Players of the European version of Dragonica Online are about to have a ton of new content to explore, including a vampire fortress. The game was recently updated with the new high-level Kundara dungeon, which is inspired by South-American mythology, to pave the way for the Van Cliff Manor update this fall.

Van Cliff Manor is a dungeon filled with undead armies and horrific bosses including Dracula, the Werewolf, the Gate Keeper Gargoyle and the Bone Dragon. The update will also include new quests, UI improvements, a revision of the mission map system, new weapons and items, and the addition of personal character cards.

Keep an eye on ZAM.com for our exclusive M1 interview with Max Stolberg, the Producer of the European version of Dragonica Online, later this week. You can read more about the content updates below.

On August 18th, at 2:00 p.m. PDT, THQ*ICE will be opening the doors to the North American Dragonica Online open beta! To celebrate the beginning of their open beta, the team has also announced that they will be having a few prizes for players who sign up soon. There is the "Odellia Starter Pack" for players who create a character during the first week of the Open Beta Test; they will recieve a starter pack to help them on their way through Dragonica. There will also be a Dragonica Online 'Loot Hunt," where players will randomly recieve "Loot Drops" for a chance to win in-game and real world prizes featuring exclusive Dragonica-themed items and premium prizes. Finally, while they haven't yet specified the prizes, the Dragonica Team has told their players to "join the Dragonica Online community and celebrate the launch of the Open Beta Test with even more events and special contests!" Aaron Dean, Marketing Manager for Dragonica Online, went on to say "we are committed to delivering quality content to the Dragonica Online community and wanted to celebrate the Open Beta Test by rewarding our members with an opportunity to win exciting giveaways and prizes."

For those of you who don't know, Dragonica Online is the newest 2D side-scrolling MMORPG that features ultra-cute graphics and very smooth combo-based fighting. Go check it out!

Last Friday we had the opportunity to talk with Dragonica Online's Community Lead for THQ*ICE, Evan Berman at Comic Con. We asked him some hard questions and got great information in return about a number of design decisions that were made, future content and some new merchandise coming to the ICE Store.

Make sure to give the entire interview a read and if you're into unique games with ultra cute graphics, give Dragonica Online a try.

ZAM: Thank you for chatting with us about Dragonica Online.

Evan Berman: It's my pleasure.

ZAM: First of all, we're just a little curious about why THQ*ICE is somewhat behind the other English ports of Dragonica Online - both the European and the SEA-ANZ versions of the game have been out in open beta for at least a month or two.

Today marks the official kick-off for Dragonica in Europe as the open beta begins and the free-to-play MMO is released to the public. Players with a gPotato.eu account can now download the client for free and enter the world of Dragotaka in English, French and German.

If you're interested in trying out the 3D side-scroller, just head over to the downloads page on the official European site. More information on the launch of the open beta can be found in the press release after the jump.

Also, Chris "Pwyff" Tom recently got the chance to try out Dragonica during the closed beta, and he thoroughly enjoyed the game. You can read his thoughts on his experience here.

The open beta for Dragonica Online starts next week, and the team has released the second of three introduction trailers to give you some background on the game's character classes. This one tells the tale of the Warrior and the Magician, and you can view it on YouTube here.

In case you missed it, the first video gives us information on the Archer. The Thief will be the focus of the third trailer, which will be released this weekend.

Our very own Chris "Pwyff" Tom tried out the closed beta of Dragonica and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can read his review here.

Every now and then my appetite for the ridiculously cute awakens, and I am often left to my own devices to feed this voracious craving for things with big wobbly eyes, or small dainty paws. If I'm lacking in either of those, I tend to just eat Goldfish crackers. Either way, this time around, no such Pepperidge Farm Nacho Fish-o-cide took place, as I managed to sneakily get into the closed beta of Dragonica Online... just as it went to open beta for its last few days. Sneaky boasting aside let me be the first to tell you that if you were looking for an uber-cute game that beats the stuffing out of Maple Story, has some very smooth graphics, with really low system demands, and a fairly robust combat system (rarely seen in a 2D scroller), then Dragonica Online may be the game you should check out when it goes to full Open Beta on June 10th.

Dragonica Online, a free-to-play arcade-style 3D side-scrolling MMO, is set to enter the closed beta testing phase in Europe from May 13-22. The open beta is slated to begin in June.

If you'd like to participate in the closed beta, you still have time to register on the official Web site to enter in the lottery for a beta key. According to a press release, the closed beta will contain numerous tournaments, challenges and events for chances to win unique items. You can even meet members of the Dragonica team at the beginning of the 10-day testing event.

The full press release can be found after the jump.

Cute anime-esque MMO lovers unite! THQ and their Chinese game operating counterpart, ICE, are bringing the ultra cutesy MMORPG, Dragonica Online, to North America in the summer! While the game itself just sounds like an excessive overdose of all things fluffy and animated, it will be interesting to see what sort of 'fast and intense' combat the game will offer. If it's anything like Smash Brothers with Bunny Ears (oh wait) and giant swords, I'm there!

Be sure to sign up on the website and hope you get into Beta Testing when it starts up!

Source: The Dragonica Online Blog