Great Games in Early 2020

I haven’t written too much on videogames recently compared to a few years ago (my Civ VI first impressions aside), but the release calendar for the first half of 2020 is one to delight the soul and wound the wallet.

Dates are correct at the time of writing (UK), obviously delays can and do happen. Information revealed through trailers is mentioned but no spoilers beyond that. I’ve listed the titles and dates immediately below if that’s all you’re after, with more detail underneath.

• Final Fantasy VII Remake – 3 March [PS4 Exclusive]
• Cyberpunk 2077 – 16 April [PS4, Xbox One, PC]
• The Last of Us Part II – 29 May [PS4 Exclusive]

Final Fantasy VII Remake – 3 March [PS4 Exclusive]

When I first got my original Playstation back in the late ’90s, the games I got with it were Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy VII. And I really liked them, especially FFVII. The materia system was simple to grasp and brilliant to use throughout the game, interacting with weapons and armour to create interesting combinations. The characters were fun, the world huge, and the villain has gone on to become an icon of videogames. Plus the music, especially the reactor theme and One Winged Angel, are great. Bit tricky for Square Enix to decide what to update and what to keep the same, but the combat system has been modernized (mingling real-time action and strategic commands, apparently). Will it live up to the hype? No idea. But I reckon it might just sell by the bucketload.

Cyberpunk 2077 – 16 April [PS4, Xbox One, PC]

The Witcher 3 was the game that made CD Projekt Red’s reputation for a lot of people. It combined an open world and meaningful choices with a pre-determined character who already had relationships with most of the major characters. On top of the fantastic writing, storylines, music and graphics, CDPR also handled the DLC brilliantly, giving away 16 items for free (from quests to costume changes) and then charging reasonable sums for substantial expansions. Cyberpunk 2077, featuring the breath-taking Keanu Reeves, is a long way from Novigrad. It’s the near future, where corporates hold sway in crime-ridden Night City. Cybernetics are routinely used to enhance humans, and the player-character V is after one that might just grant immortality.

The Last of Us Part II – 29 May [PS4 Exclusive]

The first game has a strong claim to be one of the best ever made, combining visceral combat and nerve-shredding tension with an enthralling story and engaging characters. The surrogate father-daughter relationship of Joel and Ellie worked fantastically well, and a lot of people have mixed feelings about a sequel given that living up to the first game is a pretty tall order. From what we’ve seen so far, Ellie appears to be the primary (possibly sole) protagonist. She’s a young adult now, and Joel’s grown a little greyer. Although they do seem to have found a semblance of civilization there’s still a very grim and violent world. We’ll have to see if Naughty Dog can live up to the very high expectations they’ve created for themselves.

Whilst this is a PS4-heavy list, that’s just the way the calendar’s worked out. If you’re more of an Xbox player then there is good news down the line, with Halo Infinite anticipated as a launch title for Microsoft’s new console (set to come out at the end of 2020).

Thaddeus

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Preview: Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Inquisition comes out in ten days in the UK (seven days for the US, nine days for the EU outside the UK), so now seemed the right time for a proper preview (regulars will know I’ve posted quite a bit about this game already but we’re at the maximum level of pre-game knowledge now). It comes out for the PC, Playstations and Xboxes. Naturally the PC and current-gen consoles have better graphics, but in terms of gameplay and content all platforms have the same offering. If you have an Xbox (not sure if it's only One or 360 as well) you can get early access in a couple of days via the EA subscription service.

I’m going to adopt a minimal spoiler approach. There will be some relating to how gameplay works, very basic details (some of which have been known about for over a year) regarding the plot/companions, but I will do my best to keep spoilers to a bare minimum. So, if you’re deliberately starving yourself of info to avoid the venom of spoilers poisoning the delicious cake of Inquisition, this should be the preview for you. It’s pretty lengthy, I should warn you.

Dragon Age Keep

This is either very good news, if you’re connected to the internet, or very annoying news. The Keep (which you need an Origin account to access) is an online, browser-based feature which basically allows you to customise the choices that were made during Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2 and DLC (you do not need to have played any of that to make the choices). These will then have an impact on Inquisition, and your world state will be imported during character creation. The upside is that if you’re shifting consoles (or going to/from PC) you can recreate or amend past decisions without playing through whole games, and that if you’re new you can easily get to grips with the backstory (each decision is concisely explained). The downside is that you cannot import saves directly and that if you lack online connectivity to your console then you cannot alter the world state from the default. I think it’s a shame there isn’t a basic Keep for major decisions on-disc. If you’re online, this should be fine, if you’re not, it’s a bit disappointing [NB I know it’s not encouraging to start on a downer, but I should stress this is about the most negative view I have of the game].

The Keep is now in Open Beta, so you can access it but it isn’t quite finished. I strongly advise getting this sorted ahead of time so that you can just import your finished world state on the day.

Character creation

Character creation is more in-depth and has more options than any previous Dragon Age game. There are four race choices (dwarf, elf, human, Qunari), both genders and two voice options per gender (one English, one American [you can test them during character creation to see which you like]).

