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Echo of Soul unveils new NA website
Echo of Soul is quickly becoming known around these parts as a title that is talking big talk prior to its North American debut, and now the Korean fantasy game has a new website to match these boasts. The US version of the website has now gone live, with information, art, community hub, and the vitally important beta sign-up button. It also has a short section on the game's mobile app that will feature access to chat and trading. Echo of Soul's North American beta test is planned for sometime this spring. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
Echo of Soul hopes to make a strong Western impression
What does it take to make a new MMO that can gain traction in this day and age? In a new video dev diary, the Echo of Soul team says that it's spent over four years and 110 developers to pursue a goal of "uniting MMORPGs and mobile games" while making it appealing for both an Eastern and a Western audience. The video goes on to talk up Echo of Soul's Asian launch; it claims the game is "constantly ranked among the top 10 Korean games" since then. Aeria Games Chief Manager Nara Kang concurred that the reception has been strong: "Players feel that EoS is the best MMORPG in a very long time." You can watch the full dev diary after the break!
Echo of Soul has 'everything an MMO player could want'
"At launch, Echo of Soul will include everything an MMO player could want," says Global Development Project Manager Junhyung Jung. "With 68 areas and over 1,600 quests, EOS offers far more initial content than other games." Them's fightin' words, Mr. Jung. But also playin' words, too. The above quote comes from a new Echo of Soul video dev diary, in which Jung makes a case for why this title should have broad appeal. He runs down the features list, including PvE content, PvP battles, and solo and team challenges. The level cap is also mentioned as where the game "truly begins." You can watch the full dev diary after the break.
Echo of Soul story trailer tells of the war between gods and giants
With Echo of Soul heading from Korea to North America and Europe next year, it may be time for those interested in the fantasy MMO to discover a little about its world and lore. For those fans, we present Echo of Soul's story trailer, which gives an overview of the conflict and struggles that players will be facing in this game. Players will take part of an ongoing battle between gods and the giants by attempting to prevent the giants from assembling six fragments of a "shadow soul" (Arrogance, Sloth, Jealousy, Rage, Despair, and Discord) that could spell the end for, y'know, everything. You can watch the full minute-and-a-half video after the break.
Korean MMO Echo of Soul immigrates to North America and Europe next year
Love Korean MMOs? Well, there's about to be a new one for western audiences in 2015: Echo of Soul. Aeria Games announced today that plans are in the works to take this free-to-play fantasy MMO and bring it to North America and Europe early next year. The hook for Echo of Soul is a "unique soul-collecting system" that results in a rich layer of skill customization for players. The MMO has a solid heritage behind it, as it was created by "key members" of Lineage II's dev team. Beta sign-ups are now live on the official site, and you can watch Echo of Soul's teaser trailer after the jump. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
Nether adds crafting, creature mode, and tribes
The mean streets of Nether are easing up a bit on players, as Phosphor Games has patched in a slew of helpful systems for its February update. The trio of new features includes crafting, a creature mode, and tribes. Crafting encourages players to scavenge from their adventures and fashion gear and weapons to use and trade. If being a bad guy is your thing, then the new creature mode allows users to step into the twisted role of a nether to stalk victims. And tribes, Nether's version of guilds, are now in the game with bases, a skill tree, and special objectives to be patched in later in the month. Players who join a tribe from now through February 15th will earn special bonuses including currency and a free uniform. We've got a video showing some of the February update features after the jump, so get a move on, little doggy! [Source: Phosphor Games press release]
BlizzCon 2013: Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone betas
At BlizzCon, Blizzard gave an update on two of its titles in beta: Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone. Heroes of the Storm will begin sign-ups for the MOBA's beta program today (opt-in is live right now on Battle.net accounts), while Hearthstone will go into open beta next month. Rob Pardo amended the timeline for the latter, saying, "In Blizzard-speak, that might be January." Mobile versions of Hearthstone for iOS and Android platforms will come out in the second half of 2014. You can follow these announcements and more on Massively's BlizzCon liveblog.
Black Desert bracing for Korean closed beta test
It's been a long time coming, but Korean sandbox title Black Desert is finally getting ready to move forward with beta testing. Testing was delayed almost three months ago as Pearl Abyss wanted to add a bit more shine to the game, but it appears that the game is acceptably shined and ready to open the gates. Soon, anyway; the official site is displaying a 19-day countdown until applicants are accepted, not necessarily until the test itself starts. Unfortunately, American fans with a working knowledge of Korean will still have to sit this one out, as the first test will be IP-locked and will not allow non-Korean players to participate. But it at least means the game is closer to seeing its domestic release and that much closer to a possible localization. So it's good news, even if you're going to have to sit this first round of testing out. [Thanks to WNxArcticwolf for the tip!]
