Free PC Gaming Blog

Nexon launches official service for Dungeon Fighter Online in North America

Official North American launch of 2D, side-scrolling action game.

Gamers can now officially join the fight. Nexon America today announced the official North American service launch of Dungeon Fighter Online, the popular multiplayer online action-adventure beat-‘em up developed by Nexon’s Neople studio and played by over 200 million registered users worldwide.

Dungeon Fighter Online is a 2D, side-scrolling action game, in which players enjoy a trinity of brilliant game play options – brain-bashing PvE adventures, explosive PvP combat, and dynamic RPG excitement.

As with all Nexon America titles, Dungeon Fighter Online is free to download and play through its website.

“Dungeon Fighter Online is a free-to-play homage to everything we have always loved about gaming,” said Daniel Kim, Nexon America’s CEO. “This motherlode of a game with its classic graphics, arcade-style action and hardcore RPG leveling system sets the bar high for other free-to-play online games.”

The official launch offers new content, including a sixth character class—the Female Gunner—as well as new Awakened super skills, perilous challenges in Hell Mode, an expansion of the Guild system and a whole line-up of launch events.

The Female Gunner joins the Fighter, Male Gunner, Mage, Priest and Slayer as available character classes. And like the Male Gunner, the Female Gunner is a tech geek with loads of firepower. She also comes with several unique skills, including Spriggan, Gun Dance, FM-92 mk2 Lancer, Air Bomb Mech: Gale Force and Photon Bomb.

Players who advance to level 18 in Dungeon Fighter Online reap the benefits of Advancement subclasses, and those who continue on to reach Level 48 now have three more Awakening subclasses to strive for: Fighter’s Hellcat, Male Gunner’s Machinist and Slayer’s Soul Reaper. Each of these Awakenings feature powerful new skills to unleash on foes.

Only the most thrill-seeking of Dungeon Fighters should even attempt Hell Mode, an option available in select dungeons. These high risk adventures also offer high rewards with Epic Items, much more powerful than the typical weapons equipped by most dungeon fighters.

The newly expanded size and scope of the guilds will enhance Dungeon Fighter Online’s growing community. The maximum guild level has increased from Level 5 to Level 10, and the member cap for guilds has expanded from 50 to 300 Dungeon Fighters.

Players are also rewarded with four different events. The Clean Slate Event offers a Lethe’s Bell to every character who reached level 30 or higher before June 9th. Players who create a Female Gunner will be rewarded with a gift box of fun loot. The Opening Ceremonies Event asks players to lend a hand to NPCs throughout the land of Arad to get a special gift. And the New Awakening Event rewards players for creating a character that will advance to the newly released Awakenings mentioned above.

This is just the beginning for Dungeon Fighter Online, which, like other Nexon America games, will update on a regular basis with new content, new features and new events.

Players can download and play the game for free at http://dungeonfighter.nexon.net. Dungeon Fighters are currently uniting at Facebook, and players can see more of the action on YouTube.

ATLUS ONLINE AND NHN USA, INC. PARTNER TO CHANNEL EVER-GROWING F2P STEAMPUNK MMORPG NEO STEAM: THE SHATTERED CONTINENT THROUGH ijji.COM

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 26, 2010 - Atlus Online, a premiere destination for online entertainment, and NHN USA, Inc. today announced a partnership to channel Neo Steam™: The Shattered Continent, a free-to-play massively online roleplaying game, through the popular online gaming portal ijji.com. The venture will allow ijji.com’s over seven million users to convert “G Coin,” the service’s currency, into “Gears” to purchase in-game items and boosts to fully experience Neo Steam.

“We are thrilled to partner with NHN USA, Inc. to bring the unique fantasy-steampunk MMORPG experience of Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent to ijji.com’s over seven million users worldwide,” stated Jamie Ortiz, Head of Business Operations at Atlus Online. “Since its launch in North America, Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent has steadily expanded its audience by clearly establishing an emphasis on providing the richest, most community-oriented online roleplaying experience possible. Partnering with ijji.com dramatically grows that user base, introducing a new host of gamers to its distinct, eventful MMORPG gameplay.”

Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent is the only MMORPG of its kind, set in an imaginative steampunk world, where 19th century steam-based technology meets fantasy inventions. The game transports players to a land where two nations battle over a precious resource called Neo Steam. From the onset, customization is key to each player’s experience, where they can choose which nation to join and select from a number of specialized classes. As players battle to expand their nation’s resources and protect their borders from invasion, they must learn to harness the Neo Steam technology to upgrade their equipment, learn new abilities, and progress in their chosen class.

“Steampunk is another immersive experience we are thrilled to add to our current line-up of games. Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent offers the ijji community a class-A persistent world to get lost in,” said Calvin Yang, vice president of marketing, NHN USA, which hosts ijji.com. “Atlus provides some of the best games in the business, and that is just what we look for when it comes to our portal.”

Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent is now available on ijji.com!

For more information about Neo Steam, please visit the official game website at http://neosteam.atlusonline.com

Archlord Expansion Update ‘Chaotic Frontier’

- Archlord Episode 4: ‘Chaotic Frontier’ update in March
- New Adventures at ‘Chaotic Frontier’, the Vanished Civilization
- Multi-language game service launched in February 2010.

Wednesday, 17th February, WEBZEN (NSDAQ: WZEN) is pleased to announce that Archlord, a premier MMORPG with no monthly subscriptions, will unveil the next expansion update Episode 4: Chaotic Frontier. The expansion update is due to go live in the coming month of March where the update introduces distinguished new concept of dungeons.

New features of Archlord Episode 4: Chaotic Frontier include:

Exclusive dungeon system: Chaotic Frontier
- Specifically designed according to the game factions, each player’s level will be automatically adjusted pending on which field of Chaotic Frontier he walks into, hence allowing Archlord players of all level to enjoy. In addition to this, players will need to acquire a special passport to enter each realm which drops from mobs or alternatively they can be purchased directly from the Chantra Shop for a minimal price later on.

6 new playing fields for players to challenge
- The Chaotic Frontier includes six new realms providing unique and interesting challenges to all players along with its own exclusive scenario about the legendary civilization vanished over the Chaotic Frontier.

New collectible armor sets with unique stats and more!
- The exclusive collectible armor sets and unique accessory items that can be found throughout the realms are lying in wait for the adventurous warriors, who are brave enough to come for them!

New monsters and boss creatures
- These exhilarating realms are populated by tough mutated creatures that require teamwork and skill to take down, each one providing a strong challenge to any seasoned warrior.

Meanwhile, the game client has been recently updated to support multi-language game scripts including German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Players are now able to choose their preferred languages before entering the game. This feature will facilitate a better gaming experience for those connecting from non-English speaking countries.

“We are pleased to be able to set out our exciting new expansion plans for Archlord. We have put a great amount of efforts to provide gamers a better gaming experience by committing to provide frequent updates. We look forward launching this free expansion to our players. Furthermore, we’re planning on implementing a new game client that supports multi-language options such which will bring the internationally competitiveness that we have been trying to achieve.” said Chang Keun Kim, the chief executive officer of WEBZEN.

Details on the update and the game are available at Archlord.webzen.com.

Bethesda Softworks has released full version PC games of The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall and The Elder Scrolls: Arena to download for free!

Go them download now!!!

“BRING DOWN THE SKY” EXPANDS THE MASS EFFECT ADVENTURE
Guildford UK(July 29, 2008) – Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), has announced that “Bring Down the Sky,” the first piece of downloadable content for the award-winning space epic Mass Effect™, is now available for PC gamers to download free1 of charge.

Fully optimized for the PC, “Bring Down the Sky” is the first in a series of planned downloadable content that will further expand the Mass Effect story and universe. It includes a new uncharted world that introduces the deadly Batarian alien race, approximately 90 minutes of new gameplay and an original soundtrack. Instructions on how to download and install the new content is available at http://masseffect.bioware.com/downloadablecontent/. “Bring Down the Sky” is currently available for international languages including English, Spanish, Italian and German, with additional language versions coming soon.

