Storm Island Instances
My faithful tour guide led me through each of the Storm Island areas and instances in turn, though some of the content was so new that he hadn't seen it himself before today. What follows is a brief summary of each instance.
Sandy Beach - The only persistent area that I saw during the tour of Storm Island, the presence of paleolithic-sized alligators hinted that Storm Island was a land that time forgot, but the hulking Tyrannosaurus Rex was a definite clue.
Mine - The first instanced dungeon, this one's mostly populated by avaricious yet industrious pirates out to make a dubloon. You'll have to weather the Pirate Foreman and his swarthy insults to get keyed for the next instance.
Lizard Cave - Much to my surprise, this was a cave filled with lizards. Lots of lizards, and not much else. It was worth braving this one, though, to win through to the next instance and a much needed breath of fresh air.
Gigantic Cliff Valley - Certainly the most visually arresting and surreal of the instances, lots of wildlife (including many different types of dinosaurs, an orangutan inspired by King Kong, and more humanoid wildlife in the form of a large, angry tribe of savages) populates this area. You'll have to best Savage Tribal Leader Patty (yes, Patty) to gain access to Storm Island's last dungeon.
Ancient Tomb - You'd expect an ancient tomb to be protected by all manner of undead nasties, and Storm Island's Ancient Tomb doesn't disappoint. What is a surprise is that this instance is a large labyrinth with doors operated by weighted switches. The upshot: once you figure out the correct sequence, members of your group may have to stay behind so that the rest can access the final boss room. Tricky.
Level 11 Ships
A first look at a level 11 ship
in the open seas.
Though the Level 11 ships aren't quite ready for Storm Island's December release, I begged and pleaded until Konstantin showed me this Paddle Wheel Double-Mast Cannon Ship. I can't tell you much about this ship (Konstantin's exact words were "don't touch anything!" - soon before I entered combat and crashed the client) other than the fact that it looks incredibly distinct and probably packs quite a punch.
And the Storyline?
Finally, you may have noticed that I haven't mentioned the plot surrounding Storm Island - how we stumbled across it, what are we trying to do here, what's with the not-so-extinct dinosaurs? - and that's because we're not quite sure what the storyline is, yet. Konstantin assured me that there is, indeed, colorful reasoning behind it all, and it will be revealed in plenty of time to tease Bounty Bay Online's explorer types. Until then, insert what Cthulhuian overtones you may, and we'll thank Konstantin Drewitz, Julian Jäger, and the rest of the folks at Yusho and Frogster Interactive for this world exclusive hands-on reveal of Storm Island.
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