Welcome 2011! Brand new year, brand new games, brand new Zodiac: Serpentarius? ¬_¬ We can’t say that 2011 thus far has been boring. I can safely say, I can’t wait to see the rest of this year.  For now, let’s get to the news…

Core Blaze:

If you haven’t heard of Core Blaze yet, it’s a Eastern mythology inspire MMORPG. and Epic 3D Fantasy world, utilizing the next generation of Unreal Engine 3.  It has been developed by Gamania’s R&D team, who announced the game at the pass 2010 Tokyo Game Show. Core Blaze brings us a dynamic game play where the experience is different depending on various factors , such as the player’s level, choice of combat style and weapons, geography and map environment, monster’s element and even the weather and time of day.  This changes will cause for new quest line and outcome, changing the player’s strategy, even if you enter the same map at a different time of day. The game was design with teamwork in mind, having most instances be up to four players. No worries, party mode will allow more than four.  Sadly, Core Blaze is still in development, but it is schedule to be completed by the second half of 2011.

Forsaken World

The people at Perfect World Entertainment have been hard at work, and they bring us this second Video Diary of the game.

Not only that, but they also revealed that weapons will have a four gem socket. Fortifying your weapon with the gems will increase your stats and abilities. Additionally, it will add unique effects on your overall appearance.

Pandora Saga: Open Beta

The title says it all!  If you want to participate in Atlus Online Pandora Saga beta, just sign up and download.

To Mabinogi or not to Maginogi:

That’s a question that does not to be asked anymore!  Mabinogi players will be able to answer the question for themselves, starting January 19th.  Hamlet is the first in a planned series of major Shakespearean content updates coming to the game.  Mabinogi and Shakespeare fans alike will be able to find new areas to explore, new missions, and much more.  For a taste of what’s to come, watch the video.

The thespian in me is giggling in happiness right about now. I must point out…the voice acting isn’t as horrible as I thought before I watched the video.

The Secret World:

EA and Funcom have combined efforts to publish The Secret World.  A game where even before it’s released, fans of the developer have joined the forums to be active members of its secret societies: The Illuminati, the Dragon and the Templar.  The game is set in modern times, where players are given total freedom to create and progress their characters, unbound by the restrictions of classes and levels.  You are able to join one of the three secret societies and fight for power over important locations throughout the game world.  You’ll also be able to travel to places like Egypt, New England, London, New York and Seoul, while battling monsters of myth and legend.  The website it’s just as enigmatic as it can get, keeping with the theme of the game.  If looks interesting and the videos are extremely beautiful. It reminded me of a Heavy Rain look, with a Silent Hill feel.

Champions Online finally free-to play:

The beta is doing very well and so they have announced that the free for all will launch Tuesday, January 25th, 2011! So dust off your capes, get your Lycra ready, because it is time to get heroic up in this game! ¬_¬

Vindict you, Vindict me, Vindictus for always…naturally:

If you wonder when I’ll stop being cheesy with Vindictus…keep reading /Info, you never know when it will happen. But what will happen soon, as in January 19th soon, is the Blood Lord will rise to wreak terror upon the people of Colhen!  This guy is the most challenging raid boss to come to the game so far. You’ll have to bring a party of six, be at least a level 45 to face the Nightmare of Ainle.  Your party might wipe a lot on this guy, but if you are successful, you’ll be able to craft the coveted Nightmare Armor set. mmmmmm….aaaarmooor set….*drool*.  There are also new hairstyles, face paint and body tattoos coming to the cash shop.

See ya on the next issue of /Info!

Though they’re a young company, Fantage is a success story to learn from. A staff of 5 started the company back in 2007, and a staff of 35 keeps things moving in 2010. Things have been so successful they’re looking to expand their company to 100 full time employees by the end of next year. Of course a company would need the online traffic to justify this kind of staff, which Fantage absolutely does; as of July 2010, their site has 3-4 million new users, with 7.3 million total. Their goal is 10 million users by the end of this year. While America has been gripped by the firm hand of economic instability, they seemto be defying the odds and growing in the face of adversity. So what’s their secret?

Fantage.com seems to just keep making good decisions. One look at their homepage and you can see that they are very in tune with who their audience is and what they want in a game. While their main users are 6-14 year olds, Fantage.com also caters to mothers and keeps things they’re looking for in mind when they launch new products. Since male players tend to drop out of the violence-free environment by age 11, Fantage works with Nexon in a mutually beneficial partnership; larger company Nexon helps fund Fantage, and when Fantage’s players are no longer interested in the type of gameplay offered they can move on to the more mature games at Nexon.

Fantage also understands that kids can be fickle and parents cautious when it comes to the world of online gaming. In an environment where most online memberships can be purchased in yearly intervals, Fantage offers membership in smaller increments (down to a day!), giving players and their parents a sample of the game without forking out for a longer commitment. Looking at the staggering success of the young company, you can tell they’re making all of the right moves. Check out Fantage.com for more!

I don't know what's going on here, but it looks egg-citing!

Nexon’s “Mabinogi” is going a little Mabin-eggy this week. Why? Easter, of course!

An Easter event starting tomorrow rewards players with stat boosts and treats! Just like real Easter! Except the stat boosts in the real-life case are more like “+1 Weight” for eating too many chocolate bunnies. Oops.

So, how do you get these bonuses? Well, collecting eggs from hens leads to finding fossilized Easter eggs. These fossils are then extracted quickly, and successfully excavated eggs lead to an Easter Egg Capsule reward. The capsules are full of candy that give your “Egg-scavator” character stat bonuses!

Easy as eggs! (Are you tired of the egg jokes yet? I swear I’m done with them. Maybe.)

To find out more, and get some practice as well, visit: http://mabinogi.nexon.net.

Nexon America announced their third quarter revenues and found that they have jumped by 36%. Which is huge in an economic downtown and probably a sign of gamer’s excitement about Dungeon Fighter Online, MapleStory, Combat Arms and Mabinogi.

“We are on the verge of having a very strong year,” said Daniel Kim, Nexon America’s CEO. “It’s a testament to the quality and accessibility of our free-to-play games and the amount of new content we have been delivering to our customers. Our hard work has earned us a level of loyalty among our player base that cannot be matched.”

Nexon America also just announced the upcoming beta test for BlockParty.com, its new game portal/social network site.