Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Will Arrive This Summer
Square Enix announced today that it will release Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep for PlayStation Portable this summer. According to the press release, the North American version of the game will include new features, such as an extra boss and additional multiplayer options.
Mistwalker Blogs About The Last Story
Mistwalker has added a developer’s blog to the teaser site for its upcoming RPG The Last Story and posted the first details and artwork for the game.
The Last Story will be set on Ruri Island, a small continent surrounded by mountains. Though the main city of Ruri is prosperous and thriving, the rest of the island has been corrupted. Lord Aruganan, the ruler of the island, is trying to utilize the power of magic to fend off invaders. This power will determine the future of the island. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the game’s director, added that The Last Story isn’t influenced by sci-fi. Instead, Ruri Island is sunny and the materials for technological advancement are scarce.
Square Enix Updates Class Information on Official Final Fantasy XIV Website
Late last week while everyone was distracted by Final Fantasy XIII, Square Enix quietly added some new information to the official Final Fantasy XIV website. There are now new sections covering the Thaumaturge and Conjurer classes, and all the other classes have been updated to include details on abilities and weapon skills as well as illustrations to show combat stances and roles. There’s quite a bit of information, so click on over and read up.
Peter Molyneux Adds Butler to Fable III
Because a few players didn’t realize they could change their character’s clothes in Fable II in spite of all the obvious cues in the game, Peter Molyneux has added a butler to Fable III to help them out with their wardrobes. Unlike the mostly-useless butler of Fable II who wouldn’t even fetch a cup of hot Earl Grey, this butler will guide the player through a walk-in closet space and assist him or her in choosing appropriate garments for different occasions.
Molyneux also announced that the butler will be voiced by John Cleese of Monty Python fame. However, he did not say whether this butler would be in charge of the character’s silly walks.
Source: Kotaku
Blurring the Line: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – Call of Pripyat – Staff Review
The Zone is a harsh mistress, as all who’ve followed the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games can attest. GSC Game World’s adventure-heavy shooters borrowed from both the real Exclusion Zone and works of related science fiction to present a unique, beautiful, and deadly environment. The games featured their own hazards to the player: technical instability, a steep difficulty curve, and unforgiving gunplay. With Call of Pripyat, however, GSC has pulled off the impossible and delivered a stable, well balanced, and surprisingly complete entry into the series. Though still far short of perfection, Pripyat’s take on the Zone is fascinating and rewarding in ways that few other games are.
Continue reading ‘Blurring the Line: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – Call of Pripyat – Staff Review’ »
Shepard’s Still Hiring: Kasumi Added to ME2 DLC Roster
Deciding that Commander Shepard doesn’t have enough eccentric layabouts chilling out on the Normandy, Bioware announced the newest addition to the Mass Effect 2 crew. Kasumi, a gifted human thief with considerable technical aptitude, is contacted by Cerberus to join Shepard. Of course she has her own issues to sort out along the way, and her dossier on Bioware’s website notes one in particular: breaking into the vault of an infamous criminal called Donovan Hook.
Kasumi’s bio page can be found on the Mass Effect 2 website here.
Last Rebellion – Staff Review
Sometimes, it’s refreshing to go through a game with no foreknowledge of what’s going on. I rarely get that opportunity, given how close my ear tends to be to any RPG-related news source. Rare is it that I can claim that a game’s flown completely under my radar.
Last Rebellion flew completely under my radar.
Continue reading ‘Last Rebellion – Staff Review’ »
Borderlands – Staff Review
Borderlands presents an interesting mash up of First-Person Shooter and RPG elements, which eventually come together to produce a unique sort of combat system with a lot to offer. Unfortunately, a clunky interface, flatlined plot, and a certain monotony when it comes to environments drag the game down significantly, becoming glaring issues towards the end of the game. On the whole, Borderlands is a solidly built game, and it works well for gamers looking for something a little bit different, but it’s not a particularly compelling or amazing title.
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Staff Import Review – Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
It’s the early 21st century, and Atlus has finally deemed the time right to roll out a sequel to their cult classic RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne– Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. Is it worth the six year wait? Short answer: yes. Long answer: read on…
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Mass Effect 2’s Newest Toy, Courtesy of Cerberus
Say what you will about Cerberus’ tendency to create doomed projects that destroy their respective facilities, but their network doesn’t screw around. Coming courtesy of Bioware’s DLC apparatus for Mass Effect 2, players with access to the network can now download the Arc Projector, an electrical heavy weapon which can shock multiple targets.
Whether it will supplant the Cain for sheer “where did all the bad guys go?” factor remains to be seen.
Final Fantasy II (NA) Lands on Virtual Console
Final Fantasy II (NA), also known as Final Fantasy IV, arrived on Nintendo’s Virtual Console this week ready to renew nostalgia and the confusion over the numbering system for North American Final Fantasy titles. Joining Cecil on his epic journey will set you back 800 Wii Points.
Sting Did Start the Fire: Blaze Union Coming to PSP in Japan
Developer Sting announced this week that Blaze Union, a follow-up to their strategy RPG Yggdra Union, will be coming out May 27 in Japan on the PSP. Blaze Union is set chronologically before the events of Yggdra Union, centering on a corps of knights fighting against a corrupt emperor.
A US release has not been announced.
Source: 1UP
Not So Mass Media 03/10/10
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Strategy Session – Glory of Heracles, Part II
As many players find out in their path through Glory of Heracles, which abilities a player decides to put on which character determines a great deal of their combat potential. This week, we’ll be taking a look at some of the more powerful Abilities, and some of the more basic and useful skill combinations.
Continue reading ‘Strategy Session – Glory of Heracles, Part II’ »
Blurring the Line: Bioshock 2 – Staff Review
If you played it to completion, the safe money says you’re not forgetting Bioshock anytime soon. 2K’s recent entry into the hybrid role-playing/shooter genre is sometimes a victim of its own hype, but it never lacks for imagination and proves a fun, engaging journey all the same. Bioshock 2 brings us back to the crumbling city of Rapture, evolving the gameplay in all the right places. Sadly, the plot never quite has the legs to stand on its own, and it seems to keep forgetting that the story of Rapture – and its extremist founder Andrew Ryan – is the more interesting one.
Continue reading ‘Blurring the Line: Bioshock 2 – Staff Review’ »
In Infinite Space, No One Can Hear You Blog
Blogs being written material, however, sort of negates that problem. Anyway, Sega has launched a blog for their upcoming RPG Infinite Space, written from the perspective of the lead character Yuri. The blog is hosted directly on Sega’s website, available here.
Sakura Wars Release Moves Back a Week
In a tragedy of epic proportions, right up there with a candy bar getting stuck in a vending machine, Sakura Wars: So Long My Love has been push back from its March 23 release. The announcement comes from NISA’s Nao Zook, who stated that the game will launch the following week on March 30.
Sakura Wars will launch for both the Wii and the PS2 simultaneously.







