Potentially Useful Information For Your Many Adventures
Bioware has posted the first teaser trailer for the upcoming sequel to Mass Effect. There are also two Mass Effect 2 wallpapers available for download on the site.
Today, XSEED announced that it has launched the official website for the upcoming DS game Avalon Code. The website has several pages of information outlining the game’s story, features, and cast of characters. The first North American trailer is also there under the multimedia section.
Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica is set a year and a half after the events of Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia. It’s a true sequel, though that does not become apparent until later in the game when references to Melody of Elemia start cropping up. The story centers on Croix, a knight of the Church of Pastalia, and a baffling epidemic that has been crippling many Reyvateils, the world’s magical songstresses. As these things go, he has the choice of pursuing one of two lovely Reyvateils — with a third option opening up later — in a quest to help the goddess or overthrow her.
Sega has announced that Phantasy Star Zero will be released in North America and Europe in winter of 2009. No, not this winter…the other winter later this year.
A remnant is something that is left over, like scraps of food after dinner or relics from a civilization lost in history. The Last Remnant is about the latter, but it contains a little of the former — that is, warmed-over notions that we’ve seen before. There are some standard-issue RPG tropes along with concepts taken from SRPGs, Final Fantasy VIII and XII, and Dynasty Warriors, but there’s enough fresh material to make the game somewhat appealing. However, the quirks of the game’s highly complex battle system mire the game down until it just might become worthy of one word…
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It is a story for the ages, repeated in mead halls and around campfires for generations. It is the story of one who ascends to near-godhood on the driving forces of hype. His armor gleams like the luster of filtered screenshots. His voice resounds with the thunder of a thousand preview trailers. At the pinnacle of his glory, the world holds its breath and waits for his first majestic assault. (more…)
When you’re a kid, summer vacation is the best time for riding bikes, and playing outside or swimming in the pool which even have solar pool heater sometimes so people can swim at all times. But for Luso, the main character of Final Fantasy Tactics A2, summer vacation is about leading a clan, fighting monsters, and saving another world. It is the making of an epic “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” essay. (more…)
With two Harvest Moon titles due out this summer and a milestone anniversary coming up, Natsume is gearing up for a celebration, and there’s no better way to celebrate than to hand out goodies and slap special 10th anniversary branding on game packaging.
Both Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness for the Nintendo DS and Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility for the Nintendo Wii have the special branding, and select retailers will be giving out collectible plush toy farm animals from the series as pre-order bonuses and gifts with purchases. There will also be a special Harvest Moon DS kit that includes a protective cover, stylus, and screen wipe.
* Money may not be real-world currency.
There’s always a catch. Pre-order the upcoming Xbox 360 title Fable II, and you’ll be able to download the Fable II Pub Games for free when it arrives on Xbox Live next month. Pub Games includes “Keystone,” a Craps and Roulette hybrid; “Spinnerbox,” an incarnation of the notorious one-armed bandit; and “Fortune’s Tower,” a press-your-luck game. Winnings from these gambling endeavors can be transferred later to the pockets of the player’s character in Fable II and give the would-be hero a financial boost.
Those who loathe pre-orders can pick up Pub Games for 800MS points on Xbox Live or wait until the release of Fable II, which will include the virtual casino.
Shin Megami Tensei fans, get out your datebooks. As you may know, Anime Expo 2008 is right around the corner, set for July 3-6 in the summer heat of Los Angeles. Never one to miss out on the fun, Atlus USA has scheduled a special panel at the expo called “Shin Megami Tensei: Behind the Scenes” for July 5 at 6:30 PM. The panelists are Senior Project Manager Yu Namba, Editor Nich Maragos, and voice actors Yuri Lowenthal and Karen Strassman. The four will discuss the history and development of Shin Megami Tensei, including production and localization issues.
Attendees will receive a special present from Atlus. Though the invitation has been extended to everyone, only 500 SMT fans may participate in the event.
