It's hard to believe that, less than a year ago, Sword of the New World was a game barely struggling to make ends meet, much less produce any sort of new content (and it hadn't for the past nine months!). A number of months back, however, the SotNW team decided to really put their noses to the grind and, since then, SotNW has undergone a fantastic transformation for the better.

And so, in an attempt to really confirm this transformation with the release of their biggest update yet, patch 4.1, the SotNW team has also decided that this update will come with a name change as well. Thus, the SotNW team has confirmed that this multi-unit MMORPG will no longer be known by its awkward "Sword of the New World" title, but now it will, instead, go by the name "Sword 2." Also with this name change will come a web-based SotNW game, called "Sword 2: Dominus," a plethora of game changes and the news that the Sword 2 team is already planning to release a new expansion in the fall, called "Rennaissance." So get ready, Sword of the New World fans, this summer and fall promise to be exciting!

Well it seems like the team over at Sword of the New World is staying true to their promise to deliver a constant flow of content to players after September. New Years has now seen the introduction of their "Ho the Tiger" New Years Event! With the year of the Tiger coming up (in terms of the Chinese Zodiac), the SOTNW team has an event planned where players can collect Pure Ores or Suspicious Red Ores in order to get a chance to participate in a mini-game to win some neat Tiger Pets.

According to a forum post made by one of the SOTNW team, the mini-game is essentially a "guess the number" game, where players need to guess a 3-digit secret number and the NPC will give hints as to which numbers are in the right position, and which are just plain wrong. Winners will get to pick one of three special Tiger pets, and while the pets aren't permanent, they certainly are a nice addition for the New Years:

1000 points + 400,000 Feso = White Tiger
2000 points + 250,000 Feso = Black Tiger
3000 points + 100,000 Feso = Golden Tiger

White Tiger gives the "White Bless" buff for 20 minutes + 1500 HP
Black Tiger gives the "Sharp Claw" buff for 20 minutes + 1000 HP
Golden Tiger loots the item drops every 2 seconds

White Bless Buff: Immune +5, Movement Speed +10%, Defense +10
Sharp Claw Buff: Pierce +5, Attack Speed +10%, Critical +10

You might remember about two months ago when we interviewed GamersFirst Producer Jon-Enée Merriex about the state of Sword of the New World, and it looks like the team is continuing to deliver, as we are now seeing the launch of a huge patch for Sword of the New World: Echoes of an Empire. In the hugely anticipated patch 3.0, players will see the introduction of two new Unique Player Characters (UPCs) Nar and Selva. Nar is an Erracan Warrior who wields a massive two-handed Crescent Axe in battle. Selva, or Lady Katovic as she is also known, lives in Auch and is a mortal enemy of Montoro. While Lady Selva may seem at a disadvantage with only one hand (she lost her left hand!), her rapier skills remain undiminished, and she is also capable of equipping fist weapons to fight in that manner.

The new 3.0 patch will also see the introduction of a whole new region, Errac, and this will be the first zone to be affected by both night and day. The new major city of Errac is called El Dorado. Echoes of the Empire will also introduce a plethora of expert stances, weapons and armour, like Constellation Weapons and Elite La Noir armour. You can check out the full path notes here, or go check out the game on your own here!

Sword of the New World is an extremely unique MMO that's had its share of unique problems. We spoke with GamersFirst Producer, Jon-Enée Merriex about some of the mistakes that were made in the past. "We've made mistakes, no doubt. The biggest being a lack of clear communication to the players letting them know where we are and what we are doing." Merriex mentioned during the interview before informing us that ZAM has the "hardest interview questions on the net".

In addition to a very thoroughly sincere explanation we managed to prod some information about future updates and even the possibility of an exclusive GamersFirst UPC. Make sure to check out the full interview after the jump.

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ZAM: Thanks G1Neume for sitting down to chat with us about Sword of the New World: Granado Espada!

Jon-Enée Merriex: It's my pleasure. I always love a chance to talk about Sword of the New World.

ZAM: First of all, as a quick introduction to those who have not played Sword of the New World, what do you think are the three most unique and important aspects of Sword of the New World?

