Final Fantasy XIII Trailer - NEW!


Final Fantasy XIII is looking to be a showpiece for the PlayStation 3, and Square Enix is confident that it will push the system to its limits. Kotaku reports that, speaking to Japanese magazine Dengeki PlayStation 3, producer Yoshinori Kitase addressed some questions about the game. "Doesn't the demo use about 50 percent of [the PlayStation 3's] power?" he said. "Of course, I think the retail version will make use of nearly 100 percent."

As a comparison, he commented that this game will be to the PlayStation 3 what Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X were to the PlayStation and PS2, respectively. But, he reassured that the game won't require disc swapping, at least on the PlayStation 3, due to the capacity of Blu-Ray and PS3 harddrive space.

Sony CEO Kaz Hirai recently made waves when he commented that the console was made "hard to program for" in order to pace the flow of taking full advantage of the console. Square Enix has usually been a trendsetter when it comes to packing punch on Sony's systems. If Final Fantasy XIII does take almost full advantage of the hardware, we can bet other developers will take it as an example to follow.

The other elephant in the room, of course, is the Xbox 360 version. Since it will be ported after the PlayStation 3 version is finished, it probably isn't on the minds of the developers. But if the game is really pressing the PS3 that hard, we'll have to see if any compromises are necessary for the 360.

Mana Khemia: Student Alliance (PSP) US Debut Trailer


It seems like it was only last year that the PS2 version of Mana Khemia was getting mediocre reviews - oh wait, it was just last year. A PSP port already? Ok, we'll roll with it. Nothing wrong with putting a little alchemy in your pocket, especially when there are multiplayer battles with exclusive rewards to be had. Sadly there are some technical issues that make the port pretty undesirable unless you're really that keen on the ad hoc additions.

Back to School
For those of you who didn't jump at the original, it's basically a guild-style RPG (where you accept quests from a front desk) except in this case you're a student at a magic academy signing up for classes. Each semester you need a certain amount of credits to pass, and you earn them by going on quests to gather certain items, kill a specific monster, or synthesize a particular item. Along the way you can also complete "free time" quests to learn more about your character, Vayne, who has a predictably hazy past, and his workshopmates: alchemically ambitious Jess, cat-girl to the max Nikki, and (cue theme song) Flay, with the big sword.

Character progression is somewhat frustrating, but also oddly compelling. You can't just grind in the field and level up. You earn points for defeating enemies, but those don't go into stat upgrades until you fill out your Growth Book (sort of like the license board in Final Fantasy XII) which requires that you synthesize items. I.e. crafting is not optional in this game, and in fact, it's probably the main draw (if you're into that sort of thing), although the battle system (transparently turn-based, with ways to strategically screw with the order) is pretty fun.



Underachiever
Actually, despite the somewhat generic look and sound, I would describe Mana Khemia as fun in general. The PSP version, however, has this incredibly unfun, dual-pronged fork-in-the-eye problem of too many pokey load breaks paired with one...h-ell of a...won---ky, fra-me...rate. There were so many times until I got used to it that I thought the game was just going to crash altogether. The Jump Start install might ameliorate this somewhat, but only if you have enough room on your memory stick. I know there are definitely people who will be hooked enough to grin and bear it, but it's too bad this couldn't have been a more polished product.

PROS: Fun combat, compelling character progression, new multiplayer battles
CONS: Horrible optimization

Since its advent nearly 13 years ago, the Star Ocean series has challenged the role-playing game norm with its real-time battles and sci-fi trappings. Despite what appeared to be the series' conclusion with the unconventional revelations seen in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, it has returned in prequel form on the Xbox 360 with a newly overhauled and better-than-ever combat system. Though it features a weak, cliche story and characters you may want to launch out of the airlock, its fantastic and engaging battles, simple yet fun crafting system, and bevy of bonuses make Star Ocean: The Last Hope worth your time.

In the latter half of the 21st century, humankind all but nukes itself into nonexistence, forcing the survivers on Earth to look to the stars for a new home. As Edge Maverick, a first-generation member of the Space Reconnaissance Force, you start off on your mission to explore the galaxy for a suitable new home and are drawn into a battle for the fate of the galaxy when you encounter a mysterious and destructive force that threatens all life. Of course, that's nothing that a can-do attitude, the support of your friends, hidden inner powers, and the occasional all-too-convenient plot twist can't handle as you race off to save the day. Sound familiar? Star Ocean: The Last Hope doesn't have a very original story, and its frequently ridiculous plot points and consistently dreadful dialogue don't help to make it any more memorable, especially when it forces half-hour-plus cutscenes on you with alarming frequency. Luckily, you can skip these epic events at any time (though oddly enough, they can't be paused) and read through condensed text synopses to make sure that you didn't miss anything too terribly important.



The formulaic nature of the story is further compounded by the cast of characters, themselves an off-the-shelf mixture of walking, talking space opera and anime cliches. You've got the hopelessly idealistic leading man, who is full of an infinite (and often misplaced) trust in others; the self-deprecating childhood-friend-slash-possible-love-interest; the emotionally repressed, scientifically minded space elf; the busty, scantily clad staff-wielding sorceress; the overly affectionate underaged cat girl; and more. Though the members of your misfit crew do undergo some fairly heavy changes as the game progresses--both as part of the standard narrative and in optional cutscenes and events--it's always in extremely predictable ways that ultimately fail to break them out of their original molds.

