Tag: PC Gaming

Dragon Age Anime Movie Coming in 2011

FUNimation has announced that it is partnering with BioWare and Electronic Arts for a Dragon Age anime movie. FUNimation is one of the largest anime companies in America, responsible for the North American releases of Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho, and more. Here are more details from the press release:

Production of the Dragon Age anime movie is slated to begin this month with a home video release in 2011. Executive producing the film are BioWare’s Executive Producer Mark Darrah and Creative Director Mike Laidlaw, as well as FUNimation’s president and CEO Gen Fukunaga and Director of Original Entertainment Chris Moujaes.

As a huge Dragon Age mark, of course I’m excited for this. I’m happy that Darrah and Laidlaw are involved. I wonder if FUNimation will go with voice actors from the game or anime veterans. Any of you interested in this movie?

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Mega Man Online Will Be an Action-RPG

The legendary Mega Man series is taking a unique turn with Mega Man Online. Being developed by Neowiz, the game will bring the classic platforming action of the series combined with online RPG elements. Andriasang translated an article by 4Gamer and learned:

Mega Man Online will be a 3D side scrolling action RPG. It will retain the action feel of the series while adding the RPG elements one expects from an online title, including characters who grow in strength over time.

I’m intrigued by this novel take on the series, but I’m not sure it will work in Western markets. It’s too early to judge, but I envision the game being popular in Asia, with modest popularity in Europe and North America. Hopefully Capcom will be showing more of the game at E3 2010.

Any of you interested in this one?

Source via Andriasang

Coffee Talk #155: Worst Addition to Gaming in the Last Five Years?

Yesterday we had a fun discussion about the best thing to happen to gaming in the last five years. Today I want to talk about the worst thing. While EA’s Online Pass has been making the news lately, I’m sure there are worse things we can think of, right?

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, Drogba missing the World Cup with a broken arm, Miley Cyrus getting in touch with her lesbian side, or Rasheed Wallace being the only Celtic thay played last night, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Yesterday we had a fun discussion about the best thing to happen to gaming in the last five years. Today I want to talk about the worst thing. While EA’s Online Pass has been making the news lately, I’m sure there are worse things we can think of, right?

I’m actually having a hard time thinking about the “worst” thing. Perhaps I’m a generally positive person (at least, when it comes to this business). Some people think Bobby Kotick is gaming’s anti-Christ, but I love him simply for giving me so many things to write about. A lot of people hate DRM, but I’m not much of a PC gamer anymore so the problem doesn’t bother me. I guess the thing that bugs me the most is that game creators still aren’t recognized for their awesome works. Things have gotten a little better, but this business is still more about the publisher than it is the developer, sadly.

Now it’s your turn! What’s the worst thing about the last five years of gaming?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

For some reason, my recent gaming choices have been all Nintendo. This weekend I’ll be playing more Glory of Heracles for Nintendo DS. It’s a fun RPG written by Kazushige Nojima, who worked on several Final Fantasy games, various Kingdom Hearts titles, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. On the Wii  I’ll be playing Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love. It’s a strategy RPG that’s…well…very Japanese — very quirky and unusual in a way that I love.

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

Coffee Talk #154: Best Addition to Gaming in the Last Five Years?

Gaming evolves at a ridiculous pace. Thinking about the videogames I played as a kid and what I play now…it’s just crazy! The improvements made in the last couple of years — just a few years! — are also impressive. Today I’d like to know what your favorite gaming innovation is from the last five years.

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, having a perfect game ruined by a bad call, Japan’s prime minister resigning and asking people to keep following him on Twitter, or the possibility of foul play in Gary Coleman’s death, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Gaming evolves at a ridiculous pace. Thinking about the videogames I played as a kid and what I play now…it’s just crazy! The improvements made in the last couple of years — just a few years! — are also impressive. Today I’d like to know what your favorite gaming innovation is from the last five years.

For me it’s definitely digital downloads. I love that I can download games for $5 to $10. Whether it’s a board game, a new arcade title, or a treasured classic, making impulse purchases from the comfort of my couch is just powerful and awesome (and sometimes financially dangerous). Before digital downloads proliferated, I had to order games or go to a store — often spending at least $40 for a title. The cheapness and immediacy of digital downloads rule!

So how about it? In your opinion, what’s the best thing that’s happened to gaming in the last five years?

Virgin Returns to Games with…a Frickin’ Countdown Clock

For the last week, rumors have been swirling about Virgin’s return to the gaming world. Virgin Interactive was once a big player in the business, releasing several major titles in the ’90s. It didn’t keep pace with the rapidly changing market and quickly fell apart at the end of that decade. Fortunately Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, is a billionaire and can afford to fund another foray into gaming.

A lot has changed since Virgin Interactive was around. It will be interesting to see how Virgin Gaming will be different than its predecessor. It certainly has the opportunity to take advantage of a weak market and shake things up with a huge infusion of cash. I just wish it didn’t use that stupid countdown clock gimmick.

What do you expect from Virgin Gaming? Does the Virgin brand mean anything to you? Will the company focus on consoles, downloads, or social games? Any guesses as to what (specifically) the clock is counting down to?

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What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I think I’m finally over my Scrabble phase (well…mostly). This weekend I want to jump back into the world of gamers’ games! I have Alan Wake and Split / Second waiting on my Xbox 360. This seems like a fine weekend to tackle both. On the downloadable front, I’m going to give Rocket Knight a shot. It looks like a cool old-school platformer. Lastly, I ordered Glory of Heracles in a pretty awesome Amazon deal. It’ll be arriving today and I’m totally down for some turn-based RPG excitement on my DS.

As always, I want to know what you’re playing this weekend!

Mark Hamill to Retire as The Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum 2

Actor and nerd icon Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker, Cocknocker) has done a tremendous job voicing The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Sadly, his run as The Joker is coming to an end. He recently told IGN:

This will be my last, there’s no question about that. But it’s the last hurrah.

As a huge mark for Hamill (see what I did there?) and Kevin Conroy, I’m sad that the duo won’t be sharing the screen again. They are absolutely brilliant together. Like most people that grew up on Star Wars, Hamill was pretty much the coolest person on Earth to me as a kid. When I grew up and found out he was a comic-book nerd, my respect for him increased tenfold. I’m sad that he won’t be back as The Joker. On the plus side, I’m looking forward to Arkham Asylum 2 more than ever!

I know a few of you are big fans of Batman: The Animated Series. Are you going to miss Hamill? What are some of your favorite moments of him as The Joker? Did you think he meant he was retiring as The Joker for good or just from the videogame series?

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Mafia II Shows Off its Nvidia PhysX

Here’s a video of the PC version of Mafia II that shows off its use of Nvidia PhysX. The game will also be available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but the PC version offers a little something extra with PhysX. Here’s the skinny from 2K Games:

Mafia II will include NVIDIA PhysX technology in all platforms of the game. Particularly, the Windows PC version of Mafia II will feature a thorough integration of NVIDIA PhysX and 3D Vision technology into 2K Czech’s Illusion Engine. The integration of PhysX and NVIDIA APEX technology, including the APEX Clothing and Particle modules, enable the city and personalities of Empire Bay to truly come alive on Windows PC. With the implementation of NVIDIA APEX Particles, players are engulfed in lifelike explosions that are bigger and brighter, including weapon fragments, in-game debris and destructible environments that are amplified in both quantity and realism through the integration of APEX Particles.

Check out the clip and let me know what you think (please)! More specifically, is Nvidia PhysX enough to nudge you to play the PC version of the game?