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CardMon Hero gearing up for closed beta, again
When it comes to free-to-play MMOs, we're used to seeing lots of imports. That said, this has to be one of the first ones we've seen imported three times to the West, only to keep changing hands. CardMon Hero, developed by Hanbitsoft for the Korean market, was initially picked up and ported by Gamengame. Earlier this year, we saw the game announced as part of the lineup for T3/Uforia, and now it's purely being published by T3 Entertainment/Redbana, along with a rebranding from Orka to Camon Hero and now CardMon Hero. The principles of the game remain the same: players who enjoy card games can travel around the world, picking up cards that will allow them to summon henchmen to fight for their side. The closed beta will start on November 10th, and signups are open if you'd like to take a whack at some thrice imported card-summoning MMOness. Perhaps the third time will be the charm for the game. In either case, we have a new trailer beyond the break for you to check out and decide if this triple-take title is your flavor of fun.
Newest class revealed for Mythos encourages others to give blood
Mythos, the upcoming Diablo-style action MMO, has not shown its first three classes to be subtle creatures. The first two revealed, the pyromancer and the gadgeteer, both showed their aptitudes for wide-scale destruction. However, the newest class reveal is even more direct -- the bloodletter. It's both a class name and description of what the class specializes in doing. This class is a master of blood and causing grievous bodily harm to everything within range, and it seems quite well-suited to doing just that. As with other classes, the bloodletter has three different specializations available. The crimsonate gouges opponents and derives sustenance from their injuries, the red hand uses a necromantic control of blood to summon minions and turn corpses into weapons, and the martialist discards pseudo-mystical abilities in favor of brutal expertise with weaponry. Take a look at the full class page for preview screenshots as well as short movies demonstrating the class capabilities, all fine demonstrations of what to expect from what may be the most direct class in Mythos.
Frogster unveils Mythos' gadgeteer class
The second class revealed for Mythos is a pretty far cry from last week's pyromancer. Rather than relying on magic to sling spells and raise minions, the gadgeteer uses his proficiency with firearms and contraptions (with a little magical boost thrown in sometimes) to take out his foes. Like the pyromancer, the gadgeteer will have three specialties to choose from. Marksmen, grenadiers, and tinkers each have specialties ranging from trapping to long-range grenades. The Mythos site gives players an in-depth look at the gadgeteer. Check out the newest class page for all sorts of details, including images, a description of each specialty, and three brand-new videos!
Frogster releases Mythos cinematic
Looking to get your Mythos fix prior to the game's 2011 release? Look no further than the just-released trailer courtesy of Frogster. The video, which runs a little over a minute and a half, serves as both a teaser and the upcoming free-to-play MMO's opening cinematic. Mythos, a throw-back dungeon crawler, has somewhat of a checkered history, given that it was originally developed by now-defunct Flagship Studios before being shuttered and subsequently kick-started by HanbitSoft. The game is now being published by Redbana in North America and Frogster in Europe, and it features solo and group PvP, three distinct classes, and a unique visual style inspired by comic books. Check out our interview with the Mythos dev team and don't forget to sample the trailer after the cut.
New Mythos concept art shows signs of life
It's been some time since we've seen proof of the existence of Frogster and Hanbitsoft's European relaunch of Flagship's canned action-MMORPG, Mythos. Today, the new developer revealed the game does indeed have a pulse, as evidenced by a handful of recently released concept art renders.
Aika's lead nation system kicks in without warning
With all of the major updates in Aika's first free expansion, Ashes of Betrayal, it might have been easy to miss the inclusion of an underdog system designed to help the lowest-ranked nation in the game's overarching PvP system. What the development team didn't discuss at the time was the other half of the system -- a mechanic to ensure that the lead nation wouldn't have nearly as much dominance over its opponents. That system was rather forcibly demonstrated to players over the weekend, with a post going live explaining exactly what the system is and how it works. The short version is that when a nation is determined (via automatic processes) to be in the lead, it is no longer capable of forming alliances and is kicked out of any existing alliances. This has met with some resistance from Aika's players both in the news post and in threads on the official forums, as it essentially broke an alliance without warning or any explanation at the time. Some players are viewing the penalties to an arbitrarily determined "lead nation" as crippling a nation while splitting friendly nations apart forcibly. Even if the system itself provides an interesting balance mechanic, it's still leaving a bad taste in the mouths of the game's players, especially in light of earlier incidents when information wasn't immediately available.
