Grave Gamer News & Views — rpg

Is The Commonwealth to Be Fallout 4’s New Wasteland?

Bethesda’s open-world RPG formula has had the good fortune of going from popular in Fallout 3 to insanely fucking popular with the release of Skyrim.  While a return to the Fallout franchise has not been made official by the company, it’s probably a safe bet that Bethesda is already pouring resources and development time into a successor considering their upward acclaim from title to title.

With that in mind, we can sink our teeth into this irradiated slice of a rumor.  Speaking through the information laden avenues of Reddit, an anonymous user that “may or may not” be affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology claims Bethesda is scouting the Boston region, researching the locale with the intention of using the city as a backdrop for Fallout 4.

The proverbial Pip-Boy fits given that The Commonwealth – Fallout’s apocalyptic version of the greater Massachusetts area – has already been referenced in series lore.  Specifically in Fallout 3, a Blade Runner-esque subplot involving androids escaped from a place called “The Institute” (need I mention MIT?) serves as one of the more prominent mentions of The Commonwealth.

What’s the most important information we can glean from this rumor?  That there are even rumors circulating in the first place, which equates to the first shaky steps in seeing this franchise continue.  If this rumor be fact, that means pre-production has commenced…unfortunately that also probably means we won’t see Fallout 4 until the next console cycle.  That’s the industry, kids.  It never changes.

Picked up Dragon’s Dogma for the 360.  In a sentence: above average combat undercut by below average storytelling.  But is it fun?  Yeah, it very much is.  That and utterly frustrating.  I couldn’t tell you how many times I came this close to felling a giant, son-of-a-bitching troll when a flailing limb would completely pulverize me and my half hour of progress in battle.

Still, Dogma is a unique bend on the Westernized RPG that only truly falters when it tries to exactly match its influences.  Of its innovations, I actually really dig on the pawn system.  Not only do I enjoy enlisting other people’s decked out companions to quest with me, but I love the fact that my own created helper (“Ellie Ripley”) can journey out with strangers and recon their playthroughs.

When you relinquish other people’s pawns from your party, you’re able to rate their performance and leave stoic little preset messages like “Is cute” or “Fought bravely,” and then, if you want, send them back with a gift for their master.  I try to gift items like healing herbs.

People usually send my pawn back with rocks or rotten food.  Is cute.

Project Copernicus and the Week No One Was Paid

When 38 Studios revealed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning to the world, the developer promised the mythos created by acclaimed fantasy novelist R.A. Salvatore would bleed into other titles going forward.  Tentatively called Copernicus, 38 Studios looks to move their IP into another realm, away from the solo RPG adventure of Reckoning, and into the MMO...

Dragon’s Dogma Wins Over the East

For those of you on the fence about Capcom’s attempt at an open world fantasy RPG – if you’re even on the fence; I know a lot of you fantasy junkies are contenting yourself on Diablo sessions in between server crashes – word has flown from the Osaka based publisher’s hometown of Japan that Dragon’s Dogma ain’t too shabby after all.

Of particular note, intensely critical yet insanely popular gaming magazine Famitsu awarded the action-RPG the coveted “Hall of Fame: Gold” award.  This is a pretty damn hard award to bag when you keep in mind how the magazine scores titles.  Famitsu practices a “Cross Review” system in which four editors will filter their impressions into a 10-Scale score, then those four ratings will be added up for a final sum that can only possibly go up to 40 (yet usually doesn’t).  I hope that made a semblance of sense; I’m not repeating myself.

Famitsu’s reviewers rated Dragon’s Dogma with two 8’s and two 9’s, amounting to a total of 34 (just enough to earn that gold star).  Now typically I wouldn’t consider anyone else’s review score hot enough news to tap key over (especially since I don’t base my reviews around a numbered system).  But it’s poignant to note that Famitsu is particularly harsh on a game’s flaws and that their review format makes it so even above average games come off as savagely mediocre.

If it’s good enough for Famitsu, it must be good enough for us Westerners who are so spoiled on open world RPG’s to begin with.  Though I predict we’ll see more money thrown at Dawnguard this Summer than retail copies of Dogma.  Which is a shame, since bringing down screeching griffons by hacking on their wings while riding them is the kind of over-the-top testosterone injection our RPGs’ collective sacks need.

You can pick up Dragon’s Dogma on Tuesday for the PS3 or Xbox 360.  In the meanwhile, download the demo from PSN or XBLA and wreck a griffon’s face now.

Prepare Yourself, ‘Dawnguard’ is Coming to Skyrim This Summer

A DLC expansion is finally on its way to The Elder Scrolls V, but unfortunately only one-third of the game’s fans will get to enjoy it.  An exclusive timed release for the Xbox 360 version of the game, Dawnguard is being made available for download this Summer off of Xbox Live.  PC and PS3 owners will still be privy to the content – just on a different time table.  The extra heat radiating from your computer is normal; it’s merely the collective scorn seething from the internet.

The announcement shouldn’t be that surprising, though.  Microsoft and Bethesda’s courtship has been long and storied, dating back to Morrowind’s exclusivity to the original Xbox and Windows PC, with recent examples cropping up like, say, today’s fresh Kinect compatibility update to Skyrim where you can harness shouts like a true dovahkiin and let neighbors loudly know how alone you are (I jest; but seriously, Apartment 310, keep it the fus down).

When it comes to details, Bethesda has gone only as far as making Dawnguard’s name public, pushing a full reveal to June’s E3.  During the stretch between now and then, the company says more free updates should be expected.