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Do you play a lot of RPG-games? Then you might have a bright future in the world of internet poker as well. Learn poker rules and use your ability of getting into character when you bluff your opponents.
Going Crazy for Cyclopean Interview - posted by Jason
on Mon 08 February 2010, 17:40:43 More info on Cyclopean - More info on Iron Tower Iron Tower's Scott had a little chat with Critical Gamer about the upcoming Cyclopean.
CG: Will we see systems like insanity coming into play, where coming into contact with otherwordly creatures can have traumatic psychological effects on our characters?
Scott: Absolutely. The Sanity stat is critical to gameplay because of the subject matter. It is also unusual in that it must be carefully maintained. There aren’t any blue potions or post-combat regeneration in this game. A small amount of Sanity can be recovered through sleep. Other methods to recover lost Sanity involve drugs, which have side effects and are sometimes addictive, and staying at the Asylum, which is expensive.
There is another –and I think wholly original– system indirectly related to Sanity. Exposure to Mythos creatures and events earns (curses?) the player Mythos points. Mythos points have one effect, which is that once they exceed maximum Sanity, the player becomes Corrupted and is able to see through the tenuous tissue separating the world of men from other dimensions overlapping our own. While this means that more and different things are revealed to the player, it also can be very taxing on one’s sanity. However, a player who pledges his services to the Great Old Ones can avoid some of the harsher penalties of insanity while still being Corrupted. Mythos points cannot be reduced and Corruption is irreversible.
Thanks to Jockie for the infoThere are 14 comments on this article.
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Everyone is aware that to be successful in RPG games, you need a strategy and execute it to perfection. The same thing applies for online poker games, especially in texas hold'em. There are also some reckless players in RPG games that just ruin the fun for everyone. I would believe they can do well in an online casino by trying out their luck.
RPGWatch Game of the Year 2009 Site news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Mon 08 February 2010, 11:08:06 RPGWatch polling is finished. These are the results:
1. Dragon Age
An age in the making, BioWare finally returns to their roots with a classic fantasy cRPG. It may not quite live up to the heritage of Baldur's Gate but it's clear Dragon Age represents a genuine attempt to recreate the atmosphere, tactical, party-based battles and grand adventure that originally made them famous – all within a modern framework. The character writing is some of the best in years, with humorous party banter and great voice acting to bring it to life. The overall structure is linear but there are some memorable set pieces and key decisions to make, that impact the gameworld. Some of the underlying mechanics are hit and miss – the character development is too linear but the streamlined buff system really works and the (albeit limited) spell combos are fun.
2. Risen
Gothic fans have endured a difficult ride over the past few years. Gothic 3 was ambitious – even innovative – but lost sight of some of the core values that fans held dear, not to mention the rampant technical issues. Then Piranha Bytes split with long time publisher JoWood and even lost control of some of the Gothic IP. Would Risen re-capture the old spirit? The answer is “yes”, although perhaps just a little of the magic has been lost in repetition. Risen sets out unapologetically to clone Gothic in a new setting, taking few risks but delivering tried-and-true gameplay that isn't found elsewhere.
3. KotC
This vote proves that substance can win over style – and deservedly so. Knights of the Chalice basically does one thing only but it does it really well: it provides the best turn-based, tactical D&D-ish experience since Dark Sun. Sure, 320x200 is a crazy resolution in this age of massive flat panel displays and many gamers are going to dismiss the game out of hand after one peek at a screenshot but the mechanics are true and the AI is a joy, making for some good ol' fashioned adventuring.
Yes KotC came in third in the same category as the AAA titles, outperforming titles as Drakensang or Kings Bounty: Armored Princess.
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Elzair takes a look at Dragon Age: Origins Review - posted by DarkUnderlord
on Mon 08 February 2010, 04:08:45 More info on Dragon Age In the proud Codex tradition of reviewing games several times, Elzair takes a look at Dragon Age:
Bioware did include some choices & consequences in this game. For three of the four faction quests, you can usually choose to back one of two different sides in a dispute: elves or werewolves, mages or templars, or the two dwarven houses. However, the only major differences are the type of units you get in the final battle and what ending slide you get. Did I mention that, at the end, there is a slideshow that will tell you of the long-term ramifications of your various choices? That is so innovative . . . for 1997!! Aside from the major choices, you can make an array of minor choices. You can decide to corrupt a sacred artifact in exchange for power; you can make a deal with a demon in exchange for more power (and possibly sex), etc. You can decide to recruit certain characters, ask them to leave, or even kill them on occasion. Depending on your choices, some party members may leave on their own or even attack you. There really is not much here that hasn't already been done in other games.
