A new storm for the cloud gaming market Gamania is the agent for the epic FPS title Counter Strike Online 2 (CSO2), and has officially released a beta version today (February 18), adding a new boost for the cloud gaming market. The official beta for CSO2 comes with realistic scenics and smoother shooting action. It is also the first game to provide “quick registration” and “one-click account creation” functions to simplify the account registration process, allowing gamers to get down to the game world as quickly as possible. CSO2 also released characters based upon Taiwan’s Army 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion (Sea Dragons) and established Taiwan as the first base for the character’s global release. Character voices are provided in Mandarin, English, Taiwanese Hokkien, Cantonese, Japanese, and Korean. Gameplay modes such as “Hide and Seek” and other open-beta contents provide unique entertainment options for CSO2. The climax of the open-beta celebrations involved a performance by Manaki, the No.1 Digital Entertainment Chinese Goddess, who cosplayed as the blond female CS terrorist and engaged in intense gun battles with the Sea Dragons.
Gamania working with NEXON to herald a new trend of FPS gaming
Statistics on Taiwan’s gaming market in 2015 released by the Institute for Information Industry (III) showed that the online gaming industry will grow to NT$ 21.9 billion by 2017. Shooting games are also one of top 3 game genres preferred by Taiwanese gamers. Since 2005, Gamania has been working with NEXON, a leading Korean game company, and successfully released many games in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Today (February 18), both Gamania and NEXON are working together once more to release CSO2, the sequel of Taiwan’s most popular game Counter Strike Online (CSO). CSO2 is a first-person shooter (FPS) based upon the Counter-Strike series developed by Valve. When the closed-beta with carryover saves was formally announced, a total of 50,000 players participated in gameplay which has, at one point, led to server congestion due to the excessive number of online players. The online discussion also topped the Gamer.com.tw discussion boards on FPS games for several weeks, clearly demonstrating that CSO2 is already established as a classical and epic FPS game amongst Taiwanese players.
The industry is also seeing a rapid growth of mobile gaming markets and the release of many FPS-like mobile games. Marco Chien, CEO of the Taiwan Region of Gamania, expressed: “We’re not afraid of competition from the mobile game market because CSO2 is a classical IP. The operations team also incorporated many local elements to offer realistic battlegrounds, smooth visuals, and the exhilarating rush of fantastic shooting that greatly enhances the entertaining value of FPS gameplay unbeatable by the limited sensory experiences provided by mobile games
Taiwan’s Masculine Sea Dragons – 6-language Voice Acting for localized entertainment
The CSO2 operations team, having observed online gaming requirements of Taiwanese players, has worked to create localized contents exclusive to players in Taiwan and Hong Kong to achieve further evolution of the classical IP. In addition to classical characters, maps, and gameplay modes offered by the original Counter-Strike, CSO2 also allows players to play as The Demolisher of the Sea Dragons, Taiwan’s most fearsome warriors. This characters is exclusively released for players in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau and bring the might of the Sea Dragons to bear. The Demolisher is designed according to the elite soldiers who served in the Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion of Taiwan. This warrior symbolizes indomitable will and spirit that epitomize the steadfast attitude of good Taiwanese people, and allows players to live their dreams in the outfit of the most elite military unit of the ROC Army.
▲ The Demolisher designed according to Taiwan’s Sea Dragons symbolize indomitable attitudes and courage!
The hide-and-seek mode provided in the CSO2 open beta harken back to fond childhood memories of hide-and-seek games between police and robbers. The robbers can assume the form of tables, chairs, or even beer bottles and hide themselves in a map area. The mission of the police is to identify these criminals and bring them to justice. These easy-to-understand game mechanics do not require any shooting or combat techniques, greatly simplifying controls. This is expected to attract more female gamers and overcome the great disparity in gender ratios of FPS players. For the storyline mode, new chapters will be added during the open beta. Story development will include classical elements such as hostage rescues, allowing players to experience an engaging single player story mode in addition to online multiplayer games.
▲ Hide-and-seek mode. The criminals will be able to transform themselves into mundane, everyday objects.
Players are most concerned about the weapons available. In addition to permanent purchases of guns by using in-game coins and balanced competition in the gameplay, players will no longer need to worry about gun expiration. Famous Taiwan-made firearms used by the ROC Army such as the T65 assault rifle and T86 combat rifle allow players to destroy their enemies using ROC-made weapons.