The storyline for the new content begins as Batarian extremists have hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent.

Originally released for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system, “Bring Down the Sky” has received critical acclaim as one of the “must have” downloadable expansion packs. Mass Effect has also received critical acclaim throughout the world with more than 80 awards including Console Game of the Year and Role-Playing Game of the Year, with the PC version achieving several perfect 10/10 scores and an overall review average of over 90%2 (http://masseffect.bioware.com/previewsawards/).

PC gamers can download and install “Bring Down the Sky” by simply launching their registered copy of Mass Effect for the PC and following the instructions at the launch screen. For more information about Mass Effect, please visit www.masseffect.com.

1 Requires Mass Effect for the PC.

2 According to gamerankings.com and metacritic.com as of July 24, 2008.

About BioWare

BioWare develops computer, console, handheld and online video games focused on rich stories and memorable characters. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world’s best-selling titles including the award-winning Baldur’s Gate™ and Neverwinter Nights™ series, and Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™. Original BioWare-created IPs include Jade Empire™ and the 2007 Game of the Year, Mass Effect. With studios in Edmonton, Canada, and Austin, Texas, BioWare is hard at work on the epic fantasy RPG, Dragon Age™: Origins and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood for the Nintendo DS™, as well as several unannounced projects including a massively multiplayer online game. In 2008, BioWare was acquired by the world’s leading electronic entertainment publisher, Electronic Arts. For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA™, EA SPORTS™, EA SPORTS Freestyle ™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

BioWare, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks or registered trademarks owned by EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Xbox and Xbox 360 is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

When I saw this press release, I knew I needed to post it here! For this month only, Independent developer Laurian Studio is giving away their 3D fantasy role-playing game Parhedros: The Tunnels of Sethir to everyone over the age of 18 who agrees to write to their congressperson with the message that "Video-Gamers Vote!"

Game Developer Seeks to Increase Voter-Awareness among Video-Game Players

LITTLE FALLS, New York, Nov. 1, 2007. Are some politicians alienating a neglected voter-bloc when it comes to the recent controversies over content in video-games? Independent game developer Laurion Studio thinks so, and wants to prove it by giving away a free computer-game in a voter awareness campaign aimed at the getting out the vote among the game-playing populace.

Laurion announced that during November through Election Day it is giving away a free, fully registered copy of its new 3D fantasy role-playing game Parhedros: The Tunnels of Sethir on its web-site (www.parhedros.com) to everyone over the age of 18 who agrees to write to their congressperson with the simple message that "Video-Gamers Vote!" The game normally sells for $22.95 on-line.

"We hear so much about protecting kids from games," explained Laurion spokesman David Van Meter, "But how often do we hear that the average video-gamer is actually 33 years-old, and that a whopping 72% of all gamers are over the age of 18, according to studies by the Entertainment Software Association? Video-gamers are also voters, and I think it’s time to let politicians know that we are tired of being treated like children when it comes to free speech in our games."

Laurion’s game Parhedros itself affords an example of the sort of "free-thinking" games that are quietly being published only on the internet by mostly small, independent developers for this so-called "mature majority" of gamers. Despite being a role-playing game that focuses mostly on exploring dungeons and battling fantasy monsters, the story also touches upon such mature themes as alcoholism and crises of sexual identity, and some of the characters may do "nude scenes". Needless to say, you won’t find games like this coming soon to a major retail store anywhere near you.

"From our viewpoint, games will only reach their full potential as an artistic medium when they can freely tackle the same sorts of subjects that novelists and film-makers have treated for decades," said Van Meter. "But the political hand-wringing over game content and ratings has left the major studios and retailers afraid to touch games that intellectually challenge adults as works of fiction. It will stay that way, too, until video-gamers speak up and assert their political voice."

