everyone's favourite hobbit-bothering wizard, is no such thing. He, and Saruman, are 'Istari', a group of powerful beings sent by the 'Valar', the gods of Middle Earth, to help combat Bad Things. This puts them firmly in Divine Messenger territory, and makes him a Cleric for all intents and saving throws!)