RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Among other things Famitsu revealed this week was the following Persona 2 Innocent Sin tidbit.  The game’s Climax Theater quest mode will allow players to create their own quests: designing maps, placing items, setting characters, and even writing dialogue.  To accent the point, Famitsu added that they intend to work with Atlus to release a bonus Famitsu quest, to be available through PSN.

It is not yet known if players will be able to upload their custom quests for others to use.  Innocent Sin is set for an April 14 release in Japan.

Source: Andriasang

Details about the upcoming Final Fantasy Type-0 are coming to light, revealing some of the characters, the game world, and the battle system.  (more…)

A sequel to Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is in the works, according to this week’s Famitsu. Not to be confused with the 3DS-bound Devil Survivor Overclocked, the sequel is headed for the original DS, and concerns the effort to repel daily attacks by creatures known as the Septentrion. Staff comments in the article indicate the setting will cover multiple cities throughout Japan, and that there are more main characters this time around.

Devil Survivor 2 is expected to release in Japan under the Atlus banner this summer, though an exact date is not known.

Source: Andriasang

Courtesy of the official site is the news that the launch of the Pokemon Global Link, originally scheduled for March 30, has been pushed back. Like many recent delays this is in response to the earthquake and subsequent power restrictions, and once a new date has been established it will be announced through the website.

Square Enix announced that they intend to reopen Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV starting March 25. With energy restrictions in place, the company has opted to reduce certain operations to offset the amount required by the servers. As mentioned before, players will not be billed for April due to the outage.

The announcement can be read in full via Lodestone.

Media time, boys and girls! No fancy introduction this time, just the pics: Cladun 2, Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection, Final Fantasy XIV, Tales of the Abyss 3DS, and Tales of Xillia. Get ’em here! (more…)

Good to see you folks again!  Been an interesting week of big-name personalities competing for air time, and a few surprising announcements to boot.  Let’s break it down:

• Japanese companies react to the earthquake, and the politics of nuclear power.
• When selectively quoted, Reggie and Nintendo look down on indie developers.  Context is one mean mother, huh?
• Peter Molyneux joins the BAFTA Fellowship, admits he may have made up features to the press.  Say it ain’t so, Peter.
• NPD revises electronic sales tracking, EA/Activision claim with a straight face that digital distribution is a key part of their revenue.
• Mass Effect 2: Arrival announced.  How will we carry over our precious record of face-punching into Mass Effect 3?
• Ubisoft contracts research firm to poll on hypothetical NGP prices, and shows up to the music game scene wondering where everybody went.
• River City Ransom 2 is announced. Barf!

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With Mass Effect 3 in the works, BioWare has just formally announced the release date of the last DLC for Mass Effect 2.  Dubbed Arrival, the content will bridge the gap between the two games by taking Shepard into Batarian space, where a missing agent reportedly has information about an impending Reaper invasion.  Arrival will “show players just how close the Reapers are to returning,” according to executive producer Casey Hudson.  Apart from adding new research options, the content will also feature Admiral Hackett in a prominent role, possibly once again asking Shepard to do everything.

Arrival will release on March 29 for 560 MS funbucks, or $6.99.

Source: 1UP

Via press release, NIS America announced the launch of Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel.  The third entry in the series, Knell is now available for the PS3 at most North American retailers, and Premium Edition packaging includes a collectible art book and soundtrack disc.

In the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that recently struck Japan, Square Enix announced this week that both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV would temporarily be shut down.  The move is an attempt to conserve power amidst energy shortages and rolling blackouts, and the servers are expected to be offline for at least a week.  In the meantime, players will not be billed through the April statement cycle.

The announcement can be read in full on the Lodestone, and further information will be posted as it becomes available.

Welcome back, everybody! Good to be back from Las Vegas, where tragically I was unable to recruit Danny Trejo and hunt down Matthew Perry. But I suppose a nacho platter at Margaritaville is victory enough for one trip. Anyway, it’s time to round up What Happened This Week. Let’s see what we have this time:

• Sony convinces European authorities to release PS3s, but the legal back-and-forth with LG continues.
• Human Revolution sees a release date, and the reason for the pushback likely goes deeper than Final Fantasy XIV‘s misfired launch.
• Microsoft to retool Windows Live and apologize for unleashing it.  Well, they’re doing the first one at least.  Also, speculation on possible price cuts.
• Best Buy is on the ropes, but Amazon.com and Steam need better infrastructure to viably fill the gap.
• Strange but true: criticize BioWare, get locked out of Dragon Age 2.  Developers have feelings too, you know!
• Krazy Kaz is back, E3 rumor mills are in full swing, and portables join consoles in the counterproductive spending arms race.
• Japan, as you know, was recently hit by a massive earthquake and resulting tsunami.  The Red Cross is accepting donations, so chip in if you can.