For more information on Laurion Studio and its offer of a free copy of Parhedros for concerned game-playing voters, visit parhedros.com.

The fantasy MMO Archlord and its new Episode II: Season of Seige is now 100% free.  Like many free MMOs micro-transactions are available to purchase in game items and enhancement.

From the Archlord site:

ArchLord, the fantasy MMO, is now moving to 100% free. All you need to do to play ArchLord now is download the client, request a key and log into the world of Chantra. Get ready to take on your fellow ArchLord players in the battle of a lifetime to become the all-powerful, all-ruling ArchLord!

To get a key simply visit the ArchLord Free To Play page.

If you have any questions visit the Free To Play FAQ.

Get ready for the battle of your life in ArchLord, the free to play MMO.

The new free to play MMO from Acclaim called 2Moons has launched the open beta. The game will feature in game advertising to supplement subscription fees. The game boasts “an epic adult story, intense fighting action, and extreme violence”

Official press release from Acclaim:

“2Moons” Free to Play Extreme Action MMO Game Open Beta Launches with Massive Explosion

New worlds opened for huge initial surge of online gamers

Los Angeles (August 7, 2007) - Acclaim Games is pleased to announce the start of Open Beta for 2Moons, a free to play extreme action Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) for PC directed by video game industry veteran David Perry. “We opened the site on Monday July 30th and we were blown away with over 100,000 downloads, so much that our first world got filled in 24 hours. It’s stunning! We had to delay the announcement until we opened our new world named Abaddon” said David Perry, director of the game.

With the highly anticipated launch of 2Moons Open Beta, any player will be able to sign up for free and enter the land of Haran to team up in guilds, battle menacing beasts, and defeat their most hated enemies in large-scale bloody massacres with thousands of others.

Players have been anxiously waiting for 2Moons ever since hearing about the exciting 3D multiplayer online game. At the game’s silent launch, there was a sudden explosion of players due to the great hype surrounding its release and internet word-of-mouth. An additional server set was quickly added to make room for all the new players coming into the game, so now players can choose between the Trieste or Abaddon worlds. With such a tremendous response from dedicated fans and new players, 2Moons is expected to grow rapidly and reach the 1 million players milestone very quickly.

Based on a hugely successful game called Dekaron in Korea, 2Moons promises to be one of the most exciting online games to be released this year, and is expected to become a huge hit for Acclaim. “Never before has a AAA game been available for free. This is a defining moment for our hundreds of thousands of registered players who have been patiently waiting, now the pain is over. The pricing wall has been broken, players will vote with their playtime” says Howard Marks, CEO Acclaim Games Inc.

2Moons is targeted to hardcore gamers who want to experience an epic adult story, intense fighting action, and extreme violence. The game’s tagline, “No mercy for the weak, no pity for the dying, no tears for the slain,” lets players know that this is truly a game for hardcore players! The game is intended for audiences age 17 and older due to mature content including extreme violence and strong language.

With 24-years of experience in the video game development industry, David Perry is directing the 2Moons game to make sure it is a big success. His unique experience and vision will ensure that players get the most exciting online gaming experience they could hope for with 2Moons.

“This is the final phase of testing with the help of our 2Moons community before this game is commercially released. Unlike the previous Closed Beta, during this period we will roll out all the key features of the game one at a time for them to experiment with and give us feedback,” says Director, David Perry.

2Moons Open Beta will begin with all players starting their characters from scratch at the time the servers are opened. Later in the Open Beta, players will be able to enter Siege Mode to defeat competing parties of players and overtake the castle. And when the highly anticipated Dead Front feature is released, several rival parties will enter through various gates, fight their way through hordes of enemies, checkpoints and sub-bosses in a bloody battle royale that will require mutual cooperation. In the end, however, they will turn upon each other in a free-for-all, hardcore PvP battle to the death, with the last party standing crowned the ultimate warriors. Also included in this version will be character voices recorded from 2Moons community members who entered the “Voices Over 2Moons” voice-over contest to give a voice to some of the game’s non-player characters.