Everything is dicussed from combat to party members and comparisons to Baldur's Gate II are made. Origins: Good shit or not? There are 26 comments on this article.
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Mass Effect 2 Got Soul Review - posted by Jason
on Mon 08 February 2010, 01:53:47 More info on Mass Effect 2 - More info on BioWare Bossman, one of the Romanian Codex contingent, reviewed Mass Effect 2 over at ComputerGames.ro, scoring it 85/100.
“So how does Mass Effect 2 stack up compared to the first one?” Well, it certainly has a lot more soul. More interesting characters. It shows the “other side” of the Mass Effect universe and neatly sets the stage for the final showdown that will take place in the last title of the trilogy. If you put it under a microscope, its shortcomings will become even more apparent and the game is now a shooter more than an RPG, but it really depends how much you’re willing to forgive for a story that’s very well presented.
I for one don’t regret the time spent in its company, but I expect Mass Effect 3 to dump the “streamlining” (can it even get worse than it is?), combine the best aspects of its predecessors and end the trilogy with a bang. Anything less will be unacceptable. There are 12 comments on this article.
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Mass Effect 2 is the future of the RPG Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Sun 07 February 2010, 16:13:32 More info on Mass Effect 2 - More info on BioWare Or so says gamernode.
Western RPGs don't fare any better. While most of them are already rich in character development, they are so weighed down by confusing combat systems and the always-imposing thought that you can break your character at anytime. Trying playing through the original Fallout or Fallout 2 without some sort of character guide so you don't make a useless build. Or take a look at Arcanum's character screen. While the game's story, world, and character progression are excellent, there are about 20+ stats that you can build, all of them vague and confusing. You never know which one to really build or where to invest. It's overwhelming and is just not fun at times.
I think they are a bit too premature. We should not forget about Molineux' Fable 3, maybe that's the future of the RPG.
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What if Shepard dies? Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Sun 07 February 2010, 15:33:36 More info on Mass Effect 2 - More info on BioWare BioWare reveals the harsh (persistent) consequences of Shepard dying at the end of ME2.
Dead is dead. Mass Effect 3, as with the rest of the trilogy, is Shepard’s story. If you have a dead Shepard at the end of Mass Effect 2, that saved game won’t import into Mass Effect 3. You can play Mass Effect 3 if you died in Mass Effect 2 of course, but you’ll have to create a new Shepard. Harsh? Yes. But we wouldn’t be serious about the concept of a suicide mission if you couldn’t die and your death didn’t have serious consequences.
So you basically have to create a new Shepard as if you never died. Since you probably miss out on a few space-coins it might be a bit too... harsh and serious.
Spotted at: RPGWatchThere are 94 comments on this article.
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KotC update v1.25 released Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Sat 06 February 2010, 19:45:03 More info on Knights of the Chalice Knights of the Chalice - the winner of the Gamebanshee *Indie RPG of the Year 2009* Award gets another update, fixing a few problems.
Here are the changes.
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Fallout: New Vegas Infos surfaced Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Sat 06 February 2010, 16:44:41 More info on Fallout: New Vegas - More info on Obsidian Entertainment Duck and Cover comprehensively lists information regarding Obsidian's Elder Scrolls mod Fallout: New Vegas.
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Venetica, light on the RPG Review - posted by DarkUnderlord
on Sat 06 February 2010, 02:42:59 More info on Venetica Venetica was an action-RPG-adventure type thing released not too long ago. JarlFrank takes it for a spin:
The story itself begins with assassins attacking the peaceful village you live in, killing your lover and burning some houses in the process. You fight them, are slain - and greeted by Death, who tells you he's your father.
[...]
While the story seems very simple and clichéd in the beginning, it becomes more involving and interesting the further the game progresses. The villain turns out to have some actual motivations instead of just wanting to destroy the world for fun, and the further you progress, the more details you'll learn about you, your father, his job and your quest.
[...]
In its essence, Venetica is an Action RPG, with a lot of emphasis put on the action. The combat reminded me most of Rise of the Argonauts, or a mixture of Gothic and The Witcher. You control your character from a third person perspective with the classical WASD + mouse combination. Combat is very "twitchy" and is mostly decided by player reflexes than character stats. You'll constantly have to dodge enemy attacks and deliver attack combos by left-clicking when you've finished your strike.
