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Lucent Heart, Divina closing on January 13
Free-to-play firm Gamania is closing down its Divina and Lucent Heart MMOs as of January 13th, 2013. The publisher posted a brief explanation on its beanfun! forums, citing an inability to renew its contracts with developer PlayCoo. "This decision happened very quickly and we wish we could give you more time, but unfortunately we could not," a Gamania representative said. The firm will not offer reimbursements for item shop purchases but is "looking into some sort of compensation for any player who still has beanpoints left on their account." [Thanks to Nuno for the tip.]
Soul Captor Online goes into open beta, adds two new classes
C'mon kids, those souls won't capture themselves! Soul Captor Online, the MMO that revolves around absorbing and reusing souls for noble purposes, boldly ventured into open beta as of today. To celebrate Soul Captor Online's open beta, the CM team is putting on a series of events. The first of these is an in-game anima hunt that will reward the winners with prizes. In addition to the four classes shown in the closed beta testing phase, Gamania has added two new classes for the open beta: the Celestial Master and Mystic Fighter. The Celestial Master is a strong support class that buffs teammates while debuffing the enemy, while the Mystic Fighter is a melee warrior who relies on evasion to keep the worst hits from landing. You can check out the introductory video for these classes after the jump. [Source: Gamania press release]
Rise and Shiny: Divina
Ah, another week; another Anime-inspired free-to-play game, right? Well, not so fast. I've become pretty dismissive lately in my minimalist-gamer haze, but games like Divina, the title I looked at over the past week, are some of the only titles that are quite reliable. Sure, there are hundreds of these games now and hundreds more coming soon. It's important to take each one individually, just as I would any title, and judge it on its own (mostly) unique parameters. In other words, sure it looks similar to other games I've seen before and plays like a lot of other games I've seen before, but it's a free game with a cash shop on top, a reliable formula especially in this day and age of complicated tiered programs and "semi" subscription games. Also, games like Divina can be plain fun -- and fun to look at. Of course, I'm simplifying, so allow me to tell you about my week and you can judge for yourself.
Core Blaze unleashes a barrage of screenshots, three new videos
Did our E3 preview of Gamania's upcoming title Core Blaze leave you hungry for more hack-and-slash goodness? If so, then boy do we have some treats for you. The folks behind the in-development MMO have released a slew of new screenshots and art as well as a trio of videos just waiting to be devoured. The screenshots run the gamut of everything from boss monsters to UI features and everything in-between, but the real eye-candy comes from the videos. There's plenty of gorgeous footage that showcases the game's action-flavored hack-and-slash combat alongside some breathtaking vistas. But really, there's nothing we can say about them that the videos won't say better themselves, so just head on past the cut and feast your eyes upon them. [Source: Gamania press release] %Gallery-157906%
E3 2012: Hands-on with Core Blaze
What can I say about Core Blaze? Gorgeous is the first word that comes to mind, and I'm not just talking about the cosplayers and the giant weapon sculpture that Gamania trotted out for its E3 demo event. The game is built on the Unreal Engine 3, and it puts Epic's toolset to fine visual use. Rain drops bead and run on your monitor. River water looks refreshing enough to drink. The game's day/night effects are slick too, and to hear Gamania's reps tell it, the cycle (along with inclement weather) determines the effectiveness -- or ineffectiveness -- of certain attacks.
Nexon invests $687M in NCsoft, becomes largest shareholder
MMO competitors and countrymen-in-arms Nexon and NCsoft are closer than ever today, as Nexon has acquired a minority interest in its fellow company. The move makes Nexon NCsoft's largest shareholder. Nexon announced that it had invested in NCsoft by snapping up 3,218,091 shares in a private transaction. The deal cost Nexon 804,522,750,000 South Korean Won, or $687 million US. This puts Nexon's share ownership of NCsoft at 14.7%. It will certainly be interesting to see how this investment affects the future of both Nexon and NCsoft. Nexon said that it "forms the basis of a long-term partnership" between the two companies. Nexon has been making aggressive moves of late, particularly with acquiring Taiwanese publisher Gamania last month.
FTC to investigate Nexon's alleged hostile takeover of Gamania
Nexon's recent acquisition of Taiwanese publisher Gamania will be scrutinized by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), according to a report in the Taipei Times. A hostile takeover is alleged, and FTC chairman Wu Shiow-ming said the commission will "ask Nexon to comment on its definition of Gamania's market share, the particular field it defines Gamania as being in, and its current relations with Gamania." This will help determine whether Nexon has violated the Fair Trade Act, which mandates that any merger involving a company with more than 25% market share in a particular field must be reported to authorities. Gamania contacted the FTC, ostensibly out of concern for Nexon's impact on the Taiwanese gaming industry. "It would be absolutely detrimental to the development of Taiwan's online gaming industry if a large-scale foreign corporation was allowed to take control of the local industry's operating channels and resources, whether the integration is horizontal or vertical," the company said.
