Mature Gaming » dragons

Dungeons and Dragons Online get new update, add ons included

gazzara — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:21:48 +0000

Turbine and the Dungeons & Dragons Online team have put out the first information about Update 13: Web of Chaos. Web of Chaos is the prequel to the forthcoming expansion,Menace of the Underdark.
The patch will bring three free quests into the game. Players will be able to earn or purchase the ability to start a character at level seven for a head start. Omnispell Dust and Omnispell Stone come into the game as a replacement for the material component of magic spells. New items will be added to the DDO store.

Dragon’s Dogma confirmed for EU, Resident Evil 6 demo included

gazzara — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:50:21 +0000

Capcom have confirmed that Dragon’s Dogma, its highly anticipated open world action title, will be released for the Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 22 in America and across Europe on May 25.

Capcom is also pleased to announce that purchasers of Dragon’s Dogma will have the opportunity to be the first to experience a playable demo of Resident Evil 6, ahead of its release on November 20.

Retail versions of Dragon’s Dogma will contain a redeemable token that will allow owners to download the Resident Evil 6 demo. Purchasers of the Xbox 360 version of Dragon’s Dogma will be able to redeem this token and download the Resident Evil 6 demo globally on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 60 days earlier than any other platform beginning July 3. The demo for owners of the PlayStation 3 version of Dragon’s Dogma will go live on the PlayStation Store on September 4 in North America and Japan and September 5 in Europe.

An exciting new franchise which redefines the action genre, Dragon’s Dogma is from the team that produced some of Capcom’s greatest action games. Set in a huge open world, Dragon’s Dogma offers an exhilarating and fulfilling action combat game with the freedom to explore and interact in a rich, living and breathing world.

Dragon’s Dogma introduces an innovative team system to the genre. Known as Pawns, these three AI partners fight independently, demonstrating prowess and ability they have developed based on traits learned over time from the player and their actions. By utilising the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network or PlayStation Network players will journey to the Rift where they can share their own Pawns with friends and be rewarded with treasure, knowledge of the world and strategies for taking down enemies. Conversely, players can borrow friends’ Pawns with the specific skills or experience required to tackle a particular quest. In addition, Dragon’s Dogma will ship with thousands of ready-made Pawns for players to pick their allies offline.

For those wishing to reserve their day one copy of Dragon’s Dogma the following pre-order initiatives will be available:

The ‘Pawn Upgrade Pack’ will give players additional Rift Crystals allowing them to rent higher level experience Pawns from the outset. The ‘Armour Upgrade Pack’ and ‘Weapon Upgrade Pack’ deliver higher level armour and weapons respectively giving players a real advantage when tackling the toughest of enemies. Please check local retailers for details.

Furthermore, Capcom will be supporting Dragon’s Dogma post launch with a comprehensive suite of downloadable content including additional quests as well as weapon and armour upgrades.

Capcom announces 3 new titles at Captivate

gazzara — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:49:53 +0000

Capcom today officially announced three new titles, Dragon’s Dogma, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition in development.

These titles were first revealed, along with details of the company’s 2011/2012 game lineup, at its annual media showcase event, Captivate, which took place in Miami last week.

From the creators behind some of Capcom’s best action games, including the critically acclaimed Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry 4, comes their next opus, Dragon’s Dogma. Set in a huge open world, Dragon’s Dogma is a unique action experience that blends exciting and fulfilling combat with the freedom to explore and interact in a rich, living and breathing world. With your party of three you set out on an epic adventure to track down and destroy a mysterious dragon. Along the way you’ll encounter some of the biggest and baddest beasts ever to roam the land, and only skilful play and tactical teamwork can save the day.

Utilizing an enhanced version of Capcom’s proprietary MT Framework engine that delivered the groundbreaking graphical styles and lighting effects used in Resident Evil 5 and Lost Planet 2, Dragon’s Dogma expands the environment to create a vast, richly detailed world, ripe for exploration. Dragon’s Dogma will deliver a whole new world of action to PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.