Nether gives unique twist to post-apocalyptic survival
Stop us if you've heard this game before: It's some time after the apocalypse, and you're one of the final survivors scrounging about for parts and gear to carve out a niche of safety. While that might sound like every zombie survival game that's come out in the wake of DayZ, Nether is eschewing zombies for something more insidious -- and interesting. The titular creatures are mutants that hunt by sound and teleport around, requiring players to adopt new strategies as they try to make it. The newly announced Nether is a persistent MMOish (well, 64 players per server) game where players explore West Chicago in the hopes of finding that one weapon or crate of goods that's needed to survive another night. Or you could just go to Chicago right now in real life and do the same thing. Phosphor Games Creative Director Chip Sineni says his title won't be the same-old zombiethon: "Our focus is to veer away from some of the 'traditional' survival-horror offerings in order to provide something new for the genre, with a great urban setting, a different type of story and an experience that excites us as fans and will be something definitely fresh and new for gamers." Nether is in alpha testing with an eye on a fall 2013 release for the PC and is currently accepting beta signups. You can check out its reveal trailer after the jump!
Marvel Heroes opens up closed beta signups
If you're a fan of superheroes, you are no doubt are well aware of the grave darkness approaching the genre. But there are also bright lights on the horizon, and one of them just got a fair bit brighter. Marvel Heroes has posted its first community blog entry announcing the opening of closed beta signups, giving potential players a chance to jump into the game and test it out before the rest of the world gets ahold of it. Note the word "testing" in there; it's emphasized in the blog entry as well as this is a beta meant to provide important test feedback rather than just give everyone an early look at the game. If you're still interested, the blog entry has a very straightforward signup procedure that will give you a chance to be selected for testing, with the promise of other ways to obtain beta access in the near future.
Dragon Knights launches website, introduces the Sorceress
Aeria Games' latest contender in the MMO ring now has a few more details to flesh it out. Dragon Knights (also known as DK Online) launched its official website and released a spotlight on the game's first class, the Sorceress. The website is packed full of information about this quirky title, including guides, details on the game's unique morphing system, and descriptions of how Dragon Knight's castle siege system will play out. Players can sign up for the upcoming closed beta on the site as well. The Sorceress is strong in the ways of elemental magic and wields both fire and ice spells to great effect against foes. You can get a glimpse of this class in a new video after the jump! [Source: Aeria Games press release]
Aeria Games announces Dragon Knights
Dragons. Knights. Why hasn't anyone ever thought of putting these two together before? Well, leave it to Aeria Games to create a bold blend of action fantasy and PvP conflict. The publisher has done just this with the announcement of the latest member of its roster, the upcoming Dragon Knights. Dragon Knights is a free-to-play, PvP-centric title that challenges players to save the world by filling out the roster of the titular order. Castle sieges will be one of the centerpieces of the game, with guilds fighting guilds to take and retain these fortresses for their bonuses. Aeria Games says that Dragon Knights will also feature an elaborate political system and the option to transform into combat-ready enemy creatures. The title is currently accepting beta signups, and you can watch the trailer after the jump! [Source: Aeria Games press release]
The Secret World reaches one million beta signups
It's hard to fathom how you can have "secret" societies when over a million new people know about them, but somehow we don't think Funcom's sweating the security breach. In fact, the studio seems quite proud of the fact that a million players have signed up to test The Secret World. The Facebook tie-in is also getting record views, with almost two million visits over the past few weeks. Senior Vice President Morten Larssen sees this as a shining omen for a dark world: "Shattering our previous beta records gives us great hope for The Secret World's launch and its future. Combining this positive number with the excellent feedback we have received from both beta testers and the press that have played the game, make us very optimistic for a successful launch of The Secret World." Anyone who's pre-ordered The Secret World can get in on tomorrow's beta weekend, the first of several that Funcom's planning in the lead up to release. This beta weekend will be focused on the Templar starting experience and the area of Solomon Island.
Line of Defense unveils new website, beta signups
Are you curious as to what Derek Smart has been working on lately? Line of Defense is in the midst of a considerable PR push, and the latest salvo comes in the form of a new official website. Beta signups are also live, so if you want to get in on all the sci-fi MMOFPS action, head over and register. You can also check out the 3000AD YouTube channel to get a look at the game's official trailer, and keep your eyes peeled later in the week as Massively talks to the dev team at the Game Developer's Conference. Line of Defense is a large-scale MMO shooter that features ground, air, and space combat as well as two factions. [Source: 3000AD press release]
SOE accepting PlanetSide 2 beta signups
PlanetSide 2 fans, Merry (early) Christmas. Sony Online Entertainment has thrown open beta signups for the upcoming sci-fi MMOFPS as of today. The game has also received a website makeover, and there's quite a bit of interesting info to peruse instead of the old placeholder graphics. You can sign up with an existing SOE Station account, or create a new one in fairly short order. Curiously, there's no beta questionaire and no system requirements displayed during the signup process, and there's also no indication of when the testing will begin. We'll keep our eyes peeled for further info, and we hope to see you in the beta, soldier! [Thanks to Valru for the tip!]
