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EVE Online has been rocked by a scandal of late, but thankfully it's one that the developers and player-run governing body of the game aren't involved in. A long-standing exploit first reported four years ago was finally examined and closed by CCP and a full investigation has resulted in the immediate destruction of 178 player-owned starbases associated with the exploit. It had to do with some kind of resource exploit that over its lifetime netted some multi-trillions of ISK for the perpetrators. Many accounts have been banned for doing this as this kind of thing always violates a MMO's EULA -- even EVE's EULA -- and any sane person can guess that this kind of thing must have imbalanced the economy in significant ways. This kind of systemic exploit, CCP ignoring ISK-selling bots, and an ongoing problem with macro mining are to me potentially game-killing problems. What will CCP do about them?

Sony Japan has boosted the number of titles that adhocParty for the PS3 supports to over 100 titles including many that go pretty far back in the system's lifespan. It looks like the application has turned out to be just what I hoped it would be -- a generic matchmaking service that can take many adhoc-only games for the PSP online. If the titles keep piling on like this it'll be a welcome replacement for the stringent hardware requirements and configuration vagaries of XLink Kai.

Still no word on a US release for the adhocParty software, and while there are instructions online for getting it using a Japanese PSN account I'd much rather have something officially supported for North American gamers.

There are a great number of titles I'm happy are on this list. I don't own many of them and have seen some of them disappear at retail after being liquidated, but I would try picking some of these up if I had the chance at a bargain price.

Here are the titles that interest me most, and remember these are the Japanese names:

Free is good, and for those of us not able to convince the budgetary committee that a monthly fee is a good idea as the stock markets flail around free is very good. In the online MMO arena there isn't much out there worth playing that's free. Either the client software is hobbled with low-resolution art assets like Runescape's or it's downright ancient and lacks a sensible interface of any kind like Anarchy Online. zOMG! is a new free-to-play MMO run entirely in a browser using Flash and it's getting noticed. It's part of a larger suite of games linked to a common user account and avatar on Gaia Online.

The game, currently in beta, has reached half a million players according to Massively -- I'm wondering if they're interpreting characters as players -- and they've posted a picture gallery giving first impressions of the game here. I spent an hour or so with it a couple of weeks ago and thought it was pretty good. I was able to get past the super-cutesy anime aspect of it and think it has some potential. The equipment and ability system is rather simple -- perfect for a wide and casually focused audience -- and I keep noticing an overabundance of women in nearly every bit of art on the site. Combine it with a microtransactional setup that encourages you to buy cars, furniture, and clothing for your avatar -- I'm not sure if those things do anything in zOMG, myself -- and I'm thinking it's really aiming at the casual gamer demographic that likes to accessorize heavily. Would I be a bad person if I guessed the majority of this demographic they're reaching for is female?

Remember Disney's Aladdin? In it the genie, voiced by Robin Williams in top form, summed up his life beautifully when he erupted in magic and light, juggling the planets themselves, booming aloud "Tremendous cosmic power!" He then shrank down beside the little lamp and squeaked "Itty bitty living space."

Such is the destiny of the T-Mobile G1 as well.

One of the best shooters I've ever played is Unreal Tournament III on my PS3. Not only is it a pretty and high-performance game, it supports keyboard and mouse, allows you to host a server, and supports user mods for levels and mutators (sorry Xbox 360 version!). Throw in that famous classic announcer announcing Double Kills and Monster Kills and you get a wonderful shooter experience. No Trophies, given its age, but it's great fun.

So why am I still talking about a year-old game? Because it's available used for $12.99 on GameFly.com. The Xbox 360 version is there as well in case you want the split-screen play you don't get on the PS3. I highly recommend it.

Check it out on CAG.

If you're someone who just has a PS3 this holiday season you're probably already pretty overwhelmed with the feast of top-notch titles on store shelves. You've got Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet running, jumping, and swinging its way through thousands of user-made levels; Insomniac's Resistance 2 taking the fight to the Chimeran menace across America offline and on; stunningly well-done strategy gaming with Sega's Valkyria Chronicles; and deep and fun online and offline multi-environment racing with MotorStorm: Pacific Rift. And those are just the platform exclusives. Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, BioShock, and others are all hopping up and down vying for your dollars in the cross-platform arena.

