Yearly Archives: 2010

Runes of Magic: The Guardian’s Awakening

Runes of Magic: The Guardian’s Awakening


Update 3.0.5 – The Guardian’s Awakening brings new content to the virtual world of Runes of Magic, where starting today, adventurers have access to the new world boss Amboriar. The anticipated new difficulty levels for the dungeon, Raksha Temple, are also now available.

 

Update 3.0.5 - The Guardian's Awakening brings new content to the virtual world of Runes of Magic

 

Previously, the group instance was available in two different difficulty levels for players level 58 and up: easy and normal and adventurers can now also choose between five additional difficulty levels in normal mode. Opponent values are higher in other modes – ranging from 25% higher in bronze mode all the way up to 125% higher in diamond mode. The difficulty level selected also affects the loot acquired by groups consisting of six players.

 

To face Amboriar, however, a full group is not enough. Trouble is stirring in a remote mountain valley in Southern Janost Forest, and it will take a brave and well-equipped raid to vanquish the mighty and corrupt guardian who lurks there.

Craft of Gods Introduces a New RvR Area

Craft of Gods Introduces a New RvR Area

 

Kalicanthus Entertainment announces that a new map, where the forces of Light and Darkness will face every day, will be introduced soon in its MMORPG Craft of Gods. The game has also gone gold and it has entered the manufacturing process which will lead to a retail distribution in the Benelux market following the agreement signed with Iceberg Interactive.

 

The new map will feature three strongholds: one belonging to the Light, one to the Darkness and a neutral one.
The neutral fortress will contain a relic that can be claimed by both factions. To take possession of the relic, a faction must penetrate into the neutral fortress and carry that to its castle. However, the opposite faction will not be certainly looking at: if it will manage to enter into the enemy fortress and find the relic, the relic will be automatically ported inside the neutral castle.

 

Craft of Gods Introduces a New RvR Area

 

The relic will be very coveted, because his possession will allow entering into to the last part of the new dungeon “The Caves of Tallion”, where the faction that holds the relic will face new powerful bosses that will drop legendary items and enrich its pockets.

Canaan Online Opens Chamber of Judgement to European Players

Canaan Online Opens Chamber of Judgement to European Players

 

gPotato Europe is delighted to announce that Canaan Online will see the launch of a brand new and fiercely challenging dungeon, Chamber of Judgement, today. This all-new content will bring together old, familiar bosses along with challenges players will not have encountered before.

 

gPotato Europe is delighted to announce that Canaan Online will see the launch of a brand new and fiercely challenging dungeon, Chamber of Judgement

 

Chamber of Judgement is an ‘epic instance’, which means that it not only has challenging bosses for the player to fight, but lots of them. There are 36 bosses in total, waiting for any players brave enough to confront such a large volume of arduous fights that will test players to the limit. Only players above level 40 will have access to the Chamber of Judgement, and will face the terrifying power of monsters such as the Great Shaman King, Ancient Giants and more, all ranging from level 43 to 100.

 

The bosses in the Chamber of Judgement will not drop loot directly, but will drop two special coins that players can use to exchange for all kinds of special equipment and items. The rewards are endless.

 

Not only that, but players will notice various changes in Canaan Online. Since launch, the game has expanded greatly, including several new zones and many new and rewarding quests, novel features for guilds and of course, a marriage system.

M.A.T Interview: Your Standard FPS Game, or Something More?

M.A.T Interview: Your Standard FPS Game, or Something More?
Questions by Michael Sagoe (mikedot), OnRPG Journalist
Answered by Mr Saturn, lead Game Master for Mission Against Terror.

 

Just recently, Suba Games began beta testing for their latest free to play title: Mission Against Terror (M.A.T Online) While it may look like just another everyday FPS, M.A.T throws in some unique features and gameplay elements that you won’t find in any other FPS game like it. Here’s a little interview a cooked up for guys behind M.A.T Online to tell us a little bit more.

 

OnRPG: Hello there! I am Michael Sagoe (mikedot), Journalist for OnRPG. Before we begin, would you care to tell us your name for the readers?
MrSaturn: I am [GM]MrSaturn, the lead Game Master for Mission Against Terror. Zoom!

