This Year in RPGs: December

Okay, so the year isn't quite over with yet, and December is looking like pretty slim pickings as far as RPGs goes. In fact, Eve Online: Retribution is the only RPG release I'm seeing, and that's an expansion to an MMO. Anways, I guess it wins by default.

Eve Online: Retribution (released 12/04/2012)

Pew pew! Spaceships!

EVE Online is a MMORPG, but unlike most MMOs that are fantasy-themed, EVE Online is set in deep space. Another difference that sets EVE apart from its competitors (if it can truly be said to have any) is that all of EVE's players are connected to the same server (or rather, set of servers). In most MMOs, players are placed on distinct servers, but due to the size of areas in EVE, overcrowding isn't really an issue, and so the 60,000+ players all can potentially interact with each other. Neat.

EVE is said to have a steep learning curve, and is known to be a cutthroat game. Players can freely attack one another, leading to player frustration as everything they've worked to achieve is taken from them.
Several players throughout EVE's history have made headlines in the real world from actions taken in game to defraud players. In a world that is becoming increasingly more hand-holding every day, it's nice to see some games still employing a high risk vs reward ratio. It may be frustrating to lose everything you've acquired, but that makes acquiring new things (new ships, the currency of the game ISK, etc) all that more reward-able.

TBH, no idea what's going on here.

I don't know anything about Retribution, but if you're playing EVE, chances are you're picking it up no matter what I say.

This Year in RPGs: November

Persona 4 Golden (released 11/20/2012)

Although a port of a PS2 game, P4G provides a solid RPG experience on the Vita. For a system in dire need of software, Persona 4 Golden is a welcome sight.

One thing I failed to highlight in my last blog post about Persona 4 Golden is the humor present in the series. It's a dialogue heavy series, and some of that dialogue is quite funny. Again, because the game is centered around Japan, (or rather a fictitious Japanese countryside) some of that humor may be lost on us culturally, but most of the time localization efforts manage to convey the joke.

Graphically, Persona 4 Golden is rather pretty to behold. Persona 4 arrived on the PS2 at the end of the cosole's life, and the developer seemed to squeeze every last drop of processing power in making the game. Now on Vita, with a new shiny coat of paint, Persona 4 Golden wouldn't look out of place on the PS3 or Xbox 360.

It seems like just yesterday I was recommending picking up Persona 4 Golden to everyone that has a Vita, so I won't spend too much more time going on about it, but allow me to just reiterate: If you have a Vita and like RPGs, buy it.

This Year in RPGs: October

Pokémon Black 2 & White 2 (released 10/07/2012)

Another game played by millions that I opted to put on the backburner, Pokémon is a juggernaut of a franchise, with Nintendo steadily releasing a pair of handheld titles nearly every year. The naming convention has for years been new colors, first Red and Blue, then Gold and Silver, Ruby and Sapphire, Firered and Leafgreen, Diamond and Pearl, Heartgold and SoulSilver, and then finally last years' Black and White. Now, for the first time, Nintendo is releasing direct sequels to their last games.

Some may signify this as Nintendo running out of ideas, but the formula  for Pokémon has changed so little over the years, and they somehow manage to continue to add new features with every entry. Sure, there are new Pokémon to catch as there is with every release, but there are also new ways to interact with them, trade with other players, and so on.

As far as I understand the plot of Pokémon, B2 and W2 are much the same. You travel to different gyms in the region to defeat trainers in order to earn badges which let you travel to other areas to challenge more difficult Pokémon. At any point on the world map you can get into a random encounter with a wild Pokémon where you can try and trap it in order to add it to your roster.

Combat remains largely unchanged throughout the series, featuring a turn-based system where one player selects what attack they want their Pokémon to use, then the other Pokémon or trainer executes a command before it once again becomes the players' turn. With many other series moving into real-time combat and away from traditional turn-based combat systems, it's that some series have things you can always depend upon, like Pokémon to have turn-based battles.

If you're a fan of Pokémon you've already likely snatched up both these titles. If you're not, I'm not positive Black 2 and White 2 will convert you, but they're just as likely as any of the other entries in the franchise.

This Year in RPGs: September

Borderlands 2 (released 9/18/2012)

Bet you thought I was going to say Torchlight II, didn't you? While it is true that I love T2, Borderlands 2 sold heaps more copies, so I'm setting aside my personal taste to objectively recommend the title that the masses say is more good. Or is it gooderer? Anyways, Borderlands 2 is the successful follow-up to the co-op first person shooter packed full of RPG mechanics and pop culture references. Developer Gearbox calls it a role-playing shooter. I prefer to name the genre first-person looter, personally.

 I started the first one around five times, but always petered out a few hour in. It's not that I didn't like the game or didn't think that it was well done, but for whatever reason I would set it aside and find something else to play. So I haven't exactly gotten around to playing Borderlands 2, but here's what I know about it.

