Soul Master: Backstory Details Released

North America-based online games publisher GamesCampus.com has just released details of the backstory behind its new massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game Soul Master. Real-time strategy as an MMO? I know, I know—I'm just as intrigued as you are. Before I lead you into this new virtual world, let's first take a closer look at its backstory.

The Story of Soul Master

Nobody knows for certain how it was first discovered, but its immense power and endless potential were enough to destroy the greatest empire of the Bunden continent: Elamond. The Magic was a gift and a curse for the Empire that first experienced its effects. With its populace split between fear of the unknown and a hunger for power, the Great War that soon followed was swift and terrible. The conservative citizens that distrusted the corrupting influence of Magic were forced from their homes in an exodus across the continent, and eventually found refuge in the north. The revolutionists that had embraced the darker nature of Magic and brutally toppled the Elamond government entered into an age of obsessive, uninterrupted mystic study.

Decades passed, and the exiled among conservatives struggled to establish a culture with powerful technologies of their own. After uniting the various factions among themselves over the intervening years, a new nation was born out of the distrust of Magic that had been passed down over generations. The Valiant Empire that emerged was soon well known for their advanced steam punk technologies and mastery over machines. The revolutionaries of the former Elamond Empire had since created their own nation state, one self-indulgently known as the Holy Empire. By combining the primeval forces of light, darkness, ocean, and sky they had perfected the use of Magic to both an art form and a terrifying weapon. The Holy Empire soon became the most unstoppable force on the continent, with the Valiant Empire keeping an ever wary eye from the north.

Many, if not most, of the citizens of the Bunden continent prayed that the uneasy peace between the two powers might last... but it was soon shattered. With the sudden appearance of the nomads from the east, the Harmony Tribe emerged from out of legend and tipped the balance of power in the region. Peace between the Empires began to crumble as isolated border disputes turned into pitched battles over control of key resources and territory. War had returned to the continent.

Read more »

Atlantica Online: There's A New Sheriff In Town

Good news for players of the popular free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game Atlantica Online. Now, whenever you activate the title buff Legendary Sheriff, you can play the part as well—you and a hundred other players who have had the luck of getting a Sheriff's Outfit from a random box off of the item mall.

The introduction of the Sheriff Outfit comes at an opportune time as bandits run rampant in North America—at least, that's the scenario that NDOORS Interactive, publisher of Atlantica Online, will have us believe.



At least this new costume, the Sheriff Outfit, is way better than the previous costume NDOORS put out—the nefarious zombie costume—which hasn't really taken off. If only NDOORS had the good sense to release it in Atlantica Online on a holiday that's ripe for zombies and other undead. Halloween perhaps?

Going back to the topic ... as usual, you can only get this costume if you're lucky enough to squeeze it out of the random item mall box known as the Sheriff's Bounty. Here's a list of the other goodies you can get from the box (that is, in case it fails to produce a Sheriff's Luggage that gives you a choice of either a Sheriff's Hat or Sheriff's Outfit):

• 100 Freezing Scroll [V]


• 1 Mount Box


• 1 Ancient Skill Book (Merc. Only)


• 10 Skill Decrease Book


• 8 Scroll of Bewitching[V]


• 12 Scroll of Life's Blessing[V]


• 12 Scroll of Resurrection[V]


• 12 Scroll of Judgement[V]


• 12 Freezing Scroll [V]


• 50 Dragon Crystal


• 50 Giant Crystal


• 50 Redemption Crystal


• 50 Phoenix Crystal


• 30 Water of Life


• 1 Sheriff's Bounty


• 2 Sheriff's Bounty


• 3 Sheriff's Bounty

For more information about the new Sheriff's Outfit and the game you can find it in, head on over to the official Atlantica Online website.

Read more »

Karos Online: War Begins On April 9th

Good news for beta testers—and of course interested players and fans—of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Karos Online. The official launch is finally set, and some details about the commercial phase is already out.



For starters, let's talk about the date. Karos Online will enter the commercial phase on April 9th, a Friday—ergo, it's perfect, and will enable curious players to wander onto the server and check out what this title from renowned online games developer and publisher NHN Corporation has to offer.

"Following the commercial release, NHN will be continuing its commitment to improve and develop Karos Online in response to player feedback, with frequent updates to the game," the official press release announcing the game's launch said.

We'll be holding you to that promise, NHN.

So what else can we expect from Karos Online aside from it being a free-to-play MMORPG, having breathtaking 3D graphics and shifting and unpredictable dungeons?

Well, if you hang around long enough, you'll learn that the commercial launch of Karos Online comes with the opening of a spanking new server, a revamped official website, and a cash shop where you can purchase exclusive items to make your Karos playing experience more exciting.

For more information about the game, you can follow Karos Online on its official website, on its Facebook fan page, or Twitter.

Read more »

Grand Chase: Enter The Rune Caster

In line with its thrust to keep content of its massively multiplayer online games current, Ntreev USA has just launched another update for its hit action-brawler, Grand Chase. The update is actually small since it focuses on introducing only one aspect of the game, the Rune Caster known as Mari.

"We are thrilled to introduce this brand new character, Mari, to our Grand Chase community," said Chris Lee, chief executive officer at Ntreev USA. "Players are going to really enjoy the combination of her characteristics and new skill attacks."



Mari wields both magic and machinery, according to the information sheet released by Ntreev USA. By the way, in case you're having trouble associating faces with names, Mari is a girl, and she's skilled—very skilled—in defending and evading. This is because she dislikes direct combat, opting instead to use machines fueled by her specially produced Magic Stone to dish out her unique brand of combat.

How does she do this? Simple. She hangs back in a fight, assesses the situation, and places her machines at strategic locations to drive her enemies into a corner.

Mari isn't called a Rune Caster in Grand Chase for nothing, either. Her first job's new skill attacks include first grade attacks that send close quarter enemies flying away from her, second grade attacks that summon Tesla coils that create shock fields over set areas, and third grade destructive skills that summon powerful lasers that zap all enemies in their paths.

Here's a short background of our little Grand Chase Rune Caster:

About Mari Ming Onette

Mari is the last survivor of an ancient kingdom once known as "Kounat." Having lost her memory, Mari no longer knows who she is or where she came from. Immensely curious about the unknown and fascinated by subjects new to her, Mari also possesses rune casting skills and magical abilities previously unheard of in this area of the world.