Despite these shortcomings, The Last Hope is a fun and engaging game thanks in great part to its deeply engrossing and highly addictive combat system; if the story is the heart of a Japanese RPG, then the battles are its soul, and Star Ocean's shines brightly. Monsters appear on the field, and once engaged, they're fought completely in real time with a party of up to four characters. You actively control one of your crew members and navigate him or her around a wide-open battlefield, dishing out damage at your own pace, while the others act according to basic AI routines that you've given them. At any time, you can switch over to manually control anyone who you have deployed, and you can even swap out active characters with reserve ones at your discretion. Every single character plays vastly differently, and it's fun and engaging to experiment with each character in order to find the play style and party combination that works best for you.



Though the battles can get frantic, they don’t all come down to button mashing, especially when you're taking on bosses. These major battles in The Last Hope often play out like simplified versions of encounters in an massively multiplayer game such as World of Warcraft. Each boss has a specific strategy that can be followed to take it out--though it's not necessary to follow these tactics if your party is powerful enough--and figuring them out during the fight will make your life a whole lot easier and dramatically reduce battle times. Another concept taken from online games is monster aggro, or aggression. Though enemies will wander around the battlefield, you can draw aggro from them with attacks or by using specialized skills for doing so, which is useful for pulling a monster off of your physically weaker magic-slingers to give them a chance to cast their powerful spells. Once you have aggro and the monster gears up for an attack, if you dodge out of the way with the right timing, you can break its line of sight on you, leaving it temporarily confused and open to special counterattacks called blindsides. Another powerful tool at your disposal is Rush mode, which can be activated once you've taken or dealt enough damage to grant you an array of bonuses and the ability to chain attacks together with other party members.

Perhaps the most interesting part of battle is the bonus board. By performing specific tasks in combat, such as defeating enemies using only skills or killing two monsters with one blow, you add a tile to this onscreen grid that grants you an extra reward at the end of battle based on your achievement. You can have up to 14 such bonus tiles active at any one time, and these carry over from fight to fight; by carefully manipulating the types of bonus tiles you have, you can customize extra rewards that are given after every single encounter. With this, you have the flexibility to power level your characters, grind for cash or skill points, minimize the number of restorative items that you need to use, or all of the above in any combination. It's possible to lose your bonus tiles, but if you exercise good judgment in combat, they shouldn't be too difficult to keep for as long as you like.



When not in battle, you're exploring a series of open, outdoor locations that range from beaches to deserts to snow-capped mountains and beyond, as well as the occasional puzzle-filled dungeon. These beautiful-but-dangerous environments often contain resource nodes that provide valuable plant life or raw materials if you've got a crew member who can harvest them. These supplies and others earned through battle (or bought from stores) are then used to fuel your research in the simple-but-powerful item creation system. By finding item formulas in your journey or forming research teams and thinking long and hard enough, you can invent recipes for new weapons, armor, items, and even decorations for your ship. Once you gain the right ally, you can further customize your equipment by synthesizing the properties of other items in your inventory to generate some truly powerful gear.

The Last Hope features some top-notch visuals in its huge, open, and highly detailed environments, its abundant cutscenes, and its anime-inspired character models, but it also has a few notable issues. Sadly, the game has only a handful of unique monster designs, and it palette-swaps and reuses them ad infinitum. It's also exceedingly difficult to play on an SDTV thanks to incredibly hard-to-read text and muddied graphics. Sometimes just looking around you is an exercise in frustration thanks to the awful camera system; it zooms in ridiculously close at times and doesn't seem to know what to do whenever you're in a narrow hallway or traveling down stairs or a steep decline. Perhaps the most disturbing thing about The Last Hope is that all of the game's characters have a doll-like, glossy-eyed dead look to them, further accentuated by their complete lack of human emotion or expression. Besides being creepy, this makes supposedly emotional scenes unintentionally hilarious or just plain awkward to watch.

The game’s frequently awful voice acting makes it even harder to connect with the characters. At its very best, The Last Hope's cast will make you groan. At its worse, they're absolutely unbearable. Anyone hoping to escape the lackluster dub will be disappointed to hear that the original Japanese audio is not preserved here, though you do have the option to turn off battle quips from individual characters. Celebrated composer Motoi Sakuraba returns to lend his talents to the Star Ocean series once again, and though the voice acting doesn't work, his soundtrack is perfectly suited to the various locales visited, situations faced, and battles fought.



When it's all said and done and you've finished the game, there's still plenty more to do. Besides offering two unlockable difficulty settings, there are tons of side quests to complete, items to create, recipes to discover, bonus dungeons to explore, and bunnies to race. The Last Hope also has Star Ocean: Till the End of Time’s coliseum system, which lets you sign up for solo or group fights to battle your way up the ladders for prizes. You can collect dozens of battle trophies for each character by performing specific tasks with them in combat. And if you actually are interested in the story, there are multiple endings to see based on the relationships that you form as Edge Maverick throughout the game.

