OGPlanet has announced that the Soul & Siena expansion is now live in CABAL Online. The update introduces the Soul Ability System, which gives players access to passive skills by earning Ability Experience Points. The expansion also includes the addition of the Altar of Siena dungeon, as well as a sub-password system for added security.

More information on Soul & Siena can be found on the game's official Web site or after the jump. Also, OGPlanet is hosting some events in honor of the launch. You can read more about them here.

The newest content patch for Cabal Online has just gone live for European servers this morning. Today's expansion, "Episode 3: Soul & Siena," marks the second major update this year and introduces a variety of new content and gameplay features. A few of the most notable include a brand-new dungeon, new high-level items and the "Soul System," a new character development feature.

The new dungeon, "The Altar of Siena," is a high-level dungeon located inside the Mutant Forest that ESTsoft describes as a "ruined temple home to foes with powers unlike any witnessed before, providing a challenge to even the strongest and most intelligent of adventurers." The new Soul System lets you spend "Soul experience points," on new in-game powers and abilities. According to ESTsoft, "potential benefits include increasing your personal gold drop rate, boosting attributes or even increasing the amount of experience you receive from each monster kill."

Episode 3: Soul & Siena brings a few more notable additions to gameplay, like new armor sets and improved account security features. For a complete listing of all the new features and details, check out this post.

For the past little while now I've taken a break from looking for that MMORPG to 'settle down' with, and these days I am merely on the prowl for a fun little MMO to keep me distracted while I wait for closed beta play sessions to pop up and Dragonica Online to finally hit open beta on June 10th. In this way, when MMOABC announced that they would be giving away promotional 'bonus exp packages' to the first couple thousand that sign up for new Cabal Online accounts, you can imagine how quickly I managed to decide upon my next 'MMO distraction.'

Interestingly, Cabal Online feels like an old-school Asian 'grindy' MMO - reminiscent of the original wave of Korean Pay to Play MMORPGs that hit the market in the early 2000's, and then eventually converted themselves to the more common (these days) micro-transaction Free to Play model. The game was originally released in South Korea in 2005, but didn't really see the North American market (thanks to OGPlanet) until 2008. For those of you who have no idea what I mean when I say old-school Asian 'grindy' MMO, I mean MMORPGs that are typified by ultra high level caps and experience curves, with almost 90% of the game play stemming from 'grinding' monsters for EXP and getting shinier weapons to kill more monsters.

MMOABC, an MMO portal and social network has announced a partnership with Cabal Online and OGPlanet. As a celebration of this partnership, MMOABC is offering players the opportunity to get a free Blessing Bead Plus when they sign up for MMOABC's social network. Go check out the free offer here, and if you've ever been interested in playing Cabal Online, now seems to be a perfect chance to do it - with a bonus in EXP!

OGPlanet, an innovative provider of free-to-play online games, is keeping players on their toes this summer with a special events in its massively multiplayer online games.

The Cabal Online Experience Extravaganza, which continues through June 25, lets players in the action role-playing game increase their characters' levels and skills with unprecedented speed. Beginning at 3 p.m. Pacific time Monday through Thursday players receive 25 percent more skill experience than normal, and beginning at 8 p.m. Pacific time experience points gain the 25-percent bonus.

Friday through Saturday, Cabal Online players get an even larger boost, with a 50 percent increase to skill experience from 3 p.m. on, an additional 25 percent experience point bonus beginning at 8 p.m., and increased drop rates during the Experience Extravaganza hours.

In a world where “free to play” used to be the sign of a title with limited content and catering to the young gamer who chooses ease over challenge, Cabal Online is attempting to forge a new path in both mindset and challenge. For those who are unfamiliar with Cabal Online, the bottom line is a world that has been totally decimated and few of the human race have survived. Now, their survival relies upon relearning how to take care of themselves in the most basic ways with the most basic of tools, and working on rebuilding what they once had. In the process, this race will rediscover old-world technologies and magics… with the hope of avoiding disaster again.

I sat down for about an hour last week, at GDC, with David Hoffman, Executive Producer with OG Planet, and we talked about a variety of things. What I really wanted to know from him first and foremost was what will make Cabal different from other similar models. We discussed game mechanics, in-game play, crafting, and mounts. We touched on PvP, as well and to put it mildly… I was notably impressed.

Here at Games-Masters.com we like to see our players try new challenges and experiences. With this in mind we would like to announce our next event; “LEVEL UP Challenge”. Open to all players, whether you are a low level, the event will give YOU the opportunity to try a new class, while gaining a reward for your main account.

So how does it work? From 6th February 2008 till the 27th February, players will receive rewards for completing level up challenges on a new character. The prizes are as follows:

• LEVEL UP Prize 1 – reach level 30 and receive 3 upgrade cores
• LEVEL Up Prize 2 - reach level 50 on your new character to win a +5 Armour Set, as well as FIVE upgrade cores
• LEVEL UP Prize 3 – reach level 60 on your new character to win a +6 Armour Set
• LEVEL UP Prize 4 – reach level 70 on your new character to win a +7 Armour Set

Mars, Mercury and Jupiter will be taken offline for maintenance tomorrow, 26th October at 6:00GMT+1. The servers will be offline for approximately 2 hours.