Jon-Enée: Well the most striking aspect would be the Multi-Character Control. In Sword of the New World players can control up to 3 characters at once while fighting their way through the wilds of Granado Espada. They can also create up to 54 characters giving them a plethora of options and configurations to choose from.

Well it seems like Sword of the New World is trying to rid itself of the rust that accumulated over its nine month company silence. A few weeks back, the SotNW launched its first update patch (2.9b) in nine months and they have said that patch 3.0 is on the way soon. In addition to this, the team has announced that they will be taking suggestions for a new "Sword of the New World Exclusive" UPC! Players can suggest a type, or style, of UPC that could potentially be unique to SotNW. So what are you waiting for? Get on to G1-Neume's Twitter account and suggest away!

You can read the post on the forums here.

I pointed out previously that I had gotten into a little bit of a funk with MMORPGs. Too many times I'd eagerly install a game, hoping it would really be as 'innovative' and 'ground-breaking' as advertised; only to discover that it was just another imitation of everyone's favourite juggernaut. However, in an effort to break away from all of this MMOnotony (zing!), I decided to check out some of the games that not only advertised they were innovative and ground-breaking, but actually had some kind of proof to lure me in. In reality, the majority of my MMO adventures have turned out pretty darned positive, but today I learned that even when dealing with incredibly unique 'remixes' of the MMO genre, there's plenty of space to settle into the same old groove.

The game that I managed to do some serious exploring in is called Sword of the New World: Granado Espada. Launched in Korea in the Summer of '07, developed by IMC Games Co., and published in North America by the K2 Network, SOTNW (that's a mouthful!) is the very first game to incorporate an RTS style of combat (think Starcraft, but reduce it to three zerglings) with the MMO genre. While the game was originally slated to be subscription based, it has since gone the way of most Korean MMOs - free to play, but with lots of items that can be purchased in the cash shop.

Sword of the New World is letting you help decide the name of the new expansion. If you don't vote, you can't complain!

Starting now, you have the chance to help decide what the title for the next expansion of Sword of the New World should be! To take part and vote, click here and have your voice heard!

The poll will run until Friday May 9th, and will close at 5:00 PM PST that day, so get your vote in now!

That's right, it's the One Year Community Anniversary for Sword of the New World (or OYCASNW).  Contests and prizes will help to celebrate this happy occasion!

Without further ado, it is my pleasure to announce the One Year Community Anniversary for Sword of the New World Event Extravaganza: Your Families Year in Review! (aka OYCASNWEE:YFYR). Starting April 14th, there will be three separate contests taking place. One winner will be chosen per contest, and all participants will receive raffle tickets!

The contests include one for Screenshots, one for Media, and one for writing, in addition to the raffle!  Read on for the details, and for information on how to enter, try this thread!

We got a press release from the Korean counterpart to Sword of the New World, Granado Espada with all the info!

Good news for Granado Espada (GE) fans - Five months after the launch of the multiple award-winning game, it is now available to gamers free to play (F2P) with the launch of the Bahia Island Expansion on the 20th of December. 

With a pledge to bring a whole new dimension to the GE gaming experience, IMC Games, HanbitSoft, and local operator IAHGames will introduce a stash of new premium items which will feature exquisitely designed costumes to compliment the tropical beach scenes in the new expansion. 

The expansion will feature new maps such as Bahia Island and Tierra De Los Muertos (Land of the Dead). 

The move to F2P, in alignment with other global GE partners, is essential to bring gamers in the region in tandem with gamers worldwide. IAHGames assures that the move to F2P will bring about a new influx of GE gamers, aid the longstanding development and bring added excitement to the game.

You can find the free download for the North American version of the Free to Play client right here.

Gaming Excellence takes a look at Sword of the New World: Granada Espada!

I did not get a chance to try my hand at player versus player, except for the occasional duel. Once a character/family reaches the level cap of 100, a whole new world of PVP will open up in the ways of a civil war. You can choose your allegiance and fight for what you believe is right!

Overall, Sword of the New World was a fantastically fun MMO to play. While not as intricate as some other MMOs, the dynamic of having three characters to control instead of just one is a lot of fun and definitely gives the player a lot of things to do and learn throughout his/her experience.

If you haven't yet checked out this micro-pay game, it's free to try (hence the micro-pay line) so definitely check it out!  It's definitely different then what's out there, and worth a try!