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Wonderland Online furniture review
Aspiring carpenters in IGG's Wonderland Online may wonder, rightly, if they are as clean and fresh as they possibly could be. Is the bathtub that they picked out when they first started their fight against nature's foes still relevant to their faster-paced lifestyle? Is the tent just getting a little small, needing perhaps a second floor or a larger garage? It is these sorts of questions that the Wonderland Online developers answer in their list of furniture improvements that will turn your old tent into one that will be the envy of your friends and the inevitable gathering place for your guild. Learn the benefits a bookcase will bring, or how to decide between an ancient bathtub or air conditioning.Wonderland Online is a free-to-play Asian import that combines standard RPG elements with interactive social spaces. In how many other games can you leave your rustic cabin in the middle of the forest primeval, climb into your robot and jet away into space? Darn few.
Zu Online community mourns earthquake victims
As most people have heard by now, a massive earthquake struck the Sichuan province of China four days ago, killing 12,000 people and leaving as many as 18,000 more missing. The colossal tragedy shocked not only the Chinese, but all the people of the world.Players of the Chinese MMO Zu Online were no exception. Without any prior planning, they collected together in the game's wuxia fantasy setting -- the mythic past of the the very region struck by this week's terrible disaster -- to mourn those lost in the earthquake, and to pray for their families.A Zu player put together a tribute video, cross-cutting between footage from the in-game memorial service and photographs from the media coverage of the disaster, and posted it on the game's official forums. It's a noble tribute to the deceased. Watch it if you feel compelled.[Via MMORPG]
Pirates need homes too
Pirates of the Burning Sea gets a lot of love from Massively, but that doesn't mean we haven't noticed some of the other games in the pirate MMO genre. One such title is Voyage Century Online, a free-to-play game published by IGG, already popular in China, South Korea, and Germany. The game is set in the 17th century, and players can choose characters from among European Monarch, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or Pirate classes. Voyage Century Online's game mechanics don't lock characters into a specific profession and, in time, a player can explore a number of different careers with a single character. Although Voyage Century Online already allows for exploration on the high seas and the seizing of ports, this freedom to choose your own career path runs counter to the ability to truly control your own destiny -- the most prosperous port cities have long since been under the control of the strongest guilds. To balance this, major changes in territorial control are coming to the game through the new city-building system. Voyage Century Online is set to expand the game's horizons by allowing all guilds to build their own port cities, provided that they meet the new requirements. [Via TenTonHammer]
First Impressions: Zu Online
Do you like anime? Do you crave Kung-fu? Do you salivate over anything with "Naruto" in the title? If so, Zu Online might be a game for you. Zu Online is the latest free-to-play game to come from the Internet Gaming Gate (IGG), a prolific MMOG developer. It seems this crew launches a new MMO every month. What does that mean for the masses of players out there? Well ... good and bad news. I decided to take a little tour of Zu Online by giving it a few hours of my time. What I found might surprise you.
IGG receives $4.5 mill in investment capital
Internet Gaming Gate (IGG to its friends), who you may recognize as the company behind such free to play MMOs as Myth War Online, Zu Online, and Tales of Pirates, has announced that they have received a new chunk of funding to the tune of $4.5 million USD from an investment capital firm to expand their operations. Having only launched in 2006, IGG has already put out an impressive number of titles and boasts a user base of over 3.5 million. If we had any doubts about the efficacy of the free MMO business model, this vote of confidence has to quell those doubts at least a little.The funding was provided by IDG Technology Venture Investments, a subsidiary of the International Data Group, a body whose primary goal is to link Silicon Valley to the burgeoning Chinese technology market through the use of venture capital.
Open beta for Zu Online starts tonight
If you're looking for a game with a Chinese-wuxia-esque twist, you'll be interested to know that Zu Online will enter its open beta testing phase this evening at 8:00 PM EST. Poke around the official website for the client download (which can even be acquired via BitTorrent, if that's your sort of thing!) and for instructions for the actual launch when it comes. All the old alpha accounts are getting wiped just prior to the beginning of the new phase, so the servers will be a level playing field for new players. If you're not familiar with the game: it's a Kung Fu MMO which features player flight and group-oriented story quests as major selling points. It also has a really neat, stylized cell-shaded look -- something that when you think about it seems like a really good match for the genre.Animated, story-driven Wire Fu -- how can you possibly go wrong with that?
Zu Online showcases the Holy City
With the alpha closed and lips zipped on IGG's Zu Online, the developers have released some info on one of the major focal points in the game, the Holy City. I think it's important that game makers give the public information like this, teasers if you will, about what they can expect in the game. Without these tantalizing morsels, how can we build anticipation for their product?The Holy City is comprised of two main sections that seem to be divided geographically. Because the city is so massive, there are several Ride Guardians stationed throughout the city that will let you travel from place to place with speed and style. Judging from how pretty the map is, I can imagine this city will be breathtaking.
Zu Online end of alpha
Development is chugging along for Onwind Digital's newest MMO offering, Zu Online. They recently closed their alpha testing to make way for bigger and better things. The players, it seems, are having a ball playing the game, and let the developers know that they particularly enjoy the game's unique storylines and responsive controls. Now that they have concluded their end of alpha event, "A Happy Ending to Alpha," we will eagerly await news about what is next to come from this beautiful MMO.
Zu Online alpha test goes live with 'big rewards'
Zu Online, a new, free fantasy MMO being developed by Onwind Digital and brought to the 'states by IGG, has entered its alpha test. Sporting a unique and surprisingly stylistic hand-drawn style, Zu is heavily-steeped in Chinese mythology, shirking the typical elves and orcs fare for a focus on Buddhist monastic tradition.Their website, which is curiously hard to navigate and chock full of good old fashioned engrish, claims that "hundreds of thousands" of people applied to be part of the alpha, and only five hundred made it in. Those lucky few will get an added treat from Onwind and crew this weekend, as all alpha testers will receive a princely 30 gold!And hey, for a free game, it sure is pretty. If they work on localization a little bit more, Zu Online could very well be a hit . We'll see.
Next stop Wonderland
So I admit it. When I first heard of an MMO called Wonderland Online, I rather expected to be running around an American McGee's Alice sort of world, full of Escher-like puzzles and creepy caterpillars. Boy was I off. Wonderland is a teeth-rottingly cute MMO, and the most recent game to be added to the IGG roster. You play as one adorable character from a pre-created selection (perhaps like a chibi Soul Caliber), and romp around fighting dancing pudding and mushrooms.If cute is your thing, you will definitely love this. No announcement has yet been made on a release date, but you can bet your fairy wings we'll be on top of it to let you know as soon as more information is available.
