MMO Communcation Ltd. opens the gates for Aion Guide - a community website that is set to deliver guides on classes, items and skills for NCSoft’s latest MMORPG, Aion: The Tower of Eternity.
With a team of three dedicated writers and many volunteers, the company strides to provide a one-stop resource for all players of Aion, which currently is still in beta in the US. The classes in Aion are nothing new to players in the US, who have seen a similar system already in SOE’s Everquest 2 - a main competitor of NCSoft.
"Classes are what make or brakes an MMO", says Andrew Sorense, CEO of MMO Communication Ltd. Thus the company focuses on in-depth guides to individual Aion classes. The company’s guidelines for Aion are targeted at new players, which is in line with projects for other MMORPGs MMO Communication Ltd. is currently supporting.
Since the launch of Aion in the Asian market, publisher NCSoft’s shares have quadrupled in value, reflecting the excellent reception the game has seen there. If the game performs equally well in the US and EU market - where it’s scheduled for release on September 22nd and 25th - MMO Communication Ltd. is set to expand its efforts on aionguide.org.
MMO Communication Ltd. was founded in 2008 and specializes in community websites for online roleplaying games. Started in the dorm room of the founder Andrew Sorense, the company has seen tremendous growth over the months since its inception. Supporting more than 7 different MMORPGs, it provides an essential service to gamers of all ages.
Some noteworthy news for the day came in the form of Funcom having two announcements about the once very popular MMORPG, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. The first announcement came via an interview with Eurogamer about a new expansion pack that is currently in development for the game and it will be released later this year. The second announcement was a bit more festive (and current) as it involves Age of Conan allowing certain players to have free-to-play access for a limited time.
According to an article on Blend Games, the new expansion pack will be revealed for the MMORPG this upcoming August, at the GamesCon in Germany.
Following shortly on this news was the announcement by Funcom that players who have closed accounts on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures can re-activate their accounts and receive two whole weeks of free-to-play service. It’s not a bad deal and presumably a promotional campaign set in place to retrieve players who abandoned the game due to many of the bugs and glitches, something the company has promised to fix.
“For anyone with an inactive account who ever thought about giving it another try, this is your chance,” says Morten Larssen, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at Funcom. “After the hugely successful launch last year we immediately started working on updates that would make the game better and provide more content for players, and that is what we have been doing this past year. With the most recent update just out the door, this is the time to ask players to come back and see the results!”
Gamers who are interested in this new promotion for the game can learn more by visiting the Official Age of Conan Website. Be sure to stay tuned in for further updates regarding the new expansion and the updates for the game.
There are quite a few "free" MMORPGs out there these days. One of the best of these is Wizard101, from KingsIsle Entertainment. Wizard101 is targeted towards a younger audience (kids, preteens, etc), but players of all ages find a lot to like in this quirky, refreshing take on the fantasy MMORPG genre.
Players take on the role of a young wizard-in-training, specializing in one of several schools of magic. You meet the "big bad" of the game early on, in the tutorial in fact, and it is this threat that makes up much of the storyline of the game. Combat is turn-based and similar to that in collectible card games.
There are several "worlds" that make up the Wizard101 game world, each one typically based on a different ancient mythology. This leads to a fantastic variety in atmosphere throughout the game. Many of these areas (as well as other items) must be purchased in micro-transactions or by subscribing to the game. Gift cards to unlock these special areas of the game can be purchased at various retailers.
You'll eventually run out of big stuff to do if you don't start buying things, but there is quite a bit to do, including things like mini-games separate from the main quests, without purchasing anything.
There are special safety features, most of which are centered around the chat system, that endevour to keep younger players safe from unsavory individuals. Even the naming scheme is controlled by the game; player and pet names must be created using pre-selected lists.
The restrictions in place to protect younger players shouldn't turn away older players. The game is quite fun, and well worth the free download. It is a fantasy MMORPG that feels different from all the other fantasy MMORPGs out there.
HELLO Kitty fans and gamers here will be among the first in the world to enter the virtual universe of Hello Kitty, when Sanrio's official massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) is launched here next month.
Singapore-based games publisher Oriented Games will release the commercial version of Hello Kitty Online (HKO) here and in Malaysia, ahead of countries such as Indonesia and Brazil.
Gamers need not pay to play HKO when it is commercially released, but may purchase virtual items like clothes with cash.
Oriented Games executive director Lau Kin Wai told my paper that he expects 300,000 sign-ups from fans of both countries for the commercial version.
Avid fan and bunker trader Serena Loh, 30, said: 'I'm very excited to see the game played here! It'll be a dream come true for fans.'
Even those who are not fans are willing to give it a shot. IT analyst Tay Wei Long, 26, said: 'I'm open to all genres of RPG, even the 'cute-cute' ones.'
Mr Lau said that the company had received 'very positive feedback' about the game.
'They like the game because it is cute and colourful. It is also non-violent, which makes it different from most of the other online games available here.'
Developed by Sanrio Digital, HKO features social-networking services such as in-game blogs and an e-mail system, which are a hit with fans such as Ms Loh.
She said: 'The best thing about the game is that you get to interact with Sanrio fans from all over the world.'
In the game, users create unique avatars and go on various quests set by Sanrio characters, such as Hello Kitty and My Melody. In addition, users can build houses and farms with other players.
This feature seems to be a favourite with fans, such as auditor Teo Jia Hui, 24.
She said: 'I prefer building things to doing violent stuff like killing monsters.'
In 2000, the fast-food chain sparked a Hello Kitty craze when it launched a promotion offering Hello Kitty soft toys with its meals.
Fans queued for hours and got into scuffles in a bid to get their hands on the toys.
Here, popular MMORPG World Of Warcraft counts over 30,000 players, while another MMORPG, Maple Story, has one million registered players here.
HKOhas different areas named after major cities in the world, including Paris and London.
Mr Lau said: 'We may want to create a Singapore in the game. Soon, users may be able to see Singaporean icons such as the Merlion in HKO.'
This year, E3 was chock-full of new and interesting games, including quite a few MMOs. Games like MAG took the meaning of massively multiplayer to a whole new level. Final Fantasy XIV marked the return and reworking of a well known name. And then there was PWE's Torchlight.
Perfect World Entertainment introduced their MMORPG Perfect World last year. The game features beautiful Asian inspired graphics and stories. This year, Perfect World attended E3 and introduced a whole list of games that are already out, and some still in the works. Torchlight was one of the latter. Brought to you by Runic Games, the people behind Diablo and Fate, Torchlight will begin in Fall of 2009 as a single player RPG, then relocate online to become an MMORPG.
Torchlight was a calm and quiet village... until a powerful and dangerous magic ore is discovered, and the village is turned upside down. The village suddenly began to attract many people in pursuit of the power. Players explore various dungeons in search of treasure, magic, and power.
The release date for the single player is set for December 2009, with the MMO function scheduled to be added at a later point. Be on the lookout for this title.
Torchlight screenshot from IGN.
Visit the main site: (Click here)... although there is not much to look at here yet.
In the meantime, watch this trailer for Torchlight from E3.
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