Summer is officially here and MapleStory rolled out its latest update with a sunny new set of features to provide its players more fun and adventures. The update offers an exciting new title system, time travel to battle the game’s biggest challenge, Pink Bean, work as a secret agent and the opportunity to be a hero as part of a party quest to save the polluted Ellin Forest.

Here are more details on these exciting updates:

Time Temple – Players travel through time via the ‘Time Temple,’ to stop Kirston from reviving the Black Wizard. There are numerous new monsters to battle, including the toughest boss ever, Pink Bean. This undefeated monster champ of the world might look cuddly but is so deadly, it has yet to experience defeat.

Title System – Players complete special challenge quests and earn medals that display below their characters names in game.

Title medals include:

• Diligent Explorer: Log in for three hours every day for a set number of days.
• Veteran Hunter: Kill 100,000 monsters your level or above.
• Party Quest Mania: Achieve the S rank on eight party quests.
• Quest Specialist: Complete 800 quests.
• Celebrity: Acquire 20,000 fame points.
• Ultimate Warrior, Magician, Thief, Bowman, or Pirate: Reach level 200

Some titles can only be held by one Mapler at a time and will be replaced if another player tops their record. These titles are:

• Donation King: Donate the most mesos to any one town.
• Maple Idol Star: Be the most famed person in MapleStory.
• Legendary Hunter: Kill the most monsters of any type your level or above

Finding Master M – Look out for secret agents, who have invaded the Maple World. Players can join them on exciting missions to uncover the true identity of Master M. Event quests give players the chance to gather clues which assist in unveiling Master M’s identity. Players who complete this mission will be rewarded with an Agent Equipment set. This event runs through August 25.

Agent Training Program – Players will test their combat skills in this new program, which pits an individual player or team of players against boss monsters for the ultimate monster battle. Players must defeat each monster to advance to the next stage and do not see their EXP suffer if defeated.

Ellin Forest Party Quest – Three to five players rally together in this party quest to save the polluted Ellin Forest. Players travel back in time and battle their way through the poisoned forest to uncover the cause of the pollution.

All these new features are now available for free in MapleStory. For more information about MapleStory’s “Summer Warm-Up,” please visit: http://maplestory.nexon.net/

Mabinogi has released a slew of sunshiny features to kick off its “Summer of Fun” which includes the release of Hawaiian-style shirts, shaved ice snacks, and an Independence Day event which will add rewards and fun to Mabinogi players’ adventures.

With the purchase of an Aloha Card, players can rebirth their characters (or start new characters) complete with weather appropriate clothing. This clothing includes beach print shirts and shorts as well as sandals. The Aloha Card is currently available.

Once appropriately attired, players can travel to Emain Macha to visit the NPC Gordon to receive sweet treats as part of the Mabinogi “Summer of Fun Shaved Ice Event.” Players can give Gordon fruit juices and he’ll make a shaved ice treat, which will bring refreshment to the players if they choose to eat it. However, to earn rewards and prizes, players can race with their shaved ice to Qilla Base Camp where an overheated Ethna is trading rewards for the cooling effects of the shaved ice. This event is underway and runs through July 9.

More rewards are available to players via the Independence Day event where general stores are selling Red, White and Blue Fireworks. When players shoot off their fireworks, rewards can come to those whose fireworks go especially high. Players will earn a box decorated with the American flag as a reward for their achievement. This event is underway and runs through July 9.

For more information about the Summer of Fun event or the free-to-play and download game, Mabinogi, go to: http://mabinogi.nexon.net/

Nexon America has announced that it has released an update to its Celtic-inspired MMORPG, Mabinogi. The content update adds new item sets, improvements to magic wands, cooking contests and giant dice.

The update, which is now live and available for players in North America, features the Emain Macha Cooking Contest where players can pit their cooking skills against each other. The cooking contest is a month long event with qualifying rounds held from the first Saturday of the month to the second-to-last Saturday of each month. The last Saturday of the month is where finalists square off in the final rounds. Winners are picked by several judges who have different tastes, giving different perspectives on how well the meal is prepared. Winners of the cooking contests may receive a  unique title as well as a new chef’s uniform.

Also added to Mabinogi is the ability for wizards to chain cast with improvements to wands with a spirit. Once a wand spirit has reached a certain social level, extra charges will be added to the charge pool. For example, a Spirit Ice Wand with a social level of six will produce one extra charge on the ice bolt. This allows magic practitioners to quickly accumulate charges of magic while in battle. The higher social level of a players spirit wand, the more charges players will get on a single cast.

A new feature now included in Mabinogi with the content update are giant dice. The giant dice are now available in general shops in the land of Erinn, and can be use to settle item disputes, for players to build their own life-sized board games or simply for having fun plopping down the giant cubes.

Also added in this update is a new sets of items that, combined with the pieces of a player’s favorite armor, will result in a passive bonus being added their character. For example,  equipping a full Dustin Armor set will provide added resistance to explosive effects. A Bone Marlin set will provide you with extra resistance against petrification.