More Classes

In the original Borderlands you had 4 classes to choose from, in Borderlands 2, you have 5. Having not played the new classes I really can't comment on them, but since classes felt distinct and unique in the first title, I have no reason to suspect that they won't be well defined in the sequel.

More Guns

One of the thrills of RPGs is receiving a new item that is incrementally more powerful than the old version. Gearbox cranks this up to the max level (is it 11? I'm not sure) and adds so many weapons, some people have made the argument that Borderlands 2 is less of a game and more of a number comparison simulator. This is, of course, one of the many factors that make games like this addicting. "Sweet! I got a kick-ass new gun!" Followed five minutes later by "Holy shit! This gun blows that last gun out of the water!"

More Variety

One of the complaints about the first Borderlands was that most of the quests were just the standard "go here and kill x of this blank" fetch quest that dominates RPGs. Once again, I haven't played it yet, but from what I've read the quests have more variety to them than the previous title.

While you can play the game single player, Borderlands is one of those games where it is better played with other people. If you can, pick yourself up a copy. Better yet, pick yourself up two and give one to a friend. It is almost Christmas, after all.

This Year in RPGs: August

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (released 8/24/2012)

Although it was released on consoles last year, Dark Souls didn't find its way to PCs until August of this year. Fans had petititoned the publisher Namco-Bandai to release it on the PC, and after receiving over 40,000 signatures, the publisher relented.

But it wasn't all sunshine after the PC's release. Some fans criticized frame rate and sound issues which pointed to the port being a lazy job. Some of those issues have since been cleared up with patches.

The game itself is notoriously difficult, as is its predecessor, Demons's Souls, a PS3 exclusive. Dark Souls is a 3D hack 'n slash RPG with real-time graphics, nice visuals, an interesting story and unforgiving gameplay. You will die, and you will die a lot, hence the subtitle of the game. But that's okay because dying itself plays into the mechanics of the game. It's hard to explain, so get in there, die, and see for yourself!

From Software is the developer of Dark Souls, the same company that did 3D Dot Game Heroes, a delightful and nostalgic romp through an homage to the original Legend of Zelda. If a petition was successful to port Dark Souls to PC, maybe they'll listen to a petition about a sequel to 3D Dot Game Heroes? Anyone? Is this thing on?

This Year in RPGs: July

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (released 7/31/2012)

Without a doubt June belonged to the newest entry of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, Dream Drop Distance, now available on 3DS. The Kingdom Hearts franchise started on the PS2 in 2002. At the time it was released people were wary of whether or not it would succeed. After all, the mashing together of Final Fantasy characters with Disney characters seemed too generous a helping of fan-service to have any lasting success. Well, here we are ten years later and Kingdom Hearts is now one of the most well-loved ARPGs, critically acclaimed by gamers and critics alike.

Kingdom Hearts (usually) tells the story of Sora, (the PSP entry Birth By Sleep was a prequel which featured different protagonists) a young boy from the Destiny Islands and his friends, Kairi and Riku. In the world of Kingdom Hearts, Mickey Mouse is king. Literally. The first entry had Sora pairing up with Donald and Goofy, who picked up the roles of wizard and knight, respectively. The player traverses to a number of Disney worlds (and some original works, too) where they can close the keyhole with the keyblade that only Sora can wield.

The plot gets a whole heck of a lot more convoluted there, but suffice it to say that at its heart it's still a moving story about friendship, capable of being emotionally engaging and completely nonsensical at the same time.

There have been several titles released on handhelds since the first title, including Chain of Memories, Birth By Sleep, and 358/2 Days, but the series hasn't seen a console follow-up since 2005's Kingdom Hearts II. Which means fans have been asking for a release this entire console generation. Series creator and director Tetsuya Nomura has said that his team is too busy with Final Fantasy vs XIII to work on a direct sequel to Kingdom Hearts II, but he has confirmed that Dream Drop Distance would be the last handheld Kingdom Hearts before the next console release.

Dream Drop Distance is only available on the 3DS. If you have one of those you should probably pick this up. It is, by all accounts, every bit worthy of the Kingdom Hearts mantle.

New Releases 12/04/2012

We now interrupt our current "This Year in RPGs" feature to return to you to your weekly scheduled new release announcements.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Dragonborn (XBLA)

The third DLC for Skyrim is available today on Xbox 360 for 1600 Microsoft points, which equates to $20 American. This DLC is substantial, definitely more than the previous meager offering of Hearthfire, and even more substantial than the previous $20 DLC, Dawnguard.

One early review stated that the reviewer had played for 30 hours and still hadn't exhausted the new content provided by the DLC yet. At this point it may be more fair to call the DLC an expansion pack, but the line remains murky and ultimately arbitrary.

