Many hardcore RPG fans have been looking for something to play on their Wii that will satiate their cravings. Well, this summer you are in for a real treat with the Wii-exclusive The Last Story. From the mind of Hironobu Sakaguchi – the creator of the Final Fantasy series – and legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu comes a Japanese RPG that Wii owners have been waiting for.
Set in the war torn Empire, you step into the shoes of fortune-seeker Zael, an orphaned man whose parents were killed during one of the many conflicts that have destroyed the land. Zael steps onto Lazulis Island in hopes of finding fame and fortune for him and his band. It is during this time that Zael catches the eye of the island’s ruler, Count Arganan. If Zael and his crew can successfully complete all the tasks given to him by the Count, they may find themselves knighted for their service. It is during one of these missions that he discovers a power that will change his life forever.
The Last Story will use a real-time battle system involving team-based tactics that include destroying the environments, taking cover, using skills and spells, and more. 2-6 players can connect online for both cooperative and competitive play. The game boasts a large world with over 30 sidequests to complete and the “Seek” ability to find hidden items in the world. You may be able to find well over 40 coloring dyes to customize your armor as you see fit.
Interested in The Last Story yet? You should be. Be sure to stay tuned for more info before its release in Summer 2012 for the Wii.
Excited for Firaxis Games & 2K Games’ XCOM: Enemy Unknown? I know I am, which is kind of strange considering I’ve never played any of the previous XCOM games. I’m liking the whole squad-based tactical action and basebuilding aspects that were shown in the previous trailer.
This new trailer for XCOM: Enemy Unknown has Art Director Greg Foertsch going into some detail regarding the team’s design philosophies as well as little background about his experience with the original entry into the franchise.
There isn’t much more to say here so without further ado, here’s the latest behind-the-scenes video for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. the franchise.
Ah Final Fantasy Tactics: I loved and still love this game. In fact, it’s my favorite Final Fantasy game of all time. It was released during the PS1 era when Square Enix’s franchise was still good (*cough* FFXIII *cough*). It told the story of a hero trying to unravel the true conspiracy behind a conflict that has been waging for a very long time in the kingdom of Ivalice. You control Ramza Beoulve and his band of fighters in turn-based battles on grid maps. This is familiar territory to most of us.
I was a teenager at the time and I remember being blown away by how complex and deep the story went. There were so many twists and turns at first it was hard to keep track of. But I was one of those geeks who would read every single piece of background data on the people, places, and events in the game; I would always look forward to seeing the in-game log being updated after a major battle or story turn. The game also introduced me to my most hated character in RPG-dom, even more than Sephiroth in FFVII. His name is Delita Hyral. God. I hate this guy. He was arguably responsible for a great many of the unfortunate events of the game and he, in the end, would receive all the credit for having “saved” the kingdom. ARGH! Everyone was pawn to this guy and yet he was elevated to the highest seat of power. Damn you Delita! To this day his name is a curse upon my lips.
F you Delita & the chocobo you rode in on!
But on the other hand, one of my favorite characters in the game was Count Orlandeau, a.k.a. Thunder God Cid. Why? Because he was a damn beast is why! He was such a powerful character to use he could clear an entire map by himself. And this was possible even when you first got him into your party! I relied on him so much that the one or two times he actually fell in combat I automatically reset the game because I felt that if he died I stood no chance to win the battle.
God, how much I love Final Fantasy Tactics. I still have the original disc as well as the PSP version and downloadable version from the PSN. They should release a true sequel to this game for real.
Film student Tim Hijlkema has put together a glorious short film animation of video games if they had their own planets. Slightly reminiscent of Mario Galaxy in concept (and if I could play a game with planets like these, Id buy it day one), it’s a neat test of your video game knowledge. See if you can name all 20 of the planets. The complete list is in the original description of the video.
Nothing better than a bit of nostalgia in a new medium. Which planet was your favorite and which games were left out that you think could have made for some great planetary recreations?
