Tag: PC Gaming

Dragon Age III: Inquisition Details Confirmed

BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah has written a blog post on Dragon Age III: Inquisition. Sadly, it has nothing to do with the lovely musical number from History of the World, Part I. Here’s some of what Darrah had to confirm:

  • The next game will be called Dragon Age III: Inquisition.
  • We won’t be talking about the story of the game today. Though you can make some guesses from the title.
  • This game is being made by a lot of the same team that has been working on Dragon Age since Dragon Age: Origins. It’s composed of both experienced BioWare veterans and talented new developers.
  • We are working on a new engine which we believe will allow us to deliver a more expansive world, better visuals, more reactivity to player choices, and more customization. At PAX East, we talked about armor and followers… Yeah, that kind of customization. We’ve started with Frostbite 2 from DICE as a foundation to accomplish this.

As a BioWare mark and a fan of the series, I can’t wait for Dragon Age III. While I understood the second installment’s shortcomings, I liked it quite a bit and felt that its criticisms were overblown. One area where the criticism is warranted is its graphics. The majority of BioWare games have had average, though not necessarily bad, graphics. Dragon Age was no exception. I’m looking forward to seeing what DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine (used in Battlefield 3) bring to the table.

The game is slated for a Q4 2013 release. Any of you psyched for Dragon Age III: Inquisition?

Source

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

In addition to my regularly scheduled Outernauts and Final Fantasy Dimensions time, I’m hoping to add a double dose of digitally downloaded games this weekend. First up is Double Dragon Neon. Justin and I checked out the game at E3 2012. It looked like good, old-school fun with a Zack Ryder-ish twist. Next is La Pucelle Tactics. I’m delighted that Mastiff has rereleased this Nippon Ichi tactical RPG. It rocked on the PS2 and I’m sure it will rock on PSN. RPGs that take place on isometric grids are awesome!

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

New Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition Screens

Overhaul Games has released a new batch of screens for the upcoming Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition. A remastering of one of the greatest PC RPGs of all time, this game is set to hit Windows, Mac OS X, and iPad this month, with an Android release to follow later. This is the game that turned me into a BioWare fanboy back in the day and I can’t wait to play it again, but with modern graphics. When you have a chance, please check out the screens below and let me know what you think!

[nggallery id=112]

David Crane: The First Major Kickstarter Videogame Flop?

David Crane is a gaming icon. He has designed some of the earliest and most influential videogames of all time. Pitfall!, Ghostbusters, and A Boy and His Blob are just some of the titles he has worked on. He was the co-founder of Activision, the biggest and most powerful videogame publisher in the world today. Like Larry Zbyszko, he’s a living legend. With his accomplishments and stature in mind, it’s kind of sad that there’s a high chance that his next project will go down as the first major videogame flop in the brief history of Kickstarter.

The video below is from the Kickstarter page of Crane’s upcoming project Jungle Adventure. On paper it seems like a fantastic idea — the originator of jungle adventure games making a new jungle adventure game with modern technology. With only five days left to go, Jungle Adventure isn’t anywhere close to reaching its funding goal. As of this writing, it has only $28,392 of $900,000 goal. Ouchie.

There’s an odd backlash towards this project. Some people within the Kickstart community think that Crane is asking for too much money. Some indie developers feel that someone with Crane’s experience should be pulling from other sources and that he’s ruining Kickstarter for indies. He isn’t helping his cause either. Some of the things he said in this Gamasutra article can be interpreted in a negative way. Kickstarter has a reputation as this shiny, happy place where the little guy can get money to make his dream project a reality. For various reasons, David Crane’s Jungle Adventure has brought out Kickstarter’s dark side.

Anyway, I wanted to get your take on the Jungle Adventure situation. Are you surprised that someone with Crane’s history is struggling on Kickstarter? Or is the project simply too vague and the price tag too high? Please leave a comment and let me know!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

My gaming weekend will pretty much be a rerun of last weekend: lots of Final Fantasy Dimensions and a good bit of Outernauts. The former is just a brilliant old-school JRPG. There are a lot of gamers that complain about the newer Final Fantasy games because they’re quite different from the old ones. They should stop complaining and pick up Dimensions. It’s especially excellent for fans of FFV. As for Outernauts, it’s something I go to multiple times a day. You should play too! Oh yeah, I also got my beta key for StarCraft II: Heart of the Storm. That’s probably too good to pass up.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Razer BlackShark Now With 100% More Razer

Remember that Razer BlackShark Battlefield 3 headset I reviewed earlier in the month? It will be available in September in the traditional Razer green and black colors. It’s the same cool-looking headset with helicopter-headset looks and high-quality materials, but without the Battlefield 3 branding and the orange color scheme. It will retail for $119.99, which is $10 lower than the original.

