Teen faces prison for RuneScape coin robbery We’re passionate about games but this just takes the cake: A RuneScape enthusiast is facing up to 15 years in prison after an alleged attempt to force a fellow gamer to hand over 4.7 billion coins. According to the New York Post, Humza Bajwa is accused of pulling a realistic-looking gun on David Emani in an attempt to force the transaction. Emani, who was acting as a representative for coin-owner Jonathan Dokler, met Bajwa in a Fordham University classroom and became suspicious when he noticed the $3,300 in cash that Bajwa had agreed to pay looked fake. Over the phone, Emani advised Dokler to cancel the transaction, but Dokler was keen to continue so a second meeting was arranged for the following night. With a real $100 bill in hand for comparison, Emani accused Bajwa of using fake bills. It was then that Bajwa produced a realistic-looking BB gun. Emani says of the incident, “I couldn’t believe I was about to get shot over RuneScape! I was so scared I was about to die.” Once the transaction was completed, Bajwa left Emani unharmed and still in possession of his $100. Cops busted Bajwa on July 24 after talking to the victims and checking surveillance footage. Bajwa was charged with second-degree robbery and grand larceny and posted $20,000 bail. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Friend of PC Gamer, Matt Lees also got strangely corrupted by Runescape’s currency many years ago. Read about his exploits here.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that scenes from the first trailer for Wargame: Airland Battle could’ve been taken from Arma 2. I was getting quite into the idea of flying those planes you see above, then I realised that this is the follow-up to Eugen Systems’ impressive Wargame: European Escalation (here’s our review). Wait a minute. This is an RTS. Now I’m excited.
The latest effort from the former RUSE developers was always going to have a sense of scale. The expansive topography you’ll spy in the trailer’s dramatic flyovers has all been modelled from satellite maps of Scandinavia, and represents just one massive battlefield from a cold war campaigns that’ll see twelve nations locking horns for control of Northern Europe. The tanks, choppers and jets on show form a small fraction of the 750 combat units that’ll be present in the finished article, which is due out next year.
Eugen will be showing Airland Battle off at Gamescom this week. We’ll be sure to check in and find out more. Here’s the trailer to whet your appetite.