Yearly Archives: 2009

Runes Of Magic Chapter II Announced

Under the name of ‘The Elven Prophecy’, Frogster is to turn over a new leaf with Chapter II of Runes of Magic scheduled for launch in September 2009. The publisher has announced this today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) currently being held in Los Angeles. At the exhibition, Frogster is already showing some new content from Chapter II like the new game region “Weeping Coast”.
As the name already suggests, the core element of ‘Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy’ is the integration of the elven folk as a playable race. A widely branching background story entwines about the elves with lots of new challenges with the new pieces of lore being told by means of a multitude of new quests and epic quest series. Continuing ‘Chapter I – Rise of the Demon Lord’ the second chapter leads players into new game regions, steeped in elven history. It’s the eponymous elves who stand by mankind in their epic conflict against the demon’s menace.
According to the legends, demons of human origin – having degenerated into underworld beings under the influence of the runes – forged an alliance with the nagas in ancient times. Together, these evil forces brought war and devastation to the world of Taborea. An alliance of elves and humans succeeded in banishing the demons into the void and drove back the nagas behind a magical wall. However, when elven prince Sig’aylas removed the holy sword ‘Arclight’ from the wall to defend his human truelove, the wall perished and the naga threat flared up once again.
Together with the elves, ‘Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy’ introduces two new character classes into the world of Runes of Magic. They complement the palette of selection possibilities within the tactically interesting dual class system, creating further combinations to choose from. Advanced players will look forward to new challenges in the form of new demanding dungeons, raid instances and new PvP modes. As a consequence of the copious new game content, ‘Chapter II – the Elven Prophecy’ raises the level cap for all characters in Runes of Magic to 55.
Along with the expansion Frogster is also integrating a new pet system in the Taborea game world. Players will then have the opportunity to actively train their companions, so that they can mature and fulfil valuable supporting roles in combat situations. On top of all this, the game atmosphere in Runes of Magic will receive a thorough general overhaul. The new game regions will really shine, thanks to improved graphics with new effects and hand-drawn textures. Moreover, the renowned sound-studio Dynamedion is recording a completely new soundtrack for the launch of Chapter II. Just as with the base version of Runes of Magic and all of the subsequent updates, Frogster will offer ‘Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy’ as a free download.
Already in August, Frogster is going to integrate first content packages of ‘The Elven Prophecy’ like the new region “Weeping Coast” and raise the level cap to 52. The climax of Chapter II will follow with the official launch in September. “With the comprehensive Chapter II we will seamlessly linking in with our previous policy of regular content expansions for the Runes of Magic game world. And we will still be implementing regular content updates right up until we launch The Elven Prophecy,” Daniel Ullrich, Frogster’s Director Product Management, commented discussing the expansion plans.

KOS And Krazy Aces Announced

Online PC game publisher YNK Interactive announces at E3 Expo of two new games to come out Fall 2009:  Krazy Aces, an online aerial combat racing game and K.O.S., a first person shooter (FPS).  Both are free to play multiplayer games for PC.
 
“If you’re not already a fan of FPS games, K.O.S. will surely make you one,” said Brian Udarbe, Lead of YNK Interactive’s K.O.S. Division.  “And with the casual gaming style of Krazy Aces, it’s a game that even non gamers of all ages will enjoy.”
 
K.O.S. will be YNK Interactive’s first FPS game.  With its Global Ranking System for bragging rights and an Online Clan System that allows friends from across the world to unite against their enemies, this upcoming game will bring players together for the single purpose of FPS domination.
 
Krazy Aces offers both solo and party play that can be played by up to 8 players racing simultaneously, with the highest ranking pilots being featured on the website.   Players can customize their characters and aircraft at Krazion’s Shop & Garage, or upgrade their craft’s abilities by collecting cards that can be obtained from mini games.
 
“With the addition of both games to our line-up, Q3 of this year will be a busy yet exciting season,” said Mariness Didulo, Associate Marketing Manager of YNK Interactive.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Cinematic Trailer

The first cinematic trailer for the much anticipated sci-fi MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic! The Sacking of Coruscant was the crowning achievement of the Sith Empire’s ambitious military strategy and the moment that changed the history of the Old Republic forever. You may have read about it before, but our first cinematic trailer captures this event with breathtaking action and beautiful detail. Watch this incredible video now!

