Couchpotato's Random RPG News

As a lot of you know, the expansion has been in closed alpha for a while now. This helped us weed out a lot of bugs from the available content (which doesn't include the last dungeon) and we would like to thank our dedicated alpha testers for their time. Without them it would take much much longer to get the DLC to run properly and smoothly and we surely would not have found as many bugs. This is not the end of alpha, though, as it will remain in place (likely) to the very release.

The final piece of DLC for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is here and we got an early look at it. Is this the conclusion we were hoping for?

Gaming would be nothing without its fans. Fans are what keep the business running. It’s fans who support a series or studio in its infancy, and it’s fans that keep them alive through dedicated financial support and enthusiastic endorsements. This unwavering support is usually a boon to game makers, but not always. Sometimes support can have the opposite effect, damaging a studio instead of bolstering it. The release of a half-baked game is one of these times. Supporting such a game is the same as telling the studio that it’s okay to keep delivering their products in that state. So rather than blindly support a poorly-made game, fans should consider simply letting it fail.

Breaking our usual form, this month instead of talking about a topic using 5 games, we are talking about 5 topics focusing on one game, Final Fantasy VIII.

Anthem’s being developed by BioWare, the team behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, two franchises beloved for their compelling stories and deep lore. There’s a big expectation that BioWare is going to be able to weave in a strong narrative to the multiplayer experience in a way that Destiny has never really got spot on.

In fact, there’s big expectation all around. EA is in desperate need of a win after the saga of Star Wars Battlefront II and the lukewarm reception to Battlefield V, and BioWare also needs to get back to winning ways after Mass Effect Andromeda failed to live up to its own share of hype.

If you ask me, that makes for a perfect storm of overhype that’s almost certainly going to boil over at launch. Anthem might prove itself a very good video game, but any project as ambitious as this one is going to have its detractors.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
5 Games That Will Definitely Be Overhyped in 2019

We tried to love it, but it just isn't a product of the BGS we know.

Hi everyone, Paul here with an end of year check-in on Wasteland. With 2019 right around the corner, we're ever closer to Colorado and the Desert Rangers' answer to the Patriarch's call. We hope this finds everyone having a fantastic holiday season! We’re very excited to have Wasteland 3 at the stage now where we can focus most of our efforts on bringing the game world to life and maximizing its reactivity to player choices. Our team is currently hard at work doing an end-to-end pass through the game to instill each quest, character, and moment with as much interactivity and personality as we can possibly cram into it! We absolutely cannot wait to start sharing more on this front in early 2019 and are looking forward to giving you, our backers, the opportunity to help shape some of the most interesting (and weird!) moments of reactivity in the game! Further in this update, we've got some news on the stretch goal front, but right now we wanted to kick things off with some big news for the company.

Imagine our fictional world working according to the laws of reality: the world under the Dome is currently a complete mess. Concrete slabs are stacked in rows somewhere in a forbidding desert. Level designers clear away wild terrain piled with stones, preparing for construction. Artists make sketches for modular buildings, while modellers turn sketches into the building blocks from which dwellings, offices, military bases, and shopping centers will be erected. All the while, I am writing this update to tell you how great it will look in the game, when this gigantic construction project is finally complete.

Originally Posted by Playstation Blog Interview
In addition to all of that, you’ve probably noticed our other teaser trailer for our collaboration with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which features Geralt arriving in the New World. The quest for this collaboration is really unique because it mixes Monster Hunter: World gameplay along with the RPG elements of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to create a really fresh experience we think is going to appeal to fans of both series. You’ll see that coming early in 2019. We couldn’t have done it, of course, without the close collaboration of CD Projekt Red. We’re still working with them right now on the content and I think you’re really going to enjoy it.

After reaching the conclusion of the time I spent with Mage’s Initiation: Reign of the Elements, it is clear that Himalaya Studios have put a lot of time and energy into creating a classic adventure game in every sense of the word. The dramatic narrative, alongside the replay value of choosing different elemental specialities and the beautiful retro styled graphics will not disappoint the hundreds of people that invested their money into the game’s creation. Himalaya Studios will be releasing Mage’s Initiation: Reign of the Elements next month on Steam. Be sure to stay tuned to VGU for our in-depth review, as well as a selection of hints and tips on how to use D’arc’s magical abilities successfully.

