More Alchemy Fun from NIS

NIS America has announced that Mana Khemia, the spiritual sequel to the Atelier Iris series, will be heading to the PS2 in late March, 2007 in North America.

Mana Khemia is the fourth game in the RPG series, but has various key differences from the other games. Players will be able to embark on Academic Quests to change the outcome of the tory, craft skills and stats rather than simple leveling, ad craft new items such as healing potions and swords.

Chunk 2 is Live

NCsoft has recently announced the release of Chunk 2, the second content update for its successful free to download and play MMORPG, Dungeon Runners.

This update includes features such as in-game advertising in non-member worlds, more bank space for members, item trading, increased access to prime loot, and overall Player versus Environment (PvE) and Player versus Player (PvP) balance refinements.

The new in-game advertising will help to fund future developments for this popular MMORPG, keeping it free to the players. However, players that do not want to deal with the advertising can avoid it for only $4.99 per month.

Gamers interested in giving Dungeon Runners a try can download it here: http://www.dungeonrunners.com/join.html.

Fury for Free

Gamecock Media Group and Auran Games have announced a new free model for MMORPG Fury. This will mean that Fury will be free to download and free to play.

The new business model will begin with the release of the first major free content update Age of the Chosen on December 14, 2007.

Age of the Chosen is a massive content update that introduces two new gameplay types. “Carnage” puts players into two teams with the aim of returning blood tokens to their base faster than their opposition. Blood tokens are gained from killing bots, not other players, so the action is indirect competition rather than head to head. The 1 vs. 1 Elimination game type means games will spawn faster and matches are more evenly balanced.

For more info on Fury, see http://www.unleashthefury.com/

Recent Movies and Rants

There have been a few recent movies that may be of some interest to gamers and fantasy lovers such as myself. Rather than waste two blog entries, I'll mention them both here:

The first is obviously Hitman based on the game from Eidos. Now, I'm not a huge fan of the game series but I do enjoy it. I definitely saw shades of the Hitman game while watching the movie and from time to time it sort of felt like I was watching someone play the game.

However, the plot moved along extremely quick without bothering to explain much of what was going on. On top of that, Hitman features some absolutely atrocious acting and even worse dialogue that will surely take you right out of the movie.

Overall, there are some cool action sequences and a few spots where the film makers seemed to capture the essence of Hitman, but in the end the movie was a stinker that left me un-impressed.

The next film, The Golden Compass, will appeal more to fantasy fans. I've never read the book that the film is based on, but I've heard pretty good things about it.

The film starts of pretty quickly and will probably leave you a bit confused. As it progresses, though, it becomes much more interesting and a few things start to make some sense. My biggest complaint with the movie is that it's a series so it ends with a cliffhanger that will leave you totally disappointed and eager for the next film.

The acting and characters are solid, the fantasy world displayed in the film is fascinating, and the story, while still shrouded in mystery, seems to be interesting. Fans of films such as The Chronicles of Narnia will want to go check this one out.

Dragon Quest Swords Release Set!

Square Enix announced today that Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors, is heading to North American retailers on February 26, 2008.

This is the latest entry in the beloved Dragon Quest RPG series and is developed exclusively for the Wii. The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors fully utilizes the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote to allow gamers to wield a mighty blade, protective shield and utilize special attacks all with the Wii Remote.

The game's story:

Five years have passed since the defeat of the Deathbringer, and the kingdom of Avalonia joyously celebrates what seems to be an everlasting era of peace. However, a closer look reveals that things are amiss. Calamity arises within the kingdom, as unfamiliar and powerful monsters invade the outskirts of town. With the Deathbringer gone, what explanation is there for the onset of these monsters? And what of the queen, who has come to hide her face behind a strange mask? Make your way through the perilous journey, solve the baffling mysteries and return order to Avalonia.

12/10/07 Issue at Just-RPG!

In this week's issue we have trailers and screenshots galore!

http://www.just-rpg.com

• Fantasy Wars Art
• Draglade Screenshots and Trailer
• New Lineage II: The Kamael Gameplay Movie
• Just-RPG Looking for Staff
• And More!

Secret Open Beta!

Outspark has announced the open beta release of its newest game Secret of the Solstice.

An MMORPG set in the fantasy world of Xen, Secret of the Solstice is Outspark's second game. It takes players to a faraway kingdom threatened by a mysterious dark force.

On her 18th birthday, Princess Adeline received a special gift from her parents – the Solstice Sphere, a strange and powerful relic entrusted to the king of Xen by the gods. But it was far from a glorious occasion. A series of horrific events would soon take place and ultimately drench the land in the suffering it knows today. Come join other adventurers on a quest to save the world!

In celebration of the beta, Outspark has unlocked the gates to all-new cities and dungeons for eager gamers to explore. To download the game client, head to:
http://www.outspark.com/solstice/downloads/game-client/