Monthly Archives: May 2010

Mabinogi Europe gets pets!

NEXON Europe is proud to announce the addition of the brand new Pet System soon to be arriving in Mabinogi Europe together with the Generation 3: Dark Knight expansion.

Fans will now be able to include Pets in their fantasy life as a companion and aid on their quests and adventures. Each different type of animal will have their own speciality such as providing well sized inventory for storage, boosting their owners’ stamina, HP or skills, and even attacking monsters or cursing spells!

European players won’t feel lonely anymore as these pets will accompany you on your way through the world of Mabinogi.

Conquer Online 7th Anniversary Celebration Curtains Up

 

Conquer Online 7th Anniversary Celebration Curtains Up

TQ Digital is happy to announce the official plans for its 7th anniversary celebration of Conquer Online!

After opening its gates in 2003, this high-kicking MMO has taken masses of players from around the world to a fantastic universe of Kung-Fu heritage and ancient Chinese mythology. Yet it’s the talented players that continue to help Conquer Online grow as a successful, long-lasting MMO. To express our appreciation to the passionate player community, and celebrate the release of the new expansion Legends Return – Season 1, Conquer Online will launch a spectacular 7th Anniversary Celebration, this May!

During this 1 month celebration, players of Conquer Online will be able to experience a whole host of exciting events! You’ll be able to explore intriguing quests, share your cherished CO moments with the community, and win some fantastic prizes!

The CO 7th Anniversary Celebration is about to raise the curtain, so get yourselves ready for the marvelous carnival in Conquer Online, this May!

You can visit CO 7th Anniversary Celebration Page to learn the detailed arrangement of all these events.

http://co.91.com/activity/7th_anniversary.shtml

 

Conquer Online - 7th Anniversary Celebration

MapleStoryÂ’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration Starts Today

MapleStory’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration Starts Today

 

Next week marks MapleStory’s Fifth Anniversary of service in North America and to celebrate this momentous occasion, several events and activities will be available for all Maplers, old and new, to enjoy, starting today.

 

Maple Story Anniversary Banner

 

The party gets started with the Cake vs. Pie battle. Cake and pie fans have the opportunity to join an epic war of desserts in MapleStory as part of the celebratory events in the game. Starting today, players will be able to align themselves with either the “Cake” faction or “Pie” faction in this war. The faction that defeats the boss or defends it during the timed battle will gain control of one of four major towns: Henesys, Orbis, Leafre, and Magatia. Prizes for this event range from a 50 percent EXP boost, to mini-dungeon access and more.  Players who are members of the faction with the most claimed towns at the conclusion of the event will also have a chance to win prizes like a MapleStory skinned laptop, iPod Touch, Flip Camera and more.

 

Cake Invasion Maple Story

 

In addition to partying with giant confectionary bosses, players will not leave the party without party favors. A whole new set of Fifth Anniversary Durability items will be introduced and 20 classic maple weapons can be found around Maple World as drops. 

 

To partake in the festivities and pick up some fun party favors, visit: MapleStory’s Fifth Anniversary

 

Maple Story Cake Boss Fifth Anniversary

Reality Gap Announces Partnership with Free-to-Play Experts, Sleepy Giant

Reality Gap Announces Partnership with Free-to-Play ExpertsSleepy Giant

 

Reality Gap, Inc., publisher of online games, just announced a strategic partnership with Free-To-Play (F2P) game experts Sleepy Giant, along with a number of improvements to their original online game, Battleswarm: Field of Honor. The partnership with Sleepy Giant will provide better support for the highly rated first-person shooter vs. real-time strategy (FPS vs. RTS)  game, as well as allow Reality Gap to focus more energy on platform technologies and continue to expand the community of online gamers playing Battleswarm. The new game update includes a limited time 2-for-1 virtual currency promotion and the release of new in-game items and gameplay improvements. 

 

Soldier Armor Battleswarm Field Of Honor

 

The Sleepy Giant team, which consists of long-time Free-To-Play game veterans, has numerous games under its belt, including popular online titles War Rock and Crime Craft. The California-based companyassumes responsibility for infrastructure strategy and planning, game management, data services and non-game technology, such as billing, analytics and web support tools, in order to bring games to market. 

 

“Battleswarm is the type of online game our services are meant to compliment,” said Matthew J. Hannus, CEO, Sleepy Giant. “The game offers both fun and unique content, in a platform that is ideal for our efforts. We’re really pleased to be a part of the publishing process for such a promising title.”