If all you're looking for is a strong, narrative-driven role-playing adventure, Star Ocean: The Last Hope isn't going to do much to satisfy you. But despite its deficiencies in this area, its huge number of extras and its addictive, deeply strategic and tactical combat system make it a lot of fun.

By Lark Anderson, GameSpot

Star Ocean: The Last Hope Opening

Dissidia: Final Fantasy is an action game produced by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable as part of the campaign of the Final Fantasy series 20th anniversary. Information on the game was first released during the "Square Enix Party" event of May 2007. The game features characters from different Final Fantasy games and centers around a great conflict between the heroes and villains, as the god of discord, Chaos, tries to wrestle control of their worlds from the forces of good.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy's genre has been described as "dramatic progressive action" and its graphics are in three dimensions. It has wireless one-on-one multiplayer and fights revolving around the use of individual special skills of characters to do damage to opponents. Players can also customize their characters with equipment.

Character movement is fully functional within the three-dimensional field map. Characters are able to perform special maneuvers using the environment, similar to the Reaction Command feature of Kingdom Hearts II. Traps with a variety of ill effects can be found throughout the arena.




Similar to many fighting games, the aim is for the player to reduce their opponent’s HP to zero. A character's offensive (and, to a lesser extent, defensive) power is shown in numerical form called BP or "Brave Points". Both characters start out with equal BP, and each must steal BP from their opponent by attacking them with the basic "assist attack" to add it to their own total and gain the upper hand. Players can then use the "HP attack" to cause direct damage to their opponent; the higher their BP, the more damage they inflict. However, once an HP attack is used, the character's own BP is reduced to 0 and then recovers to its starting amount. A character whose BP total has been depleted (past 0 BP and into the negatives) is forced into "Break mode", where, aside from not being able to cause HP or BP damage, all attacks made against them cause critical damage, and the opponent gets a large boost to their BP.

One main feature of the combat system is the "EX Gauge", which can be filled in a variety of ways, such as inflicting damage on opponents, taking damage from opponents, and obtaining items scattered around the field of play. Once the EX Gauge is filled, the character can enter their "EX Mode", significantly increasing their power and enabling new attacks, including the "EX Burst", an unavoidable special attack similar to the Limit Break mechanic seen in many games in the series.

In Dissidia, there is an ongoing conflict between two gods: Chaos, the god of discord, and Cosmos, the goddess of harmony. The two gods have battled for eons, until Chaos summoned a number of villains from other universes to serve him. These villains built an army and overwhelmed the forces of good, and the balance of power tipped in Chaos' favor. The few survivors of the forces of good have banded together to strike back at Chaos and his forces and return order to the universes.

Characters

The game unites both protagonists and antagonists from installments of the main Final Fantasy series, their stories narrated by the first Final Fantasy game's Cid of the Lufaine (voiced by Bunta Sugawara). Chaos (voiced by Norio Wakamoto) also makes an appearance as the god of discord, while a new character, Cosmos (voiced by Sumi Shimamoto), appears as the goddess of harmony. The game has an overarching storyline that requires playing through all of the characters to complete. The game contains twenty-two total playable characters: eleven heroes and eleven villains, one of each representing Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy X, and two secret characters: a heroine representing Final Fantasy XI, and a villain representing Final Fantasy XII.

Characters' equipment can be customized, and they can gain EXP and gil from battles.

Many of the characters can transform into different forms, mostly as part of their EX Modes. For example, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII transforms into his One-Winged Angel form as seen in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children when entering EX Mode, whereas Cecil from Final Fantasy IV can switch between his Dark Knight and Paladin forms at any time. All characters have an alternate costume; examples include a design for the Onion Knight that makes him resemble Luneth from the Nintendo DS version of Final Fantasy III and Squall's SeeD uniform as seen in Final Fantasy VIII.

Summons are accessible using Summon Stones. There are over 50 different summons, each with a different effect.

[PSP] Final Fantasy Dissidia New Trailer

NCsoft announced it's new MMORPG Blade and Soul on July 31. This new game is aimed at expanding the action aspects of the MMORPG genre to a never-before-seen level. As demonstrated in the video, there are some very interesting and intensive looking action scenes which seem to integrate in to the actual game play flawlessly.

The characters' oriental style arts are designed by popular Korean artist HyungTae Kim. Blade and Soul is being developed by the same development team that created Lineage II.

After watching the trailer, be sure to check out this extremely detailed breakdown! There are many secrets and clues within the video to be discovered. Click here to official site

Blade & Soul Gameplay(High Quality)

The most recent issue of Famitsu contains quite a few interesting details about the upcoming PSP game Final Fantasy Agito XIII. The title began life as a mobile phone spin-off, but somewhere between the orignal announcement and the recent Square Enix press event, plans changed. According to Famitsu, the developers were unhappy with the current state of mobile gaming and decided instead to build the game for the more popular -- and more capable -- PSP.

The magazine revealed that the game will also use a similar battle system to the one found in Crisis Core. The so-called ATB system allows players to freely move around the battlefield, block and attack at will (even though they must wait for a counter bar to fill before attacking). Agito will use an advanced version of this system, however the developers also revealed that it will be possible to control more than one character in Agito XIII.

