Otherland's Free-To-Play Open Beta Has Begun

The time has finally come; the Gamigo have offered an explanation as to how this process will work or if those that play now will be able to link their Gamigo s in order to keep their new characters while receiving the benefits of their Founder's Packs or not. Furthermore, due to changes that have been made to the leveling experience, Open Beta will be "a new start for everyone," so, if you've played before, you will find yourself in need of a new character.

For those of you that didn't catch the previous announcement, the game recently received some "major updates" in the form of a completely redesigned tutorial, improvements to performance, new quests, factions, and crafting recipes, and the the beginnings of a combat overhaul.

Additionally, the team at Drago Entertainment is currently working on improving the game's enemy AI. The improved AI is being created with the goal of "[providing] an even more action-driven gaming experience that will be further sustained by more fluid motion patterns and revised skill sets."

Matt's Take:

Otherland has had an extremely rocky past, but it seems that Drago Entertainment might finally be pulling the game together. As the game is now free-to-play, and there have been many changes to the game's core systems over the past few weeks, I imagine that I will be trying the game out again sometime in the near future. There's nothing to lose but time.

It's unfortunate that the game has turned out the way it has over the course of its development, as the book series was critically acclaimed and provided a a near-perfect canvas for a cyberpunk MMORPG. With any luck, the Open Beta and commercial launch will give way to an experience that is more deserving of the Otherland name.