RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Capcom has just announced that Dragon’s Dogma, their upcoming 360/PS3 open-world RPG, will see worldwide release in May: North America on May 22, followed by Japan on the 24th and Europe on the 25th. As an added bonus, both versions will include download codes for Resident Evil 6 demos. 360 buyers will be able to download said demo starting July 3; however those on the PS3 won’t be accessible until September 4.

Source: Andriasang

Developer Genius Sonority recently unveiled their latest project: a camera-themed 3DS RPG titled Denpa Ningen. Per the game’s logic, the titular Ningen exist in electric waves in the real world, which are captured via the 3DS camera. You then build a party with the superdeformed critters and take them dungeon crawling, apparently to rescue someone from a demon king. ’cause, really, what else are you going to do with electric wave people?

Anyhow, Denpa Ningen will be released on the e-Shop starting February 8, priced at ¥800.

Source: Andriasang

Atlus announced that Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena will make its arcade debut in early March for Japan. Additionally, PS3 and 360 releases are planned for summer, also for Japan.

Source: Andriasang

The news: disturbing the Force, all day erry day.  Also, going to be off next week for the Super Bowl; not that I have a huge stake in it, but I owe the Giants some residual gratitude for taking out Green Bay.  Us poor Chicagoans would never, ever hear the end of it if they made it back-to-back.  But I get off topic.  I’ll see you all the week after next, but in the meantime here’s what’s going down:

• The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement steps in to fill the SOPA/PIPA void of “simultaneously overzealous and ineffective legal frameworks for punishing 4chan users.”  Also, at least part of Poland’s parliament is awesome.
• The Economist dispels a few myths about the US trade deficit with China, using the iPad as an example.  Short version: paying workers ten cents an hour means China doesn’t actually get a lot of money per gizmo.
• Diablo III‘s senior producer makes an abrupt departure from Blizzard.  Since the game doesn’t even have a release date yet, there can only be one explanation.
• Meanwhile, EA expands Origin’s reach to include several third-party companies, counting beloved Polish developer CD Projekt among them.  The more you tighten your grasp, EA…
• The Family Research Council claims the Gay Agenda has its claws in Star Wars: The Old Republic.  BioWare responds by thanking them for the free advertising.
• Nintendo mulls over a rebranding effort for the Wii U, worried that nontraditional gaming demographics might not get the concept of console cycles.
• Mass Effect 3 will tie random DLC to action figures, Voodoo Extreme faces staffing budget cuts, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – The Jedi Are Gonna Feel This One’ »

Tragedy strikes the nation: What Happened This Week will not be uploaded tonight. I know, unprecedented, but even the most perfect of us – that’s me, by the way – make mistakes from time to time. I won’t bore you with the details, suffice it to say I won’t be mixing randomly selected liquor anytime soon.

I kid, of course; the reality’s less interesting and involves spending most of the day faffing about with uncooperative recording equipment. Long story short, this week’s episode of WHTW will be up tomorrow night. Sorry, folks!

On the off chance that your life was hanging in the balance, you’ll be relieved to know Persona 4: The Golden will employ bikes both in and out of combat. Once you’ve gotten a license for a bike, characters will be able to perform bike-based attacks in battle, and you can also ride over to neighboring towns and other areas for certain events.

Additionally, it was revealed that studio Mad House will be handling the game’s opening animation.

Source: Andriasang

This week’s Dengeki Playstation has revealed the title of Gust’s latest title, one for the PS Vita this time. Dubbed Surge Concerto: Ciel no Surge, the game is reportedly aimed at online play and will see a release on April 26. Little else was revealed at this time.

Source: Andriasang

In a manner of speaking, anyway. Equipping a character with a special item called “Nuigurumetto” transforms them into a superdeformed version of themselves: tiny body, big head. This is apparently just a cosmetic feature with no effects on gameplay.

