yin
Latest
Leaderboard: Magic vs. melee
Magic and melee: the yin and yang of the fantasy world. It's hard to imagine one existing without the other, the spell-slinging wizard without the mace-wielding hedge knight, the Gandalf without the Conan. Do they exist in a strange symbiosis of mysticism and steel, or is one the clear superior of the other? On one side, magicians have all the power of the elements at their disposal, able to do supernatural feats of wonder with a snap of their fingertips. Of course, this comes at a cost: namely, a terry cloth bathrobe dress code and approximately six-and-a-half hit points. On the other side, melee fighters spend their lives honing their bodies to physical perfection, becoming the Olympic athletes of the fantasy world, if the Olympics had 50-meter Beheading as a category. Then again, fighters tend to have the intellect of a dull brick and try to solve every problem, including PTA meetings, by headbutting it. Who will be crowned the victor today: the wizard or the warrior? Cast your vote -- and the fate of humankind -- after the jump!
Sho Online journeys west
Korean MMO developer Lizard Interactive has announced that Sho Online, a fantasy MMO loosely based on historical events in ancient China, will begin open beta testing on April 30th. The open beta will kick off with three events -- 'Quest for the Mysterious Talisman', 'Who's the best?' and 'The King of the Forum' -- which will allow testers to win unique in-game items, available only through these events. Sho Online is actively played in South Korea and Japan, following its initial release in 2006. The 7-day closed beta testing of the English client last month introduced 1000 players to siege warfare between factions of the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, as well as Sho Online's rank promotion and item enhancement systems. Byung-Wook Kim, Project Manager for Sho Online, recently spoke with IGN about what makes the game distinctive from other fantasy titles on the market.
Chinese history meets fantasy in Sho Online
Just in case you have been waiting with bated breath to play Sho Online, an MMO based on an old Chinese mix of history and fantasy, your chance is almost here -- after inviting 1000 beta testers into the game last week, they have reached their final closed beta test event, and open beta seems to be just around the corner.As you can see from the video above, it doesn't look much different from your average Korean MMO, but the Chinese lore and history might add a little bit to the mix that we haven't seen before. There's supposed to be lots of faction warfare involved as well -- the two factions are called Yin and Zhou. Plus, it'll likely be free-to-play, with microtransactions included, which means as a download-and-play distraction, it might be worth a look. Interested?