The third bit of juicy news to escape the Japanese publication is that Agito will also support online multiplayer for up to 3 players using online Infrastructure, a rarity for Japanese games.
By Kris Erickson on pspworld.com

Anarchy Online is an online role playing video game published by Funcom Productions. Funcom is also credited with the critically successful The Longest Journey, Dreamfall, and Age of Conan titles. Development of the science fiction themed game was headed by project director Gaute Godager and story developer Ragnar Tørnquist at a time when most role playing games made use of a more traditional fantasy setting.



As a Massively Multiplayer Onling Role Playing Game (MMORPG), customers log into a virtual world that persists indefinitely with or without player interaction. Players create custom characters that they improve by killing enemies, collecting resources, fighting each other, and various other activites. The game's ongoing storyline takes place on the distant planet Rubi-Ka, and its ravaged extra-dimensional twin.



Anarchy Online is often referred to by the infamous stability and registration issues present after its release in June 2001. The problems left users unable to register or access content for several weeks. It has since garnered positive reviews from major outlets overall, not least the Shadowlands expansion pack which was awarded with several Editor's Choice awards.

Gameplay
Gameplay in Anarchy Online is generally based on its predecessors and successors in the MMORPG genre. Players assume the role of a newly arrived colonist to planet Rubi-Ka where they create a unique character based on several professions, breeds, and sex. After crash-landing on the surface, they must choose to align themselves with either the Omni-Tek corporation, the rebel Clans, or to remain neutral. There is no specific goal that must be realized to win, nor is there any rigid gameplay structure. Instead the general object of the game is to continually improve the character's skills and abilities with, or against, other players. Each character's status is measured in "levels" ranging from 1 to 220. Progression through these levels comes as players earn experience points in a variety of ways.



In addition to killing creatures littered about the game world, players also complete quests or missions to gain experience. Missions are dynamically generated on-demand by the player who adjusts options such as how powerful its enemies will be, which tactics they prefer to use, and whether enemies are more likely to be humanoid or creatures. Other more difficult objectives, such as raids or encounters, are designed to require the cooperation of large groups of players to complete.

While progression is measured in levels, it has almost no direct impact on the player's abilities. Those abilities are determined by the game's skill system. At each new level, the character is rewarded with "Improvement Points" which are spent to increase skills of the player's choice, although the cost to increase is determined by their chosen profession. For example, the "Electrical Engineering" skill is much cheaper to members of the Engineer profession than it is to the Doctor profession. Characters are also rewarded with "Perks" after reaching certain levels which further augment skills. Following a free-form style progression system, Perks are chosen from tiered groups that increase specific types of skills. In a third method to augment skills even further, player's can designate a percentage of earned experience towards "Research." This type of progression is derived from the popular real-time strategy genre where resources, in this case experience points, are invested into research which eventually yield improvement to skills.

Players can attack each other by requesting a duel, or by entering areas where fighting is allowed. "Tower fields," found throughout the game, are one example of this type of area. Any formal group of players known as an "organization" that acquire a field can build "towers" on it which give skill bonuses to all members. The number of fields is limited, which encourages groups to fight the incumbent owners for control. Another venue for players to fight each other are the battle-stations, a series of enclosed domination style games that take place between the two factions. Each side must capture and hold points on a map to increase their score until the winning score of 500 is reached. Anarchy Online enforces a limit on the range on levels that players may attack each other. This is because of the relatively large difference between character abilities at different levels.



Daily administration of the game is managed by paid employees know as Game Masters. This staff is supplemented by an official group of volunteer players called Advisors of Rubi-Ka (ARK). Advisors help administrators answer problem reports in-game, provide new player orientation, and help coordinate both official and player-run events.

Story
Anarchy Online's plot revolves around the fight to control the fictional planet Rubi-Ka. Its original four year storyline was written and later directed by Ragnar Tørnquist, who also developed the stories for Funcom's The Longest Journey and Dreamfall titles. It was designed to be played out as a series of in-game events lasting from 2001 until 2005.

According to the game's official website, hyper-corporation Omni-Tek was granted a one thousand year lease to the desert planet on Jan 01, 28708 shorty after its discovery. It was a seemingly useless arid landscape far from civilization until the discovery of the mineral notum. That mineral's properties led to major leaps forward in nanotechnology that made possible the large-scale manipulation of matter, energy, and even resurrection from death. The first five hundred years of Omni-Tek's unfettered control of Rubi-Ka were marked with an exemplary worker treatment record, but as time passed the company's policies degraded into near totalitarianism. It was then that a significant number of poorly treated colonists rebelled and began to trade stolen notum to a rival corporation. These rebel groups, collectively calling themselves the Clans, fought a series of wars with Omni-Tek in the centuries leading up to the in-game timeline.



After the game's release, Tørnquist published his short fiction novel Prophet Without Honor (Anarchy Online Book 1) that serves as a historical primer. The story has since been extended beyond its original conclusion, but a second book was never written.

