We have a ton of links to share with you in this week's recap of our exclusive content and noteworthy news items (which can be found after the jump). With the holiday season upon us, most MMOs are celebrating with numerous events. Some, such as World of Warcraft's Feast of Winter Veil, are listed below. Whichever game you play, take some time to enjoy the festivities. Also, feel free to browse our news archive to check out everything that couldn't fit in this weekly recap.

Allakhazam Features

Dangers of Sanrio Town : Hello Kitty Online features an in-depth social network. While it's a good tool for meeting other players, it could be dangerous for the game's younger fans.

Ten Years of Lineage II : Sam Han, Lineage II Producer for NCsoft West, and Young Park, the original Lineage Production Assistant for NCsoft West, talk with us about the Lineage franchise.

Jumpgate Evolution Media #3 : These exclusive screenshots showcase fighters class ships and factories that are used in crafting.

Swordsman Screenshots : We take an in-depth look at this class from IGG's free-to-play Zu Online.

Station Crap : Allakhazam Editor-in-Chief Andrew "Tamat" Beegle has a less than favorable personal opinion on SOE's new Station Cash microtransaction service. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments section.

The holiday event has begun in Lineage II, and the mission is of the utmost importance: Save Santa Claus !

It seems that Santa Claus has been imprisoned by the jealous and fanatical Thomas D. Turkey. Outraged by the treatment that he and his brethren have endured over the centuries, Thomas is holding Santa hostage in an undisclosed location to show the world that turkeys mean business. It is up to the citizens of this fair land to help free Santa. The fate of this and all future holidays depend on you.

Every time a single player receives four consecutive wins against Thomas D. Turkey, who spawns every four hours, Santa will be free to give gifts to random players throughout the world. You can find out more about the event, which runs until Dec. 30, here or below.

The Lineage II team has announced that all paid services will be temporarily suspended from Dec. 16 to Jan. 6 due to the holiday season.

These services will be turned off at 9:00am (CST) on December 16th, and resume again at 9:00am (CST) on January 6th. All requests that are made between December 9 - 16 will be implemented during maintenance on the 16th. Paid services will be disabled after that time.

NCsoft has announced today through a press release that Gracia Part 2, the newest Lineage II expansion, has been released for free to all subscribers. According to NCsoft, this expansion will greatly speed up character progression in the game.

Players of all levels will be able to enjoy Gracia Part 2. The expansion includes the Labyrinth of the Abyss, a multi-tiered new section of the Kamaloka hunting area; Kratei’s Cube, an arena where players fight against monsters and each other for special items; and the addition of the Vitality Replenishing Herb, which will keep the player from expending their current Vitality Points.

More information on the second part of the Gracia trilogy can be found here. The full press release can be found after the jump.

NCsoft announced today in a press release that it is revitalizing the original Lineage franchise in North America with the launch of two new updates: Episode 6 and Episode U.

The release of Episode 6 and Episode U adds many new encounters, such as battling Varlok in Desire Cavern, confronting hordes of pirates from the Ship Graveyard, and exploring the new Haunted House and the rebuilt town of Gludin. Players may also spend time learning to cook or fish, or may choose to enter their pets in organized fighting matches.

The full patch notes for both episodes can be found here. Also, be sure to check out the newly designed Lineage.com Web site. NCsoft's press release regarding the announcement is after the jump.

Gracia Part 2 will be hitting live servers on Tuesday, Oct. 28, but until that time it needs to be tested. Hop on to the Public Test Server and try out the update with some added perks, such as x4 experience and x6 drop rates, but don't forget to reporter any bugs you find.

The full patch notes for Gracia Part 2 can be found in this thread on the PTS forum or below.

The Halloween Haunt event will kick off on Oct. 28 to celebrate the launch of Gracia Part 2, but you can begin preparing for it now. Full information can be found here.

During the next couple of weeks, Omega will be setting up shop in Giran on the PTS. He won’t be there all the time, so you’ll have to catch him when you can. You’ll find him in a buy shop, looking for random items that he will be using to create his special trick or treat goodies.

NCsoft has just launched a preview site for Gracia Part 2 , the newest Lineage II update.

For hunting grounds, the update will add Kamaloka, Labyrinth of the Abyss, a dimensional tiered cavern full of battles and bosses; three Pailaka zones, which will force you to embark on three separate quests for entry to test your solo abilities; and Kratei's Cube, which will be a battle against up to 25 players in an arena setting.

As for additional changes, monsters now have a chance to drop a Vitality, and repleshing herbs that give you a short timed boost while hunting Vitality are only consumed after level 9; when armor is enchanted to +4 or higher, the item being enchanted will receive a +HP bonus; and a mini-game will be added to help you pass the time between battles and boss spawns. From the Web site, the game looks similar to Bejeweled.