NCsoft announced the release of a n ew expansion for Lineage II today. Interlude is a free expansion meant to link The Chaotic Chronicle to th e game's next chapter, The Chaotic Throne. It offers a variety of new challenges to players, including the new Primeval Isle, which is home to many new creatures making their first appearance in Lineage II. These include Wild Striders, Pachycephalosaurus and the deadly and powerful Tyrannosaurus Rex. There is also a new dueling system which allows players to challenge friends to one-on-one fights or party-versus-party battles. This allows players to better study their characters' strengths and weaknesses. Plus, there are no penalties for being defeated in the dueling system, so players are free to let loose and test their mettle. For mid and high-level players, there are more than 150 new bonuses for enhancing and customizing weapons. For lower level players, NCsoft also packed in what it calls a “try before you buy” feature at the village weapons vendors, called Shadow Weapons, in order to make it easier to choose the right weapon. For complete information on Lineage II, you can check out www.lineage2.com.

Don't worry, it's not an insult, we're geeky too. Blizzard Entertainment announced its plans for its second BlizzCon gaming convention today, a veritable celebration of the company's Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo franchises. BlizzCon 2007 will take place on August 3^rd and 4^th at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California and will be open to gamers as young as four years old (no that is not a typo). Other than serving as a gathering place for Blizzard fans, BlizzCon will have an array of activities for everyone to enjoy, including discussion panels with Blizzard developers, artist and developer signings, competitive and casual tournaments, World of Warcraft TCG tournaments and demos, a silent auction, live orchestral performances of music from Blizzard games and more. But wait, there's more! The convention will also have costume, machinima, and character sound-likeness contests with great prizes to be won. The ticket price for BlizzCon has been announced as $100 USD each. As far as when the tickets will begin going on sale and any other information about the convention, you'll have to check www.blizzcon.com to stay updated about that.