Let’s put on our judgmental hat for a moment and complain about some MMOs. World of Warcraft? With the identical “bring me X of Y” quests and the nearly penalty-free deaths, WoW is grinding for pansies. EVE? No one has that much energy to dedicate to mothering one small frigate before anything can actually happen. Guild Wars? With the level cap at 20, it’s barely even a real MMO.

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When playing the WoW beta and into the fresh release, the game lacked any real endgame content beyond Blackrock Spire. So, I began leveling on a PvP server. I leveled to about twenty and had to stop — I couldn’t afford the booze to medicate myself from the awful game play. I was killed, camped, killed, camped – did I mention I was killed and camped? So, is there a reason to level on PvP server in WoW?

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Here’s an MMOG that your parents would approve of, especially if you’re a ‘tween. Two words: Lego Universe—it’s about time. The Lego universe is already expansive and popular, ranging from mini-figures to vehicles, buildings to video games, and now is expanding into the MMO-verse. Lego is working on this game with developer NetDevil, as well as both kids and adults to make it a great experience for people of all ages.

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The gaming world is largely based upon evolutionary movement, due in part to its ability to reinvent itself and adapt to the changing political, cultural, and economical climate at hand.  But with this broad and expansive ability to adapt, how is everyone else keeping up?

This situation is an apparent theme within the political strata, which is renowned for its inability to stay on top of technological issues like online file sharing, tracking and privacy content, and now—consumer billing for MMOs.

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Have you ever asked yourself where the genre titles to our beloved games come from? Or who’s the high and mighty power that decided on ‘MMORPG’? You might be surprised by the answer: its you!

To be more exact, it’s the gaming community that you belong to that decides how games are classified, the typical Joe-Shmoe. Although, most are likely to deny having any part in the allocation of the sub-sub-genre SRTSRPG, Semi Real-Time System Role-Playing Game (Warning: elderly persons should not attempt to repeat acronym).  Even if the video game industry is creating the games, whether creative or simply recycled, it’s within the community’s own power to define itself and provide the final word.

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There’s a new online drug menace distracting our children and stealing our bandwidth in alarmingly increasing numbers. The Pirates have hit a new level of cannibalism when a ride-turned-movie becomes an MMORPG. At the low, low cost of free, this is a multiplayer accessible to anyone—but the first hit is always free. The Pirates of the Caribbean Online game is based on the same game engine as Toonown, another “tween”-focused free online game from Disney, and it looks very similar. So what makes this new attempt any different?

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Now that MMORPGs have virtually taken over the gaming world and stolen half of the net’s bandwidth, game companies are researching ways to keep it that way. One new idea: indoctrinate young children into the online world, specifically the 8 to 18 demographic. Meteor Games is looking for a gaming outlet for the “tween” gamer, too old for NeoPets, too young for WoW. When their new fantasy game launches in 2009, they just may have a shot.

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And you thought $5 was a lot to pay for a Grande Latte. If you’ve been in a cave for the last three years, or if all you have is a Nintendo, then you probably haven’t heard about the controversy involving Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the city of Los Angeles, and one sexy, hot cup of coffee.

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