Source: Andriasang

Dragon Quest X will feature at least two means of quickly getting around. Intercontinental rail links all five of the main continents at fixed points, while Rula Stones can teleport you to previously-visited locations. Stones can only remember one location at a time, but can be reprogrammed to somewhere else and you can carry more than one stone.

Source: Andriasang

Code of Princess will include online multiplayer modes, specifically co-op quests and a four-player battle mode. The title is scheduled to launch on April 19.

Source: Andriasang

A Philadelphia man was arrested today after trying to make an unauthorized deposit in a sperm bank.

Continue reading ‘Mass Media 01/28/12’ »

Ragnarok Odyssey, Gamearts’ action-RPG for the PS Vita, will not ship with built-in support for online play. Rather, the company is planning a post-release update to add this function. CEO Kazuki Morishita indicated the patch will go live soon after release, though an exact date was not given.

Odyssey, which will ship with four player ad-hoc play, is currently set for a February 2 release.

Source: Andriasang

Via Famitsu, Namco Bandai has identified their unnamed, previously announced PS3 title as Toki to Towa. Imageepoch has been tapped as the primary developer, working in conjunction with animation studio Satellite. Few other details were revealed, though an official site is available here.

Source: Andriasang

Hey-hey!  Are you all excited?  I know I am, because a Giants-Patriots rematch in the Super Bowl means we’ll get more of this classy gentleman.  Seriously, Carl’s locks make the NFL worth watching long after your team has washed out because you didn’t have a backup quarterback.

Me?  Bitter?  Pshaw.  Anyway, here’s the latest:

• SOPA and PIPA have been shelved in response to public outcry and prolonged protest.  Major backers withdrawing their support might’ve had something to do with that, too.
• And yet despite the bills not passing, the FBI and DoJ had no trouble shutting down Megaupload and arresting people in New Zealand.  Why, it’s almost like Washington already has broad powers to pursue people in other countries.
• Commentary: despite the bills being on hold for now, expect this issue to resurface at some point.  Google “Congress riders” for just one worrying example.
• All this begs the question of what can be done going forward, both about piracy and the clumsy responses to it.  Ars Technica offers in-depth solutions.  I would start with “try treating your customers like people for a change.”
• Meanwhile at BioWare, The Old Republic suffers an unfortunate PvP issue right when it can least afford one.  This wouldn’t be quite such a problem if the game weren’t so expensive to produce.
• Mass Effect 3 aims to ditch the mission-based structure of Mass Effect 2, going for something more fluid and constant.  You mean like Mass Effect 1, right?
• Zynga buys more mobile game studios.  Yes, Zynga, because that’s what you were doing wrong: not buying enough smaller companies.

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – The Internet is Safe… For Now’ »

And should you need more Japanese eccentricity in your life, NIS America has you covered with their own press release: Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 will be released on February 28 in North America, with a European release on the 24th.

In a press release, Atlus announced that Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time – previously a Japanese-only entry known as Growlanser IV: Over Reloaded – will launch in North America on July 24. As part of the announcement, a teaser website was set up this-a-way.

This week’s Famitsu revealed another installment in the Super Robot Wars series, titled 2nd Super Robot Taisen Z Saisei Volume. The second part of a set that began with Hakai Volume last April, this one is set for an April 5 release on the PSP. Both retail and download copies will be priced at ¥7,330.

Source: Andriasang

Square Enix announced a release date of March 29 for Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, along with a price tag of ¥6,090. Apart from the standard retail version, a Kingdom Hearts Edition 3DS bundle will also include the game, though that price was not stated.

Source: Andriasang

Alongside the upcoming release of Tales of Innocence R on the Vita, Tales of the Heroes Twin Brave will see a demo launch that same day: January 26. The demo features a sequence with Ruca and Spada – both Innocence characters – that won’t be in the final game. Although Twin Brave is a PSP title, Vita owners will also be able to download the demo.

Source: Andriasang

Rise never gets less adorable.

Continue reading ‘Mass Media 01/21/12’ »