Category Archives: Game Previews

Lord British is back!

  March 12, 2013 - 11:37 am | Game Development, Game Previews, Retro, RPG
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I cannot tell you how excited I am about the news I received this morning! The person who probably shaped most of my childhood, the creator of worlds, the epitome of all that is great in RPG, has decided to grace us with a new game. Richard Garriot, creator of the greatest and longest-running RPG series in the history of computer gaming, has launched a Kickstarter project for his upcoming game (Hopefully October 2014) – Shroud of the Avatar, Forsaken Virtues.

As you can see from the early preview above, and from reading the Kickstarter project details, great stuff are coming our way. A true RPG’er wants to immerse himself in the game, not just hack away to fill an experience bar, and I think that from the meagre details available at the moment, they are doing a good job of it. I especially like the trade, crafting and housing system that they are planning, as well as the fact that it’s NOT BLOODY ONLINE DEPENDENT! If you want to play single-player, you can without a connection. If you want to be able to play this game again in twenty years, you don’t have to worry if the servers are still running. Hey Blizzard, EA and all you other money-grabbing bastards – take note.

The game seems to expand upon the ideals of the Avatar, the protagonist of the Ultima series, and Ultima and I share a long history. My first meeting with the Ultima series was actually a book, more specifically a novelized walkthrough called The Avatar Adventures. A friend of mine had the book at school when I was about 10. I read it voraciously in my lunch breaks and was then overjoyed when it turned out that my neighbor had Ultima IV on his PC. I then spent the next few months firmly robbing said neighbor of the use of said PC. Then, much later, when I finally had a PC of my own with an actual graphics card (a monstrous EGA card), I was lucky enough to find the complete Ultima collection at a second-hand store – a collection I still own today, which sits proudly on my shelf of all things gaming.

Anyway, go check out the Kickstarter, give Lord British and his cohorts your money, and help shape what is sure to become a classic!

Diablo 3

  April 2, 2012 - 3:45 pm | Diablo 3, Game Previews, MMO, RPG
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My Collectors Edition was confirmed on Friday night. I’ve taken 2 weeks off work and I’m ready to mould myself into my chair for at least 20-22 hours a day for that period. Yes, Blizzard has done it again – they’ve brought out another timesink!

They have added a few changes to the original formula though, with a level cap of 60 instead of 99. Hmmm, does this possibly remind you of Vanilla WoW? With news of a few planned expansions, we’ll probably see a few level increases as things progress, just like their ultimate moneymaker. The devs have stated that you should be able to get to the top level through the standard storyline, way before you finish Hell difficulty though. This should open up to more gear grinding and less level grinding – I guess to make their planned Arena battles fair they had to limit the level and skills available, making it a gear and skill grind.
Anyway, the Collectors Edition! Ohhh it’s so tasty! On top of the standard game, just look at the extra goodies you recieve:

  • Behind the scenes making of DVD (and Blue-Ray)
  • Diablo III Soundtrack.
  • The Art of Diablo III 208 page book.
  • Diablo skull and 4gig USB soulstone.
  • The full games: Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction come loaded on the flashdrive.
  • The soulstone USB fits into the skull as a resting place/decoration item.
  • “Aesthetic Artifacts” in Diablo III: Two special color dyes (Bottled Cloud and Bottled Smoke) and glowing Tyrael’s Angelic Wings. These items can be used through your shared stash on any of your characters as many times as you want.
  • World of Warcraft Fetish Shaman pet.
  • Starcraft II Battle.net character portraits

That skull is pure beauty. I can’t think of a single RPG geek that wouldn’t want Diablo’s skull (with the soulstone embedded) on his desk. It’s an absolute must-have.

Of course, Collectors will be limited. I had to try quite a few stores before getting myself one booked. If you’re a US citizen, you can still try Amazon and see if they have any left. Be sure to use my referral linky if you do though :)

Star Trek Online Goes Free-to-Play

  January 18, 2012 - 2:16 pm | Game Previews, MMO
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Star Trek Online has decided to join the Free-To-Play bandwagon. Yesterday was the official launch date, so expect the starter areas to be pretty crowded for the next few weeks. I’ll be downloading it tonight, with a full review after a few days’ play.

Here’s the official intro on the Star Wars Online website:

In Star Trek Online, the Star Trek universe appears for the first time on a truly massive scale.

In this massively multiplayer online game from Cryptic Studios, players can pioneer their own destiny as Captain of a Federation starship. Or they can become a Klingon Warlord and expand the Empire to the far reaches of the galaxy.

Players will have the opportunity to visit iconic locations from the popular Star Trek fiction, reach out to unexplored star systems and make contact with new alien species. With Episode Missions, every moment spent playing Star Trek Online will feel like a new Star Trek episode in which you are the star.

Immerse yourself in the future of the Trek universe as it moves into the 25th century: a time of shifting alliances and new discoveries.

I’m looking forward to the ship customization, and the screenshots look gorgeous, so let’s hope for the best. Here’s the registration link – Star Trek Online - so get cracking! Oh, and if you get in there before me, feel free to write a review, or your thoughts and send it to me, or post a comment below.

World of Warplanes!

  June 8, 2011 - 9:05 am | Game Previews, MMO, Other games, Wargaming.net, World of Tanks
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Following the huge success of World of Tanks, Wargaming.net has announced that they’re developing a new Free to Play based on the same era as World of Tanks… but with planes! I don’t know about you, but I’m quite looking forward to taking to the skies in a Spitfire, Mustang or possibly a B-29 Superfortress. Here’s the official news from Wargaming:

Wargaming.net announces the new project - World of Warplanes – based on military air dominance ranging from the 1930′s through the 1950′s.
World of Warplanes is a standalone Free to play game being developed by the team that have created World of Tanks.
“We are proud to be able to develop another high quality Free to Play game for the world’s gaming community”, said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming.net. “World of Tanks has been extremely successful and we look to bring the same high quality if not better to World of Warplanes.”
With the recent announcement of the partnership with Lesta Studio overall portfolio of Wargaming.net comprises more than 20 titles warmly acclaimed by media and players.

With more than 20 titles in the lineup, I wonder what we can expect next? If they stick to the same genre, I would assume warships, submarines, even possibly a FPS infantry game. And if the quality of World of Tanks is anything to go by, the rest will be a huge success too.