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A look at Aeria Games and their social network
When I was asked to do a write up about Aeria games, I smiled. Not only do some of my favorite FTP games come from the developer, but I have always liked how they present their products. While social networks are anything but brand new and uncommon, Aeria does theirs in a way that makes you want to play their games and to dive into their world. I decided to take a broad look at the two major areas: First, I wanted to try out the social network area of their site. It's standard stuff, really, but works well and is fun to fill out. I also wanted to try out some of their mini-games that are hosted on the site itself. Next I wanted to look at one of their games, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online. There are a total of 16 titles to choose from, so I decided to go with one that I had enjoyed the most. It's been fun so far, and I'm glad I am going to be able to shine a little light on one of my favorite publishers!
Kingdom Heroes releases first developer blog
The Kingdom Heroes team has released their first developer blog. The Aeria Games title, slated to enter closed beta in late Spring of 2010, is shaping up to be an interesting entry in the increasingly crowded free-to-play market. Gameplay includes a number of different siege mechanics, including the ability to recruit and customize NPC soldiers to form a personal army, conquer enemy strongholds using troops, siege engines, mounts, and ships, as well as the ability to establish and defend player-controlled cities. Additionally, Kingdom Heroes will feature fully crewed player ships, something the initial blog goes to great lengths to explain. "There are a variety of ships with different crew sizes, gun types, and features for players to choose from. The smallest of these vessels can hold a crew of seven, while the largest offers stations for up to eleven players. Although you aren't required to have a complete crew on board to use a ship, if you aim to put up a good fight against other player vessels, you'll probably want an experienced navigator at the helm with a full complement of seasoned gunners, repairmen, and raiders," the blog states. You can check out the full text on Aeria's official Kingdom Heroes forums. Also be sure and browse the screen shots in the gallery below. %Gallery-88486%
Hello Kitty Online Food for Friends 2 event a success
With the recent devastation in Haiti, we've seen a host of different gaming initiatives to help out. The folks at Sanrio Digital in connection with Aeria Games ran their own event, called Food for Friends 2. The idea was that players could donate any type of in-game items to Aeria, and Aeria would donate to the Haiti relief efforts on behalf of the Hello Kitty Online community. Well, the results are in, and the Hello Kitty Online players on Aeria servers donated 534,358 items to the cause. While Aeria has not currently released their total donations as yet, the numbers are in from the Sanrio Digital side of things. Apparently the Sanrio Digital crowd managed to get 1,248,257 donated crafted items, and in turn Sanrio donated US $18,038.30 to Doctors Without Borders for the Haiti relief efforts. Now that's a friendship gift we can get behind.
Aeria Games licenses Grand Fantasia
Aeria Games has recently announced their acquisition of a new game license to publish for our territories -- Grand Fantasia. Grand Fantasia's twist on the traditional MMORPG model is a focus on a virtual pet model of pet management in addition to the standard combat fare of MMOs. All players are given access to "sprite" companions that serve a variety of functions in the game, from things like crafting to accessing areas.The game is done in a strong cartoon/anime style, with magical fantasy being the driving theme. The closed beta for the game hasn't been announced yet, but the teaser website is up and showing initial trailers and screenshots for the game. But, why travel so far away when you can just watch our embedded version of the trailer in this very post! Just hit the continue reading button, and watch Aeria's latest game in motion.
Hello Kitty Online heading into closed beta
Are you ready to grab your pink scepter and do battle with marshmallowy beasts in the Flower Kingdom? If you're one of the people who have been waiting for Hello Kitty Online to hit the western market, then you'll be glad of this news. We heard a few days ago that Aeria Games is finally taking Hello Kitty Online into closed beta, ending the months of wondering after their initial announcement and then nothing. For those of you who haven't had the chance to try out HKO in other localizations, this incredibly pink MMO offers mini-games, an open-ended world with guilds, player housing, player gardens and even typical MMO quests. Essentially, imagine if Sanrio were given free reign to decorate the world; there's kawaii vivid colors everywhere and very cheery adventures to be had. So, if you're a casual Sanrio fan who wants to have some cave-the-back-of-your-head-in sweet F2P MMO fun, head over to the (admittedly very basic) Hello Kitty Online Aeria site and get signed up for the closed beta!