 

OnRPG: In a brief summary: Could you give us a general idea on what M.A.T is all about?
MrSaturn: Mission Against Terror is a free to play first person shooter(FPS). It was originally developed by Kingsoft who are based in China. MAT pleases a wide variety of FPS fans with multiple game modes both on the traditional, more serious side of things and also on the goofy, more off-the-wall and less serious side of things. MAT takes place in a setting not far from our own where a global conflict is about to take place between the New World Order pseudo-government regime that is attempting to control pretty much everything and pretty much everyone else who opposes them. Some are directly opposing this government regime, while rogue militant groups take advantage of this global crisis and stir up trouble of their own. With all of the chaos going on, one has to ask themselves… who are the real terrorists? The New World Order government? The rogue militant groups? The freedom fighters who oppose the regime perhaps?

 

Mission Against Terror Babes
M.A.T. Babes

 

OnRPG: There’s a lot of stiff competition in the FPS market right now. What makes MAT stand out from the competition?
MrSaturn: MAT has a large number of game modes to choose from (as mentioned above). Besides the game modes, players are able to customize their characters with different heads and also different clothing options for their bodies and legs. You can look like an army soldier, you can look like a biker, you can also mix and match for something crazier. Other awesome features in MAT is the in-game VOIP (with the option for real-time voice modulation), 3D surround sound courtesy of Dolby and their state of the art Axon technology, and a fairly robust clan system (a big hint to what’s coming). We are also partnered with World Online Gaming League (WOGL) who do fantastic organized tournaments and matchups, so we also hope to build a strong competitive scene in MAT in the near future.

 

OnRPG: When I first got to try out the game, I noticed that players must select the country and state with which they reside before creating a character. Why is it required for players to show their location while playing?
MrSaturn: It’s likely that this is just for fun. We’ve seen this kind of feature in other Chinese-developed games so it’s possible that this is a trend that has just carried over to our version of the game. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me that this has functional use however, like if we have multiple servers set up over North America then by picking the correct location upon creation of your character, the game may possibly be able to automatically recommend a server for you to optimize your latency and play with other players who are from your area and have good latency as well.

 

OnRPG: Could you give us a quick description on the available game modes in M.A.T? Will there be any other game modes to be introduced in the future?
MrSaturn: On the traditional side of things, for those who don’t want innovation or anything like that, MAT has death match and team death match modes (both with respawns or without respawns for tournament-style seek and destroy bouts) There is also bomb mode which is the game mode that Counter-Strike made famous. For those looking for a little fun with something not so ‘realistic’, MAT has mummy mode where mummies seek to spread their curse onto humans via a melee strike while humans hunt down the mummies or survive until the round is over. With the launch of Open Beta, phantom mode was introduced which is a spin-off of bomb mode where the bombing team are highly translucent figures and are restricted to melee attacks only. Still to come is a second mummy mode where there are different mummies with different abilities and they fight off against the Terminators who are robotic super-soldiers designed specifically to deal with the mummy problem which takes place around the Nile (and because they’re robotic, they cannot become cursed), a war against AI where players will team up against a robotic army of endoskeletons controlled by deadly artificial intelligence, a tank mode where players shoot each other up with army tanks, and there will likely be even more game modes as we move forward.

 

There is also a chat room mode, which is pretty self-explanatory just by its name but with one exception. The Suba Club where chat rooms are held contain a regulation-sized boxing ring where two players can hop in and duke it out for 9 rounds in a controlled environment. Various monitors around the club show the in-ring action for the patrons to watch.

 

Mission Against Terror Health

 

OnRPG: Considering the realistic style that M.A.T has going for it, how does dancing and poly-morphing others fit into the game?
MrSaturn: The poly-morphing and dancing are some unique aspects in MAT that make MAT different. It is exactly aspects like these that make MAT different from other realistic style based game. The dancing could be construed to the classic “just walk it off” if your character is hurt and polymorph grenades are one of those things that is more along the lines of the ‘fun’-style of game modes. Counter-Strike initially was a realistic approach to multiplayer shooters but through player modifications you have servers that do mini games, surfing and zombies. I think MAT is going for the same sort of thing right out of the box and choosing to include non-realistic stuff that some players may find more entertaining.

