By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG JournalistStarting today I will be writing a series of articles building up to the release of Star Wars the MMO. In this article I will be introducing this wonderful title that is coming in the end of 2011 and the confirmed release date is December 20 for the Americans and December 22 for the Europeans! Currently the closed beta is live and only a small amount of players are invited. There are several testing phases though so if you haven’t been invited yet, keep trying. Luckily my friend scored invites and was willing to share with me so expect some insider coverage in my next article! Star Wars is most likely the biggest fantasy/science fiction film series of all time. Made by George Lucas, the first trilogy started in the 70’s and 80’s, the second one was made in 1999 and the last movie released was in 2005. There was an MMO made during the reign of the follow-up trilogy that has since fallen out of style, leaving a hole in the hearts of Star Wars fans and MMO gamers everywhere. Star Wars The Old Republic, being developed by the legendary devs at Bioware, will return the Star Wars universe to the MMO genre with a whole new storyline.The setting is 300 years after the events of Bioware’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series. For anyone not familiar with these top titles, this series truly set the bar for every RPG game to come. The KOTOR series consists of the same classic Sith vs Jedi wars that made Star Wars famous in the 70s. The KOTOR series however takes place 3,500 years before the Star Wars films and the story is much more political and deep than the movies themselves. If you haven’t played these games yet I believe they are both available at a discount on Steam. If you care at all about story telling you will want to catch up on the tale before jumping into the upcoming MMO.Now back to Star Wars The Old Republic. The Jedi are held responsible for the success of the Sith during the devastating 28-year-long Great Galactic War and the Jedi have relocated themselves on the planet Tython. This is the place where the Jedi Order had initially been founded, to seek guidance from the Force. The Sith control Korriban, where they have re-established a Sith Academy. You enter this universe as a fresh recruit for one of these two warring factions.Now for the people that aren’t been familiar with the “Force” : The Force is an all binding power between organisms and energy. Some people in the known Star Wars universe are force sensitive; this means they are able to utilize the Force as an extension of their own will. With this power many things can be done and people are able to achieve different skills and abilities.The Force is balanced between Good and Evil. The Jedi are the peacemakers in Star Wars The Old Republic and the Sith prefer to use it more to their evil likings. The Jedi respect the universum and serve any living organism with any problem that might occur. The Sith however use the Dark side of the Force to manipulate powerful leaders and craft the Universe to their choosing. They get their power from hate, egoism and passion.Star Wars The Old Republic is going to be a MMORPG similar in the style of other currently Pay to Play released MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. This is Bioware’s first MMORPG, and they are trying to make SW:TOR different from most MMORPGs while not straying too far into the unknown regions of development.Because Star Wars is a really known franchise in the world right now people have high hopes for the game to become a top seller. Bioware realizes this and knows that if they can provide the basics of a solid MMO with high production values, the brand will sell itself.As such the combat is standard MMO goodness but the storyline is intricate, giving players a wide variety of choices in progressing their own personal storyline. This is nearly unheard of in the MMO genre because of the difficulties in producing custom crafted storylines for literally hundreds of thousands of players without breaking game immersion. There are a lot of choices you can make between the Light side and the Dark side and your character will evolve to a different personage every time you make a choice. In essence they have crafted a MMO theme park like so many others, but one in which you can choose to take the soft core left track or go for the full on 360 degree loop on the right track!Another big feature Bioware is using to differentiate itself is Space Combat. Every character in Star Wars The Old Republic will obtain its own space ship; this ship can be used for Space Combat or travelling to other planets. The ship will also serve as your ‘home’ where many tools and resources can be stored. Every character that will help you and join you in your journey will take residence in your own Space Ship so you can easily find them if you require their help. There isn’t a lot of information released about the Space Combat, yet there are several videos you can find on YouTube regarding the Space Combat should you seek them out. There is no information however of what purpose the Space Combat will have so this is still one big mystery for everyone and I personally cannot wait to fly with my own ship in space and shoot some evil scum. There are many playable races and classes. Only a few of them are known so far, but I expect there might be even more added to this list in the future.ChissHumanMiralukaMirialenRattatakiSith PurebloodTwi’lekZabrakEveryone known in the Star Wars universe might remember a few of these and most of them are found in the KOTOR series or even the Star Wars movies.Republic Trooper Smuggler Jedi Knight Jedi Consular Bounty Hunter Imperial Agent Sith Warrior Sith InquisitorI’ll go into greater detail on the specializations of each class after I get a bit more time in beta to see their strengths and weaknesses.Bioware has given the following system specifications for Star Wars The Old Republic:Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4000 or better / Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0 Ghz or betterMemory: At least 1.5GBRAM for XP / 2 GB or better for Windows Vista/7Graphics: ATI XT1800 or better /NVIDIA7800 or better / Intel 4100 or better. 256 MB minimum video RAM, shader 3.0 or better fully compatible graphics card.OS: Windows XP / Vista / Windows 7DVD-ROM: 8x or betterThe requirements are really not demanding that much of your machine and everyone with a computer that has been purchased in the last 5 years should easily be set to play this game.As stated above Star Wars The Old Republic will hit the shelves in December which is only 2 months away. Personally I was absolutely thrilled when my friend said he’d lend me his beta account and I definitely intend to buy the Collectors’ Edition of the game. Bioware has released details regarding the Collectors’ Edition and I must say this is most likely the priciest Collectors’ Edition I’ve ever seen, coming in at $150. I feel Star Wars The Old Republic will be bringing back the glory days of Star Wars Galaxies which is the previous MMO that was involved in the Star Wars Universe. With that game gone, this is the only way I can get my Star Wars MMO fix! I will continue making articles about my experience in the Star Wars beta so be sure to follow us on twitter and facebook to keep update on when my next article arrives!
