Luna Online closed beta is over. Open beta begins May 14th.

May 5, 4:12 PMWilmington Video Game ExaminerJonathan Burkhardt

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For those who got into the Luna Online closed beta. (a.k.a. anyone who signed up for it on the site) the beta's run is now over, and after a week or so of downtime, it will resume as an open beta on May 14th. Characters will be erased, and the game will be retooled.

I had the chance to get far enough into the beta to really understand the meat of the game, and I found it to be one of the more enjoyable free-to-play MMOs I've played in a long while. The characters were cute and clearly animated, the interface was simplistic and easy to figure out, and the gameplay was very easy and user-friendly. I never really felt overwhelmed by the things I had to do. (I find over-complication to be detrimental to many free-to-play and pay-to-play MMOs alike.)

Things that made the game stand out were... unfortunately not implemented in Closed Beta.

The "Matching" system was in effect, a system which sets you up with other player characters depending on age, interests and character class (in other words, a player playing as a mage would get set up with a player who was a damage taking warrior). Characters with high matching scores within range of each other would notice hearts floating above their head, to indicate a high-level match was nearby. You can then open a private chat window to converse with that match.

In Open Beta, a "Dating" option will be added, so that you could take your potential sweetheart on a date into... where else? A Dungeon infested with monsters. It's an interesting system, but I fear it will come under a bit of controversy, considering that game registers the age and gender you choose for each character, and not from account information. Parents who will allow their smaller children to play this game are advised to keep a close eye on them. The picture I chose was not at random. It's should at least illustrate that the game isn't intended for the youngest of children, regardless of appearence. That is official artwork, not something from a fan-site.

Expect a more detailed analysis of the game when Open Beta is released. Until then, I will leave you with the notes straight from gPotato's site:

The Luna Online Open Beta begins on Thursday, May 14th! We'll be opening the servers bright and early at 10:00am PDT (GMT-7)

Get to ready to create your character and begin your Luna Online adventure!

We'll be bringing lots of exciting new content to the game in open beta, including:

• Fishing - Visit the Alker Farm Region and cast your line to find exclusive items and become Luna's next great fishing master.
• Farming - Stake your claim and start your very own farm with your family.
• 3rd Job Class Change - Complete the quest to become an Archer, Thief, Sorcerer, Priest, Mercenary, and more as you level to 60!
• New areas - Venture into two dangerous new maps - Red Orc Outpost and Way to Howling Ravine - and overcome their quests and challenges.
• New dating instance - Nothing says "I love you" like a fireball to the face. Remember: Those that slay together stay together!

All closed beta players will receive a bundle of in-game items as our way of saying thanks for all their help in closed beta, including costumes, potions, and more.

Open Beta is just the beginning of our plans for Luna Online. We'll be opening our item shop in the coming months and releasing new content - new maps, features, and level caps - on a regular basis.

We'll see you in-game on the 14th!