A Look At The Old Republic's Player-Versus-Player Warzones

Republic and Imperial forces clash on the world of Alderaan over control of the planet's massive planetary defense cannon in this first detailed look at organized player-versus-player in BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic.

We've seen plenty of cooperative multiplayer footage from The Old Republic, but the core of the story is the conflict between the Republic and Imperial forces, and that conflict comes to a head in the game's PVP Warzones.

Warzones are objective-based arena battlegrounds where both sides struggle to complete goals and win a particular scenario. In the case of Alderaan, the two forces struggle to take control of a weapon capable of wiping out an enemy fleet. Players attempt to deplete the shields of their enemies' transport ship, forcing a retreat. Teams need to work together to control the defense system's artillery in order to get the job done and emerge victorious.

Bioware will reveal more about the Warzone experience in the near future. For now, study this video and start formulating strategies.

Warzone Video [Knights of the Old Republic]

'Star Wars The Old Republic' Multiplayer Demo Featurette

Video Games | Star Wars: The Old Republic | E3 2010: Multiplayer Demo Featurette

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

BioWare's Flash-based Dragon Age Journeys Available Now!

courtesy of Matt Peckham of PCWorld

This was unexpected, a freebie Flash-based role-playing aperitif from BioWare that's part Diablo, part Baldur's Gate, part "free prize inside!" It's called Dragon Age Journeys, and it's a tactical RPG with stylish cartoon-style art squeezed between the margins of your average-sized browser window. Who says these guys aren't taking it the extra mile in the run up to Dragon Age Origins, their Godzilla-sized PC and console roleplaying game due in a few weeks?
(See PCWorld's three-part interview with Dragon Age: Origins lead designer Mike Laidlaw.)

So the premise is kind of dull: You're a hero as opposed to "just some guy" (you're heroic because…well, because) exploring the underground dwarven kingdom of Moria…I mean Orzammar. Along the way, you'll uncover a "dastardly" plot that "threatens to unleash a great evil that won't stop until it destroys all living things."
I know. Flash-based browser game. "Depth not included."
On the other hand, the non-story stuff comes off as unusual for its complexity in this particular delivery medium. You can role up a gender-specific character, play as a human noble, dalish elf, city elf, dwarf noble, or dwarf commoner, and try for work as a warrior, mage, or rogue. You can tinker with hair styles, skin tone--even recolor your clothing.
And that's just the creation bits.



Once you're moving--literally moving by clicking your mouse around a two-dimensional display that harks back to the genre's halcyon years--you'll discover the wraparound interface looks like something you'd more expect from a full-featured RPG. The character record chronicles advances in stats like willpower and cunning. Health, stamina, fatigue, weapon strength, and mental resistance variables are represented along with several others. Spell and talent trees offer progression paths with allocation allowances, abilities with actual tactical import, like "dirty fighting" (stun target) or "advanced stealth" (reduce spotting) or "riposte" (dual-weapon attack with countering). An inventory screen lets you fiddle your accoutrements and combat handedness or view accessories and quest items, and a journal tracks your quests and keeps you oriented. Pretty impressive.



You can drill on any of this stuff by way of tooltips that appear when you mouse over something. You can also save your game online--you can access up to three saves total--by logging into (or signing up for) an EA account. Gather a sufficient number of achievements by completing quests and you'll unlock special items that'll transfer over to Dragon Age Origins when it's released on November 3 for Xbox 360 and Windows PCs (the PlayStation 3 version follows later in November).
When you bump into enemies (literally bump, that is) the game switches to a Heroes of Might & Magic style hex grid. Tactical combat ensues in turns, allowing for ranged maneuvers (weapons, spells) and up to six angles of attack. It starts off simplistic enough--you move, they move, you swing, they swing--but as your character develops, it starts to exhibit the sort of nuance you'd expect from a full-blown tactical RPG.

Depending on how much fiddling around you do, it takes an hour or two to complete. Then there's the remaining two installments--arriving in the next few weeks--to think about.
Have a look over your lunch break or later this evening, if for no other reason than to see what's possible in a browser-based game: One that installs nothing, lets you save online, and loads in a matter of seconds.

OMG - This 'Dragon Age: Origins' Video is Awesome!

I hate it when people say that a game is going to be good, just because the cut-scene is cool. WTF does that have to do with the game, ya know? But watching this cut-scene of 'Dragon Age: Origins' makes me change my mind. This video is freakin amazing. It is up there with the best of 'em, and yea, I'm talking about Blizzard. Watch it on HD... it's worth it. *video below*



By the way, if you are interested in what character you would want to create for the game, there is a character creation tool now available and it can be found here.