The puzzles I’ve encountered so far have been quite straightforward; for example, at one point it’s necessary to locate four different tile pieces from within a labyrinth to complete a mural and open a locked door. I remember there being different ways to overcome a challenge when playing King’s Quest VI and the same is true here. When trying to find out a door combination, another character told me he’d trade the answer for a health potion – but in his words were a clue to the code, which I then managed to figure out for myself.

This feature, along with the ability to choose your element and customise your character somewhat as described above, give the potential for a lot of replay value. The branching storyline and optional sidequests also make for a story which doesn’t feel completely linear. It’s obvious the Himalaya Studios team have really focused on giving their fans what they asked for – and adventure / RPG hybrid – and with other titles like Unavowed being positively received this year, I can see this mash-up genre becoming popular.

It is probably a bit of misfortune for Himalaya that Mage’s Initiation comes so soon after Lori and Corey Cole’s Hero-U, but this is a very different game, leaning heavily into the sincere fairy tale wonder and pure adventure aspects of the King’s Quest series. It also relies less on humor and RPG elements, to the extent of offering a path to play as a pure adventure while still building in replayability with four different main paths, as well as promises of optional side quests and branching paths. I am intrigued to see what other spells my character will learn and how much deeper and more difficult the combat elements will get, but I especially just can’t wait to admire even more of the beautiful backgrounds of this technically superb game. Mage’s Initiation: Reign of the Elements is scheduled for a January 30, 2019 release and even six years since its introduction, certainly looks like an adventure worth the wait.

You've waited patiently and now the time has come. Nuka Dark Rum is bottled and on 12/12/18 will begin shipping for you to enjoy. Cheers!

2018 has been another great year for ESO. We saw the release of two new DLC dungeon packs with Dragon Bones and Wolfhunter, a new story DLC with Murkmire and, of course, the year’s big Chapter release with Summerset.

Update 1 is here! It includes the new save system and more.

The fire's crackling light and low and the team from Larian Studios have put on a bizarre Hawaiian style pageant for Swen. So gather tonight by our side for a warm winter night.

Game Director Jonathan Warner joins Lead Producers Mike Gamble and Ben Irving to delve into Anthem's Strongholds and see more of the Interceptor javelin in action.

2018 is coming to a close, but we’re excited to share a little more with you about what you can expect in 2019. Today’s hotfix was the last planned update of the year, but we are still actively investigating and addressing issues and listening to your feedback. In January we’ll be back with more updates and news on what new content we’re excited to share with you.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Bethesda Now Selling Nuka Dark Rum

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Nuka Dark Rum shares the same look as the other bottles of Nuka-Cola but a black color and a simplistic label.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a developer try to recapture the magic of Jagged Alliance and I hope it’s not the last, but I found Rage pretty hard work to enjoy. Much like the mercs themselves, for every positive trait it may offer, there tends to be some frustrating problem to deal with too. The combat is rarely all that enjoyable and a game that requires so much inventory management should do so much more to make that process appeal to the player. It’s hard to recommend Rage over something like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden this month, even if you’re desperate to see this series make a proper comeback. Sorry Ivan, maybe you should have stayed in retirement.

Jagged Alliance: Rage is a fun game when judged on its own merits. It’s certainly not a proper sequel, and perhaps that would be a bit too much to expect from a game that’s selling for a mere 20 bucks. It does have a few whiffs of what made Jagged Alliance great though, and if this would have been sold as a way to whet our appetites for a full sequel coming out next year, I think it would have landed much better with the fans than it did. As it stands, Jagged Alliance: Rage is a cute distraction, a fun-for-a-while-not-quite-Jagged-Alliance that will polarize fans more than it had intended, but should not be dismissed right out of hand.

You can have fun with Jagged Alliance: Rage!, but just don’t expect it to last that long unless the experience really clicks with you. It almost feels as though it was made for the mobile market in a way, with its small but plentiful maps and cut down features. Perhaps enjoyed like a mobile game – played little but often – you’ll get more out of it. If you’re looking for your next meaty turn-based strategy to sink your teeth into, though, this isn’t it.

