Monster Hunter Frontier Online MMORPG Coming to Xbox 360

Ever since Microsoft teased fans with True Fantasy Live Online for the original xbox which was later cancelled, fans of the MMORPG genre have been twiddling their thumbs awaiting an MMORPG release for the Xbox 360.

Those prayers may soon be answered with the announcement from Capcom that they will be releasing the first true Xbox 360 MMORPG entitled Monster Hunter Frontier Online. A game that has been highly successful in Asia through its PC release will be making its way to the Xbox 360 in hopes of drawing fans in with a Fantasy styled MMORPG offering.

The game is due to launch for Xbox 360 this summer in Japan, but there has not been a scheduled release date for its American counterpart.

What we do know is that the game will require a $15 monthly membership as with most pay-to-play MMORPGs, but only time will tell if this business model will translate well to a service like Xbox Live where players already pay an annual subscription of $50.

The game has a stylized look and with polished graphics, but with games like Blade and Soul in development one can’t help but wonder if Monster Hunter Frontier Online will look dated by the time its US release is confirmed.

Being the only serious MMORPG offering for Xbox Live thus far may work in the games favor but at this point in time the lack of information about the release leaves more questions than answers.

Hopefully this will lead to future MMORPG releases for the Xbox 360, as there is obviously a market there. But Microsoft and developers need to work together to implement these games in such a way that does not require additional investments from players who have already shelled out for the Xbox 360, the game media, and their Xbox Live subscription.

If you have been waiting for a fun F2P MMORPG for the iPhone you are in luck. With the release of SevenSwords iPhone users finally have a game that does a great job of recreating the online roleplaying experience on a mobile platform.

While some games have been implementing online multiplayer for the iPhone, there are not many that do it with the level of polish that went into Seven Swords.

Players can choose from either a US or Japanese game server when starting out. Next they are taken to the character creation screen.

Players are given the choice of the four main classes (Gladiator, Scout, Sorcerer and Cleric) that all offer a fair amount of customization from the hair style and color, to height and body proportions. With the last choice being, Aurora or Lumen, one of two warring factions within the game.

Once you have created a character you are taken to the map screen where you can choose where you would like your character to travel. If you choose Aurora or Lumen you will be teleported to a main city where you can shop, interact with other players & NPCs and search for quests.

Unable to find any lowbie quests to start with I decided to grind my character a little to level up. Players can access various areas of the world through the map screen which will offer different hunting grounds, and also displays where PVP battles are occurring that players can join. The map also displays what areas are controlled by the two factions in the game, displayed in either green or red with a different icon for Lumen or Aurora.

Leveling up is straight forward grinding and at the time of writing this I was unable to stumble across any quests in the game. As such the game seems to focus on grinding, leveling and PVP. Combat is straight forward with an attack button, special skills and magic. Player movement is controlled by the use of a virtual analog stick which seems responsive and works well for the gameplay mechanics.

The game seems to run fairly smooth for the most part with minimal lag. Although I imagine this can vary day to day, and depending on the time.

Overall SevenSwords offers a very fun Free-to-Play MMORPG experience on a mobile platform. This alone makes it a very appealing game because of the freedom to take it with you. The game rating in the iPhone store gives SevenSwords 3 out of 5 stars where a lot of the negative feedback is being overly critical of non issues for a great F2P MMORPG for the iPhone.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend SevenSwords to anyone who is looking for a fun F2P MMORPG that fits in their pocket!

Ever since I wrote my article entitled “Games for Girls – Are Girl Gamers Really This Lame?” which asked the question “why does the gaming industry underestimate female gamers” my friends who are women and my wife told me to stop bitching and contribute something positive.

With that kind of kick in the ass from all my good friends I decided to put together a list of games that I felt are more appealing to female gamers than “Dress Up” games and stuff that is “Pink”.

I had my wife help me evaluate different games, and this is the list we have come up with so far. Hopefully this offers some good suggestions for titles that girl gamers can actually get into. We tried to avoid all the cliché and stereotypical titles and actually offer games with substance, good gameplay, and more appeal than just brutal action.

Please feel free to leave feedback with suggestions or critiques. Enjoy!