BioWare taking Star Wars MMOG beta apps

courtesy of Gamespot.com

BioWare caught some flack from a number of diehard Knights of the Old Republic players when it announced that its next installment in the franchise, Star Wars: The Old Republic, would be a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. To assuage complaints, though, BioWare has said on multiple occasions that SW:TOR would be tantamount to 10 or more sequels to its hit action RPG.

The application process can be...demanding.

With all of that content, SW:TOR is going to need a healthy pool of testers to work out any number of unforeseen bugs in the code. As a result, BioWare said today that it has begun accepting applications to participate in the game's closed beta testing phase through the game's official Web site. (As of press time, the SW:TOR Web site is unavailable due to heavy traffic.) The EA-owned studio did not indicate when the beta phase would begin, saying only that it would be "an ongoing process."

SW:TOR takes place approximately 300 years after the events of the original game, but some 3,600 years before the events of LucasArts' quintessential films. Players can choose to align themselves with either side of the Force, taking on professions like the Sith Warrior and Bounty Hunter for the Dark Side and the Trooper and Smuggler for the Galactic Republic.

BioWare has yet to place a firm release date on Star Wars: The Old Republic. For more information, check out GameSpot's extensive previous coverage.

Dragon Age: Origins to be Shown at Several Conventions throughout the Summer

BioWare (creator's of Baldur's Gate, KOTOR, Mass Effect) will be revealing hands-on demo's of Dragon Age: Origins at several conventions this summer. I wrote a summary of the game in a previous post and will just paste it here to remind you.


On a side note, another soon-to-be-released (Q3/Q4 2009) game from BioWare is Dragon Age: Origins. It is described as a spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate series, but not set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. Though Dragon Age: Origins is a single-player game, it will include a toolset that will allow for user-created content.

People who assume that Dragon Age: Origins will just be Mass Effect with a medieval setting will be sorely mistaken. What race and class you pick will determine which 1 of 6 paths you take from beginning till end and also what options and quests will be available within the game. Dragon Age: Origins is scheduled for a Q3/Q4 2009 release.




It sounds very good. I personally can not wait to playtest it. The Conventions that BioWare is showing the game at is:

July 22-26, San Diego Comic-Con (San Diego, California)
Aug 13-16, Gen-Con (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Aug 19-23, GamesCon (Cologne, Germany)
Aug 28-30, Fan Expo Canada(Toronto, Canada)
Sept 4-6, Penny Arcade Expo Seattle (Seattle, Washington)




So we basically have 2 ways to catch it. Another thing I want to point out is I know at Gen-Con there are "some" video game demonstrations, booths, etc, but it's mostly for board games. Seeing that BioWare intends to show-off Dragon Age: Origins at Gen-Con means that we can "mix-up" our Gen-Con days a little bit.

E3 '09 Spotlight: BioWare reveals Knights of the Old Republic (online game)

Title says it all. This is BioWare making a Star Wars game. And an online Star Wars game in the same vein as WoW. Which translates into Gaming-Awesomeness. The video below does not show gameplay footage, but the video is freakin awesome looking regardless. People are saying this cinematic is better than Episodes I - III combined.

"

Video Games | Star Wars: The Old Republic | E3 09: Jedi vs Sith Cinematic HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Mass Effect 2 heading to PC, Xbox 360 early 2010

BioWare has recently confirmed that Mass Effect 2 will be heading to PC and Xbox 360 in "early 2010". No mention of a PS3 version was announced.

Mass Effect sold over 1.6 million copies in just 6 weeks of its release. Calling it a success is a bit of an understatement. Bioware has confirmed that Mass Effect 2 has an "in-development" status while Mass Effect 3 is in "pre-development". Not much is known yet about Mass Effect 2, but Casey Hudson, the Project Director for BioWare, has said that players should keep their Mass Effect save-files, because decisions made by the player in the first game will continue to have influences on their character in the sequel.

BioWare has a long history of successful games with titles such as Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. There is no reason to believe that Mass Effect 2 will be any less of a blockbuster title.


On a side note, another soon-to-be-released (Q3/Q4 2009) game from BioWare is Dragon Age: Origins. It is described as a spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate series, but not set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. Though Dragon Age: Origins is a single-player game, it will include a toolset that will allow for user-created content.

People who assume that Dragon Age: Origins will just be Mass Effect with a medieval setting will be sorely mistaken. What race and class you pick will determine which 1 of 6 paths you take from beginning till end and also what options and quests will be available within the game. Dragon Age: Origins is scheduled for a Q3/Q4 2009 release.