The important thing you need to know about Dragonborn is that you can now ride dragons. If that has been something you have longed for while you're playing Skyrim, you will probably want to pick this up without hesitation. In case you need more convincing, Dragonborn takes place in Solstheim, an island north of Skyrim. The change in terrain allows for more varied environments than we've seen so far, which also nets us a variety of new and different enemies to fight. This is music to an adventurer's ears that's been cutting down the same draugr for 100 hours. Besides new locations and new enemies, there are also new shouts, and new equipment (maybe, spears? Looks like it).

Dragonborn is out exclusively for Xbox 360 today PC and PS3 versions expected out in a month. I wish it was now so I could play it over winter break, but oh well. So many games, not enough time.

This Year in RPGs: June

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 3 (released 6/25/2012)

The game that almost wasn't. Penny Arcade is a well-known web comic that satirizes gaming culture as much as it embraces it. Characters Tycho and Gabe are aliases for their creators' Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Their first two outings making a game based on their work went well, creating Penny Arcade: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness 1 and 2 with Hothead Games, but they ultimately decided not to move forward with the third and final planned game of the series. The art style was deemed prohibitively expensive and both found themselves stretched thin as they tried to manage a successful web comic, expos in Washington and on the east coast, and charity events on behalf of Child's Play all while working on a game.

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 1

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 2

Enter Zeboyd Games (Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, Cthulu Saves the World). Despite insisting for some time that there would be no third game, Jerry and Mike relented once they were approached by Zeboyd. Unlike the highly polished cartoon-like graphics evocative of Gabe's work from the Penny Arcade comic strip that was featured in the previous two titles, the characters are rendered as 16 bit sprites. Something, some would say, is a welcome addition to a series that was already celebrating the turn-based RPGs of yesteryear.

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3

But what we get here is more than a throwback to Final Fantasy. It's a well-executed 2D turn-based roleplaying game, something that has almost gone the way of the dinosaur. Its script also features humorous wit, which is a rarity in RPGs if not gaming in general. If nothing else, PA:OTRSPoD proves that old concepts can still be entertaining, all it takes is the right kind of writing.

This Year in RPGs: May

Diablo III (released 5/15/2012)

Diablo III is the follow-up to the extremely successful Diablo II. A decade after release and people are still playing the second entry in the Diablo franchise.

There was quite a bit of pressure on the team developing Diablo III; it had to be a follow-up worthy of the franchise but at the same time the team desired to innovate the ARPG genre. This led to them foregoing conventional skill trees. The real money Auction House also generated some controversy once it went live, a week or so after the servers first came up. In order to stop certain people from spamming actions such as clicking pots to receive items and gold, the stat Magic Find's impact was reduced. To myself and many of the people following Diablo III, this seemed like adjusting gameplay elements in order to obtain more money from the auction house.

But besides that, the actual game of Diablo III was met with some controversy. Critics called the villains cliché, and criticized some of the plot choices. So why am I still recommending that it be played?

Because at its heart Diablo III is an addictive, compulsive, fun game. It's still a worthy entry in the genre of ARPGs. Besides many other titles on this list whose devs have already packed up and moved on once their titles shipped, Blizzard continues to work on Diablo III. Supposedly since I played it last it has continued to improve, and because Blizzard is committed to quality (and making money *cough*) they will continue to develop the title, ironing out bugs and eventually adding more content.

Lots of people complained that Diablo III was not as complex as its predecessor. Well, a lot of those people forget that Diablo II didn't hit its stride until it received its first expansion, Lord of Destruction, which introduced the rune system, among other things like new classes. So, too, in time will Diablo III grow to be an even better game. It may have its kinks, but the future of D3 is looking pretty good.

This Year in RPGs: April

Xenoblade Chronicles (released 4/06/2012)

Xenoblade Chronicles is an exclusive JRPG made for the Wii by Monolith Soft. It almost wasn't released here. It wasn't until a mob of internet denizens started  petitioning Nintendo for its release (called Operation Rainfall) that Nintendo finally agreed. At that point it had already been released in Japan and Europe. Operation Rainfall was part of a three-pronged petition that sought for games that weren't being released here in America to be localized. To add insult to injury, the games were already translated into English and released in Europe, but Nintendo didn't think they would be profitable here. Along with Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story and Pandora's Tower were the other titles RPG fans were clamoring for. Of the three, both Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story eventually found their way west.

Xenoblade Chronicles tells the story of Shulk, a young man who wields the titular Xenoblade, a blade comprised of energy. Along with his friends, he must defend his home of Colony 9 from the attacking Mechon, the robotic beings that serve as the games' antagonists. Xenoblade is in essence the spiritual successor to the Xenosaga, which was started on PS1 with Xenogears and carried over to the PS2 with the three Xenosaga games.

The environments are expansive and breathtaking. They are more open-ended than most games on the Wii, which allows for greater player freedom in exploring. One of the developers of the game compared it to an MMO, which gives you greater freedom than most games from the beginning.

Xenoblade Chronicles was released at a time when Wii sales were drying up and 1st party support had all but vanished. If it is to be the consoles swan song, it couldn't ask for a nicer title to go out on. At least for me, it made my Wii worth turning on one last time.