Great MMORPG Games for Female Gamers

Format: Title
2009-12-29
http://www.gameswebsite.com

Dofus
2009-xx-xx
http://www.dofus.com/en

Pangya – Fantasy Online Golf Game
2009-06-23
http://www.pangya.com/english/

Dragonica
2009-06-04
http://dragonica.iahgames.com/site/default.aspx

Gods War Online
2009-05-XX
http://gw.igg.com/

Runes of Magic
2009-03-19
http://us.runesofmagic.com/us/index.html

Aurora Blade
2009-01-01
http://ab.igg.com/main.php

Grand Chase
2008-12-31
http://grandchase.ntreev.net/

Lunia: Record of Lunia War
2008-10-14
http://lunia.ijji.com/

Atlantica Online
2008-07-15
http://atlantica.ndoorsgames.com/center/default.asp

Crazy Tao
2008-01-XX
http://ct.91.com/

Angels Online
2007-12-31
http://ao.igg.com/

Super Dancer Online Extreme
2007-06-14
http://www.xdo.com.my/

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine (Megaten)
2007-03-30
http://megaten.aeriagames.com/

Latale
2006-02-XX
http://latale.ogplanet.com/main.og

Emil Chronicle
2005-11-24
http://eco.runup.com.my/en/top/top.php

Monster & Me
2002-03-18
http://www.monsterandme.com/index/

Blizzards Next World of Warcraft MMORPG

We all knew it was bound to happen someday… Following the success of the first ever massively multiplayer online role playing game from Blizzard Entertainment there would need to be something to fill the void left by this highly successful title when developers finally started releasing new MMORPG to compete with Blizzards behemoth .

To this day people have realized to never under estimate the power of World of Warcraft. Whether it be the remarkable reviews that game received or the sheer amount of subscribers, the original World of Warcraft mmorpg has made its mark in PC history.

With the incredible success of World of Warcraft people have begun to wonder what Blizzard will do to top their incredible achievement?

This has been answered with talk of another mmorpg that is in the works from Blizzard Entertainment. Very few details exist about this current work in progress but hints have been dropped that it will not be World of Warcraft 2.

So this leads people to ask “when will they see a release of the next version of World of Warcraft?”

Let’s approach this from a logical standpoint. World of Warcraft is the most highly successful MMORPG ever released. As with everything offered to consumers if your product is amazing, make it even better and release it again. We see this time and time again in movies, music, foods, clothing, and practically everything else out there that drives consumer spending

So with this knowledge we can ask ourselves what is Blizzard playing at? Will their next MMORPG be an interim to make players long for the World of Warcraft that consumed their lives, waiting with baited breath until news of the release of World of Warcraft 2 hits the scene? Is this current title a guise that Blizzard is using to mislead fans so they can stun them with the announcement of the release of World of Warcraft 2.

Or has Blizzards financial success allowed them to follow the same business model as Square Enix, indulging in multiple projects at once and shocking fans with releases they didn’t even know were in the works.

Regardless of how you look at it we know the release of World of Warcraft 2 inevitable. We just want to know if we will see it sooner than later. As far as what is right over the horizon, I have a feeling we may find out sooner than later.

Joymax Launches Second Phase of the Clean Campaign for Silkroad Online

Joymax the developer of the widely popular F2P Fantasy MMORPG Silkroad Online is moving into their second phase of the “Clean Campaign” which takes new steps to ban the use of illegal applications and botting in the game. For more information on this latest push read all the details in the full release below:

Joymax, an independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment for the global market, today announced the launch of the second “Clean Campaign” in fantasy MMORPG Silkroad Online. Combining their recently revamped bot detecting system with a new “three strikes” rule, Joymax will continue to hunt down and ban accounts using illegal programs. Suspected accounts will be blocked for seven days for the first offense, 14 for the second, and permanently banned after a third strike.

To celebrate the campaign, Joymax is hosting two contests on the event site, a Bug Hunt and a Cheering Challenge. Players who catch all the bugs that pop up on the event page will be entered for a drawing to win a brand-new avatar cash item. Additionally, players that leave encouraging messages on the event page as part of the Cheering Challenge will also be automatically entered in the drawing. Five entrants from both the Bug Hunt and the Cheering Challenge will be selected to win, rewarding a total of ten participants.

“Hacks, bots, and other illegal programs affect the quality of Silkroad Online for every player in the game,” said Jina Song, General Manager at Joymax. “Thus it’s natural for us to get the community involved and raise awareness around the issue of cheating.”

To learn more about the second “Clean Campaign” for Silkroad Online, visit the official website at www.joymax.com/silkroad

A New Steel Series Keyboard Insert is Available with the Release of Aion

If you are a fan of MMORPGs you have probably been following news about the release of Aion the new NCSoft MMORPG.

Aion having recently gone into Open Beta for Europe and North America has been attracting a lot of attention as being one of the first possible competitors to Blizzards massively successful MMORPG World of Warcraft.

Even some hardware manufacturers believe this may be the case as we can now see with the release of the Steal Series ZBoard keyboard for Aion. 

The Zboard is a custom keyboard that supports inserts for different games which change the template and functions of keyboard. These functions include custom keys and in game commands.

There has also been a custom Aion mousepad created to go along with your custom Aion Steel Series Zboard.

Traditionally the Zboard inserts have been produced for games that are known to be extremely popular so what can we read into this release of the Aion keyboard?

Time will tell if this new title give Blizzard any pause in there dominant march across the MMORPG landscape.

