Dragon Age Comic Book Coming in March 2010 From IDW

IDW has released details on its upcoming Dragon Age comic book coming in March 2010. The book features writing by renowned homophobe Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston, art by Mark Robinson, and covers by the outstanding Humberto Ramos. Here are more details from IDW:

In a time lost to history, a war ravaged the land. Mages, incredibly powerful wielders of magic, ruled the world through mastery of dark arts and forbidden spells. Their lust for power almost destroyed all existence, and unleashed an unholy pestilence, the Darkspawn, to plague mankind, trolls, faeries, and all the inhabitants of the realm. Now magic is carefully controlled, taught behind the sacred walls of the Circle of Magi, and monitored by the ever-vigilant Templars. It is in this arena that a new generation of Mages in training will arise, warriors of sorcery who will defy the rules of the Templars and change the course of the world forever.

I’m not expecting much from this book, but I might give it a shot because I’m such a Dragon Age: Origins junkie. In fact, I’m bringing the first DA novel with me for holiday break. If I can’t play Dragon Age while I’m on vacation then I might as well read about its world, right?

Any of you planning to pick up the Dragon Age comic book in March?

Source

Coffee Talk #53: All I Want for Christmas is…

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, Javier Vazquez returning to the NY Yankees, the taxation of indoor tanning salons, or your holiday plans, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Unless you’re excessively rich, chances are that you didn’t buy every game you wanted in 2009. (If you are excessively rich see the donation button in the right sidebar.) Games are expensive. The economy blows. There were a lot of fantastic games released in 2009. Something must have slipped through the cracks. What’s the one 2009 release you wish you had?

For me, that’s easy — The Beatles: Rock Band. I love The Beatles and I enjoy music games. As a (mediocre) guitar player, I think it’s awesome that the game has controllers shaped like classic Gretsch and Rickenbacker guitars. The visuals are way better than those found in any other music game. Unfortunately, it came out while I was flying all over Asia and when I got back, I couldn’t really afford it. That said, if I could have one game for Christmas, this would be it.

That’s just wishful and needless thinking though. I have plenty of excellent games to play and I have a bunch of video equipment that I’d like to get for the site. I’ll get The Beatles: Rock Band when it’s marked down — no rush.

Now for the important part. If you could have one game for a holiday gift, what would it be?

Super Street Fighter IV and Lost Planet 2 Delayed

Capcom has delayed the release of Super Street Fighter IV, Lost Planet 2, and Monster Hunter 3 (Europe and North America) for financial considerations. The games were set to be released in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, which ends on March 31, 2010. Instead, the games will be released during its next fiscal year to spread out earnings, which is great for shareholders but sucky for gamers.

Idealistically, I hope the additional time allows for more polish and features to creep in. From a financial standpoint, the move makes total sense. I’m actually surprised the industry didn’t see more release manipulation in 2009 considering that the entire world knew that the economy was dire and wasn’t getting better any time soon.

I’m a little bummed that Super Street Fighter IV won’t be available to me in March, but something tells me that I’ll have my hands full with a little game from Square Enix. Any of you disappointed by the delays?

Source

Unreal Engine for iPhone is Huge for the Future of Mobile Gaming

AnandTech’s Anand Lal Shimpi (who the hell names a site after himself…oh wait…never mind) was visited by Epic Games vice president Mark Rein and received a demo of Unreal Engine running for iPhone. Lal Shimpi wrote:

I got together with Mark Rein last week and he showed me an Unreal Engine 3 tech demo running on a 3rd generation iPod Touch. The same Unreal Engine 3 that powers Gears of War 2, running on an iPod Touch. The engine also works on the iPhone 3GS, and Mark tells me that we’ll see it on another mobile platform at CES (hmm…).

Obviously this is huge for the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms. Unreal Engine is the most popular in the business and Epic’s relationships — both with developers and publishers — are far reaching. Ultimately, I expect better looking games coming from numerous Unreal Engine licensees — companies that most enthusiast gamers are familiar with, as opposed to newcomers like ngmoco. Core gamers that are also iPhone and iPod Touch users (like many of you guys) are more likely to buy a game from a developer or publisher they know rather than a new company. Better looking games from the traditional players? I’m down! And I’m sure many of you will be too.

But wait, there’s more! Lal Shimpi also pointed out:

This isn’t a platform specific thing, it’s about bringing Unreal Engine 3 to the entire portable market.

