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.
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
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
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?
Microsoft unveiled some new information on its Xbox console during the company’s CES 2010 keynote. For gamers that love the classics, the Xbox Live Game Room feature sounds like a great addition. Microsoft marketer Major Nelson described it in his blog:
Later this Spring, ‘Game Room’ will come to Xbox Live. This is a destination for the classic arcade games. You can buy once and play on both your Xbox 360 and Windows PC. A new game will be released every week. You’ll be able to invite friends through Xbox Live and share your custom arcade and show off your personal collection.
In news that’s incredibly exciting for only a portion of Xbox 360 owners, the company announced that connectivity with AT&T’s U-Verse is on the way. For those of you not familiar with U-Verse, it’s an AT&T television offering that competes with cable and satellite. Gamers will be able to use the Xbox 360 systems as set-top boxes that can control and record U-Verse programming.
From what I’ve heard, AT&T provides fairly capable boxes for U-Verse customers; supposedly they’re on par with TiVo and way better than what most cable operators provide. With that in mind, I’m not sure what the point is. Sure, you’d have one less box in the living room, but it also adds more stress your Xbox 360. While reliability has improved, I don’t know about adding more to my 360’s workload.
Let me know what you think of Game Room and U-Verse connectivity for Xbox 360 (please)!
Amazon has the Xbox 360 Live One-Year Subscription Gold Card
Update: PS3 gamers might want to check out God of War: Collection
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!!!
Bad news Dragon Age: Origins
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?
Electronic Arts has announced that the Return to Ostagar downloadable content for Dragon Age: Origins
Return to Ostagar allows players to exact their revenge and embark on a quest for the mighty arms and armor of the once great King Cailan when they revisit Ostagar, the site of the Grey Wardens’ darkest hour, to reclaim the honor and learn the secrets of Ferelden’s fallen king.
Return to Ostagar summons players to a new quest in which they will return to the fateful battleground in Ostagar where the Grey Wardens were nearly wiped out. Players will discover King Cailan’s top-secret political agenda and go behind enemy lines to revisit a place that many feared had been lost to history.
There was interesting rumor from Big Download, which translated a Eurogamer article. The site claimed that EA and BioWare will be announcing additional DLC that will come out in March 2010. This isn’t a quickie like Return to Ostagar (which should be about an hour of gameplay for $5). The March DLC is rumored to be 15 hours long and come with a raised level cap.
I’m kind of irked that I won’t be home until January 6. I want to be home for the launch of this DLC and the Google Nexus One! I do find it amusing that I’ll be a day late and a dollar short. Ha!
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?
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.
Soak up the glory!