Role-players were often encouraged to participate and influence the outcome of the story during the first four years. This is evidenced in a New York Times article, published in 2003, about a well-known player named Rick Stenlund who used the game's message boards to organize an in-game rally in protest of a proposed change to gameplay. Administrators responded by preparing a role-play event with official characters and incorporating the rally into the official timeline.

Development
Development for Anarchy Online started as early as 1995 at Funcom's Oslo, Norway studios. The company was then only two years old with a relatively small number of developers, and the MMORPG genre was a niche market with few popular titles available. Management at Funcom believed that this genre would grow quickly in the following years, but some developers such as former project director Gaute Godager were not convinced. He later described the development team as "ambitious" in most facets. Virtually all MMORPGs and MUDs at that time including the two most successful, Ultima Online and EverQuest, were based on a more traditional role playing fantasy theme. Funcom chose to use a science-fiction theme instead, and the official announcement was made in 2000. The company grew substantially during the late 1990's, and by the time the game was released over 70 developers were employed to the project.

Anarchy Online's servers officially opened on June 27, 2001 after a public beta test that lasted several weeks. In its first month online the game suffered heavily from stability, registration, and billing issues. Customers reported they were unable to register using product keys provided with the installation discs. Others were accidentally billed the registration fee twice, although they were never billed for the second charge. Players were unable to access large portions of the game's content once logged in, as servers struggled to stay online. Funcom later announced that no customers would be billed for play time until the issues were resolved.

Initial release problems were eventually fixed, and by the second quarter of 2002 subscription numbers began to rise again reaching 150,000. Four expansions have since been published that customers can buy to extend the original game: The Notum Wars (2002), Shadowlands (2003), Alien Invasion (2004), and Lost Eden (2006). Periodic free updates are also released which fix bugs, add features, and release new content.

Reception
Anarchy Online's unique proposed features such as the science fiction setting, large playable area, and dynamic missions created significant interest leading up to the release date. The game was one month away from launching when it made its second appearance at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2001, and video game websites such as GameSpot had written pre-release articles. At the European Computer Trade Show that same year it was awarded Multiplayer Game of Show.

The game's launch problems had a strong negative effect with initial critics. Many larger video game sites chose to wait a month or more before publishing a formal review, and the troubled release is often briefly mentioned in later reviews of the game as a juxtaposition. It went on to be received favorably from most outlets, averaging a 7.6 out of 10 from GameSpy, GameSpot, and IGN. Caryn Law of GameSpy called it "a promising game with some big technical flaws." IGN descibed it as "a brilliant, engaging, profound MMORPG," but they added it came with "atrocious technical problems." PC Gamer magazine awarded it with Best Massively Multiplayer Game and described it as "the next great MMORPG."

The Shadowlands expansion was the most critically acclaimed by far, winning several Editor's Choice Awards from IGN, CNet, GameSpot, GameSpy and others after its release in 2003. Critics applauded the size and scope of the expansion, such as Andrew Park of GameSpot who called it "absolutely enormous." Craig Morrison of IGN praised the artistic style of the six new themed areas calling them "visually stunning." Micheal Lafferty of GameZone wrote that it "has depth in spite of its linear nature."

Alien Invasion's release in 2004 was not taken as well as the Shadowlands, although most scores were above 7 out of 10. The expansion, in critic's eyes, was not designed for new players. GameZone wrote, "...this is definitely targeted toward in-game organizations." They went on to say that it "certainly brings new depth to the title."

Most popular gaming websites chose not to review the Lost Eden expansion pack released in 2005. The expansion's content itself was well received, but critics pointed to the overall game's aging interface and visuals. Sarah Borger of Games Radar wrote that it "make[s] the world hard to interact with," but she went on to acclaim the new features.

Subscription
Anarchy Online uses a variation of the industry-standard Pay to Play business model. Customers must buy one month of access to the game for a flat rate, or multiple months at a discounted rate. The subscription model is broken down into three tiers. Users have the option of paying to play all of the game's expansions, paying to play only the Shadowlands expansion, or playing only the original game for free.

Funcom began offering the game's original content including the Notum Wars booster pack for free on December 15, 2004. In exchange, players are shown in-game advertisements provided by the Massive Incorporated advertising company. Images and videos are shown on static billboards placed in high traffic areas of the game. Paying customers have the option to replace these ads with ones for fictitious game-world products. The Free Play Program was originally advertised to last one year, but Funcom has extended the deadline every year since then as of 2008. These free players, known colloquially as "froobs" (free newbies), have become so common that Funcom incorporated the phrase into the game as a wearable t-shirt. Other online games have since offered indefinite free play with restricted content.

The World of Kung Fu is a 3D MMORPG for the PC. Based on the traditional Chinese culture, the game takes place in a mythical land founded on the ancient Kung Fu moral values of justice and heroism.

Breaking away from the limits imposed by 'professions', each player starts the game as the martial artists of old, studying Kung Fu in a remote village. Having perfected certain chosen skills by completing extensive training and undergoing numerous tests, players set out to take part in the creation of the Wulin, a classic Kung Fu society. As they travel throughout the various territories of ancient China, players will be able to demonstrate their valor and bravery as they strive to become martial art legends.

