Red Cliff (also known as Chi Bi for the Chinese release and Heroes of Three Kingdoms for the North American release) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....

 set in ancient China during the fall of the Han Dynasty. The game, developed by Perfect World

Perfect World (company)

Perfect World is a China-based online game company specializing in MMORPGs. Beijing Perfect World Co. was founded in 2004 by Chi Yufeng, the president of Human Software Corporation. The company aims to develop and market games with Chinese characteristics...

, offers free-to-play, no subscription-based game play, and has officially come in to Open Beta status as of 10/16/2009.
The North America version, entitled Heroes of Three Kingdoms, was announced on April 12, 2010 by Perfect World Entertainment, the US subsidiary of Perfect World Co. Heroes of Three Kingdoms has gone to Closed Beta as of July 13, 2010., Open Beta for Heroes of Three Kingdoms began on July 27, 2010. The closure of the North American version of the game was announced on September 29, 2011. The game closed on November 1, 2011, and the forums and website were removed at the same time.

Plot

The story of the game is based on the well-known time period of China, the Three Kingdoms

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...

. During this era, the country is in the midst of a civil war. Among the groups fighting, three leaders stand out: Cao Cao

Cao Cao

Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...

 of Wei, Liu Bei

Liu Bei

Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...

 of Shu, and Sun Quan

Sun Quan

Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, formally Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He ruled from 222 to 229 as King of Wu and from 229 to 252 as Emperor of Wu....

 of Wu. In this game, players can choose to join any of the three warring factions (Wei, Shu, or Wu).

Characters

Upon creating a character and entering the game, your character has no affiliations but eventually is given the choice to pick a side and choose one of the Three Kingdoms

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...

 from ancient China to fight for: the historically-based Cao Wei

Cao Wei

Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...

, Shu Han

Shu Han

Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...

 or Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...

 Kingdoms.

Weapons/Class

Players must choose a weapon when they create their character. Depending on the weapon chosen, this will determine their class and available skills.

These weapons include:
Glaive,
Spear,
Halberd,
Cleaver,
Multiblade (Originally called the Trident),
Staff,
Saber,
Hatchets,
Hammer,
Hooksword,
Mace,
Talons,
Gauntlets,
Ring Blade,
Scepter,
Charmer,
War Fan,
Bow.

Races

Aside from deciding on which kingdom to join, players are also required to pick a race for their character upon creation. The game features two races - The Yan, and the Miao. Both races will progress from their respective starting locations to ilia

See also

• Perfect World
  Perfect World (company)
  Perfect World is a China-based online game company specializing in MMORPGs. Beijing Perfect World Co. was founded in 2004 by Chi Yufeng, the president of Human Software Corporation. The company aims to develop and market games with Chinese characteristics...
  
  
• Perfect World Entertainment
• Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
  Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
  Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
  
  

External links

• http://hotk.perfectworld.com/ - North America release