Dead Rising 2: Off The Record, sees Wilamette survivor and hero of Dead Rising, photojournalist Frank West, take centre stage as players experience a very different interpretation of events in this, a reimagining of the Fortune City outbreak. Forget what took place in Dead Rising 2, this is Frank’s story told as only he can.

This alternate storyline means an all new Dead Rising 2 experience; with Frank facing new missions, new enemies, new combo-weapons with which to defeat them plus a brand new Fortune City attraction to explore. Complimenting the new narrative and action of Dead Rising 2: Off The Record are enhancements to elements such as the save system and the co-op experience to deliver more satisfying gameplay. Dead Rising 2: Off The Record is scheduled for release on PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows PCs this autumn.

Adding new characters, an all new balancing update as well as an enhanced Replay Channel, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition will deliver the definitive version of Street Fighter when it releases on Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows PCs this summer. More specifically, the add-on version of Arcade Edition will be available as a downloadable upgrade for existing Super Street Fighter IV owners on June 7 for 1200 MS Points or €14.99, with a full console retail product following on June 24 in Europe and June 28 in North America, respectively, and a PC version in July.

Captivate attendees were able to experience some of Capcom’s future hits for the first time, with playable versions of recently announced squad-based shooter Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, the fighting genre’s dream match-up Street Fighter X Tekken and hard-hitting action title Asura’s Wrath all debuting at the event alongside Dragon’s Dogma, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. Media were also able to join forces in the war on horror with the first showing of Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D’s co-op mode.

New Dragon’s Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 DLC available today

gazzara — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:54:06 +0000

Leading video game developer BioWare today released new downloadable content for the critically-acclaimed games Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2.

Throwing gamers back into epic battles with new stories revolving around key supporting characters in each franchise, the Dragon Age: Origins DLC pack, “Witch Hunt” (560 Microsoft points on the Xbox 360, 560 BioWare Points on PC) features a story that reconnects players with one of the series’ original larger-than-life heroes, Morrigan. The Mass Effect 2 DLC pack, “Lair of the Shadow Broker” (800 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360, 800 BioWare Points on PC), centers around Liara, a popular character and squadmate from the original Mass Effect.

“Both ‘Witch Hunt’ and ‘Lair of the Shadow Broker’ represent our commitment to keeping the game worlds alive with high quality content, even post-launch,” said BioWare Edmonton General Manager Aaryn Flynn. “Fans are asking for more characters, more adventures and that is what we’re delivering. Morrigan and Liara are two of the most beloved characters in their respective franchises and completing these new journeys will add to the story and action of both games.”

Dragon: Age Origins “Witch Hunt” picks up Morrigan’s story after the defeat of the Archdemon and her disappearance into the shadows. Nearly a year has passed since the Archdemon’s death, and word has reached the Wardens that Morrigan has returned to Ferelden. Seeking to confirm her presence and confront her about her mysterious disappearance, players will head into the forest to tie up this last loose end once and for all. Players can either import their characters from Dragon: Age Origins and Dragon Age: Origins — Awakening or create a new, high-level hero. Dragon Age: Origins was the “RPG of the Year” for 2009 as named by Game Informer, the SpikeTV Video Game Awards and IGN.com among others.

For more information on “Witch Hunt”, please visit http://dragonage.bioware.com/dao/witch_hunt/.

In Mass Effect 2 “Lair of the Shadow Broker”, Liara T’Soni is tracking down the mysterious Shadow Broker with the hopes of recovering a kidnap victim. Liara enlists the help of Commander Shepard and his crew, chasing clues from the luxurious heights of Illium to the depths of the Shadow Broker’s own secret lair. The new DLC pack adds the Shadow Broker intel center, new research, as well as the chance to continue a relationship with Liara from the original Mass Effect. With more than 70 perfect review scores, Mass Effect 2 is the highest rated game of 2010 on Xbox 360 and PC* and was recently named the number one game of all time for Xbox 360 by IGN.com. For more information on “Lair of the Shadow Broker,” please visit http://masseffect.bioware.com/info/dlc/.