While satiating her curiosity by researching the monsters inside the Temple of Destruction, Mari found herself face to face with the Grand Chase. Finding her curiosity piqued by the Highlander skills of Sieghart, Mari decides to join them.

For more information about Mari and the virtual world she romps in, go check out the official Grand Chase website in North America.

Read more »

Tank Ace Lineup Grows

It's been quite a while since I've heard news about GamesCampus.com's upcoming free-to-play online tank warfare game Tank Ace. Good to know that steps are being taken to improve the game way before launch. The latest news to hit the headlines is the addition of more tanks in the game's already formidable lineup of historically accurate World War II tanks.

"Offering this broad range of realistic WWII tanks takes Tank Ace to the next level of the warfare genre," said David Chang, executive vice president of marketing and business development at GamesCampus. "Tank Ace gives players more historically accurate tanks and heavy artillery than any other online game, and these new tanks are really going to impress warfare enthusiasts."

Good news indeed for some friends of The MMOsh Pit like Playground Magazine managing editor Relly Carpio, who holds sway over the video gaming universe through his blog, Kalaro Mo (literal translation: Your Playmate).

Since I haven't gotten around to telling you about Tank Ace on this blog, let me start by saying that the game looks awesome. According to GamesCampus, the game is set on the realistic battlefields of WWII.

Of course, what massively multiplayer online game is complete without customization. In Tank Ace, players have the ability to customize tanks by adding additional armor, and painting on camouflage, kill marks and clan insignias.

With that out of the way, let's take a closer look at the new tanks:



T34/85 Mod 1944. Beginning in March 1944, this tank, which was created in the Malishev factory in Kharkov, was at the time during WWII possibly the best tank in the world because of its excellent armor, firepower, and mobility. During WWII this tank was assessed to be the most effective and hugely impacted tank design. Additionally, it is also the tank that was produced second most in the world.

Panzer III J/1. This vehicle was a main battle tank equipped with anti-tank artillery and two-rifle machine guns. Beginning in June 1941, Panzer III J/1 was mounted with a 50-millimeter KwK 39 L/60 cannon, the defense was increased, and it had stronger firepower than the original 3rd issue tank.

M24 Chaffee. Developed by the United States military during WWII, it was the last tank put into service in the war. It was produced in 1944, and though it was a small tank, the weapons were light and its mobility and maneuverability were excellent. Starting from the end of 1944, it was placed in each unit, and was first introduced into the Ardennes Civil War. Nevertheless, WWII ended before the tank was included in each unit and thus was not used in many battles.

SU-100. When the SU-76 armament could not effectively destroy the German tanks Panzer III, Panzer IV, Panzer V, and Panzer VI, a new gun was developed, which was the SU-85, and the enhanced firepower model was the SU-100 assault guns. The SU-100 assault guns used the T-34/85 tank's frame and were the last product from the derived tanks. It was produced in September 1944 and until the end of 1944, 500 tanks were produced with 1,145 tanks produced by 1945.

For more information about this groundbreaking tank warfare game, go check out the official Tank Ace website.

Read more »

MMOtivational Screenshot #1: Recession

Today I'm launching a semi-regular posting for The MMOsh Pit called MMOtivational Screenshot. I know, I know ... this type of thing has been done before, but it's something I want to do and something that will keep me busy during lean days.

For those who have heard or read about or even viewed the website that contains the so-called RPG Motivational Posters, I hope these MMOtivational Screenshots won't disappoint you.

Let's get cracking!



Screenshot taken from the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Granado Espada, published in Southeast Asia by IAHGames.

Read more »

Atlantica Online Empress: Pincushions Beware!

I'm sure by now you've heard about the upcoming introduction of a new B-class mercenary to the virtual world of Atlantica Online. This new mercenary is called the Empress, and she packs quite a punch, thanks to her weapon of choice, the bow. Oh, did I forget to mention that she's a B-class mercenary?

The Empress is already out in the South Korean servers of Atlantica Online, but I have yet to see her being used to full potential. Oh, sure she makes pincushions out of soft-skinned mercenaries, but skills seem to be a rarity. It's either Empress skill books are expensive or very hard to come by.



Atlantica Online's Empress has two skills, both upgrades of existing mercenary skills:

Empress' Blessing. According to the Atlantica Database, this skill is a clone of Holy Guard in the sense that it blocks the casting of spells on specific mercenaries as long as it is in effect. There are differences, of course, the first—and most important—of which is the fact that Empress' Blessing does not block the effects of scrolls. This is great news for those who depend heavily on scrolls to decrease or remove stun counters.

Empress' Curse. If there's a blessing, there's also a curse. The curse is apparently an enhanced version of Silence, the archer's basic skill. Damage is, for obvious reasons, better than the lowly archer skill, and so is the defense debuff. Empress' Curse doesn't give the targets an attack modifier, though. It is also unclear whether this skill, being a skill of a B-class mercenary, can affect characters, non-player characters and monsters that have immunity to silence.

What makes the Empress more interesting is her damage potential, especially when inserted into a sniping formation. Players of Atlantica Online who frequent Free League and Competition League, and their big brothers, the Weekly Championship and the Titan League, will do well to respect the damage that the new mercenary deals.

To give you a better idea of the damage output of this new Atlantica Online bow mercenary, take a look at how it performs in this video of the Korean Atlantica Online Titan League:

Read more »

Restaurant City: No Need For Janitors

I've discovered something new on the addictive Facebook app known as Restaurant City. Well, it's new to me, as I'm sure it's new to a hundred or so other new fans and users of PlayFish's baby. What I'm talking about is the ability of players to clean any part of their restaurants with a click of a mouse button.

Like I said, old news for most Restaurant City fanatics, considering the feature was built into the application way back. What's new, however, is the fact that you can now do away with a janitor—that is, if you're actively playing by managing your virtual restaurant. Say goodbye to wasting manpower to unclog toilets!

Isn't that the reason why PlayFish included the janitor job in Restaurant City's staff assignments? That may be true, and it is still practical to assign one member of the restaurant staff as a janitor, but only if you're planning to spend several hours away from the keyboard.

