EXTRA! Metaverse Record Shattered! EXTRA!

The Metaverse Review is happy to announce that Ray the Wanderer's quest for 200,000 Metapoints has been completed! Ray's last game pushed his total over 200,000 points, a mark that seemed unreachable only a couple of months ago! Ray's last several submissions have actually hit Galactic Civilization's score cap of 30,000 points! A remarkable achievement, and one which deserves congratulations and celebration!

Speaking of celebrations, wild celebrations are occuring at this very moment in the Fellowship of the Ring Empire's compound, as fireworks and magic explode in the air. A 12 piece band on loan from Gondor has every party-goer dancing and singing! A celebration of this caliber hasn't been seen since Bilbo Baggins' last birthday party in the Shire! Let's hope Ray doesn't pull the same stunt Bilbo did!

Galactic Turbulence

The Metaverse continues to be a hostile place as more close encounters are spurring on more diplomatic difficulties.

The Evil Empire has risen to a level of direct competition with Illuminati. This could get interesting as the leader of Evil Empire, Emperor Hairy the Taco, is a former member of Illuminati. Less than 10,000 points seperate the two factions, and reports are that a conflict may erupt!

The ANZACs are moving ever closer to victory, as the Euros attempt to counter the ANZACs attacks. Diplomatic relations between the two empires are at an all-time low, and the conflict is expected to continue for quite some time.

A massive recruitment campaign has started with all empires invited to participate in "Make a Recruitment Pitch Day". This special occasion is marked by non-stop recruitment ads in nearly all threads. The crux of activity seems to be centered around the thread Pitches For New Recruits. This current campaigning is said by some to be worse than the last US Presidential election and many hope that the campaign ads start to dwindle away soon. This reporter personally enjoys the campaigns, as it is excellent newsworthy information!

There are currently ten overlords with scores over 100,000 points and three more who are within striking distance. Congratulations to all overlords who are competing at that level! Also, Ray the Wanderer is flirting with 200,000 points. This once unreachable goal is now within sight and many are watching with anticipation to see another record fall!

Stay tuned to The Metaverse Review, as information with these and other stories continue to come in.

Rumors of War

Conflict seems inevitable between the ANZACs and Euros as tensions among the two empires grew gradually worse today. Though the Euro's emperor has not been seen of late, the military governors have been busy strengthening defenses and gathering resources, as the ANZAC threat looms ever larger. Diplomatic ties have been broken and all diplomats have been warned to leave their respective embassies as soon as possible.

When asked for comments on the European defense, minister G-Force stated "We have to get all the armors, weapons and ammunitions out of the bunker, distribute them amongst our fierce warriors. Then we will march into battle, in order to make sure we'll have a battle we'll have to walk carefully as to avoid crushing the occasional ANZAC warrior as he picks up a flower while our army rides towards him."

This was followed by a reply from none other than the ANZAC emperor, BlueSteel, who said "Tis no fun if your opposition is asleep...you can't see the whites of their eyes..I'm glad the Europeans are waking up..And the ANZACS will have a fight on their hands. No one can say that I fight unfairly."

Trading on the Galactic Stock Exchange broke records as shares of ANZAC and Euro defense contractors went to new levels. Pre-war jitters caused some investors to dump stocks, especially in Drengin Death Furnaces, Inc. (GSE: DDF, NASDAQ: DrDF) due to the Drengin's unlucky starting location between the two warring factions. DDF closed yesterday at a 5-year low of 1.2 BC (-34.14).

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The rise of Evil Empire continues to make headlines, as they have moved into 12th place, leaping Gone Golders, Space Arachnids, and Terran Federation overnight. This comes as Dark Assassin and Bucman joined the dark group.