Soul Captor Online announced
There's a new cel-shaded sheriff coming to town, and the only question is whether the place will be big enough for a contender this cute and cuddly. Gamania is trumpeting the upcoming arrival of Soul Captor Online, a free-to-play title that revolves around the acquisition and manipulation of monster souls. In Soul Captor Online, players will be accompianied by an Anima, a customized spirit creature that will help them in their journeys. When the player and Anima defeat a monster, the monster's soul can be sucked out to be used for buffs, enchantments, and even mounts. The revealed classes so far in Soul Captor are a diverse bunch: Warrior, Priest, Shaman, and of course, the Onmyoji (mage). There is a pair of unannounced classes hiding in the shadows as well. Currently, Soul Captor is accepting sign-ups for beta. Check out the tongue-in-cheek trailer after the jump and let us know what you think!
New hack-and-slash MMO Core Blaze discusses boss fights, platforming details
What is Core Blaze? Well, to be honest with you, we weren't entirely sure either. But from the looks of things, it's an upcoming Unreal-Engine-3-powered action MMO from Gamania and RedGate Studios. "Big deal," you might say. "There's a ton of action MMOs out there already," you might also say. So what separates Core Blaze from the chaff? RedGate Studios' chief operating officer Jacky Chu sat down with PC Gamer to try to answer that very question, and then some. Chu claims that the key factor that will separate Core Blaze from other hack-and-slash MMO titles is its cerebral nature. He emphasizes that the game is "much more than a mindless adrenaline rush." Boss monsters are designed like "a puzzle that can be solved in multiple ways," requiring players to work together to develop and execute a strategy rather than running in sword-swinging and spell-slinging until one side isn't standing. Chu puts emphasis on the fact that players should have ultimate freedom rather than being restricted into one optimal build, one optimal equipment set, one way to kill a boss, or one way to traverse a level. Players looking for an action-based MMO with a great degree of personal choice should likely keep their eyes set on Core Blaze, though no North American release date has been announced. For the full interview, head on over to PC Gamer.
Exclusive: Lucent Heart's Scaena zones and bosses
If you were looking for something a little more "traditional fantasy" after Lucent Heart's music-and-dance routine video last week, then today's dev diary will suit your tastes. In it, the folks at Gamania have delivered to us an exclusive preview of the upcoming Scaena update's zones and bosses. The world of Acadia is being enhanced with the Witch's Cliff on the continent of Cropolis; the level 65-69 Heart of Fire in the lands of Fostyre; the crafting hub Minotsize, City of Industry; and the continents of Edea and Aislan. The dev diary also highlights two of the opponents that players can expect to encounter: the formidable God's Advocate in Mount Destiny and the scorpion-riding Medea in the Witch's Cliff. Hit the break for the full scoop, and check out screenshots of some of the bosses and zones in the gallery below.%Gallery-130977%
Exclusive: Lucent Heart shows off the Scaena expansion's dance moves
Anyone can win in a fight where your mettle is tested by firearms and swords, but Lucent Heart is pushing players to battle in the arena where true victories are forged: the dance floor. That's the central feature shown off in the new trailer for the upcoming Scaena expansion, in which characters will be able to create custom dances set to custom music and then fight for dominance on the dance floor in exchange for powerful new rewards. Yes, this a real thing. There's more to the expansion than just the opportunity to set your dance troupe on fire with a Nyan Cat-based dance routine. There are new guild-vs.-guild battles, new areas for players to explore, and new enemies for players to fight. But you don't have to take our word for it; the trailer is just past the break to show off all of the coming update's moves. (And the Nyan Cat dance is also a real thing, for the record.)
Gamania announces musical MMO Tiara Concerto
Have you ever thought to yourself that bards are such a supremely cool idea for a character class that they ought to have a whole game devoted to them? Apparently you're not the only one, as Gamania today announced its upcoming game, Tiara Concerto, a game focused around musical gameplay in floating castles in the sky. And with all joking aside, it seems like a pretty interesting concept at face value, although it's a bit difficult to divine how well it will play out over time. According to the game's backstory, the game takes place 800 years in the past, with humanity on the brink of eradication due to the ambiguous sinning of mankind. The Seven Wise Men helped preserve civilization in floating palaces, developing the art known as "tuning" to allow musical melodies to be used as weapons. While the localization appears to be a bit scattered, the trailer just past the cut certainly promises some interesting visuals if nothing else. You can also look at the official Facebook page, which features a series of comics translated to English to help introduce the game's concepts and play style.
Gamania announces fairy tale-inspired Dream Drops
Today's funky name award goes to Dream Drops, a newly announced free-to-play fantasy MMO from Gamania Digital Entertainment. Gamania's press release makes good use of the words surreal, warped, and unusual, so we're guessing that the company is looking to highlight Dream Drops' unique take on genre conventions and traditional fairy tales. "Classic fairy tales are altered and well-known characters are transformed," the company says, and "the perverse personalities of familiar fairy tale characters [...] will amaze and delight players as they help the game's heroine on her mission." Who is that heroine? Her name is Sophie, and you can get a glimpse of her, as well as some Dream Drops atmosphere and gameplay footage, in the video after the cut.
