Silverlode and FileFront are giving away 50,000 free copies of Saga on a first come, first served basis. The offer lasts until May 11, or as long as supplies last. The game is an effort at massively multiplayer real-time strategy in a persistent world, complete with solo quests, cooperative play, PvP, and an auction system. Saga normally sells for $19.95 and there is no subscription fee to play, but they do sell booster packs which are a quick way to get some of the better units.

The free Hot Air browser games from Nitrome task you with guiding a balloon through a perilous, side-scrolling obstacle course. You do this with a little fan cursor that lets you change your speed and direction, carefully avoiding anything that will pop your balloon. As well as having to dodge moving objects, Hot Air 2 features various key-activated events, and it even has a balloon maker so you can customize your ride.

Giving mom a game from PopCap for Mother's Day also means supporting breast cancer research, as this year PopCap has decided to donate 30 percent of the price of all games sold on the site through May 11th to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. "The promotion is automated from the customer's standpoint; they pay the standard price of $9.95 to $19.95 per game, and thirty percent of that purchase price is directed to the charity. Even gift certificates purchased during the promotion will apply. PopCap will reward all participating customers with a free gift if the goal of $100,000 in contributions to the charity is achieved. The promotion officially ends at midnight, Pacific Daylight Time, on May 11, 2008."

Combat in Age of Conan strays considerably from the standard RPG fare and it takes some adjustment. If you're in the beta and you're wondering how combinations work or what those weird sheild indicators are for, this combat tutorial will set you straight. Even if you haven't had a chance to try it yet, it gives you a good sense of what the action in Age of Conan is like. Shack has also posted an interface tutorial on the same page, although it's pretty basic stuff for anyone that has played a game of this kind before.

The promised update for Team Fortress 2 is now available via Steam, adding the new Goldrush map to this popular online shooter. Included in this patch are new unlockable weapons and achievements for the Medic class. Valve is also staging a worldwide Team Fortress 2 free weekend which begins Friday, May 2nd at noon. You can already preload the files needed to join in over Steam.

EA and DICE recently released some new media of Battlefield Heroes, their upcoming free installment in the Battlefield series. They're aiming for a cartoony look with low system requirements, and it seems to be coming together quite nicely. I've posted a few screenshots, and the character customization trailer on the official site is worth watching. There's also word that a closed, invitation only beta will begin on May 6th, so it shouldn't be too long before plans for a larger beta are revealed.

_{Image © 2008 EA Games}

Although the number of people subscribed to games that charge monthly fees for access continues to grow, we've all heard protests from those that refuse to pay any kind of regular fees to play a video game. Many are accustomed to the traditional retail offerings: buy the box, take it home, and play it forever, or until you get bored of it. By comparison, the $10-$15 per month a lot of MMOGs charge may look rather steep, but are they really a rip-off, or are they good value for your entertainment dollars? Here's a quick look at the cost of online gaming next to a few of our other favorite pastimes.

German game publisher Frogster Interactive announced today that Bounty Bay Online will now have a free server where people can play without paying a monthly fee. The server will have a store where game items can be purchased for small amounts of money. This won't affect the subscription-based servers that are already in operation. "The new free2play server called 'Mary Read' features an integrated online shop where players can buy precious ingame items such as potions, figureheads, treasure maps or level boosts. Depending on their value, the price of these items range from 3 cents upwards. The new server model for Bounty Bay Online allows players with limited playing time to achieve more - in less time."

I've never had any problem buying digitally distributed games from US-based outlets like Steam and Direct2Drive, but apparently it's not always so easy for people that live outside of North America. CNET has a recent article on the obstacles to purchasing games over Steam in Australia, where certain games are simply unavailable, and others sell at inflated prices. They've formed a Rest of World (RoW) group on Steam to encourage game publishers to think globally, and it's already almost 4000 strong. (Thanks Blue's.)

One of the most common complaints I hear about using voice chat is that some people can barely be heard, while others are so loud that they blow your ear drums out. And we all know what it's like when someone gets excited in the heat of battle and starts screaming into the microphone, or decides to share that extra special rap song they're listening to with everyone else on the channel at extra high volume. Here's how to quickly set up the compressor in Ventrilo for a less painful voice chat experience.