 

OnRPG: Customization. Lots of FPS titles have them. Will character customization in M.A.T any different or any better?
MrSaturn: You can select from a variety of heads/helmets, upper body and lower body clothing options, theme yourself properly or mix and match to look goofy. There are also arm bands as a future addition. Players can wear an arm band that has their clan logo on it(which is what I consider to be true customization, but that is pretty much the extent of it). You can also grab different sprays for your character to spray paint on the wall or the floor of a map. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a contest here or there to design a clothing set or something of the sort, where the winner(s) will have their designs implemented in the game. I think that’s as close as it’s going to get for player-driven customization but that possibility is there.

 

OnRPG: Voice chatting has become a very integral part of FPS titles, nowadays. How will voice chat work with MAT?
MrSaturn: MAT supports voice chatting and is a free option available to all users. Where MAT blows the competition out of the water with regards to voice chatting is its use of Dolby Axon, a cutting edge piece of technology that enables you to transmit your voice in 3D surround-sound, and it can also modulate your voice in real time.

 

OnRPG: Anti-hack prevention is always a major concern with these types of games. Which anti-hack provider is being planned for M.A.T?
MrSaturn: Players can take comfort in knowing that MAT was built from the ground up with hacking as a major concern. For those that don’t know, which is probably everyone because Kingsoft is based in China, Kingsoft primarily develops applications rather than games. The one we as gamers should be concerned with is Kingsoft Internet Security which is a suite of effective, enterprise-level security tools. The point to all of this is that Kingsoft knows their stuff in this field; this would almost be like McAfee or Kapersky developing a game with hacking as a major concern. It wouldn’t be wise to say that MAT is air-tight in this field but I doubt that hacking is going to ever become a major concern at all, and I’m sure with a background in security software the developers would be particularly interested in addressing anything that may come up in the future.

 

OnRPG: I believe that the chatting lobby could be an interesting draw for the game if a few more interactive features were added to it. Any chance that chatting lobby will be improved upon with future updates?
MrSaturn: There’s always a possibility. Even the overseas versions only have 1 map for a chat lobby. I would think if you can pick your map for a chat lobby rather than just having no selection then we could possibly have different chat room maps with different features in each of them. The Suba Club for instance has boxing. A map in the future could have maybe a game of soccer; another one might enable players to have a foot race. More interactive objects are always a plus as well. It surprises me to see so many games even by today that have chairs and stuff in a chat room/social environment and you can’t actually sit down in them. I suppose if there’s a demand for it, it’s a possibility that chat room features could be improved upon. For the near future however, we’re focusing on the core game itself which is the shooter action.

 

Mission Against Terror Bar
The Bar

 

OnRPG: What can players expect in terms of cash shop content?
MrSaturn: Polymorph Grenades, probably much to everyone’s praise, are a cash shop item rather than a standard item. A lot of the goofier things in the game are cash shop items. An M4A1 for example, standard rifle, is not a cash shop item, But a Silver M4A1?. Cash shop item. You start out with a knife, you can buy a hammer with the in-game currency, and you can buy a crazy Chinese broadsword as a cash shop item. Some cash shop items have little benefits here and there but it’s never anything game-breaking (as it should be for a game based on player versus player).

 

Mission Against Terror Katana
z0mg a Katana in an FPS!

 

OnRPG: How much of a role will M.A.T’s community play towards new content and updates?
MrSaturn: At the moment, because we’re sort of catching up to what the other publishers have overseas, there’s not much going on at the moment with regards to community input. We always welcome their input however and have acted on some of the things that the community has been concerned with. As an example, players have issued their suggestions on improving the firing rate of the pistols in the game currently, and we’re addressing this with the developers. As always it takes time to address everything but right now the immediate focus is to catch up with the other versions and to smooth out common gameplay issues and then we may start doing things with the community such as the possible “design your own outfit” contest or other such things. The developers have been very receptive so far, so it’s a good sign of things to come.