 

Male Blue Uniform Battleswarm Field Of Honor

 

“After watching their successful support of other great titles we chose Sleepy Giant based on their deep experience with F2P games,” said J. Mark Hood, COO, Reality Gap, Inc. “Their success has shown through in a wide range of top tier MMORPGs and our alliance should take Battleswarm to the next level.”

 

As part of ongoing efforts to continue growing the user base of Battleswarm: Field of Honor, Reality Gap is also joining forces with the Xfire online gaming community and plans to distribute the Xfire client with all Battleswarm downloads.  “With more than 16 million registered users, Xfire will be instrumental in spreading the word about Battleswarm,” said Hood.

 

For more information about Reality Gap and Battleswarm: Field of Honor, please visit Reality Gap.

 

Angel Gun Battleswarm Field Of Honor

GamesCampus Announces New Online WWII Flight Combat Simulator – Heroes In The Sky

GamesCampus Announces New Online WWII Flight Combat Simulator – Heroes In The Sky

 

Leading online game publisher, GamesCampus, today announced it will launch a new MMOTPS, (Massively Multiplayer Online Third Person Shooter) WWII flight combat simulator, Heroes in the Sky.  The fast-paced aerial combat game, scheduled to launch mid summer 2010, will hold a closed beta test in early June.  For more information on the game and to follow the latest updates, visit Heroes in the Sky

 

Heroes in the Sky is an intense airborne MMOTPS that combines high impact PVE and fast paced PVP as it chronicles the events from the beginning to the end of World War II.  PVP combat is taken to a new level as players must not only worry about the basic dangers from the front, behind, and sides, but also from above and below. Heroes in the Sky is dog fighting at its finest; cannon fires, machine gun blasts, missiles, and bombs flood the skies as up to 16 players shoot it out for air superiority!  If that isn’t enough, players will soar across the sky with WWII war planes, and if they’re lucky with modern planes too!  Cities to bomb, boats to sink, blimps to burst, and fighters to be torn asunder — all this and more unfold as players compete to become the top Ace in Heroes in the Sky.

 

Heroes In The Sky HIS

 

“This new game will take PVP to a level never experienced before by gamers though massive scale aerial dogfights,” said David Chang, EVP of Marketing and Business Development for GamesCampus. “Heroes in the Sky expands the traditional scope of air-combat games by providing Realm vs. Realm type territorial battles with MMO leveling features and an all encompassing community experience.”

 

The upcoming free-to-play game will feature fast paced aerial combat that embodies the intense danger akin to WWII dogfights.  In Occupational War Game Mode, players will recreate critical battles of the European and Pacific front complete with WWII and modern planes to help their side take control as they experience epic battles across the history of WWII from both sides!  Players will find an easy-to-use upgrade system to help tweak planes and become the ultimate airborne marauder along with additional modifications that will allow players to, not only jam the electronics of their opponent, but also let them keep their own engines cool during boosts.  Additionally, players can use Avatars to mask their actual aircraft while gaining additional bonuses and appearing in some of history’s most famous aircraft.

 

Heroes in the Sky will give players a chance to relive history as they fly dozens of planes from WWII- both experimental and battle hardened-  that can be customized to meet their own creative standards.

 

Heroes In The Sky

BTO to Launch Deep-sea Treasure Hunt System

BTO to Launch Deep-sea Treasure Hunt System

 

DOVOGAME has announced the release of a new system for the World’s most popular online Business Simulator, Business Tycoon Online which will be launched across all servers. The system, called Deep-sea Treasure Hunt, will allow the Tycoons of Liberty City to attempt to dive for Sunken Treasure and obtain valuable BTO items and rewards. DOVOGAME has released the following description of the system to their players:

 

“In a stunning find ocean explorers have announced the discovery of a sunken treasure galleon in a deep trench about 150 miles off the coast of Liberty City! Rumor has it that many rare treasures have been slumbering for centuries in this ancient ship. The huge announcement has caused quite the media buzz around Liberty City, as Tycoons are already navigating their yachts toward the wreckage, hoping to salvage some rare treasures from the past out of the mysterious deep sea.”

 

Business Tycoon Online 

 

The system looks to rival and perhaps even surpass some of the previous large and successful events DOVOGAME has put on for their players, as “Deep-sea Treasure Hunt” offers never before seen items and abilities that will help player to further bolster their business empires.

The announcement is another great addition to the already popular and quickly growing online browser game.  If events like this keeping coming, Business Tycoon Online players have a lot to look forward to in the coming months.

