I wanna play Granado Espada

One of the things I've decided this year is to get my hands once again into gaming.

This morning, I attended a press conference of club member IPVG who is set to release Granado Espada (GE), the full 3D MMORPG created by Hakkyu Kim, father of the Korean hit, Ragnarok Online.

GE is set in a detailed gameworld that reflects the 17th century and New World colonial exploration where technological tools of that period fuse with magic and wizardry. GE was developed by Hakkyu’s game development company IMC Games and have put in a whopping US$56 million into the creation of the MMORPG.

It utilizes the latest 3D technology and sound effects that rival the best in the industry today in terms of quality. Music was composed and produced by soundTEMP and world renowned DJ Tiesto (hailed as world’s no.1 DJ). Every zone has its own unique playlist and the music further adds to the intensity of each battle scene.

GE recently won the Korean gaming industry’s most prestigious prize – the Presidential Award for Best Game of 2006, at the 2006 Korea Game Awards, as well as the Technological Award for Best Graphics. Infocomm Asia Holdings (IAH) is the regional distributor of G.E and through its partnership with IPVG, the Singaporean online game operator will be able to expand its reach further in the region.

Granado Espada’s other highlights include:

• Multi-Character Control (MCC) system - a key feature that sets G.E. apart from the rest of the MMORPGs. It enable players to control 3 characters simultaneously, a first in an MMORPG.


• Recruitable Non-Playing Characters (RNPC) - RNPCs play a key role in the world of Granado Espada. They possess certain skills and stances that are not accessible by the regular user-created characters, and therefore will prove to be a powerful asset to the family.


• Stance System – By adjusting their characters’ stance, gamers can effectively attack monsters with different skills using the same equipment.

The game will be targeted at the premium market – players who are waiting for World of Warcraft. The international server closed beta testing will commence this February, while open beta testing will happen this March.

I applied for the closed beta testing and hope to be accepted.