RandomNPC - Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

In a press release Tuesday, Konami announced that the latest installment in their Suikoden RPG series, the DS-bound Suikoden Tierkreis, will be localized for a North American release.  Plot details have been sparse thus far, with suggestions of parallel worlds being involved somehow.  Reportedly, the story begins with all but three of the Stars of Destiny dying in battle, and the survivors are tasked with “resurrecting” the others to take on the One King.  Konami also indicated that Tierkreis will make use of the online capabilities of the DS, allowing players to send some of their characters on quests that others can complete.  No US release date has been posted.

With several upcoming titles slated for release this year, Atlus plans to release special pre-order editions of Luminous Arc 2, Eternal Poison and Persona 4 at amazon.com and gamestop.com.  These Spoils packages will include art books and soundtrack CDs at no additional cost, with the suggested retail price for each title at $39.99 US.

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It has been rightly said that every book written represents the death of a perfect idea. This principle can easily be applied to video games, and perhaps none embody this like the obscure Russian first-person survival game Pathologic. With a haphazard English localization, a dated engine and very unforgiving gameplay, Pathologic lacks even the cult status to be salvaged from the bargain bin. The tragedy in this is that the game deserves a look by anyone who ever claimed to support the idea of video games as art, for few other games to date have been as bold, uncompromising and mature. (more…)

At long last, I return! My PC is, somehow, back in working order and I get back to talking about stuff you have all probably talked to death: some noteworthy titles due out in the months and years to come. Observe! Or, listen actually. (more…)

 NPCast 06 - Coming Soon to a Home Theater Near You [8:36m]: Download

Greetings, people. No time for small talk this week, I’m just here to get in, whack the guy whom I set up with a fake date through the internet because he refused to pay Brucie his money who in turn proposed to me this ridiculously circuitous plan for revenge, and get out. Now, let’s get down to brass tacks. (more…)

Ports are very often a point of contention among fans. An inferior port can leave would-be fans in the cold when it arrives on another platform, while one that’s clearly better or has a ton of extra features can earn the scorn of its established base. They can be resource intensive, requiring considerable recoding to transfer from one set of hardware to another, or to reconfigure controls. They’re risky, too - expensive gambles that the gaming public liked the game enough, or heard enough positive press the first time, that they’d be willing to buy it en masse again. To this atmosphere we have Mass Effect for the PC, a surprisingly positive example of how porting can improve the final product without changing the core experience. (more…)

Hello, good chums and chumettes.  Another week has come and gone, and once again we try to forstall the inevitable return to work with an edition of Current Quests.  So what are we all up to this week?  Let me break it down for you.

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Hello hello, folks. Back again with another NPCast, and this time we’re talking about something near and dear to the hearts of millions. Just a few feet away in the back of the car they’re driving, actually. How can this magical mystery burn-liquid have an impact on escapist male power fantasies and puzzle-oriented dating sims involving catgirls? Mankind may never know. Not that this stops me from opining on the subject, of course.
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 NPCast 04 - Then What Will You Doooooooo? o/~ [6:17m]: Download

I am John Boske, and I want to ask you all a question. Is a man not entitled to the exclusive on his PC? (more…)

Rarely one to package a game just once, Square-Enix has launched a site to announce the upcoming release of Dragon Quest IV for the Nintendo DS.  Last seen in North America as Dragon Warrior IV for the NES, way back in 1992, Dragon Quest IV has been confirmed with a release date of September 16 of this year.  Further releases are planned for Dragon Quest V and VI, though there is currently no further information about their release dates.

Tidings, folks. We’re back with another installment of “That Thing We Do Every Sunday”. Prepare to be astounded and amazed as no less than five - count ‘em, five! - staffers have fallen under the insidious snare of Persona 3: FES. Not me, however… not yet, although I confess it did look tempting as I passed by at the store. More on that later.

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Note to self: The unofficial Tales of Symphonia drinking game you read about on the internets is not to be played by the faint of stomach.  Taking a shot every time somebody has an aside and then says “…oh, nothing,” when somebody asks them about it basically means you might as well just start drinking as soon as you start the game.  Believe me, it’ll catch up.

In any case, the title sums up this cast’s content; ‘the Topic of’ added to respectfully differentiate this from the surprisingly good On Writing by Stephen King.  Yes, that Stephen King.  Also, the Metal Wolf Chaos plug can adequately be explained by watching this documentary of the American electoral process.
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 NPCast 03 - On the Topic of Writing: Download

Hi, everybody!  Just a quick lil’ update since I’m kind of buzzed after returning from a friend’s wedding and I’m sort of getting to this at the last minute, but that’s okay.  Everybody gather ’round and let’s take a look at what our beloved staffers are up to this week! (more…)

Too often in western RPGs is ‘choice’ touted as a feature, either through customization of the main character or through the impact your decisions have on the game’s story.  Almost as often that latter choice turns out to be hollow, picking between saving the village or burning it down and dancing a jig on peasant corpses.  But sometimes you have a game that wields this correctly.  Enter The Witcher, in which your decisions, and the consequences thereof, are one of the game’s strongest aspects.  The rest, sadly, is just decent enough to stay out of the plot’s way. (more…)