Asta is one of NHN's four new titles to be shown at GamesCom.
The CryEngine 3 MMO has confirmed for North America and Europe
market before and today, the developer Polygon Games explained the
backstory composed of eastern myth, the concept of designing the
visual style, and some gameplay details in a developer
trailer.
Video:
http://news.mmosite.com/content/2011-08-18/asta_brings_western_gamers_the_eastern_myth_and_aesthetics.shtml
Asta means the path to nirvana, and the story is about the journey
to nirvana and the conflict between people with different beliefs.
The game belongs to eastern fantasy but it's not just about kung fu
and eastern culture. To make this genre fresh to gamers, the
graphics are made to cartoon style and the world is colorful, and
even the buildings are avoided to be too "eastern".
As for the combat system, it doesn't use the non-targeting system
that many Korean MMOs use, because the developer hopes gamers who
are new to MMORPGs and not very good at using keyboard + mouse can
also enjoy the game. What's more, gamers who don't have too much
time to play can choose to beat a dungeon alone. There are several
difficulty levels for players to choose, based on the number of
party members.
The game is still on its way to find a NA and EU publisher so
nobody can tell when it will come to the west.