Today EA Mythic confirmed a September 18th release date for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. While the game will release in Asia on the 23rd, US and Europe will be able to smash through orcs and goblins a few days sooner.
Amongst other things the press release let us know that the WAR subscription will remain at the industry standard of $14.99. Only slightly more interesting was the news that pre-orders will receive a few bonus goodies for being sensible and dropping their ten bucks to reserve the game:
- * Open beta admission: Pre-order customers can experience the glory of battle and the thrill of WAR by participating in the open beta test.
- * Head Start program: Players can begin their adventures in the Age of Reckoning before the game's official launch.
- * Bonus in-game items: Players can equip their characters with two bonus in-game items by pre-ordering from select retail partners.
- * Universal Fighting System Battle Deck: The Emperor Karl Franz and Tchar'zanek, dread Champion of Tzeentch, go head-to-head in this exclusive collectible card game from Fantasy Flight Games. (Available in a limited supply from select retailers.)
'Glory of battle, eh?' Well, perhaps it might be so, and EA Mythic's Creative Director Paul Barnett would certainly agree. Over on the Comic-Con website, they've posted an article covering Barnett's secrets to becoming a Creative Director. Hint: there may be a casting couch involved, but it's a spiky virtual one with a hell of a quest reward.
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Essentially you create one account, and that account will be used to collect all your achievement information across all three games. I expect we will see some sort of lobby-based archive where players will connect and review eachother stats, although it could end up something a lot closer to the Armory. Head on over to omgStarcraft to find out all the details.
When Diablo 3 was announced, I for one expected the fans to fairly pee themselves with excitement. Color me surprised therefore when instead of lauding Blizzard's decision to extend the franchise the Diablo fans instead began a petition demanding that the art style be changed. Because, you know, a design team can never take a series in a new direction. Players were just not going to stomach a lighter, brighter Diablo, a Diablo where you might actually be able to see the beautiful environments in the game.
Well, yesterday designated Diablo 3 faceman Jay Wilson sat down with MTV, not only to reject the petition, but to turn the tables on the fan-created screenshots from Diablo 3. Jay looked at the actual screenshots and those doctored by the fans, and explained each set one by one from the perspective of the developers. The entire interview is fascinating, because Jay spends a good deal of time going through the artistic reasons why they chose the style they went with, and why the darker look expected actually would create an uglier game. My favorite conversation during the interview dealt with the controversial rainbows.
My question is, of course, why do we want the same game as we had ten years ago? Can't a world be frightning and we see the monsters coming at us rather than jumping out of the dark? Look at Resident Evil 5, that scares the crap out of me, and I can see every zombie fairly glowing in the sunlight. I honestly think its time that we start reinventing our genres, stretching our expectations and creating something new.
Diablo III
Diablo 3, the phrase brings a thrill to my heart and a lump to my throat. We are still waiting for information about the other playable classes, information about gameplay, information about lore. But while we wait, we can at least oggle the screenshots released last week. Hit the jump for gameplay screens galore. Can you say epic?
Diablo III
Yesterday saw the first installment of an alliance between Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade and the Bethesda team to create a weekly series of Fallout 3 comics. Click on over to read for yourself (going to need to be over 13 to get into the Fallout 3 site) I never expected puppets to be so scary.
This is also a great place to mention that the Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness will be coming to the PS3 this fall. Being able to download epsiodes directly from the PSN will be a great thing, and in many ways I think this game will be more fun on a console.
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
A couple of places are reporting about the changeover of the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days website from a teaser splash page to a full-fledged website. KHInsider even cataloged the characters that cycle through the website when you reload it, and translated all the Japanese text into English. More intriguing is the knowledge that there is a Japanese ad running that says that the game will be released in 2008, and when you add in the website turnover, that's definitely a confirmation that something is coming. So here is another idea on that grand announcement Square Enix promises next week. Will it be Kingdom Hearts they announce or Final Fantasy VII? If it were 358/2 I know many of us would be excited, but I'm not sure that would have attendees screaming in the isles. We'll have to wait until DKΣ3713 to see.
Final Fantasy-Xiii.net has managed to get a bootleg of the FF Versus XIII trailer, and cheesy italian aside, it's shiny. Super shiny. Drool-worthy shiny. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
So last night I logged into my email to find our omgRPG invite to the Wrath of the Lich King beta. The install is about to finish (on my work machine, shhh don't tell the evil overlords) and soon I will step into the world of the future with my trusty screenshots at my side. I think I will start with the Death Knight to begin with, and then afterward hunt down an Inscription trainer for my Warlock. But obviously I'm taking requests. What do you want to know more about beta-wise?
Hot on the heels of yesterday's Final Fantasy IV release for the DS comes a rumor that we may be seeing yet another classic from the series on the PS3: FF VII. PlayStation Lifestyle is reporting an insider rumor that Final Fantasy VII is being revamped and will come exclusively for the PS3. The new version is said to include updated graphics and possibly new content. Looks like we will have to keep our ears open for an announcement at the TGS.
Final Fantasy VII
Today Eurogamer posted an interview with Peter Molyneux, the brain trust behind Dungeon Keeper, Black and White, and most recently Fable 2. Mostly, the conversation seems to be fairly straitforward, topics discussed ranging from Lionhead's relationship with Microsoft, to exactly how finished Fable 2 will be when it ships. Then comes the nugget of goodness that sent me into a tailspin.
In talking about game development within the Fable series, the question arose, "there seems to be a lot of MMO mechanics in Fable 2. Are MMOs something you've been thinking about recently?" Amongst the features in Fable 2 is the ability to step into someone else's world and see how their decisions in the game affected the town they live in, to walk around their house and sit on their couch and eat their virtual munchies. Most of the time developers deflect a question like this and move on, but not Molyneux. With a flourish toward the PR rep standing by, he responded, "Well, there's someone in this room to make sure that I don't say too much about that question. I have been looking at MMOs. I love the interaction, and I'm fascinated by the idea of really feeling secure and cool enough to actually do it."It's a lovely thought, Molyneux's vision connected to a truely interactive experience. Perhaps there will finally be an MMORPG that is completely devoid of traditional morality and allows us to play with the concepts of good and evil while slaughtering our best friends at the same time.
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