The Secret World lures half a million potential beta testers into the underworld
Funcom's The Secret World may be about underworld societies waging a "behind the curtains" war against forces of darkness, but the beta signup is anything but secret. Over 500,000 potential testers have signed up on the MMO's website since Funcom opened beta registrations a month ago. Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas says this is bigger than anything the studio has seen to date: "We are thrilled to see the amount of interest The Secret World is generating among gamers and the press, and exceeding half a million beta registrations six months before release is definitely something we are proud of. The gamer interest in The Secret World and the community size for the game is even greater than we experienced with Age of Conan at the same stage of development. We expect the community size to keep on expanding at an ever faster pace in the coming months as we approach open beta and launch." The Secret World is scheduled to launch April 2012 and will be subscription-based with optional microtransactions on top of that.
Masthead prepping new Earthrise beta client, additional beta keys
Launch day for Earthrise is closing fast, and Masthead Studios is gearing up for the throng of sci-fi sandbox fans looking to make a new home on the game's single worldwide server. Masthead is also pushing a new version of the beta client to the game's test servers and will be distributing more beta invites in the very near future. The new client features combat and tactical tweaks, changes to crafting skills and item insurance, and revamped graphics and animations. "The development team has been working around the clock to continually add new gameplay functions and we are thrilled for our community of testers to become further immersed and share their thoughts with us," says Masthead CEO Atanas Atanasov. As for getting your hands on that elusive beta key, you'll want to head to the official site and sign up for your chance to win.
Faxion Online taking closed beta registrations
The war between heaven and hell is coming, and UTV True Games is looking to you to shape it. The F2P developer's new Faxion Online MMORPG is gearing up to break the seals on its closed beta test, and registering on the game's official website automatically puts you in the selection pool of potential testers. The beta is currently scheduled for early 2011 and will allow participants to test the game's factions, territory control, and combat, not to mention the eternal struggle for control of the seven deadly sins. "We already know the game is funny, exciting and addictive, however, at this stage of the game's development, we need to elicit the help of some rigorous beta testers to offer their opinions and feedback to help us fine tune the game and make it as great as it can be," said UTV executive Frank Lucero in a press release dated earlier this morning. While Faxion's home page features both account registration and newsletter sign-up options, no mention of official beta sign-ups is made. A UTV staffer did address the issue on the game's official forums though, saying that "anyone who has registered on our website is considered a potential candidate for closed beta." [Thanks to Massively's Jeremy Stratton for the forum link!]
Earthrise shows off shiny new web digs
Speaking of website makeovers... The folks at Masthead Studios didn't want us to have all the fun! As such, today they've revealed some awesome new artwork and serious web chops by introducing their very own shiny new website. Gone is the ho-hum grey background and text-heavy central area. Added is a great illustration featuring a new version of the lady who has long graced the page. Thrill at the shiny newness of hills, valleys, and sci-fi artistic goodness. Of course, the new site also boasts a nice, clean, clickable interface showcasing the newest news, lots of media, backstory, community, and more. Additionally, the beta button is clearly sitting there waiting to be clicked on by those who haven't taken the leap as yet. So if you're a connoisseur of all things intarwebby, curious about the new shininess of Earthrise's website, or all about some hot beta signup action, then head on over and check it out.
Give me my Rift beta FAQ, beta FAQ, beta FAQ -- Trion's beta FAQ ribs!
There have been a lot of antsy players bouncing on their toes outside of Trion Worlds HQ as they await word of any new Rift: Planes of Telara beta news. While all is quiet on the beta front for the time being, Trion CM Abigale posted a pretty useful beta FAQ on the Rift forums to handle the bombardment of commonly asked questions. While some of the information covers the multiple tiers of potential beta testers that we reported a couple weeks ago, Abigale painstakingly covers all the angles. One of the interesting aspects of Rift's beta process is that it will take the form of self-contained "events," and not all beta applicants will be invited to all of the events. In fact, once a non-VIP tester takes part in a beta event, their name goes back in the pool of potential testers and may or may not be redrawn for the next round. Of course all of these queries are overshadowed by a single dominant question: When will beta begin? While alpha has been underway for quite some time, Abigale refuses to place any time frame on this question and simply states, "Beta dates have not been announced yet." You can read the full FAQ over on the Rift forums.
