Posted on July 19th, 2008 by maxwell harvey in Uncategorized
Comic book fans will be happy to know that Sony Online Entertainment is working on getting the massive DC Comics universe into online gaming with their new game, DC Universe Online. In this MMO, players will be able to create their own hero (or villian) and experience the DCU like never before. Players will live amongside the well known heroes and villians of the DCU, and what’s better is that it will be envisioned by successful comic book artist Jim Lee! “This universe already exists - we just have to open a door.”, said DC Universe Online creative director Chris Cao, presenting the game at E3 this week.
While there’s already a superhero MMO (City of Heroes) around, what makes DCUO different is that your hero (or villain) doesn’t need to slowly earn powers and abilities. If your hero has super speed, then you’re already super fast, after all the heroes of the DCU didn’t develop them slowly, right? You have the power you choose, and it’s up to you to learn to use it in this game. Leveling with help you tweak your powers a bit, like i then comics where the hero learns some new way to use their powers.
Other than those tweaks, DCU is a skill-based action game more than your traditional RPG. You want to fly? Boom, you can fly. You want to fly well? That’s where skill kicks in.
Unfortunately DCU Online was not playable at E3, but fans will be getting their hands on the title soon enough, in next week’s San Diego Comic Con, where the first playable demo of the game will be shown. I’ve been waiting for a good skill based MMO to come around since grinding isn’t really all that fun anymore, and it seems like DCUO will be just the game, I can’t wait to try this one out!
And for once, it’s great to see an online game trying out something new other than trying to surpass World of Warcraft.
Posted on July 18th, 2008 by maxwell harvey in Uncategorized
Now that E3 2008’s come to a close, here are my top five upcoming games:
1. Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) - Epic Games unveiled more of GoW2 during E3 and as good as the award winning Gears of War was, Gears of War 2 is undoubtably BIGGER and better than the first one. Aside from better graphics and more stuff (weapons, vehicles, characters) thrown in, there’ll be nice updates too like the ‘Chainsaw Duel’ mini-game and the new ‘Horde’ mode where you and four friends test your skills against wave upon wave of enemies.
Gears of War 2 gameplay footage from E3:
This game will surely be a killer, and will probably be a contender for the ‘Game of the Year’ award. GoW2 will be out this November, and not surprisingly is the most anticipated game of 2008.
2. Little Big Planet (PlayStation 3) - Game developers have been proclaiming that the next generation of gaming will feature more user generated content, and Sony’s Little Big Planet is one of the first few games that takes this new genre for a spin. In this quirky title, players can create your own levels with a plethora of options and you can then share those levels online with friends, ensuring hours and hours of fun.
Little Big Planet E3 trailer:
The amount of stuff you can do in this game looks really awesome and I really want to get my hands on it for myself to see what I can do. The game comes out on September 2008.
3. Resident Evil 5 (PlayStation 3 and Xbox360) - As the fifth game in Capcom’s long running survival horror series and the first for next-gen consoles, Resident Evil 5’s graphics look jawdroppingly awesome, and it willl carry over the dynamic gameplay that made Resident Evil 4 a huge hit.
Resident Evil 5 E3 Trailer:
The game will be set in Africa, and will have recurring hero Chris Redfield and newcomer Sheva Alomar as the main characters. There’ll also be new feature such as online co-op. I’ve been a big fan of the RE series and RE5 is shaping up to be a worthy debut for the next-gen consoles. The game will be available by March 2009.
4. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox360) - Perhaps the biggest surprise during E3 was the announcement that Final Fantasy XIII will no longer be a PS3 exclusive, and will also come out for the Xbox 360. As I stated in my older post, FFXIII will be the first Final Fantasy title for next generation consoles, and Square Enix believes that releasing the game for both consoles will enable gamers from around the world a better chance of experiencing their newest masterpiece.
Final Fantasy XIII will take place on a world called Pulse, where sapient beings called Crystals created the futuristic city of Cocoon to protect the humans from monsters that plague the world, with the help of a mysterious race of beings called fal’Cie. Then there are the l’Cie, destined people chosen by the fal’Cie to carry out the will of the Crystal. The citizens of Cocoon fear Pulse and its people, whom they believe are trying to destroy the city. The citizens of Cocoon fear Pulse and its people, whom they believe are trying to destroy the city. The Holy Government of Cocoon has therefore quarantined anyone they believe to be linked to Pulse, and they are exiled from the city, creating tension between the peoples of Pulse and Cocoon. FFXIII’s release date is yet to be announced.
5. Fallout 3 (PC, Xbox 360) - It’s been a decade or so after the release of the first Fallout game, and now a new generation of gamers will be able it’s unique world thanks to Bethesda’s Fallout 3. Fallout 3 is set in a post apocalyptic world, the result of a nuclear war that long ago forced your people into underground Vaults, and as the player, you set out into this devastated landscape, presented in next-gen graphics for the first time.