It's light on the RPG but has some interesting features. Read the rest. There are 19 comments on this article.
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Alpha Protocol Preview Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Fri 05 February 2010, 23:27:38 More info on Alpha Protocol - More info on Obsidian Entertainment Dualshockers have a few early Alpha Protocol impressions.
The gameplay that we we saw took place in a desert town in Saudi Arabia, where our protagonist Agent Michael Thorton was on the trail of a known arms dealer in the area. Right away, one of the things you immediately notice is how good this game looks. I asked what engine the game was running and when Matthew said it was the Unreal Engine my jaw dropped, to which he replied “yeah, I know”. Now I am well aware that many games these days run on the Unreal Engine, the thing is, that when it’s brought up in conversation the first thing you think about are the dark and gritty color palettes like the one found in Gears of War. For Alpha Protocol however everything is bright, lush, and rich in detail.
tl;dr: orsum graffix
Speaking of choices, the game’s narrative is heavily influenced by the many choices you make. Here’s a brief breakdown of what I mean. Let’s say I’m Saudi Arabia tracking down gun runner “A”, who has information on where I can find gun runner “B”. Now depending on how I deal with “A” will determine how “B” will in-turn deal with me. If I simply arrest A, then B might be okay with exchanging information with me. If I kill A, then B might not be so hot about telling me anything as he’ll think I’m going to kill him anyway. I hope you guys understood all of that. Moral decision making is an aspect of gaming that has become more frequent in the current console generation, nevertheless I think that AP, is the first title to truly hit the nail on the head.
I didn't understand. :confuse:
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Gamebanshee: Game of the Year 2009 Editorial - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Fri 05 February 2010, 18:15:00 Gamebanshee reveals the instant classics of the year 2009.
Without question, 2009 was a better year for role-playing enthusiasts than 2008 was. This past year brought us the likes of Dragon Age: Origins, Risen, Drakensang: The Dark Eye, Demon's Souls, Knights of the Chalice, King Arthur: The Role-playing Wargame, Torchlight, King's Bounty: Armored Princess, Geneforge 5, Borderlands, Aztaka, a handful of MMORPGs, a few lesser known indies, and a slew of downloadable content.
Independent RPG of the Year: Knights of the Chalice
Sometimes genius is indistinguishable from madness, and I’m really not sure which afflicts Heroic Fantasy Games, maker of Knights of the Chalice – our winner for the Indie RPG of the year. Taking “old school” to the extreme in some areas, Knights of the Chalice embraces the very old-fashioned 320 x 200 resolution of the VGA era (fortunately expandable to a less postage-stamp-sized resolution), a 2D perspective highly reminiscent of Ultima VI and Ultima VII, and the D20 Open Gaming License from Wizards of the Coast heavily modified to replicate the flavor of very old-school (1970s era) Dungeons & Dragons.
Amazingly, it all works – and works well. The game is heavy on the turn-based tactical combat, which may give it niche appeal geared more towards the hardcore faithful – but for the audience, the game is all but heaven-sent. With sub-quests drawing inspiration from classic early-era D&D modules, challenging tactical combat, cunning and brutally efficient AI enemies, monsters and spells from a familiar licensed game system, Knights of the Chalice invokes the feel of an old-school dice & paper gaming with a vengeance. Its greatest deviation is in the outstanding item-crafting system, which allows characters to spend experience points and gold to create literally any magic item available in the game.
Knights of the Chalice is a gutsy, ambitious title that is not without some significant flaws. But its aggressive reach is rewarded by far more hits than misses. It is a compelling experience that makes it easy to overlook its more old-school production values and lack of a deeper storyline. Heroic Fantasy Games knocked this one out of the park, and left legions of fans hungry for a sequel.
I am hungry, Pierre. Go to this site and buy this game now.
And RPG of the Year, much to my surprise: Dragon Age: Origins
First announced in 2004, the originally non-subtitled Dragon Age had a long time to build up expectations. BioWare's releasing of a few RPG-lite titles in the interim – Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and Sonic Chronicles – only served for people to clasp to Dragon Age as a "last hope" of another great cRPG from the company. BioWare played into these expectations, calling this game the spiritual sequel to their seminal work, Baldur's Gate II.
