Category: Videogames

Dragon Age: Is Duncan Still Alive? (Plus, a Poll!)

IGN recently conducted a fantastic interview with BioWare online produce Fernando Melo on Dragon Age: Awakenings. Aside from providing outstanding information on the expansion pack, Melo hinted that Duncan, the Grey Warden that recruited your character in Origins, is still alive. Melo said:

We also kind of hinted at it in the trailer — you do run into the actual ogre that killed the king and potentially killed your mentor as well.

Potentially killed, eh? Of course he’s still alive! This is a classic case of “if you didn’t find a corpse, then he’s not dead”. Duncan’s voice actor sounds old and wizened in Origins, but I’ve always thought that he’d make an awesome heel. I can’t wait for his full heel turn where he leads the darkspawn in Dragon Age: Duncan’s Revenge!

Let me know what you think and please leave an answer in this poll.

[poll id=”17″]

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Nippon Ichi’s Three Goals

Nippon Ichi Software, the developer and publisher of the excellent Disgaea series, has three goals for three of its upcoming games. The company is probably my favorite “small” developer/publisher in the business. I love its quirky and addictive games, so I hope the company can meet these three goals:

  1. One is aiming to sell a million copies.
  2. One is aiming to reach number 1 in Gemaga’s reader satisfaction ranking.
  3. One is aiming for a perfect score from the games press.

Prinny 4 life!!!

Source via Andriasang

Five Screens from Dragon Age: Awakening Expansion

Here are five screens from the upcoming Dragon Age: Awakening expansion pack. Highlights include a shot of The Architect and a spectral dragon. The new dragon looks totally cool. Based purely on looks, The Architect looks like a tool. There’s nothing menacing about a grinning undead dude. Hopefully his deeds are more dastardly.

Coffee Talk #60: Most Wanted Games of 2010 #2 FFXIII

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Gilbert Arenas getting the banhammer from David Stern, your favorite sandwich, or CES 2010, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The second game of my “most wanted” of 2010 list if Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that knows me or reads my stuff. RPGs — especially Japanese ones — are my favorite kinds of games. Square Enix is one of my favorite developers. With games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Crisis Core, FFIV, FFV, and FFX being among my all-time favorites, of course I can’t wait for FFXIII!

I’m really hoping that this is a return to glory for the series. I loved FFX. FFXI wasn’t my thing. FFXII was disappointing, especially because I’m a big Matsuno fan and wanted him to do well on the “big” series. My friends that aren’t Wired’s Chris Kohler are digging the Japanese version of FFXIII. I’m sure I’ll love it too. The only downside is that BioWare totally screwed my March 2010 by announcing that the Dragon Age: Origins expansion will be released that month.

On a related note, does anyone else consider the Xbox 360 version to be the “fake” version? I don’t have a good or real reason for viewing things that way, but the PS3 version of FFXIII is the only “real” one in my head. *shrug*

Now for the fun part! What’s #2 on your most-wanted list?

Coffee Talk #59: Most Wanted Games of 2010 — #3 SmackDown vs. Raw 2011

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, The Mets signing Adrian Beltre, mediating Pacquiao/Mayweather, or awesome steak, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As I mentioned yesterday, the next three editions of Coffee Talk will have us counting down our most-wanted games of 2010. So let’s get to it! Coming in at #3 on my list is SmackDown vs. Raw 2011. Some of you might remember that SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 was one of my favorite games of 2009. So it should be no surprise that I’m greatly looking forward to this year’s version!

Obviously, the award-winning writing was the best feature of last year’s game. I have a pretty good feeling that this year’s game will feature even better writing. Call it conjecture or a guess, but I’m fairly certain that the writing in SvR 2011 will be awesome. And that’s the bottom line, ’cause R.Pad said so!

Now it’s your turn. What’s #3 on your list? List your game and why you want it (please)!

Dragon Age: The Awakening Spotted on GameStop.com

It’s a total bummer that the Return to Ostagar DLC for Dragon Age: Origins has been delayed, but the silver lining is that details on The Awakening expansion have been revealed. The following is from the expansion’s listing on GameStop:

From the Makers of the Best RPG of 2009, Dragon Age: Origins, comes the first official expansion pack. For centuries, the Grey Wardens — the ancient order of guardians, sworn to unite and defend the lands — have been battling the darkspawn forces. Legend spoke that slaying the Archdemon would have put an end to the darkspawn threat for centuries to come, but somehow they remain. You are the Grey Warden Commander and have been entrusted with the duty of rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens and uncovering the secrets of the darkspawn and how they managed to remain. How you choose to rebuild your order, how you resolve the conflict with “The Architect”, and how you determine the fate of the darkspawn will be but some of the many complex choices that await and shape your journey as you venture to the new land of Amaranthine.