 

OnRPG: From my previous play-through, I noticed the accuracy and recoil of the firearms were a bit off. Will these weapons be improved throughout the current testing phase?
MrSaturn: In relation to shooters in general or are you thinking of a particular game? It may be something that is favorable by the hardcore shooter fans as they prefer burst firing and dislike the ol’ spray and pray mantra. It’s personal preference I would say but by the same token, if the community feels that this is an issue then we can always take it up with the developer. We hope to have this kind of relationship between the three of us, where we issue the community’s concerns to the developers and the developers act on those concerns accordingly.

 

OnRPG: Out of curiosity: The visuals of M.A.T look similar to another certain FPS title. What I would like to know is kind of engine does M.A.T run on?
MrSaturn: I don’t have anything official to go by but by taking a highly educated guess, I would say the Unreal 2 engine.

 

OnRPG: Lots of events were hosted during the testing phases of M.A.T. What other planned events do you guys have in store?
MrSaturn: Lots of events are necessary during closed beta to make sure everything is working properly and to address such issues for an official release/open beta. The beginning of open beta has a lot of events lined up already. Every Tuesday there is a nice little two-hour slot where players can earn triple the silver points for playing games. We also have a GM-hosted event lined up for the next two Fridays with the prize being Suba Points. We’re testing the waters with this type of event in particular and if it proves to be popular then we might also make that one a weekly event as well. We’ll see what we can come up with to entertain players. There’s always WOGL as well with their Tournaments and matchups as well if that tickles one’s fancy.

                                                                                                                                                 

OnRPG: Well is there anything else you’d like to say to the readers before we wrap this up?
MrSaturn: If MAT sounds interesting thus far to anyone who happens to be reading this and hasn’t tried the game out, be sure to visit http://mat.subagames.com, the official website for Mission Against Terror. There you’ll find the client that you can download, account registration, a basic overview of the game, a listing of the upcoming events for MAT… pretty much everything that you’ll need to get up to speed! Open Beta is live, no beta keys required! Multiplayer games are always more enjoyable when you’re playing with friends so if you like the game, invite a friend or two and team up!

 

OnRPG: Thank you for your time!

Legend of Martial Arts

Legend of Martial Arts (LOMA) is the rebirth of Kung Foo, a title that was postponed because Perfect World Entertainment didn’t feel it was ready to be unleashed onto the open market. After taking a ton of feedback from the orginal Kung Foo open beta, a game is presented that has been granted new life by way of a total graphical and content overhaul!

Grand Fantasia Opens New Server, New Features

 

Grand Fantasia Opens New Server, New Features


Aeria Games has added an all-new server to Grand Fantasia. Not only does this new server offer a fresh start in the world of Saphael to Grand Fantasia players old and new, but a wealth of new game features have debuted there as well, changing the hit game in ways even long-time players have never seen.

 

Aeria Games has added an all-new server to Grand Fantasia.

 

Grand Fantasia, a fantasy MMORPG with intense PvP combat and a deep virtual pet system, has continued to add new content to its colorful worlds since opening its doors in December, 2009. The latest new features include:

 

– Build a Better Battle: Grand Fantasia’s new server will include a means for players to fight more effectively and efficiently, making simpler use of skills, potions, and items
– Sprite On: Players can now send their Sprites directly into turn-based battles in the new Sprite Adventure system
– Newbie Friendly: All-new Novice Cards help ease new characters into the game with helpful hints and valuable gifts

 


In addition, Grand Fantasia has expanded the in-game world with a broad variety of new areas, monsters, dungeons, items, and more. Aeria’s Game Masters will be on hand to welcome back players of every kind, hosting special in-game events every day of the week.

Parkour Racing Game FreeJack Opens In-Game Item Mall

Parkour Racing Game FreeJack Opens In-Game Item Mall

 

…and celebrates by giving away 10% extra GamerKash item mall currency with each purchase!

 

Game Bridger Entertainment, a global publisher and distributor of interactive online entertainment media, announced today the grand opening of the in-game Item Mall for its new free-to-play parkour racing game, FreeJack. To celebrate the release, Game Bridger Entertainment is giving away an extra 10% GamerKash (item mall currency) with each deposit made before October 20th, 2010!