Fallout 3 E3 Gameplay demo:
Bethesda has promised open-ended gameplay with Fallout 3, however the gameplay demo during E3 was painfully short, albiet it gave us the chance to try out the new V.A.T.S combat system, which was incredible. However, it looks great and the new gameplay system works, but it’s very difficult to say anything other than that until we’ve had chance to play more of it. It’s definitely on my list of the best upcoming games on the horizon though, and is surely worth the wait until Fall of this year.
So looking back, those are the best games in E3 for me, but there really were a lot of other great titles like Fable 2 and the new Prince of Persia. I can’t wait to try out these games!
Posted on July 16th, 2008 by maxwell harvey in Online Games
Watch out World of Warcraft, serious competition’s coming your way!
Awesome news from Kotaku today, EA confirmed that the rumored Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic sequel will be a Massively Multiplayer Online RPG! From Portfolio.com:
“We’ve got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development,” said Riccitiello. The first title, based on the Warhammer property, will launch soon. “And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about — in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it.”
Does Riccitiello mean the oft rumored Knights of the Old Republic Online? “Yes,” he said.
Whew! BioWare’s RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is regarded by many as one of the best games ever made, and is probably the best setting for a Star Wars MMO. I’m hoping BioWare gets a hand on this game’s development, no doubt this’ll be one of the best online games to come our way!
Posted on July 15th, 2008 by maxwell harvey in Console Games
Really big news from E3! Square Enix officially revealed that they’ll be releasing Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 for Europe and the US! For a long time FFXIII was considered as the Playstation3’s trump card as an exclusive, but now that it’s hitting the Xbox 360 too, more gamers will finally have a chance to play this highly anticipated masterpiece!
Check out the magnificent new trailer unveiled during the event:
My take on this: In this age of downloadable content, I think it’s about time third-party game exclusivity comes to an end and have exclusive downloadable game content instead. That way everyone will be happy and yet still have something to choose for. I have a 360 and PS3 so either way I’m really glad FFXIII’s coming over!
Well, for the past few days I’ve hardly had any work done, thanks to the multiplayer browser game The Witcher: Versus. I read about it in Kotaku a few months back when it was still called “The Witcher: DuelMail” and haven’t tried it out since Wednesday, and it took me by surprise because I didn’t really expect that I’m going to be that addicted to it. And as you might’ve figured out from the title, it’s based on the hit RPG The Witcher, which also happened to be pretty addictive as well.
I enjoy browser games a lot since it doesn’t need me to install stuff and I can do it at work (lol), and so far The Witcher:VS has been solid, cheap fun. In any case you’re playing, go look for LordMaxwell and prepare for some whoop-ass.
And if you’re looking for other fun browser games, here are my recommendations:
1. Runescape - This Java-based MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) became a huge success thanks to it’s easy accessiblity and complex gameplay compared to other browser games. In Runescape, players create avatars and follow a non-linear gameplay like other RPGs where they can explore the game’s world, fight monsters, complete quests and combat monsters and players. It’s one of the most popular MMORPGs ever despite being a browser game, and has approximately 10 million users. What makes it not too enjoyable for me though is the weak community, which is full of scammers, immature players and spammers. It’s still worth a try though, to get a feel of what browser games are capable of.
2. Travian- A German browser-game, Travian is a strategy game that puts you in control of a Roman-era styled village where you aim to increase it’s population and control other villages. I played this game a lot back in the day and I got hooked, and it’s great to play with friends as well especially if you create an alliance.
3. Kingdom of Loathing - Also as KoL, this is probably the most enjoyable, retarded browser game I’ve ever played. It is notable for its use of hand-drawn stick figure graphics and writing characterized by surreal humor, word play, parody and references to pop culture. In KoL, players fight monsters for experience, meat (the game’s currency… seriously.), and items, through a turn-based system. Character classes include Seal Clubber, Turtle Tamer and my personal favorite, Disco Bandit. What’s better is, there’s only a limited number of Adventures per day (40 battles/explorations) which means the addiction is self-limiting. Good for people who need to get work done (like me)!
4.Ibeatyou - is a social competition site designed to pit members of the community against each other by allowing them to challenge anybody, in anything! From “Best Skateboard Trick” to “Longest Straight-faced Staredown”… the possibilities are endless! What’s also cool is that celebrities like Jessica Alba and Will Ferrel come in and join or challenge in competitions from time to time. It’s not that time consuming as well, you can just check back on updates from time to time, which means you can actually play while playing something else!
