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Lengthy Blade & Soul review finds a lot to love
So Blade & Soul is headed west, and you're kind of interested but also kind of wary because, well, Aion and TERA. Fortunately for you, Steparu.com has a pretty lengthy review of Blade & Soul's Korean client. The piece delves into everything from the game's unique movement and travel systems to its combat, clothing, and skill mechanics. There are quite a few embedded gameplay videos as well. So what's the author's verdict? "I played this game hardcore for two months straight with ten-hour long gaming sessions each day," he writes.
Blade & Soul opens Western website, debuts trailer
If you've been long awaiting NCsoft's Blade & Soul, then today might be the shot in the arm that your anticipation needs. The publisher unloaded a brand-new website for its Western fans as well as a North American trailer. The website offers many goodies right out of the gate, including an overview of Blade & Soul's world, races, and classes; screenshots, concept art, and videos; a newsletter signup; and frequently asked questions and answers. As for the trailer, it's a high-octane mix of splendid videos and flashy combat, as you might have expected. Massively recently met with NCsoft to talk about the title's voyage to the Western market, and the following trailer is certainly part of that transition.
Blade & Soul is headed west
Gamescom 2012 was not a show of many big surprises. Fans and press alike were mostly given in-depth looks at things to come for existing franchises and games that were announced at E3 or even before that. But that doesn't mean that there were no exciting little bits of information to be scrounged up here and there. In Cologne, we sat down for a chat with NCsoft's Stephen Levy as he spilled the beans on Korean martial arts MMO Blade & Soul, but we haven't been allowed to talk about it until today. The best part? Blade & Soul is headed west.
New Age of Wulin trailer released
Gamescom's been over for a while now, but apparently no one told the folks at gPotato. The firm has released a new Age of Wulin trailer that's labeled "Gamescom 2012" on YouTube. Timeliness issues aside, the three-minute video offers a breathtaking look at the martial arts sandbox's gameplay and gorgeous graphics. Age of Wulin is now accepting beta signups for its European client. The game has been rebranded as Age of Wushu for the North American market, and is scheduled to launch on October 18th. Click past the cut for the full trailer.
Age of Wushu launch announced for October 18th
Get ready to get your kung-fu on: Age of Wushu, the English version, will release globally on October 18th, 2012. Elite pre-orders will get access to the free-to-play fantasy game a week early on the 11th. Although the initial announcement was short on details and left many folks wondering whether an open beta is in store between then and now, further developer posts clarify that there will not be any character wipes between the early elite and the general releases. More information is promised soon, and we'll keep you posted as it becomes available. [Thanks to SWGbesteva for the tip!]
Funcom, CCP, Snail devs talk skill-based MMOs
Although the majority of MMOs are level-based, some games are bucking the trend. The Secret World, EVE Online, and Age of Wushu are three titles that eschew the standard system in favor of offering players a more open gaming experience. In a recent interview, GameSpot talked with developers from these games about level-free MMOs. Why should games forgo the popular trend and throw levels out? To give players freedom and allow them to play they way they want is the reason cited by both Funcom Lead designer Joel Bylos and Tyler Rawlins, Marketing Associate for Snail Games. Bylos sums up Funcom's design philosophy like so: "You should not be playing a game to get to the top level. You should be playing a game to have fun." He also admitted that The Secret World changed from level-based to skills mid-development when the team decided that the genre had grown stale in that sense. Kristoffer Touborg, lead game designer for CCP, noted how players get to participate in the gaming experience for EVE even without being in the actual game thanks to the title's far-reaching meta experience. Are skill-based systems on the rise? Watch the full video after the cut to find out.
NCsoft weathers $6M loss in Q2
NCsoft may have more banking on Guild Wars 2 than once thought. The mega-publisher announced that its second quarter earnings were lower than expected; it posted a $6 million loss for the period. Revenues were down 12% from last year to $130 million, of which a vast majority came from NCsoft's online titles. The company stated that it dipped into the red due to rising labor costs, an increased marketing budget for Blade & Soul's Korean launch, and the acquisition of Ntreev. Aion was also blamed for the company's financial woes, as revenues in that title sharply decreased due to fewer microtransaction sales. Both Lineage titles composed a great share of the company's revenues, with the first game producing 45% of sales and the sequel 13%. NCsoft said that it is banking on Guild Wars 2 to produce a profitable third quarter, however.
