24/7 Player

Karos Online publisher NHN Corporation has announced that open beta for the fantasy MMO will kick off on Friday, December 4th. The official site’s link for CBT sign-ups is still active, so this may be worth a shot. Those gamers already in the Karos Online closed beta will have some things to look forward to in the final CBT event running from November 27th – 28th. Characters will be given gear and items for high-level play with rapid experience gain. NHN says players will reach a level cap of 44 “almost immediately”. There will also be new monsters, weapons, and Holy Creatures to tear into.

In addition, players in the CBT will be able to reserve their character names for when Karos Online’s open beta doors swing wide to the masses. The English version of Karos Online is scheduled to launch in Q4 2009, with German and Turkish versions to follow in 2010.

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, in-game, MMO industry, New titles, Free-to-play

Karos Online enters open beta Dec 4th originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Posted on November 19th, 2009 at 7:00pm by James Egan
Filed Under: betas, cbt, closed-beta, f2p, fantasy, free-to-play, karos-online, mmo-industry, new-titles, nhn, nhn-corporation, open-beta

The United Kingdom’s Department for Transport has launched a free browser MMO, Code of Everand, that teaches traffic safety to children. It does so through a fantasy theme with direct parallels to real world dangers — streets are Spirit Channels, glowing energy streams populated with many dangerous beasts. The Spirit Channels crisscross the map of Everand and make travel perilous. That’s where the players come in as Pathfinders, explorers trained in the techniques that allow for safe passage across the Spirit Channels. Pathfinders learn important safety lessons along the way in their journey to discover the secrets of Everand.

Code of Everand was developed for the UK Department for Transport by NYC-based firm Area/Code over the course of two years, reports Game Set Watch. Area/Code has a long track record of creating cross-media games for advertising and media firms, television networks, and even major consumer brands. According to Area/Code’s site, they’ve taken innovative approaches to games in the past — “online games that respond to broadcast TV in real time, simulated characters and virtual worlds that occupy real-world geography” and “game events driven by real-world data”. Interesting concepts. If you like the idea of games used as an effective educational tool, you can see the animated trailer for Code of Everand after the jump.

Continue reading Code of Everand browser MMO teaches kids about traffic safety

Filed under: Real life, MMO industry, New titles, Tips and tricks, Free-to-play, Browser, Kids

Code of Everand browser MMO teaches kids about traffic safety originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Posted on November 19th, 2009 at 5:00pm by James Egan
Filed Under: areacode, browser, children, code-of-everand, department-for-transport, educational, edutainment, f2p, free-to-play, gamesetwatch, kids, mmo-industry, new-titles, nyc, pathfinders, real-life, safety, spirit-channels, united-kingdom

Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Business models, Launches, New titles, News items, Free-to-play

You’ve taken part in the endless debates online about pirates versus ninjas. Admit it, you have. Well, add cowboys, knights, wizards, and nurses into the mix, and you’re nine-tenths of the way to Lost Saga, a new game launched by OGPlanet. Billed as a massively multiplayer online fighting game, it features a variety of different gameplay modes and “heroes” that combine for what looks like an entertaining and frantic experience. Character types run the gamut, from soldiers to assassins to (you guessed it) pirates and ninjas, each bringing a small collection of different abilities to the table.

It might sound a bit simplistic, but there are some interesting features such as the option to change heroes mid-battle — in essence a quick class change whenever needed. The game also features some interesting battle modes beyond the prosaic Deathmatch style, such as Boss Raid, which allows one player to take the reins of an intensely powerful boss while the other players struggle to take said player down. And let’s not forget that the game is also free-to-play, so you can satisfy your curiosity without commitment. Lost Saga won’t revolutionize the industry, but it looks to be quite a bit of fun, so you might want to check out the official site for more information and to sign up.

Lost Saga launches originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 8:00pm by Eliot Lefebvre
Filed Under: business-models, f2p, launches, lost-saga, new-titles, news-items, ogplanet

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, New titles, Consoles, Rumors, Final Fantasy XIV

Sometimes new information comes from the strangest sources. Apparently, when Square-Enix made their last update to the Final Fantasy XIV with two new jobs revealed, they added a little something unexpected. Not what would have been expected, either — it was the support site for the game. Since the game is yet to be released or even have a finalized date published, said site contains only a handful of questions, which largely contain no new information… but there are at least two interesting pieces to be gleaned from the site, one minor and one slightly larger.

The smaller piece of information is the list of supported platforms for the game: Windows PC and Playstation 3. That isn’t exactly new information, but it’s confirmed. The slightly larger tidbit is the confirmation that Japanese releases of Final Fantasy XIII will contain a code to obtain an exclusive in-game item for Final Fantasy XIV. The answer specifies that plans to include said code in the North American or European releases have yet to be decided… which could mean anything. Will the item be exclusive to Japanese players to compensate for the game having a global launch instead of one in Japan first a la Final Fantasy XI? Will the item be cosmetic or have some game impact? Will there be different items based on region? No answers are yet forthcoming, but it should be an interesting tidbit for fans looking forward hungrily to the game’s release some time in 2010.

Final Fantasy XIV support page located originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 6:00pm by Eliot Lefebvre
Filed Under: ff, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xiii, final-fantasy-xiv, new-titles, rumors, square, square-enix, support-site

Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, New titles, News items

While Windstorm Studios has been very tight lipped regarding what they’re currently working on, they certainly have been offering up a few glimpses into what looks to be a retro-future themed MMO they have in production.

The art of the game has recently been entrusted to 226 Productions, a Russian based art company that has done work on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, NBA ‘07, and TimeShift. 226 is no stranger to the IP that Windstorm has been brewing — some of the pre-production artwork was completed by them.

As to what exactly Windstorm will bring to the MMO table remains to be seen, but if these pictures are any indication, it looks to be something fresh, exciting, and filled with laser shooting scooters.

Windstorm Studios announces partnership with 226 Productions for an upcoming MMO originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 9:00am by Seraphina Brennan
Filed Under: 226-productions, artwork, mmo-industry, mmo-news, new-titles, partnership, retro-future, unannounced-mmo, windstorm-studios