Hi there! This time I thought we'd discuss the RPG genre and what it has to offer this year. I was planning to do this blog for a long time now, so lets get down to business.
With 3 major standouts (Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, The Witcher and Mass Effect) and a few smaller titles (like the surprising indie Eschalon Book I), 2007 was a pretty good year for role-playing fans. 2008 is pretty different. Most of the year's top titles are actually part of the same franchises that dominated last year: The Witcher is getting a wooping update with the Enhanced Edition, Mass Effect is being ported to the PC and Neverwinter Nights 2 will see the release of two major mods that deserve a lot attention. What else is there? Oh yeah, Fallout 3; Bethesda's latest bloom storm promises to at least try to be more than 'Oblivion with Gunz', which shouldn't be too hard... but who knows what could happen. There was also the release of Avernum 5 recently, which is worth checking out if you're into Jeff Vogel's stuff. Me, I'm not a big fan but I've heard a lot of good things about this title, so I might check it out. If I'm forgetting something (and I know I am), please point it out in the comments section. ;) Anyway, lets take the 4 most important releases and see what all the fuss is about.
Mass Effect:
Bioware's space opera is coming to the PC somewhere in late Q2, which isn't too far away. The list of improvements doesn't include much, Bio's main focus are the controls and probably some engine optimization.
As far as personal expectations go, I honestly don't know. The idea is interesting and I'm a sucker for space opera type of games so we'll see. Bioware has put a lot of effort into the game's presentation and the combat looks decent, but my main concern is the writing, which, from what I've seen, isn't too impressive. The voice acting feels a bit stiff too... but overall it should be fun.
Mysteries of Westgate:
This is the first adventure pack for Neverwinter Nights 2. It's developed by Ossian Studios (does Darkness Over Daggerford ring any bells? ) and I can tell you it's already done. Obsidian developer Rob McGinnis pointed out in his latest blog that Atari is working on a new distribution protection system, which is to blame for the delays of MoW. Who knows what disasters await those who buy an Atari game from now on? ;)
The game looks interesting though. Ossian promised a 10-15 hour campaign and if Games for Windows is to be believed, this adventure pack is indeed great. HERE'S A TEASER for those of you who are interested. Watch out though, this costs 10$ and you need NWN2 and MotB to play it.
Planescape Purgatorio:
This is basically another MOD for Neverwinter Nights 2... but this one is quite ambitious. The setting should be familiar to those who've played Planescape: Torment, this was enough to get my attention to be honest. Of course, recreating the city of Sigil (and its factions) is no small task; the quality of the story and quests is still a mystery too so we'll have to wait and see. But Rogue Dao Studios, the MOD's developers, have done a great job so far, at least that's what Obsidian has been saying about the matter.
They're currently in beta testing, which, considering the scope of Purgatorio, should take a while. You can VIEW THE TRAILER HERE if you're interested. Unlike Mysteries of Westgate, this MOD is free... but you never know what might change. And finally, I guess I don't have to remind you that you need NWN2 and MotB to play it. :P
The Witcher Enhanced Edition:
I left the big boy for last. If anyone remembers, I did a somewhat similar blog at the beginning of last year (I was referring to games in general in that one) and when I got to The Witcher I said that it's going to be the year's biggest surprise. Well, after winning numerous RPG of the Year 2007 awards (including Gamespot's) I can happily say that I was right.
The game had its share of problems though, mainly related to poor english translations (The Witcher's developers, CD Projekt are from Poland and the polish version of the game was universally praised for excellent writing... it's based on a great book after all). So CD Projekt got back to work, recording better voice acting, fixing translations, tweaking the game and adding new content. All this will be released under the The Witcher: Enhanced Edition name, which should be out in May. For more information on this substantial upgrade please CLICK HERE. Now that I've got a new PC I'll be able to enjoy this one. And enjoy it I will! :D
Well, there you go. I thought I'd mention Fallout 3 too but I'm not really interested in that one to be honest. I would have liked to cover a few of the indies though... maybe next time. Well, that's about all I've got say for now, take care people. And peace!