Trickster Online

They all laughed at you when you told them you were playing a 2D sprite-based MMORPG with characters cuter than The Smurfs, Rainbow Brite and Pokémon all rolled into one. Now you have the chance to wave a brand-new iPod touch in their faces and crow "Who's laughing now? Who's laughing now?" as they fall to their knees and scream to the sky.

Ntreev's Trickster Online continues to roll out special events and contests for its playerbase, as it just announced their Spring Poppuri Olympics, which starts March 18th and runs through April 7th. Players can net some snazzy prizes through this event, including an in-game pet, an iPod Touch 32G, an autographed 2010 World Cup soccer ball, and more.

To win, players are tasked to drill for special "Poppuri Boxes" hidden across Caballa Island. If you are level 40 and find at least 200 of these boxes, you will be eligible to win the goodies. "We love to watch the fierce drilling spirit of our players during these Poppuri events," said Chris Lee, CEO of Ntreev USA. "Players will be rewarded nicely with some fabulous prizes for this exciting event and we hope to deliver more events in the future with even greater in-game and real-world prizes."

Since Trickster Online is a free-to-play title, there's no reason why you shouldn't head on over to their website, and check it out to see if it's up your alley. And with the lure of a free iPod touch, there's no time like the present!

Tricksters! There are new games afoot for you to take part in across Caballa Island, just perfect for those of you who love nothing more than to uncover secrets in Trickster Online Revolution. The team at Ntreev has lined up two games -- the Lucky 13 challenge, and the Megalo Snipe Hunt GM event -- to bring even more excitement to the game.

The Lucky 13 event will start March 4th and run until March 17th, offering players a chance to level up their unrefined equipment and win prizes like Gacha coins, GM pets, and even posters of new Trickster Online Revolution art with GM signatures. Three lucky winners from this first in-game event will also be picked to get 50,000 points for use in the game. The GM event will involve a hunt for disguised GMs all over the game world, and promises to net players all manner of goodies like GM disguise kits, Chaos Feather Random boxes, and other fun things.

It certainly sounds like the spirit of the Trickster games are alive and well in the Ntreev team, so if it's been a while since you've logged in and spent some time in the world, you'll want to make sure your client is all patched up and ready to go on the 4th. If you've never stepped foot in Trickster Online Revolution, be sure to check out our First Impressions posting about it, and see if it sounds like a free-to-play game you might find fun.

The free-to-play MMO about a MMO, Trickster Online, will soon be entering its fifth episode on October 7th, adding another layer of story to the game as well as more areas and quests to complete.

Trickster's story is a little complicated, as the game is about, well, a game. The "Trickster Online Revolution" game is the last wish of one Don Cavalier, wealthy billionaire and founder of the game development studio, "Megalo Company." The Don's last will and testament states that he wants his fortune to be split up to those who win his final game, and your character is one of the people who have flocked to his mysterious island to become a virtual "Trickster" (half-human, half-animal being) and claim his fortune.

The new episode will uncover the secrets behind the Megalo Company, introducing Don Cavalier's headquarters, the Island's master computer "Joker," and the location of the Don's sarcophagus. We dunno why he buried himself in a sarcophagus, but hey, he's eccentric, he can do what he wants.

We have the trailer for episode five placed after the break, so if you're interested in watching then jump on through!

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Do you dig anime? Are you fond of mythology when coupled with strange and adorable characters? Looking for a free-to-play MMO with a large community and a surprising amount of PvP? This week, we look at the free-to-play/microtransaction title Trickster Online Revolution, which includes all of those and quite a bit more. Remember - this isn't a review; just a First Impression of a new (to us) MMO. As always, if it looks interesting to you, be sure to check it out on your own. After all, it doesn't really cost you anything beyond a bit of time. That said, on with the show!

Trickster Online Revolution is actually not a new title in the free-to-play space. This game actually launched on August 22, 2007, and has been steadily gaining players since then. The Ntreev USA staff have worked hard with the Ntreev Soft staff in South Korea to create many things from beginning quests to special pets and items specifically for the North American localization. From what I could tell, the community in the North American game seems to dig all the work they've put into it - and are definitely enjoying those fun little pets!

The MMO genre is more than World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online. Here's what's going on in the rest of the world.

Trickster Online celebrates the Olympics with new themed items
Even MMOs get into the spirit of real world competition, and Trickster Online has some themed items for your enjoyment. These masks, hats, and capes will have a particular country's flag on them; collect all five of each and receive a special item of each type. Check them out before the Olympics ends!

Outspark Games offer Olympic-style competition within their titles
From now until August 24th, San Francisco MMO publisher Outspark will be hosting the Outspark Games, a series of Olympic-styled competitions within their online offerings. Titles Fiesta, Secret of the Solstice, and Project Powder will feature special events in-game. Expect medals to be granted to the top three winners, and increased experience points offered to all participants.

More news after the jump!

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We have covered this peripherally before, but while that post focused on buying items through microtransactions, we'd like to ask you: what's your preference? A few MMOs have monthly fees that are also set up for discounted bulk purchases -- you pay less per month if you buy, say, 6 months at once -- but then there's the oh-so-enticing free-as-a-bird model, with microtransactions for better gear thrown in.

But it's not just about items or time, is it? Do you feel that paying a monthly fee to your favorite MMO is an investment in your gaming future? Is it enough of a reward for the development team? If you're playing a free-to-play microtransactions game, can you still vote with your dollars if your favorite class gets nerfed? All things being equal, which is better?

We're not even a month into 2008, and already it seems like there's a veritable deluge of free MMOs coming through the pipes. Joining this rising tide is a new title called Grand Chase from Ntreev USA (the folks behind Trickster Online), which promises to bring an exciting real-time arcade style combat system that will set it apart from the pack. Though the leveling system will be standard RPG fare, combat will focus on skills, combos, and item-use. It's worth noting of course that Auran was promising a similar basket of real-time goodness with Fury not long ago, and we all know where that got them.

It's got kind of a funky anime look to it, which will no doubt endear it to a certain demographic and turn off another completely. The story, or at least the vague allusions to a story from the bits of information we've gathered, center on some sort of epic battle against an evil Queen of Darkness. How they plan to stretch that over dozens or hundreds of hours of gameplay isn't exactly clear, but we're sure they'll figure it out. If you want to see the game's zany eastern stylings for yourself, head on over to the official site for a bewildering video introduction.