Strangely, this Huxley footage doesn’t remind me of Unreal Tournament 3 at all, unlike what I formerly perceived. I was also surprised to see that the “MMO element” in Huxley looks exactly like your typical MMO (i.e. walking around in third-person). Perhaps the FPS elements would kick in when you get into missions.

Anybody stoked about Huxley?

Post from: EveryJoe

New Huxley video is released

The Korean schedule for the second stage of Huxley closed beta testing has just been announced. It will take place from Dec. 13 to 17. Registration for new local testers will begin this month, though gamers who took part in the first closed beta test will be able to participate as well.

For the clueless, Huxley is that gorgeous MMOFPS for the Xbox 360 and PC being developed by Korea-based Webzen. Is it any good? Sadly, I have no idea since I wasn’t part of the closed beta test.

According to the press release, the second close beta test will evaluate Huxley’s FPS elements, as well as the complementary system stability elements.

“We’re highlighting the FPS elements in the first and second closed beta tests, and will roll out the much-anticipated MMO elements in later stages of testing,” said Nam-Ju Kim, Webzen CEO. “I’m confident that this blend of MMO and twitch-action FPS design will have a positive effect on the online gaming market.”

More information about Huxley’s Korean closed beta testing will be available shortly at www.huxley.co.kr. I tried browsing the site myself, but other than the minimum requirements, I was prevented from getting any other significant info because I don’t read Korean. Even Babelfish won’t work because much of the site is in Flash.

The system requirements are pretty much current, but you’ll be surprised by the size of the client.

Minimum System Requirements
CPU – Pentium 4 2.4GHz
RAM – 1GB
Graphics – GeForce 6600
Operating System – Windows XP
Hard Drive Space – 6GB
Direct X – DirectX 9.0c

Recommended System Requirements
CPU – Pentium 4 3.0GHz
RAM – 2GB
Graphics – GeForce 7600
Operating System – Windows XP
Hard Drive Space – 6GB
Direct X – DirectX 9.0c

You can see the requirements in the English site anyway.

Post from: EveryJoe

Huxley’s second close beta test is coming this December

When you talk about an MMO, you normally think of people paying a company to play a massively-multiplayer online game. London-based games publisher Kwari, announced its new multiplayer online gaming service, which does things the other way around.

You see, the company’s FPS (also named Kwari) lets players make money off each other in real-time. Intrigued yet? Read how after the jump.

Gamers playing Kwari for cash set up an account, are matched on the basis of skill, and enter a game at a pre-agreed stake level ranging from one cent to one dollar a hit. During the matches, every time a player shoots another, money is deducted from the target’s stake and added to the shooter’s. In a way, the player’s money stake mirrors their in-game health, except it’s exchanged from one player to another.

There are also jackpot prizes which require keys to unlock. These jackpots are fed by self-inflicted damage sustained by the players in all games being played globally. For example, if a player jumps from the top of an arena or takes damage from a hazard, their stake is deducted and this feeds into the jackpots, which are then released hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly—the latter are expected to pay out millions of dollars. Most importantly; all money paid in to the game by players is won out of the game by players.

Being a game of skill, how much money a player can win depends partially on their in-game performance. So to ensure a level playing field, the games are said to be skill-matched so that only players of equal ability are able to compete.

“Money changes everything,” said Eddie Gill, founder and creator of Kwari. “I wanted to create something that had more of a buzz than a traditional FPS. The concept of playing for money is not a new one. However, these games tend to be an existing multiplayer game with a cash prize tagged on the end, much like clan tournaments, which means only a minority walk away with cash winnings—and usually a small amount at that.”

The game will be free to download online, but instead of being subscription-based, it will use a free-to-play/pay-to-play model where the publisher sells the player ammunition in place of flat rate charges or monthly subscriptions.

Pretty slick, considering that everyone needs bullets to play an FPS. After all, a company does need to make money if it wants to stay in business. Stay tuned for more news on Kwari.

Post from: EveryJoe

Other way around: New MMOFPS actually pays its players

It’s been a while since we last heard about Huxley, that über-pretty MMOFPS from South Korea’s Webzen. The latest hype went as far as E3 2006, and perhaps a few sporadic previews here and there. After poking around, I discovered when it’s supposed to come out.

According to the game’s forums, the game is scheduled to begin its close beta sometime between the tail end of 3Q and 4Q 2007. Huxley’s open beta will fall between 4Q 2007 and 1Q 2008, and its commercial launch would be somewhere before the middle of 1Q 2008 to the beginning of 2Q 2008. Got that?

So what makes Huxley special? Other than its spectacular visuals, we don’t know yet. Perhaps a part of us is hoping that the MMOFPS subgenre gets its marquee equivalent of Mario. No, I don’t want to see an Italian plumber take the lead role of a new MMOFPS—I was hoping for a game that achieves critical and commercial success like Nintendo’s bouncy hero.

One particular thing going for Huxley is its use of the Unreal 3 Engine. That means it’s going to be as pretty as Unreal Tournament 3 or Gears of War in a sci-fi, gun-toting way. Let’s just hope that Webzen doesn’t turn this game into a generic Asian-developed MMO that depends on some form of grind that’s prevalent today. Then again, Huxley is an FPS so it would take a special kind of inanity to pull that off.

Post from: EveryJoe

Huxley’s launch info is revealed