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Hiya folks! John here, fresh from my trip to Vegas and my laughably annoying flight home. Long story short, you get what you pay for, and it’s the reason What Happened This Week will be slightly delayed. But I digress, you’re here for the media. Today’s selection includes the following: (more…)

In a press release today, NIS America announced that Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle is now available for North American PSPs via download and retail. The European release, which is PSN only, will follow on March 16. Content previously added for the Wii version, We Meet Again, is also included in The Hermuda Triangle.

After months of speculation following the announcement of a delayed release, Deus Ex: Human Revolution has just been given a concrete launch date by way of Eidos Montreal’s Twitter feed. Human Revolution will hit US stores on August 23, with a UK release following on August 26.

Fun trick for those just joining the Valkyria Chronicles 2 party, such as myself: if one of your guys steps on a mine, use a vehicle to bump him off. Mine detonates, and neither unit is harmed. Today’s army trains you with the skills you need to get ahead in today’s world!

But enough about weird things I find in games. Got some media for you guys, so gather ’round: Cladun 2, Dissidia 012 Duodecim, Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2, Everyday Messiah, Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection, and UnchainBlades Rexx. (more…)

Hey, glad you could make it! Gather around as we take What Happened This Week into its second month! Let me just grab my newsman robe and wizard hat here… there we go. As a heads up, I’ll be away from my computer for a few days next week, so that installment might be a day late. I’ll do my best to avoid a delay, however.

In any case, here are this week’s headlines:

• Cliff Bleszinski gives a speech at GDC, gets selective coverage for maximum outrage; hooray, gaming journalism!
• European customs seizes PS3s over LG and Sony patent bickering, presumably so customs agents can have their own Killzone 3 tournament.
• Visit GeoHot’s page, get your IP tracked by Sony.  There’s a meme generator image in this somewhere.
• John Romero, Rupert Murdoch to throw their hats in the Facebook gaming ring.  One of these men is to be taken seriously.
• PC gaming did well in 2010, or at least it made a lot of money.  That’s the same thing, right?
• Catherine is announced for US release and Homefront should stick to advertising by way of taco trucks.

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By way of a freshly-minted official site, French developer Ankama announced that Islands of Wakfu is headed for an Xbox Live Arcade release come March 30.  Details are currently sparse, although it is known that Islands will cost 1200 MS points to purchase and that achievements in the game can unlock content in the free-to-play MMO Dofus.

Source: Eurogamer

Last year’s Fallout New Vegas lived up to the series’ pedigree in many important ways, not all of them to its credit. But no one can accuse Obsidian of not knowing how to plot, and even in a crowded field Vegas easily gave other story-heavy RPGs a run for their money. Dead Money is their first step into DLC territory, essentially playing as its own separate game that just happens to use your character. Minor, but frequent nuisances are determined to hobble the experience, yet beyond that are real moments of ingenuity that even Vegas didn’t pull off. (more…)

Who said March could get here already? Stop making me feel old, 2011! With that said, it’s time for some media: Cladun 2, Final Fantasy III iPod, Final Fantasy IV Complete, Gungnir, Oz Chronicle, Persona 2 Innocent Sin, RPG Maker X, SD Gundam G Generation World, Shining Hearts, and Tales of Xillia. (more…)

There’s a mouthful for you. Hello, me good smilin’ friends! In today’s thrilling episode:

• Xenogears arrives on PSN, nostalgia ensues.
• Name your kid Dovahkiin, get free Bethesda games: madness, or radness? Probably madness.  Although…
• Atlus tops Japanese sales charts, is probably fun to hang out with on the weekends.
• Vietnam begins banning online gaming between 10pm and 8am.  Now who’s lost in fantasy?
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution personal media blackout begins now, and will last until I have to index more about the game.
• PSP price drop, Unreal Engine 3 on the NGP, and Ubisoft’s Beyond Good & Evil proposition.

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