Regardless if you care for the Star Wars franchise or not, one has to step back and give credit where it’s due to BioWare. After 34 years of something so phenomenal being around, a world is unified in a passion for the universe brought by George Lucas. In between your fanboys, you can come to the conclusion that the majority of the fanbase howls in joy over the original series (IV-VI).
If anyone has played a BioWare game, ranging from Baldur’s Gate to Dragon Age II, you know of the rich storytelling components in the company’s games.
Back at PAX Prime, I had a chance to talk with Senior Producer Blaine Christine to mostly quell my fears over the space combat system and its rumor of being “on rails”. With every question I had asked, he expressed the deep integration of story in just about every action you take in the game.
This has had me thinking for quite a while now, especially with my growing distaste for some games losing sight of their original story and lore (or bending it); just how much does the story go for? Does it give the same nostalgic epic feeling I had while watching Episode IV: A New Hope? Continue Reading
Our Day 2 coverage concludes with a demo of Orcs Must Die. Though not an MMO, it is an RPG… and a third-person shooter… and a tower-defense game… and a whole lot of other things. No matter how you want to classify it, it sounds like the most exciting mixture since somebody decided that peanut butter tasted good with a spot of jelly. Heck, I know it’s a long shot, but some of you out there might even understand when I compare the gameplay to a more action-packed version of Tecmo’s Deceptionseries (and how shameful it is that more games haven’t followed in its footsteps).
What it all boils down to is defending your territory from the green-skinned hordes by any means necessary — a vast combination of weapons, magical spells, and traps. Tower Defense veterans will recognize typical enemy varieties (normal, fast, flying, etc.), but Orcs Must Die affords both you and the baddies a greater degree of movement, as well as physics-based gameplay that encourages experimentation.
Check out iTZKooPA’s interview with Producer Chris Rippy of Robot Entertainment, as well as some off-screen footage of the game in action below:
Orcs Must Die is set to release later this Spring/Summer via both PC and console Digital Distribution channels.
We’re back with another live recording of the latest Guild Wars 2 demo! You might recall we got our first sneak peek at the game during last year’s PAX Prime, and the folks at Arenanet were kind enough to invite us back for a second go. Of course, a lot has been revealed about the game recently, content that has been reflected in the footage below. We take another trip through the character creation process, then move into exploring the Norn starting area, before jumping into a higher-level zone to score some Thief action (note that the class was officially unveiled at the event).
It’s a bit of a lengthy chat, so we’ve split it up into four parts for you, three of which you’ll find after the jump:
So what do you do after winning one of the most prestigious prizesin hobbyist costuming? Apparently, you take a trip to PAX East. You may not know her name, but if you followed Blizzcon at all last year, then you probably know her outfit. Christina walked away with first place for her classy take on the Diablo III Monk, and also placed amongst the finalists the two years previous.
In the time since, she’s been partnering with Cryptozoic Entertainment at various events, promoting the World of Warcraft TCG and demonstrating to new players just how it’s supposed to work. iTZKooPA managed to pull Christina away from the game tables for a minute to catch up and examine the finer details of her craftsmanship in person. You can, too, by watching the short piece below:
On the second (and last?) leg of his tour around the Turbine booth at PAX East, iTZKooPA caught up with LotRO Producer, Aaron Campbell to discuss the progress of the game since it went all Free-to-Play on us not so long ago.
Status report? Still going strong, with Update 2 content on the way and a “reworking” of the Evendim zone to bring it up to snuff. That’s only the tip of the iceberg, though!
Get the rest of the story by checking out our video interview below:
In addition to the upcoming Tribes: Universe MMO currently under development by Hi-Rez Studios, another Tribes-centric online game also is in the works.
Friday at PAX East, Hi-Rez announced Tribes: Ascend, as the sci-fi, online multi-player shooter successor to Tribes 2 and a re-introduction of the franchise to the gaming world.
According to Hi-Rez, the Tribes collection of games have been played by more than 1 million people.
It’s been awhile since we’ve talked about Dungeons and Dragons Online here at Lore Hound, but PAX East is as good a time as any to check in and see what’s been happening in the absence of coverage.
Turns out that Turbine’s gearing up for the release of Update 9, and iTZKooPA got some time with the game’s Executive Producer, Fernando Paiz, to hash out the introduction of a new crafting system and an upcoming “horror-themed” Adventure Pack.
Get the details on that and more by watching the full video below:
Now, I’ve always been a fan of melee classes. Assassin, rogue, thief — whatever you want to call them, they’re my idea of fun. The GW2 thief is about what one expects when thinking of these classes: masters of surprise, stealthy on their toes, good with daggers. But what else?
This weekend, these new thieves actually are on target to be one of the playable professions in NCsoft’s PAX demo, so we’re hoping to bring you some insider insight on just how well they play, and maybe add in some details on what sets these guys apart from the other classes we’ve already played in previous MMOs.
Speaking of the playable demo, here’s what else iTZKooPA and Heartbourne will have their hands full with this weekend at the GW2 booth:
Debut of the guardian as another playable profession
New Profession features, from an expanded selection of pets for rangers to new weapon capabilities for necromancers and warriors
Norn opening experience, including your own character biography, the introductory cinematic and starter areas
Access to Gendarran Fields, a mid-level area
New UI, with reportedly new functionality, new chat features and “hints of things to come.”
Check out the official site for all the juicy details on the thief class, and check back here soon for more on what iTZKooPA and Heartbourne have to say about the new demo.
Regardless if you care for the Star Wars franchise or not, one has to step back and give credit where it’s due to BioWare. After 34 years of something so phenomenal being around, a world is unified in a passion for the universe brought by George Lucas. In between your fanboys, you can come to the conclusion that the majority of the fanbase howls in joy over the original series (IV-VI).