Man, to think I wasted my entire play time yesterday switching staff assignments to accommodate the maintenance of clogged toilets! Good thing I discovered the Restaurant City feature that greatly helped me regain popularity and much-needed gourmet points.

Don't know what the hell I'm talking about? Here are a couple of Restaurant City screenshots to help you visualize:



Clogged Toilet. In this screenie, you can see that one of the restaurant's toilets is clogged. To clean up the mess, simply hover the cursor over the errant toilet and then click on it.



With Just One Click. Upon clicking on the wayward crapper, a timer will appear and countdown the time until the loo is clean.



Clean More Toilets. If the other toilet gets clogged while you're in the process of cleaning one, don't fret, just repeat the process.

Yup, it's as simple as that, and naturally you can also do this to the trash that your Restaurant City patrons dump in your joint from time to time.

Read more »

Hooked Once Again To Casual Social Games

Yes, I admit it—I am once again hooked to casual social games, particularly those found on the phenomenal social networking website known as Facebook. Not to Zynga's smash hit Farmville, though, but PlayFish's Restaurant City. This is despite the fact that my better half—formerly known in some circles as the Perfect World yuling (elf priestess) Cesky, the Ragnarok Online blacksmith TikaWaylan, and the Atlantica Online staff main Elphame—is playing Farmville like there is no tomorrow.

Why Restaurant City? Well, the first reason, I guess, is because this particular game is my first Facebook application, upon the goading of friend Khang, a girl gamer (although I can't exactly classify her as the girly type) who haunts the Philippine servers of Perfect World.

Now, I'm on my own, and I've found a challenge to hurdle. I need to get my virtual restaurant's popularity up. Ashamed as I am to admit it, the sudden resurgence of my interest in Restaurant City has caused my restaurant's popularity to dip from 30.5 points out of a maximum 50 to a pitiful 16.3 points.



I've mapped out a plan to get not only my restaurant's popularity up, but also my gourmet points (the basis for leveling up in Restaurant City). Let's go check it out:

Renovate My Restaurant City Resto. Hey, I've got about 30,000 coins with nothing better to spend on. I've come to realize how important a good layout is to achieving success not only in real world restaurants but virtual ones as well. My current setup sucks and contributes a lot to the decline of popularity. From what I've gleaned from the virtual restos of my friends and neighbors, a good layout means corralling incoming customers long enough for your staff—primarily cooks and waiters—to cope with the orders. You can do this by using dividers or walls or whatever item that can block movement and forming something like a maze from door to tables.

Fix My Restaurant City Staff Assignments. At my current level, I have five staff members. I assign three of them as cooks and two as waiters. The problem with this setup is the two waiters have nothing to do in the first minute or so after the first customer comes in. When all the tables are filled, however, I'd need to step up both cooking and waiting on tables. What complicates matters is the fact that toilets often get clogged, so I change the designation of one of my staff members from cook or waiter to janitor. I haven't figured out how to fix the staff assignments, but I'm sure the answer will come to me soon.

Try My Best To Stay Active In Restaurant City. Tall order, especially since I have to work. Playing on a workday is a big no-no. Believe me, I've tried it, and it sucks because it saps your remaining time for rest. My best bet is to play on weekends, and even this is difficult. But if I am to become a virtual restaurant mogul, I better step up my game.

Well, that's it for now. If you have suggestions on how to get my Restaurant City mojo going, do leave a comment.

Read more »

Perfect World's Heroes Of Three Kingdoms

News of the impending closed beta testing for Perfect World's Heroes of Three Kingdoms is finally out, and so is the list of the online games developer and publisher's partners in bringing China-made massively multiplayer online role-playing game to the Western world.

For those who are clueless as to what Heroes of Three Kingdoms is—that is, aside from its being an MMORPG, its original title might ring a bell in your noggins. In China, and presumably the rest of Asia, the game is known as Chibi. I've talked about this online game extensively in my past life (read: previous blog).



Enough of my prattle. Let's get down to business by checking out the announcement story on the upcoming CBT of Heroes of Three Kingdoms from Perfect World Entertainment:

Heroes of Three Kingdoms Closed Beta Key Partners

We've (sic) very excited to announce that Heroes of Three Kingdoms, also known as Chibi in China, will be making its way to North America. Based on one of history's greatest battles, Heroes of Three Kingdoms will allow players to experience the fight first hand and shape their legacy through pivotal moments in Chinese history.

In the word's (sic) of Lao Tzu, "A journey of a thousand miles starts from the first step," and your first step to greatness begins with securing a coveted spot in the upcoming closed beta. To make it easier, we've partnered with the top MMO sites to help distribute these closed beta keys.

Here's a list of the top MMO sites that are giving away the closed beta keys to Heroes of Three Kingdoms: ausgamers, CGE Network, Free MMO Gamer, Game Items, Game Ogre, Gamers Daily News, Massively, MMOABC, MMOhut, MMOsite, MPOGD, N4G: News For Gamers, The Gamers Hub, Warcry Network.

So what do you do when you get a closed beta key for Chibi, err, Heroes of Three Kingdoms?

First, you need to visit the Perfect World website and then login using your Perfect World Entertainment username and password. Once that is done, go click on the "My Account" link and then "Redeem Beta Keys." From there you can enter your closed beta key.

Easy as pie.

Now my only hope—and wish—is for Perfect World not to block the IP of international players so we can all enjoy the game.

Read more »

Gamigo's Loong - The Power Of The Dragon

I've got to hand it to Europe-based online games publisher Gamigo. First, they come out of nowhere, establishing an office in New York City in the United States, and then they announce the upcoming beta testing of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game known as Martial Heroes. Now, they're continuing their apparent streak with another announcement: the acquisition of Loong - The Power of the Dragon.

"Loong has been the greatest release of 2010 in China and we are very proud to be bringing a game like this one to the West. The spectacularly detailed graphics are unparalleled in the world of free-to-play games," said Patrick Streppel, member of Gamigo's executive board.

Mr. Streppel isn't kidding when he describes Loong - The Power of the Dragon as having "spectacularly detailed graphics." Let me give you a sample:



Let me just shut up and let Gamigo do the talking:

An incredible journey through ancient China: Loong - The Power of the Dragon

Forty million players in China, breath-taking detailed graphics and online warfare with up to 500 players. Today, Gamigo announces Loong - The Power of the Dragon, a new online role-playing game that is truly in a class of its own, for Europe and North America.

