As mentioned in my previous post (link), China MMO developer and publisher ChangYou revealed a number of titles which are in development, including “World of Shadowbane”. While the China gamers are all awaiting Tencent’s Blade & Soul China server, rivals such as NetEase announced Dragon Blade (link), which will take on the mammoth. While ChangYou did not publicly issue the challenge, “Codename K” certainly looks like a viable competitor for now.
Developed using CryEngine 3, the same machine used for ArcheAge (link) and Warface (link), “Codename K” is based on a popular internet fantasy novel in China, hence expect heavy eastern oriental designs to the game. CryEngine 3 will allow much better visuals and more life-like interactions with objects, such as destroying trees and armor getting burnt when hit by fire spells. Environmental changes such as weather and seasons are implemented as well. Aerial combat is also mentioned, though there is no in-depth details at this point of time.
And yes, “Codename K” will feature non-target action combat, with an emphasis on chain combo attacks. Unlike games such as Mabinogi Heroes with an instanced world, “Codename K” will feature a vast open world like World of Warcraft’s. More information is expected to be released at ChinaJoy 2012, happening at end July.
