Looks like I just might find that in Dragon Age: Origins.

Even though I am a diehard PS3 fan [fangirl?] this is one game that I’m probably going to get for PC based on the awesome Tool Set. See below.

The character creation reminds me a bit of Oblivion and I’m not complaining. Being able to micromanage the character traits added realism to the game and made me feel more connected with the character that I had lovingly created.

This type of customization is brought to Dragon Age: Origins but with necessary tweaks and it doesn’t seem to be as in-depth as Oblivion. However, I’m not sure that’s necessarily a BAD thing since I did end up spending an hour creating my character for Oblivion.

The intro video does a damn fine job of bringing you up to speed as to what you’re about to encounter with Dragon Age: Origins.

There are way too many videos for me to post here. If you want to watch the rest, check out IGN’s YouTube channel or just click on one of these embedded videos and they should take you to where you need to go.

I’ve also included some screens from the game since I do like my pretty pictures.

Look for Dragon Age: Origins November 3rd.

Images|EA

Post from: EveryJoe

Dragon Age: Origins

My first love [insert flying doves and shit here] was a huge gaming nerd who was in love with me but whose first love was Lunar: Silver Star Story on the Sega-CD.

Up to that point in my rather dismal gaming life, I had only played the occasional game of Mario Brothers or Duck Hunt and played WAY too much Lion King on the Sega Genesis [DON'T JUDGE ME!].

Since I wanted to keep boyfriend interested in me and I liked spending hours at a stretch in front of the television, I let him talk me into playing Lunar. The boy even loaned me his prized Sega-CD.

Within ten minutes of sitting down with Lunar, I was officially hooked and playing the game quit being so much about pleasing the boyfriend and became about the wonderful story. Lunar was my first experience with an RPG and that is a love obsession that has lasted LONG after the first love was left in the dust.

Before I had kids, I would spend HOURS playing video games.

My usual choice was RPGs though I occasionally dipped into games like StarCraft, have been known to play a round or two of online Call of Duty:4 and have a tendency to become obsessive about all things Sims franchise related.

While I was at a blogging conference this weekend, I started thinking about what I was going to write for “work” and I realized that I haven’t really played a video game in I don’t know how long. The closest that I’ve come to being immersed in a game was Fallout 3 and before that it was Oblivion but I haven’t played Fallout in a month or two.

I don’t know if life has just gotten in the way or if I’m lacking a game that inspires me but I WANT to love gaming again. Actually, I never stopped loving gaming…I just stopped having something to love. I want to get back that feeling that I had with Lunar where I cried near the end – the game moved me THAT much. There was a time when I could listen to one of the themes from Lunar and it would take me back so strongly to playing that game that I would get emotional all over again.

Where is THAT game?

Right now, I don’t care about co-op. I don’t care about any online components or DLC. I want a story that connects with me. A story that grabs me by the shirt and makes me want to spend hours on it. That makes me miss it like a far off friend once I’m done with it.

I hope that game is out there because I miss gaming.

Image|włodi

Post from: EveryJoe

I Miss Gaming

The game hits September 30th of this year and promises to be a big hit with online players across the globe. Until then, check out these bad ass screenshots. Nothing less than awesome.

Images|Deep Silver

Post from: EveryJoe

11 Risen Screens

The game promises “dominantly story driven objectives”. So, from what I’ve read, they’re promising a FPS, RTS and RPG [role-playing game] all rolled into one game? That should be a hoot-if they can pull it off. Oh, and there’s multi-player.

From the release:

• Set in the Amazon in the year 2011, players will experience lush jungle visuals, haunting ambient sounds, changes in the weather, and an enemy in their home element
• Featuring the best of both worlds, Raven Squad has core FPS and RTS gameplay combined, for a new type of experience
• A multiplayer co-operative campaign that allows players to take control of a squad and play through the entire game with a friend online
• Multiple solutions to every conflict – every battle can play out differently and be resolved in many different ways
• 8 characters with their own unique backgrounds, personalities, behaviors, weapons and skills
• Players can order their squads into vehicles and take the wheel in first-person mode

The original release had the game set to hit Fall ‘08 but since it’s almost SUMMER ‘09, I can only assume that Raven Squad developed a bit of stage fright.

SouthPeak will debut the game at E3 this year so I know that there is a workable copy out there somewhere. Looks like it’s now set for a Q3 ‘09 release for PC and Xbox 360. All this extra time had better mean and extra good game.

Images|SouthPeak

Post from: EveryJoe

Raven Squad Screenshots

I’m attracted to it because it’s an RPG and I LOVE a good story. Also, the screenshots that I’ve found look pretty good and the gameplay [at the bottom] looks solid.

You can play the game as Seth, “an elite soldier with a dark past” or as Pandora, “an ambitious technomancer”.

From the press release:

In the destroyed world of Mars, two destinies mingle together. Two beings searching for their identity travel across a broken planet, constantly facing bloody political conflicts which tear the old colonies apart. Often divided, sometimes fighting the same enemies, both are the source of the advent of a new era…

Sounds pretty cool, don’t you think?

The video has no sound [which I find odd] but shows gameplay on the PS3.

Mars hits stores the end of 2010 on PC, Xbox360 and PS3.

Images|Spiders

Post from: EveryJoe

Mars-RPG with a lot of Killin’

Game Trailers has reviewed yet ANOTHER Sega game and who am I to deny you the review, especially since they tell us so dang much about a game before we actually shell out the $50 to $60 buying it. This time Game Trailers has a 5 minute review of the new RPG about a little fir ball with razor sharp hair, Sonic Unleashed. And if you go to that site, watch out for the crazy introduction. Maybe I’m getting too old for that crazy rock n’ roll stuff?

