Nexon America’s popular online FPS updates with new Specialists class, map and more

Combat Arms, one of North America’s most popular multiplayer online first-person shooter games, delivers its latest update today for its newcomers and the over two million registered soldiers for hire with Operation: Power Surge.

Players will not only get a chance to hire the game’s new Specialists class, but also can also put them to work on the game’s latest map, Power Surge. This industrial pumping station is the game’s latest map and can be played in four different game modes, Elimination, One Man Army, Capture the Flag and Spy Hunt.

Soldiers looking for more information can head to http://combatarms.nexon.net for further details on the update.

Starting today players can play all of Crysis Wars online for free, including each of the game’s three multiplayer modes and all 23 maps.

The free trial runs until April 17.

EA and Crytek plan to release Crysis Maximum Edition, a compilation of all three Crysis games, on May 5 for $40.

“When Crysis Wars was released seven months ago, one of our biggest goals was to be able to deliver continued support to our growing multiplayer community,” said Cevat Yerli, CEO and President of Crytek. “We think we have delivered on that promise, not only by releasing new content, fixes and our powerful MOD SDK, but also by continuing to offer these types of free trials.”

Today, Home changed. Today, something happened. You’re not sure just what it is yet, but you know it’s there. Xi has arrived, and there is no escape.

Last week we brought you an exclusive video previewing the mystery that is Xi. Today, that mystery is one step closer to being solved. Inside PlayStation Home is a graffiti tag that will transport you to the first Xi space in Home, simply called “The Hub”.

Inside you’ll find Xi’s first tantalising morsels. It is where the “Alpha Testers” have been working on unravelling the mystery of Xi. The testers suspect they are being watched. Jess, one of the testers, has gone missing and she needs your help.

In the Hub you’ll find a recap screen to help you catch up and a news ticker that’ll tell you what’s new. The Monolith has appeared, but nobody knows what is is. Find Stapler. Talk to him.

The Online Gateway is your link to the online world. Through it you’ll find a message board, a video vault, access to Alpha Tester Miguel’s blog, and a web browser to Alpha AFK.

Mysterious fragments have been scattered throughout Home and online. There are 24 pieces to find. There are Butterflies to collect, too, but you don’t know why.

Enter codes given for completing puzzles into the HoloPAD. Read messages and see how many fragments and butterflies you have, and where you need to go for the rest.

This is just the beginning. We’ll have more on Xi in the near future, but for now, study these screenshots and focus on the latest video to emerge. Then head into Home and explore. Xi is waiting for you.

Electronic Arts COO John Pleasants today revealed that in 2009, the company will launch an online version of its “Tiger Woods” golf franchise.

At the 2009 Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco, Pleasants explained that because paid downloadable content for the “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” series had become so popular — and online such a crucial component of EA’s strategy — the company would try something new this year:

This year, we’re going to come out with a dedicated online Tiger product… that will be a leader in this move to become an online service company, as opposed to strictly a software shipment company.

Pleasants clarified later that there would be two “Tiger Woods” products this year, a core platform version” and an “online version”; and that the online version would rely heavily on online transactions for funding.

Assuming not-so-micro-transactions take the place of a subscription fee, might we be looking at the first free-to-play Tiger?