Just when we thought two Star Wars MMO’s were enough for any fan rumours rise out of the murky depths of Dagobah that Sony Online Entertainment is working on a new one. SOE have already tried this once with Star Wars Galaxies - which had a brief spurt of popularity but lost many fans when it was decided to introduce a ‘combat upgrade’ - and Bioware are currently working on Star Wars: The Old Republic, which looks very tasty indeed. An “insider source” is now saying that a third game may be on the drawing board, which is apparently going to be casual-centric and will most likely be based on the animated Clone Wars series.

Ten Ton Hammer says their anonymous source confirmed the rumour at PAX, where it was said that SOE will probably use the same engine as their immensely popular browser-based MMO Free Realms. So, if we’re talking that casual – combined with its roots in the animated series – then it’s probably not going to be something to get overly excited about unless you’re pretty young or a casual player who happens to like Star Wars. Going for the casual crowd means that SOE isn’t trying to be a direct competitor to Bioware’s attempt, and by doing this SOE may pick up the players who don’t want to sink a lot of time into a fully fledged MMO but still want to play a Star Wars game.

Given the source material the game will most likely take on the look of the animated series, which may or may not be a good thing depending on whether or not you liked the look of Clone Wars (I didn’t). Even so, if this rumour is true and SOE can successfully replicate the appeal of Free Realms to the casual crowd then they may have a winner on their hands to make up for the disappointment that was Star Wars Galaxies. Either that or they’ll fail miserably again.

(Image source)

Related Posts:

• Bioware Announces New Star Wars MMO

I hope you’re as eager for more information on the recently announced Fantasy Life (DS) as I am because Level 5 have responded to my wishes. What we have are two images of the games character designs (created by Hideo Minaba), each representing the twenty unique job-based “lives”. As explained before each of these “lives” have their own set of quests and a unique ending with their very own Nobuo Uematsu vocal theme.

Thankfully most of the hard work involved in guessing which job each character represents has been done by Andriasang, which posted a full list of the jobs that was first published in Japanese weekly game magazine Famitsu. Unfortunately you still have to match each job with a character from the picture, so put your answers on a postcard and send them in (e.g the comments section)! Some of them are obvious, like the fisherman, but others are a lot tougher to identify.

Hit the jump for the full list of jobs and a picture of them all.

(more…)

There’s one big thing missing from Microsoft’s Xbox 360, and that’s any real representation of the MMO genre. Cryptic, developer of the upcoming Champions Online, believes that it’s not because developers don’t want to represent the genre on the 360, it is because Microsoft is holding back on coming with a way of how such a game would work through Live.

“Microsoft’s a big company, and they have to work out all the various issues related to MMOs,” explains Emmert. “It just takes time for the big beast known as Microsoft to get moving. I really have no explanation other than that, because it’s as baffling to developers as it is to everyone else.” (Source)

Cryptic already have a 360 version of Champions Online “ready to go”, but with Microsoft dragging their heels on the subject it doesn’t look like any 360 gamer will be controlling their very own superhero anytime soon. That means we probably won’t see it this year, but will we ever see it at all?

“Right now we’re just talking with Microsoft. Right now the ball is firmly in their court. We’re ready to go, but until we get the go ahead from Microsoft, right now we’re sort of waiting.”

This isn’t the first time this has happened. In fact the team behind Final Fantasy XIV told VG247 that their game was partly a timed PS3 exclusive because they were still in ongoing discussions about just how the game would work over Live. Of course, Final Fantasy XI is already out for the 360, so it does work in some way.

Personally I’m not sure MMO’s are such a good idea on the console, at least not for the time being. The 360 is good for online games, but on a far smaller scale, and I’m not sure the communities that form around such games as Call of Duty 4 would translate to an MMO. I’ve always thought MMO’s were a far better fit for a mouse and keyboard, but I would have said the same thing about FPS’s a few years back. Another thing is you would have to pay two subscriptions; one for the MMO and one for Live, so maybe the PS3 would be a better bet.

