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THQ*ICE closes doors, suspends operation of Dragonica Online
Players of Dragonica Online have been left high and dry since August 31st, when publisher THQ*ICE closed its doors. This state of affairs might change soon, as the game is being transferred to another publisher. WarpPortal is taking over the game, and in an effort to make it an easy transition for players, all account information is being transferred to the new publisher. Dragonica, the EU version of the game, is unaffected. If you missed out on this transfer, the new publisher has a Q&A on the forums, and a date for relaunch should come soon. We'll keep an eye out for Dragonica Online's reintroduction!
Time running out on Dragonica Online promotion
Last month, we announced that Dragonica Online was so confident that they had a quality free-to-play product that they decided to put the myth to the test. It takes a certain amount of guts to say that not only is your game the best, but that you'll give customers cash towards their game of choice if they don't think so. Fortunately for players of free-to-play side-scrolling MMOs, publisher THQ*ICE did just that. Since February 23rd, the promotion has resulted in thousands of eager new players taking up the challenge. Over 95% of the players involved in the challenge have named Dragonica Online the winner in the showdown, giving THQ*ICE more than a little bragging rights. Still, all good things must come to an end, and the chance to earn a share of the $50,000 prize runs out on March 31st. All you need to do to get in on the action is to head over to the official Dragonica site, register a new account, and tear up some mobs with some friends. Once you've hit level 19 and banked a few friend points, if you think that whatever side-scrolling MMO you played before Dragonica was more fun, THQ*ICE will hook you up with a $5 Ultimate Game Card that you can use for numerous free-to-play titles. If you liked what you saw during your time playing Dragonica, they will give you $5 towards Dragonica's online store plus a free in-game gift pack. If you've never had the chance to experience Dragonica Online but were always interested, now is the time to check it out. With only 6 days left, time is running out fast to get in on the deal. %Gallery-63222%
Dragonica Online puts their money where their MMO is in a Side-Scroller Showdown
You've got to hand it to the folks at THQ*ICE -- it's pretty obvious they believe they have an excellent free-to-play side-scrolling MMO on their hands with Dragonica Online. Why? Because they're offering up $50,000 in prizes in their newest promotion, the "Side-Scroller Showdown" to see if players pick their MMO as the best side-scrolling free-to-play game! Essentially, the idea is this: THQ*ICE want you to check out Dragonica Online. Log in, run around, have some fun, battle some monsters; then decide which side-scroller shall reign supreme. For participating, each player will receive $5 in-game credit in their favorite f2p side-scrolling MMO -- even if it's the competition! Of course, if you do pick Dragonica Online as your favorite side-scroller, not only will you get $5 worth of in-game credit, you'll also get a special "Side-Scroller Showdown" gift pack.
Dragonica Online kicks off 2,500 dollar gift card contest
We know what you're thinking. You're thinking that Dragonica Online is offering you a 2,500 dollar gift card to their own game. Well, that's what we thought too, but we were wrong. 100% wrong! The Dragonica Online Water Series Game Card Sweepstakes (hereafter referred to as "the contest" because that's one huge name) is offering new players and old players a chance at a very sweet 2,500 dollar gift card to Best Buy, allowing you to stock up on all of your electronic needs! All you need to do to enter is simple -- simply sign up for a THQ*ICE passport, download Dragonica Online, and then log into the game before January 31st. Really, it's that simple. If you're already a Dragonica Online user, simply logging in will enter you into the contest. Five first place winners will be grabbing a $25 limited edition Dragonica Online Water Series Game Card while 10 second place winners will find themselves the proud owner of a $10 limited edition Dragonica Online Water Series Game Card. We don't know what's so "limited edition" about them, but who wants to turn down game credit for logging in? Remember, the contest only runs until January 31st, so make sure to log in to participate! Also, THQ*ICE runs the North American version of Dragonica, so sorry in advance to our friends overseas -- this one's not for you guys.
Play Dragonica Online "with a little help from your friends"
THQ*ICE is launching a new event to help spread the word about Dragonica Online. Current players can invite their friends to join Dragonica Online and receive rewards for it during the "With a Little Help From Your Friends" event. Here's how it works: log in to your THQ*ICE passport to find an invitation URL unique to your account. Use that URL to invite friends. You can win three Essence of Friendship items and a Magic Academy Uniform Package when one of three goals is achieved: five friends join and reach level five, three friends join and reach level ten, or one friend joins and reaches level twenty. New players aren't left out in the cold either. Invited friends will receive five Essence of Friendship items and eight Party Warp Cards once they join and reach level eight. If you're a Dragonica Online fan, it's a great time to invite your friends along for the ride! The event is going on now and will continue until January 11th.