Now that the Fall rush of game releases is over and retailers brace for what they hope is a big holiday shopping season you'd think the gaming media and podcasters would relax a bit and play some of these, but the big buzz I'm hearing is about the beta for Guerrila Games' Killzone 2. This is just the beta and it's garnering from positive impressions to definite praise from everywhere I look. That includes Penny-Arcade and the PS Nation podcast to name just two sources. It's got some time yet in the oven to smooth out the wrinkles, being headed our way in February of '09, and this beta might be more than just an attempt at a demo. Gamespy has beta impressions up along with lots of video.

The game's in a great place right now -- a highly visible beta building up to a low-density launch window that's sure to attract the hardcore gamer's attention. I won't be naive enough to say I'll have caught up with even most of this Fall's great games by then, but I'll be keeping a close eye on it all the same.

Ever since PS3 Firmware 2.40 landed in late June gamers like me have looked for each title that came after it to have Trophies built in. To date almost all Trophy support has been patched in, but come January 1st every title submitted for certification will need to have Trophies (Gamespot). It looks like the six-month grace period for developers to get their older projects done is over.

There is still a bit of work to be done for those developers who have promised Trophy support. I'm looking at you Fallout 3, Age of Booty, and Bionic Commando: Rearmed. Even Q Games beat you guys out the door with their PixelJunk Monsters trophy patch and they're not exactly hulking brutes of software developers. The most notable developer silence on Trophies? That would be Konami on Metal Gear Solid 4. Are they making MGS4: Existence and planning to roll them in then?

Speaking of changing play habits because of possible Trophies, can I suggest a new term for folks like me who really like to chase them down? Is Trophy hound good enough? As a family-friendly term devoid of distasteful sexual overtones I think it works. As a Trophy hound I've stopped replaying MGS4 while I wait and see what Konami is going to do, and I'm replaying GTA4 as time permits to get some Trophies. What do you think of Trophy hound?

New features on the PS3 haven't exactly been kind to older games, but the new adhocParty feature, currently only live in Japan, is going to change that trend at least when it comes to PSP titles. AdhocParty, in case you've missed the coverage so far, is basically voice chat, matchmaking and tunneling software for the PlayStation 3 that will let you connect select adhoc-multiplayer-only PSP titles to other gamers across the internet and voice chat with them using the PS3 while you play. It turns out that some older games are compatible with it.

It's no secret that publishers hate used video game purchases. The resale of the game gives the publisher and developer zero compensation for their work and the resale is very highly profitable for stores that specialize in this kind of thing. With the advent of broadband-connected consoles publishers of all types have started to embrace methods of rewarding those who buy their games new at retail and there may be other ways to make buying new the best way for hardcore gamers to go.

Publishers are trying to reduce the appeal of buying a game or peripheral used instead of new. Microsoft includes a special code with Gears Of War 2 to give buyers a Flashback Map Pack. Nintendo will be including a code with the Wii Speak peripheral to download the program needed to chat on the web. Both of these allow the publisher or manufacturer to sell this content later to those who buy those items used, not quite penalizing the purchaser of the used item.

Stephen Totilo at the MTV Multiplayer blog has an inspired idea on how publishers can put a dent in used game sales, enticing consumers to buy a game brand new. It's so simple that I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned it.

The dust has settled around the reviews for the T-Mobile G1 and the phone actually received its first "update" in the form of a security-related patch last week. We'll get into that patch in a moment. First my impressions of how the reviewers received the phone and its capabilities.

A Good Start
The phone succeeds as a first go at an Android phone and all reviewers have said that OS revisions and Marketplace applications for the phone will make it truly shine in the future. There are complaints about the stock software loaded on it, but none too serious, and different reviewers appreciate the screen and slide-out keyboard differently. The phone design itself didn't overwhelm any of them -- something I'd agree with just from a visual point of view -- but the OS seemed quite fast and responsive and for a 1.0 OS in some cases beat out the usability of Windows Mobile, at least up until the recent 6.x releases of Windows Mobile. One big standout success on the phone -- something highlighted in the Engadget Podcast -- is the Notification system. It's something that is apparently extensible by Marketplace apps which should produce some very exciting innovations in the always-connected applications space.