This Year in RPGs: March

Mass Effect 3 (released 3/06/2012)

Mass Effect 3 concluded Commander Shepard's tale of saving the universe from the Reapers, an ancient intergalactic species bent on destroying all of civilization. Many fans loved the first two games, but the ending of Mass Effect 3 was met with heavy criticism, which led to BioWare releasing Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut, which expanded on the three different versions of the original ending.

Despite criticisms levied at the title, Mass Effect 3 was a success and continues to be played today, thanks to a steady stream of DLC and the multiplayer mode. Multiplayer was a new addition to the Mass Effect series, and it was one that added longevity to the title.

Although it had its flaws I still enjoyed my time with Mass Effect 3 this year. It was interesting to see the conclusion of the Krogan's reproduction storyline, as well as the plot revolving around the synthetic Geth and the Quarians. To dive into the specifics of either plot points here would be to do them a disservice, but they both have interesting things to say about the role of genetics in reproduction and the question of when an artificial intelligence has sentience. Most game writing has a long way to go before any of it could be said to rival works in the literary canon, but Mass Effect has explored some very serious themes across its three titles.

Since I'm talking about ME3 again, I want to make a correction about something I have previously said that was incorrect. I wrote about Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U last month. I mistakenly said it was the Leviathan DLC that wouldn't be coming to the Wii U. I was mistaken. It's the Omega DLC that won't find its way to the console. At least for now.

This Year in RPGs: February

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (released February 7th, 2012)

One of the more sad stories from the year is Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Not sad because the title was bad by any means, but sad because developer 38 Studios went out of business after making it.

At its worst KoA was a bit derivative of an Elder Scrolls title, but at its best it succeeded where those titles failed. It had interesting lore going for it (penned by renowned fantasy author R. A. Salvatore), aesthetically pleasing art style and combat that was, dare I say it?, more fun than Skyrim.

So what happened?

Making games is an expensive business. Or rather, it can be for those titles at the top. Games dubbed AAA titles because they have the highest budgets and the largest developers behind them. 38 Studios wanted to swim with the big boys, and so they sunk a large amount of money into development so that they could be competitive against the current industry leaders. For a new developer with no established IPs or franchises to fall back on, everything was riding on the success of the first KoA. The title, while not a commercial flop per se, did fail to meet sales expectations. 38 Studios had taken out a number of loans to finance the game's development, including loans from the state of Rhode Island where they were based, and when they were unable to pay back those loans, had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

Which is unfortunate because KoA was so promising. It had an interesting world and solid mechanics behind most of its concepts. It just didn't set the gaming world on fire. Maybe the gaming population (whom I pretentiously dubbed "interactive entertainment enthusiasts" yesterday) was still wrapped up Skyrim. Or they just weren't ready to tackle another massive open world with a slew of quests again quite yet. Also disappointing because the developer had expressed interest in creating a MMO as a follow-up to KoA. That project will probably now never see the light of day. Such is life in this industry. (True Fantasy Live Online ~ Never Forget).

Anyways, back to the game.

Worth playing because a bunch of people poured their hearts and souls into, then promptly lost their jobs. Worth playing because if you're a fan of RPGs, there aren't a whole lot of original series being created anymore, and who knows how long until we get another fresh IP? Worth playing if you're a fan of the idea of an Elder Scrolls game, but you can't stand Bethesda's buggy coding. And worth playing because you might as well help the state of Rhode Island earn back some of that $75 million.

This Year in RPGs: January

It's that time of year again, loyal reader. The time of year where every blog that's worth their salt compiles some sort of list comprised of the top blank of blank. I'm sure I'll miss some worthy entries as I count through the year's top RPGs as these kinds of list always do, but don't let that stop you from enjoying these top 12 RPG titles that made the cut (worthy of playing) this year.

Final Fantasy XIII - 2 (released January 31st, 2012)

January saw Square-Enix release a follow up to the 13th entry of their flagship franchise. Although Final Fantasy XIII performed fairly well and eventually sold many millions of copies, critics and fanboys alike derided the linear nature of the game, the underwhelming diversity of enemies and quests, and the likability of some of the characters (I'm looking at you, Hope). Others complained that the world lacked towns where adventurers could interact with NPCs, something some consider a crucial component of RPGs, and something rather vocally detested by the fanbase.

Square-Enix took all of those complaints into consideration when making FFXIII - 2. This isn't the cash grab follow up that FFX - 2 was to FFX, trying to milk a dollar by reusing assets; this is S-E trying to make up to their fans. Surprisingly they do a number of things right this time. Maybe someone at the top is listening.

