The readers of Voodoo Extreme have spoken, and Age of Conan has won their Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year for 2008. And according to Funcom, Age of Conan was also runner-up for the 2008 Game of the Year Winner, which went to Fallout 3.
You can check out the full list of awards here. In other MMO-related news, World of Wacraft: Wrath of the Lich King won Expansion Pack of the Year.
So what do you think about the results? Was Age of Conan the MMO of the year?
When you sign in to Age of Conan, type /claim to get the Kosalan talisman of clarity, your virtual holiday gift from the AoC team.
In addition to both boosting both the stamina and mana reserves of its wearer, the talisman also features strong regeneration of both these values. Although better items are found deeper inside the game, this item is great for any new characters.
All your characters, including your current and future ones, will be able to use the talisman.
In tune with the Holiday season, we've put together a Holiday Gift Guide to give you some ideas about what to buy that special gamer in your life. The guide gives a variety of different ideas ranging from some of the more extreme gaming accessories to customizable gaming apparel.
So whether you're trying to brainstorm for creative ideas, or you know exactly what you want; chances are the ZAM Holiday Gift Guide will have exactly what you're looking for.
You can check out the Gift Guide by clicking here.
The Age of Conan team announced today that Funcom is giving away a ton of prizes to celebrate the winter 
season.
All you have to do is send an e-mail to contest@ageofconan.com with the subject "Season Give-away." Please provide the following information in your e-mail: your name, your address, your telephone number and your Age of Conan account name.
Starting today, one random winner will be selected every day until Dec. 31 to win a prize package including the new Snow Mammoth; the War Mammoth; the Killer Rhino; Ring of Acheron; Drinking Cape; Bag of Holding; Amazon Bow; and Totem of Origins. The full rules can be found here.
The new Snow Mammoth mount comes in three different looks and can be used in siege PvP-battles to attack enemies and destroy structures.
This week, Funcom launched the biggest gameplay content addition to date on the live servers. The free update contains the new outdoor area of Ymir's Pass and includes a new dungeon - The Amphitheatre.
Funcom has released a ton of information regarding the update. Quest Designer Joel Bylos has discussed the design process in a bog entry and an interview. "We saw that many players felt the game’s content got narrower once you passed level fifty. Ymir's Pass fits nicely into that niche and allows players to advance their characters through content, rather than grinding," he said. The full interview can be found after the jump.
Once you've read how Ymire's Pass and The Amphitheatre were designed, you can check out this in-depth Guide to Ymir's Pass. Also, even though this update is brand new, Game Director Craig Morrison has already written a letter focusing on future updates. Two new dugeons will be coming in the next one for maximum level players, and the Tarantia Commons outdoor playfield will see the light of day in early 2009.
Reports of four thousand stolen Age of Conan boxes is making news today!
Police in Bradford are appealing for information after thousands of computer games were stolen from a lorry.
The theft is believed to have occurred sometime between 10pm on Tuesday, October 28, and 7am on Wednesday, when the lorry was parked at Hellman Worldwide Logistics in Chase Way, Shann Park, Bradford.
A total of 4,000 Age of Conan games for the Xbox 360 were stolen from the lorry, on two pallets.
The Telegraph & Argus is reporting the boxes as being for the Xbox, but Computer and Video Games is reporting the boxes are for the PC, which makes more sense. There's either going to be a lot of AoC for sale on ebay, or we'll get a press release tomorrow from Funcom announcing the game now ships for the Microsoft platform. Either way, I hope they find the culprits!
MMO Portal has put together its 2009 MMO Calendar featuring autographed artwork from numerous games. The list includes Age of Conan, DC Universe Online, Dofus, EVE Online, EverQuest II, Free Realms, Guild Wars, Pirates of the Burning Sea, RuneScape, The Agency, Warhammer Online and World of Warcraft.
All of the proceeds go directly to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.
Also, everyone who purchases a calendar will be entered to win one of 10 prizes for each game, including boxed copies, premium accounts, 30- and 60-day passes, closed beta accounts and more. More information can be found here.
The PvP consequences system is now live in Age of Conan. Also in the update are major changes to trade skills, combat mechanics and interface functionality.
If you take part in anti-social actions in PVP, picking on weaker foes and such, you will find yourself accruing ‘murder points’ that will eventually mean the attitudes of NPCs in the world will change towards you!
Information on the full update can be found here or below. Also, you can read up on the mechanics of the consequences system or check out the newest AoC newsletter.
Game Director Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison updated the Age of Conan community today on the next game update, which is currently on the test server and will go live over the next couple weeks.
Perhaps the biggest change is a new consequence system for PvP. As we reported late last month, it will add moral consequences to your actions.
Players will be now run the risk of becoming a criminal or even a murderer depending on their actions in PVP. ... It will be possible for those evildoers to redeem themselves, however.
Morrison also gives an overview of the changes to trade skills, including new armor and weapons and an overhaul to the Alchemist profession. In addition to GUI adjusments, he also briefly mentions changes to massive PVP sieges, mounts, quests, raid encounters, items and tradeposts. His full post can be found here or below.
Age of Conan Developer Dave Williams recently discussed some new Culture Armors that would be introduced to the game very soon on AoC's official Web site.
Williams focused on crafting and said that the new content will allow players to enjoy ehanced character customization and ecnourage them to tell their own stories.
With the introduction of the new crafting content, players will find that tradeskills as a whole has become more cognizant of Conan lore and the rest of the game in general. One important direction we wanted to take was creating synergy between the different crafts, so that for each pair of professions there is some extra benefit for picking those specific two.
The full article is available below or here. Also, check out a couple screenshots of some Culture Armors in our gallery.