Assistant Director Rusel DeMaria says, “We have an amazing and passionate community of hardcore players, and we think they are going to have a bloody ball in 2Moons. And the best is yet to come!”

There will be various in-game events, community contests, and prize giveaways for the 2Moons community giving players many opportunities to win special prizes such as gaming hardware, in-game items, and Acclaim Coins packages that can be used in any Acclaim game.

Within a few weeks after Open Beta, the 2Moons Shop will be opened. Players will be able to use Acclaim Coins to purchase all-new optional game items designed to enhance gameplay. Items in the shop will allow certain players to access special items, customizable clothing, and other unique game enhancements. New items will be released regularly to keep the shop constantly loaded with fresh additions.

2Moons is the fourth release from the new Acclaim, a resurrected company focused on providing quality multiplayer online games for free. The games will be supported with a mix of advertising and virtual item stores.

Any player can participate in 2Moons Open Beta. Players can register, download the game and play for free by visiting www.2moonsgame.com .

About Acclaim Games®

Based in Beverly Hills California, Acclaim Games is a revolutionary new company with a familiar name. In 2005 the cofounder of Activision, Howard Marks, purchased the company confident that the Acclaim name would surpass its former glory as one of America’s marquee brands. Today, Acclaim Games offers only the finest multiplayer online games for free with a focus on community, playability and most importantly fun. To learn more please visit www.acclaim.com.

About David Perry

David Perry is the CEO of GAMECONSULTANTS.COM and prior to that was the founder of Shiny Entertainment, Inc. For more information, please visit: www.dperry.com. David Perry’s latest Matrix Movie related game projects are estimated to have grossed over $300 million, and he has had numerous #1 hits and awards over his career with titles such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Disney’s Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, and many more.

About Rusel DeMaria

Rusel DeMaria is a 26-year veteran of the game industry, a well-known writer and currently the Assistant Director for 2Moons, working under David Perry.

Being a busy “gamer dad” one of the problems I’ve always had is playing any kind of MMORPG with others because I rarely know if I’m going to have a big enough chunk of uninterrupted time to commit to other players.

The new online browser based role playing game Duels has come up with a great solution for my problem that will still allow me to challenge other real world players.

Duels has all of the basics you’d expect from a role playing game. You choose the look of your avatar, generate your stats, equip your character and you off to duel. The difference here is you don’t control that actual Duel! You challenge your opponent and choose how you fight, but since you don’t control the actual duel, you don’t even need to be online when your opponent accepts your fight. Once you’re back, you can view a playback of the duel.

The end result here is a mixture of role playing and web 2.0 social networking smartly entwined into a great browser based experience. It’s simple and addicting.

One of the problems with it right now is that because of the extreme initial popularity the game has experienced, it runs fairly slowly and tends to lag between screens. They have been working on infrastructure upgrades, so I’m sure that these speed issues will not be around for very long.

If you give it a try, send me a challenge!

I used to be big into Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, and Everquest 2. It always amazed me how much time I would start to invest in these virtual worlds. Real world time would slip away it seemed almost as fast as the much speedier time of a day in an online world. That is eventually why I stopped playing these games all together. I just didn’t have the time to put in to keep up with the guys that had hours and hours available to invest each day.

The idea of real world money in trade for MMO gold starts to become incredibly attractive for those lacking the time needed to really get ahead.  Everyone seems to make out in the end… the people who are putting the work and time into the virtual world can make real world money while those without real time can invest cash to advance their MMO character.

With Ebay stopping the sale of virtual items, a site like MMObay steps in to fill the virtual world transaction gap.  MMObay covers all of the biggest MMOs, from World of Warcraft gold to Runescape accounts for sale. They are also a member of Trust Who, an identification validation service removing anonymity from trading virtual goods and accounts.

If you’re looking to spend the cash for a high level character or trade real world money for online currency, this is the site to check out.

This post was sponsored by MMObay.