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Webzen published a press release today announcing the start of Huxley's open beta test phase in South Korea. No word yet on when gamers in other regions will be able to participate. There have been hints that Webzen is backing away from the North American market, but today's press release reiterates the company's dedication to releasing Huxley "in markets around the world." This comes after an announcement that portal NHN will be distributing the game in North America and Europe, so we're pretty sure things are good.

The press release is full of not-quite-true statements that Huxley is the very first game to combine the FPS and MMO genres. PlanetSide and Neocron come to mind right away, and there have probably been others. Still, we're watching Huxley with curiosity. Its production values are sky high (just look at the recent cinematic trailer) and its Unreal Engine-powered graphics are impressive. Webzen plans to release the game in Korea in 2009, so we'll be waiting a while yet.

[Via Big Download]

It's not a bad thing that Huxley gameplay looks a lot like Unreal Tournament III, but it is a bit disconcerting for anyone interested in the MMOFPS in regards towards its possible uniqueness. The fact that what we're seeing in this video amounts to a standard deathmatch is probably the biggest reason for the comparison. While we professed our enjoyment of Huxley's recently released cinematic trailer, neither that nor this look into the game have told us why Huxley is any different than the many other FPS and MMO games currently proliferating across the market.

Don't get us wrong, though. We're always interested in different experiences here at Massively, so you can expect us to be playing Huxley whenever it manages to wash up on our shores. We're just hoping that the experience amounts to more than running around beautifully rendered worlds shooting things up, because that can be found elsewhere.

[via Rock, Paper Shotgun]

[Via Blues News]

The creators of the sci-fi MMO Earthrise have been very active in recent months -- granting a number of interviews, releasing monthly newsletters, and participating in dev chats. Stratics recently hosted the third Earthrise 'House of Commons' dev chat, with three members of the Masthead Studios team.

The Masthead Studios devs that took part were Atanas Atanasov (CEO of Masthead Studios), Apostol Apostolov (Lead Game Designer), and Moll (Community Manager). Their discussion ranged from the professions available to players to the extensive crafting system in the game. Read on after the jump for details straight from the devs about what we can expect from Earthrise.

Every Wednesday think, "That's a day late again, I hope he isn't making a habit of this" and take the "T" for Turpster and take the "a" in "day", capitalise it, remove the little bit in the middle, turn it upside down and you get a "V". Put the two together and you'll have TV for TurpsterVision -- the best Internet video podcast on Massively! (Never mind that business about it being the only video podcast on Massively...)

It might be a day or so late but at least it's here! Thanks for stopping by once again to the internet's favourite almost-every-weekly MMO review show. This week gives you a little taster where you can see the game that you WILL be playing this Saturday (14th June – 6pm EST) and a slight indication of how much you are going to get owned in the face by my mad team killing skills!

If that little teaser doesn't tempt you to join us after the break then lets just pretend that there are some leaked spoilers and exclusive news – there isn't, but I wont tell if you don't.

Every Tuesday think "T" for Turpster and take the "a" in "day", capitalize it, remove the little bit in the middle, turn it upside down and you get a "V". Put the two together and you'll have TV for TurpsterVision -- the best Internet video podcast on Massively! (Never mind that business about it being the only video podcast on Massively...)

Another average week, another fantastic TV Episode. This time around I've decided to have a look at Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa. I've heard a few good things about this title, but to be honest, I've heard far more bad things. I am not one to make up my mind on a game before I've played it, so I went down to my local store and picked up a copy. It just so happened that the Collector's Edition of the game was cheaper than the standard edition – go figure. I'm not complaining since I get a nifty little floating robot non-combat pet that follows me around!

To see the review as always you have to take the step into the void and join us on the other side of the break.

My daddy's SMARTER than Einstein, STRONGER than Hercules and can light a fire with a SNAP of his fingers! - The Gatherer's Garden
If you're anything like us, the very concept of a BioShock MMO is enough to make you break out in cold sweats. Stiff upper lip and set jaw though, old boy. It's no sure thing yet. The MTV Multiplayer site found a verrry interesting slide in a presentation given by Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick. He was explaining why they aren't taking EA's offer, and noted (on this slide) past and future projects they've tackled.

Under 'MMO/Online gaming', both BioShock and the Civilization series are listed as 'Potential Opportunities'. Consider us signed up! Steampunk survival-horror and leveling at the bottom of the ocean? Collaborating with the Ryanists to hold off the depredations of the hideous splicers? Getting to watch all that gorgeous water during raids? Sounds like a plan. What about you? Would you play a BioShock MMO?

A recent article asked the question, "Are online shooters turning into MMOs?" That's a good question. Lets go over the basics and see if they fit into the mold. Ever since Call of Duty 4 came out, it's become an addictive online experience for many people. Is it because of the tight controls, excellent visual/audio design and enormous variety of online modes? Perhaps, but we're fairly certain that many players are finding themselves addicted to what we here at Massively refer to as, "The Desire to Ding"

As we noted when we named PlanetSide our #3 Sci-Fi MMO to date, it's good to see the "MMO" try on some new (i.e., non-RPG) clothes now and again. That's why we've been keeping a close eye on Webzen's MMOFPS Huxley. Updates on Huxley have been coming in a trickle in recent months. Videos have been released now and again, and we knew it was in closed beta, but Webzen hasn't said much to the public lately. Good news: the silence was broken by an article at IGN the other day!

