CCP have recently announced the 15th free expansion for spacefaring MMO EVE Online will soon be preparing to dock.

Crucible aims to improve EVE’s graphics, interface and game mechanics with a focus on getting the game ‘back to basics’. In other words, returning EVE to a game in which negotiating space and your spaceship are paramount.

The expansion includes quite a number of improved features based on player feedback and requests made by EVE’s passionate and vocal community. Such features include:

• Four fan-designed battlecruisers built to deliver swift and effective destruction to the opposition
• Over a dozen stunningly remade nebulae, changing the look and feel of EVE’s universe completely
• Other fan-favorite graphical improvements such as engine trails, warp tunnels and shadows
• Time dilation in fleet flights — adjusting time itself to keep fairness alive when hundreds of players face off against each other
• 3 new factional captain’s quarters with unique, artistic looks
• A significant ship rebalancing effort, to bring greater diversity and balance to large and small scale conflicts
• A lot of small changes — from fonts to UI to Doomsday devices to PvE tweaks
• Next week we’ll have a larger breakdown of the features and changes available for press.

• EVE Online’s Crucible 1.1 Update Now Live
• EVE Online Launches Free ‘Crucible’ Expansion
• Player Power: Eve Online to ‘Refocus and Reprioritize’ in the Wake of Criticism
• CCP Says Sony Offers ‘Fidelity’ That Microsoft Can’t for Dust 514
• EVE Online MMORPG.com’s Game of the Year
• DUST 514 Will Launch in Summer 2012

CCP have taken a long, hard look at themselves...

CCP, publisher of space faring MMO EVE Online has been under fire recently for the allocation of development resources to areas the player base considers less vital, in addition to the decline of development for the EVE in general. EVE’s subscription fees have apparently been paying for the development of CCP’s forthcoming MMO World of Darkness and MMOFPS Dust 514, resulting in less attention being spent on their current flagship product. Understandably, this has led to more than a few players feeling rather miffed.

In a short blog post on the official website, Senior Producer CCP Zulu has indicated the times are a-changin’, with the company having undergone a period of ‘extensive and intense introspection and revitalization,’ resulting in a massive shift in priorities. The post ends with an assurance that CCP has heard players’ complaints and that plans are already in motion to respond to them. Exactly what will be changing remains under wraps, but perhaps this is the step in the right direction that EVE players have been clamoring for.

The full post can be read here.

• CCP Announces Layoffs to 20% of Worldwide Staff; Company To Focus on EVE
• CCP Says Sony Offers ‘Fidelity’ That Microsoft Can’t for Dust 514
• EVE Online MMORPG.com’s Game of the Year
• Keyboard and Mouse Control a Lock for DUST 514
• EVE Online’s Crucible 1.1 Update Now Live
• EVE Online Launches Free ‘Crucible’ Expansion

Ever played a game so creepy that you felt like only the hottest of showers could purge you of its taint? That’s sort of what Parasite Eve did to me, except that I enjoyed it in some sick way. The word “mitochondria” just makes me feel really bad about myself. Thanks a lot, high-school biology. Whatever. Throw out whatever memories you have of that thing on the PSP. This ancient gem emerges from the SquareSoft vault thanks to Kapalaka’s love of the obscure and the messed-up. Lucky for you, she brought enough nostalgia for everyone.

Oh God, don't touch me.

Giant hands and huge hair are certainly going to get you some attention, especially when you look that creepy. Kapalaka used a combination of popsicle sticks, tin foil, and model magic to create the abnormally-large appendages and styled the wig herself. I’m always a fan of gravity-defying hair and this really is just a spectacular tribute to a lesser-known villain within the Square-verse.

• CCP Says Sony Offers ‘Fidelity’ That Microsoft Can’t for Dust 514
• The Helghast Unbox The Killzone 3 Helghast Edition
• PSP Review — Final Fantasy: Dissidia
• Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete Works Info
• Keyboard and Mouse Control a Lock for DUST 514
• A Brief History of First Impressions

During a Dust 514 preview event I attended at E3 yesterday, the topic of Playstation 3 exclusivity arose, and it was subsequently announced that amongst other things, Sony offered developer CCP fidelity that Microsoft couldn’t offer.

The upcoming console MMOFPS was announced as a Playstation exclusive during the E3 2011 Sony conference, although it was not known officially known why, however a lot of the blame seems to be on the infamous Microsoft online Terms of Service and how closed they are.

During a gameplay preview and information session, a developer at CCP commented that a major factor in the exclusivity was that Sony offered a ‘fidelity’ and contractual experience that Microsoft could not offer, and for Dust 514 to ever appear on the Xbox people would literally have to overhaul the Xbox and Microsoft service terms.

For those of you who don’t know, Dust 514 will allow FPS players to interact with PC players in the space MMO hit E.V.E. Online in a groundbreaking fashion the likes of which have never been seen before… if it works.

• Player Power: Eve Online to ‘Refocus and Reprioritize’ in the Wake of Criticism
• Keyboard and Mouse Control a Lock for DUST 514
• EVE Online’s Latest Expansion “Crucible” to be Released November 29th
• DUST 514 Will Launch in Summer 2012
• CCP Announces Layoffs to 20% of Worldwide Staff; Company To Focus on EVE
• Relax Guys, Sony’s E3 Press Conference Is Only 1.5 Hours

Today’s set of Steam deals has been revealed, and includes savings on EVE Online, Dawn of War II Gold, Half-Life and a handful more.

