Digital Trends
After marching out two dozen Jedi in full regalia at Monday’s EA press conference for Star Wars Old Republic, we weren’t entirely surprised to see that LucasArts had dressed up its own meeting room to similar effect, with stormtroopers posted at the door, an interior theater worthy of a movie set, and enough costumed Star Wars folk roaming around to fill a small convention.
Monday’s Electronic Arts press conference held plenty of surprises for the diehard fans of the company’s franchises, including Need for Speed, Mass Effect, and of course, Madden. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s show:
EA’s Hasbro division will continue to work on title targeting the venerate “tween” market, including Charm Club Girls (which had girls racing to tease hair the fastest in a live demo on the Wii), Littlest Pet Shop Friends and Littlest Pet Shop Online.
Dragon Age Origins will be gory. Very gory. The sheer amount of splatter in this game made quite a contrast to the above titles.
You have to wonder. Some have to wildly hope. But the announcement that Lucas Arts and game developer BioWare arecollaborating on an interactive game product has made people suspect that a Star Wars online roleplaying game might be in the works. There’s even precedence of a sort. The two companieshave worked together before, creating the game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in 2003. Unsurprisingly, neither company is saying exactly what they’ll be working on –what’s life without a tease and some anticipation, after all? – but there’s plenty of speculation that it will be associated with Star Wars, and the tantalizing idea of amultiplayer online game has fans salivating, especially as a press release about the venture promises something “to push the boundaries of the gaming market.” “LucasArts hasa deep commitment to developing compelling stories and characters for the unique medium of interactive entertainment, and we have been searching for a developer that shares this value. We found thisin BioWare," said Jim Ward, president of LucasArts. "Through our previous collaborations, we know that BioWare has an impressive ability to blend gripping stories with technologicaladvancements, and we believe that our upcoming product will deliver an experience that will span the traditional boundaries of video game entertainment." And BioWare said nothing todampen the flames of gossip. “BioWare’s mission is to deliver the best story and character-driven games in the world, delivering powerful emotional experiences to our fans." saidRay Muzyka, chief executive officer, BioWare Corp. Added Greg Zeschuk, president of BioWare Corp., "The collaboration with LucasArts allows us to combine our passion for creating high qualityand innovative experiences with those of a company dedicated to bringing only the finest games to market." No release date for the final product was announced, but it’s hoped thatthe force will be with them.
Atari and Obsidian Entertainment, developers of Neverwinter Nights 2, today announced an expansion pack for the highly popular PC role playing game. Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer will debut this fall.
In Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, said Atari, players return the Forgotten Realms shortly after the events in the original game. Following the climactic battle against the King of Shadows, "the player awakens alone and stranded deep beneath the earth. Surrounded by a horde of evil spirits, the player embarks on an epic adventure that reveals his true destiny." The expansion pack is set in the nation of Rashemen and will offer gaming features such as a new campaign, epic levels, dozens of new feats and spells, new races, base classes and prestige classes, new companions, new weapons, armor and crafting options, hordes of new monsters and enhanced modding tools.
From the press release:
Microsoft Game Studios announced today that Jade Empire, the highly anticipated Xbox action-RPG game, has punched into North American retail outlets and is now available for an estimated price of $49.95 (U.S.). Jade Empire will be available in Europe starting on April 22. Created by BioWare, developer of the award-winning Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicâ„¢, Jade Empire has already received stellar ratings from the gaming press. IGN rated Jade Empire a 9.9 and called it “the greatest RPG on Xbox,†while GameSpy rated it five out of five stars and described it as “excellent,†“exciting†and “gorgeous.â€
The success of Xbox Live reinforces a stellar holiday season for the Xbox platform, which saw Xbox lead competitors in consoles sales, according to recently released data from NPD Funworld.* Other highlights from NPD Funworld include these:
Aspyr Media today announced KOTOR, the first major Star Wars role-playing game, has shipped on the Mac. Licensed from LucasArts, KOTOR was developed for the Mac by Aspyr’s internal development team,Aspyr Studios.
The critically acclaimed KOTOR takes place in the popular Old Republic timeframe, 4,000 years prior to the Star Wars films, in an era dominated by an epic conflict between Jedi and the evil Sith. Your actions determine the fate of an entire galaxy as you build your party, travel to seven enormous worlds, interact with new Star Wars characters and creatures and even create your own lightsaber.
According to the reports, a senior Microsoft Game Studios official broke the information under condition of anonymity; our own sources at the company remained tight-lipped on the subject today, but did confirm that the company is hoping to have a “massive” announcement at E3.
Bioware is one of the most successful developers of RPG titles outside Japan, and it most recently won success – both critical and commercial – for its Star Wars title, Knights of the Old Republic. Previous titles have included hugely popular PC RPGs Neverwinter Knights and Baldur’s Gate.
Read more at Gameindustry.biz
Quote from the review at GotApex:
BioWare, whose publishing relationship with Microsoft for this product was announced one year ago at the X02 North America event in New York, has most recently been recognized for its highlysuccessful game “Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic (TM) .”
“We’re thrilled that BioWare’s next big game will be available only on Xbox,” said Ed Fries, vice president of Microsoft game content. “‘Jade Empire’ is sure to deliver a game experience that’s truly unique and exciting with our Xbox fans in mind.”
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