The Awakening is listed for $39.99 for consoles and $29.99 for PC, with a ship date of March 16, 2010. Man…between this and Final Fantasy XIII, March is going to completely rule!!!

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Dragon Age: Origins Return to Ostagar DLC Delayed

Bad news Dragon Age: Origins fans — the Return to Ostagar downloadable content has been delayed. Bioware’s Chris Priestly posted the following on BioWare Social Network:

We’re sorry but the planned Return to Ostagar downloadable content scheduled to launch on January 5th has been delayed for all platforms.

All of the sudden, I’m not in a rush to fly back to California. Anyone else bummed by the delay?

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Coffee Talk #58: Annoying Console Quirks

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the return of wrestling’s Monday Night Wars, the new hit single “Gilbert’s Got a Gun”, or Google’s Android/Nexus One press conference, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

A friend of mine was downloading the MAG beta yesterday when the download crapped out on him. This prompted him to write a lengthy Facebook rant on how the download experience on the Xbox 360 is way better than that of the PlayStation 3. While I agree that, in general, the Xbox 360 offers a much smoother online experience, I never had any problems downloading games, demos, movies, etc. on my PS3. I was surprised that a lot of my friend’s friends agreed with him and wrote about their annoyances with downloading on the PS3.

The whole thing had me wondering about annoying console quirks. What “features” of your beloved consoles irk you guys and gals? Personally, I hate the shutdown process of the PlayStation 3. After telling the machine that I want it turn off…it asks me if I want to turn it off. It’s a small thing, but it annoys the hell out of me! I don’t need Windows Vista-style confirmation prompts to shut down my PS3.

So yeah! I wanted to get that out of the way before starting off three totally positive Coffee Talk columns to close out the week. Ha! What about you? What are some console quirks that bother the hell out of you? And no, the Wii doesn’t count as an annoying console quirk. :P

Demon’s Souls Video Walkthrough #3: The Tendency System

Atlus just sent over this fine video of Demon’s Souls, one of the sleeper hits of 2009. RPG fans looking for a challenge on the PlayStation 3 should definitely give this game a look. As for the video, it discusses the “tendency system” feature. Here’s the official description:

The final entry in the Demon’s Souls walkthrough video series is here to explain the intricacies of the World Tendency system, the impact of White versus Black, and some basic strategies on making the most of each.

Check out the vid and share your thoughts if you have a moment.

EA Pulls the Online Plug for Several ’09 Games

In a curious move, Electronic Arts has announced that it will be cutting the online gaming functionality of several titles starting February 2, 2010. Some of the games are less than two years old. According to Kotaku, the euthanasia victims include:

  • UEFA Champions League 07 PC and x360
  • Facebreaker x360 and PS3
  • Fantasy Football 09 x360 and PS3
  • FIFA 07 PSP, PS2, PC
  • Fight Night Round 3 PS2
  • Madden 08 Wii
  • Madden 08 PC
  • Madden 09 Xbox
  • Madden 09 Wii and PSP
  • March Madness 07 x360
  • NBA 07 PSP, x360
  • NBA 08 PS2, PSP, Wii
  • NBA 09 Wii – Europe only
  • NBA Street (2007) PS3 and x360
  • NCAA Football 08 PS2
  • NCAA Football 09 PS2
  • NASCAR 08 PS2
  • NASCAR 09 PS2
  • NASCAR 09 PS3 and x360 – Europe Only
  • NFL Tour PS3 and x360
  • NHL 07 PSP and x360
  • NHL 08 PC
  • Tiger Woods 07 PC
  • Madden 09 x360 and PS3
  • Madden 07 Xbox 360

The action brings up an interesting debate: when is the right time to kill online support for games? Certainly the amount of current online activity matters, but should a publisher err on the side of gamers that buy its goods or cutting costs to appease shareholders?

I haven’t given it enough thought, but my initial reaction is that EA is pulling the plug way too soon for some of these games. Cutting online support for titles that have been out for a little over a year?!? That’s totally sticking it to the customer.

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