Oh, and let’s not forget his variety of friends, including Tails, Doctor Eggman and Chip. Who the hell is Chip? I need to get up to speed on the Sonic series, don’t I?

The game was just released in the United States on November 24th and is available for the Wii, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Post from: EveryJoe

Another Sega review – Sonic Unleashed

There is a new RPG/Strategy game out for the PS3 and it almost makes me want to go out and blow $400 on a system that I would probably never play again after playing this particular game. That game, Valkyria Chronicles by Sega takes all the things I like about RPGs and all the things I like about strategy games and combines them into one epic adventure filled with tanks, guns, heroes and leveling!

That’s all sorts of awesome right there.

The story also sound pretty interesting, making it a game I might actually play to the end:

In 1930s Europa, tensions rise to an all-time high between the continent’s two distinct military powers – the Empire and the Federation. In the struggle for ultimate supremacy, the Second Europa War (E.W.II) erupts, and Gallia, the small independent nation situated between the two super powers, now faces attack.

The Empire’s Imperial Army is first to strike Gallia, forcing the young lieutenant Welkin Gunther to pull back his small platoon. As the invading forces charge toward the capital city, Welkin discovers that not only are they outmatched in scale and weaponry, but the enemy army also has Valkyria, an unusually powerful race, in their ranks. As the war rages, the capital city is about to fall to the enemy, but Welkin’s unique battle strategies bring hope to his homeland…

There may be a chance for Gallia after all. This is Welkin’s story.

Check out the review that Game Trailers did of the game. Game Trailers did an awesome job of taking each aspect of the game and reviewing it in an 8 minute video. The review includes an overview of the characters, the battle system and how your group levels, to name a few things. I had heard of the game before, but it didn’t actually catch my interest until watching the review:

And showing that I’m behind on the times, the game was released on November 4th in the US. Now all I need is $460. Damnit!

Post from: EveryJoe

Valkyria Chronicles – If only I had a PS3

Square-Enix must be filled with a bunch of people who never eat or sleep. And they definitely don’t have lives. This company turns games out faster than a lizard can grow a new tail and the new/old game Chrono Trigger has been added to their arsenal of Nintendo DS games and has been shipped to retailers throughout the United States.

Now, I say new/old game, because this isn’t exactly a new game. Chrono Trigger was originally created for the Super Nintendo and that’s where it sat for 13 years, collecting dust, because who has a Super Nintendo that actually works anymore?

Okay, don’t answer that. I’m sure there are tons of people who have a working SNES. And if you do, you’re more awesome than me.

But, Chrono Trigger was an awesome game for SNES (and later was playable on the Playstation 1), so why change anything about it and just release it for the DS? Well, that’s what Square-Enix thought, too!

Alright… there were a FEW changes. Of course they had to make it work with a dual screen system. Then there were some minor script changes to dialog, but unless you’re a hardcore fan (or nerd), you’ll probably never notice the difference. Also, instead of being based off the SNES version, you’ll see extra cut scenes that were included on the PS1 version. There is also a new town to pick up new quests, a new dungeon, and there is an additional end game scene. But, in reality, it’s still the same ol’ Chrono Trigger near and dear to our hearts.

[Image courtesy of Square-Enix.]

Post from: EveryJoe

Chrono Trigger for Nintendo DS: It’s been shipped!

If you’re a fan of RPGs and if you’re a friend of our old school friend, Sonic The Hedgehog, then there may be a game coming out for the DS that you might want to take a look at. The game, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, not only has a very mysterious name, but will also be filled with fun and excitement of epic proportions. The game, which is being developed by Bioware, takes Sonic and a bunch of his buddies into a world that will be much more colorful and lovely than that boring side scroller crap that usually takes place in a Sonic game. Not that I have a problem with side scrollers, but I DO have a problem with Sonic.

I mean, who uses a hedgehog as a mascot? That’s just weird.

The game should be coming out in a number of countries by the end of this month.

[Image courtesy of Sega.]

Post from: EveryJoe

Sonic Chronicles

Isn’t he adorable?

As I read Ron’s entry from yesterday, he talks about the fact that Curt Schilling, a professional baseball player, is going to be creating a new gaming company called Green Monster Games. If you remember or have been reading for awhile, I posted on the exact same topic many moons ago. Now, Ron has a beef over the fact that Curt Schilling, who hasn’t done anything more than played video games, is going to be starting a gaming company. He’s kind of ticked that Schilling thinks that he can just throw money into this company and start developing games, even though he has no idea how difficult, time consuming or brain draining creating your own games can be.

He also kind of bitches about the other members of Schilling’s “dream team”, which is R.A. Salvatore, a wonderful fantasy writer and a spawn comic book artist by the name of Todd McFarlane. Gilbert has a hard time believing that this team has anything close to what it takes to make their own games. What do a writer and a comic book artist have to do with making games? Well, I know that R.A. Salvatore has had many games based off his books. I know that his very popular series, Icewind Dale, was made into a game [check out the wikipedia reference here]. Actually, it was made into 2 games, created by the now defunct Black Isle Games. The first one also had 2 expansion packs. So, it would seem that at least Salvatore has had SOME experience in the world of creating games.

Mmmm… fun rpgs.

Also, after much searching to see if R.A. Salvatore had ever been involved with creating a game, apparently he wrote one. It’s an RPG called Demon Stone, which was put out by Atari.

We’ll see, however, if the Grumpy Gamer is right about Green Monster Games and their lack of gaming talent. I know Schilling probably has a few pretty pennies to throw out there to some real developing talent, so hopefully with the great writing and art talent that is associated with Green Monster Games, we’ll see some really good RPGs.

Post from: EveryJoe

The Grumpy Gamer on baseball pitchers