 

FreeJack

 

“The FreeJack Item Mall will open with a wide selection of stylish clothing and decorative items so players can begin personalizing their in-game avatars and living spaces,” said Matthew Denomme, marketing manager at Game Bridger Entertainment, “FreeJack’s contemporary setting and subject matter make it uniquely suited to fun in-game items that are referential of current pop culture styles and trends.”

 

FreeJack is a free-to-play parkour racing game for Windows PCs supporting Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Players race head-to-head across the urban metropolis of New Jack City in high-octane foot races, bustin’ stylish flips and tricks to increase their speed and gain access to hidden shortcuts. Players can personalize their character with fresh outfits and running gear and even customize their own unique in-game living space with cool furniture and accessories to show off to friends! FreeJack also supports online leaderboards, a club/clan system, in-game friends lists, and more! FreeJack is launching its open beta in October 2010 from GamerKraft. GamerKraft. Play Free.

 

FreeJack is free to download and play. Visit the official FreeJack homepage.

 

Shot-Online Launched Major Content Update

Shot-Online Launched Major Content Update

 

GamesCampus, announced today that Shot-Online, has launched a major content update with a new Swift Stroke Mode, a Guild Level Cap Increase, New Halloween themed events and prizes and more. To learn more about Shot-Online and to download and play the game for free, players can visit http://shotonline.gamescampus.com/.

 

One of the new updates players can expect in Shot-Online is the new Swift Stroke Mode. This new feature shortens the wait time between players’ turns, giving the game a faster pace. As soon as players begin a round, all players will now begin shooting simultaneously until they reach the green (previously players took turns). Players will be able to see the location of the other players on the mini-map, as well as ball indicators on the actual field. Once all players reach the green, the game switches back to a turn-based mode with the players the furthest from the hole putting first.

 

GamesCampus, announced today that Shot-Online, has launched a major content update

 

In addition, Shot-Online players will now enjoy a Guild Level Cap Increase. This new feature gives users access to new content by increasing the cap and benefits of Guild Levels. Previously Shot-Online Guild levels went from S1 toS5 but now levels S6 through S10 have been implemented. With each Level, the maximum number of members will increase, and in addition, more positions will be open for submasters and there is more inventory space for the lockers.

 

In addition to the new game features, GamesCampus is celebrating the Halloween holiday with special events and prizes. Shot-Online will have a Halloween themed square and events including a new Halloween themed mask and a sneak peek teaser webpage for an exciting upcoming tournament (The United Cup) which will occur this Winter http://shotonline.gamescampus.com/event/unitedcup/

 

“With the addition of the Swift Stroke Mode and the new Guild level Cap Increases, Shot-Online players can now expect a faster paced experience with access to new content and much more,” said the always lovely Uyen Uyen Ton Nu, Head of Marketing for GamesCampus. “In addition, players can now participate in the ongoing United Cup.”

GunZ Online Review: Fun Despite Lag and Outdated Graphics

GunZ Online Review: Fun Despite Lag and Outdated Graphics
By Kei Beneza (dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

 

GunZ Online is fast paced third-person shooter than allows players to duel it out in an arena with guns, katanas, daggers, and feats of Matrix-inspired stunts. The game is actually famous, being one of the first MMO shooters to feature this form of agility. The game has been around for a long time now, and is still serving players. GunZ Online is literally a fun casual game. You don’t really have to know your stats to perform well in this game. As long as you know how to shoot and dodge consecutively, then you’re going to have a lot of fun playing this game. I suppose I enjoyed this game to some extent as it made its debut during the prime of Counterstrike.

 

Create Your Gunner!

The character creation interface is marvellous, giving characters twelve accessory slots to fill in order for players to customize their avatars to perfection. I don’t think the game will suffer from character cloning anytime soon. There’s also a wide variety of guns and weapons to choose from. Let’s face it! Not all players are good with the shotgun, so giving users more firepower is the key to keeping everyone happy.

 

Create Gunner

 

Controls

Although the game sports the third-person perspective, it still uses the traditional WSAD controls. No doubt stylish games with controls that are easy to grasp can capture the hearts of MMO gamers everywhere, and might I say that this game excels at that. If you think those action jumps are hard to pull off, think again. You’ll probably realize that those air dashes are one spacebar away.