This incredible game cost roughly USD$10 million to develop. The result is an extremely colorful, fascinating world set in ancient China that has captivated more than 40 million Chinese players since its launch in January 2010.

Exciting journeys take adventurers through endlessly vast desert landscapes, into mysterious castles, and along winding paths through the jungle—visually diverse settings that will make the hearts of gamers beat a few beats faster. More than 1,000 quests, 100 pets, player-versus-player combat for up to 500 players, and the ability to swim create plenty of diversion and excitement in the game.

Players will be able to enter the world of Loong - The Power of the Dragon when the game starts its beta testing phase in the summer of 2010.

Ugh. Why so loong?

Read more »

Trickster Online Welcomes Spring With New Event

Ntreev USA has just announced a new event for its popular fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game Trickster Online: A New Discovery to welcome the dawning of Spring.

Dubbed the Spring Poppuri Olympics, the event gives Trickster Online players the chance to win some amazing prizes, including a new in-game pet, an iPod Touch 32G, and up to 20,000 Trickster points.



From March 18th to April 7th, players will be able to drill up Poppuri Boxes (now you know why it's called Poppuri Olympics) all over Trickster Online's Caballa Island. The more boxes a player collects, the better the prizes he or she receives. There are a total of eight stages and as each of the stages is fulfilled, the player will earn unique prizes.

Of course, there's a limitation or a requirement, and in the case of Trickster Online's Spring Poppuri Olympics, player characters must be at least Level 40 and have in their possession at least 200 Poppuri Boxes to qualify for prizes.

"We love to watch the fierce drilling spirit of our players during these Poppuri events," said Chris Lee, chief executive officer of Ntreev USA. "Players will be rewarded nicely with some fabulous prizes for this exciting event and we hope to deliver more events in the future with even greater in-game and real-world prizes."

For a complete list of rules and prizes for the Spring Poppuri Olympics, head on over to the official Trickster Online: A New Discovery website.

Read more »

MMORPGs Remind Me Of Food

Playing my favorite massively multiplayer online role-playing games always makes me hungry, even when I'm not at home and spending countless hours—not to mention money—in some Internet gaming cafe. This is because MMORPGs remind me of food. Of course, food also reminds me of some MMORPGs. Well, you get the picture.

Here's a list of well-known free-to-play MMOs, the food they remind me of, and why I think of having a meal while playing them:



Allods Online - Filet Mignon. Mouthwatering, to say the least. Allods Online is definitely a force to be reckoned with as the food it reminds me of is a powerhouse of culinary delight. The problem is Filet Mignon is expensive, and the thought of a bill the size of Rhode Island often disuades your tummy from its flights of fancy. Yes, playing Allods Online can be expensive, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying a hearty meal.

Atlantica Online - Clubhouse Sandwich. Altantica Online is like a whopping clubhouse sandwich that's oozing with meat and vegetables and literally bursting at the seams. The game is chock-full of content, but some players either get overwhelmed or turned off by the amount of information they need to digest. There's also some sort of parallelism between the number of portions of a clubhouse sandwich and the number of mercenaries you can have in an Atlantica Online formation. But then again, that's just me.

Cabal Online - Ginisang Ampalaya (Sauteed Bitter Gourd). Some like it, some don't. This is the essence of my comparison of Cabal Online to a plate full of sauteed bitter gourd. And when you're young and don't know any better, you are usually forced to eat the stuff. Like Cabal, eating ginisang ampalaya is an acquired taste.

Casvian - Chop Suey (Stir-Fried Vegetables). This uniquely Asian dish turns off most kids as its main ingredients are, well, vegetables, and you know how children react to seeing—and thinking about eating—veggies. Most children avoid it like the plague, but adults sure like it. Casvian is a healthy distraction, with hundreds of elements that remind you of the variety of vegetables in a dish of chop suey.

Granado Espada (Sword of the New World) - Paksiw na Lechon (Roasted Pork Stewed in Vinegar). Paksiw na lechon is a recurring dish in the culinary culture of my homeland, and Granado Espada is much like it in the sense that the thought of playing the game haunts one's mind. I'm an on-again-off-again Granado Espada pioneer and I find the game, like a heaping bowl of roasted pork stewed in vinegar, as rarely stale but too much for a single person to finish.

That's all I have for now. I might continue my list later in the week. For now, let me go grab something to munch on while playing one of my favorite massively multiplayer online games.

How about you? What's your favorite MMO and what food does it remind you of?

Read more »

Gamigo's Martial Empires CBT On March 22nd

Barely a month after opening an office in North America and announcing the acquisition of science fiction massively multiplayer online game Black Prophecy, European online games publisher Gamigo is once again on a roll, this time heralding the closed beta test of free-to-play MMORPG Martial Empires.

Let's take a closer look at Martial Empires in the words of Gamigo:

Are you prepared for the exploration of the once-separated continent Neha? Ready to meet its people and to expose its secrets? Take action and fight for the freedom of this mystic continent. Decide between three different classes. Take revenge for the murder of your mother as a ranger. Prevent the destruction of Neha as a mighty mage or participate in the troops of the imperator on their secret mission as a warrior.

Learn new skills and develop your abilities in the handling of numerous weapons and enter the war with your guild. Meet the challenge of captivating player-versus-player battles or relax with one of many minigames.

Become master of fighting and an honorable hero in the world of Martial Empires!

Here's a list of features you should expect from Martial Empires:

• Detailed 3D graphics


• Unique character development


• Three classes with various options for configuration


• Numerous player-versus-environment and player-versus-player features


• Extensive quests for single and group play


• Guild system with different war options


• Entertaining minigames


• Easy start option due to numerous tutorials

Out of all the features, the one about the guild system having "different war options" piques my curiosity the most. I mean, most of the features listed are common fodder for MMORPGs. I just hope it manages to impress not only me but the hundreds—even thousands—of other online games fanatics.

For more information about the game, check out the official Martial Heroes website.