A New Story

Some people said that FFXIII's story was convoluted. Others said it simply wasn't very good. Some people liked it. I say to each their own, but I did feel as if its story was presented a bit too much through cinematics. Square has made fantastic cinemas for some time now, but there's a point every game reaches where it's taking control away from the player a bit too much to the detriment of their immersion. Anyways, in FFXIII-2 you play as Serah, sister of Lightning (the protagonist of FFXIII), along with newcomer named Noel as they search for Lightning.

The combat system from FFXIII returns, which should make some people happy, but I thought it was one of the most uninteresting components to FFXIII.

Open Ended 

FFXIII - 2 (That's Final Fantasy Thirteen Two for those of you who may be perplexed by S-E's numbering system at this point. Personally I think it's a mouthful) features multiple endings like Chrono Trigger.

DLC

For the first time Square-Enix has DLC for a Final Fantasy that's substantial. Some of it is nostalgic, others fan service, but it's nice to see them getting with the program. FFXIII didn't have any DLC to speak of even though there was some request for it from the fans. Once again it seems S-E has taken their feedback into consideration.

Gotta Catch 'Em All

FFXIII - 2 features a monster capturing system that can be addicting for players that like that sort of thing. Basically you can capture any monster and have it in your party and use it to attack your enemies. At least that's my understanding of the situation.

You Bastards

One piece of news I keep meaning to report on from earlier in the month is the fact that Obsidian Entertainment's South Park RPG game, South Park: The Stick of Truth, has been delayed.

In SP: TSoT you can pick from various classes, like Fighter,  Mage, Thief, Cleric, and Jew...not making that last one up.

Originally it was supposed to release in March of next year, but it has since been delayed to the fiscal year of 2014, meaning sometimes between April 2013 and March 2014. It might be an entire year before we can play as the "new kid" (whom everybody refers to as "douchebag").

Having everybody call you douchebag solves the age-old (well, maybe not so old) question of what to do with voice-acting in an RPG where you can name your character. See FFX for what not to do.

I admit, I was a bit down when I first heard the news, as it was one of the titles I am most looking forward to, but Obsidian is notorious for being rushed by developers that hire them for work, ultimately releasing titles which, while critically acclaimed, are riddled with bugs. Fallout: New Vegas was one such title. Developer Bethesda has contracted them to develop FO:NV with the stipulation that if the title received an 85 or better on metacritic they would receive a bonus. It received an 84. If it takes a whole year to polish SP:TSoT up to an acceptable level of industry standards, well, I'm okay with that.

The South Park game is unique in that it was Trey (Parker) and Matt (Stone) who went to Obsidian and asked them to make the game. They are said to be intimately involved in the writing process and making sure the game accurately emulates the show as much as possible. After conquering Broadway with their Book of Mormon: The Musical, Trey and Matt have proved that no medium is too difficult for them to tackle. The art style of the game resembles the show, and the combat looks to be turn-based with timed attacks like the Paper Mario series. Also present is Trey and Matt's trademark humor, which should help fill the void of games with humorous writing until Portal 3 or Psychonauts 2 is released (Get cracking on those scripts, Wolpaw!), assuming either of those games ever see the light of day.

And Going And Going...

Once More into the Fray

The original EverQuest received a new expansion today. Before World of Warcraft came along and made the genre of MMOs accessible for everybody else, EverQuest was the flagship title of the genre and remained solely in the dominion of nerds with too much time on their hands. Original EQ was notoriously difficult; it became almost impossible to level up or accomplish anything really without the help of a group. Forcing players to group together to overcome obstacles created a community that is somehow still going to this day nearly 15 years later.

Later MMOs including WoW would all crib heavily from EQ's example. Jargon like LFG (looking for group), aggro (becoming the target of a monster's aggression), and concepts like tanking (one party member designated to hold the focus of a monster's aggression) all originated here. One of my favorite MMOs, Final Fantasy XI, was inspired by EQ when the president of Square-Enix (Squaresoft at the time) saw EQ being played.

I tried playing the original EQ last year sometime, on a private server named Project1999, which is a time progression server, meaning they play the game as it was originally released and add content to it over time, as opposed to a the official servers hosted by Sony (more specifically, Sony Online Entertainment, or SOE for short) where they include all of the content that has been added since the game was released. I rolled a wizard (terminology that is a throwback to rolling dice to create your character as in D&D), but I couldn't figure out how to cast spells. Despite my background in FFXI I couldn't figure out what I was doing at all. I was whacking a snake with my staff (no innuendo intended; I realize that sounds somewhat dirty), when a guy came up and said "REALLY?" and killed the snake in one hit. I logged out and never logged back in.

EQ had subscription fees up until earlier this year, but you can try it for free now. I'm sure there are benefits to paying a subscription fee, but I'm not sure what they are. Rain of Fear is the 19th EverQuest expansion, and raises the level cap to 100, among with a bunch of other new features. The standard edition retails for $39.99 and the collector's edition retails for $89.99, which features a slew of bonus items over the other version. I don't know enough about them either way to recommend either, but chances are if you're still playing EverQuest at this point you're going to pick this up regardless of what I have to say about it.

