Blade and Soul: What Makes It Stand Out

The game Blade & Soul had gained worldwide praise when it was unveilled by NCsoft 3 months ago. Recently NCsoft releases a new record for players, and schedules to launch it in 2009.

What makes Blade and Soul stand out from other games in its genre is its unique art style and its combat focus. Many MMORPGs have a medieval style, and focus heavily on Norse-type mythologies; dwarfs, elves, fairies, swords and sorcery, etc.

Blade and Soul models it's characters from artwork by renowned Korean manhwa artist Hyung-tae Kim, whose Asian flair is prominent throughout his work. Blade and Soul, embracing this flair, focuses on Asian martial-arts and fantasy instead of European, making for pleasantly unique and exciting visuals.



As of yet, there are only two races that have been officially revealed: the Jin, who look like stylized humans, and excel at sword-based combat, and the Gon who are physically larger and more muscular then Jin, and specialize in hand-to-hand attacks. There does seem to be a third race, though they are not official as of yet. Fox-eared children appear at several points in the trailer, as does a great fox/ wolf demon, suggesting that the fox-children are perhaps a playable race that can shift between the two forms.



The biggest difference between Blade & Soul and other games lies in its combats and quests which are the most important elements for a RPG. For players, the objective of a game should be as clear as possible. However, most games are focused on monster fighting. In Blade & Soul, you can’t expect that everything will be totally new, but definitely, it will allow you to interact more with the environment, though actually it seems not easy to achieve.

Japanese martial arts

Players might be familiar with such martial arts terms as palm wind, internal skill (neigong) and flying skill (qinggong) which are all available in Blade & Soul. In Blade & Soul, players will have a chance to feel the essence of martialism, chivalrousness and loyalty.

Ever-changing world

The story in Blade & Soul will progress in a way totally different from other MMORPGs. And the things in the game will evolve with the progress of the story.

Sony has entered an exclusivity deal with NCsoft regarding new titles, as well as already existing intellectual properties. While we can assume this includes Blade and Soul, none can be certain until it is announced officially.

Credits: MMOsite