Read more »

IAHGames' Spanking New Site

The homepage of Southeast Asia-based Infocomm Asia Holdings, more popularly known as IAHGames, has undergone a transformation, one that is long overdue, in my opinion. The new site is indeed spanking, with more features than you can wave your sword at.

IAHGames, for those who don't know, is the publisher of several hit massively multiplayer online games in Southeast Asia. Its roster of online games include EA Sports FIFA Online 2, Emil Chronicle Online, Granado Espada, and Dragonica.



From my perspective, the reason for the change in appearance goes beyond the simple desire to please the eye. First, the new IAHGames portal (that's what it is, a portal) features more content. The inclusion of blog entries is definitely a plus as it will keep the homepage fresh, enticing search engines to re-index the portal's pages for better search results.

Another common feature that has been adapted by the IAHGames portal for its content is the Related Articles box on the sidebar that highlights other articles on the site that you may find interesting.

My only beef with the blog-type entries on the IAHGames homepage is that the titles are not clickable or not linked to a specific entry. Oh, sure, there's a Read More link at the bottom of each blog post summary, but some surfers are pretty casual and may click on titles to jump directly to the meat of the story.

If you're curious about the other features of the new and improved portal, check out this introductory blog post, or better yet, head on over to the IAHGames site.

Read more »

Atlantica Online: Mephisto's Cross

NDOORS Interactive has finally unleashed the decoration item known as Mephisto's Cross in the hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game Atlantica Online, and I can't say that I'm ecstatic about it.

I first saw the damned thing called Mephisto's Cross on one of the main characters in a video of the Korean Atlantica Online and have since vowed never to don it—that is, if my semi-active character on the North American servers of Atlantica Online can afford it.



Those who wish to condemn their Atlantica Online main characters to eternal damnation are advised to purchase Faust's Soul Shard from the item mall and take a chance that the random box will give them a Mephisto's Cross.

Take a gander at the stat bonuses that Atlantica Online's Mephisto's Cross gives:

Mephisto's Cross - Min. Level: 70, Attack Power: 650-750, Vitality: +120, Defense: 500

As is the case with most random boxes from the Atlantica Online item mall, Faust's Soul Shard may also yield different items if Mephisto's Cross doesn't "drop," including an Armed Mount Box, which in turn can give players an Armed Byzantine Elephant, an Armed Volcanic Raptor or an Armed Snow Tiger, or an Extra Inventory License (Perm.).

If that's not to your liking, maybe the fact that Faust's Soul Shard also drops Druid Recruitment items—Shining Gold Sickle or Giant Bull's Horn—is more appealing.

For a full listing on what you can get from Faust's Soul Shard, visit the official Atlantica Online website.

Read more »

Grand Chase Turns 2 in North America

The online action-adventure brawler Grand Chase is turning two years old and publisher Ntreev USA is inviting you to the celebrations via a tournament sponsored by PlaySpan, one of the world's leading monetization solutions provider for over 1,000 online games, virtual worlds and social networks. How's that for a sponsor?

Going back to the topic at hand, Grand Chase is indeed growing older and this new tournament, dubbed the Slam Party, is open to anyone who plays the game. Check out the official Grand Chase website to register an account, download a client and learn how to play.



So what's in store for winners of the Grand Chase Slam Party tournament slated for March 18th?

Well, for starters, we have an AlienWare MX11 gaming notebook, a 32-gigabyte iPod Touch, a Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard, and Ultimate Points worth USD$10.

"But the tournament isn't the only fun in store for Grand Chase players. An entire lineup of fun events is planned for this special anniversary," says Ntreev USA in its announcement story.

Here's a rundown of the other events that celebrate the second year of Grand Chase in North America:

Second Anniversary Welcoming Event. This event is for all existing active, new and old players returning. Each of them will receive a different greeting message and will be given an item that gives them a 10-percent experience point boost set to last for 15 days.

Lucky Day Gift Event. Set to run from March 11th to March 29th, this event will give players different gifts when they log in. All of these items are equipment created in celebration of Grand Chase's second anniversary.

Second Anniversary Special Decoration. Special artwork is being created for the second anniversary of the North American version of Grand Chase. The in-game park area will have special boss monsters placed to give a congratulatory message to the players as well as having a special banner placed in.

"The fabulous prizes—sponsored by PlaySpan—the Grand Chase players have a chance at winning are what makes this second anniversary tournament truly exciting," said Chris Lee, chief executive officer of Ntreev USA. "We are ecstatic that we are in our second year and plan on bringing so many exciting tournaments and non-stop brawling action to both our loyal knights and new players."

Read more »

US MMO Revenues Hit $4B Annually

That USD$4 billion (well, USD$3.8 billion ... but you get the picture) is a big figure, and it's how much gamers based in the United States are spending on massively multiplayer online games, according to GamesIndustry.com's Today's Gamers MMO Focus Report. Considering there are around 48 million MMO players in the United States, the figure translates to an average of USD$82 per player.

According to the survey, however, only 46 percent of the total 48 million players are paying customers. Taking that into consideration, we're looking at an average spending of $15.10 per player (although when I ran my own computations, the figure turned up as USD$179 per paying player).

Regardless of which figures are correct, that's how much US-based online games publishers are raking in. I can't even begin to imagine how much Chinese players spend to enjoy their favorite MMOs, both subscription and free-to-play.



Here's an excerpt from the press release titled "Americans spent $3.8 billion on MMO games in 2009":

Analysis of the consumer data coming from the Today's Gamers MMO Focus Report by GamesIndustry.com and TNS reveals that 21 million Americans spend an average of $15 per month on massively multiplayer online games.

More than 90 percent of this budget is spent directly online. Twenty-five million Americans play these games without spending any money. Revenues in main European countries are around $250 million with the United Kingdom having a slight lead over Germany; nowhere near the staggering amount of $3.8 billion spent in the United States. Growth is expected to come from countries such as Italy, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Poland and Sweden, and these countries are subject of the new MMO Emerging Markets Survey.

'Free to play' versus 'Pay to play'

The majority of American MMO players do not pay to play but still a significant share of 46 percent does. It shows that MMO games are being accepted as a type of game worth paying for. Of the hundreds of MMO games in the market, only a few require payment up-front, mainly by selling software to be installed on the PC.

