Weekly News Recap: April 4, 2009

Here's our regular list of ZAM features and noteworthy news articles for the week. Keep reading below and after the jump for links to all the stories you may have missed.

ZAM features

Our Top 5 MMO Complaints: Y'know what really grinds Christopher "Pywff" Tom's gears? Keep reading to find out. Here's a hint: he's not a fan of slaying rats.

Warhammer Online: On Trial: Sam "azerian" Maxted gave the Warhammer online free trial a try to see what impression it could give to people thinking about buying the game.

Introducing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Online: This may have been our April Fools joke, but we still love the thought of running through the sewers in a TMNT MMO.

UI Policy Change? We're Calling a Lawyer!: We sat down with lawyer Connie Mableson to discuss Blizzard's decision to formalize the design and distribution guidelines for add-ons in World of Warcraft.

Introducing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Online

Cowabunga! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, and the ZAM Network is honoring the birthday of the heroes in a half shell with more than just pizza. We have begun development on our first MMO, and we've chosen Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo and Raphael to lead us into the virtual sewers.

TMNT Online will allow players to enter the world made famous in comics, cartoons and movies as a Ninja Rat, Reporter, Sports Vigilante or Ninja Turtle. Or, if you'd rather align yourself with Shredder and Krang, you can do so by signing up to join the Dark Legion of Dark Forces. Don't be surprised if you need to work your way up from being a Foot Soldier, but trust us, it will be worth it to man your weapons in the Technodrome.

Speaking of PvP, friendly fire is off, so keep an eye out for your allies in the midst of battle. All it takes is one misplaced nunchuck swing and your teammate could be down for the count. But since there are no experience points in our game, all you need to do is purchase some "Turtle Power", and use your ooze-infused abilities to remind your enemies that you're part of the world's most fearsome fighting team!

For more information on TMNT Online, keep reading after the jump for the full press release. We'll keep you posted as we get closer to beta testing, but until that time you'll have to be patient like Splinter. We also want to encourage any feedback you may have in our TMNTO announcement thread.