This is another free-to-play MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) from Aeria games who are also working on Luminary as we have mentioned here at Game Hub before.

Twelve Sky 2 is set amidst a seemingly everlasting war over territorial dominance between three factions in ancient China. These factions have been dicing each other up for years, but they may have to team up because of the emergence of an old common enemy, if the extended trailer is anything to go by. Don’t worry if you’ve not played the first game as this has a brand new story.

This setting is something different from the usual Warcraft and Dawn of War type games as it’s humans-only on the playable character roster but you will get to fight against monsters and weird creatures. It makes a nice change to see ancient China in a something that’s not a button-masher beat-em’-up like Dynasty Warriors.

You can play as a male or female warrior from one of the three factions. The Guanyin are the harmony and balance lovers that are often mistaken as weak, however they possess formidable fighting skills when required. The Fujin are considered to be more like assassins that fight with speed and grace and often prefer a stealthier approach instead of all-out war. Whereas the Jinong faction lives for war, these are the most savage warriors in the game.

There is a fourth faction that players can aspire to by levelling up to Master 1 (M1), the Nangin (see pic on right). However, this means leaving your old faction behind along with everyone on your friends list, to roam as a lone warrior. Harsh.

Combat features a mix of melee and ranged attacks with swords, spears, arrows and so on, with magic used to attack and provide temporary power-ups.

The game features a seemingly endless amount of single-player missions and challenges, but doing these quests with friends will get you more Experience Points (EXP). Other multiplayer options will have large Player-vs-Player (PVP) battles over territory or duels for pride and goods. There’s even a bit of politics with real elections too!

The open beta has been running for a while now with public feedback allowing the developers to tweak the game closer to completion. This is shaping up to be a fine adventure so far and considering how polished it all looks it’s stunning to think it’s not going to cost you a penny. Check back here soon for Part 2 of this feature which will look in closer detail at how the game actually plays.