RuneScape Review – A (browser) Window To The World

RuneScape Review – A (browser) Window To The World
Neil Kewn (Murxidon), OnRPG journalist

 

RuneScape is a 3D browser-based MMORPG from British company Jagex. Released initially in January 2001, the game has received numerous accolades and currently holds a coveted Guinness World Record. April saw the release of RuneScape’s Dungeoneering skill, giving players the ability to team up and take on high-level beasts for even greater rewards.  Almost ten years since its inception, what does the world’s most popular free MMORPG have to offer gamers in a market dominated by vast, client based virtual worlds?

 

Starting out in RuneScape

Starting your travels in RuneScape is your standard MMO affair. Registration is simple and pain free. Pick an in game username (letters, numbers and spaces allowed) along with a password and you’re set. You may provide an e-mail address for password recovery purposes if you are so inclined.

 

RuneScape is programmed in Java, meaning it is multi-platform and cross browser. Simply install the Java Runtime Engine and click “Play” on the game’s homepage, no client or patches to download, although the game will copy several files to your computer, speeding up loading times drastically next time you play the game. Once logged in, you are greeted with a character creation screen. Select your gender, head, hairstyle, clothing, beard, skin tone and hair colour. No choice of race here, everyone in RuneScape is a humble human.

 

Runescape Login

No client to download, no patches to apply

 

Character customisation options are fairly expansive, but most options only decide what your portrait will look like when speaking to non-player characters. It is pretty trivial when you take into account that every player is an indistinguishable polygon construct. Your gear is what defines you from other players.

 

Starting out in RuneScape

Once you are finished deciding what colour your goatee will be, you are greeted with the game’s tutorial. It’s a pleasant enough introduction to mechanics and abilities. Moving is achieved via point and click, which can seem very nostalgic at first (or awkward, depending on your age).  Soon enough, you are plunged into the starting town of Lumbridge, and are free to do as you see fit. Fancy killing that hunchback goblin over there? Go for it. Feeling an urge to milk a cow and bake a cake? Be my guest, I won’t ask why. 

 

Perhaps surprisingly for a browser base game, there is quite a lot of depth in RuneScape, and you are never short of something to do. An in game Advisor is available at any time to provide helpful hints, guides and ideas if you are stuck, along with a “random objective generator” that can give you something to aim towards if you’re lacking motivation.

 

Dissimilar to a lot of other MMORPGs, there is no set “class” to play in RuneScape. You have a choice of 22 different skills to master. From cooking to mining, blacksmithing to herblore, summoning to thieving, there is literally something for everyone. It’s this versatility and freedom that keeps adventuring in RuneScape a fresh experience, at least once you have completed the game’s strangely small number of quests.

 

Runescape Skills

So much to do!

 

Your Combat Level is what other players are interested in though. Levelling skills such as woodcutting, fire starting and fletching will not increase the level presented underneath your player name. Instead, this is based on your overall level of strength, defence, attack, constitution (HP), ranged ability, prayer, summoning and magic.

 

Your Combat Level is how powerful you are, and reminds you to not go around attacking level 52 bears (or indeed, players) when you’re a lowly level 9. Death transports you back to Lumbridge initially, and you lose all but your three most valuable items. Return to the place you perished to reclaim all of your belongings.

 

Another level

Progression in RuneScape boils down to most MMORPGs favourite way of levelling. Indeed, grinding is the name of the game here. Shifting from one skill to another provides a respite every now and again, but you will basically be repeating the same tasks (albeit in a different area) to level up your character. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and there are some fun and quirky mini-games to divulge in, but I would advise not levelling the same skill endlessly. It really sucks a lot of the fun out of the game. 

 

Getting your combat level up is what you will be spending a lot of your time doing, though. The “click enemy, wait a few seconds, loot corpse” rule (which I just made up) is in force here. You can alternate between combat styles, each boosting a particular combat skill, but the premise is basically the same. Range combat swaps the sword and shield for a bow and arrow, with magic opting for the use of Runes. These magical stones can be crafted using a dedicated Rune Crafting skill, and a combination is used in order to cast powerful spells.

 

You get what you don’t pay for

Being the most popular F2P MMORPG in the world, it seems Jagex are doing something right when it comes to giving players something for nothing. The free portion of the game is large and varied, with plenty of things to get done without punching in your credit card details.