2012年2月24日星期五
Elsword Manga Platforming Perfection
By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist Elsword Online is a free-to-play, two dimensional side scrolling MMORPG. Elsword is a very popular Asian game developed by the South Korean company KOG Studios. It has now come to the US and I will be giving this game a fair shot to look how this game makes itself unique compared to other side scrolling MMORPGs. This manga oriented MMORPG is a popular franchise currently running in Asia and its taking the next step of releasing in Europe and America. This game is all about the fast paced stylish combat so let’s get to the details!The first impression when I got into the game is the cute music in the background that is extremely relaxing. Beyond this, the anime style this game uses is quite eye catching. When you first start up the game you can select a server, currently there is only one to pick from right now. There are several different channels; these channels have different level requirements so it is easily divided for everyone. After picking the corresponding channel it is time to create your character. There are currently four classes to pick from, each of these classes have different abilities and weapons that they are using. If you prefer melee types you can choose between Raven and Elsword. If you prefer range over melee you can pick between Aisha and Rena. The characters based off of their manga counterparts, which explains the odd class naming. I went with Rena as she has a good mix of range and melee combat options so I would get the best of both worlds.The current classes that are in the game are Aisha, Elsword, Raven and Rena. All the characters have different stories from the past and follow one main story that starts off with defending the El.Aisha is the mage class currently available in Elsword. She is equipped with a staff and possesses the abilities of magic and great sorcery. At the young age of 12, she traveled with her Grandfather to discover ancient magic ruins. He was an old wise man and taught her all his secret magical arts as they journeyed together. At the peak of her power, she discovered an ancient ring that deviously absorbed and transferred her magical powers to someone else. In order to retrieve her powers back, she sets off on a journey to find the person who swindled her of her strength.The Elsword is a melee class that uses the Great Sword as weapon. He was trained to use the Great Sword at a young age and excelled above all. Elsword’s sister was the leader of the Red Knights. Since childhood, she rigorously trained him to become one of the Red Knights. However, she soon left Elsword to pursue a greater mission for the Red Knights. Elsword wanted his sister to recognize him as a strong warrior and soon joined the Kingdom’s El Search Party. Even so his sister still did not acknowledge him to be strong enough. Elsword has now set out on a journey to become the leader of the strongest El Search party in order to gain his sister’s trust.The Raven is a class that uses a Nasod Arm along with a Blade to fight against his enemy. Raven, a commoner from the Kingdom of Velder worked hard to become the Head Captain of the Crow Mercenary Knights. Being a commoner in such a high ranking position caused jealousy to arise from the nobles and they decided to bring false accusations against him. Although he was rescued by his followers, Velder’s soldiers surrounded him, his fiancée, and his friends in the forest and slaughtered them. Raven however survived the incident and awoke with devices attached all over his body in a Nasod capsule. Reborn with a Nasod arm and a blade on the right hand, he fought unconsciously to destroy the kingdom he once protected. That is until he is shown the weakness of seeking revenge by Elsword and joins forces to find the El Shards and atone for his sins.Rena is a range class that uses the Bow along with body techniques to defeat her enemies. She provides long range attacks using a bow and the ability to double jump. Rena is a fairy living in the forest’s outskirts. One day she mysteriously lost her sense to commune with the spirits. She soon discovers that the weakening power of El is to blame for causing a split in the mortal and spiritual world. This news causes Rena to drop her peaceful ways as she begins a violent crusade to restore the spiritual link created with El. Rena felt the resonance of the El from the Tree of Light and soon sets out on a journey to find it. She believes that the Tree of Light will help her find the missing magic of El.Elsword can be played alone and with a party, follow the quest line to get to various different dungeons along with several different end bosses. Elsword is a really fun side scrolling MMORPG that uses a rather unique gameplay style. Every class has its unique style of play and I had fun with both melee and range. After a while I decided I preferred melee over range. Although its not nearly as safe playing Rena at melee range, the action is much more intense and overall more fun.Once you complete dungeons you unlock the privilege of replaying them on a harder