Meanwhile Sony have no such reservations about the MMO, with The Agency currently under development. Maybe we will see Champions Online on the 360 eventually, but it certainly won’t be in time for the PC versions release next week.

The main draw of an RPG is a storyline in which the main characters usually end up on some fantastic adventure, which may or may not involve saving the world. You usually pass through a whole variety of locations, from small villages nestled between a mountain range to magnificent castles. Sometimes they are only pit stops along the way, a place where you can pick up potions and weapons to equip your party with. Sometimes they play a major part in the storyline, while other times they’re just a spot to do a little character building. I’ve often wanted to stay in these places for longer than the developers allow. Sure, technically you can usually stay in a town as long as you want but you’ll run out of things to do eventually, moving on to the next place. While I do love exploring these worlds I also sometimes want to see how life goes on in these places. Enter Fantasy Life, which brings an end to a paragraph that has already gone on far too long.

Fantasy Life is being developed for the DS by the makers of Mother 3, which should already excite you enough if you know your RPG’s. The visuals don’t actually look that different to Mother 3’s, which is also a plus because I thought they were charming. Anyway, what is it you actually do in Fantasy Life? Well, apparently you just do what you normally do in your real life, and that’s living it.

You begin by creating a character, giving yourself a name, gender, appearance and job. You can pick between jobs such as a miner, dancer or a treasure hunter (there are 20 in all) and the objective is to complete daily quests based around the job you have chosen. Progress will be measured through how much money you have gained and how happy you currently are. They do eventually end, so your life won’t be going on forever. You will be doing all this while listening to the music of famed composer Nobuo Uematsu, my all-time favourite composer.

It sounds like a mix between a traditional RPG and Animal Crossing, especially as people can visit your town through both ad-hoc and online wireless functionality. I’m looking forward to hearing more about it!

Similar Games:

• Animal Crossing (DS)

If you’re like me, and millions of other people, then you probably really enjoyed Final Fantasy VII; which still makes the list as one of the best RPG’s or even best game of all time. You also probably didn’t want that enjoyment to last, but unfortunately all good things come to an end. Except people didn’t want that, and there still exists a hardcore community of Final Fantasy VII fans that are still involved in the world through fan fiction, and also lap up every little thing that arrives set in the same universe (such as the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children film, which I thought was pretty good even if Cloud could suddenly jump around like he was in The Matrix). They also want a remake, no, they DEMAND a remake.

Square Enix has since moved on, such as making new Final Fantasy games like they should be doing, but they’re still milking the popularity of Final Fantasy VII through releasing spin-off’s such as Crisis Core. So, if they’re so prone to milking their most popular games then why don’t they give in to fan demands and just remake the damn thing already?

“There’s no official project that’s up and running for a remake of Final Fantasy VII at this point. Both Toriyama-san and Kitase-san were involved in the development of the game, however, and it holds a special place in their hearts. They do talk about it on a personal level, like, ‘If we did it it would be like this or like that,” Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama told VG247.

They added;

“So, they do talk about it, but there’s no official project yet. But there’s that PlayStation Network release that just came out, so if you could play that for the time being, it should be fun.”

It makes sense that Square Enix wouldn’t want to channel a whole boat load of resources into a remake as they’re far too busy concentrating on making a handful of new Final Fantasy games. Personally, as much as I loved Final Fantasy VII, I’d rather have new Final Fantasy games then a remake. I also think the games charm would be lost with a HD graphical upgrade. I do enjoy playing the PSN re-release on my PSP while sat on the toilet though, not that there’s much charm in that. What I want is for Final Fantasy VIII and IX to be re-released on PSN though, because then I’d be in heaven.

We played it. We Loved it.

Now let it go!