City of Heroes and Villains Review: Your Hero Side

By Gabriele Giorgi (Darak), Onrpg writer
Everybody dreams of being a superhero, dressed in tights, flying in the sky with a cape flapping behind, but, most important, with an array of devastating powers and abilities to fight petty criminals and supervillains alike.
But maybe you’ve got a darker side, and being a villain is what suits you more, wreaking havoc and devising masterplans to get rid of those pesky do-gooders who always stand in your way.
Well, whatever your choice is, City of Heroes/Villains promises to make it happen.
 
Released only as City of Heroes in 2004, the game was followed after one year and a half by City of Villains, allowing players to experience the dark side and impersonate similar yet different characters. More important, both heroes and villains play on the same server, and they can interact with PvP or cooperative missions as well. Now the titles have even been unified in just one boxed set.
 
So grab your cape and prepare yourself to venture in the world of City of Heroes and City of Villains… in short, CoX

Creating Your Mask

 
CoX character editor is probably unrivaled among other MMOs. There are tons of possible combinations to create the perfect look for your avatar. You can combine all the different parts any way you want and with the colours you like, but the system can help you with pre-built sets and letting you choose a primary and a secondary colour to apply automatically. More important, you can have up to five different costumes and during the game you can unlock special slots like capes at level 20 or auras at level 30.
The possibilities are really countless.
 
Your character is defined by his role (similar to other MMORPGs, where you have the tanker, the healer and so on), but mainly by his powers: you have to choose one primary and one secondary power pools. In addition, everyone will have access to other general pools like traveling and miscellaneous powers. The level cap is 50, but the number of powers you can choose is limited, so you will have to select them carefully. You will also be given “enhancement slots” to upgrade your powers, in order to deal more damage, hit more often, recharge it sooner, and so on.
This way, you will be able to build your unique character.

Whack! Crash! Thud!

 
One of the most interesting features of CoX is its fast-paced combat. Usually, it will take you 4 or 5 blows to defeat a normal opponent, but of course you’ll have to be careful not to be swarmed by sheer numbers; lieutenants might give you a hard time, and you’d better watch out when fighting bosses or even elite bosses.
Of course it’s better to team up: this will help leveling up faster and, since most of the missions are instanced, the game will balance automatically the number and type of opponents, keeping it a fair challenge. A full team (or even more than one) will be required to take down Giant Monsters, particularly tough opponents that spawn in different areas.
And while you climb your way up to level 50, new and more powerful factions will stand in your way, and interesting story arcs will develop in front of your eyes.
You may also fight in the arena with other players to test your skills and, starting from level 25, you can enter three different PvP areas where heroes and villains battle each other. Unfortunately, the PvP side of the game is not very well developed, with archetypes (i.e. classes) more powerful than others.
Another problem is that, once you reach the level cap, the high end contents are lacking: there is not really much to do other than collecting badges (tokens for accomplishing goals: although their only purpose is boasting, they can be quite addictive)… so usually you just go back and “roll” a different character.

The Birthplace of Tomorrow

 
The setting of CoX contributes to make believable both Paragon City (“The birthplace of tomorrow”) and the evil-infested Rogue Isles. Statesman and his fellow heroes are constantly fighting with Lord Recluse and his minions and, during your missions, you will have the chance to meet them all. These characters form an in-depth mythology and you will get accustomed to them as the game progresses.
The city is full of details (take the billboards, for example) and its sightings might be really breathtaking, at times; on the other hand, the maps do suffer from low interaction: it’s strange to see so many buildings and be able to enter only a few of them, and no car will ever run you over. The only exception is in mayhem missions, a particular kind of instance for villains where you can really cause mayhem all throughout the area.
Animations are really good and varied for all different powers, and the same goes for music and sound effects, all very appropriate to what’s happening on the screen at any given time.
Everything is made to look like comics, and even small things like dialogues in balloons add to that feeling.

Build Your Powers

 
One of the new features introduced with the updates was the Invention System, a clever crafting system that allows you to create enhancements for your powers. You can obtain recipes and ingredients as random drops for defeating mobs or completing missions. Particularly rare recipes may form a set, which will grant even more bonuses to the character who collects them all.
 
Of course, this is matched by an innovative auction system, where you can sell extra ingredients and recipes setting your desired price; you can also buy what you need by bidding the amount you are willing to pay. The bids are hidden, and the trade happens only when supply and demand meet.
Up to now this is surely one of the most efficient auction system in all existing MMORPGs.