Americans spent approximately $400 million on this, split up into boxed products and online downloads. About $2.4 billion is spent on monthly or annual subscriptions. Many free-to-play MMOs rely on selling in-game virtual items using direct micro-transactions or a virtual currency approach, grossing another $1 billion in revenues.

"The market for MMO games definitely still has a lot of growth potential. We were able to increase our revenue by 6,261 percent over the past five years. Delivering long-term quality and depth are major success factors in expanding our player base. And it definitely works—with more than 100 million registered users, we are growing fast and expect to continue this path," comments Klaas Kersting, chief executive officer of Gameforge.

Read more »

Coming Soon: Battlestar Galactica Online

Well, it's about time someone gets the ball rolling on a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the Battlestar Galactica series. Tentatively called Battlestar Galactica Online, the game is said to be the brainchild of NBC Universal and Bigpoint.

"Overheard" at gaming site Gamers Daily News, Battlestar Galactica Online will be a tactical space combat and adventure MMOG based on Syfy's Battlestar Galactica series. The tentative date of release for the game that is inspired by one of the most popular—and successful, I might add—science fiction series in television history is Fall 2010.

Oh, and there's a teaser website for Battlestar Galactica Online already up and running.



For those who are unaware of what the fuss is over a Battlestar Galactica MMO, let me explain:

Battlestar Galactica is a franchise of science fiction television series and films spanning several generations. The franchise started with a 1978 television show created by Glen Larson and was followed by a television series, several book adaptations, comic books and video games. The television series was revived via a miniseries developed by Ronald Moore and David Eick that aired in 2003.

So you see what I'm getting at when I say it spans several generations. I watched the original show and the series that followed. I watched it again in 2003, although I didn't like it.

Here's Wikipedia's take on Battlestar Galactica:

All of the Battlestar Galactica productions share the same premise: In a distant part of the universe, a civilization of humans lives on a series of plants known as the Twelve Colonies. In the past, the colonies have been at war with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons. With the help of a human traitor named Baltar, the Cylons launch a sudden ambush on the Colonies, laying waste to the planets and devastating their populations.

The human survivors flee into space aboard any spacecraft they can reach. Of all the colonial fleet, the Battlestar Galactica appears to be the only military capital ship that survived the attack (later, it is learned that the Battlestar Pegasus also survived the attack). Under the leadership of famed military leader Commander Adama, the Battlestar Galactica and its crew take up the task of leading the small fugitive fleet of survivors into space in search of the fabled thirteenth colony known as Earth.

A bit of warning, though. I hear Battlestar Galactica Online is a browser-based MMO. How that will work out is beyond me, but I'll be sure to watch out for it.

Read more »

Tales Of Fantasy Alpha Test Today

Yes, you read that right. If you've been living under a rock this past few days, then you probably don't know that Tales of Fantasy, I Got Games' (that's IGG to you, bud) latest acquisition, is finally entering alpha testing, and everyone has a chance to participate—as in everyone who wants a crack at a new 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

To be frank, I don't have much information about Tales of Fantasy that you don't already know. I do, however, have a breakdown of a list of some features that you may find interesting.



Out of the three or so features listed on the official Tales of Fantasy website, two clearly stand out: the ability of characters to fight while mounted and to tame different monsters to use as mounts.

Pretty exciting, don't you agree? I mean, it has been the dream of any true blue MMORPG fanatic to witness the dawning of mounted battles, where a player's prowess with his or her character's skills is multiplied tenfold by the strength of the mount. At least, that's my most fervent wish.

Aside from engaging enemies while mounted, your Tales of Fantasy character can also tame various beasts to serve as mounts, from common horses to rare holy beasts. What makes this feature even more interesting is that your character can switch mounts in mid stride. How's that for battlefield tactics?

Of course, no MMORPG in today's world is bereft of wings for characters, be it the kind that allows characters to fly or not. Tales of Fantasy also features an item crafting and enhancing system. An online game that doesn't have these features isn't worth playing, in my opinion.

So what are you waiting for? Mount up by grabbing an activation key, confirming your attendance, and downloading Tales of Fantasy. See you there!

Read more »

Altantica Online: Mercenary Madness!

NDOORS Interactive, publisher of hit massively multiplayer online games such as WonderKing and Luminary, has finally come up with another great event for its best title Atlantica Online. In fact, the event is so good (at least in my mind) that it's probably the best one the company has come up with since the launch of the game.

I'm talking about the Mercenary Madness promo that gives players, ordinary folk like you and me, the opportunity to develop a new mercenary for Atlantica Online. Sounds cool, eh? Well it is!



"Have you ever wished to develop your very own mercenary in Atlantica Online? Well, guess what—here's your chance! That's right: the mercenary that you have had in your head, that you've always thought would make a great addition to Atlantica, can finally become a reality," NDOORS says in its official announcement for Atlantica Online event.

If you have the creative juices to come up with a unique mercenary for Atlantica Online, here are a few things you need to do:

The new mercenary idea must include ...

Type of Mercenary (Existing Classes Only). What this means is that your mercenary must belong to the one of the mercenary types, which include sword (Swordsman, Sailor, Exorcist, Lady Knight), spear (Spearman, Spartan), bow (Archer, Prophet, Hwarang), gun (Gunner, Inventor, Janissary) ... well, you get the picture.

Name of Each Mercenary Upgrade. You must provide your mercenary with an Initial Name, a Level 20 Upgrade Name, a Level 50 Upgrade Name, a Level 80 Upgrade Name, and a Hero Name. Example: Artilleryman, Artillery Officer, Artillery Captain, Napoleon, and Hero Napoleon.

Backstory of the Mercenary. Here's where a bulk of your creative juices are needed. You need to conceptualize and write a background story for your new mercenary. This will help establish a time and quest line for your mercenary in case NDOORS decides it is good enough to be included in Atlantica Online.

Description of Mercenary's Appearance. If you can't draw, you might as well provide sample images by scouring the web and doing a good job at describing how your mercenary looks with words.

Mercenary Skill Names and Descriptions. This is where the remainder of creative juices must be spent. I'm sure most players already have an idea of which skills are needed in Atlantica Online. It's all a matter of matching them to new mercenaries that they have in mind.