Dragonica Online raises the Veil of Darkness
Not content to sit on their laurels with the recent launch of their fun free-to-play game, Dragonica Online, THQ*ICE has now added and expanded their world with their recent free expansion, the Veil of Darkness. This veil has now cut off the lands of Drakos from the population of loyal Dragonicans, and forebodes a new evil. Dragonica Online's newest update has been hotly anticipated by players for some time but was held back to ensure that the content was fixed up as best they could before they released it into the world -- always a plan we can get behind!Among the myriad details of all the goodness jam packed into patch 1.1.4, the Veil of Darkness, players' max level is now 65, better equipping them to take on the 40+ new quests -- including new epic monster quests and dungeons. The pet system has now been incorporated, allowing players to complete quests to pick up friendly pets at level 20, 30, and 40. There are some really excellent additions to the shop too with new vanity items, items to expand bag space for the MMO pack-rats, and a recall card that allows players to save their location on the field map -- definitely a welcome option. Along with all of this the game has had a complete overhaul in terms of rebalancing to bring more fun to the table for players. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, be sure to pop over to the Dragonica Online site and read the full patch notes for all the specifics.
Dragonica Online goes live in style
Dragonica Online, the free-to-play MMO from THQ*ICE is finished with open beta and ready to party. They celebrate their grand opening today with contests, extra loot and XP, special items for sale, and...an expansion? Yep, that's right. The Tales of the Damned expansion releases at the same time, so it's safe to say that a lack of new content is not going to be a problem.The Dragonica Online team clearly had a great time planning the grand opening, and their sense of fun is communicated throughout the game. The open market has temporarily become the Dragonica Online Black Market, offering up extra special items for a limited time. Logging in daily gets you a chance at a Dragonica Online game card, and they are getting their forums in on the act, opening a contest that requires posting screenshots. Throughout the fun are hints of an upcoming Halloween event as well. Best of all, Dragonica Online promises no character resets, so those of you who have already checked it out can head straight for the new level 50+ content.If you haven't checked it out, it looks like THQ*ICE has put in more than enough time and effort on this to make it worth a look.
THQ*ICE's Dragonica Online to enter open beta on August 18th
THQ*ICE's version of Dragonica Online is all set to transition into its open beta phase of testing next week, on the 18th of August. There's always been a bit of confusion regarding the different versions of this game and their various states of readiness, so we'll be very careful about explaining which one this is: THQ*ICE is responsible for the North American iteration of Dragonica Online. The three English versions have each been attempting to lock down users that try to connect to the wrong service by way of IP blocks. An easy way to see which one you should be registering for is to check the game's Wikipedia entry, which lists all of its publishers worldwide. Also, the NA version is the only one with "Online" in the name.Phew! With that red tape out of the way we can return to your scheduled programming. Those interested in joining the open beta should head to the Open Beta Countdown page and sign up. The test officially kicks off at 2PM Pacific on Tuesday -- if you're too filled with Dragonica excitement to wait that long, then consider entering the "Craft a Dragonica Online T-Shirt" contest. The winning shirt will be made official, and the contest page promises a surprise for the creator: "The winning entrant will be immortalized in Dragonica Online history. Although we can't mention more on this at the moment, it's safe to say you won't soon forget winning!"
E3 2009: Dragonica Online impressions
Continuing the somewhat recurring theme at E3 2009 of "what was old is new again," Dragonica Online has taken the traditional 2D side-scroller format and transitioned it to 3D. The resulting environment will be friendly to any of the Night Elves you see endlessly bouncing around World of Warcraft and fans of nostalgic action RPGs like Secret of Mana.The game sports fast and furious real-time combat, crafting, guilds, dungeon raids, PvP, and a light-hearted atmosphere. It didn't take us long to realize that Dragonica doesn't take itself too seriously. For example, in the demo, we saw an archer battling shark pirates who were wielding swordfish. We're obviously not in Middle Earth here.
Dragonica Online screens show off boss battles
We haven't heard a great deal about Dragonica Online before now, but it seems as though it's been cruising through its testing phases quite successfully under our noses. The game is an English adaptation of a fairly new Chinese MMO called Dream Dragon, and features 3D side-scrolling combat in a free-to-play format. Embedded above is an old video we found on Youtube that will give you an idea of how it works -- comparisons to MapleStory are inevitable. The game's publishers THQ*ICE have sent along some screenshots of a few of the bosses you'll find in-game, and we've put them in a new gallery for you to check out. The main thing to point out here is that a boss wolf, for example, doesn't just look like a slightly-different-colored regular wolf, which is always nice to see. If it's starting to look like your kind of game, make sure to visit THQ*ICE's official Dragonica Online site and register an account, as there's a preview beta test coming very soon.%Gallery-63222%