Some time ago, the fine folks over at EA, 38 Studios, and Big Huge Games delivered their very first story-driven piece of DLC for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning called The Legend of Dead Kel. This was a pretty big piece of DLC with a slew of new items, quests, and story to check out. But is it worth the purchase or should it be thrown back into the sea?
Oh sorry to bother you dude. I, um, must've taken a wrong turn somewhere.
Simple answer. It’s worth it. You get a whole new landmass – called Gallows End – to explore and a bunch of new sidequests to complete. Many of these sidequests are tied to the new personal estate, Gravehal Keep. What was super cool about these particular quests were that, over time, when completed they changed the appearance of the Keep as well as the services and people that can be found there. What was once a decrepit building surrounded by a spider-infested forest, by the end of the game, would become a sprawling miniature town with its own merchants, forge, library, and more – it even had a throne you can sit on and use to access sidequests for the people who live on the estate! Iron Throne, eat your heart out. Once the estate is yours, you of course have access to a chest to store your excess items as well as a bed and mirror. You even get the chance to train animals that will boost various stats. That’s a nice bonus.
The actual quest to find and kill Dead Kel, while interesting, isn’t nearly as strong as the main story quest on the mainland. I barely remember why Dead Kel was the way he was and why exactly I had to kill him and quite frankly, I didn’t really care. What I did care about were the chance to find new loot, fight some new enemies, acquire new Twists of Fate, and complete the Gravehal Keep quests. Combat is just as fun and addicting as it was in the main game. With more weapons and armor to find, as well as ample time to level up even further, you’re going to want to keep playing it to completion.
Welcome to my most humble abode!
If you’re looking for more questing and items and fun to be had in the Kingdoms of Amalur, The Legend of Dead Kel DLC is a fine purchase.
Because I love RPG’s. In fact, I’m deeply in love with RPG’s. Wait, that doesn’t make any sense at all. Aren’t MMO’s RPG’s on a much larger, ever-changing fantasy or science fiction world? If so, then why won’t an RPG fan want to get into it? They are, and it’s because of their depth and complexity that I’m scared to death about getting too deeply involved in an MMO.
I have this fear that once I get really into an MMO I’ll never want to stop because when I get into an RPG I enjoy I’ll really get into it. For years, my cousins have been hounding me to get into World of Warcraft with them and every year and every single time they have asked me to I’ve declined. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the game – in fact I’m a fan of the old RTS games and the fiction as a whole – it’s just that I don’t want to spend so much of my free time on it. I would be that guy who would sit hours upon hours at my PC, dusk till dawn, leveling up my character, finding new loot, and questing. I fear for my self-control and overall health.
...it's an addiction.
That said however, last summer I was a bit addicted to the free-to-play Korean MMO, Vindictus. I loved the combat system and would play every day. I bet you’re now typing an angry comment/email saying, “You just admitted to playing an MMO right there dumbass!” True, but the game system would limit casual players to how many times they can go out questing. This allowed me to control how much time I spent in the game; as well as control my RPG cravings.
There was one MMO that I would’ve liked to get into and that was Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online. Unfortunately – or fortunately, as the case may be – the MMO part of the game has been scrapped to emphasize the single and traditional multiplayer components. I was both sad to hear this and relieved.
Battle Brothers! Online has fallen!
Call me strange or nonsensical but MMO’s frighten me for how addicting they can be. I respect the genre but I think I’ll stay back for the foreseeable future.
How’s it going Bioshock fans! 2K Games and Irrational Games have been releasing a series of vignettes showcasing some of the so-called “Heavy Hitters” of their upcoming story-driven FPS, Bioshock Infinite. In this latest video, Creative Director Ken Levine, Lead Artist Shawn Robertson, and Art Director Nate Wells go into some details regarding the very big and very dangerous Handyman.
Without diving in too deep into the backstory of the Handyman, – or Handymen, since there are more than one – Ken Levine says the poor souls that have been trapped in these metal suits have a sad reason for being there. Despite that, they don’t want your pity; they only want to pummel you until all that’s left of you are the component molecules that made you. The team went through a lot of different iterations for the Handyman including one in which all of their organs were exposed. Ouch…
They are very agile for their size and one of their special abilities is to be able to take anyone – friend or foe – and hurl them at the player. So, no one, not even their so-called friends, are safe from the Handyman.