The basic info is all there: two persistent cities supporting up to 5,000 players in a post-apocalyptic Earth setting, instanced battles with hundreds of players, and differences between the PC and XBox 360 versions of the game. There are also several new screenshots and videos. The game looks a lot like Unreal Tournament 3. Not a surprise, since it's a first-person-shooter running on Unreal Engine 3.

According to the article, the PC version of Huxley will launch States-side before year's end, with the 360 version following about six months later.

[Via XBox 360 Fanboy]

Good things come to those who wait. In our earlier coverage of Webzen's upcoming MMO Huxley, we lamented the state of the in-game videos we saw -- a lot of running, nice scenery, but little else. Huxley-evolved.com has finally given us what we wanted with two videos available on blip.tv. At the time of this post, huxley-evolved.com's site was unavailable, so we're linking to the separate videos.

What does the first video tell us? Well, it's an FPS, which is a relative rarity in the MMO scene, and just behind that in little-seen-in-MMOs, it's Science Fiction. The traditionals are all here -- jumping, strafing, etc. Neither this, nor the following video feature any melée weaponry. We do notice that there's no HUD in this video, however, which some will like and some won't, but the second video does have one, so apparently it's toggleable. It also seems to take an extraordinarily long time to die, with hit after hit being scored before the opponent finally lays down. On death, a voice speaking Korean recites what we'll guess is a countdown. If our Korean-speaking audience members would care to drop a comment enlightening us, we'd appreciate it.

Every Tuesday think "T" for Turpster and take the "a" in "day", capitalize it, remove the little bit in the middle, turn it upside down and you get a "V". Put the two together and you'll have TV for TurpsterVision -- the best Internet video podcast on Massively! (Never mind that business about it being the only video podcast on Massively...)

Welcome back to TurpsterVision! I'm lovin' it that you could join me for my second show; not a lot of people realize this but the video below is a live stream to my camera and I have to act out the episode multiple times a day for you, the lucky viewers. This week I have decided that it is finally time to find out which is truly the best MMO out on the market. If you want to find out, join us after the break to see what you should be playing!

Huxley is shaping up to be a true to its roots MMOFPS. The second phase of the Korean beta test wrapped up testing focused on the dynamic hyper FPS style gameplay as seen in the footage above provided by Game Videos. During the open beta the testing will focus more on the MMO elements, which are the aspects I'm more interested in because underneath the fancy graphics and hyped up blurbs Huxley is well... Another FPS, but with a tasty grind! Huxley is being developed for the both the PC and Xbox 360 by H-studio under the Webzen flagship. There is still no word on when the non-Korean beta test is planned.

Players waiting to tear it up on some Mechanaughts in NCsoft's latest MMO, Exteel can jump right in now that the game is live after a successful open beta. There is no database wipe, so any players that participated in the open beta will be able to play with their same wrecks. Exteel is an online 3rd person shooter featuring customized mechs, and the gameplay more or less revolves around beating the living crap out of your opponents with a large arsenal of weaponry. Our own Chris Chester posted a first impression look during the open beta that is definitely worth reading if you are considering playing the game.

• Exteel is free to play and free to download.
• Exteel is supported by RMT (real money trade) -- Exteel's micro-payment system is called NCcoin which will allow players to purchase more powerful weapons, skills, and parts for their Mechanaughts.
• Combat is high-speed gunplay, melee combat, think fast or die tactics.
• Decide on one of four battle modes: Death Match, Team Death Match, Territory Control, or Last Stand.
• Blends the immersive thrill of an FPS with the furious and brutal intensity of Hong Kong gun-play mixed with the feel of classic robot anime.
• Minimum and recommended computer specs.

Any Massively readers give Exteel a spin during the open beta? What did you think? Does RMT kill this for you? I'd rather deal with the RMT aspects in this type of MMOG than have to shell out for another subscription to be honest with you.

So now that Bungie and Microsoft have parted ways, what's next for the Halo universe? The latest rumor says Master Chief and company are headed to an first person shooter MMO. That... would be spectacular, given that's done right. Halo is already basically an MMO, considering all the persistent stats, customization and tracking that Bungie has put into it. All it really needs is a virtual world for the Covenant (or what's left of it), Earth, and the Flood to fight it out in, and we're off to the rocket races.

The rumor, which is actually from the latest EGM, recommends Bungie for such a task, and there has been speculation that Bungie will go to an MMO next also (although, there's been speculation that every big game developer is working on an MMO, so don't hold your breath on that one either). But it's true that while PlanetSide is entertaining, we haven't yet seen a next generation FPS MMO done right. Could be that Bungie are just the ones to do it.

[ via X3F ]