E3 10: Hunted Still May or May Not be an RPG, Gets a Trailer

Bethesda and inXile's upcoming Hunted: The Demon's Forge is a game that looks like it might be an RPG, but it also looks like it might not be an RPG. I still can't tell. Some sites say it will be an action-RPG, while others claim it will be a straight-up action title.

Either way, I've included the trailer in the post, because whether its workings are indeed RPG or not, it certainly has a sort of RPG appeal that some action-RPG fans may appreciate.

Hunted: The Demon's Forge will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, though it still has no solid release date.

E3 10: Here's Some Gameplay and a Release Date for Fallout: New Vegas

This is going to be short because E3 blogging and other work is busy.

I don't like Fallout. So, I don't care about Fallout: New Vegas. But other people might, so here is a new E3 trailer showing off some gameplay.

Also, the Bethesda has revealed that the game will hit PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on October 19, 2010 in North America, and on October 22, 2010 in Europe.

[Destructoid]

Old News: Bethesda Announces Hunted: The Demon's Forge, Might be an RPG

Since every game from Call of Duty to Cooking Mama has RPG elements in it these days, I'm finding deciding what games I should cover more and more challenging.

So, enter Hunted: The Demon's Forge, a new 'dungeon-crawler' from inXile (developers of the oft forgotten A Bard's Tale) and Bethesda. Certain things about it make it look like it might be an RPG. Maybe. It has swords and dungeons, which are usually present in RPGs. It also has magic and elves, which are often helpful in determining an RPG. However, I can't find character progression, character or equipment leveling, number-based stats or battle systems, or a centralized story.

But then, I guess it resembles Demon's Souls and Too Human in some respects, two games which I consider RPGs (albeit not very good ones), so I suppose I'll give this the benefit of the doubt for now.

Hunted: The Demon's Forge will be available for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 at some point that has yet to be decided.

[Destructoid]

Fallout: New Vegas gets an Ambiguous Trailer, Ambiguous Release Date

If you are like most Western gamers, you probably really liked Fallout 3. It had a lot of things in it that Western gamers like: guns, nuclear bombs, a post-apocolyptic setting, open world exploration, moral choices, endless dialogue trees, and a heavily brown and grey colour palette.

Bethesda Softwork's first self-published title, it is also probably their biggest, and no money-respecting company would be foolish enough to ignore big franchises. Thus, we were teased last year that developer Obsidian was working on a new Fallout title, set on the other side of the once-was USA, in a city called New Vegas.

No other details were given at the time, but Bethesda has raised the curtain on a new CG trailer that really sheds no light on the subject at all. It also came with an incredibly vague 'Fall 2010' release date announcement, for whatever it's worth.

I personally never could get in to Fallout 3, and so you'll have to excuse me if I'm not falling all over myself over a short, pointless trailer like the rest of the internet seems to be. But at least they're consistent with the style of the series.

Planned for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, we are sure to hear more details sooner than later with a 'Fall 2010' release scheduled.

...Speaking of Obsidian, are they ever planning on finishing Alpha Protocol or what?

[Bethesda Softworks]

Fallout 3 DLC Not So Exclusive After All

In another edition of corporate lies, Bethesda Softworks announced today that the previously announced Xbox 360 and PC exclusive downloadable content for the extremely-popular-and-extremely-broken RPG, Fallout 3, is actually not exclusive at all, and will be also going to PlayStation 3.

Surprise!

According to the publisher, Operation: Anchorage, which released in late January on PC and 360, will be available for PS3 late this June. The Pitt and Broken Steel will be available 4-6 apart from that.

In addition, two new expansion packs were announced titled Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta. Both will be available for 360 and PC in late June and late July respectively, while they are scheduled for "sometime after Broken Steel" for PS3.

If you don't have your console/computer hooked up to the internet, Bethesda will be offering the DLC via regular old retail. Operation: Anchorage and The Pitt will be bundled together for $9.99 on May 26, 2009, while a second disc containing Broken Steel and Point Lookout will be available sometime in August for the same price.

Bethesda claims that these discs will only be available for Xbox 360 and PC, as disc expansions for PS3 are not possible. Right. Like I should believe anything you claim, Bethesda. (eye roll)

Finally, Bethesda has announced that a Game of the Year edition will be available for all three systems this upcoming October. It will be priced at $59.99 for 360 and PS3, and $49.99 for PC, and will contain all 5 expansions. Meaning that, yes, you have now officially paid way too much for this crap.

Let's get one thing out of the way right off the bat. I don't mind the fact that PS3 owners will get this content. I personally don't even like this game, and never planned on purchasing any of the DLC anyway (I'm actually thinking seriously about selling my copy back). For gamers who only own a PS3 and really really wanted the DLC, this is nothing but good news.

What really irks me is that Bethesda lied about it.

As a consumer who, y'know, pays for things, I like to be treated honestly. If DLC, extra content, or even an entire game is exclusive, timed exclusive, or multiplatform, I just want the developers/publishers to say that right from the start.

Gamers complain that game companies treat them poorly, but do absolutely nothing when companies like Bethesda do this sort of stuff. In fact, they even give them money to do it!