New Releases 11/27

Baldur's Gate: Enchanced Edition

Baldur's Gate is one of the most beloved RPG franchises of all time. Developed by BioWare and released in 1998 (goodness, what a great year for video games! The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Fallout 2, Xenogears and Resident Evil 2 were all released that year, just to name a few) it quickly became the de facto setup for most western RPGs. BG was the first game to use BioWare's Infinity Engine, an engine which they would go on to use for many of their other games, including Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment.

Taking place in the Forgotten Realms (a fantasy setting created by Ed Greenwood which has gone on to spawn countless numbers of books) and using the 2nd edition rules from the pen and paper roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons, Baldur's Gate was released to critical acclaim as it whetted the appetite of what many RPG players sought in games. Now, 14 years later, the game is being released with revitalized graphics and touch controls for iOS devices like the iPad, as well as Android tablets and PC.

The Enhanced Edition is not being handled by BioWare (RIP), but instead by Overhaul Games, a company whose moniker hopefully doesn't hold true for BG, as it would benefit from some slight improvements, but needs no drastic revisions. Some of the added features sound nice, such as cross-platform multiplayer and matchmaking, but some fans are wary that the changes Overhaul has made are too much. One such change is the level cap being increased, supposedly to make the game easier, but as I said not everyone is content with such changes. For those people, I recommend playing the original version. For everyone else, newcomers and series veterans alike, there's Enhanced Edition.

Have you ever wanted to be a bow wielding elf? Pocket picking hobbit (called halflings in D&D settings so Tolkien doesn't sue)?  Spell-casting wizard? You can in Baldur's Gate. I originally played it on the PS2, and from what I gather it was a pretty different version from the original PC title, so I look forward to checking out BG: EE.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is available to pre-load for PC right now for $19.99 (I think it becomes available tonight at midnight), with iPad and Mac OS X listed as being released in November, and Android simply stating TBA.

Here's the teaser trailer:

New Releases 11/20

Persona 4 Golden was released this week (now last week, damn procrastination) on the PS Vita by Atlus. The Persona series has historically been hailed as a high point for JRPGs and this edition of Persona 4 is no exception. The game currently holds a 95/100 on Metacritic and its release resulted in a large surge of Vitas being sold in Japan, as well as a nice bump in units sold here.

No witticisms today.

The Shin Megami Tensei series (which includes the Persona games) has been around for years, but its popularity was predominately in Japan. Although Persona 2 Eternal Punishment was released here on the PS1, (the only game I've played in the series, which I'm sad to say I have not finished as I acquired a PS2 around the time I was playing it, leaving it on the back burner until I finished Kingdom Hearts, and then whatever I played after that, and whatever came after that...suffice it to say I never made it back ), but it wasn't until the PS2 game Persona 3 that the franchise experienced critical acclaim from the west. The sequel to Persona 3 was Persona 4 (notice a trend here?) and was also released on the PS2. Persona 4 Golden is an updated version of that game for the PS Vita, but just because it's an old game doesn't mean it's not worth picking up, especially if you own a Vita.

None here either.

The SMT series is unique in that instead of taking place on some distant fantasy world, it takes place in Japan, more specifically in Japanese schools. This results in a large number of cultural references which no doubt fly over most of the western worlds' collective heads, but that's okay because ultimately it doesn't matter. The game is good enough that the things that get lost in translation aren't all that important. The gameplay is compelling enough to keep going (must...gain...one...more...level).

Samesies.

Persona 4 Golden is available exclusively on the PS Vita and retails for $49.99, but like I said, it's a port of a PS2 game, so you could always play that if you're hankering for some Persona.

New Releases 11/18

Today the Wii U was released into the wild, bringing with it at least one RPG I know of, in the form of Mass Effect 3: Special Edition.

I think it's fair to say that Mass Effect 3 streamlined the Mass Effect experience, getting rid of the hacking minigames as well as the optional exploration that was present in the earlier games in the series, including the vehicle driven segments with the Mako. The story has a more linear feel than either of the first two games (a given since it's meant to serve as the conclusion to a trilogy). Combat can be reduced to be simple, and players can choose between three different modes which emphasizes different levels of play. You could play the whole game without ever having to make a choice, letting the computer do it for, an option some fans said defied logic as to why some people played Mass Effect in the first place, but I digress.

Personally, I didn't feel that it was as good as either of the first two games, but it's not without its own shining moments of well-executed game design. The Wii U seems to do the game justice according to early reviews, at least as far as visuals go in terms of lighting and shadows (though one critic does note there is considerable loading times), but differences from other versions don't end there.

The Wii U version purports to enhance the experience by offering touch-based control via the new system's gamepad. Critics seem to be finding the new controls serviceable if not a noticeable improvement with the ability to set hotkeys such as party members various abilities on the touch screen of the gamepad.

