Massively^™

As many excited EverQuest II players are well aware, tomorrow is an important day. It marks the launch day for EverQuest II's fifth expansion, The Shadow Odyssey. Of course, for those folks who have been thinking about getting into EQ2 but haven't taken the dive as yet, it's a good time for you as well - SOE tends to bundle in all previous games with their expansions so you can check them out without shelling out a bunch of money. The Shadow Odyssey brings in lots of content for players from level 50 to level 80, with the addition of several areas brought forward from EverQuest like Guk, Mistmoore and Befallen. While this expansion doesn't increase the level cap, it does increase the number of Achievement points, adds heritage quests, opens alternate achievement paths - and so, so much more!

Today we wanted to ask - are you heading into the shadowy world of EverQuest II's Shadow Odyssey? If so, what part sounds like the best part to you? Is it visiting places you may remember from EverQuest? The sharded gear rewards? Perhaps you're just looking forward to all those Achivement points so you can really get your character to where you wanted it to be. Let us know!

While Turbine has already offered online account upgrade options for those with Lord of the Rings Online, some of us just can't resist a well put together Collector's Edition box when it comes to our favorite games. In grand fashion, Turbine has certainly rolled out a sweet box set for Mines of Moria. In the Moria CE, you're treated to goodies like a large (22" square) cloth map of Moria, a replica of the One Ring with a pouch, lots of art and music, a starter's guide, 3 in-game item tokens and a special badge for the forums. Add to that the pre-order bonus that nets you a Moria cloak, the "Moria Expeditionary" in-game title, and a return of the highly-praised $199 lifetime pricing, plus still more - and you can see why we'd be oohing and aahing over the Mines of Moria Collector's Edition pre-order.

This morning we thought we'd ask our Lord of the Rings Online fans - did you heed the call of the Collector's Edition and pick one up? If not, did you opt for a pre-ordered copy, or did you take the online account upgrade option to save yourself from having yet another game box in your house? Maybe you purchased the Collector's Edition, but went ahead and pre-downloaded everything anyway just so you could jump in Moria that much sooner. We know we can't be the only ones who geek out on a good Collector's Edition, so let us know.

Alright, boys and girls, you've had a day to play around with your Death Knights. Sure, it's a bit early to make any definitive judgments, but what are your first impressions? We've been hearing glowing (wink) reviews of the Death Knight starting experience from our colleagues, and we'd tell you what we think, but eh, we're too busy playing right now.

For those of you who actually have to, y'know, work this morning -- that is to say, for whom work doesn't include include playing World of Warcraft (you poor souls) -- go ahead and sneak in your impressions when your boss isn't looking. Unless you took a few personal days for the launch, in which case you're surely lost to the ice wastes for now, and we'll see you in a few days when you return for pizza and other supplies.

Massively readers, you may lie to your bosses, but we here at the blog know that you're really not going to be sick tomorrow. You're going to have your hands glued to your keyboards, because you'll be up all night playing World of Warcraft: The Wrath of the Lich King for a span of time that is probably considered unhealthy.

The question is though, how many of you faithful readers are going to be taking this "MMO personal day?" Plus, we want the details if you're going to go for the gold. How are you going to do it? Are you going to go for the fabrication of sickness? Are you just going to call in one of your personal days and be totally honest? Or are you going to dodge school using some Ferris Bueller tricks? Comment away, dear readers. Comment away.