CosmicBreak and GetAmped 2 Never going to Release

Two games that seem like they’re never going to fully launch are CosmicBreak and GetAmped 2. Both are published and developed by the Japanese MMORPG company CyberStep. I’m convinced that these guys have no idea what they’re doing, because both GetAmped 2 and CosmicBreak began their open beta testing phases nearly a year ago, but NEITHER game is fully released yet. Why? After open beta isn’t full release supposed to begin? Apparently not if you ask CyberStep, as both games have since went through additional beta testing phases – all of which have been followed by wipes. CosmicBreak is set to be released by December, 2010 – another three months of waiting. I think anyone who wanted to play CosmicBreak by now gave up on the game and moved onto something else. No one wants to wait this long to play a game – especially when it was playable 6+ months ago. I think Vindictus made the same mistake of taking forever to launch, which allowed other action MMORPGs like Divine Souls from OutSpark and Soul Master from GamesCampus to dip their toes into action MMO market. Fists of Fu from Outspark also took quite a while to launch, but at least it did launch!

Other delayed MMORPGs which seem to be taking forever to launch are Huxley: The Dystopia and Priston Tale 2. ijji was supposed to publish Huxley like a year ago, but they recently announced that Webzen will continue development for the game. Even so, Huxley seems like it’s never going to actually come out. The same thing applies to Priston Tale 2 which actually released recently in Europe (through GamerKraft who also makes FreeJack), but the game is still nowhere near release in North America. That’s because Suba Games has no idea what they’re doing. They show the Priston Tale 2 page as “coming soon”, but it’s been “coming soon” for over 1 full year. I’m convinced that Priston Tale 2 will never come out in North America. On the positive side, the Malaysian version of the game will be available to AsiaSoft soon and they said they wouldn’t be blocking North American Ips. They also publish Battle of Destiny and Warriors of the Three Kingdoms, which are available to North American users. Unfortunately, games available in Malaysia and Singpaore are extremely laggy for gamers in Europe and North America. I tried playing Counter Strike Online recently, but my pings were in excess of 250, making the game unplayable.

Other delayed MMORPGs that will likely never release are Dance Groove Online, Kart Rider and Dreamland Online. Dance Groove Online is a dancing game that looks a bit like Audition Online and ShowUp. It was announced a year or so ago on Outspark’s site, but about 6 months ago, OutSpark took the game off their homepage, which pretty much confirmed the game was never going to release. Kart Rider did a large open beta test in North America in 2008 or so, but after that, the game vanished. Dreamland Online was announced by IGG ages ago, but it has been delayed indefinitely. The game was supposed to closely resemble Dragon Saga, LaTale, WonderKing and other side scrolling MMORPGs. Too bad there’s no definitive release date on it.

Do you guys know any other games that have been delayed over and over again? If so, name them in the comments!

MMOs You can Play 5 Minutes a Day

When people hear the term “MMO” or “MMORPG” they instantly think the game is ridiculously time consuming. There’s also a stereotype out there that MMORPG Players have no lives. Both of these statements are false. Not every single MMORPG consumes a person’s life. There are countless casual and social games which can be played for a few minutes each day. Browser based MMORPGs especially are designed to be played in short intervals. Games like War of Legends, Caesary and Heroes of Gaia are a few examples of some MMOs that can be played 10 minutes a day. A lot of “hard core” client based MMORPGs like Dungeons and Dragons Online and Grand Fantasia can certainly eat up a person’s entire day, as these games are BUILT to consume a lot of time. As I mentioned earlier though, there are plenty of games designed for casual players.

Facebook Games such as Farmville, Ninja Saga and Nightclub City for example are also designed to be played in short bursts. It doesn’t even make sense to play these games for hours at a time, as these games involve lots of waiting. Personally, I know a lot of non-gamers who play Happy Aquarium, Pet Society and Restaurant City. These Facebook Games are actually a rapidly growing market. I think they’re so successful because they attract both gamers and non-gamers. Plus, these games don’t involve any actual skill; players only need to click around every few hours to progress in these kinds of games, while actual in depth MMOs like Ace Online and Dragon Oath actaully take some sort of skill and understanding of game mechanics.

There are also a few browser based chat MMOs like IMVU, WoozWorld and Gaia Online which are designed for those looking for more of a social experience than a gaming one. Players in these kinds of games don’t have to play for hours at a time, but can instead play in short 30 minute bursts. The purpose of these games is to make friends and meet new people online – not slay monsters and complete quests. There are client based MMOs like Lost Saga, Audition Online and ShowUp which can also be played in short bursts. The reasons these games don’t take up too much time is because each individual round only takes 10 minutes or so in these MMOs. “Rounds” in League of Legends on the other hand, can take upwards of an hour – sometimes much longer.

So enough with these stereotypes. There are MMOs out there that can be played in short bursts. Not every MMORPG player is a bum who plays games all day.