Just saying.

[Destructoid]

Bethesda Announces Fallout: New Vegas

In a press conference yesterday, RPG developer and publisher Bethesda Softworks announced a new entry into the Fallout series, titled Fallout: New Vegas.

The new title, due out sometime next year, will be developed by Obsidian Entertainment, a studio notable for their work on Neverwinter Nights 2, KOTOR 2, and Sega's upcoming spy RPG, Alpha Protocol.

New Vegas will reportedly take place in the same universe as last year's Fallout 3, but will not be a direct sequel. Other than that, details are scarce, but we are told that it is being developed for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

While I thought Fallout 3's scale was impressive, the game generally failed to live up to its hype for me, so I can't honestly say that this news really excites me. But I know a lot of people swear by Fallout 3, so some of you are bound to be getting all hot and bothered by this news.

What's your take? More Fallout? Is it alright with you to let Obsidian handle this one?

[Kotaku]
[Bethesda Official Blog]

Some Publishers Hint at their 2009 360 Lineups

The latest issue of Famitsu Xbox 360 had a chance to chat with some publishing companies and ask them about what they can expect in 2009. Some had favorable things to say, some did not. I've gone through and picked out the comments that I thought were the most relevant to RPGs and have translated and listed them below.

Take a look.

Microsoft
-More 1st party titles on the way – Not quite 10 titles, but more than are announced (for your reference, currently announced 1st party titles are Halo Wars, Halo ODST, Ninja Blade, and Ninety-Nine Nights II – 4 titles. A new Mistwalker title possible? See next.)
-Microsoft Japan Game Studios have titles being prepared for release (Mmm… Mistwalker)
-Last year’s theme was RPGs. There is a theme this year too, but it won’t be announced until later. (The RPG theme was announced in May 2008)

Namco Bandai
-Very pleased with how well Tales of Vesperia sold (they didn’t expect it to sell as well as it did)
-Despite the worldwide financial recession, Namco Bandai sees this as a chance to get their games out worldwide
-Namco Bandai has been putting out 5-6 Xbox 360 titles per year, and they intend to continue the trend this year. All games being prepared for this year are “high-end,” “big titles”

Bethesda
-Plan to release Oblivion Game of the Year Edition this year (2009) in Japan, though Fallout 3 DLC takes priority
-Working on a surprising “big project”
-Plan to have 2-3 big titles out during 2010

Q Entertainment
-Have been working on Ninety-Nine Nights II now for roughly 2-3 years
-Tetsuya Mizuguchi is involved with N3II, but will not be as prominent as he was with the first game
-N3II will definitely be out in full force in 2009

Sega
-One more big title planned for this year (besides Bayonetta)
-It’s a multiplatform game, but users should be happy with it (possibly Shining Force Gear?)

Atlus
-Currently developing a yet-unnamed high-profile title for Xbox 360

Marvelous
-Currently looking into planning an Xbox 360 project (other than Rainy Woods, which has been put on hold)

There were other companies that commented (like Capcom) that I didn't think had anything really to mention about RPGs, so I left them out.

However, out of the above comments, I would say that Microsoft, Namco Bandai, and Atlus are definitely the companies to keep an eye on this year. The prospect of a new Mistwalker game has me especially interested, and I'm curious to see what this "high-profile" title that Atlus is working on is. As for Namdai, I would assume the only RPG we'll get out of them this year is Magna Carta 2, but I would love to be pleasantly surprised.

Marvelous was pretty weak sauce on their comments. I wouldn't expect them to announce anything beyond more Wii titles this year.

Square Enix and Tecmo were noticeably absent with their comments, though we know that Square Enix, at least, has something else up their sleeves.

It's too bad that there are no better hints than these, but it's at least reassuring to know that companies are still developing HD titles despite the current economy.

Thanks to XNEWS for the article summary.

Any speculation?

Remaining Fallout 3 DLC Delayed

Bethesda Softworks has recently dropped information that the final two PC and 360 exclusive DLC packs for their popular RPG Fallout 3 have been delayed by roughly a month each.

The fist DLC pack, Operation Anchorage, was released a couple of weeks ago, though it came under fire for having a lot of bugs (I don't think that this should be much of a surprise considering the full game's copious bugs, but I'm not everyone). The reason for the delays has not been made public, but it is speculated that the extra time is being used to polish up the remaining two packs.

The Pitt, originally due this month, has been pushed back to March, while Broken Steel will be available sometime in April, though concrete dates have yet to be established.

Giant Fallout 3 Patch Appears. Command?

People seem to like Fallout 3. It's got this sandbox thing going on that North American gamers just can't get enough of. But it's also got a metric tonne of bugs in it, and people have been pissing and moaning about them for a while.

Well, Bethesda Softworks, apparently tired of your complaints, has released a mega-patch for all three versions (PC, 360, PS3) today, and is totally free for your downloadable pleasure. Console users can get it automatically from Xbox Live or PlayStation Network, while PC users can either get it through Games for Windows LIVE or directly from Bethesda.