So there you have it. The five rules you need to keep in mind to join Atlantica Online's Mercenary Madness promo. Once you have everything in the list in place, fire off an email to event@ndoorsinc.com any time between March 5th and March 22nd, 2010.

Are you limited to just one mercenary idea for Atlantica Online? No, says NDOORS. Each participant can submit up to three separate mercenary ideas, provided each has the five requirements. Oh, and there's a Merc. Submission Template. Simply download it and use it to enter the contest.

The reward: Aside from getting their mercenary into Atlantica Online, the winner will receive the mercenary itself to be used in their formation, an artwork of the mercenary with signatures of all the developers involved in bringing the mercenary to life, and a year's worth of Atlantica Online merchandise.

Read more »

In The Works: MMOs On Facebook?

Massively multiplayer online games on Facebook or MySpace? It's not as farfetched as it sounds. I've been giving the topic much thought over the better part of the week, and I just had to perform a search. This is why I've stumbled upon an article by Johnny Lim on MMOsite that tackles this very topic.

"Due to its user-based model, many applications are being developed to satisfy the needs of members of social networking sites ... so promising that MMO developers might see this as another great opportunity to build an MMO game application for social networking site platform," Lim says.



I totally agree with him, and I'm sure a lot of online games developers are nodding their heads as well. Someone has beat the MMO giants to the punch, though. Casual games are already well entrenched in social networking sites, particularly in Facebook which, to date, boasts more than 20 million users.

Couple the idea of developing a Facebook application-cum-massively multiplayer online game with the fact that browser-based games like Casvian and Canaan, then you may very well have a formula for success.

Browser-based MMOs? It's gotta be boring, you scream. Not true. They're actually pretty engrossing. Let's not discount simple video games just because they're not in 3D or doesn't have kick-ass sound effects.

Many a game developers probably thought games wouldn't flourish in social networking sites, and they had been proven wrong with the super success of the Facebook application Farmville, which, if statistics were to be believed, has over 80 million active users.

Imagine 80 million players of a single MMORPG on Facebook and other social networking sites! It doesn't take a genius to know that placing first in the race to develop and publish an MMO for social networking sites will ensure the future of any one company, its officers, and its employees.

Read more »

Prepare To Digivolve On March 10th!

If you are a fan of the animated series Digimon, then you're in for a big surprise. WeMade Entertainment has just announced plans to launch the first-ever online Digimon game called Digimon Battle.



"The Digimon community has been waiting patiently for an online, interactive DigiWorld, and we feel privileged to be developing this experience for audiences," said Kevin Seo, chief executive officer of WeMade Entertainment. "In the open beta, players will be able to take on the role of hero or heroine in the game and embark on adventures with Digimon friends."

By "Digimon friends" Mister Seo doesn't only mean friends you will meet in this online version of the Digimon franchise but also the entire range of digital monsters from the first to the fourth seasons of the animated series (Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, and Digimon Frontier).

Naturally, players will take on the roles of Digimon tamers whose mission is to help protect the world from evil Digimon by partnering with good Digimon and exploring the Digital World together.

In Digimon Battle, players select a tamer character—Takato Matsuki, Henry Wong, Rika Nonaka or Jeri Katou—and set off with their Digimon and human friends, helping their Digimon to progress in their Digivolution. Players and their Digimon level up by winning battles, and players can progress through several ranks of tamer to achieve elite status. There are three types of Digimon Partners and seven types of captured Digimon for players to find and tame in the world.

From March 3rd to March 16th, players who register for the beta, download the client and create their characters will get an exclusive Frontier Starter Kit for being pioneering members of the Digimon Battle community. The Frontier Starter Kit will include valuable tools to help players prepare for the open beta, including 10 Jump Gates to jump to all the maps in DigiWorld, 10 Vigor Floppy Discs to gain 200 VP recovery while in defense mode, and 10 Recovery Floppy Discs to gain 200 HP recovery while in attack mode. These kits will be delivered to players on March 17th.

So what are you waiting for? Let's Digivolve by checking out the official Digimon Battle website.

Read more »

How To Block Spammers In Allods Online

In line with The MMOsh Pit's campaign against spam in massively multiplayer online games, I am launching today a series of guides on how to block most forms of spam in some titles that I play. The first game on the block is Allods Online, a recently released free-to-play MMORPG from Gala-Net Inc. and its gPotato portal.



Spam bots started appearing in the two North American servers of Allods Online—Nezeb and Tensess—about a week into the open beta phase of the game and elicited the ire of most players who wanted nothing more than to strangle the unscrupulous individuals behind the bots.

Unfortunately, not all Allods Online players know how to block spam messages, and this step-by-step guide is designed to help them through the process.



How To Block Spammers In Allods Online Step #1: Identify the in-game name of the spam bot. Those familiar with the chat interface of most MMORPGs can do this easily. If you're having trouble pinning down the spammer's name, which is especially true in Allods because the chat window keeps scrolling, refer to the screenshot.

If you still can't identify the name after several attempts, I suggest you hit the Print Screen button (Prt Scr/SysRq on most modern keyboards), open the Allods Online screenshot folder (usually found in C:\gPotato.com\Allods Online\Personal\Screenshots) and scroll to the last screenshot in the folder, open the file using a image editor (eg. Photoshop or Paint), and zoom in on the screenshot's chat window. Since the screenshot is not moving, it's easier to correctly read the spammer's in-game name.



How To Block Spammers In Allods Online Step #2: Click the Social button on the bottom left portion of your Allods Online interface (highlighted with a red circle in the screenshot) to bring up your character's Friends List. Obviously, we're not about to block our friends so click on the Ignore List tab of the Social window.



How To Block Spammers In Allods Online Step #3: Now that your Social window is showing the Ignore List, click on the Add button to open a new window where you can enter the in-game name of the spammer. Keep in mind that before you click on the Accept button, double check the spelling of the name you've just entered or else the spammer's chat messages won't be blocked.



How To Block Spammers In Allods Online Step #4: Check the chat window to make sure the spammer you're intending to block has indeed been blocked. If you can still read the spammer's messages, go back and redo all the steps.

Hope this simple Allods Online guide has helped improve your gameplay, not to mention your sanity. Stay tuned for more guides!

Read more »

MMORPG: Get Rid Of Spam Bots, Please!