Shame, really. And I don’t mean developers. They did their best to make a solid experience, that I, frankly, kinda liked. Heck, if not for the bugs, I would recommend Rage! as an entry point for turn-based tactics genre. Shame on marketologists, who think that a brand name is something akin a magical whistle. It’s not. People go for an established brand, well-known franchise because they know its tenets, its principles, and they know what to expect. When game developers use a franchise name, they need to live up to franchise fans expectations. Otherwise, they are going to feel fans RAGE!

Aside from the campaign, online cooperative multiplayer is also included. However, despite an infuriatingly tedious series of lengthy sessions during which I stared at the word “matchmaking” for tens of minutes at a time, I was unable to either join a match in progress or coax another player into mine. Is nobody playing Jagged Alliance: Rage? Is the matchmaking just not up to snuff? I honestly couldn’t tell you, but I can honestly tell you to not bother enduring the pain of finding out for yourself. There are enough alternatives in the turn-based strategy genre that are infinitely more playable than Jagged Alliance: Rage for me to wholeheartedly recommend that you give this game a wide, wide berth.

This documentary charts the more than six-year long, tortuous journey from the foundation of Warhorse Studios to the final release of Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Watch the movie on Steam: https://bit.ly/2SdAmI2

2018 is about to end - and what better way to say goodbye than by adding new stuff into the game! A while back, we've asked you which new portraits you would like to see in the game. The winners of the poll - an Aasimar Paladin and a Human Sorcerer - will now be available on character creation to all players. Apart from portraits, we're also adding more hairstyles and beards. Hooray for character customization!

We're also delighted to inform that we're entering the final stages of work on Patch 1.2. We're planning to begin the open beta test for this large update this week. All who want to join us in testing are most welcome to - as always, your feedback is invaluable to us!

Exact details on the open testing will become available later this week. Patch 1.2 will go live somewhere mid-January.

This has been a very eventful year for us. We have built and released our first game, and even though it was months ago, it feels like it was yesterday. We would like to thank all of you once again for being with us and supporting the project - without you, none of this would ever happen!

Happy holidays to you all, and best wishes to you and your loved ones! May the new year find you in good health and bring you much joy!

Merry Christmas everyone, let’s celebrate with a look back at a game about a creature that sets people on fire, blows up things and generally ruins everyone’s week. But enough about Bethesda, here’s Parasite Eve.

Two Edmonton men are receiving one of Canada's top honours and any fans of video games will likely know their names.

Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, co-founders of the internationally successful video-game software company BioWare, are among the 103 Canadians appointed this year to the Order of Canada.

The recipients were announced Thursday by the office of Gov.-Gen. Julie Payette.
Zeschuk didn't believe it at first when he got the call.

"It was shocking," he told CBC News. "We just try to do great stuff and try and help people and try and work with great people and build things, and to be recognized for that is really an amazing honour."

These days, Zeschuk owns the Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company and the Biera gastropub in Edmonton's Ritchie neighbourhood. Muzyka mentors entrepreneurs in information technology, health-tech and medical innovation industries through his company ThresholdImpact.

Don't like the direction Fallout 76 went? Here is the debut episode of a series where I explore the games that emulate that old-school Fallout feeling.Apocalypse Archives is going to be a set of reviews of post-apocalyptic RPGs, action and survival games that are compelling, fun and immersive, with great alternatives to Bethesda's more divisive Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 titles.

The first game covered in this series is Insomnia: The Ark, a game by Studio Mono, set on a decrepit space station where factions, clandestine operatives and supernatural forces collide in an unusual but compelling setting. Borrowing elements from old-school Fallout, and new-school RPGs like Mass Effect, this game is one to keep an eye out for.

From Software currently has two unannounced titles in development, company president Hidetaka Miyazaki told 4Gamer.net in an interview.

I knew the Fallout series had lost its way the moment Bethesda announced that players in Fallout 76 would be able to launch nukes at each other.

