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: 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: 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: 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.

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: