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Martial arts and robots MMO Titan Online goes open beta this month
Korean MMO developer EYA Interactive has announced that their game Titan Online will enter open beta for its international version on April 28th. Massively had a look at Titan Online at GDC 2009, a game that EYA Interactive explains as "an epic title based on traditional Asian culture... a fusion MMORPG that boasts a unique combination of martial arts and robots that takes place in a spectacular fantasy world." Gamers interested in getting in on the open beta can sign up at the Titan Global Site. EYA Interactive has also stated they will allow players to keep their existing open beta characters once the game goes live, with no account wipes from open beta onwards.[Via Worlds in Motion]%Gallery-48434%
City of Heroes Issue 14 open beta has begun
City of Heroes has announced the open beta phase for Issue 14: Architect, which allows players to customize their own missions, at long last bringing player-created content to the superhero (and supervillain) MMO. The NCsoft announcement reads: "Now is your chance to play and give feedback on one of the most in-depth player created mission systems in an MMO to date! Your story/mission masterpieces will be available in-game for all your fellow gamers to play and rate - and the higher the rating, the more YOU benefit!" They also announced that they'll be handpicking the best player-created content as 'Developer's Choice' stories. Those missions will be identified by a unique icon and the creator will receive a Dev's Choice badge. The devs aren't the only ones who get to rate the best missions. There will be a Hall of Fame where the highest peer-rated stories can be recognized for being a cut above the rest. As with the Developer's Choice missions, these stories receive a Hall of Fame icon and badge, but these rankings established during open beta won't carry over once Issue 14 goes live.%Gallery-45908%
Ether Saga Online enters open beta
If you need a game that's sugary and saccharin-y cute to the point of inducing cavities via the internet, then look no further than Ether Saga Online, the latest game from the people who brought you Perfect World International.Ether Saga has just entered their open public beta, meaning you can mosey on over to the website and sign up to try the game. Like Perfect World, Ether Saga will be a free to play game, supported by the usual cash transactions from an item shop.The game does have some interesting features, including the ability to level up your character's affinity to the various elements in the game, adding a new dimension to each class beyond how the class normally functions. Past that, skills can be learned on the fly in the field without the need to visit a trainer, and characters get skills relating to their "birthday," the day of the week that they were born.For all the information about Ether Saga Online, check out their website at http://eso.perfectworld.com.
Runes of Magic: Not just another pretty game
There's been more and more buzz about Runes of Magic as their release date of March 19th draws ever closer. From what we've seen, it looks like a pretty rich world, featuring lots of different things that MMO players love: PvP, lots of quests, player housing, cool-looking mounts, a dual-class system - and let's be blunt, it seems to remind everyone who touches it of Blizzard's 800 pound gorilla, World of Warcraft. Considering there are half a million people who have registered for the open beta of the game, it would seem that players are definitely curious about all that Runes of Magic has to offer. To those who (like us) are curious about how this game is progressing, there's a great interview with Joerg Koonen of Frogster over on IGN. Among the juicy bits served up, we are treated to some interesting insights into how closely Frogster is working with the development company, Runewaker Entertainment, and just what kind of a role the community has been taking throughout the process. Also in the mix, we noted how the items in their cash shop are the same ones available in game for those who don't want to spend money - and how they feel this is the way it should be to keep the playing field level for all players. Also, be sure to check out our recent interview with Daniel Ullrich if you're hungry for more Runes of Magic information!