Mass Effect 3: Special Edition includes a digital graphic novel that summarizes the scenarios Commander Shepard made in Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. By making choices in the graphic novel you can import choices that affect the story of Mass Effect 3. If you don't know, Mass Effect tells the story of Commander Shepard (who can be either a male or a female) and his/her ragtag alien crew that save the universe from being destroyed by the Reapers, an ancient intergalactic entity that has orchestrated most of the technology humans and other races in the universe use in order to allow their return. Players make choices in the form of a dialogue wheel (and occasionally benevolent or malevolent actions) which earn them Paragon or Renegade points. The more of a certain kind of points the player has accumulated, the more unique dialogue and actions they are able to take. If a player has a high amount of Paragon points, they can often solve things by diplomacy, whereas if a player has a high amount of Renegade points, they can often intimidate others into going along with their suggestions. On the PC and Xbox 360, players were able to import their save files so the choices they made in one game carried over to the next. When Mass Effect 2 was released on the PS2, players who were unfamiliar with the story were given a graphic novel that filled the player in on the back story so that their choices could influence Mass Effect 2 as if they had a save file from the previous game. The version included here is an expanded version of that first interactive graphic novel.

Multiplayer was introduced into Mass Effect 3 which lets player choose from different races with different specialized classes, and join up with other players online in order to shoot enemies. I played it a little bit back in March when Mass Effect 3 first came out, but it didn't quite grab me enough to continue playing it long term. They may have made a number of improvements to the mode since then, I don't know, but at any rate it's included with the title.

Mass Effect 3: Special Edition features all of the currently released DLC, including From Ashes, the Extended Cut, the Rebellion, Resurgence, and Earth multiplayer packs, but developer BioWare has stated that it will not receive the upcoming Leviathan content out on November 27th. Hopefully that doesn't portend things for the future of the Wii U when it comes to DLC. When asked about the future of DLC for the system, one developer responded with "Never say never."  Mass Effect 3: Special Edition retails for $59.99 on the Wii U.

Kid Thinks It's Time to Talk About the Bastion

Last year Supergiant Games released the ARPG Bastion to critical acclaim. This week it found its way to iOS for various iPhones and iPads and maybe even the iPod Touch; I assume any device at this point with and i in it can play Bastion. You can see a full list of compatible devices here.

The lush environments are all hand-drawn, which gives Bastion a unique feel.

Bastion is the story of the Kid, but the most prevalent voice in Bastion is that of the narrator, Rucks, whom supervises the Kid's every mood and narrates what he is doing in a manner most unusual as far as most games are concerned. You learn about the Kid's backstory later through a device that lets you fight your inner demons, so to speak.


The art style in Bastion is both striking and vibrant in color. The characters are well-defined and the animation is fluid. The cutscenes are minimal and typically only portray a comic-esque scene with panning to provide the illusion of movement. I have no problems with the minimalist storytelling; games don't have to be full of flashy CGis to win my seal of approval. My only complaint with the engine is how slow the Kid's walking speed is. This can be circumvented to an extent by rolling around every where you want to go, but it's not a perfect solution, as you can end up rolling off the edge of the map by accident.

Bastion features a variety of weapons that can be upgraded, from a hammer to a trusty carbine and a slew of weapons in between. Bastion is a ARPG which means the combat takes place in real time, or in other words as quick as the player can press the button. The game lets you set two different weapons at once and players are best served by setting a close range and a long range weapon, such as a hammer and gun.

The enemies have interesting lore and unique attacks that set them apart from the common fodder in other games.

The Kid must search for crystals, and later shards of crystals, in order to restore the Bastion to its full potential. The Bastion is the last place of civilization after the Calamity in Caelondia, which destroyed the cities of the Ur and gave rise to the various monsters you have to face in Bastion.

The soundtrack in Bastion is of the highest quality; I can't think of a soundtrack in recent years that I would rate more highly than the work of Bastion. (Yes, even counting Matt Ueleman's fantastic work on Torchlight II). In fact, lets listen to some right now.

Bastion is replayable exactly twice. I don't mean you can only play it twice, but rather you will want to play it twice as it has two different endings and you probably want to see both of them... that is if you are won over by the characters and the story to want to see what happens to them in either situation.

Bastion is available on  the PC for $14.99, Xbox 360 for 600 Microsoft points, iOS devices for $4.99, and Macs for $6.99. You can also play it for free in the Chrome browser here, (must be in Chrome browser to work) so there's really no reason why you shouldn't play it if you haven't already.

Red Vs Blue

Dungeons & Dragons & Brunch

The Beast Sleeps...

Last Sunday my sister and I continued our regularly scheduled game of Dungeons & Dragons. We have now left the dungeon where Tusenmaug the Blue Dragon wiped out the three former adventurers known as Lanin, Carn, and Regdar in a scenario that I retconned to wrap up the story. (If you recall, I had the dragon fly off to fight them another day, leaving a critically wounded Carn bleeding on the floor of his layer, and a near-dead Lanin and Regdar. Apparently, shortly after we stopped playing he returned and decimated everyone with his lightning breath. So it goes).