Of course it is. Mobile processors like the Nvidia Tegra and Qualcomm Snapdragon are taking portable power to new heights. With great power comes great responsibility fantastic potential for mobile gaming. The next generation of mobile gaming devices will continue to push the envelope. Sony’s PlayStation Portable took portable graphics to a new level, but I don’t think it will be alone in the next generation. With Nintendo’s next handheld rumored to be Tegra powered, expect better looking mobile games on several platform.

Whether you’re talking about the next generation Nintendo handhelds and Sony PlayStation Portables or multifunction devices like the iPhone or Zune, mobile gaming is poised for a giant step. Naturally, to make great games you need great tools. This is where Unreal Engine comes in. For hundreds of developers, Unreal Engine is familiar and powerful. Having it work on mobile platforms like the iPhone is tremendous.

Then there’s Mark Rein’s involvement. The dude knows how to build relationships and sell his company’s engine. He’s so convincing that he once sold me time in a tanning salon. Okay, that’s not true, but I’m pretty sure he could do it.

Microsoft Launches Music Games Store on Xbox Live

Major Nelson has announced that Microsoft has launched a “music store” section of Xbox Live. The marketing guy wrote:

Later today when you sign in to Xbox Live, watch for the brand new Games Music Marketplace. Look for specific Music stores for games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Lips.

I love this idea. There are a ton of songs for music games and anything that makes them easier to find is a fine addition. Of course this means that it will be easier for me to drop money on DLC songs too. Crap.

Source

Behind the Scenes Videos of Atlus’ Trauma Team for Wii

Here are two excellent videos that will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the voice-over sessions for Atlus’ Trauma Team. The first video introduces you to the voice actors in the game, while the second clip takes you inside the VO sessions at PCB Productions. If you were ever curious about the inner workings of videogame voice acting then you definitely want to check these videos out!

January 2010 Issue of Playboy Features Tara Reid and Gamer Girls

The January 2010 issue of Playboy is looking completely awesome — it features the sexy Tara Reid (naked) and a bunch of female videogame characters (also naked). The (naked) gamer girls include Heavy Rain’s Madison Paige, Hecuba Manaros from God of War III, Skylar St. Claire from The Saboteur, Beatrice Portinari from Dante’s Inferno, and Bella Antonelli from Mafia II.

Tara Reid has a special place in my heart and it all started at a videogame event. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I saw her throw a huge tantrum at a PlayStation 2 anniversary party in Los Angeles. Security wouldn’t let her into the after-party and she was cursing up a storm. She demanded that the hotel let her into the party or get her a limo. After a few minutes of swearing like a sailor, her limousine arrived. It was pretty hot.

Source

Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura Has Two New Games in the Pipe

Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura — the James Brown of the gaming industry for being one of the hardest working men in the business — has two games in the pipe. With his work on Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep nearly done, the renowned character designer and game director still has Final Fantasy XIII Versus on his plate…which of course isn’t enough for him. Translating a recent issue of Famitsu, Andriasang quoted Nomura as saying:

There’s a title that’s yet to be shown that’s progressing faster than expected. Development is progressing smoothly. Voice recording has started. It’s not totally new, but there’s one more more unannounced title. Please look forward to the announcement.

Any guesses as to what Nomura is working on?

Source

Coffee Talk #52: Holding Out for a (Super) Hero (Videogame)

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, Biz Markie teaming up with The Shack, this excellent Dhalsim song, or your upcoming holiday feasts, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As a bunch of you were discussing the Iron Man 2 trailer, the subject of super hero dream games came up. In the spirit of Coffee Talk #6, I thought it would be an excellent idea to talk about the spandex game of your dreams. So let’s do it!

As for me, there are two games DC Comics games that I’d love to see. The one that’s more likely is a Green Lantern title. With the success of the Nintendo Wii and motion controls from Microsoft and Sony coming in 2010, there’s a decent chance that the Green Lantern game of my dreams will be made. It would star Hal Jordan (and hopefully Guy Gardner) and use motion controls to create various power-ring constructs. It could be something unique and imaginative if handled by the right developer.

The second super-hero game I want will never happen. It’s just too late. I want a buddy-action game, similar to Army of Two, starring Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. The JLI era of Justice League was one of my favorite comic-book runs of all time. It was unique and hilarious, but still contained enough action to keep traditionalists happy. My Blue and Gold game would be full of fast-paced action and high-tech gadgets, but the dialogue would be key. The game would be full of witty quips, immature insults, and tons of “bwahahahaha” laughter that Beetle and Booster were famous for back in the day.

As a special shout out to my friend at Marvel — make a frickin’ Quasar game already!!!

Anyway, let me know about the super-hero videogame of your dreams. Kindly list the character and describe your game. Quantum bands for life!!!