Crytek revealed today that the upcoming MechWarrior Online will use CryENGINE 3, the same engine used to power Crysis 2 earlier this year. The engine will be used to augment the game's physics-based animations as well as its destructible environments.

MechWarrior Online was announced earlier this month and features four modes. Mech Warfare is standard mech vs. mech combat, Role Warfare allows players to "customize their experience to suit their own style of gameplay," Community Warfare involves battling for territorial control and Information Warfare "incorporates information technology to help control the fight."
 

A release date hasn't been announced MechWarrior Online, but for more information and to reserve your pilot name, check out the game's official site.

Update – Thursday, November 17, 2011

Festival Update

• Halloween hat givers will be added to Lion's Arch and Kamadan for one week.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that occasionally prevented players from completing A Favor Returned.
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to attack Carlotta in Passage Through The Dark River.
• Changed the spawn locations of some Ettin groups in the Deldrimor Bowl.
• Fixed art issues with Post-Searing Jarrel the Tamer.
• Fixed some clipping issues with the Tricorne festival hat.
• Fixed some clipping issues with the Wraith Veil costume headpiece.
• Changed the functionality of Leadership to: “You gain 2 Energy for each ally affected by one of your shouts or chants (maximum 1 Energy for every 2 ranks).”

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• Erulis will trade a Tricorne in Lion's Arch for 50 Candy Corns.
• Aahtan will trade a Reaper's Hood in Kamadan for 50 Pumpkin Cookies.

Publisher issues "a humble apology."

South Korean-operated MMO M2 has been closed following a server error. In late October, the game went down for "emergency maintenance" to restore damaged servers. The issue couldn't be repaired, and the game is now closed.

Publisher Sankando and South Korean operator Hangame say that despite their best efforts, the closure will be permanent and the service is beyond restoration. Sankando issued a "humble apology" for the error according to a translation by IGX Pro. No cause was revealed for the original server maintenance beyond the fact that there was a "critical error."

M2's fate is especially relevant as physical copies of online games become less and less prevalent. In a time when cloud-based systems are becoming more common every day, it's surprising to hear about a game without any kind of back up procedure.

How do you feel about online-only games? Have you backed up your computer recently? Let us know in the comments below.

IGN today posted an awesome little article about GW2 and the Average Joe player… 

World of Warcraft frightens me. With three expansions, 10 million subscribers, and the looming threat of kung fu panda warriors, it stands atop an unassailable mountain, taunting amateur MMO players with a wave of its banner. Meanwhile, Guild Wars 2 already poured me a cup of tea, inviting me in with a smarter way of doing this whole MMO thing.

To read the full article, head over to IGN and then start teh discussion below

Good News guys and gals, we have two SW:TOR beta keys to give away this week!

To get one, just Like the Sanitarium.FM's facebook page and comment on the post to get one!

~Lonesamurai