As in the real world, World of Kungfu is a complex network of various interconnecting systems. Unlike other games in which the point of the experience is to defeat monsters and enemies, this game invites the martial artists to become deeply involved in the development and establishment of a society which interweaves economic and social systems. The game also enables the players to enjoy the emotions of a private life filled with romance and drama. Furthermore, as they increase their skills, the players can establish their own school and master their own style of Kung Fu which they will then be able to pass on to others.
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World of Kung Fu Online CG Video

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is the world’s first and only MMOG based on the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Players can experience the most famous fantasy world of all time, exploring and adventuring their heroes through the vast reaches of Middle-earth in the fight against the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron.

KEY FEATURES:



Experience Classic Tolkien: Meet famous characters like Gandalf and the Fellowship. Explore legendary locations like the Prancing Pony and Rivendell! Battle deadly enemies, including Nazgûl, Trolls, and Uruk-Hai !

Defeat the Shadows of Angmar: Join with the Fellowship and fight against the forces of Sauron. Confront the forces of the Nazgûl Witch-king in the North. Protect the Shire and root out evil on Weathertop.

Explore Ancient Lands: Journey through Middle-earth to collect valuable Tolkien lore, knowledge, and artifacts that bring your hero greater powers. Complete ambitious quests of courage and exploration that bestow compelling character traits.

MORE:



Create a unique character: Adventure as a Man, Elf, Dwarf or Hobbit. After choosing where your character hails from, select region-appropriate color palettes for skin, hair, eye color, and more. Equip yourself with items like sturdy Dwarven armor, intricate Elven mail, or weapons created with the knowledge of past Ages. Choose one of seven classes: deal massive damage as a Champion, protect your fellowship as a Guardian, beguile your enemies as a Burglar, or try a Captain, Hunter, Minstrel, or Lore-master.

As your character advances and grows, customize it using Traits - interchangeable abilities which modify your character’s skills to give you greater control over its specializations. Gain new Trait slots by leveling, and unlock new Traits by completing Accomplishments.

Fight alone or with other players: With hundreds of hours of gameplay, there’s plenty to do in LOTRO as a solo player or in a fellowship. Follow the storyline on your own or form a fellowship with other players for epic battles against creatures like Orcs, Wights, and even Balrogs. Coordinated fellowships can use group combo moves do incredible damage, heal their fellowship, or restore their energy - how they harness the power of a combo is entirely up to them to decide! LOTRO will also include a consensual Player vs. Player combat system (details forthcoming), allowing players to fight against each other for glory and honor!



Create items both legendary and mundane: Farm in the Shire or forge weapons and armor in Thorin’s Halls. Players can craft arms for the fight against the Dark Lord Sauron, or enjoy more peaceful activities like cooking and farming. Those who dedicate themselves to becoming master crafters can create legendary items of surpassed quality.

Dramatic sequences: LOTRO offers an expansive, open world, and incorporates cinematic technology to present the player with movie-like sequences which further the storyline. Experience epic challenges like the depths of the Great Barrow, the siege of Fornost and the battle to retake Weathertop.

Interact with others: Meet and socialize with thousands of other players and fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. Relax at the Prancing Pony in Bree, the Green Dragon Inn in the Shire, or any of the many other social centers throughout the land. Express yourself through emotes and chat - wave hello, bow, or dance with a friend!



Journey through Middle-earth: Experience an epic storyline through hundreds of quests created as a companion to The Lord of the Rings. Adventure in familiar areas as well as new ones, created for the game, which were only briefly touched on by J.R.R. Tolkien in his master works. Experience Middle-earth as never before as you swim the Brandywine River or make your way through the mists of the Old Forest. Turbine, working closely with Tolkien Enterprises, has created what Gamedaily calls "...a must have title for fans of Tolkien lore.

Website: Click here

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar trailer

SocioTown is a 100% web-based 3D Social MMOG (Massive Multiplayer Online Game). It's playable in a browser with no downloadable client required. It utilizes Adobe’s Shockwave Player, which most browsers already have installed.



SocioTown can best be described as a cross between The Sims and Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. It’s not simply just a virtual world, it truly is a social massive online game. There are game elements such as completing missions, leveling up, fighting, and advanced interaction with NPCs (Non Playable Characters). At the same time, there are unique features that are designed to enhance and visualize the social relationships between players.
Game site: Click here



SocioTown Official Trailer

Description: This is the first official trailer of SocioTown. It contains some footage from the previous video clips as well as all new footage.
The trailer shows several aspects of the social system such as the Social Network interface and Inner Circle. The trailer also shows the music mode in action.

After weeks of speculation, Blizzard has officially announced Diablo III at its World Wide Invitational event in Paris.

Said to feature more quests than ever, the anticipated sequel will stick to its roots by being "first and foremost a cooperative game."

Diablo III will feature old standards such as the quotable Deckard Cain, as well as a new version of Tristram and a fresh class dubbed the Witch Doctor. The jungle-born warrior will use ancient tribal magic to cast disease and mind control spells, in addition to utilizing pets such as locust swarms and mongrels.

The game will also include several control improvements, including full zoom capability and a hotbar to easily access skills. Players will be able to quickswap between skills using the mouse wheel or tab key.