With expectations built up that high, it was easy for Dragon Age: Origins to fall a little short. And in a few elements - most noticeably the lack of character advancement options, the occasional filler combat, and the arguably mediocre soundtrack - well, it did. But despite a handful of shortcomings, the game excelled on many fronts that are crucial to a party-based role-playing game - and it did so without sacrificing a whole lot to today's rampant "consolification" trend. It's our opinion that Dragon Age: Origins is BioWare's strongest title since Baldur's Gate II, and it could even be argued that it rivals their former masterpiece in a few areas.
What does the Codex think? Approve/Disapprove?
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What can change the nature of RPG? Company news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Fri 05 February 2010, 01:31:06 More info on Lionhead Studios Or to be more precise, who?
Well, if there's someone who can, it's certainly Peter Molyneux.
For one, this announcement didn’t exactly take us by surprise as it echoed comments made by Molyneux during his GamesCom keynote speech last year. Then, he suggested that he was committed to replacing one of the central tenets of RPG gaming with something much more intuitive and modern. In an interview with IGN later in the year, he dropped a few hints about what he was talking about at GamesCom, saying that the expression system in Fable II was a step forward but that Fable III needed something more and that the mechanic in question is directly linked to gameplay. His focus, it seemed, was to find a way for the player to insert their own personality into a game.
Fable 3 will be thest best game evar, that much is certain already.
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Feargus Urquhart Interview Company news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Thu 04 February 2010, 17:35:28 More info on Obsidian Entertainment Some site interviews Feargus - who is currently one of the bosses of Codex' favorite developer Obsidian Entertainment.
Feargus, can you give a brief overview of your background and how you got to where you are in the gaming industry?
Feargus got into the industry as a game tester with Interplay in 1993 working on Rock and Roll Racing and developed by Silicon & Synapse, Inc. later to become Blizzard. Actually he had a friend that was working as a game tester there and at the time they were playing D&D. So it all goes back to D&D. His friend who was working at Interplay said that they were looking for game testers and since he was “breathing and did not stink” he was qualified for the job. So it was really a little bit of luck and knowing someone that got Feargus working in the gaming industry. At the time he was going to school for biomedical engineering at UCSD and started commuting back and forth to work. Pretty soon after he realized this was not working out and decided not to go back to school. Although his father is fine with it now the decision did not make him very happy for a couple years after.
In 2003 Feargus Urquhart, Chris Parker, Darren Monahan, Chris Avellone and Chris Jones started up Obsidian Entertainment in beautiful Irvine, CA to continue their work developing the Neverwinter Nights 2 series and the very successful Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II with Lucas Arts. With currently a team of over 120 Obsidian is now working on a couple of unannounced RPG titles and the newly announced Fallout: New Vegas. This newest announced title in the Fallout series has the team working again with the team from Bethesda Softworks.
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VtM: Redemption available at GOG Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Thu 04 February 2010, 17:28:09 In case some of you took my advice to research the true meaning of filler combat - here's another chance to learn more about it:
Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption is now available at GOG.
However, despite filler and RT combat (use the patched version so that you can at least pause) it's still a good game, with much more VtM lore and better disciplines than BL. Also it's party based, so if you like WoD like I do and you never played this game so far - now is your chance.
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Fallout: New Vegas Trailer & Release Date Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Thu 04 February 2010, 17:18:29 More info on Fallout: New Vegas - More info on Obsidian Entertainment Watch a trailer at Gamebanshee's.
Here's an excerpt from the Press Release.
February 4, 2010 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today announced that Fallout®: New Vegas™, the next chapter in the critically-acclaimed Fallout franchise, will be available in Fall 2010. The game is currently in development at Obsidian Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows. The first trailer, which provides new insight into the game, is now available at fallout.bethsoft.com.
Fall 2010, so hold your breath.
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The Many Failures of Mass Effect 2 Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Thu 04 February 2010, 00:18:58 More info on Mass Effect 2 - More info on BioWare Infoaddict analyzes ME2 Design Decisions. Unlike the majority of gaming journalists they spotted shortcomings.
With an average score of 96 on Metacritic, one would be justified in believing Mass Effect 2 has little room for improvement. An overwhelming majority of so-called game critics have weighed-in, predictably showering Bioware’s latest RPG with roses and garlands.
Bioware is one of a select number of game companies that receives a +3 modifier in review scores. So take an average game that would normally receive a 7, add Bioware’s name to the box, and oila! Instant 10. While this may be great for Bioware’s bottom-line, it’s actually a grave disservice to the company and gamers, not to mention a glowing example of everything that is wrong in game journalism; criticism specifically.
