After months of beta testing both open and closed, Frogster Interactive finally officially launches the first chapter of their massively multiplayer online game Runes of Magic.
Runes of Magic Chapter 1: Rise of the Demon King is now live, so using the excuse of still being in beta to excuse the smattering of text still left in its original Korean as of two days ago is no longer valid. Frogster Interactive has deemed the game fit for release, which makes it even more confusing whenever I use my Ranger's squiggly oriental lettering attack. Still, it's free to download and play, so it's not as if we can ask for our money back.
They've added a ton of new content for the game's release, including several new dungeons, an epic quest line, and level 35 elite skills, with more content planned in the coming weeks. I'm a bit bothered by the fact that one of the upcoming features is a "New combat formula allowing much easier balancing", as that seems like the sort of thing you'd want in place before launch, but once again...free is free.
Despite all of its flaws, Runes of Magic isn't a bad way to spend a few hours, especially if you've got enough of a sense of humor to laugh away some of the more serious problems. Head over to the game's official site to snag yourself a copy of the client and sign up for an account, and watch out for Ranger Kotaku's squiggly line attack.