 

Action At Its Finest

The thing you just got to love about GunZ Online is how the battles are presented. Here players are free to skim the walls while shooting guns (yet another Matrix-inspired movement) and do back flips on walls like those ninjas on TV— only this time with guns. What else? You can roll forward while shooting and extend your katana or knife upon landing for some stylish points. Perhaps the best part about GunZ online is the fact that you can actually deflect bullets with your sword (that’s right! Your sword). Even with the presence of updated shooters, I still believe that GunZ Online shines regardless of its age.

 

Action Finest

 

Game Modes Ecstasy

What would a shooter be without diverse game modes? Worry not, for GunZ Online serves up 8 different game modes to choose from. If you’re in the mood to duke it out with everyone, you can always play Deathmatch or Team Deathmatch mode. Tired of battling it out like mad? Go try Assassination, or better yet, do quests with fellow players. There are lots of modes to keep you occupied, great way to avoid linearity.

 

Weapons And Gear

Like most MMOs, items like armor and guns have a level requirement, which must be satisfied for your character to wear the desired set. Experience (like cash), is easily acquired by playing the different modes of the game. If you prefer one game mode, then by all means stick with it. You’ll be levelling up soon :).

 

Ecstacy

 

Quests

Unlike the other modes in the game, doing quests require a fresh room to be formed. You cannot join a quest game that is already in progress. GunZ quests, just like your average MMO quest takes players through excruciating missions while rewarding them after its completion. It’s a good way for players to earn enough in game currency for item mall gear, so keep doing your quests until you become a gun slinging millionaire.

 

BOOMS! BAMS! KACHING!

GunZ Online’s visuals, to be honest, are  getting kind of old. Though despite its outdated graphic engine, the game can still make the most of what its got, giving awesome looking arenas and other forms of eye candy to keep players entertained. The sound is all right since all the guns have a satisfying firing sound and the background music provides enough adrenaline to keep you focused. One thing that really annoyed me though was the beeping sound. For those of you who don’t know, the game sends a beep to confirm that your shot was successful or that it hit the defending player. It gets really annoying every time I use my machine guns as the game beeps every time I fire at a character. Why did they even bother putting firing sounds if they’re just going to ruin it with those pager beeps?

 

Boom Kaching

 

It Gets Better

Perhaps one of the best things a game could ever have is the support of the community. Since tons of people are still playing GunZ Online, the developers often add something new (sorta like events) to spice things up. I’m really happy to see this form of support from the game, and I hope they’re still successful in the years to come.

 

The Verdict

Being one of the grandfathers of MMOFPSes (or MMOTFSes), I’d say GunZ is still worth playing evennow. It’s stylish and still has enough agility to keep gamers on the edge of their seats. In my honest opinion, even though we’ve seen FPSes with better graphics and tactical gameplay, nothing beats the hyper-dimension fighting experience GunZ Online can muster. THUMBS UP!

 

Pros:
– AIR MOBILITY
– Tons of Guns and Weapons
– Character Customization
– Just plain fun
– Population.

Cons:
– That beeping sound must die
– Experienced players rely on bugs most of the time… K-style anyone?
– Graphics are entirely outdated
– Lag could be a problem.

Vendetta Online

Vendetta Online is a 3D space combat MMORPG for Windows, Mac and Linux. This MMO permits thousands of players to interact as the pilots of spaceships in a vast universe. Users may build their characters in any direction they desire, becoming rich captains of industry, military heroes, or outlaws. A fast-paced, realtime “twitch” style combat model gives intense action, coupled with the backdrop of RPG gameplay in a massive online galaxy.

Three major player factions form a delicate balance of power, with several NPC sub-factions creating situations of economic struggle, political intrigue and conflict. The completely persistent universe and detailed storyline add to the depth of immersion, resulting in a unique online experience. 

Try the game for free, no strings attached, no credit card required. Sign up for a trial account, download the client and play whenever you like, up to a total of eight hours in the game. If you decide Vendetta Online suits you, it’s easy to upgrade to a paying account (major credit cards, PayPal, and other methods accepted).

Rates start at $9.99/month, with bulk discounts down to $6.67/mo for larger blocks of time. Come join our community, help build a unique evolving experience with no end in sight.