Redbana releases Mythos screens, relaunches website
Redbana has let loose a little bit of new information regarding their upcoming Mythos MMORPG. Along with revamping the game's official website, the North American publisher has released five new screenshots of the title in action. The shots show everything from the user interface, to the in-game map, to dungeon and outdoor combat. Mythos, a Diablo-esque dungeon crawler, was originally produced at Flagship Studios before being acquired by HanbitSoft, and features a classic isometric perspective along with a deep itemization system. Check out the new screens that we've collected for you in the gallery below, and don't forget to stop by the game's new website. %Gallery-10781%
Exclusive: Aika's Ashes of Betrayal interview
We're sure we're not alone in counting the days until Aika's impending expansion is finally upon us. The Ashes of Betrayal expansion is due out in North America on June 17th and promises to be packed with goodies like new class evolutions, new armor, new questing zones, new level caps, and new hotspots for relic wars. We were fortunate to land an interview with the Aika team at gPotato, who tackled such topics as Aika's perpetual beta status, the cash shop, the new Ashwood zone, the recently released Aitan Arena, the upcoming mega-dungeon, and the future of the adorably creepy fairy familiar Prans. The team even mentioned a few of their planned promotional contests -- do you want to win an iPad for playing Aika? Yes, yes you do. Join Massively past the cut as gPotato previews what's in store for us in Ashes of Betrayal -- and beyond!
Mythos reveals Pyromancer art
Redbana has released new artwork of the Pyromancer class in their upcoming Mythos MMORPG. The title, originally developed by Travis Baldree (FATE, Torchlight) at Flagship Studios but now the property of HanbitSoft, is a Diablo-style dungeon crawler, complete with isometric perspective and high levels of itemization and randomization. Redbana is the North American publisher for Mythos, and has released the Pyromancer screens as the first of what promises to be a steady stream of information that will lead up to the beta tests and full release later this year. The Pyromancer, as you might expect, relies on fiery magic to burn enemies into submission, and fans can get a leg up on checking out the sorcery and other game elements by signing up for the Mythos newsletter at the official website. %Gallery-10781%
Aika's end of CB2 siege event video
As part of its closed beta 2 ending, Aika -- developed by HanbitSoft and JoyImpact and published via the gPotato portal -- recently held a big PvP event that turned out to be a smash hit with the community. There's a short video showcasing some of the action, which you can find after the break. It's short, but there's a lot going on so a second or third viewing may be a worthwhile idea. The large PvP battles and city siege features of Akia help it to stand out amongst the ever growing crowd of free-to-play titles, but don't take our word for it because open beta is right around the corner. We'll be interested to see what the wider MMO community thinks of the game.
Camon Hero closed beta is in the cards
If you're one of the multitudes who grew up playing a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh or other card battling games, then we've got news about an upcoming MMO that may well interest you. Camon Hero, also known as Orka in other parts of the world, is coming to the West with fast-paced free-to-play card game MMO fun -- and a closed beta that starts tomorrow. In Camon Hero, players explore the world, attempting to rid the lands of evil, and picking up different cards along the way. The game offers a classless system based entirely on the cards you have selected at the time. In the mood to be a battle mage? Load those cards up and get to playing. Prefer to go full-on melee or pure caster? You can do that too. From there, it's all about who has the better cards as you pit your deck (and thereby character) building skills against players in PvP, or against the world in PvE. Only unlike playing a traditional TCG, the cards spring to life and fight for your side! For now, we've embedded the trailer for Camon Hero behind the break, which shows off some tantalizing hints of game play. Hopefully we'll hear some more news about this interesting MMO (or maybe score some beta keys) in the days to come.