The heart and soul of this storied franchise began leaking out years ago, of course. But Fallout 4 was an empty, if addicting, experience save for a few notable moments, including a certain suicide letter. Fallout 3, Bethesda’s first entry in the series, was the beginning of the end of the franchise’s personality.

Yet each game retained precious bits of the dark satire of mid-century American ambition that animated the game’s earlier installments. What could be more Fallout than a gigantic robot that spouts patriotic Cold War-themed slogans like “Democracy is the essence of good. Communism, the very definition of evil,” or “Mission: the destruction of any and all Chinese communists”?

Fallout took the jingoism of that era and painted it in the garish proportions of caricature, with the very setting of a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland acting as meta-commentary all its own. Background radiation, if you like.

Fallout 76 lost touch with these themes, however. Amid its dismal launch and the many justified complaints of players who struggled with bugs, the game’s empty world and abusive behavior from other players is the dismal irony of its vaunted nuke system failing.

When I think about 2018’s role-playing games, I don’t see lots of bombast and flash. Blockbuster studios often stayed away. Square Enix’s main offerings this year weren’t triple-A releases. You didn’t see anything from BioWare, and Bethesda’s Fallout 76 sure doesn’t feel like an RPG to me.

Instead, we got smaller (in graphical flash, motion capture, and other blockbuster bullet list items), tighter games. I’d argue that these were more intimate tales. We got a new Dragon Quest, a new Pillars of Eternity, and a new Bard’s Tale. Pathfinder got its first proper turn-based PC RPG, and Monster Hunter: World gave us that triple-A flash. Pokémon made its Switch debut in a smaller, even cuter package.

This is a pilot episode of a video series that we want to start. Please let us know what you think.

I’m excited to see how Final Fantasy XV has matured. I like this game, even its messier debut version, and now I want to give it a second chance. By weaving the new content with the old, I hope I find a marvelous new tapestry to admire.

The next one will also have multiple protagonists,” Kawazu said in response to a tweet asking for the next game not to have several main characters. “Though I think it will take a different form from SaGa: Scarlet Grace. Please look forward to it. I wonder if it’s OK to say that?

Monster Hunter fans rejoice! As we begin to near the anniversary of Monster Hunter World, we got a special developer update that gave us a quick outline for upcoming content that will be hitting the game very soon and in 2019. From challenging Monsters and another crossover to the update that many Monster Hunter fans have been waiting for. It is so exciting to take it all in, so let’s cut to the chase.

The genre of role playing games has been one of the pillars holding up the video games industry for as long as anyone can remember, and in all these years, it has never wavered, constantly delivering excellent stories and worlds. 2018 was no different in that regard. This year, we got to play some amazing RPGs, coming from Japanese developers, western developers, and indie developers alike, and a whole lot of these ranked as some of the best games we’ve played all year. Picking out just ten out of all the RPGs we’ve played this year was no easy task, and selecting a winner from those ten was even more difficult, but of course, that is just what we did.

It's the holiday period in New Zealand, so we don't have any development news to share today. With so many people playing Betrayal, we thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane to examine some of Path of Exile's early releases and some interesting facts related to them. Today we'll discuss the releases from Closed Beta through to Torment and Bloodlines, with the remainder covered in future news posts during the holidays.

Jack Black launched a YouTube gaming channel and he already has over 2 million subs

It's the start of 2019 here in New Zealand. In addition to wishing the entire community a Happy New Year, we wanted to post our annual retrospective on 2018. Once again, we're proud to announce that we've had the best year to date for both Path of Exile and Grinding Gear Games. Looking ahead, 2019 is already full of plans and ideas that we can't wait to introduce to you. In the meantime, let's take a look back on this year.

Anthem is a world and story that has lived inside of my heart and mind for a long while. Two and a half years ago, we revealed Anthem at E3. And last night, we finally shared more about our story with a new trailer at The Game Awards. Seeing the amazing reactions was a much needed reminder of why we work so hard.

Speaking of working hard…while a small group of us were in Los Angeles, our
teams back home in Austin and Edmonton were heads down getting ready for our Closed Alpha playtest. There’s been a lot of excitement for it, and I’d like to give everyone a little more context around what we’re doing with this playtest and what a player will experience.