Gaming In The Raw: Dragon Nest

I received an invitation to the very short, closed beta test for the upcoming free-to-play MMO, Dragon Nest. Dragon Nest is being developed by Eyedentity Games, published by Nexon and was released in parts of Asia in 2010. I first played the North American version of the game at PAX East 2011, and the action-oriented combat immediately smacked me in the head with the funbat. Don’t let the cartoony, anime-style graphics fool you—the gameplay is deep and includes 16-player PvP battles.

Like Nexon’s other free-to-play MMO, Vindictus, Dragon Nest does not have a persistent world. Towns are like lobbies where you can meet up with friends, pick up quests and trade for items, but once you leave them the only people you can see are those that are in your party. Some people feel that approach doesn’t allow for proper game immersion, while others like the minimal travel required to get where the action is. In either case, it certainly cuts down on the game’s overhead, which helps keep it free-to-play.

Join me as I narrate my experience with Dragon Nest in the latest episode of Gaming in the Raw.