 

Still, the real “meat” of the game comes from membership. A monthly subscription fee of around $5 unlocks everything that RuneScapehas to offer. The game world opens up substantially, with a huge amount of terrain to venture through. All of RuneScape’s twenty-two skills become available, and plenty more adventures light up your quest log. The price is great value for money, and fans of the game should be very satisfied with what they receive after parting with their cash.

 

Dungeoneering – Interesting name, interesting skill

The new Dungeoneering skill is certainly a welcome addition to the plethora of abilities already available. Both free and paying players can take a boat from Al-Kharid to the island of Demonheim, group up with others and take on challenging monsters in instanced rooms. Entering a dungeon is a simple process. Dungeoneers are provided with a ring that enables them to teleport to the dungeon and organise parties. Party management is simple, with options to set the difficulty of dungeons and whether or not you wish share experience.

 

Players are barred from taking anything into Demonheim. Instead, armour, weapons and items are provided already. Anything looted inside a dungeon vanishes once the encounter ends, unless the player chooses to “bind” the item for use on the next encounter.

 

Behemoth Runescape

Fighting a Gluttonous behemoth in Demonheim – Losing

 

Bosses don’t just have more health points, though. Some deploy certain tactics that players must take into account if they wish to clear the floor. For example, the Gluttonous Behemoth above can feast on a nearby corpse and regain full health. Other bosses force players to move around the room, or require a certain Combat Style to take down. Teams must coordinate strategies, and effective communication is the key to survival in these dungeons.

 

There are 35 floors in Demonheim, each with an increasingly difficult creature to defeat. Rooms leading to the boss are littered with other enemies that the group can kill, but the door leading to the next area is locked. Players must locate a key in each room in order to progress.

 

Browser based games have system requirements too, you know

As there is a 3D world being crammed down your internet pipeline and rendered in your web browser, the graphical quality of RuneScape can sometimes be an eyesore. The world itself lacks vibrancy, with some areas being completely devoid of any colour except green and brown. Player and NPC animations are stiff, with some actions seemingly consisting of just 3 frames.

 

Runescape Murky

Today’s outlook for generic town number seventeen – Gloomy

 

There are three different graphical settings, ranging from Safe Mode (all settings set to minimum) to High Detail (shadows, dynamic lighting, the works). The latter does look extremely impressive for a browser game, with clear textures and detailed objects, but can cause the game to dip in terms of performance, especially when there are a large number of players in a single area.

 

Walking and running looks particularly awkward, with your character jolting from one spot to another. Whilst small, but frequent, loading screens spoil the flow of the game when travelling. It’s not particularly distracting after playing the game for several hours, but the blocky graphics and limited character animation may put some players off.

 

Player-vs-Player

PvP in RuneScape is available in numerous forms. Special Player V Player worlds are available for the more confident adventurers, where combat can occur almost anywhere. Bounty Hunter worlds are also available, where players fight in the wilderness, and are given targets to ruthlessly strike down. Minigames can also satisfy an urge to contest your might, including Castle Wars (a capture the flag style game), fight pits and duelling.

 

A worthy investment?

RuneScape certainly offers a lot for such a small price of admission. The world is huge, and the plethora of skills is sure to keep you entertained for a substantial number of hours. Despite the expected graphical shortcomings and a community that leaves a lot to be desired, RuneScape is a familiar MMO experience inside your browser, offering leniency and guidance for new MMO players, but extensive depth and replay value for hardened veterans of the genre. It’s definitely not what many would consider a “casual” MMORPG, but it’s perfect for hopping in and out of. Even so, it’s not hard to get lost adventuring in the curious world of Gielinor.

 

Pros:
– A huge number of different skills to master
– Low monthly subscription
– Large world to explore

 

Cons:
– Character animations are pitiful
– Music is irritating
– Life’s a grind, then you die (and teleport to Lumbridge)

Spiral Knights

The Spiral Knights have awoken on an unknown world. Their equipment stores have been raided and their starship, The Skylark, will not recover from the crash. But all is not lost. Taking refuge in a town called Haven they have begun a new mission.

As a Spiral Knight, you must delve deep below the surface of the world into the mechanical labyrinth known as The Clockworks. This colossal complex of turning gears and unnatural machinery is filled with massive slabs of alien worlds and home to a legion of terrible monsters. This great machine is in constant motion and is always changing the worlds it creates. An exciting adventure awaits that will take you to the planet’s very core, where the Spiral Knights will discover the purpose of The Clockworks and who or what created it.

So take up your sword and join your fellow knights in a world that offers new adventures every day!