Free Realms closed beta begins, open beta in April
Sony Online Entertainment's free-to-play MMO, Free Realms, has just entered closed beta. Unlike its previous efforts, EverQuest and PlanetSide, SOE is trying to target a very casual market, promising a "kid-safe" experience that offers "something for everyone." Players aren't locked into individual classes, for example, and will be able to partake in a number of non-violent activities, such as pet raising and kart racing.The beta is currently available on PC only, although a PS3 version of Free Realms is also in the works. The closed beta appears to be rather limited, with invites extended to press (you know, the big kids) and "a few selected players." Those that are interested in the open beta, which begins in April, will want to pre-register at freerealms.com.%Gallery-34885%
Free Realms enters closed beta
SOE has just announced in a press release today that their family-friendly virtual world Free Realms has entered the closed beta stage and they're now accepting early registration for open beta, which is set to start in early April. Previously, there were some rumors floating around that the game would actually launch in April, but the official word is that April will begin the open beta process.SOE's president, John Smedley, is getting the word out to everyone for this important stage in the game's development before launch: "The beta testing phase is integral to the success of any video game, and we are asking that kids, parents, video game fans of all ages sign up to help us during these final weeks before Free Realms launches." To register for your own chance to get into the Free Realms beta, head on over to their website for more information, and be sure to click through below for the complete press release.
Player review of Runes of Magic open beta looks promising
You may not have heard, but Runewalker's Runes of Magic is a free-to-play/free-to-download fantasy MMORPG that features a large world, avatar appearance customization, dual-class specialization, interesting combat mechanics, player housing, crafting, high-end PvE raiding, and even PvP. If that seems like a little bit of everything from some of the more popular fantasy MMO titles like World of Warcraft, Everquest 2, Lord of the Rings Online, and Age of Conan, that's because it is.According to a player's review of open beta, RoM has taken some of the best elements from these aforementioned games and tried to blend them into a fun and cohesive experience. It also seems to have taken not-so-good elements like daily quests, no career respecialization, and gear dependency. Many people think free-to-play games must be shallow, but it took the reviewer three days to pick a class combination that would suit their play style. That seems pretty deep to me. Perhaps the best consideration a gamer can make is that free-to-play in this case also means free-to-try. How many times have gamers been burned by paying for a product that ultimately didn't live up to their expectations or tastes? What do you have to lose by giving Runes of Magic a shot?
Runes of Magic announces a new dungeon, "Cyclops Stronghold"
Frogster Interactive's free-to-play title Runes of Magic has announced the brand new level 50 dungeon "Cyclops Stronghold," and a brand new addition of a new instanced cave system that leads into the new dungeon.Runes of Magic is still in open beta, but certainly coming along nicely with its updates. The new dungeon centers around the cyclops King Uguda and his generals and assistants. One of the boss battles includes cyclops soldier trainer Instructor Boddosch, right as he's training some of the new cyclops recruits in the art of combat. Later battles include disrupting officers, fighting the generals, and challenging the extremely quick and strong cyclops king to an intense battle.The usual rewards apply here, as the developers have promised that Uguda will be dropping some pretty impressive loot, as well as offering a strategic challenge to any level 50s interesting in engaging in the new content. Ten Ton Hammer has the press release, check it out.
Runes of Magic releases the Arcane Transmutor
One of the most fascinating and unique features of Frogster's Runes of Magic is... well, magic runes in the game. These are special runes used to improve equipment. Through the use of power stones, and eventually mana stones, weapons and armor in the game can be refined and upgraded into even more powerful tools against your enemies. Pretty standard for an RPG, yet where it gets its unique flavor is through the Arcane Transmutor, where players can actually experiment with different combinations or runes and attributes to create their own special runes.The Arcane Transmutor is now available for players involved with the game's open beta, going on now. Previously, only basic recipes were available, but with the introduction of this mysterious and powerful artifact, the rune and stone combinations will add a whole new level to the game. If you haven't had a chance to check out Runes of Magic yet, it's free on their website for anyone to try during this open beta. To discover even more information on the Arcane Transmutor, check out the complete press release just after the cut below.