As an important note, owners of either the 360 or PC versions will be required to download this patch in order to pick up the game's additional DLC, the first round of which is Operation: Anchorage on January 27, 2009 for 800 MSP.

You can find out exactly what the patch fixes here.

Fallout 3 DLC Detailed

E3, in internet time, was 500 years ago, so most gamers likely forgot that Microsoft and Bethesda announced way back in July that Fallout 3 would be receiving exclusive DLC on Xbox 360 and PC.

At the time I didn't particularly give a second thought to that. I mean, the game was, at the time, 500 years away. But with the game out and about in both Europe and North America (and soon in Japan), additional content becomes a little bit more relevant.

Bethesda has recently announced what the first of this additional content is:

The Fallout 3 editor, G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit), will be free to download for the PC version next month, and will allow users to generate their own content (as one would expect from an editor).

Additionally, 3 downloadable content packs will be available for Xbox 360 and PC starting early next year. Shamelessly copy and pasted from the official press release:

-Operation Anchorage
Enter a military simulation and fight in one of the greatest battles of the Fallout universe – the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska from its Chinese Communist invaders. An action-packed battle scheduled for release in January.

-The Pitt
Journey to the industrial raider town called The Pitt, located in the remains of Pittsburgh. Choose your side. Scheduled for release in February.

-Broken Steel
Join the ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel and rid the Capital Wasteland of the Enclave remnants once and for all. Continues the adventure past the main quest. Scheduled for release in March.

Pricing for these DLC packs has yet to be set.

I haven't gotten around to Fallout 3 yet, but from what I understand, the main game is already loaded to brim with content. But hey, for those looking to get just that much more gameplay out of their $60, DLC seems like a good way to go.

No Nuke in Fallout 3 for Japan

If you live in Japan you might want to know that Bethesda's Fallout 3 is receiving some rather significant omissions for the region. According to Bethesda, the following will be edited:

-Classification of certain groups of people (notably humans and ghouls) have been removed, though most of the nomenclature remains.

-The quest "The Power of Atom" has been edited so that the player will no longer be able to detonate the nuclear bomb.

-The name of a certain weapon has been changed due to CERO's stance on a "prohibited phrase" (people seem to believe the affected weapon is the Fat Man).

Though most internet-savvy Japanese gamers seem disappointed by these changes, the average customer is unlikely to notice the difference. At least the changes in that region haven't affected other regions (like a certain Australian incident that readily comes to mind).

Fallout 3 will be available in Japan on Xbox 360 on December 04, 2008, and on PlayStation 3 on January 15, 2009. It is already available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in North America and Europe.

What are your thoughts on censoring this kind of material?

Next Elder Scrolls Coming 2010?

In a recent interview with GameIndustry.biz, Bethesda Softworks publishing exec Paul Oughtan spilled some beans regarding the developer's next RPG project following the just-released Fallout 3. Here's the quote straight from the interview so I don't misquote anything:

"At the moment we've got Fallout 3 for this year and potentially there's a new Elder Scrolls title in 2010."

However, for any of you who were praying for a Wii title from Bethesda, Oughtan is out to shatter your dreams:

"At the moment we're not that interested in the Wii. We're going to stick to PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. We'll continue to pursue three or four titles a year and go for big titles."

This certainly isn't a shock as Bethesda has traditionally developed for the PC, with the 360 and PS3 greatly resembling PCs this generation. The Wii? Not so much.

Since this is by no means an "official" confirmation, we're going to slap the trusty "rumor" label on this story so that no one can get mad at me if the next Elder Scrolls comes out before or after said 2010.

Since I haven't even started Oblivion or Fallout 3 yet, I think I still have plenty to do until 2010. What about you?

E3 2008: Sega Western Round-up

Sega really didn't have much of an RPG presence at E3 this year. Despite their decidedly massive amount of JRPGs in development (World Destruction, Garnet Chronicle, Infinite Line, Valkyria Chronicles), they showed almost none of them. (Valkyria Chronicles got a 1/2 second of screen time at Sony's press conference under the wrong console. Sega was none to pleased about it either.)

What Sega did show were a couple of their upcoming Western-developed RPGs. Check out the round-up below.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider (Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3)


Developed by Secret Level
Published by Sega
Available Fall 2008 in North America


Alpha Protocol (Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3)



Developed by Bethesda Softworks
Published by Sega
TBA 2009

I'm still not sure how I feel about these games... They look decidedly average to me. But then, I'm not the biggest fan Western RPGs ever had. I liked Mass Effect though, so I'm trying to keep an open mind these days.

I find it extremely curious that VC and Sonic Chronicles received so little attention when both are very close to release over here (certainly closer than Alpha Protocol). Then again, I've never claimed to understand why Sega does the things it does.

E3 2008: Fallout 3 to Receive DLC for 360 and PC

Potentially the biggest hyped Western RPG of this generation, Bethesda announced today at the Microsoft press conference that Fallout 3 will receive "substantial" additional downloadable content exclusively for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Fallout 3 is due sometime later this year for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

UPDATE: Added the newest trailer from GameTrailers. ...Looks like a shooter to me, but what do I know?