RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Amidst the hubbub of Comic-Con, Mass Effect producer Mike Gamble commented on DLC for the third installment. While no singleplayer DLC besides the Extended Cut has been confirmed, he did state that Commander Shepard would remain the central (playable) figure. And speaking of the Extended Cut, Gamble confirmed that the Wii U version would have this installed by default over the original ending.

Source: Joystiq

Is this year going fast for anybody else? Maybe it’s my mad scramble to find another job, virtually any job, outside banking right now, so I’m just noticing the passing weeks more. Oh well. It’s news time! In tonight’s episode:

• Via Kickstarter, we have the Ouya: an open source, Droid-based console priced at $99.  Surely this will spearhead the glorious indie revolution that upends gaming forever…
• …except the numbers don’t quite add up, there doesn’t seem to be a concrete prototype, no games have been confirmed, and its own supporters have made comparisons to the Phantom.
• Meanwhile, Nintendo plans to link the Wii U and 3DS through its online service, which will (initially) be free to use.  Shiggy asks: but what of Metroid and Star Fox?
• Vivendi discreetly scopes out possible buyers for an as-yet-unconfirmed sale of its ActiBlizzard stake.  Even money says they’re waiting for CODBLOPS 2 numbers.
• Pachter sez: EA may break out the long knives for John Riccitiello, with Peter More as a possible replacement.  Should’ve kept the base!  And not picked a fight with Activision.
• BioWare reveals its plans for the Ultima franchise: a free-to-play action/RPG.  Ugh, BioWare, and you were doing so well with the Mass Effect 3 DLC!  Why?
• The Last Story gets its worldwide release date, CERN may have found the Higgs-boson, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Kickstart the Atom’ »

BioWare has just released details of the multiplayer-centric Earth DLC for Mass Effect 3. The content features the previously rumored new maps for Rio, Vancouver, and London, three new weapons, and six new human N7 classes. Set for a July 17 release on all platforms (excepting European PS3, which launches July 18), the content will be free for download.

Source: Joystiq

XSEED has just announced that Mistwalker’s Wii RPG The Last Story will see North American shelves starting August 14. Launch copies include an art book, with a soundtrack disc as a preorder bonus from Amazon, GameStop, and EB Canada.

Source: Joystiq

In a recent interview, Dragon’s Dogma director Hideaki Itsuno was quoted as saying “I’m sure many have already cleared the game, but for Dragon’s Dogma, we’re continuing to prepare new play elements. It would be best if you held on to the game for a bit.” Itsuno added that domestic sales were better than expected, and that future content – perhaps in the form of “the next title” – would be possible with sustained fan support.

Source: Andriasang

FFXIV producer/director Naoki Yoshida announced that the game’s next major status update will occur sometime in mid-August, with weekly updates to follow shortly afterward. An alpha and subsequent beta test will follow the start of these updates, with Yoshida planning to release a benchmark program around the time of the alpha.

Source: Andriasang

Title says it all: by way of Weekly Jump, Namco Bandai has revealed a One Piece RPG for the PSP. Subtitled Romance Dawn, the game is set for a Japanese release this Winter.

Source: Andriasang

Yaaay, we’re back!  And hopefully we’ll stay on time going forward, or at least we won’t lose power right when I’m about to start writing.  Anyway, news time!

• Sony acquires streaming game service Gaikai for a cool $380 million.  Speculation abounds as to how doomed modern consoles are (not very, for the moment).
• Vivendi plans to sell off its stake in Activision-Blizzard.  Possibly a restructuring effort, or maybe they just see Call of Duty being the next Guitar Hero, with all that would imply.
• Zynga reveals “Zynga With Friends,” and exciting new games ending with -Ville that are totally not the same idea over and over.  One’s even an “epic slot machine adventure” for extra irony.
• Yoichi Wada asserts Final Fantasy VII isn’t getting remade until they make a game that surpasses it.  My take: better get a DeLorean, ’cause we’ll need the nineties again.
• Atlus announces and defends its decision to region-lock Persona 4 Arena.  So that’s why the official forums melted down the other day.
• The EU rules that resale of digital games is legal, Pokemon Black and White 2 makes all of the money, Facebook suffers a sizable email fiasco, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Everybody Misses the Nineties’ »

Ngaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Well, I guess I’ll have to apologize after all. Sorry folks, it’s been unusually busy this weekend; had company over, cracked windshield, all sorts of fun, thankfully I found a windshield replacement service to help me with this. On top of that the heat wave finally broke today, so what little free time I had was gobbled up pretty quick. And maybe, possibly, Spec Ops: The Line turned out to be far more engrossing (if disturbing) than I anticipated. There was a Steam deal! I was weak willed! There was a warm sunbeam to nap in! I’m the victim, here!

New episode tomorrow Tuesday. I totally meant Tuesday the whole time, and definitely did not change that just now because of an inopportune computer crash that ate half the script.  Stay tuned!

Shadow Yukiko’s attacks are un-bear-able. Hee hee.

Continue reading ‘Mass Media 07/07/12’ »

Among the stranger things I’ve learned today is that Persona 4 Arena will be region locked: Japanese copies won’t work on North American PS3s, and vice versa. An Atlus employee confirmed the news on the official forums, though there was no explanation available at this time. This is somewhat a moot point as Arena is being released internationally anyway, though it will be the first PS3 game ever to be region-locked. Puzzling, to say the least.

Source: Joystiq

Namco Bandai has just issued a press release announcing that Tales of Xillia will indeed be localized for a North American release. No specific date was given beyond 2013.

Gung-Ho has confirmed that Ragnarok Odyssey, the PSVita action-RPG, has sold and shipped over 100,000 copies between both retail and download versions. The company is commemorating the milestone with a Twitter campaign about how one would use ¥100,000, with a ¥100,000 prize for whoever has the best idea.

Source: Andriasang

Over on Twitter, Bravely Default producer Tomoya Asano answered a few back-of-the-box questions. In particular, he stated that the game will allow only one save slot, apparently due to unspecified wireless features.

Source: Andriasang

Square Enix has announced a digital download release of the PC version of Final Fantasy VII. Apart from (hopefully) being more stable this time, FFVII PC will feature achievements, character boosters, and cloud saves. There’s a joke about putting Cloud in your cloud somewhere in that.

Anyhow, the official site is available here. No release date has been given beyond “soon.”

In preparation for the 2.0 release of Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix has updated the official site to reflect the coming changes. Check it out here if you’re so inclined. Additionally, Famitsu revealed this week that the PS3 version, which releases on or after 2.0’s launch, will feature a customized user interface specifically for console controls.

Source: Andriasang

With the official site up and running, Pokemon Black and White 2 has been confirmed for an October 7 release in North America.

Level-5 has announced a special “Wizard’s Edition” of the upcoming Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. Contrary to the usual artbook+soundtrack combo, this package throws in a copy of the Wizard’s Companion (your spell book in the game), a plush doll of lamp-nosed sidekick Drippy, and DLC familiars for the game itself. The WE is available solely through Namco’s online shop for the price of $99.99.

Source: Joystiq

Since its release, Diablo III has been keeping Blizzard busy. The latest round of hotfixes addresses two particular issues: the first, an exploit to boost attack speed or double-cast a spell by hitting the Town Portal button on the hot bar; the second, rare item drop rates, which have been increased for various difficulties and campaign acts.

Source: Joystiq

Famitsu has revealed that UnchainBlades EXXIV, the sequel to UnchainBlades Rexx, will feature acclaimed Final Fantasy illustrator Yoshitaka Amano for one of its characters; the hook being that each character is the work of a separate designer.

EXXIV is set for a November 15 release.

Source: Andriasang