difficulty, though you might want to team up with friends for this. Luckily the community is quite active and outgoing so finding groups to run dungeons with was never a challenge. And even if it was, the amount of fun I had playing this game grew exponentially when playing in a party compared to solo play.Beyond running dungeons, there is a lot of ways players can coordinate as a community in this game. There is a great crafting system in place and the PvP modes are always popular. Town shops similar to old school games like Ragnarok and Maplestory also add a feeling of community not always found in modern games.The Graphics are really beautiful for a side scrolling game while putting minimum strain on PCs to play it. As long as you have a dedicated video card your computer should be more than able to handle them. At minimum its recommended to have a GeForce FX5700/Ati Radeon 9600 Radeon video card along with a Pentium 4 processor. These video cards are at least 10 years old so even an ancient computer made out of twigs and stones should be able to run this game just fine.As I mentioned before, this game plays as if you were running through slides of a Manga. The overall graphics are wonderful and the combat is stylized to the point that you really feel each attack you deal is cinematic and epic. The real fireworks begin when you unleash combo attacks with your team against a boss monster. Sometimes it’s hard to focus on all the action because of the sheer amount of detail put into the background of each match. Heck sometimes the background will launch attacks at you so I guess that isn’t a bad thing!Elsword is a really beautiful and fun side scrolling MMORPG. You can easily play solo or grab a few friends as you progress through the story and dungeon crawl to collect crafting items. Something that really set this game apart from most MMOs is the storyline is intriguing and worth reading. Each character has a unique personality that helps draw you in and make you feel connected to the gaming world. Unfortunately the voice overs are still in their native language but that isn’t always a bad thing. This game is very casual friendly and a great pick up and play action game for people that don’t have large amounts of time to invest in an MMO. I recommend that all platformer gamers try this game out!ColbyCheeze also recently did a playthrough for Elsword. Be sure to check out his impressions video coming later today!
Stephen Merchant 'I'm not sure I can fac
Comedian Stephen Merchant has said he doesn't know if he can face voicing Portal 2 star Wheatley again in the future, because the Valve voice work was "one of the most tiring things I've ever done." Speaking in an interview with FMV, the Office writer said he really wanted to do a good job for the acclaimed puzzle sequel and so he was shouting and leaping about "for hours at a time.""It seemed like a fun thing to do, but in actual fact it was one of the most tiring things I've ever done," he explained. "I was standing in a recording booth shouting down imaginary corridors and falling out of make-believe ceilings. For hours at a time. "And I really wanted to do a good job so I was shouting and screaming and leaping about. The thought of doing it again seems so daunting I'm not sure I can face it."Merchant concluded that despite the negative points he's "thrilled people have enjoyed the game so much."One Portal voice star who will be continuing a career in games is GlaDOS actress Ellen McLain, who is now working on a mysterious new game with Valve. Andy Robinson
2012年2月23日星期四
Free 3DS NES games getting multiplayer up
Nintendo has revealed that the downloadable NES games to be offered free to existing 3DS owners as part of the company's Ambassador program will include "additional features such as multiplayer simultaneous play". Nintendo set up the 3DS Ambassador program to keep existing 3DS owners happy after it announced last week that it will slash almost a third off the console's price next month - less than six months after its launch. Existing owners just need to log onto the eShop before August 12 to qualify, and from September 1 they will be able to download 10 NES games and 10 GBA games for free. Nintendo has clarified what it meant in the original press when it said that 'updated' versions would be released later in the year that Ambassadors can download at no extra cost. First up, it's not 3D visuals. "These will be 2D games. They are not 3D Classics," said Nintendo, before going on to reveal: "When the NES games become available to the general public later this year, they will include additional features such as multiplayer simultaneous play. Ambassadors will then be able to download those updated version at no cost."Nintendo refused to comment further on how long the downloads would be available for, or what the full list of titles will be, but with games like Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Jr., Balloon Fight, Ice Climber and The Legend of Zelda on NES, and Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania and Mario vs. Donkey Kong on GBA confirmed, you'll want to get on it quick.