Aion producer Brian Knox interviewed
Aion: The Tower of Eternity has been kicking ass over in its local territory of Korea, and we're sure that there's a growing throng of folks out in the rest of the world that are dying to try it out. Massive Gamer Magazine recently had an interview with Brian Knox, a producer for the game, and what he said didn't give us much hope for betas outside of Korea -- at least not in any meaningful form. He says (correctly) that gamers are quick to judge a title on its beta, and that they would prefer to have "exclusive preview events" to show off the game at its best instead. Having said that, Korea did have a beta before launch, and hopefully we will too.A lot of the interview is spent discussing Aion's high level of customization. Knox claims that the character creation system is so robust that it would be possible to "literally create your own race within a race" by tweaking the sliders. As players level up, they will have the chance to equip stones that will change existing skills or grant new ones, further adding to character uniqueness. The other aspect of the game that Knox seemed very keen to talk about is the flying mechanic. Far from being tacked on, flight is intended to be integral to the gameplay in Aion, and its strategic use will be of the utmost importance in combat. To find out more, check out the full interview, which is now available online.
EVE Online kicks off Mac open beta for high-res graphics engine
The next EVE Online expansion, called Apocrypha, will launch on March 10 and promises to bring a long-missing feature to the Mac client: high res graphics. The Trinity graphics engine (aka Premium graphics) has been available to players using the Windows client since December of 2007. As of today, all active accounts using the Mac client can opt to download a second enhanced client to try out EVE's Premium graphic content on the Singularity test server.EVE's Community Manager CCP Wrangler says, "This is the culmination of over a year of effort on the part of development teams at both CCP Games and Transgaming and we are extremely happy to see EVE running in all its splendor on the Mac OS." That splendor, however, may not be coming for some EVE players running older Mac hardware.
Outspark announces closed beta for Wind Slayer 2D MMO
Wind Slayer, not to be confused with the sexy Champions Online villain Mind Slayer, was first announced late last year from the MMO's publisher Outspark. It is described as "a 2D side-scrolling MMO that features six classes, character customization and player-versus-player modes." Did we mention it's free?Now, the closed beta for Wind Slayer has been announced for January 7th through January 14th. This short closed beta will be used for player feedback before the open beta begins in February, and an official launch is slated for later this year. Check out their website for more details on entering the closed or open beta.
Earthrise beta signups begin
Fans of massively multiplayer online games who think fantasy settings are getting a bit stale are looking at other genres to explore -- namely the upcoming sci-fi MMO titles soon to arrive. One such game that we've been keeping tabs on at Massively is Earthrise, a post-apocalyptic MMO currently in development. We recently mentioned that Earthrise would be taking beta signups at the end of 2008, and the team at Masthead Studios kept their promise: Earthrise beta signups have begun. Earthrise's Community Manager, Moll, let prospective players know the details about the stages of beta on the game's official forums. If you're excited about getting an early hands-on with Earthrise, you'll want to check out the Q&A there before going ahead and filling out the beta application, which could get you into the fray on Enterra Island soon.[Thanks Aron]
New official website for All Points Bulletin opens up
Signs of forthcoming news are beginning to make their appearance for All Points Bulletin as Realtime Worlds has recently updated the title's official website. There's even a tease for eventual forums! Oh, how we await the heated discussion of whether or not dual-wielding pistols should be nerfed. All semi-sincere joking aside, the new website is leaps and bounds above the old from a visual standpoint. Anyone looking at the current page will definitely get the impression that this is a well-funded title. We're also particularly fond of how responsive the high bandwidth version of the site runs.Don't overlook the handy link at the bottom-center of the first page that allows any interested parties to, uh, register their interest, aka registering for some sort of eventual beta event. We know, it's some heady stuff.[Thanks, Tammy]
City of Heroes saves the day on the Mac
Mac users, have no fear! City of Heroes is here! Yes, the original superhero MMO is swooping down onto Apple computers everywhere as NCsoft releases the City of Heroes Mac open beta test, with a release date set for January of 2009. Now Mac users can join in the fight for Paragon City or create chaos in the Rogue Isles without having to dual boot their computers or another medium.Yet, the fun doesn't stop there for Mac CoH players. An exclusive mission teleport power, which allows the player to instantly teleport to their active mission location, and Valkyrie costume set will be made available to all players who purchase the game via digital download in January. Getting the game for your Mac and getting the ability to save time while looking cool? Very superheroic indeed.