The Beast Wakes.

Once I got the new red box of Dungeons and Dragons I was excited to try it, and so were my players. Randi  whom had previously played Carn the Rogue, wanted to make a new character that was capable of healing, so she chose cleric for her class, since she perceived a need for the party to be able to heal themselves that wasn't  present before. She named her Tasee. My sister, Amanda, also wanted to create a new character so she chose to create a Rogue. Her husband at first wanted to keep his previous character but after seeing how beefed up Amanda and Randi were under the newest rules he, too, chose to reroll his character, though he kept the name Regdar.

The Adventurers Engage.

Since I had played both the basic set from 2006 (that I dubbed "the blue box" since it has a big blue dragon on the cover) and the new red box from 2010 (that seeks to replicate a box with the same exact art by Larry Elmore from 1983) , I thought it was time to write up a few of my comparisons between the two sets.

But the Beast is Not Phased.

First, I wanted to cover the character creation process, which I think is better in the new red box, although it still has some kinks that could be worked out. In the blue box, you create a character much the same way that you have for three decades in D & D; you pick a class and race and roll up some stats after reading some dry information in one of the many volumes of rules. In the newest attempt at streamlining the character creation process, Wizards of the Coast designed a stand alone scenario that lets players make choices which define their character in an adventure that's reminiscent of a Choose Your Own Adventure book. I was really engrossed with it at first, but after running it three times I was a little tired of it, even though my players all selected new classes the amount of choices available didn't provide enough versatility to make playing through it feasible more than a few times. Ultimately every choice shoehorns your players into the goblin caves where they will either get slaughtered or emerge victorious. Either way, the story continues with the text suggesting that they recruit some additional adventurers to help clear the caves of the creatures. It's an interesting take on something that hasn't really altered much over the years. I think if there were more branches of the story it would be even more interesting but for a basic entrance to the game it serves its purpose.

"Watch out! He's going to do something!"

The meat of the red box lays in the adventure where the party joins together to investigate the caves, searching for a stolen box and in pursuit of a mysterious rider. Another benefit of the red box over the blue box is the chances for roleplaying that are available with the first dragon encounter in the game. In the blue box, the players are assumed to want to vanquish Tusenmaug as he serves as the "boss" of the basic set. In the red box, a number of options are outlined for players who want to try diplomacy or bluffing the white dragon. In addition to those choices, they can agree to help the dragon by eliminating the goblins in the cave and bringing the stolen box back to the dragon instead of the merchant who originally hired them (which is the route my players chose). Since Tusenmaug pretty much brought my last game to a close by kicking my players' asses, I much prefer the new dragon who at least allows the players another option besides mortal combat. Yes, of course, you could always design your own scenarios in the blue box that allow for such possibilities, but the whole purpose of a basic/starter set is the pick-up-and-play ability of it. I used to design all of my own adventures, but I just don't have the time and dedication to do it like I used to. Also, I enjoy playing other peoples' stories.

The Beast Uses Kick...

One thing I like the blue box better (because this is no doubt seeming one-sided at the present moment) is the use of miniature figures to represent the players and the monsters. They are pre-painted plastic miniatures, so they are quite cheap, but they are leagues better than the cardboard tokens that shipped with the red box. I think it's a shame WotC retired their miniatures line. It was fun to buy them and get a random assortment of monsters and heroes.

I also don't like how the map in the red box is a) folded paper b)a reprint of something they had already created (the monster lair / crossroads map was included in the basic miniatures game set). The map in the blue box is made out of sturdy cardstock. My only complaint with it was that I don't have more of the nice 4 x 4 squares that came in the blue box. Tiles are okay (available separately from either set as a stand-alone product) but many of them are small and easily usable, or won't quite suit what you are trying to build. Plus, you have to build them instead of the ease of a map or the cardstock.

...It's Super Effective!

Another thing I like about the red box is the use of power cards which list what different abilities do. This allows you to have players pick new powers when they level up relatively easily instead of having to have them thumb through the Players' Handbook. I wish they were a little more sturdy when it came to their construction (like made out of the same material as the actual power cards you can buy in stores) but I understand why WotC skimped out. They wanted a product that wasn't too expensive that allowed players to jump into a game with minimal hassle. And I think the red box pulls that off. Does it live up to the 1983 version of D & D by the same name? Apparently not, if the critics are to be believed, but that doesn't mean it's not worth checking out.

I picked it up for $14 or so from Amazon, and I think I'll have gotten my money out of it once the time comes to set it aside in favor of D&D 5.0 or Pathfinder or whatever my group ends up playing next.

Once again I neglected to take pictures of the actual game. I hope you enjoyed these pictures of my cat, Grumpy, who remains un-vanquished to this day.