2012年2月22日星期三
Top EVO 2011 Moments, Time To Get HYPE
EVO 2011 was a spectacular event to watch but sadly it has come and gone. Like all EVO events there werehilariousmoments, amazing comebacks, and epicperformances. At this past EVO there were too many hype moments for us to count, but we at G4 narrowed the best moments down to 10. We could have made the top 50 moments at EVO 2011, but we were afraid your mind would melt from the extreme intensity of hype. It happens.So without futher ado, G4 presents the Top 10 EVO 2011 moments: G4's Top 10 EVO 2011 Moments » So what were your top EVO 2011 moments? Was there a certain player you wanted to see more of?
2012年2月21日星期二
EA PS Vita 'has a better chance than 3DS
PlayStation Vita has "a better chance" of success than Nintendo's troubled 3DS, reckons EA Labels president Frank Gibeau. Speaking to CVG in Cologne last week, the former EA Games boss predicted that Sony's combination of innovation, technology and a strong software line-up will give the platform holder a smoother experience than Nintendo, which was forced to introduce a 3DS price cut less than five months after launch."I think that part of the videogame business is tough right now because they have had some significant competition come in that was totally disruptive, and that was the smartphone," Gibeau said."I think [Sony has] got a shot because they have some really unique innovation in the control scheme, the technology and the screen. It's got a lot of social features now so that you can actually communicate with your friends and be social. "You can't ring them up by putting the device up to your ear but in general I think they've got most of the capabilities that you'd find in a smart phone, with some unique capabilities that make them stand out."The EA Labels president said Vita's software line-up will have the edge on Nintendo's handheld."I don't think they're quite in the same boat as the 3DS... the 3DS was a really interesting piece of technology but I think there was some confusion over it and the title slate was a little different," he said. "I think Vita has a better chance because it has a stronger title slate at launch. PSP's had a great run in Europe as a device, it seems to have reached a much larger audience here than it did in North America. So I think they've got a good shot. We're going to publish a few games on it and see how it develops."In the same interview, the EA Labels president told CVG the publisher is looking to re-imagine and bring back "a couple" of classic franchises. Andy Robinson
2012年2月13日星期一
Nintendo boss takes 3DS sales blame, 50%
Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata is to take a 50 percent pay cut after claiming the that the blame for poor early 3DS sales lies at his door. Addressing shareholders in Tokyo today, Iwata said (via Nikkei): "I feel heavily responsible for this kind of announcement we had to make."For cuts in fixed salaries, I'm taking a 50 percent cut, other representative directors are taking a 30 percent cut, and other execs are taking a 20 percent cut," he added, according to Kotaku.Iwata is said to earn roughly $2 million a year and design lead Shigeru Miyamoto $1.2 million.The decision to slash the price of the 3DS less than six months into its lifetime wasn't part of Nintendo's original strategy, but Iwata said it would help retailers plan for the end-of-year sales period and encourage developers to stick with the platform. The company will now make a loss on every 3DS sold.Iwata also reiterated that Nintendo doesn't intend to sell its games on non-Nintendo platforms.
2012年2月12日星期日
Batman Arkham City - Robin Edition exclu
Customers who pre-order Batman: Arkham City from GAME or Gamestation will receive exclusive access to the Tim Drake Robin DLC pack, unlocking the sidekick as a fully playable character in the title's improved challenge mode. Robin will boast his own unique gadgets and special moves and be playable in all challenge maps in the game, as well as two additional challenge maps included with the DLC - Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape. The offer will also contain a Red Robin character skin. Last week, Tesco said it is offering an exclusive Joker's Carnival challenge map to customers who pre-order the game. Tom Ivan
2012年2月10日星期五
New Battlefield 3 Battlelog screens
EA's released a fresh batch of screens for Battlelog, the free Battlefield 3 stat-tracking service unveiled at E3. The screens below (a couple of which we've seen before) come via BF3blog. They show statistics and player profiles, as well as separate sections for things like weapons and awards.The service also features a strong social element. DICE says the 'Battlefeed' will be your main window into Battlelog, showing current events around your network in real-time to give you a live snapshot of what your friends and rivals are doing in the world of Battlefield.Get more details on the service here.