The all-week deals remain, of course, which can be found scrolling at the top of the page here.

I highly recommend EVE Online- it’s the best MMO there is. WoW’s for some people, but for real men there’s EVE. The learning curve is more of a learning knife edge, but for seasoned gamers it’s incredibly rewarding. Obviously Half-Life is an excellent game, if a little dated now, and Dawn of War is also really good. Lots of good deals today, but I’m hoping they up their game, as we’ve not truly seen anything as crazily good value as the Winter sale yet.

• Sid Meier’s Civilization (All games): Various Discounts
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Gold: 50% off
• Kane and Lynch: Dead Men: 75% off
• Half-Life: 80% off
• Flotilla: 75% off
• Max Payne Bundle: 75% off
• EVE Online: 90% off (Note: Subscription fee after 1 Month)

• Final Day of Steam Sale: The Best of the Sale
• Steam Sale Day 10: Metro 2033, Portal, Just Cause 2 and More
• Steam Sale Day 8: Dragon Age, Thief, Bioshock and More
• Steam Sale Day 3: Zeno Clash, Company of Heroes, Left 4 Dead 2, and More
• What’s Happened To The Once “Glorious” Steam Sale?
• Steam Summer Sale is on, Say Farewell to Your Savings

Despite being Released in 2003, EVE Online has been voted 2009′s MMO of the year by MMORPG.com. The game saw two major expansions this year, adding new ships, wormholes, better fleet organisation, and lovely pretty new planet designs. Another thing that happened in the world of EVE this year is that I started playing.

I really enjoy EVE. For Sci-Fi fans who love the idea of a consistent world they can go into and fly spaceships around, EVE is amazing. The economics of the game’s market system are another selling point; everything is bought and sold by players, and the price is set by the supply and demand, not by the developer of the game. It even saw a stock market crash this year.

I’m not even sure if one website saying that EVE is good is really news, but it is MMORPG.com, and that’s pretty big in the MMO world. Also, I really like EVE, and wanted to write about it a bit. If you’ve not played it, there is a trial version you can have go at. It certainly hooked me. One pointer, however: join a corporation. You’ll learn incredibly fast, and make some good buddies along the way. Isn’t that what social gaming is all about?

• Player Power: Eve Online to ‘Refocus and Reprioritize’ in the Wake of Criticism
• EVE Online’s Crucible 1.1 Update Now Live
• EVE Online Launches Free ‘Crucible’ Expansion
• EVE Online’s Latest Expansion “Crucible” to be Released November 29th
• EVE Online Offers a Great Incentive For New Players
• CCP Announces Layoffs to 20% of Worldwide Staff; Company To Focus on EVE

Well, this is it. We’ve counted down the best asses in videogames, and I’m guessing nobody recognizes our number one. I’m sure this choice will be much debated, but there is some fairly sound logic why this gets our top choice for the Nicest Asses in Videogames.

#1 – The Party Girls (Hitman series)

Yes, the chicks from the Hitman games, specifically all of the party levels. From the snow bunnies to the BDSM leather-clad freaks, the girls at the various parties in the Hitman games do a good job of pleasing most uniform fetishes out there. There’s no schoolgirl party yet, but I’m sure that’s coming. Just check out the in-game action at the Christmas party:

…and the Meat King’s party:

… and the Heaven and Hell party:

In addition to the fact that these polygonal posteriors are round and perky, the idea that you are surrounded by them makes it all the better. After all, a room full of nice asses is generally better than just one nice ass. Can I get an amen?

Sure, these are just random, nameless characters with relatively little impact in the game, but that doesn’t mean their asses don’t deserve a little credit. Everybody’s gotta start somewhere. Any of you ladies remember Brad Pitt’s first movie?

Let’s also not forget the hotness of Olga Kurylenko who played what’s-her-name in the Hitman movie. I’m not sure if that really counts as the same thing, but since we are just talking about “Hitman girls”, I guess it fits. And hey, it’s my list so I can do what I want. Plus, we can say she is a videogame girl because the only U.S. movies she’s been in so far were Hitman, Max Payne, and Quantum of Solace — all of which were videogames.

The only thing that really made this a tough choice was the fact that these characters are mostly all unnamed background characters. This posed a problem because, unlike characters that are actually “famous”, they have no fans and thus no fan art. Agent 47 himself has thousands of pics, but his supporting cast is just not important to anyone. At the very least I found this promotional piece:

But there it is. I’m sure people were expecting a more famous character — we don’t see no-names topping People’s Sexiest lists, do we — but I think these asses deserve it. Sure, there are lots of videogame characters that have great butts, but I’ve never spent as much time in any other game just looking at the chicks instead of playing the game.

That’s sad, I know, but for whatever reason, the girls in the Hitman games somehow manage to mesmerize me with their booties, and they somehow pop up as the first thought when someone mentions asses in videogames. These are like the super hot chicks you see in music videos that you have no idea who they are but you just fall in love with them anyway, and that’s how they managed to top our list of the Nicest Asses in Videogames.

All the Asses: 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Special Mentions |1

• Five O’Clock Fan Art: Hitman Absolution
• Here’s a New Hitman Absolution Trailer From The VGAs
• Hitman: Absolution Goes Hardcore (Mode)
• IO Discusses Hitman Absolution Development and Multiplayer
• New Hitman Absolution Details Make You Feel Like a True Assassin
• Potential Hitman: Absolution Box Art Images Revealed