Armor will now be class-specific, designed to provide each character a unique look. Classes themselves are more diverse, as it was noted that there will be female versions of both the Barbarian and Witch Doctor.

In a demo of the Barbarian class, the company noted that less of an emphasis will be placed on potions for health. Instead, red orb-like items will drop that immediately recover health once the player picks them up.

Environmental destruction was also shown off, with a character at one point busting through a solid wall. The environment can also be used to kill enemies, as in the case of objects that fell from a wall, killing a group of monsters.

Enemies were shown to be larger in scale than in past games, with giant evil trees and a massive demon called a Siegebreaker.

Blizzard has released a set of official features and a story description, which can now be conveniently viewed below the fold:

Two decades have passed since the demonic denizens, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, wandered the world of Sanctuary in a vicious rampage to shackle humanity into unholy slavery. Yet for those who battled the Prime Evils directly, the memory fades slowly and the wounds of the soul still burn.

When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram's Cathedral seeking clues to new stirrings of evil, a comet from the heavens strikes the very ground where Diablo once entered the world. The comet carries a dark omen in its fiery being and it calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells--and even the failing luminaries of the High Heavens itself.

Explore a fully-realized Sanctuary--the living, breathing gothic fantasy world of Diablo III rendered in gorgeous 3D.

Battle the unholy forces of the Burning Hells with all-new character classes like the otherworldly Witch Doctor, or with re-imagined warriors from Diablo's past: such as the fierce Barbarian.

Rain Hell on your enemies wielding the interactive environment as a weapon: lay cunning traps, turn destructible objects against your foes, and use environmental obstacles to your advantage--all powered by the Havoc physics system.

Experience the intensity of multiplayer Diablo III over an all-new, wickedly-enhanced Battle.net platform with numerous enhancements to make connecting with your friends easier--and cooperative gameplay more fun.
by Nick Breckon on shacknews.com

Diablo 3 Official Trailer

The world of Vana'diel stands at the brink of war. Three powerful nations, united in their plight against the beastmen forces, look to their last hope-brave adventures like you! will the beastmen gin the upper hand, and thrust the once-peaceful Vana'diel into another war? Step into the world of Vana'diel and journey forth on grand adventures with players from all across the globe!

FINAL FANTASY XI is the first online game in the award-winning FINAL FANTASY series. How you play it up to you, with limitless possbilities for adventure. set out on your own to discover the countless secrets of Vana'diel, or form a party with your friends to purge the beastman forces and bring home sensational spoils!

Create Your Own Original Character
The first step in your adventure is to create your character's traits, including race, gender, face, hair color, body size, job, and nationality. This will become your on-screen "alter ego" in the world of FINAL FANTASY XI. The classic Job System of the FINAL FANTASY series returns in FINAL FANTASY XI. You can acquire a wide variety of abilities with various jobs -- and even discover new jobs as you play! Rumor has it that with the proper training, Vana'diel adventurers can become paladins, bards, and rangers. What other jobs will you be able to discover?

Communication
The world of FINAL FANTASY XI consists of an international community that exists without borders. Hook up with your existing friends, or meet and greet new adventurers from around the world.
Communicating with other players is the main feature of FINAL FANTASY XI.
Communication is a snap with user-friendly chat, messaging systems, and easily-managed friend lists.
Teaming up with others is the key to success, so don't go alone!

There's More Than Just Combat
In Vana'diel, your existence is not limited to battling the menagerie of dangerous creatures that lurk outside the city walls.
You can also fish, synthesize items, and spend your time participating in a number of non-combative activities. Crystals, the origin of all energy, are scattered throughout Vana'diel. By collecting them, you can use their powers to create new items and become a famous craftsman in your own right.
Many other activities await. You can spend the day fishing, surrounded by the rich wilderness of Vana'diel. Try creating new recipes for fine dishes for your friends.
Aim for riches by synthesizing fine jewelry. Scour dark mines for precious ores. In FINAL FANTASY XI, combat is just the tip of the iceberg -- if you'd rather enjoy a peaceful life inside the walls of the city, nobody will stop you!

Beyond Platform Boundaries
Both PlayStation 2 and Windows players can coexist in the same worlds.
Vana'diel is looking for citizens -- no matter what hardware they own.

Final Fantasy XI - Opening trailer

From Flagship Studios – creators of the award-winning Diablo® series and the fathers of the action role playing genre – comes HellGate: London, the next benchmark in the evolution of the RPG genre.

Combining the depth of traditional RPGs with the frenetic, visceral feel of first-person shooters, HellGate: London offers infinite replayability with dynamically created levels, monsters, items and events that gives each player their own unique hack-and-slash experience.

A post-apocalyptic London has been overrun by hordes of terrifying demons, leaving the city desolate and scorched by hellfire. Those who were unlucky enough to survive now gather in the only sanctuary left, the Underground, banding together in order to gain a foothold against the minions of darkness and ultimately save the bloodline of humanity.

It is no surprise that these sole survivors come from three of society’s most elite factions, each of whom are masters of a robust number of skills and weapons essential to demon-thrashing.