5. Adventure Quest - One of the first browser games I’ve ever played, Adventure Quest (or simply AQ) is a single player browser game based on Flash and features animated vector style graphics. It takes it’s inspiration from Japanese-style RPGs and if you grew up with Final Fantasy or similar games you’ll enjoy AQ a lot. It’s had a couple of updates through the years and it really looks a lot better than when I first played it back in 2004. It has a pretty engaging story as well. What keeps me from playing though is most content is only available for Guardians (paid subscribers), and free accounts miss out on a lot of stuff, almost making me feel like I’m playing a demo. It’s still great fun though.
Posted on July 7th, 2008 by maxwell harvey in Video Games
Hot on the heels of their Chrono Trigger DS port announcement, Square Enix announced another quirky title to be added to their long list of games: Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes. What’s different and exciting though is that Song Summoner will be released not in next-gen consoles, but for the iPod! This Strategy RPG will be compatible with the iPod nano with video, iPod classic and fifth generation iPod, so that leaves every other iPod (and iPhone) out.
Available on the iTunes store for US$4.99, Song Summoner has you controlling Ziggy, a Conductor (now where have we heard that before…) who summons “Tune Troopers” out of the songs on your iPod to do battle with the Mechanical Militia. There are around 50 Tune Trooper types, and all your Troopers can be powered up even when you’re not playing the game, simply by listening to the track you used to create them over and over again!
Posted on July 3rd, 2008 by maxwell harvey in Life
Hey everyone, have a great 4th of July! I’ll be spending the holidays with some friends and hopefully make it out alive after all these games and booze. Enjoy your barbecues and fireworks!
And if you can’t afford real fireworks, try out this game for the Nintendo DS. Or if you still have it, bring out Fantavision for the PS2 (does anyone still remember this?)!
Posted on July 3rd, 2008 by maxwell harvey in Uncategorized
Here’s a refreshing approach to retro gaming: Details have come up that Capcom’s latest game on the Megaman franchise, Megaman 9 will hit the next-gen consoles… in 8-bit glory! That’s right, Megaman will be back to it’s roots with what made it a hit with gamers everywhere with gameplay reminiscent of it’s NES incarnations (which just happen to be the best versions of it yet). Megaman 9 will feature new bosses named Galaxy Man, Jewel Man, Concrete Man, Hornet Man, Plug Man, Tornado Man, and Splash Woman. Yes, woman.
I think Capcom’s heading in the right direction with the franchise, and this game’s as good as Megaman 2, it’ll surely be an instant hit! The game will be released in the download services WiiWare, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade later this year.
Posted on July 2nd, 2008 by maxwell harvey in Console Games
If there was one RPG that I could say was my favorite, then I would pick Square’s Chrono Trigger for the SNES. So imagine my surprise when news came out that Square Enix will be releasing a port of this awesome game for the Nintendo DS with Chrono Trigger DS!
The news first came out when magazine scans from a Japanese magazine hit the web, and Square Enix Japan putting up a teaser with the Chrono Trigger “clock” in it (which was soon followed by SE NA opening up one too). And soon thereafter, Square Enix NA had an official press release regarding the remake, confirming that it will be released for the Nintendo DS this Winter!
Squaresoft (now Square Enix) revolutionized the console RPG genre with Chrono Trigger when it was released for the Nintendo SNES 13 years ago. It featured lush sprites, memorable music and character designs by manga artist Akira Toriyama, best known for his work in Dragon Ball Z. The game’s story was also pretty unique for console RPGs, featuring an epic time travelling adventure featuring seven heroes from different eras working together to prevent the creature Lavos from devouring the planet.
While I’m pretty glad they’re re-releasing the game for the DS, I wish Square Enix would come up with something that’s more than just a straight port. The game’s sprites could use some polishing and the 16 bit music (that’s very nostalgic) could be enhanced to make the game more fresh. This is a great chance for the new generation to get to play one of the greatest RPGs ever, and Winter 2008 can’t come soon enough!
Posted on July 1st, 2008 by maxwell harvey in PC Games
Contrary to early unconfirmed reports, Blizzard has delivered an official statement regarding news that the much awaited strategy game StarCraft II will not be coming out by December of this year.
During a talk by Blizzard’s Executive VP Rob Pardo at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational event, he revealed that the studio is only “about a third of the way” done with the game’s campaign mode and is currently focusing on story and cinematics. Pardo further noted that Blizzard hopes to have something incredible to reveal by the year’s end, and reiterated that the game will not hit stores in 2008.
StarCraft II trailer:
Retailers began listing an unconfirmed December 3rd release a few weeks before the event, fueling speculations that the game would hit the shelves by the end of the year, and Blizzard hasn’t provided an official statement on the matter prior to the Worldwide Invitational.