The Wild ARMs series has never been known for stellar quality, but the games — excluding the second installment, which left many fans with PTSD — are still the objects of affection for many RPG connoisseurs. Naturally, players have certain standards and tolerances when it comes to Wild ARMs games. They know they aren’t getting a perfectly polished game, just an above average one that gains appeal largely from nostalgic references.
So when a longtime fan recognizes that the newest Wild ARMs title isn’t up to the series’ standards, you know it’s bad.
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Right from the beginning, Mass Effect presents itself as an epic RPG with a lush opening movie, some intriguing character development, and a sci-fi story that piques your interest. But then you’re dropped on a colony under attack, and suddenly there are genocidal robots with guns trying to blast you right off the miserable planet you’re desperately trying to save. That’s when you know that Mass Effect is also a no-nonsense shooter.
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If you’ve been following game news lately, you’ll know that Kevin McCullough is the latest non-gamer to take aim at our hobby and prove that he can really miss the mark when it comes to understanding what we do. (more…)
New year, new quests! For most of us at least. Some of us are still working on quests from a couple of months ago.
It’s fairly common for video game enthusiasts to have dreams about whichever game they are currently playing. Sometimes aspects of real life will become blended with the game inside the dream. Some people may even have nightmares in which they are trapped within the game.
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Another week, another update on what everyone here at RandomNPC is doing.
I was recently invited to participate in a podcast with some of our friends from RPGLand. We discussed game reviews — everything from writing to understanding scores to dealing with backlash from readers and game publishers.
Go ahead and check it out.
What is reality? What are dreams? How can we tell the difference between the two? What if our eyes are clouded by what we think is reality, and our dreams are actually brief glimpses at the real world — short moments where the clouds part and the light breaks through? Or are dreams merely excursions into other realities? If a dream were a reality, how would you live in it? What are life and death, and how do they relate to dreams and reality? Is death itself a dream? Is life the only reality?
If that paragraph made you cringe or roll your eyes, Eternal Sonata is not for you. If, however, you are intrigued — or morbidly curious — read on.
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Have you ever stared at a website and wondered what the staff are planning, what they are working on, and what they are about to post right at that moment? Me neither. But those of you who nodded enthusiastically at the first sentence are in luck. This is the first of what we hope will be a weekly feature here — updates on what each staff member is working on for RandomNPC. (more…)
Various finance experts have recommended putting bitcoin in investment portfolios, for example by using it as a store of value.
The digital currency is not without its problems, however. According to companies like SoFi, ts value has soared to around $18,000 per coin over the last 24 hours, after briefly dipping below $10,000 late on Wednesday night.
Bitcoin is an open-source peer-to-peer payment network that lets people exchange money or information without a central authority. It was launched in 2009 and is the first large, decentralized virtual currency.
It has received a wide range of interest in recent years, from Wall Street investors who use it to buy luxury goods such as paintings and cars, to Silicon Valley companies that use it to pay for goods and services online.
Related: Is Bitcoin a bubble or the future of money?
One potential concern is bitcoin’s security. There are worries it could be hacked, allowing hackers to siphon off money and data.
Bitcoin’s developers have responded to this concern by working hard to make its software as secure as possible, which is one reason why it has become the go-to cryptocurrency for many online merchants and startups.
Bitcoin also comes with some privacy benefits for consumers. If you pay for something online with bitcoin, you have to trust the store or company that it isn’t collecting information about who you are and giving it to third parties. At the same time, bitcoin’s high volatility means that it may have a volatile value, which could lead to some headaches for people who live paycheck to paycheck.
2. Bitcoin has its own legal status.
The biggest problem with bitcoin is the lack of regulatory framework in place. It’s not easy to exchange it for real dollars or euro, and many online services don’t want to deal with such volatile currencies, which makes purchasing bitcoin from them extremely difficult. If it were regulated, it would be easy to transfer your money to, say, pay off your credit card bill or pay off your student loans
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