Apocalyptic MMORPG Fallen Earth is offering a 10-day free trial of the game as well as 20 percent off the price for a limited time. Fallen Earth is set in the Grand Canyon in the year 2156, and humankind is under threat from mutated beasts, gangs of raiders, and factional warfare. Here's a bit from the press release: "The free trial and promotional discount are just in time for the holidays and coincide with Fallen Earth's in-game holiday celebration, 'First Night,' where players have the option to participate in special holiday missions to receive festive items such as Mistletoe, Eggnog and Gift Boxes."

SOE has released EverQuest: Underfoot, the 16th expansion for the game. It adds new zones, new items, improvements to the interface, and perhaps most notably, an Achievement System. Underfoot includes all previous expansions and content, which is a truly massive amount of stuff, and sells for $39.99 on the official site.

Looking back over the last ten years of online gaming, there's no doubt that it has been an astounding decade. To say that the hobby has seen explosive growth is an understatement, and it has taken some interesting twists and turns along the way. Here's a quick look at what I would consider the most significant trends that have impacted online gaming in the last decade.

From now until January 1, 2010 Funcom is offering a new free trial for Age of Conan: Hyborean Adventures. If you sign-up and start playing before the New Year, you'll be able to play right up to level 20 at no charge. The standard trail offered 7 free days of gameplay, which would be enough to get to level 20 if you played regularly during those 7 days. This way you can take your time and see all of Tortage Island, which is the newbie zone. Be warned, however, that the game changes quite a bit after level 20. A lot of people think that the first 20 levels was the best part. Still, the game has seen numerous updates since it launched in 2008 and I hear that it has improved significantly, so it could be a good time to give it try.

Valve has staged an interesting competition in Team Fortress 2 to decide whether Soldiers or Demos will be granted an extra weapon in the upcoming class update. It's a pretty straightforward battle; the class that kills the opposing class the most times gets the weapon. If Soldiers kill more Demos than Demos, the Soldiers get the weapon, and vise versa. The kill tally already numbers in the millions, with Soldiers currently holding on to a small lead.

People are having a lot of fun with Meat Boy, an unusual free Flash game that has you wall jumping through a series of vertical mazes to reach Bandage Girl. Meat Boy is apparently a bag of meat, and leaves a bloody trail wherever he goes, which serves as a reminder of all your previous attempts to overcome a certain obstacle. The only controls are for movement: go left, go right, and jump. It's a very simple platformer concept, but there's also a level editor, and it's been such a hit that they're making a second version, Super Meat Boy, which they hope to sell for the Wii and PC. There's a preview of Super Meat Boy available on YouTube.

The World of Warcraft patch concluding the story that started with the Wrath of the Lich King is now live. Players can now enter the Icecrown Citadel, an epic raid dungeon, where players will be able to ascend to the Frozen Throne and face Arthas himself. Patch 3.3 also adds new 5-player dungeons, tier 10 armor sets, cross-realm grouping for instances, and a quest tracker similar to the popular Quest Helper mod. The official site has more details and a trailer for Fall of the Lich King. I'm sure a lot of guilds are already racing toward "realm firsts."

A video introducing the playable races of Guild Wars 2 is now available on the official site. Rather than everyone playing as a human like they did in Guild Wars, the sequel will have 5 races to choose from, including the silly-looking asura. They've really gone all-out on the voice acting though. Here's a bit from the press release: "To set the stage for Guild Wars 2, this video introduces the five iconic heroes of each race, all voiced by accomplished actors. Logan Thackeray the human defender is voiced by Troy Baker (Fullmetal Alchemist, One Piece). Rytlock Brimstone the charr warrior is voiced by Steve Blum (Spectacular Spider-Man). Eir Stegalkin the norn is voiced by Jocelyn Blue (Invader Zim, Space Jam). Zojja the asura is voiced by Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, The Guild, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Caithe the sylvari is voiced by Kari Wahlgren (Wolverine and the X-Men, Aliens in the Attic)."

EA has revealed plans to release another Medal of Honor game, taking this famous FPS franchise into a modern day Afghanistan setting. It will feature a single-player campaign developed by EALA, and a multiplayer component developed by EA DICE. Players will take on the role of a Tier 1 Operator, a Special Operations soldier tasked with missions no one else can handle. Sounds kind of like they should call it Medal of Honor: Modern Warfare.

Strategy board game fans should take a look at Hours of War, a browser-based multiplayer title that re-enacts famous battles of WWII. The game is tick-based rather than real-time or turn-based, and you play as one of the commanders, with the objective being to surpass the historical outcome. The open beta test is free, but they intend to have a subscription fee after the game launches.