The Daily Grind: Will you welcome back the Hellgate franchise?
Hellgate: London is one of those games that has really divided opinion from our readers. Some brand it as a deeply-flawed game, or were burned by that costly Founder's lifetime subscription when the game shut down after a rather short life. Others -- like some of us on the Massively staff -- truly miss the game's blend of horror and sci-fi elements and have been hoping that Hellgate: London would one day return in some form or another. Although the future of the game has been murky, the most recent (and most straightforward) announcement is that Hellgate: London is slated to return to Western shores. HanbitSoft has secured the worldwide publishing rights to the game from Namco-Bandai, so now it's just a matter of time before it returns. We're interested to hear what you think about this. Would you welcome the return of Hellgate: London? For that matter, how would you feel about playing the game in its current free-to-play incarnation, Hellgate: Resurrection?
Hellgate: London servers set to reopen in Europe and U.S.
The online world of Hellgate: London experienced its apocalypse (or, judging by the game's ruined, lifeless environments, its second apocalypse) almost one year ago, only remaining open in Korea as a free-to-play title. Today, HanbitSoft, the company responsible for keeping the game on life support in Korea, announced it had secured worldwide publishing rights for the title, and would revive the game in Europe and the U.S. later this year. The MMO, which has appropriately been remonikered Hellgate: Resurrection, has adopted a universal free-to-play model during its downtime. It's also acquired a few new features, thanks to developer T3 Entertainment. Hopefully, the studio didn't succumb to the crippling waves of depression which hampered the game's original creators.
HanbitSoft acquires worldwide publishing rights for Hellgate: London
It's been a long and turbulent ride for Hellgate: London, stretching all the way back to its rather troubled Halloween 2007 launch under the banner of the ill-fated Flagship Studios. This stretched through a bewildering morass of licensing disputes, general misinformation, and mixed signals (like continual English press releases for the game in a non English-speaking market. *ahem*) in the wake of the Flagship Studios closure and subsequent legal wranglings between T3 Entertainment/HanbitSoft and NAMCO BANDAI. Still, despite some of the flaws both in terms of business decisions made and the game itself, the title has its fans and many were sad to see Hellgate: London's servers in North America and Europe go dark. Liken it to a yo-yo, a roller coaster, or what have you -- it's been confusing, but there have been glimmers of hope of the game one day returning to Western regions. An official release from Hellgate: London's license holder HanbitSoft today is perhaps the most solid bit of info we've received about the future of the game outside of Korea. In HanbitSoft's own words: "HanbitSoft Inc., announced today that the company has obtained the publishing rights for Hellgate in North America, Europe and Japan from NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.. HanbitSoft and NAMCO BANDAI Games America, the formal owner of the publishing rights in these regions, have entered into an agreement for the game to be distributed by HanbitSoft in the future."
Hellgate: Tokyo, still not for you!
Let's just get this out of the way right off the bat -- there is no word on a Hellgate game release for, or return to, any of the Western markets. Still, some of us quite enjoyed playing Hellgate: London or saw the potential in it, and would like to see this happen. Back when Hellgate: London was new and held some promise as a good mix of horror and sci-fi, a few of the writers here envisioned how the game might expand if it were successful. Monikers like Hellgate: Hong Kong, Hellgate: New York, and such were mentioned. As was Hellgate: Tokyo, only it seems this one is actually going to happen... for Asia. Our Korean is rusty non-existent but the (very brief) Hellgate: Tokyo teaser indicates a 2010 release. Fans of Hellgate: London -- we know there must be a few of you out there somewhere -- can find the video over at GameTrailers.
