Korean Kart-racing sorta-MMO; anybody tried?

[Telemediocrity]

I keep seeing people at the PCbang here in Seoul playing this game.  It seems somewhat MMOish, and I can't find any references to it on F13 search.  Anyone up for giving it a shot?

[Raph]

Kart Rider was, for a long time, the #1 game in Korea. It's basically like any of the other kart racing games -- Mario Kart, etc, only MMO with microtransactions.

Somewhere around here I have a keychain, pen, and toy car they gave me...

[damijin]

So it's persistant in the Gunbound sort of way? Play the same game over and over, accumulate money, or buy some money from the operators (you know you want to), and buy neat hats and glowy things for your little kart driver guy?

That seems to be a popular strategy over thar.

[Hoax]

They fucked Gunbound up when they made it so that I had to read and understand their Engrish ass site to figure out how to play the new NA version.  I haven't touched it since that change.  Free games need to learn that ease-of-access is key because anyone searching through the give-away pile has plenty of choices and no time to read a fucking guide on how to get a game to work...

Yeah that is a tangent, but who the fuck cares?  Korean racing MMO?  Fuck me sideways that sounds retarded.  Console games have completely taken over the racing market and with the invention of XBL and whatever the fuck the non-existent PS3's magical pretend on-line thingie is called you can out-race other people there.  I for one say good fucking riddance to a genre that peaked with fucking Mario Kart and F-Zero on SNES.

[damijin]

They fucked Gunbound up when they made it so that I had to read and understand their Engrish ass site to figure out how to play the new NA version.  I haven't touched it since that change.  Free games need to learn that ease-of-access is key because anyone searching through the give-away pile has plenty of choices and no time to read a fucking guide on how to get a game to work...

Yeah that is a tangent, but who the fuck cares?  Korean racing MMO?  Fuck me sideways that sounds retarded.  Console games have completely taken over the racing market and with the invention of XBL and whatever the fuck the non-existent PS3's magical pretend on-line thingie is called you can out-race other people there.  I for one say good fucking riddance to a genre that peaked with fucking Mario Kart and F-Zero on SNES.

Wow, struck a nerve. Did a gang of Go-Kart racing Koreans rape you as a child?
It's ok, you can tell us. No one is here to judge you.

[Raph]

Remember, Korea never got the consoles we did, because of the historical enmity with Japan. To this day, consoles there are a rare breed. As a result, a lot of the games that are popular are console classics done over for the web. That's why Pangya/Albatross is Hot Shots Golf, and Kart Rider is Mario Kart, and so on down the line.

[schild]

As a result, cell phone games and ridiculous PC-driven JRPGs are popular in Korea. Magna Carta, shit like that.

[Telemediocrity]

Wait - so if Korean MMOs are sometimes offshoots of what were popular console singleplayer games here in the states...

...To anyone's knowledge, is there an at-least-sorta MMO equivalent of Mario or Sonic in Korea?  I'm not talking about something like Maple Story, but a real platformer.  If so, please share.

[Raging Turtle]

Ah, Kart Racer!  The game my students would download and play if I turned my back for more than 5 minutes while teaching.

/Tangent 1
The new Gunbound site isn't that bad.  It was fucked up for several days during launch, so that may have been your problem.  The only thing that bothers me now is that you have to log in every single time (on a webpage that is never quite right).

/Tangent 2
You're in Seoul and you're asking us about a 2-3 year old video game?  Xerapis and I have lived there (he still does), and several others have visited, ask us about what to do!    We know a little more than your Lonely Planet (stereotypical guidebook of travelers).  Which isn't that good for South Korea anyway 

[Polysorbate80]

Hopefully it's changed somewhat since I was there.  In the early-mid 80s, the list of things to do was pretty much:

1 - shop your brains out

2 - drink your brains out (soju, anyone?)

4 - travel a lot.  Cheju, Mt. Sorak, anywhere you can go besides Seoul

I left out 3, which was find the hookers and screw your brains out.  Given the number of GIs I knew that had been in for multiple VD treatments, I wouldn't recommend it.  At all.

[Telemediocrity]

I'm hoping it's changed, too.  The conversation I'm hearing from people around the hostel all tends towards "So what exactly is there to do in Seoul, anyhow?".  I've been managing to find some interesting stuff so far by picking a direction and just walking, but I'm not sure how long that'll last me.  I have an old friend here who's showing me around, but she doesn't seem to know anything beyond those options, either.

Hell, I'd go for an arcade with Pump! in it - it'd be more of an "only in Seoul" experience than most of the stuff around me.

As for number 4, that's a hell no.  A friend recommended Itaewon to me without telling me what the area was.  That friend has earned himself a swift kick in the crotch when I next see him. ;p  In what seemed to be a relatively non-shady area, I saw a place with booming trance music pumping inside, and the sign said "Trans bar".  Me being not so bright, I said to myself "Hey, I like trance music!  And those silly Koreans, they misspelled it."  I don't think I've ever ran out of anywhere so fast.

Edit: I already PM'ed Turtle, but just to clarify - anyone who knows anything about decent clubbing in Korea, please PM me.  Clubbing, arcades - anything where I'm somewhat likely to actually meet Koreans without buying shit from them or getting drunk under the table.

[Raging Turtle]

PM sent.  For anyone who's curious, I told him to go to Hondae (university area) with a few more details. 

[Telemediocrity]

Hit up Hongdae with Korean friends - they'd never been either, oddly enough.  Great place, ty.  Add "Slamdanced on stage in front of several hundred Koreans" to my resume.

[schild]

Jews don't slamdance, you fucking weirdo.

[WindupAtheist]

They just cause all the wars.

[Telemediocrity]

Update: Korea has us beaten in some areas, such as pointer control.  I've been seeing these Optical Pen Mice all over the place here, and they pwn for a variety of things, gaming included.

[Venkman]

Buy us 12. How much could it cost? I want! Probably doesn't require anything but language translation right?

[schild]

Yes. That is a tempting toy. It would positively rock for...oh. There it is.

Zerg rush.

Koreans.

RTS.

Pen Mice.

RTS.

Koreans.

Zerg Rush.

Full circle.

[Telemediocrity]

I watched a bit of their Starcraft TV channel, just to say I have.

Really, I had never quite realized how boring it would be to watch Starcraft before.

[Righ]

Product Description
- Innovative digital input device in new generation.

- WoW-Pen is the most compact and versatile mouse which works optically and shapes real pen


Product Feature
* Healthcare
- No pain and fatigue due to using pingers instead of arm and ankle muscles.
* Mobility
- You can always carry and use it anytime & anywhere due to the compact size and light weight.
* Versatility
- It makes you enjoy real hand-written, nothing and paiting on various softwares

[Tmon]

$40 here http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=340193&pfp=PRODUCTS

[bhodi]

I watched a bit of their Starcraft TV channel, just to say I have.

Really, I had never quite realized how boring it would be to watch Starcraft before.

It's only interesting to people who know what's going on. I found watching replays both interesting and helped my game (back when I was into it...)

[Raging Turtle]

Hit up Hongdae with Korean friends - they'd never been either, oddly enough.  Great place, ty.  Add "Slamdanced on stage in front of several hundred Koreans" to my resume.

Been there, done that    Glad you had fun.