Ask Massively: Welcome to here edition
If you follow MMO news at all, you probably caught the fact that Star Wars: The Old Republic is going free-to-play this fall. This is news only in the most abstract sense of the word. Seriously, it's been three years since Dungeons & Dragons Online made the switch. Basically every title in the world has now converted over and found out that F2P is more or less a license to print money. Free-to-play is not the future of MMOs; free-to-play is the right now and has been for a while. This week's installment of Ask Massively does not cover free-to-play conversions, but as you all know, I've never been a fan of strongly linking the opener to the rest of the article. No, this week we're talking about Blade & Soul. If you've got a question for a future installment of the column, leave it in the comments below or mail it to ask@massively.com. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity.
gPotato reveals Age of Wulin sects
gPotato has released some more information about its upcoming Age of Wulin fantasy martial arts sandbox. The game will feature eight different sects, which are basically an analog for factions in other massively multiplayer titles. Each of the game's sects will be either good-, evil-, or neutral-aligned, and each will feature a unique fighting style "shaped by its identity and philosophy." Good-aligned sects typically boast strong melee combat abilities. Evil groups focus on "ruthless techniques" and blade weapons, while the neutral sects offer everything from absorption and debuff skills to a "dance-like" fighting style designed to combat multiple opponents simultaneously. Good-aligned groups include the Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, and Beggars' sects. The Blissful Valley and Royal Guards sects are evil-aligned. Finally, the Tang Clan and the Scholar's Academy are Age of Wulin's neutral sects. For more on the game, check out our impressions from last month's E3. [Source: gPotato press release]
Age of Wulin sandbox to feature accurate real-world locations
How would you like to know a bit more about the setting, landscapes, and historical background in Age of Wulin? Yeah, it sounded cool to us too, which is why we're bringing you the highlights of the latest press release from gPotato. The free-to-play firm is publishing Snail Games' upcoming martial arts MMO in Europe (it's also coming to North America as Age of Wushu), and it says that the game and its expansive world is inspired by over 2,000 years of Chinese legends. The Wuxia and kung-fu genres are major influences, of course, so AoW takes place during the early years of the Ming Dynasty, when China's martial arts culture was at its peak. If you missed our E3 preview, you should know that the game is a skill-based sandbox featuring eight distinct combat schools and plenty of novel non-combat mechanics. The game also boasts upwards of 40,000 NPCs inhabiting 27 regions that stretch across 130 square kilometers. This is a free-roaming open-world title, too, where explorers can visit real locations like Beijing or even the developers' hometown of Suzhou. Want to walk the Great Wall? You can, along with a Shaolin Monastery, the Wudang mountains, and dozens of other locations. gPotato says the devil is in the details, so the devs have "studied and analyzed old maps, plans, and blueprints in order to reconstruct real places in game with the greatest accuracy possible." If you missed the game's North American launch trailer, we've embedded it for you after the break. [Source: gPotato press release]
Blade & Soul takes over the top spot in Korea, dethroning Diablo III
Just two days ago, Blades & Soul opened its doors to players for the Korean open beta test, clocking an impressive wave of users and a third place finish in popularity behind Diablo III and League of Legends. Now the new fantasy MMO has leapfrogged over both games to claim the number one spot. One feature that helped cinch Blade & Soul's rise in popularity was the lack of any server maintenance over the weekend, something the deposed leader couldn't claim when it launched. Want to see what all the fuss is about? Check out the two new studio-released PvP videos after the break. NCSoft also laid ongoing rumors of the game's going free-to-play to rest by announced the game's pricing: A monthly fee of 23,000 Korean Won (about 19.81 USD) will begin on June 30th.
Blade & Soul Korean open beta records 150,000 users within an hour
Have you been itching to jump in to try Blade & Soul during its open beta test? If so, you aren't alone: The Korean OBT for the fantasy game started just last night and recorded 150,000 CCU (or Concurrent User number for the acronym-challenged) within a single hour. To accommodate the volume of players participating in the beta, NCsoft increased the number of servers available from two to 25 and has five more waiting in the wings if needed. Even with that flood of users, the B&S servers remained stable. Currently, Blade & Soul ranks behind only Diablo III and League of Legends in popularity according to data provided by Gametrics. The game is scheduled to launch in Korea next month; unfortunately for North American and European fans, there are currently no set plans for bringing the game to these markets.
E3 2012: Age of Wushu dresses to impress
Sandboxers and Hollywood script writers, keep your eyes on Age of Wushu. If you've ever wanted to run up walls, align yourself with a game's boss mobs, kidnap and ransom off your fellow players, or write about it into a television script to include your gamer audience, then Snail Games has something that's sure to grab your attention. We got some hands-on time with the game at this year's E3, so follow along after the cut for our impressions.
E3 2012: Jet Li will be the face of Age of Wushu
Age of Wushu, an upcoming martial arts MMO, features wuxia-style combat with some impressive acrobatic moves, so it seems a perfect fit that Snail Games announced at this year's E3 that Jet Li will be the face of the MMO. The International action film star has signed a two-year deal to promote the game, and as spokesperson, he'll be featured in a TV commercial and make public appearances at events. Li began his training in Wushu at the age of eight and was a multiple champion in China before retiring at the age of 19 to begin his film career. His film titles include Lethal Weapon 4, Unleashed, The Forbidden Kingdom, and The Expendables. He's also wrapping up work on The Expendables II, which is due in theaters this August. Age of Wushu is an upcoming MMO by Snail Games set in the age of the Ming Dynasty in China. It features Wuxia-style combat and some interesting concepts such as no levels or classes and a boss sidekick system. Massively will be meeting the team at E3, so keep your eyes open for more news this week! [Source: Snail Games press release] Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 4-7, bringing you all the best news from E3 2012. We're covering everything from PlanetSide 2 and SWTOR and ArcheAge to RIFT's and LotRO's upcoming expansions, so stay tuned!