Massively's interview with Mythos: gearing up for launch
Today marks another milestone for the almost-forgotten Mythos MMO. As we mentioned a few months ago, the Diablo-esque game has been resurrected and we can now report that it has been picked up by Redbana US. New closed beta registration was started in August and we're well on our way to actually getting this game launched. With this new information, we assembled some questions (thanks to former Managing Editor, Michael Zenke for most of these questions) for the Mythos team on this special occasion. So the milestone at this stage of the game's life is a newly-revamped website, just released and announced today. Check it out for a teaser video, lore entries, their brand new forums and much more!
An insight into the art of Torchlight
While many eyes are glued to the revitalization of the Mythos IP, many other eyes are looking in the direction of Runic Games's Torchlight. For those not in the know, Torchlight is being made by the original Mythos team -- the ones who were on staff at the time of Flagship Studios's untimely closing -- while Mythos is now in the hands of HanbitSoft, the publisher who had a massive stake in Flagship.While Torchlight won't be ready for the MMO scene anytime soon, the developers are still coming up with the single-player game that will be the base component for the MMO edition. With that in mind, we'd thought you'd like to check out this Gamasutra article that focuses on the art style and history of Torchlight and how exactly Mythos has impacted that style. It's a great read (although it's a little long at six pages of narrative) and a must see for all fans of the upcoming action RPG.
Mythos teaser and closed beta registration page emerges
Things are stirring behind the scenes in the world of Mythos, the little MMO that could. A newly launched site offers a very small teaser, but also, a closed beta registration form which is of far more interest. While Mythos was much-loved in its previous form, we don't doubt the followers of the Diablo-esque dungeon-crawler are keen to see if the magic is still there in HanbitSoft's re-envisioning.If you're not up on the history of this title, now (at its new beginning) seems a good time for us to sum things up. It started out as a way for Flagship Studios to test their networking technology for the then-upcoming Hellgate: London, but soon grew into a popular game in its own right through a widespread closed beta test. It was all set to transition from experiment to fully-fledged title and move into open beta when the well-documented trouble at Flagship derailed the whole thing. However, Flagship's Korean publisher HanbitSoft acquired the game's license and decided to make use of it. They reassured eager fans only a few months ago that Mythos would be re-born better than ever. Only time will tell if that's true, but with this new closed beta registration, it shouldn't be too long before a select group finds out for themselves. In the meantime, all of the old Mythos devs will be working away on Torchlight at Runic Games. Torchlight undoubtedly stands to be significant competition for Mythos in the future, but it won't be ready (in its MMO form at least) any time soon.
HanbitSoft: Mythos has a pulse
It appears the sordid history of Mythos has been sorted out, with HanbitSoft ready to move forward with the project. The Korean developer tells Eurogamer that the company is doing its "best to make the game globally popular."Mythos designer "Alboos" has posted in his/her/its first update that the game is being "reconstructed" to be suitable as an online game, incorporating many popular aspects from games like Diablo. But, isn't that what Diablo III is for?
We're assured that Mythos is coming back
Mythos seems to hold a cult fan status among those who were lucky enough to play the game before last year's Flagship kerfuffle unceremoniously halted the games' production -- and with good reason. The game was a lot of fun, as all those cult fans know. Which is why we're torn about this news.It appears as though Hanbitsoft -- the Korean developer who picked up the rights to Mythos last year -- has come out and said they fully intend to bring the game back into the world. They've also said they realize the game is basically inspired fully by Diablo, and plan to, "-put in more content for more exciting multiplayer." That's great and all, but we worry that the beta that we played last year and this retooled Korean flavored version aren't going to elicit the same kind of excitement.This is also compounded by the fact that, well, the original Mythos team has already formed Runic Games and will be presenting their spiritual successor to Mythos, entitled Torchlight, at E3 in just about a month. Now, while Torchlight is only a single player RPG for the time being, Runic has clearly stated their plans to build it into an MMO down the road. So for now, with one game the closer, we'll just decide to be excited for E3 come early June.
