NCSOFT has announced that it’s bringing Asian market MMO Blade & Soul across to North America and Europe this Winter, with a new free-to-play model.
The game, which has been amongst the most popular subscription model MMO’s since it launched in the East back in 2012, has an action-packed style inspired traditional wuxia (martial hero) literature.
You play a student from the isolated and peaceful Hongmoon School, choosing from one of four fantasy races, who quickly finds themselves mixed up in your typical fantasy high-jinks - evil overlords, ancient power, blah-de-blah-blah. The real difference is thematic; the game’s set in a very pretty world modeled on ancient China, and rather than plate armour and wizards, the classes are themed around martial arts archetypes.
”Blade & Soul defies typical MMO conventions, delivering action-based combat with ability combos and a flexible party role system that does not require dedicated healers,” explains NCSOFT. ”It gives players unprecedented movement abilities around the world as their characters leap over mountains and fly through the air.”
More Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon than Lord of the Rings, then. Makes a nice change, though somehow I imagine the basics of the genre won’t change all that much. You can find out more about the game, as well as register your interest in a closed beta planned for fall 2015, over on the official website.