DRAGONS!!! That’s what Guild Wars 2 is all about if this stunning new trailer is anything to go by. What’s stunning about it? Well, the first half is pretty much just artwork but don’t let that put you off because if you stick around you’ll see some absolutely gorgeous in-game footage. I always thought the first game looked amazing, even on my sub-standard PC, and hopefully it will again be optimised for those who can’t afford expensive rigs (I suppose MMO’s always have to have some degree of flexibility in the graphics department, or they couldn’t raise a large playerbase).

So what’s the sequel all about? Amidst all the drama of co-founder of NCsoft, Jeff Strain, and another staff member leaving just over a week ago (although ArenaNet says that the development of Guild Wars 2 will not be affected) there has actually been very little information on the game. The slate isn’t totally blank though, so let’s sum up what we know so far.

Apart from the attractive scenery there are a number of changes over the game’s predecessor. Firstly the whole game world is persistent, much like World of Warcraft, although instances will still play their part; including in the games main storyline which, to be fair, makes sense. Player choices will also impact on the world at large, although I doubt it’s going to be as complex as the player driven world of Eve Online. PvP will retain the guild versus guild battles of the first game (it wouldn’t be called Guild Wars otherwise!), but large-scale PvP will also be introduced. It’s a world battle that will take place in a place called The Mists, although I’m sure more places will be added over the games lifespan.

So, that’s pretty much all we know at this point. Details will probably continue to trickle out over the next few months, so keep an eye out for more info here as I loved the first game so I’m a keen follower of anything new about its sequel.

If you were planning on using your all-powerful Shepard from Mass Effect to take out those dirty aliens then you’re out of luck. Bioware has stated that the abilities and statistics you earned in the first game won’t carry over to Mass Effect 2, at least in an obvious fashion anyway. Instead the game will explain why Shepard has lost his level 60 and ultimate badass Renegade status, but hopefully that won’t mean the cliché’ of amnesia.

“It’s something we can’t go into detail about for obvious reasons, but it actually happens the other way around. Our goal with the story, in terms of getting the game started quickly and players into really compelling story situations… that dictated and allowed us to do certain things including changing the way that your abilities work and the way you develop your character.” - Computerworld

The reason behind the loss of your hard work – development wise - is that the retooling of the game’s core systems would make using the abilities from the previous game impossible. Of course, that’s totally understandable as plenty of new games in a franchise tend to use completely new or updated engines where things from the previous game just wouldn’t work without series headaches on the development team’s behalf. In this case Casey Hudson, Mass Effect 2’s lead designer, explains that “literally every system” in the game – which includes the inventory, guns, abilities, etc. – have been improved, making the transfer of systems from the last game impossible.

However, he did go on to stress that “all those things have been dramatically improved” and that “we’re taking into account all of your accomplishments in terms of building a character from the first game”. He then added; “So things you’d expect to be acknowledged, like if you were a level 60 character, or you were highly Renegade and don’t want to start out at the middle again”. Importing your characters game save from Mass Effect will be “acknowledged in ways that map across to the new system” so you will ultimately feel that “you are continuing as that character”.

This makes complete sense, as you can hardly expect to have a fully levelled up character from the get go as it would defeat the object of Mass Effect 2 which, let’s not forget, is rooted in the RPG genre. You also have to respect that new players may be joining in on the franchise, even if it is a little odd why you’d want to play game that continues a story you know nothing about. In the end all I wanted was for Mass Effect 2 to acknowledge some of the decisions I made in the previous game, just so it didn’t break the flow of the story with something that would seem completely out of character for the Shepard I had created.

Mass Effect 2 is set for release sometime between January and March 2010.

Mass Effect 2’s producer talks about the game - Computerworld (Via 1UP)

Speaking to Bethesda’s Jeff Gardiner MTV Multiplayer was curious as to whether or not the level cap in the upcoming Fallout 3 DLC ‘Mothership Zeta’ would again be raised. ‘Broken Steel’, one of the previous DLC releases, raised the level cap from 20 to 30 due to player demand; but would this be happening again, or is there no actual need for it?