I love the looks, construction, and comfort of the BlackShark. The sound response is great for games and action movies, but might be too bass heavy for certain types of music and movies. While I’m a fan of the orange color scheme, the black and green looks pretty sweet and is distinctly Razer.

Any of you interested in picking up the Razer BlackShark gaming headset in green?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

It’s going to be a Facebook and iPad weekend if everything goes as planned. I just finished the prologue to Final Fantasy Dimensions and love where it’s going. The gameplay is straightforward FF so far and the music is really good. The game features a job system and I frickin’ love job systems. The kicker is that the game’s chapters aren’t available for purchase yet due to some technical difficulties. Hopefully that will sort itself out later today or some lovely PR people can hook me up with codes. I love job systems!!!

On the Facebook side, I was stuck in Outernauts for a few days because of a bug, but it was fixed yesterday. I’m still a little stuck because I need some items that can only be obtained through friends or premium currency. This wouldn’t be an issue if some of you played the game with me (guilt trip!). I’m going to level up my b-squad over the weekend and hope some friends give me the stalactites that I need. If I don’t have them by Sunday, I might bite the bullet and buy some more premium currency. I love Pokemon-like gameplay!!!

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Dave Oshry Talks Rise of the Triad

Here’s a conversation I had with my pal Dave Oshry, marketing director for the upcoming Rise of the Triad remake. Originally released in 1995, Rise of the Triad was a cult classic first-person shooter that was the victim of bad timing. It had its share of ardent fans, but being sandwiched by Doom II and Quake was…unfortunate. The great news is that Interceptor Entertainment is taking the fast and funky gameplay of Rise of the Triad and updating it with Unreal Engine 3 graphics. Learn more about the game as Oshry talks about:

  • Why gamers — new and old — should care about a Rise of the Triad remake
  • How Facebook and Skype played integral roles in making this game happen
  • A videogame journalist that called out Dave on this remake back in January
  • Reactions to the game’s unveiling at QuakeCon 2012
  • Why it’s being made with Unreal Engine 3

Obviously I’m biased because I like Dave, but I think we had a fun chat that’s worth listening to. He’s a charming and dynamic speaker…and I’ve never told him this, but he’s like the Zack Ryder of videogame marketers. Rise of the Triad was loads of fun back in the day and I can’t wait to play a modern version of this classic shooter. Check out the interview and let me know what you think (please!).

Coffee Talk #513: Cheating and eSports

Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, and Lance Armstrong recently reminded us that cheating (or alleged cheating) is an unfortunate part of competitive sports. With so much money and prestige on the line, people are always looking for an edge and they sometimes cross the line from being a competitor to being a cheater. The same holds true for competitive gaming and eSports.

The recent scandal at the MLG Summer Championship has brought attention to cheating and unsportsmanlike conduct in eSports. MLG has accused Team Curse and Team Dignitas of collusion in the League of Legends finals, stripping both teams of…

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, being sad about canceled trips to Japan, getting excited for Sergio Martinez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., or Lindsay Lohan’s career as a master thief, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, and Lance Armstrong recently reminded us that cheating (or alleged cheating) is an unfortunate part of competitive sports. With so much money and prestige on the line, people are always looking for an edge and they sometimes cross the line from being a competitor to being a cheater. The same holds true for competitive gaming and eSports.

The recent scandal at the MLG Summer Championship has brought attention to cheating and unsportsmanlike conduct in eSports. MLG has accused Team Curse and Team Dignitas of collusion in the League of Legends finals, stripping both teams of ranking and prize money earned at the event. (There’s some debate on whether the two teams were actually cheating or just not being true to the spirit of MLG, but let’s shelf that for a moment.) Some people were surprised that cheating and gamesmanship happens in eSports. I was surprised that they were surprised. If there’s money, pride, and prestige at stake then you can count on people going too far to win. Some people are simply wired that way. It’s human nature.

Anyway, I wanted to get your take on cheating in eSports. Are you surprised that it happens? What do you think of the situation at the MLG Summer Championship? Would you call it cheating or two teams being wankers? Why can’t all competitors exemplify the purity of sports the way that Derek Jeter does?