Now that the holidays are over and all the presents have been unwrapped; we'd like to show you what you may have missed this week.

Allakhazam Features

Jim Lee's Universe, Part One : We sit down with Jim Lee, famed DC comic book artist, to talk about his Sony Online Entertainments upcoming MMO, DC Universe Online. In the interview we talk with Jim about his role on the project, his past, and of course the game itself.

Jim Lee's Universe, Part Two : Part Two of the interview with Jim Lee.

Jumpgate Evolution Media #4 : We give you our final look at Jumpgate Evolution in 2008 with four brand new exclusive screenshots.

Blizzard announced today that World of Warcraft is now played by 11.5 million subscribers worldwide. This should really come as no surprise to anyone since the game surpassed 11 million subscribers in October, but it does continue to demonstrate WoW's immense popularity when it can gain 500,000 subscribers in about two months.

Also, Wrath of the Lich King has sold more than 4 million copies in its first month, setting a new record for monthly PC-game sales. The expansion sold more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability alone.

You can read the full press release after the jump. For those of you who are curious what exactly being a subscriber entails, here's the definition: "World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards."

We're fans of the Child's Play charity at Allakhazam, but it's also great to see other gamers donating their time and money to other good causes, such as Toys for Tots.

Edward Fear, owner of Millennium Games in Rochester, N.Y., ran a World of Warcraft Miniatures tournament at his store over the weekend and plans to donate about $2,000 raised between fees and donations to Toys for Tots.

Blizzard even sent some extra loot to the store, including Arthas helmets previously only available at BlizzCon. World of Warcraft Trading Card Game World Champion Jim Fleckenstein was also in attendance.

We have a ton of links to share with you in this week's recap of our exclusive content and noteworthy news items (which can be found after the jump). With the holiday season upon us, most MMOs are celebrating with numerous events. Some, such as World of Warcraft's Feast of Winter Veil, are listed below. Whichever game you play, take some time to enjoy the festivities. Also, feel free to browse our news archive to check out everything that couldn't fit in this weekly recap.

Allakhazam Features

Dangers of Sanrio Town : Hello Kitty Online features an in-depth social network. While it's a good tool for meeting other players, it could be dangerous for the game's younger fans.

Ten Years of Lineage II : Sam Han, Lineage II Producer for NCsoft West, and Young Park, the original Lineage Production Assistant for NCsoft West, talk with us about the Lineage franchise.

Jumpgate Evolution Media #3 : These exclusive screenshots showcase fighters class ships and factories that are used in crafting.

Swordsman Screenshots : We take an in-depth look at this class from IGG's free-to-play Zu Online.

Station Crap : Allakhazam Editor-in-Chief Andrew "Tamat" Beegle has a less than favorable personal opinion on SOE's new Station Cash microtransaction service. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments section.

Patch 3.0.8 is currently available on the PTR. Blizzard poster Nethaera has provided all sorts of handy links, including how to install the test realm.

Allakhazam poster ikoren started a thread last week with the patch notes, so many of you have had time to look them over and comment on them. If you're on the PTR, what are your thoughts on the patch? If you're not, what do you think from reading them?

Oh, and just to make it clear, we won't see dual spec in 3.0.8. Both Jeffrey “Tigole” Kaplan and Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street have said it will hopefully be in the next major content patch, which is 3.1.

The 3.0.8 patch notes can be also be found here or after the jump.

All computer users, especially MMO players, need to be up-to-date on security issues. Nobody wants to lose a character they've been working on for weeks, months or years. If you're using Internet Explorer, hopefully you've gotten the patch for the critical exploit that's been making the rounds since the beginning of December (cafeen started a thread about it in our WoW general forum). If you don't use IE, Microsoft's flaw should still act as a reminder that security is a necessity.

To that end, Blizzard has posted some security awareness tips on the World of Warcraft Web site. Honestly, you probably already know all of them by now, but it's good to have a refresher from time to time. Basically, make sure your e-mail address is current in the WoW account management screen, update your browser and operating system, scan your computer for viruses and other malware and change your password regularly, especially if you feel if your account's been compromised.

And you can always buy the Blizzard Authenticator. I know some Allakhazam users have this gadget, so what do you all think about it? You can read Blizzard's security tips after the jump, or visit the account security page for more information. One of the best tips on that page is don't share your account information with anyone. 'Nuff said.

Scouring the interweb for a good World of Warcraft chuckle? Have you seen the comics that mmolecule.com has been creating for their readers lately? Talk about funny! They've recently released two new comics that show the differences between an exotic and an erotic pet, as well as show you what might happen to your character if you decide to use the barbershop. Scary!

Head on over to mmolecule.com to give all of their comics a gander. Some of them are extremely funny!

If you have World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade but just aren't sure you need Wrath of the Lich King yet, there's now an easy way to find out if you want to buy the expansion. Blizzard is now offering a 10-day free trial of WotLK. You can sign up here or check out the FAQ.

What content do I have access to during the 10-day free trial?

The trial account will have access to all of the expansion content, including creation of the new death knight Hero class and access to the new continent of Northrend. Please note that in order to create a death knight, you must already have a level 55 or higher character on the realm on which you wish to create the death knight. Northrend is recommended for characters who have reached level 68 or higher. While you can complete expansion quests and even pick up some powerful new items, any characters you play during the trial can only advance up to one experience point below level 71.

Are you tired of your new mounts, like the Magnificent Flying Carpet, acting like vehicles instead of standard mounts? As Scard put it on the O-Boards, "I am greatly disappointed with the fact that I have to spend a second to get on and off the mount and cannot trade, attack, or cast spells while on the mount. The flying mount also de-mounts if you login while riding it."

Well, according to Blizzard poster Zarhym, that's going to change in an upcoming patch.

This is slated to be changed in an upcoming patch (not 3.0.8). All new mounts that currently function like vehicles will be changed to function like other standard mounts. This includes the flying carpet.

That means no more falling to your death if you happen to log out during your magic carpet ride.

UPDATE 12/18: Blizzard poster Bornakk has edited his post regarding this information. The information can be found here. The Tier 1 blue set now reads: "Can be purchased multiple ways though Honor and Arena points, high amount of just Honor points, or Emblems of Heroism." The Tier 2 set reads: " Can be purchased multiple ways through Arena points or Emblems of Valor."

According to a post by Blizzard's Vaneck on the World of Warcraft European PvP forum, Arena Season 5 launches on Wednesday, Dec. 17 with some changes regarding how Arena or Honor items can be purchased.

Here's the start of the post, which begins with the blue Tier 1 set.

Tier 1 - Superior (blue) quality items:
• No rating requirements
• Costs Honor and Arena points
• Equivalent to heroic dungeon items

Keep reading after the jump for the rest of the post, which contains Tier 2 and 3 set items and two tiers of Honor items that include the neck, ring, boots, belt, bracer, and trinket.