Encrypted Text: 3 Diablo monk moves that WoW rogues should steal
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Feel free to email me with any questions or article suggestions you'd like to see covered here. Like many of you, I've been playing a monk all week. Every minute of my free time has been spent using my fists to dole out some serious justice. I've been alternating between twirling a staff and a pair of bladed fist weapons. Monks are a lot of fun to play. I'm not talking about our furry panda friends from Pandaria, but rather the master martial artists from Sanctuary. While there are plenty of pandaren monk abilities that I wouldn't mind borrowing, the Diablo III monk's arsenal is quite appealing. Due to our mutual focus on martial arts, several of their techniques would fit right into our toolbox. There might not be any poisonous strikes or sneaky stabbing going on, but we're adept at kicking and punching as well.
Conquer Online 9th anniversary celebrations include a free trip to China
Reaching the nine-year mark is quite an accomplishment in the MMO world, and Conquer Online plans to celebrate this milestone in style with a number of special events, bonuses, and gifts both in-game and out. From now through May 31st, players can enjoy a variety of festivities and goodies: Ongoing special events like Crazy Lotto, Naughty Bunny, and Crazy Invasion. Special discounts on offers in the shopping mall, including a four-hour event on +3 stones from May 26th to 27th. A chance to prove which server is truly best in the cross-server Capture the Flag battle. A Nurture Pack with useful healing and XP items to welcome newcomers. VIP gifts. Special upgrades to certain event rewards. Oh, but that's not all! The pièce de résistance: Three lucky current Conquer Online players will win a free trip to China to take in the sights of Beijing and visit the TQ headquarters. To enter the drawing, players must credit at least one $15.99 or one $29.99 TQ Point Card during the period between May 15th and June 30th (the more you credit, the more chances you have), have at least one level 50+ character, and be at least 18 years of age. For full details, check out the contest rules. [Source: Press release]
Blade & Soul on track to launch in Korea this July
If all goes well, NCsoft's Blade & Soul will be making its public debut in July. That's the good news; the bad news is that the launch will be confined to Korea for the time being. The company recently announced in an earnings call that the title is on track to go into open beta testing by June and then launch this July. There's some hope at NCsoft that the release of Diablo III will grow the potential gamer audience in the country, an audience that could be attracted to Blade & Soul come this summer. Currently the game is in closed beta, with the next round of testing commencing on May 22nd. ThisIsGame reports that Blade & Soul has stirred up controversy with testers due to a vitality system that limits how fast a player can advance his or her character.
New Blade & Soul videos show Summoner gameplay, qinggong abilities
Looking for some more Summoner gameplay after that pet reveal last weekend? Korean MMO website ThisIsGame has you covered with a new Blade & Soul preview video. We get to see three minutes of combat footage, including plenty of killer kitty-cats and spell-casting action. The video quality isn't the greatest, but it's definitely interesting to see the Summoner in action for an extended period. NCsoft has also released a new one-minute qinggong trailer. The clip shows several Blade & Soul avatars in all their wall-running, high-flying, gravity-defying glory (and this time it's a high-quality embed). Check out both videos after the break. [Thanks to Tym for the tip!]
Watch 17 minutes of unadulterated Blade & Soul PvP footage
There's nothing that South Korean gamers love more than hot-blooded PvP, which is why they went bananas to see NCsoft's Blade & Soul's player-vs.-player combat live at the recent Soul Party 2. In two filmed videos by ThisIsGame.com, testers give the game's intense, kinetic action a workout during a 20v20 PvP match. The characters' full range of motion is on display in these clips, as are their various methods of impaling, soul-sucking, and fireballing opponents. Blade & Soul recently announced its adorable Summoner class, which will be playable when the game heads into its third closed beta test on May 9th. And yes, you have our full permission to stay up past your bedtime to watch the following PvP bout.
New Blade & Soul trailer shows off Summoner pets
NCsoft has released a new trailer for Blade & Soul's Summoner class. As you might expect, the Summoner is a pet-handling heroine who relies on her animal companions for much of her utility. What you may not have expected is the form those animals will take. Prior to this particular trailer, Blade & Soul has gone with a fairly serious high-fantasy approach to its world and character design. Thanks to the Summoner pets, the cuteness factor has gone through the roof. Don't take our word for it, though. Head past the cut and see for yourself. [Thanks to Blade&Soul Fan for the tip!]