F2P MMORPG Atlantica Online Set for EU Release

Today news from NDoors Interactive announced that their popular strategic, turn based, free-to-play MMORPG Atlantica Online will be making it’ way to Europe.

The F2P MMORPG will be published in Gerrman with a closed beta period staring Thursday September 3rd. NDoors has been preparing for the launch for months with extensive preparations for the release.

The German release is planned to be the first of many with various releases in the future with additional language support.

The move to Europe will officially make Atlantica Online a global operation for NDoors with world wide subscriptions in the US, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and China.

“Players around the world have embraced the accessibility and uniqueness of Atlantica Online,” said Peter Kang, CEO of Ndoors Interactive. “The gameplay has proven to be universally enjoyed and we look forward to tailoring additional releases and content for European players.”

With this exciting new development Atlantica Online is poised to create an even larger MMORPG fan base with the inclusion of the European servers.

WoW Expansion Cataclysm Announced by Blizzard

This week at Blizzard’s fourth BlizzCon conference, Blizzard made an exciting announcement to fans of the massively successful MMORPG World of Warcraft. Blizzard released the news that there would be a major upcoming expansion for the game with World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

Cataclysm is promised to be the third major expansion for World of Warcraft and is sure to add a new mix of gameplay and adventure to keep the game fresh for new players and long time subscribers.

The expansion pack will feature the dragon Aspect Deathwing which suddenly reigns down on the land from a long underground slumber. Deathwing will lay waste to the face of Azeroth, and will alter the balance of power in the game.

Along with these events comes the advent of heroes and villains into the game, as well as additional game elements including two new races (goblins and worgen), a new level cap of 85, and new game zones which reflect Deathwing’s destruction.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will also feature new zones including a sunken city, it will implement new battleground zones for PVP combat, and offer new classes and professions including archeology.

The release for this highly anticipated expansion if not yet known, but we are guessing Blizzard will have this ready in time for gamers this holiday season! (Q4 2009)

Amazing Visuals & Art Direction in Continent of the Ninth C9 MMORPG

I know I am not alone when I talk about how swept up I can get is the beauty of a game. I am a Fantasy MMORPG player at heart so to me a Beautiful MMO world is a very important part of the game play experience.

Now we could split hairs all day and argue about how graphics don’t make a game. Ok, fine let’s chant the PETA of gaming mantra. But the bottom line is that if you are able to nail a “next generation” gaming engine, chances are you’ll have no problems coding great game play mechanics also.

Enter Continent of the Ninth or C9 from popular South Korean developer HanGame. HanGame signed a licensing agreement with NHN Games to release Continent of the Ninth (C9) one of the most amazingly visual games we have seen in quite some time.

The game is currently is various stages of closed beta testing, but I am sure once that game is finally ready for the public we will not be disappointed at the amount of production value that has gone into this title.

Where are All the New MMORPGs for 2009?

As most MMORPG and F2P MMO fans have probably noticed by now, this summer has been pretty slow for MMORPG releases and news.

I like to follow a lot of the current happenings in the MMORPG world, but this summer has left much to be desired in the way of information, news and releases. Overall the summer of 2009 has been pretty slow for MMORPG gamers.

Because of this stagnant pause I have decided to feature some of the best games that are right on the horizon. These are titles that many fans have been looking forward to that are sure to break this tedious cycle as we get closer to the release dates.

Upcoming MMORPGs for Q3 & Q4 of 2009

DC Universe Online
Release: Late 2009

Sony Online’s Austin studio will be creating this game with Jim Lee as the Executive Creative Director and other comic writers. Already the demo version of the game looks really nice and have a lot of major superheroes in the game.

A.P.B
Release: TBA 2009

Like Grand Theft Auto series? Ever wish it can become a MMORPG? Well, developer of GTA David Jones heard your cries. A GTA style MMORPG in real time environment pitting against gangs and police. You as the player must choose to be either the law breakers or law enforcers.

Stargate Worlds
Release: 4th Q, 2009

While the T.V. show is ending the MMORPG will be released to satisfy SG fans. While little information about the game is released they already planning a expansion to it. The game is said to be true to the show and have a fps combat style to it.

Aion
Release: 2009

Another MMORPG by NCsoft creators of the popular Lineage series. Already a hit in South Korea and having plans to bring it to the States. Aion combines player-vs-player and player-vs-environment in a fantasy dream setting.

Star Trek Online
Release:TBA, 2009

If you count the Trekkies out there then you know this is going to sell. Already fans saying this will be the best MMORPG out there. Guess we will have to wait and see.

Star Wars: The Old Republic
Release: TBA 2009

Bioware the creators of Knights of The Old Republic will be developing the newly announced MMO for the Star Wars series. Little information is leaked out, but it was confirmed by IGN that Bioware started developing the game since the finish of KOTOR II.