The Templar, a secret society preserving the rites of the original Knights Templar, mix futuristic technology with ancient artifacts to create powerful weapons and armor perfect for short-ranged and melee attacks.


The Cabalists are students of the dark arts and edges of science which often leaves them standing right on the line between good and evil. Their mystifying spells make them suited for mid-range combat.

The Hunters are mysterious, highly trained ex-military operatives who lay waste to their foes with hyper-advanced weapons that blend theoretical science and the latest in technology – and their bullets can come from almost any distance.

HellGate: London delivers an amazing gaming experience to PC gamers of all types – delivering the eye-popping DX10 visuals demanded by the hardcore, and scaling to ensure the masses of casual RPG players can still get the best performance on older PCs.

Key Features
The RPG Authority – Flagship Studios was founded by the core creators of Diablo, one of the biggest PC gaming franchises in history with over 13 million units sold worldwide – they are the first, last and only voice in the world of action RPGs.


Beyond RPG – Experience new layers to the traditional hack-and-slash forumla by experiencing the action RPG from the first-person perspective and through nontraditional character classes and playstyles.

Have it your way - Three unique factions with their own visual and gameplay style, offering something for every type of gamer, whether they prefer the longer-range blasts of the Hunter or want to get up close and personal with the Templar.

Infinite Replayability – Dynamically generated levels, chance events and massive quantities of randomly created items makes for infinite replayability -- no two experiences will ever be the same and every game will be it’s own unique event.

Mad Skills – Each faction has two character classes that contain a wide variety of skills and spells that are fully customizable.

London Calling – Explore post-apocalyptic London, even darker and gloomier than usual. From shattered cathedrals and landmarks to the ancient ruins buried beneath the shell of a once-great city, players will need to scour all of London in search of the unknown.


Misery Loves Company – Don’t be a glory hog – fight online. Gather with friends or recruit strangers in Underground stations and venture out into mean streets of London together to erase the Demonic threat.

Hell Never Looked Better – HellGate: London features all of the latest next-generation technology to deliver a true, DX10 experience, while being fully scalable for optimal performance on older PCs.

Game site: http://www.hellgatelondon.com/

Hellgate London trailer

Game Introduction:

Warlord is an MMORPG with a large war system. Many heroes that exist in ancient China and Korea will appear in the game. Players will feel excited when combating the enemies. You can destroy hundreds of enemies with the skills you learned and can fight monsters in the way of 1v1. You will enjoy yourself in the game.

The operation of this game is very simple. Players can use W.A.S.D to move the characters, "1" to attack, "2" to give a special attack, "3" to protect yourself. And 4.5.6 are the skill keys.

Warlord Online trailer


The Guide is from MMOsite Forum.

Then follow the pictures below to register a Warlord account. Warlord is still in Closed Beta.

Company Main page: http://pmang.sayclub.com
Warlord Official Site: http://pmang.sayclub.com/warlord/warlord_home.nwz?ssn=319
Registration page: http://pmang.sayclub.com/pmang_agree.nwz

Dragon Ball Online, a massively multiplayer online game based on the Japanese comics Dragon Ball, is nearing the open beta testing phase.

According to an anonymous source, Korean game development company Ntl Inc. is developing a massively multiplayer online game based on Dragon Ball. Having high completeness, Dragon Ball Online will start is open beta in the first half of 2007. However, an official announcement has been withheld because the Korean operator for the game has not been selected.

The above image is a screenshot of Dragon Ball Online in its development phase, so it may be different from its public beta version.

Dragon Ball Online is not a casual game but a MMORPG set in the Dragon Ball world 250 years after the original work. In the game, players will take adventures in Dragon Ball world. The game graphics fully reflect the comic style of the original work. The characters in Dragon Ball Online are made in 3D, and the game has introduced quite a number of innovative game systems including world martial arts tournament and marriage system.

The world martial arts tournament is an online counter strike system which produces the strongest player in the game.


The marriage system is a system characterized by alternation of generations, where players can get married and have their children and they rely on their offspring to continue their adventures in the game. Players can only acquire new abilities through alternation of generations.

It is said that Ntl. Inc. is supported by Bandai in developing Dragon Ball Online and that Akira Toriyama, the author of Dragon Ball, has been keeping an eye the development of the game. According to the source, due to the author's excessive interference, some of the contents in the original work will not be incorporated into this game, for example, players will not be able to play as Monkey King.
Official Site: http://www.ntl-kk.com/dbo.html

In-Game Information:

Marriage System : When Dragon Ball Online , was first being developed at that time no other martial arts MMO had a marriage system, so they thought it would be a bright idea to implement it then , well unfortunately times changed, and now its very much a normal thing in MMO`s, Dragon Ball Online has a marriage feature and apparently from our reports its a very in-depth one!

Player Vs Player : If any of you are familiar with the party finding system in City Of Heroes / City Of Villains then this will ring a bell for you , there will be an option to show you all the people who are online, their level , if they have the PVP acceptance on and the chances of winning against them , this would have revolutionized MMORPG`s , but it seems like other MMO`s hit it before Dragon Ball Online.

Dragon Ball Online Official Trailer