RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

BioWare has just announced a collection of the Mass Effect trilogy, covering all three games for all systems. This includes the original Mass Effect for PlayStation 3, which will also be released separately as a digital download. The box sets will include a limited selection of DLC, though the choice of content may differ based on platform; it is known that add-ons like Lair of the Shadow Broker (ME2) and Leviathan will not be among them. While the Trilogy Edition will not have an option for a Female Shepard cover, the official Mass Effect Twitter did mention it had “a little something special planned for FemShep coming.”

PC and 360 versions go live on November 6 in North America, with the PS3’s date still unknown.

Source: Eurogamer

PS3 RPG Rainbow Moon is getting a Vita adaptation, according to developer EastAsiaSoft. The title is expected to launch sometime next year, although a specific timeframe is not yet known.

Source: Eurogamer

Atlus has released the latest patch for Persona 4 Arena, addressing various game balance and technical issues on both 360 and PS3. Among the items fixed is the “Serious Gamer” achievement – earned by reaching level 30 in online matches – which had been inaccessible for some players.

Source: Joystiq

Capcom has announced an expansion for Dragon’s Dogma, entitled Dark Arisen. Little is yet known about the additional content, other than it’s planned to release sometime in 2013. Additionally, Capcom is adding gameplay modes to the base content: Hard mode predictably cranks up the difficulty, while Speedrun Mode rewards players who finish the game under a certain time limit.

Source: Joystiq

Title says it all: the actual Final Fantasy III has been released for PSP as a downloadable title. Apart from optimized visuals for the screen size, the port includes an auto-battle function and the option to switch to the game’s original background music.

Source: Joystiq

Developer CD Projekt will be holding a live special event on October 18, during which they will give details for several announcements. In particular, they will reveal the title of their upcoming sci-fi project, currently known as Cyberpunk, and will also discuss The Witcher 2‘s jump to OSX, which was previously scheduled to launch this fall. Additionally, CD Projekt announced plans to bring GOG’s library to “a new operating system,” with the (likely OSX) reveal reserved for the event itself.

Source: Joystiq

With the departure of co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, BioWare Edmonton’s general manager, Aaron Flyn, outlined the company’s upcoming projects. Apart from the already-mentioned Dragon Age installment, Flynn confirmed that Mass Effect will see more content. Following the Omega DLC for Mass Effect 3, Executive producer Casey Hudson plans to develop another full game in the universe, though no details have been given at this time.

Source: Joystiq

As the title of the article says, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Magnagate and the Infinite Labyrinth will make use of the 3DS camera in an interesting fashion. Specifically, players can take pictures of household objects – cups, lamps, apparently anything with a round shape on it – which will open up portals in the game.

The game will release in Japan later this year. No US release has been announced.

Source: Joystiq

Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, BioWare’s co-founders, have announced their intent to leave BioWare and retire from the video game industry in general. Both men are seeking careers elsewhere, with Muzyka planning to enter the entrepreneurship field. “My next ‘chapter'” he writes, “will likely focus on an entirely new industry, something exciting, different and frankly downright scary – investing in and mentoring new entrepreneurs, and more specifically, the field of social/impact investing.”

Zeschuk, in turn, speaks of losing his desire to work in the industry, saying “I’ve reached an unexpected point in my life where I no longer have the passion that I once did for the company, for the games, and for the challenge of creation.” Future projects may involve, of all things, craft beer: a web-based show called the Beer Diaries where he interviews notable brewers. He doesn’t write a return to games off completely, adding “If things go well, I’ll work on other beer-related shows, apps and projects. If not, I’ll have drunk a lot of tasty beers and may be back in games or even something else completely different. Ultimately time will tell.”

Both made their announcements on BioWare’s official blog, located here for Zeschuk and here for Muzyka.

BioWare has announced Dragon Age 3: Inquisition, planned for release in late 2013. Little is yet known about the project, though executive producer Mark Darrah confirmed that many people from past Dragon Age teams are on board for this one. Cue “nobody expected” jokes in three… two…

Source: Joystiq

The Kickstarter-funded Project Eternity has been given a tentative release window of spring 2014, according to Obsidian’s Tim Cain. Additionally, Cain indicated the budget may be smaller than past Obsidian games, but is ideal for the type of game they’re making: “We have an engine already, and we aren’t using an established IP with pre-defined game mechanics and an art style that we have to mimic. Both of these things save us a lot of time, because we are now free to make those elements ourselves.”

Source: Joystiq

Vanillaware’s Wii 2D actioner/visual feast, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, is getting a PS Vita adaptation. The port, confirmed for Japan only at this time, will launch on March 28, 2013, with DLC support to follow.

Source: Joystiq

In an interesting turn of events, Square Enix will be bringing older Kingdom Hearts titles to the PS3 in one tidy bundle. The 1.5 HD Remix includes HD-remastered versions of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Chain of Memories,, and 358/2 Days; Final Mix being the previously Japanese-exclusive re-release of the original.

No details have been given regarding the Japanese release, and a US release was not confirmed.

Source: Joystiq

Atlus has announced the North American release date for Persona 4: Golden. The PSVita redux is set to launch stateside on November 20.

Source: Joystiq

The Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition has been delayed, according to Beamdog’s Trent Oster. Citing the response to the project – specifically an influx of volunteers, additions, and fixes – Oster revealed the project has been pushed back from September 18 to November 30.

As hint of recompense, Oster also said “something a little extra” is in the works for existing preorders.

Source: Joystiq

As the title suggests, Nintendo UK announced the Wii U version of Mass Effect 3 will include the From Ashes DLC at launch; that being the one adding the Prothean squad member, Javik. As previously mentioned, the game will also feature the Extended Cut built-in, along with a digital comic covering events from the previous games.

Source: Eurogamer

Obsidian had previously mentioned a Kickstarter project of their own during the Wasteland 2 reveal, and has just recently made said mention a reality. Project Eternity is the current working title for their Kickstarter pitch: an isometric fantasy real-time-with-pause PC RPG in the vein of titles like Planescape: Torment, Baldur’s Gate, and Icewind Dale.

Details about the game have been limited thus far, though it will feature a customizable hero, a mix of typical and atypical fantasy races, a party cap of six (counting your character; recruits are optional), and other such genre staples.

The project has already hit its base goal of $1.1 million, with pledged funding at $1.5 million and climbing. For the curious, the Kickstarter itself is located over here.

Spinoff series Pokemon Mystery Dungeon will see another installment, this one bound for the 3ds under the subtitle Magnagate and the Infinite Labyrinth. Currently Japan-only, the Pokecentric dungeon crawler will use the system’s 3D and augmented reality functions; the latter involves scanning real-life objects to unlock areas in the game, though further details are still pending.

Magnagate shows up this Winter. A US release has not been announced.

Source: Joystiq

With Bethesda’s stated difficulties in bringing the Skyrim DLC to PS3, Sony announced they have a large support team working to resolve the issue. Sony’s Adam Boyes stated that “I can’t promise any kind of resolution or timeline but can say that everyone involved is trying their best to get this stuff working.”

Source: Joystiq

The latest details for Bravely Default: Flying Fairy concern the use of Street Pass. Namely, a town destroyed in the game will gradually recover and regain its population through this feature, or direct internet transfers. Additionally, a recent Jump suggests demo-playing attendees at the Tokyo Game Show will be able to do Street Pass exchanges with the development staff.

Source: Andriasang