The Old Republic and How To Do MMO Role Playing Right
I'm 12 levels in on several characters on Star Wars: The Old Republic, and I'm still playing. It's still Star Wars as World of Warcraft, but Bioware has added a few interesting aspects that makes me stay with it and see it as a solid step forward. The gameplay isn't changed much from the World of Warcraft formula, but the storytelling (the RPG part of the MMORPG) is much better. Whether The Old Republic keeps going and digs into WoW's share or not, I hope Bioware's ideas continue in the world of MMOs.
Star Wars: The Old Republic: The Review (of the First Five Levels)
Well, against my efforts to break up with Star Wars and avoid MMOs, I've started Star Wars: The Old Republic. Star Wars meets World of Warcraft. That can't possibly be a life-destroying game. I've gotten to level 5, so I can't offer a full, or even remotely thorough review, but I can give my first impressions. No PVP, no advanced classes, no vehicles, just the bare basics of what the game is and how it looks.
I Know Football, I Suck at Madden
This is not a review of Madden 12, you can find a much better job at that just about everywhere else on the internet. I’ve barely ever even touched a Madden game, and a yearly franchise like this one tends to demand a more experienced critical eye. No, my job here is to relate what it’s been like to be a complete newb at one of the highest-selling video game franchises of all time.
Here’s the twist: I played football in college (I was a tight end), and remain an avid fan. I’m not an encyclopedic geek about it, but my Football I.Q. is probably slightly above that of the average American. I would also consider myself a fairly well-rounded video game veteran, but the last football video game I played a lot was NFL Blitz and before that, Tecmo Super Bowl. So how have I fared in Madden? I’m here to tell you that it’s the most difficult new game that I’ve ever tried to learn. And being well experienced in football means I could tell exactly how bad I was sucking. Hit the jump to read how badly, accompanied by pictures of football failure.
GameStop Enters Digital Distribution Market With Impulse Launch
With GameStop's incredible profits from the used market making digital distribution an increasingly enticing option for developers and publishers, GameStop's acquisition of digital distribution service Impulse last April was no doubt a smart move to jump into that market before they got left behind. GameStop Impulse's launch today marks the juggernaut retailer's attempt to join the likes of Valve's Steam, Gamefly's Direct2Drive, and EA's Origin, which launched just 10 days ago and is a redesign of EA's previous versions of a digital distribution service.
With two of the biggest fish in the games industry ocean branching into digital distribution, maybe now is the beginning of the download-dominated age long predicted by industry speculators. It also might be the beginning of the end for Steam's dominance of the PC game digital distribution market, but I wouldn't exactly expect Steam to just roll over and die. It's also important to keep in mind that these services are for PC games foremost, although with Steam's foray into PS3s and 360s and other distributors likely to try to follow suit, maybe GameStop's days of brick-and-mortar stores really are numbered.
Not to be outdone by Steam's recent 10-day "Summer Camp" sale, Impulse is offering its own limited-time-offer discounts on certain PC games as well. Dragon Age 2 for $40.00 and Fallout 3 GOTY for $10.00 seem like pretty solid deals to me.
Dragon Age 2 First Impressions
I'd love to have received an advance copy of Dragon Age 2 and finished it by now so I could discuss it in full today, but since I put my pants on one leg at a time and pick up games at midnight on launch day like everyone else, I'll have to limit my scope to the opening hours of the game. Keep an eye out for a full review as I get through it!
Madden 2012: What Happens if There’s a Lockout?
Last month, the NFL extended its exclusivity license with EA - originally scheduled to expire after next season - through 2013. You may recall that deal as the thing that killed the NFL 2K series back in 2004, and which ensured that Madden would be the only football title since then to use official NFL teams, players, logos, and all the other things that matter to NFL fans. The Madden series is a juggernaut, having sold 85 million copies since its debut in 1989, making it the 8th most popular game franchise of all time, and 6 million copies for Madden 2010 was considered a down year. Now, EA faces an unfamiliar situation. The clock is ticking down to midnight tonight midnight seven days from today, when the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Players Association is set to expire. So if the team owners insist on a lockout and the 2012 season vanishes to the heartbreak of fans everywhere, what happens to Madden 2012?
Dragon Age 2 DLC Out Now, a Week Before the Game Comes Out
Consider the bar raised. EA has frequently in the past offered day-one DLC for some there larger game releases, be it downloadable playable characters such as Shale and Zaeed for Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2, respectively, or the very ability to play your game online (see Medal of Honor). It was all part of Project $10, an ongoing effort to combat used game sales by offered ten dollars of free content to anyone who buys a game new via a single-use code in the game packaging. Dragon Age 2 continues the "Thank you for buying this new" trend, with all preorders before January 12th getting an automatic bump up to the Signature Edition.
Apparently, EA's prerelease madness isn't over yet, as you can pick up the first piece of Dragon Age 2 DLC, The Exile Prince, now. As in right now. As in a week before you can play the game (assuming you don't work for someone with a review copy). Yup, EA has released DLC for a game before the game itself. I'd hold off on buying it though, as it may be free with the retail release. (via VG247)
Cancelled LMNO trailer
So we all know the EA/Spielberg collab was cancelled. And now we know what it looked like. I can't fathom why they thought this wasn't worth pursuing. Further reports place this as a first person Uncharted, which sounds all kinds of awesome.
Win The Sims 3: Barnacle Bay DLC!
If you've been wanting to get all piratey in The Sims 3
RT for a chance to win a #Sims3 Barnacle Bay download code from The Sims Online Store & @Aggrogate
No big deal. We'll select the winners on Friday. Good luck!
Dead Space 2 Gets Ignition Motion Comic Code With Preorder
Visceral Games has been diligent about coming up with fan service content for Dead Space, including a prequel to the original game and a full-length animated movie. Keeping with that tradition, Visceral announced on their Facebook page today that pre-orders of Dead Space 2 will include a free download code for Dead Space Ignition, an interactive digital graphic novel that includes some "choose your own adventure" features as well as some quick minigames. No bookmarking the page you just left in case the decision you made turns out in a way you don't like, you cheaters. You know who you are. Ah, hell, I know we all did that.
Ignition follows the stories of two engineers on the city-sized space station called The Sprawl as they attempt to contain an outbreak of the shambling, deconstructed zombies with spikey appendages, affectionately known as Necromorphs. The player's decisions will lead to four different possible endings, and completion will unlock some Dead Space 2 content, including a few usable items and a new look for main character Isaac.
Dead Space Ignition will be available for download tomorrow on PSN and Wednesday on XBLA. Consider your appetite officially whetted, although you'll have to wait a few months for the main course; Dead Space 2 doesn't launch until January 25th.
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