▲ Players in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau can try using classic Taiwan-made weapons such as the T65 assault rifle (left) and T86 combat rifle (right)
For the first time in history, CSO2 is offering 6-language voice acting. In addition to English, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, famous voice actors such as Jui-chin Wang (who voiced Mom in the Taiwanese dubbed version of Atashinchi and Nohara Misae of Crayon Shin-Chan) were invited to provide Taiwanese Hokkien dubbing. CSO2 is also the first FPS game to offer Cantonese voice acting. Hong Kong Film Awardee Lo Hoi-pang (best supporting actor) and Internet celebrity Jeff were invited to provide Cantonese dubbing. These voice acting efforts provide the most authentic and localized linguistic performances and offer players with more entertaining choices in addition to the classical options available.
▲ Renowned actor Lo Hoi-pang (left) and Internet celebrity Jeff of Hong Kong who provided authentic Cantonese voice acting
All new services for “quick registration” and “one-click account creation” options plus rare weapons released at the same time to celebrate the open beta
Game account registration and login procedures were considered overly complex. The all-new “quick registration” and “one-click account creation” options were released on the first day of CSO2 open beta to simplify the registration process. These options allow gamers to easily, conveniently, and quickly enter the game world and get down to the action as quickly as possible. To celebrate the earth-shattering release of CSO2 open beta, the team has specifically released a thousand-dollar gold weapon for logins and free tutorial and congratulatory promotions for players from Taiwan. Players can accumulate login days from the opening date to March 15 and earn Gold AK47, Gold M4A1, and Gold Hunting Knife and other goodies. Players who login from 20:00 to 20:30 on February 20 stands to win the Gold AWP. Players who use automatic match-making system for their battles stand a chance to win a Gold Desert Eagle if they were promoted to a specific rank. Becoming a Sea Dragon is no longer an impossible dream. Not only that, the Taiwanese version of CSO2 shall be the first to release the open beta versions of SIG SG552 and AUG A1. These rare guns will only be released during the open beta period. This will be the only chance to stand above others with these cool weapons!
▲ Exclusive open beta versions of SIG SG552 (left) and AUG A1 (right) released to celebrate the open beta of the Taiwanese version of CSO2
No.1 Digital Entertainment Chinese Goddess Manaki giving a cosplay performance at the press conference – Gaming skills an important feature for her potential spouse
Manaki, the most popular digital entertainment goddess in the Chinese speaking world, appeared in a blond outfit today (February 18) as the female terrorist lead Mila of CSO2, and engaged in a gun battle with Sea Dragon performers trying to seize the stage. In addition to showing off her proficient gun slinging skills, Manaki also taunted the Sea Dragons using Taiwanese Hokkien to recreate actual game scenes of intense shooting combat. Manaki, having played many mobile games, expressed that online games were more realistic and offered greater control. CSO2, being a sequel of a classical online game, provides polished visuals, lighting, audio effects, and immersive atmosphere for veteran gamers. Manaki also described her love for the 6-language voice acting option, especially the “Diu Bala” (literally: here comes a guava, and is used as the Taiwanese Hokkien version for: fire in the hole). This phrase served as an effective taunt even if the grenade failed to take down anyone. Such features help to spice up the gameplay and were responsible for grenade tossing pranks.
Manaki’s personal love life comes under review every New Year. During the event, Manaki openly described her expectations for her boyfriend. As a serious gamer, Manaki requires her soul mate to be as well-sculpted as a Sea Dragon and well-versed in multiple languages to help her decipher the plot of the game she’s playing. Most importantly, he must be an avid gamer as well so that she could share intensive and sensuous gameplay sessions with him.
▲ Chinese gaming goddess Manaki making an appearance with an assault rifle.
▲ Chinese gaming goddess Manaki cosplaying as the blond female terrorist Mila of CSO2 and engaging in intensive gun slinging combat with the Sea Dragons
▲ Chinese gaming goddess Manaki cosplaying as the blond female terrorist Mila of CSO2
▲ (From right to left) Game development director Ting-kui Jui, Gamania Taiwan CEO Marco Chien, and Chinese gaming goddess Manaki jointly kick starting the open beta of CSO2.
※ Classic premiere trailer for CSO2: http://youtu.be/fP8WV4N19Ng
※ Official website for CSO2: http://tw.beanfun.com/cso2/
※ Official Facebook page for CSO2: http://www.facebook.com/TWCSO2/