This is a shoutout to developers and publishers of massively multiplayer online games: "Get rid of spam bots!" For those who remain unaware, spam bots are not exclusive to email and social networking sites like Friendster and Facebook where spam goes into the inboxes of unsuspecting users on a daily basis.

The only difference between receiving spam in email and getting spam in an online game is, in the latter, spam comes in a wide array of forms, from chat, a common function of MMOs (for obvious reasons, as it is the only way to communicate in a virtual world ... at least at the moment), to whispers and in-game mail.



What are they spamming? Well, mostly advertisements for websites that sell in-game currency in exchange for real money, or some sort of service that almost always include power leveling. Yes, some people actually pay other people to level characters in online games.

The sad part is some MMO developers and publishers take pains to either block these spammers from setting up shop in their virtual worlds while some don't—at least nothing that is transparent to the inquisitive minds of some players.

Take, for instance, two of the MMORPGs that I currently play: Allods Online and Atlantica Online. These two are great games. For me (read: in my opinion), these two titles are at the cutting edge of today's generation of free-to-play online games. They do suffer, however, from minor flaws, and foremost among these is the existence of spam bots in the game.

In Allods Online, owners of these spam bots take advantage of the game's multichat functions, particularly the one that lets players broadcast messages to all players in a given map or area (for reference, check out the screenshot). Thank the gaming gods that they haven't exploited the in-game mail yet!

In Atlantica Online, spam bots have been plaguing all servers since the commercial launch. What's happening in Atlantica is actually worse than the situation in Allods Online. In NDOORS Interactive's gem of a game, spammers not only utilize the chat system, they also send spam mail to players via the mail system.

The question now is: Whose responsibility is it to get rid of these spammers?

My take on the matter is the responsibility falls on MMO developers and publishers. Hey, players may be inconvenienced by the daily barrage of advertisements in their chat windows, but they're not the ones losing money—that is, unless they patronize these so-called gold sellers whose reputation is always suspect.

Read more »

Special Events For Trickster Online

It's a bit late, but I owe it to Ntreev USA, who has been actively sending me information about its titles during dry spells in my writing and editing of b5media's MMOtaku, to come out with the announcement of its special events lined up for its popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game Trickster Online: A New Discovery.



Here's an excerpt from the Ntreev USA story announcing the launch of all-new special events for Trickster Online:

Ntreev USA, a leading online games developer and publisher, has announced two new exciting events starting this week in its popular fantasy MMORPG, Trickster Online: A New Discovery. The Lucky 13 Challenge is ongoing and will run until March 17th. The GM event, Megalo Snipe Hunt, will begin on March 8th.

Players may visit the official Trickster Online website for North America to download the game and participate in both events.

"We hope our players will enjoy the latest events offered and will take advantage of the chance to win some really great prizes," said Chris Lee, chief executive officer of Ntreev USA. "GM events have always proved to be very popular among Trickster players and March has a lot in store for the community."

Now, let's take a closer look at those "all-new special events" for Trickster Online:

Lucky 13 Challenge. Players have some great reasons to level up their equipment this month. Player who have leveled up their unrefined equipment to refine level will earn special prizes during the event period. Prizes will include:

* Reaching Level 7 will earn players three Gacha Coins.
* Reaching Level 10 will earn players a Mature Compounding Set and Special GM Pet.
* Reaching Level 13 will earn players a framed poster of a new Trickster illustration signed by GMs.
* Three random players will receive 50,000 points that can be used in Trickster Online.

Megalo Snipe Hunt GM Event. The GMs of Trickster will be disguising themselves and hiding out in plain sight all over Caballa Island. But they won't be easy to find as GMs can transform into a monster, NPC or pet. Once players spot the GMS, they'll need to type in chat if the GM is a monster, an NPC, or a pet. The first person to type out the name of the disguise correctly will receive three GM Disguise Kits, one Chaos Feather Random Box, one Potion Random Box, plus additional prizes. All other players who are on the map when the GM is spotted will also receive five disguise kits.

Read more »

MMOtaku Lives On In The MMOsh Pit

While thinking about what to write in this initial posting for my personal gaming blog The MMOsh Pit, I stumbled upon a tweet from fellow former b5media blogger Jason Bean that said, "It's starting to sink in that I don't 'HAVE' to write any blog posts tonight. Weird! I've been doing that for the last 5 years."

I think I'm just one of the many bloggers out there that can truly say, "I know exactly how you feel, Jason."

Prior to the termination of my contract with b5media, I was handling the network's MMOtaku, a blog that focused on massively multiplayer online role-playing games, and I had been doing that for almost three years.

Now, faced with the reality that MMOtaku is beyond my reach, I need to muster the strength to continue blogging about one of the most important things in my life right now—MMORPGs.

Say wut? 'Nuff said. It's fodder for another blog post I've been itching to write about.



Today, I say goodbye to b5media and MMOtaku. It was a good run, and I intend to continue it on The MMOsh Pit, which will be similar in tone to articles in my former blog, but unfettered from censorship aside from my own.

So let this posting be a shout out to loyal viewers of MMOtaku: "I'M ALIVE!"

Special mention goes to the following people:

Mike Leaño, for bringing me into the professional blogging world. In 2007, Mike, then Technology Channel Editor of b5media, asked me to blog for the network via MMOtaku. I owe him, big time!

Kevin Codamon, online platforms manager of Philippines-based online games publisher Level Up! Games, for giving me a wider perspective of blogging as a profession.

Carlo Ople, global digital marketing manager of Friendster, for continuing to inspire me with deeds if not in words to write and blog about the things dearest to my heart. Go check out his blogs—Waukster, New Media Philippines, Pinoy Food Critic and Juan Country—to know what I mean.

The sentiments go out to Mon Macutay, head of MMORPG marketing at Level Up! Games.

PJ Punla, friend and blogger who was the first to associate the name MMOtaku to Joel Tan. I consider her my conscience. Without her reading my every post and giving valuable feedback, I'm sure I won't be as effective a storyteller as I am now.

And Robert Sanchez, who remains instrumental in the formation of my opinions about some of the hottest massively multiplayer online games in the market today. I can always count on Robert to spar with me, intellectually, over issues hounding most MMO titles.

Read more »