Blade Wars is a Chinese MMORPG with 2D and 3D elements presented with an isometric camera view. Based on Asian mythology, the game has three races, the Abyssals, Humans, and Immortals who are locked in a battle for dominance. Plenty of PvE and PvP challenges await players in Blade Wars.

BLADE WARS

A Korean MMORPG by Game Prix that was originally known as St. Soul is making its way to North America and Europe thanks to Outspark! Renamed Divine Soul, the game is a hybrid mix of gameplay elements. Like Allods Online and Neo Steam, Divine Soul has a steampunk setting. What’s even more exciting is the action oriented gameplay. Large numbers will show up over an enemy’s head as they are hit, giving players a much more fluid and fast paced gameplay experience. Like Guild Wars, Divine Soul will make heavy use of instancing. Players will able to meet up and form parties of up to four in towns before heading out on various instanced dungeons. The dungeons in the game are similar to those in games like Dungeon Fighter Online, players must clear one room of all monsters before progressing to the next. As of now, the level cap is fairly low and player will be able to max out pretty fast. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing since Divine Soul also has plenty of PvP options. Players can participate in 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 death matches. The game’s controls will be similar to those of an action-RPG. The mouse and keyboard will be important in delivering attacks, and player will even be able to string various attacks together to form combos. Divine Soul will support game pad support at launch so if you have an Xbox 360 controller lying around, you’ll be able to put it to use here. So far Divine Soul is looking a lot more promising than Outspark’s other recently announced MMORPG, Erebus Travia Reborn. The game will be free to play, and is scheduled for closed beta testing towards the end of April. To learn more about the game and see gameplay videos, check out our official Divine Soul preview page!

DIVINE SOULS

Billed as an "MMO action RPG" EREBUS TRAVIA REBORN is the newest game to join the Outspark stable. Set to head in to closed beta tomorrow (Wednesday, March 17th) and offering 3-d Isometric gaming that reminds us of old-school dungeon-crawling, we suspect that EREBUS TRAVIA REBORN will likely draw some old-school eyes. Based on an already existing Korean game called Travia, we got a chance to play with it a bit at gdc 2010, and our impression was of a fun free-to-play title that returns us to some of our earlier days of gaming. The simplistic stat system combined with a heavy leaning towards action-packed game-play looks to be a good mix for folks new to the genre as much as for those who love nothing more than to spend hours leveling their characters. If you haven't picked up a closed beta key as yet, there may still be some availble around the web, or you can apply for the closed beta on the erebus site. While characters will be wiped (it's still closed beta after all) there's still something to be said for getting in early and having fun before the crowds show up! Players who manage to hit level 10 in the closed beta will also get a special surprise (we have no idea what it is either) when open beta starts too.

EREBUS TRAVIA REBORN

EverQuest II (EQ2), based upon the popular EverQuest, is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by SONY ONLINE ENTERTAIMEND (SOE) and shipped on 8 November 2004. It features graphics and gameplay vastly updated from its predecessor. EverQuest II is set on the fictional world of Norrath five hundred years after the The Planes of Power storyline of the original EverQuestgame. The gods withdrew from the world in retaliation for mortal incursions into their planes. On Norrath itself, Dark Elves and the Orcs destroyed much of Faydwer; while the Ogres, Goblins, Orcs, and Giants ravaged Antonica. Transport and communication to the moonLuclin were cut off. The storyline says that 100 years ago, the continent of Antonica was ripped apart into smaller islands, which are now called the Shattered Lands. The oceans became impassible, preventing contact between the continents of Norrath. Fifteen years ago, the moon Luclin exploded and parts of the Shattered moon remain in the sky. EverQuest II takes place in what is called the Age of Destiny. In this setting, Queen Antonia Bayle of Qeynos is a benevolent sorceress who welcomes all goodly races to her city to help rebuild Norrath. The Overlord of Freeport, Lucan D'Lere, a centuries-old fallen paladin, rules the evil races in his plans of conquest. Within EverQuest II, each player creates a character to interact in the 3-D fictional world of Norrath. Within the game, the character can adventure (complete quests, explore the world, kill monsters and gain treasures and experience) and socialize with other players. The game also has a 'tradeskill' system that allows players to create items for in-game use. In the creation of a character, the player may choose the character's race and class. Various classes have specialized abilities that are complementary to their class. (Monks will get mainly melee combat abilities that use their fists or fist weapons, or a Warlock will get mainly spell abilities that do large amounts of spike damage but cost a lot of mana.) EverQuest II enables social interaction with other players through grouping and through the creation of guilds. Like players, guilds can gain experience and levels, partially from players completing special tasks called Heritage quests, but primarily from guild-oriented quests and tasks called "writs," and gaining guild experience by killing epic monsters. Higher guild levels open up special rewards unavailable to non-guilded characters, and cause certain other rewards to cost less. These rewards include housing options, mounts, house items, apparel, and special titles.

EVERQUEST II

Neo Online, also called New Era Odyssey Online, is a 3D Fantasy MMORPG that looks a lot like World of Warcraft,Runes of Magic and Gates of Andaron. The game is currently being published by PlayOMG. Both the game’s gameplay and graphics are quite impressive. Unlike traditional MMORPGs, Players are free to progress as they wish without being locked into a certain path based on their class. For example, mages can wield swords and warriors can mix some spells into their arsenal. NEO Online also promises that level alone won’t be the determining factor of a character’s power. Pets, mounts, crafting, resource gathering, and a marriage system are all also part of the mix as is the ability to temporarily transform into a monster by acquiring special items.

N.E.O ONLINE

Outspark, a leader in the new era of digital publishing of free-to-play online games, announced today that Fists of Fu will be coming to Outspark’s digital publishing platform. Fists of Fu will be entering closed Beta soon, with the game going officially live later in the summer. “We really love the light-hearted fun that Fists of Fu brings to the table as compared to the normally serious nature of the MMORPG genre,” said Susan Choe, founder and CEO, Outspark. “Not only is the game enjoyable from a narrative standpoint, but the depth of customization, the modes available for players and the anime style graphics really makes it a must-play title.” Fists of Fu is a new free-to-play, ‘2.5D’ beat-em-up MMORPG with anime style graphics and an immersive storyline in addition to addictive online multiplayer action. This free-to-play game holds to Outspark’s high standards of visual excellence, allowing players to explore the home of Fu with its branching paths, multi-level fighting, and gorgeous backgrounds. Fists of Fu offers gamers the ability to join up with friends in multiplayer Player vs Environment action as they take on the nefarious Monster King and his evil companions. The game also offers the ability to engage in player-killing for rare items or to brawl with pals in insane 4 on 4 fights and earn new ranks, status, and items on specially designed PvP maps. Gamers can master 30 skills for each class – Fighter, Archer, or Magician -- and over 15 additional skills for each transfer class. Players can hone their fighting abilities with different combos for characters and unleash powerful Rage moves to take down enemies.

FIST OF FU