The Evil Empire survived a drop-bear mass driver attack as CypherPax attempted to inform the evil overlords of their legal infringements. CypherPax, who is G.R.O.S.S. Company Attorney and Executioner, delivered this message to the Evil Empire:

For the record, GROSS owns exclusive rights to the following evil activities:
1. Piracy.
2. Assassination (acquired via ANZAC when Killa and Wombat defected)
3. Gambling (via the Quack)
4. Smuggling
5. Alien Cuisine and Torture
6. Espionage
7. Dirty Tricks

The Evil Empire responded that they had not violated any existing legal rights, and thus were now within their rights to practice the above mentioned evil activities. And besides, they're evil. They don't have to follow the rules!

We here at the Metaverse Review will continue to follow all the developments from around the galaxy!

The Metaverse at a Glance

Many overlords in the United States celebrated Labor Day and enjoyed a long weekend full of barbeques, picnics, and general laziness. But now that the holiday is over, the business of galactic domination once again filters into our lives. Many of our overlords have been away from the game for a while, but now that school has resumed (or will soon), vacations are ending, and a regular schedule begins again around the world, this reporter expects Galactic Civilization activity to increase over the coming few weeks. Welcome back, and happy gaming!

A brief look at the events of the last few days brings some happy news for the farmers residing in the Mid-Western Confederation. There are now three empires who have breached the 1 million Metapoint barrier! Congratulations to all in the MWC for your hard work and valiant effort! You have maintained your third place position and this reporter seems to think that the MWC has just been patiently waiting for something drastic to happen to the top two empires. As we all know, farmers have the ultimate patience, obtained from watching corn and wheat grow!

The Fellowship of the Ring surpassed the 1.5 million point mark over the weekend, aided by the addition of two new members and the valiant fight of Ray the Wanderer, who is striving for the two hundred thousand point mark! At the time of press, Ray has 192k+ points and should surpass 200,000 points within the next 24 to 48 hours! Preparations for a massive celebration are being made all through Middle Earth, and reports are that many cases of ale and wine are being delivered at this moment!

The ANZACs seem to be making a push toward the Euro Alliance. Their overlords have been working dilligently, and are only about 100,000 points behind the Euros. Everyone in the Metaverse is watching this closely, as the ANZACs have seemingly risen from the ashes like a phoenix to return to a viable power.

The newly formed Evil Empire has been quietly wrestling with the Gone Golders for another spot on the Metaverse boards. The Evil Empire, which strictly mandates all member overlords be of evil alignment, is slowly gaining momentum. Their recruitment efforts may begin bearing fruit soon.

It seems several overlords from different empires have been organizing a Play By Email RPG. This RPG will be fantasy based, apparently. It is certainly exciting that the community continues to spawn such diverse interests. Efforts such as this RPG keep the Metaverse interesting and fun for all!

The fallout of the Times of Trouble seems to have quietened down a bit, with most overlords returning to normal gaming. It is with a heavy heart that I report that EBZeroMatrix has yet to return. It is the hope of all participating in the Metaverse that EBZ returns to the fun and comraderie of our community. Come back soon, friend.

The Metaverse Review is officially Lauched!

It is with great pride and pleasure that we now are able to bring you The Metaverse Review, the official empire news site for the Metaverse!

Originally a news log for the Fellowship of the Ring Empire, the Fellowship News began to report on the happenings of all the empires. As this reporting continued, the Fellowship News expanded in scope. It soon became obvious that the Fellowship News was no longer a news organization for the Fellowship of the Ring. It was a source of news for all empires within the Metaverse!

In the coming days, we will endeavour to keep everyone up-to-date on all the important news from the Metaverse. If you don't hear it here, it probably didn't happen!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who submitted suggestions on the name of our new site. I would also like to take this time to thank the developers of Galactic Civilizations, the good folks at Stardock, for their interest in the gaming community. Without their efforts, none of this would be possible! I especially want to thank two of the more vocal members of the Stardock team, Brad (Frogboy) and CariElf! Your continued support and interest is a rare thing in the world of gaming!

I also would like to thank every overlord involved in the Metaverse. Our colorful characters who participate in the antics throughout the empires of the Metaverse create a world where enjoyment and laughter are commonplace and the worries of the outside world disappear. Without you, the Metaverse wouldn't exist. Thank you, everyone!