Bioshock Infinite is set to be released in North America on October 16, 2012 (Oct. 19 worldwide) for the PlayStation 3, Windows PC, and Xbox 360. Until then, check out the video to see the Handyman.
The XCOM series was a franchise that was past my time when I just got into gaming but I had always heard about it. I remember hearing that it was a very deep, difficult, and complex strategy game for the PC. I never thought I’d get the chance to try my hand at the series…until now.
Flashforward to the present and the recent news that they were reinvigorating the series with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a strategy game for the PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360. The world is being invaded by little – and not so little – green men and the governments of the world have united to fight against them. A part of this union, Earth’s governments have created a very elite group of soldiers taken from the very best the world’s militaries have to offer. As the player, you step into the role as the team’s commander as you take on missions to beat back the invasion.
The “Deep Dive” Trailer has the development team – Firaxis Games (Sid Meier’s Civilization V) – go into a little detail about the game and its setting. The game uses a mix of real-time strategy during battle and base-building when players aren’t on the battlefield. While in battle players have points to spend on moving their soldiers on the field, hiding behind cover, using skills, attacking enemies and so on. While most of the game’s camera is fixed in a top-down isometric view, it switches to 3rd-person when sighting an enemy to target. The dev team also talks about the “Glam Cam”, where the camera focuses on standout moments your characters take part in like sniping an enemy or lobbing a grenade. This was implemented to tie the player more intimately to their characters in battle.
When not in the battlefield there is some base-building to be done that allows you to customize your squad, upgrade weapons, and more. The more you upgrade your headquarters, the more you actually see the improvements in real-time which is cool.
As a fan of strategy games and a great admirer of Firaxis Games, I’m very much looking forward to XCOM: Enemy Unknown when it comes out this fall. Be sure to check out the Deep Dive Trailer for action and info!
It never pays to be a half human, half demon man with the ability to kick some serious ass. Having a rough childhood living in orphanages, correction facilities, and foster homes will do things to you. Especially, if they have been run by the demons who hate you. For Dante, the young protagonist of this game, this has caused him to hate all authority figures and instilled a deep hatred of demons within him. The other side to his personality is that of the champion for the downtrodden who sides with the underdog. Thus is the back info for DmC: Devil May Cry, the whole new, parallel entry into Capcom’s action hack and slash franchise.
This will only end well for one of these guys.
DmC: Devil May Cry is set in an entirely new world with an entirely new Dante. He still wields the signature Devil May Cry sword, Rebellion, which was given to him by his father Sparda. He also uses the pistols Ebony and Ivory, the origins of which are still unknown at this point. Expect a lot of gunplay, swordplay, and a whole lot of funtacular violence.
Oh yeah, I'm a badass!
DmC: Devil May Cry is set to carve up demons and evil some time in 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Welcome to the world of Dragonland, where demonic monsters powered by Chaos magics have made their home. In Blades of Time, you play the lovely Ayumi, a gunsword-wielding treasure hunter who must fight the forces of evil in order to discover the riches and secrets hidden in this wondrous but dangerous fantasy world.
Besides her gorgeous looks and gunsword, Ayumi is gifted with a variety of special skills and abilities that will assist her in kicking the unholy asses of her enemies. Blades of Time is a fast-paced, action/hack-and-slash title with a complex combat system. At your disposal is over 40 sets of skills, that include melee and magic abilities, as well as tactics and combos with which to dispatch your enemies with the quickness. Your magic is divided into two types: Order and Chaos. You have access to a Dash ability that will allow you to traverse the environment quickly and meet your enemies that much sooner. The Time Rewind ability (demonstrated in the video) allows Ayumi to turn back time and make temporal clones of herself that will help solve puzzles and fight off the hordes of demons you’ll be facing.
From Konami Digital Entertainment and Gaijin Entertainment, Blades of Time will be released on March 6, 2012 for PlaySTation 3 & Xbox 360.
By Heinreich T. Sioson