Aeria Games gives away five million dollars in points to players
Do you play Last Chaos, Shaiya, Dream of Mirror Online, or any one of the other Aeria Online games? Check your e-mails and spam filters for a nice stocking stuffer of Aeria Points, as the company is sending over five million dollars worth to their player community.Any member of the Aeria Games community is eligible to recieve one of these e-mails, and Aeria will be sending them out from now all the way to Christmas, so keep checking as you might not know when one of these may fly into your inbox. The number of points that each person will get can vary, and so far a limit has not been mentioned on how much you may receive.Good luck for those of you who are members of the Aeria community! We hope you get showered with points! Plus, if you find yourself rich, your favorite news site might like a few points too.[via Allakhazam]
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine beta keys now available
If you've played Persona 3 or Digital Devil Saga, then you're already familiar with Atlus Games's Shin Megami Tensei line. While the laurels of that line lie in the many single player games, the Shin Megami Tensei series is going into the MMO realm with the new game, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine.Imagine is being carried in the US region by Aeria Games, the people behind Shaiya and Dream of Mirror Online, and they've just started their beta test via Filefront. Just simply click on the link and you'll be given a key and a download link to the client. The game will be free to play, and supported by a microtransaction system.Also, as a small side note, Aeria is currently having trouble with the ImagineUpdate.exe file. If you download the client, run the ImagineClient.exe file without running the launcher shortcut. Otherwise, if the launcher is run, you corrupt the installation and have to re-install.Otherwise, happy demon hunting![Thanks Tony!]Update: Aeria Games has gotten the launcher back to normal. Double click it and run it to update properly!
Dream of Mirror Online update changes tax rates
Dream of Mirror Online's version 7.5 update has gone live, and it's accompanied by a new issue of the micro-faux newspaper the Eversun Times. The news: economic hardship has stricken Eversun City, and its leaders are under intense scrutiny. As a result, a new 10% tax rate has gone into effect in the city.Darkdale and Collington saw tax rate changes as well -- to 4% and 1%, respectively. New quests have been added in both of those towns. And that's it. Okay, so it's not the biggest patch in history. We're not even sure that we like a patch that pretty much just changes the tax code, since we don't like taxes to begin with! But there you have it.
Aeria adds Diablo-like Cronous to its library
MMO portal Aeria Games has acquired a new game called Cronous, which was originally developed by Lizard Interactive. Cronous' gameplay is similar to that of Diablo, Mythos, or Dungeon Runners. That makes it somewhat unique in Aeria's library, which is otherwise made up mostly of games of a different character such as Dream of Mirror Online and Shaiya.The game's info page lists most of the usual action-RPG features, plus "nonlinear storytelling" with regards to quests, guild castle building and management, and siege warfare. We don't fully understand the nonlinear storytelling bit, although it's included in the press release as one of the major selling points of the game. It sounds cool up front though.Sign-ups are already underway for a closed beta test, so if you want to give the game a try, that's probably your best bet.[Via Ten Ton Hammer]
Aeria devolves with Stone Age 2
Aeria Games, providers of popular free-to-play MMOs Dream of Mirror Online, Last Chaos, Shaiya, and Twelve Sky, among others, continues its wild growth with a new game set in a fictional prehistoric time: Stone Age 2. A 2D, isometric view, similar to Dofus, is the milieu for this title, which will be released in North America at an unspecified date. There are a couple of intriguing game mechanics for this new MMO, including a deeper Pet system than exists in most games, allowing players the ability to train their pets (which is the heart of gameplay), and receive updates on pet status via email sent directly to their cellphones. There is even mention of being able to access video of in-game events by way of fixed cameras, while you're unable to drop into the game itself. Could this type of game-to-real world interaction be the precursor to a new wave of always-on content? Get screenshots of this new title at its website.[Via WorthPlaying]