New Dragon’s Age title for next year?

gazzara — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:14:11 +0000

EA has hinted at a new Dragon’s Age title for release in early 2011.That’s according to a release schedule that accompanied the financial report for EA’s Q3 earnings released yesterday.

This could mean a completely new title or it could be a massive dlc pack as things appeared quite vague but it is there in black and white.

Dragons Age: Origins has, at present, sold over 3 million copies to date and is heralded as one of the best examples of an RPG for a long time. To read our take on the game you can read our review here.

Dragon Age: Origins: Reviewed (PC)

gazzara — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:14:58 +0000

RPG’s have had a bit of a ressurgance over the last few years. Gone are the Dungeon and Dragon labels for so called geeks sitting at their PC’s for 24 hours at a time. World Of Warcraft delivered a popularity rarely seen in gaming where all were one under the same roof with a not an ounce of mickey taking in sight. RPG’s come and go but when you hear about Bioware entering the arena with another game you will always sit up and take note.

Dragon Age: Origins takes you back to the old school type of RPG. Classic character building, deep and engrossing storylines and a one touch mouse selection system that makes for ease of use, even if you are not a classic PC gamer. Touted as a follow on to the incredible Baldour’s Gate, Dragon Age: Origins delivers something that a lot of current RPG’s for some reason cannot. The ability to stick you to your seat for well over 100 hours of gameplay with a depth of gameplay that is simply second to none.

From the moment you hit ‘New Game’, the commitment to storytelling is clear. First, a lengthy cinematic introduces you to the world of Ferelden, in which an army of orcs and undead dubbed The Blight runs rampant across the lands, and an elite band of warriors known as Grey Wardens rally its disparate races to unite in battle.

Next up is character creation, which depending on your selections of race, class and background will lead to one of six Origin Stories. I went with Human, Rogue, and Noble, beginning my game as Kelden Cousland, younger son of the leader of Ferelden province Higheaver. There are also Dwarf and Elf races, plus Mage and Warrior classes, usually with a choice of privileged or underprivileged backgrounds. These affect your starting location, the skills you have available, and the way characters address you throughout the game, so potential replay value is through the proverbial roof.

How many times you want to play through Dragon Age will depend on two key things; how much you enjoy in-game dialogue, and how well you click with the battle system.

Be under no illusions; Dragon Age is a very wordy game. Whether you’re reading about the history of Ferelden, its characters, or item descriptions in the menu, taking on incidental quests to quell an NPCs woes, getting to know your party or conversing with key story characters, you’ll spend a lot of your time reading and listening to speech.

Dragon Age is very accomplished in its party interaction. Taking the mantle laid down by Mass Effect, Origins not only lets you converse with your followers to discover their backstories, but also rates their approval or disapproval to your responses and actions – including giving them gifts to curry favour. Get close enough to someone and you may even be in line for some sex, such as it is; stilted, censored, and good for but a childish giggle. Piss someone off enough though and they might leave your party for good. And since they won’t all see eye to eye, keeping everyone happy (and horny) is pretty much impossible in just one run through.

If you are to play Dragon Age through more than once, it’ll be because you enjoy the combat. On PC, that won’t be hard; Dragon Age is clearly designed with keyboard and mouse in mind. The top-down perspective allows for ample tactical movement, pausing with the space bar, activating ranged attacks and spells, and directing your melee fighters into flanking positions. It’s very much the spiritual follow-up to Baldur’s Gate that RPG nuts wanted; incredibly challenging, but brilliant with it.

What Dragon Age does have going for it is its Tolkien-style world, its strong storytelling slant and a list of playable archetypes that influence narrative and gameplay with equal diversity. Admittedly, its looks are functional and its art style unspectacular, but BioWare’s brilliant use of audio in both screenplay and ambience truly bring Ferelden to life. More importantly, there’s always that sense that this is your story, shaped by your actions, with a series of minor, malleable events building to the major, satisfying forks in the plot’s long road.

Don’t go into Dragon Age expecting a medieval Mass Effect. Buy it instead expecting Lord of the Rings crossed with KoTOR and you’ll likely love every minute of its spellbinding 70+ hours.