Bright Shadow Online announced
MMO collectible card games aren't quite as prevalent as their traditional RPG brethren, but titles like CardMon Hero, Urban Rivals, and even BattleForge have been making their online presence felt in recent years. Today Gamania Digital Entertainment Europe is adding another title to that mix with the announcement of its Bright Shadow Online MMOCCG. Bright Shadow's beta begins this Friday, July 8th on Gamania's beanfun! platform. Interested players can grab a beta key by playing the Bright Shadow Memory Game at the title's website. The minigame involves matching six pairs of monster cards, at which point you'll unlock your key. Careful, though, you've only got four lives to spend. Bright Shadow Online features 20 classes, 60 randomly generated dungeons, over 600 collectible monster cards, and extensive character customization according to Gamania's official website.
Free for All: Going on a hot date with Lucent Heart
Lucent Heart has really gotten under my skin. While my recent schedule has not allowed me as much time in the game as I would liked, I have been poking around the official site and Facebook page and sneaking in a few quests here and there. I really enjoyed chatting with the devs from Gamania during E3, and they asked whether I'd a personal tour of the game afterwards. We were finally able to hang out for a while, and I captured a lot of it on video for your viewing pleasure. We decided to look at the Cupid system and a bit of a dungeon, but we could have gone on for a lot longer. The fact is that the game, like many of its foreign counterparts, simply packs more gameplay and new systems into every square inch of its design than many Western MMOs. With the Japanese version of Lucent Heart two years ahead of the U.S. version, more content is guaranteed. Click past the cut to check out my hot date with Mark, Product Manager of Lucent Heart, and to hear a bit more about the game!
Lucent Heart open beta starts next week
Current MMO mainstay got you down? Lucent Heart's North American open beta is almost here, the better to facilitate your massively multiplayer infidelity by adding yet another title to the stack of need-to-play icons on your desktop. June 21st is the big day, and Gamania is hosting a "no wipe" beta. That doesn't mean you won't be dying during the beta but rather that you'll get to keep your characters and progression when the service goes live. Lucent Heart's open beta will also feature Q&A sessions with the game staff and GMs, community competitions including Grand Prix races and battle of the sexes events, and numerous opportunities to fight off invading monster hordes. You can see the full event schedule at the official website, and don't forget to sign up for the open beta while you're at it. For more on Lucent Heart, see our first impressions as well as our coverage from this year's E3.
E3 2011: Lucent Heart's charming social experimentation
Recently, we took a look at Lucent Heart and found a game that was interesting but slightly confusing. Sure, the game offered some standard questing and interesting systems, but overall our experience barely scraped the surface. Described as a "social MMO," Lucent Heart features some very different systems that are normally only found in other community-heavy games like Nexon's Mabinogi. If someone plays it expecting only kill-10-rats-style gameplay, he will easily miss half of the appeal of the title. At this year's E3, we sat down with Gamania, publisher and developer of Lucent Heart, to clear up the details behind some of these... different systems. The publisher has 1,500 employees world-wide and is headquartered in Taiwan, with branch offices in Hong Kong, China, and Korea. The Japanese U.S. office started in 2009 and previously published a game called Hero 108, which is currently on hold pending a revamp. Click past the cut and see what we talked about!
First Impressions: Lucent Heart
Once again I have been tasked with taking a look at an upcoming or newly released MMO, this time one called Lucent Heart. The game has been brought to us by Gamania, the same company responsible for the adorable Hero 108. Each time I am asked to play one of these games and to report to you lovely readers what I found, I am a little frightened that the game will simply suck. Yes, I know, "suck" is not a very good descriptive term, and it does not quite detail exactly what I disliked about something, but if a game is just not meant for me, it can be hard to describe why. No, I did not just spoil my entire article for you by telling you how I felt about the game in one word (you should always read to the end anyway). I've described to you how scared I am of finding a game that does, indeed, suck. Lucent Heart does not suck. In fact, I was relieved to find a game that, like Iris Online, seems to offer the same overall wonderful experience that so many of these Anime-style, not-from-our-shores games seem to avoid. Of course, Lucent Heart has plenty of issues, so let me tell you about those as well. Click past the cut, will ya?
Exclusive: Hero: 108 Online releases third developer diary
The previous Hero: 108 Online developer diary gave us a peek at some tension within the ranks. The newest one gives us another picture of strife in the Hidden Lands, but it's going in a completely different direction: the Gamania offices. We heard a brief mention of someone named HighRoller in the second dev diary, and this one gives us a closer look. HighRoller is an exiled court jester who has gained a dangerous power and is using it to wreak havoc in the Hidden Lands. Not content to cause trouble there, he's taken his show on the road to Gamania. Check out the Hero: 108 Online developer diary #3 after the cut to see what he's up to!
Hero:108 Online bringing new commercial to Nickelodeon
Hero:108 is a popular kids show on Cartoon Network, and the MMO that has spun off of the series will be making its presence known on Nickelodeon pretty soon. The new Hero:108 Online commercial will take viewers on a quick, raucous trip through the free-to-play game, through the eyes of a fairly enthusiastic young player. The commercial will air on Nickelodeon beginning Friday, but Massively has an exclusive sneak peek for you now. Follow along after the jump for the newest peek at Hero:108 Online. If it piques your interest (or that of your kids), check out the game's site to learn more and sign up.