“I know from the outside this seems like a fairly simple proposition, but doing this could unbalance the game in a variety of ways.” - MTV Multiplayer

Gardiner says that the game was meant to be played with a variety of different character set-ups, so if someone really wanted to continue their Fallout 3 experience they should think about starting from scratch and creating a new character. However, he does say that future games may change their approach.

When I hit level 20 I immediately downloaded ‘Broken Steel’ (I had periods where I wouldn’t play Fallout 3 for a long while, which explains why I was only reaching level 20 after ‘Broken Steel’ was released) so I would continue gaining experience from the tonnes of things I still had to do in the Capital Wasteland. When you reach 30, however, there’s no real need to continue gaining experience because you’re pretty much set to overcome any challenge the game throws at you. I don’t believe another increased cap would add anything to the game, because it’s all about the experience of new content than being allocated a two number level that has ceased to mean anything. I’d rather just enjoy the new quests, stories and characters than worry about where my experience is going. It just doesn’t really matter like it did when I first stepped out of Vault 101 as a relative n00b.

Fallout 3 is more than a level cap, it is one of the best experiences I’ve had in a video game. I loved the setting and the stories, so ‘Mothership Zeta’ just means more of what I love regardless of whether or not I gain another level

‘Mothership Zeta’ is set for release 3 August on PC and Xbox 360.

BioWare have continued to dodge an official announcement regarding the next piece of Mass Effect DLC, and unfortunately this still remains the case. Lets recap for a second; Bioware let slip that more DLC was on the way through their Twitter account late last month, saying that further details were imminent. Shortly after that we were told we would have to wait for more information, and now we’re getting teased a little bit more.

BioWare head Ray Muzyka has told IGN that the DLC will emerge soon and is “fun” to play. So basically he stated the obvious of what fans are expecting, because we wouldn’t want to play it if it wasn’t fun, would we?

“We haven’t announced it formally yet but I think you can expect something in the next little while,” he said. “Probably some kind of announcement about [the ME DLC]. It’s pretty cool. I’ve been playing what we’re working on there and fans will find it fun.” - IGN

It has been over a year since the only piece of Mass Effect DLC, “Bring Down the Sky”, was released. I was a little disappointed at the DLC, and I felt that it didn’t delve deeper into the background of Mass Effect’s fascinating universe like I wanted it to. Plus, it didn’t help that you had to control that god awful Mako vehicle for part of the DLC.

Hopefully the upcoming DLC will have a little more substance, but we won’t actually know if it will be worth the money until we hear some more information about it. At least it will help plug the hole in my heart that continues to exist until Mass Effect 2 is released.

Shouldn’t every post begin with an ass shot? No? Just me then I guess.

Here are a few new screenshots (click to see them at full size) of the upcoming first-person shooter/RPG Borderlands fresh out of E3. You may remember that the art style for the game took a drastic change in direction since the initial reveal, with many saying that the game was now ‘cel-shaded’. Gearbox president Randy Pitchford was quick to deny this in saying “No, Borderlands is not cel-shaded — it’s a gritty and serious world after all,” (Source). While he may be technically correct in saying that Borderlands isn’t cel-shaded it has far more in common with Crackdown then, say, Fallout 3.

To be honest I’m loving the new art style, just as I loved the art style in Crackdown. The new screenshots look like something I would see if I opened a well-drawn comic book, until I remember that these screenshots will actually translate to motion. Hopefully we will see some gameplay video pretty soon.

Head on over to Kotaku if you want to read some hands-on impressions of the game. Apparently it’s a cross between the shooting elements of Fallout 3 and “Diablo-esque looting and weapon generation” with four player co-op thrown in.

Borderlands is coming to PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 and has planned release date of later this year.

UPDATE: Gearbox has told Shacknews that they’re planning an October release date.