Always Something New

 
During the years, the developers of CoX have been implementing new and interesting features to keep up the attention of the players.
Supergroup bases and base raids; alien invasions; time traveling to “relive” you previous levels; a mission editor to let the players create their own stories; cooperative zones where heroes and villains have to fight together against a greater evil; day jobs when characters assume their mundane identities… and, of course, always new tons of costume parts!
Now the team has founded Paragon Studios, a dedicated branch to develop new contents and come up with ideas to keep alive and kicking the “City of” franchise: as a result, a new expansion, “Going rogue” has been announced, so we can expect to hear more of this game in the future.

Conclusions

 
CoX offers a sound alternative to usual fantasy and sci-fi MMORPGs on the market. Its many features will grant several hours of fun, at the same time allowing you to create your character as you really want it. The game might suffer from lack of high end contents and replayability, though, unless you enjoy starting anew with different characters.
 
Pros:
– probably the best character editor among current MMOs
– innovative crafting and auctioning system
– fast-paced action
Cons:
– not many high-end contents
– PvP quite overlooked 
– Limited interaction within maps

Final Fantasy XIV Announced!

Square Enix Co. announced that FINAL FANTASY XIV, an all new massively-multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG), is planned for a simultaneous global release with language support in Japanese, English, French and German.
 
During the press conference at E3, the company has announced that the game will be available for PS3 and PC and will be published in 2010. The game should return to the series’ medieval fantasy roots and will see a simultaneous worldwide release in four languages: English, Japanese, German and French.
Adventure begins anew in the vast realm of Eorzea!
 
Product Information:
 
Title: FINAL FANTASY XIV
Platforms: PLAYSTATION 3 & Windows
*Details on required PC specifications to be announced at a later date
Languages: Japanese, English, German, French (simultaneous release)
Genre: MMORPG
Release 2010
MSRP: TBD (Software & Subscription)
Rating: Pending (ESRB/PEGI/CERO)
Copyright Information: © SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.

Runes of Magic takes off in Romania

There’s no stopping Runes of Magic – as a result of the sustained huge demand, Frogster has now just launched a Romanian version of the official website. It can be accessed right away by clicking on the flag icon at the upper right of the page or directly via: runesofmagic.com/ro.  The community development is being taken care of directly in the territory by the Romanian portal Computergames.ro, Frogster’s marketing partner who is responsible for the translation of the Internet presence, too. With the localized website being started, Romanian players have now a comprehensive native information source about the game world of Runes of Magic at hand. Simultaneously the Romanian forum has been started to facilitate the active communication within the community.
 
“We are in train to meet the large international interest in Runes of Magic by successively expanding its language versions. Computergames.ro is the partner with the widest reach in the Romanian market. The team has already worked successfully with other international publishers and is excellently cross-linked with the community”, comments Andreas Weidenhaupt, CEO of Frogster Online Gaming and Chief Licensing Officer of Frogster Interactive, on the start of the Romanian platform.
 
“The launch of the Romanian website for Runes of Magic is a very important event for the local MMO community”, says Silviu Stroie, General Manager at SC Computer Games Online SRL assertively. “Together with Frogster, ComputerGames.ro aims to bring this popular free-to-play MMO to tens of thousands of players and we are confident that the now localized website will be an ideal starting point for their adventures in Taborea”.

World of Kung Fu: Chinese Zodiac!

Do you know Sheng Xiao, the Chinese zodiac  Maybe it’s a fresh word in English world. But in China, everyone has Sheng Xiao as the guarding demon of themselves. When a little baby comes to this world, he will get Sheng Xiao depending on his date of birth.
In Chinese traditional culture, each year has an animal to symbolize. There are totally 12 animals as a rotation: rat, bull, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, cock, dog and pig. They are called 12 Sheng Xiao in China.
Now 12 Sheng Xiao will arrive as pets of players in World of Kung Fu, the popular MMORPG from VestGame Entertainment next week. The pets not only can pick up loots for their owner, but also bless people with nice buff.
Do you know which animal is the guarding demon of you  Here are some years related to different Sheng Xiao. Check the year you were born and get your Sheng Xiao.
Rat:  1948 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008
Bull:  1949 1961 1973 1985 1997 2009
Tiger:  1950 1962 1974 1986 1998
Rabbit :  1951 1963 1975 1987 1999
Dragon :  1952 1964 1976 1988 2000
Snake :  1953 1965 1977 1989 2001
Horse :  1954 1966 1978 1990 2002
Goat:   1955 1967 1979 1991 2003
Monkey :  1956 1968 1980 1992 2004
Cock :  1957 1969 1981 1993 2005
Dog:  1958 1970 1982 1994 2006
Pig:  1959 1971 1983 1995 2007
It will be nice to have a Sheng Xiao pet of your birthday to company you in journey. They will bring you good luck and happiness.