Let me first talk about the game, Bella Online. It is the first title to be developed internally by Taiwan publisher, OMG (Oh My God), using the in-house 3D Chameleon Engine. The game is still in development, but according to reports, IAHGames will be publishing it as early as Q1 this year in Southeast Asia.
The company has been rather quiet these few years, although Granado Espada, Counter-Strike Online and FIFA Online 2 still has a steady player base respectively. Is this IAHGames’ first step towards a market revival, with the SEA region currently dominated by Asiasoft (Ragnarok Online 2, MapleStory) and Garena (League of Legends)?
Bella Online may not be a look at first sight, but a couple of features garnered my interest. First, the Soul Crystal system. Players start off choosing from a selection of main Soul Crystals (classes), and more sub-crystals can be added on at every 10 levels (8 max).
If a player’s main Soul Crystal is that of a Cleric, and the first sub-crystal is a Mage’s, he or she will gain spells from both classes. Soul Crystal comes with 1 unique skill and 6 battle skills, while sub-crystals can come with 1 to 3 battle skills, while adding some base character stats as well.
You see, this combination system will allow a myriad of different builds, with over 100 different crystals and 300 skills attached. As seen in the images which I translated here, it is indeed possible to gain stealth and assassinate skills while being a Berserker class. If 2 cards have the same skill attached, the skill will be further strengthened.
The second feature which caught my attention is related to the game’s weapon system. According to the game’s description, if a good weapon was chosen from the start, it may last till the end.
What it means is that weapons in Bella Online grows together with the character, with each level up adding more stats, changing aesthetic look and also giving players a choice of power-up options to choose from. There is a chance to obtain unique skills as well, which are imbued to the weapon!
Developer OMG is also designing a smartphone app for Bella Online, currently known as “BellaPet”. Tied to the main game, there is no information of its feature yet, but I am willing to guess it is a pet-rearing game. I know, I am smart 😀