Having played and finished Mass Effect 2, I can safely say, without reservation or hesitation, that Bioware’s latest RPG is a complete mess, from top-to-bottom and not a product worthy of Bioware’s heritage.
A complete mess he says. It's a shooter - BioShooter to be precise - by the way, not a RPG.
One of the many aspects of the original Mass Effect I despised was the awful Mako, an ATV the player drove to explore planets. The problem was the physics behind the Mako, which made it feel like a lame arcade game with all of its bouncing around and assorted nonsense. Bioware obviously heard people’s criticism but instead of fixing the issue they simply removed the feature altogether. Unfortunately, their overall solution is to have the player survey planets from the Normandy, a truly boring and repetitive process that involves holding the mouse button down as you scan the surface of a planet for minerals. This is presented in such a boring and uninteresting way that it comes across as a huge speed bump for the game, a necessary evil imposed on the player because you need those resources to create new upgrades.
Interesting read.
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The Complex Challenges of Intuitive Design Company news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Wed 03 February 2010, 23:19:07 More info on Lionhead Studios The Fable series is one of the most successful RPG series of the last decade. Peter Molyneux managed to reinvent the genre twice - and he will do it once more with Fable 3 - and his innovations (farting emotes) and contributions to the genre (farting emotes) are legion. Hence it doesn't come as a surprise that he wishes to share his wisdom now.
According to GDC 2010 organisers, game development legend Peter Molyneux will deliver a lecture titled "The Complex Challenges of Intuitive Design" at GDC 2010 in March.
The lecture will use Fable III to show "examples of long-established game mechanics which Lionhead intends to replace with more user-friendly and modern iterations".
With Fable II, Molyneux introduced a single button combat system. Perhaps Fable III will get rid of the controller all together.
Stay tuned - I will inform you as soon as Pete reveals his insights.
Yes, this is basically just the announcement that there will be news at a later time. I hope you can cope with that. If not, feel free to enter whiner-mode at once.
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The Witcher 2 News Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Wed 03 February 2010, 19:07:23 More info on Witcher, The - More info on CD Projekt CD Projekt considers releasing the console port of TW, Rise of the White Wolf, after releasing TW2.
Development on that title (Rise of the White Wolf) was suspended after things didn't work out with Widescreen Games and that's where it remains, suspended but not cancelled. Ultimately we walked away because of concerns over deadlines and the overall quality of the project and I'd say that the guys at Widescreen weren't solely to blame for that.
Walking away was a very hard thing to do but I think we learned a lot about outsourcing and we'd love to see Rise of the White Wolf released on consoles at some point, perhaps we could go back to that after the release of The Witcher 2.
The Witcher 2 is scheduled for PC later in 2010.
Will it have naked Dryads again? We can only hope.
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Minigames in RPGs, good or evil? Site news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Wed 03 February 2010, 12:30:09 Famous varporware dev Gareth - also known as NakedNinja - blogs about The Mini-game Issue.
Mini-games in RPGs : The Suck, am I right?
Precisely. *Scan the Planet and fuck up your mousehand* is a good example of condensed suckitude.
Wait, what? Combat isn’t a mini-game, surely?
Precisely. Because in good RPGs it's not ... mini, you know.
Read the rest here.
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Dragon Age Awakening Trailer Game news - posted by VentilatorOfDoom
on Tue 02 February 2010, 23:24:40 More info on Dragon Age - More info on BioWare Look at a trailer of the upcoming DA expansion.
There's also info about a new companion.
Many mages chafe under the Chantry's control, and Anders is no exception. Although most mages are brought into the Circle at a young age, Anders was an adolescent by the time the templars found him: he had an understanding of the outside world and knew full well what he was missing. To him, the walls of the Circle Tower were nothing more than a prison. A born troublemaker, Anders repeatedly broke out of the tower, displaying great ingenuity. But for all his resourcefulness and talent, he could never quite elude the templars. It's a lucky thing that Anders despises blood mages as much as the Chantry does, else he might have been executed as a suspected maleficarum long ago. In truth, all he wants is freedom--well, freedom, a good meal, and a pretty girl on his arm.
Finally a circle Mage who isn't a doormat to the Templars.
To be honest if I were Mage in DA and the Templars would dare to look in my direction the wrong way, I'd kill them on sight. What would you do?
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