Snail Games USA announced yesterday that the company will publish the popular Chinese MMORPG Age of Wushu in the United States.

The game, defined the "Most Anticipated in China" by the publisher, is indeed definitely interesting, especially for gamers that also happen to be martial arts enthusiasts or to love martial arts movies.

There will be no classes or levels, and players will be able to chose between different schools and storylines freely.

Here's a quick run down of the main features directly from the game's fact sheet:

• No Levels, No Classes: Learn your opponents’ true strength by fighting them. Proceed with caution! That beggar on the street may be a traveling Grand Master.
• Random NPC Encounter System: Every encounter and event is determined by how NPCs and the game world perceive you. No online guide can tell you what each encounter and quest will entail.
• 8 Martial Arts Schools: Choose a school to build your craft. Seeking insight not offered at your current alma mater? Invade another to steal their secrets, or befriend a Wushu master for help.
• Counter Combat System: Modeled after the traditional martial art, combat rewards those with the greatest skill, anticipation and execution. Never let your guard down!
• Aerial Combat: Remember Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon?
• 32 Guild Sites: Upgrade each guild site to mobilize and defend what you worked so hard to build.
• 5000 Equipment Types: Unique Wushu ways to enhance your ever-growing ancient skills.
• 17 Professions: Learn a trade to complement your fighting prowess.
• 30 Offline Activities: Not online to train? Keep your character progressing as an NPC. A true master never sleeps!
• 6 Unique Story Lines: Become the protagonist of your own story, not some insignificant bystander.

A quite interesting detail is in the choice of name. Westerners normally use the popular term "Kung Fu" to describe the vast variety of martial arts coming from China. That term is rather improper, as it simply means "Skillful activity".

The proper term to describe Chinese martial arts is "Wushu", but few actually know or use it outside of China. "Wushu" has also been officially adopted after World War II to define martial arts as a sport in China.

Age of Wushu will be published in Europe by gPotato, with the title "Age of Wulin" ("Wulin" is the term used in Chinese literature to describe the society of the masters of martial arts). You can check out the announcement trailer and a few screenshots and pieces of artwork below.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/_VtYBrk9N7E