Runes of Magic reaches 100k characters created on first day of open beta
As we mentioned last week, the highly-anticipated Runes of Magic fantasy MMO from Frogster Interactive has just entered open beta on December 15th. Normally the news of a small free-to-play MMO would be mentioned, and then subsequently forgotten as the larger, big-budget games continue to hog the attention. Yet Runes of Magic has an announcement that they're quite proud of: 100,000 characters created in the first 24 hours of the open beta.Not only that, but out of the total 220,000 registrations to date, 20,000 accounts were created on Monday alone with more than 2 million quests completed. Just to be clear, this is not 100k accounts created on the first day. It's 100k characters created by 20k accounts. Still, it's great news for Frogster Interactive and we expect those accounts to rise throughout beta and into launch, which is scheduled for release in Q1 of 2009. For the complete press release and more information on the game's features, continue reading after the cut below.
Home servers now live; you can now go Home
If you're not one of our many readers who've been continuously pressing F5 for the last nine hours or so, you might be unaware that the Home open beta is now live for all regions. Don't look at us like that. Of course we're not lying. Home has actually launched. Once you've picked your jaw up from the floor, simply restart your PS3 and you'll find the icon under the PlayStation Network section of the XMB. From there you'll download the client and begin your Home journey. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.
Home servers will be up 'early PM' GMT with open beta
[UPDATE] Home servers are now live. The open beta has begun. Did you hear? The Home open beta starts today. The client has been patched up to version 1.03 and the servers are down while Sony does various jiggerypokery behind the scenes. TedTheDog states that the service should be back up, along with the launch of open beta, "early PM UK time," though he adds that he can't be more specific than that, thanks to the nature of the global updates.Ted also confirms that the Home icon will appear on the XMB as soon as the final switch is pulled, though people who are using their PS3s at the time will need to restart. In case you're wondering, it's already past Midday in the UK, so it could go live at any minute. We'll update this post as soon as that happens.[UPDATE] TedTheDog has updated with the current situation, as of 3pm GMT (10am EST): "Still progressing nicely, now on the testing stage. No eta still as I wouldnt want to guess how long it will take for each region to verify its elements are working but we're getting there." Shouldn't be too long now ...More updates after the break
Home open beta begins tomorrow
It's been a long wait, but we're finally all going Home. SCEE has announced that the service will be available to everyone starting tomorrow. From the looks of it, there'll be no firmware update involved. The Home icon should simply appear under the PSN section of the XMB after a system reboot. As for what content you can expect to see once the open beta begins, there'll be plenty more than in the current closed beta, with more coming soon.The Far Cry 2 game space will make a return and new content, such as clothing from Diesel, furniture from Ligne Roset and the Red Bull Air Race space will appear. Game spaces for Uncharted, Warhawk and SOCOM will follow "vey soon." Watchmen movie content has also been announced via the press release, including "an exclusive video greeting from Watchmen Director Zack Snyder as well as the latest Watchmen trailer. A selection of virtual Watchmen merchandise e.g. T-Shirts with the smiley face logo, Doomsday clocks and character statues, will also be available in the New Year, ahead of an exclusive Q & A event where cast and filmmakers will meet selected press and competition winners fans within the Watchmen themed environment. "Check back later for some more information about interesting upcoming Home content which might get you excited about the service all over again.
Open beta for A Tale in the Desert IV starts tomorrow
Apparently, we're in beta season as yet another independent MMO has announced its open beta. A Tale in the Desert IV will open its beta doors tomorrow, December 6 at 2pm Eastern to all players who are interested in giving this Ancient Egyptian MMO a shot.If you're unaware of A Tale in the Desert, it's a social MMO that boasts no combat system at all. Its main focuses are actually a strong social structure and economics. The game first released in February of 2003 and this beta marks its fourth "telling", which acts as a major update or version of the game. Head on over to the official website for more information and to apply for your own open beta key.