2012年2月8日星期三
TimeSplitters 4 'to be announced soon' -
Crytek is on the verge of announcing the return of the TimeSplitters franchise with a new game. That's according to a rumour in the latest issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine UK, on sale now."Gun-wielding monkeys are finally making a comeback! A fourth Timesplitters title is to be announced soon," it says in its rumours section. The TimeSplitters FPS series has been on a hiatus since the 2005 release of the third game, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect on PS2, Xbox and GameCube. A fourth game has, however, been rumoured for some time, most recently by a report citing a 'high-ranking industry source at Crytek' which claimed development on the fourth game is underway with a plan for its release on the next-gen PlayStation 4 and Xbox 3 consoles. Developer Crytek UK - originally Free Radical before Crytek rescued it from meltdown - officially confirmed to CVG back in 2007 that work on Timesplitters 4 had begun. It even released concept art before its long-time no-show stirred up rumours of its cancellation.
2012年2月7日星期二
Gears Of War 3 Pre-Order On Amazon Will E
If you pre-order Gears of War 3 on Amazon.com you'll get $20 off a future video game purchase from Amazon. You'll also get the exclusive Savage Kantus skin for Gears 3 multiplayer. A code for the Kantus skin will be emailed to you after the game is shipped, which will be September 20th.To see a sweet picture of the Savage Kantus, keep reading.
2012年2月6日星期一
Daily Wrap-Up 8.02.11
The Daily Feed with Sara Underwood 8.02.11 » Here are today's news stories covering video games, gadgets, and pop culture. Sony announces the acquisition of Sucker Punch Productions, the developer of the inFamous and Sly Cooper series' of games. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment confirms a November 1 release for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Headstrong Games reveals that the House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut bonus level Naked Terror is set in a strip club. Electronic Arts details the bonuses available from select US retailers with Battlefield 3 pre-orders. EA Sports launches Season Ticket, an annual subscription program that offers early access to select games, discounted DLC and premium Check out our preview of id's Rage! Is Borderlands 2 in development at Gearbox? Has an Australian tech company invented an engine that will change gaming forever? Catherine has only been released in America for a week and it's already breaking records. The recent Netflix price has left some people out in the cold. So what are the alternatives? Kickstarter is a huge help to indie game developers, but what's in it for you? X-Play went to the source, ArenaNet, to find out how Guild Wars 2's combat will work. Adam discusses the good and bad sides of Blizzard introducing a real money auction house into Diablo 3. Morgan Webb has details about Gears of War 3 from Comic-Con she'd like to share. It's time to get hype with G4's top 10 EVO 2011 moments.
2012年2月3日星期五
Black Ops Rezurrection DLC out now
Rezurrection, the new Zombies-focused Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack, is now available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Announced earlier this month and due for release on PS3 and PC at a later date, the DLC features five Zombies levels. Four are remastered versions of CoD: World at War maps Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa and Der Riese, while the fifth is the all-new Moon.It'll cost 1200 MS Points (£10.28), but will be free to Black Ops Hardened and Prestige owners, "as a thank-you to the hardcore fans for their support from the start". You should be able to go into your download history and re-download the classic pack you already own, and the fresh download will include the new Moon map.There are some new screens of the DLC on this page, and you can check out a Rezurrection video preview here.Mark Lamia, studio head at developer Treyarch, said of the DLC: "Our Zombies fans are so incredibly engaged with us in the ongoing development of the franchise, and we're excited to deliver them our first all-Zombies content package. Rezurrection is Zombies nirvana, with four of our best Zombies experiences, topped off with the awesome, all-new level Moon." Tom Ivan
2012年2月2日星期四
Troubled LA Noire dev in acquisition talk
LA Noire developer Team Bondi may be absorbed into Academy Award winning producer George Miller's KMM Studio in Sydney, according to reports. Kotaku sources claim Team Bondi is struggling to find publishing partners for its next game following a fallout with Rockstar and accusations of harsh working conditions, and that studio boss Brendan McNamara has been seen touring the offices of KMM, which is making the animated film Happy Feet 2 and the upcoming Mad Max movie.According to the source: "Brendan McNamara was seen walking through the buildings of Dr. D [a new digital production studio created by Miller] yesterday, where Happy Feet 2 is being made."Because Dr. D is filled with former Team Bondi employees who left due to the abusive work conditions, this unexpected visit was quite... unsettling - to put it mildly."The word is going round that Team Bondi is being folded into KMM studios, Team Bondi is pretty much doomed after the scandal and can't find any new supporters, so by doing this they can hide their name."KMM is currently headed up by God of War 2 director Cory Barlog, who was working on a Mad Max game to release alongside the new movie. Tom Ivan