There are the usual options you’d expect, but many features (eye colours for inner/outer iris, tattoo colour, makeup colours) use a colour wheel which effectively means you can pick any colour on the spectrum. For the first time, scar intensity and location can be altered.

Certain features (ears, noses) can be altered using not only presets and sliders, but also a grid system which gives great versatility when it comes to how wide/pinned back ears are, and so forth.

Female dwarves can have beards, although it’s fuzz rather than full-blown man-beards. Adam’s apple size can also be altered, for both genders, and male characters have full access to makeup. Qunari horns can be varied considerably, though there are fewer hornless/hairstyle options, and hair colour is more limited in range than for other races.

As with previous games, classes are only limited in that dwarves cannot be mages for lore reasons. If you choose rogue or warrior then you also choose archer/dual-wielding daggers and sword & shield/two-handed weapons respectively but this does not lock you into that play style (you cannot change class in-game but you can shift from dual daggers to archer, for example).

I’ve seen a few videos of character creation and, to be honest, it looks tremendous. The lighting has been designed to be neutral, giving a good indication of your appearance (usually a problem with character creators), and it’s worth noting there is no capacity, at launch, to alter your face once you’re in-game.

Crafting/customisation

A significant complaint about Dragon Age 2 was the lack of capacity for customising companions (almost none, in fact). This has been very, very dramatically improved upon for Inquisition.

For a start, you can actually change their armour. I know this is Videogames 101, but you couldn’t in DA2.

Even better (and quite surprisingly because it must’ve taken a huge amount of time) almost every piece of armour changes shape to suit the style of the individual on whom it is equipped. I think a few stay the same on whoever wears them, but the vast majority will change. So, a robe on an Inquisitor will look very different than it would on the mage companions.

For the first time, we can craft our own armour and weapons. Better still, using varying materials (whether metal, stone or cloth) will alter both the appearance and the stats of armour and weaponry. Multiple colours of each armour can be changed this way (NB you do need to acquire schematics to do this), and it suggests a very high degree of crafting customisation.

In addition, the home base of the Inquisition can be customised in both stylistic terms with decoration, and in terms of more practical advantage (for example, making a garden in which you can plant herbs to grow more).

Potions and the like can also be crafted and customised, so the infamous Jar of Bees can be improved by adding wasps.

The crafting looks very good.

Gameplay

This is one of the hardest things to assess without actually playing, so I’ll summarise what we know factually and then try and surmise how well, or badly, it’ll work.

Combat will be fairly fast-paced, but the tactical camera will return and be available on all platforms this time (for those unaware this will enable the player to pause combat, issue orders and then either end the pause or run time forward a little and issue more orders).

There is very little magical healing [reports of there being none are false, but it is rarer and more difficult than past games, and there is no ‘healer’ set of spells]. Potion healing (with a limited number that can be increased via perks and the like) does come back. Health regeneration out of combat is strictly limited based on difficulty. There are various ways to increase health through perks or to diminish damage likewise (a barrier spell, for example, makes a barrier that takes damage instead of health so long as it lasts).

A character who runs out of health in combat can be revived by a spell or by a nearby character, provided the reviver is not attacked for a little while.

Spells seem to offer more tactical options (for example, you can make a wall of ice which could close off a corridor) than past games.

There will not be second waves of enemies all the damned time (as in Dragon Age 2) but this might happen very occasionally.

Combat can often be a weak spot in RPGs (except for Dragon’s Dogma, which somehow managed to be an RPG with fantastic combat and somewhat rubbish world-building/story). My guess at this stage is that it’ll work pretty well, without being trouser-explodingly good.

Is it open world?

Jein. There are specific areas (forested, desert, mountains etc) but these are very large (many are larger than all of Origins) and I believe there are well over 20. Within these areas there’s lots of scope to explore, so much so steeds were introduced so you could get around more quickly (fast travel is possible within areas).

Reports from journalists who’ve played the game suggest a total size comparable to Skyrim, and possibly even bigger.

So, it’s not a true open world, but there is a very large world and plenty of room to go off the beaten track. One thing Mike Laidlaw, Beardmaster of Bioware, said was that he wanted every area to have at least one location that wasn’t part of any quest and that was just there to be found by exploring.

How the Inquisition works

The Inquisition will almost be a character in itself. It will gain power as you progress through the main and side-quests, enabling you gain perks. In addition, the choices you make will have a lasting impact (choosing between rival sides in a war, for example). You will also be able to send agents out on missions independently of what you and your companions do. So, it’ll be more than the Grey Wardens were in Origins. If you played Awakening, it sounds like a much more developed version of how that worked.

As you conquer areas you can ally or destroy certain groups, and the forts you take can be dedicated to trade, espionage or military might.

The Inquisitor will be able to make judgements about certain individuals, with a wide range of options over the course of the game (I’d guess only a couple per individual).

Very basic story outline

The world is embroiled in war and attacked by demons, and to quell the turmoil the Inquisition is formed. It is not loyal to a nation or religion, but is a law unto itself and seeks to impose order. This can be done through nice or ruthless means, and whilst there isn’t a ‘full evil’ option (after all, you’re there to save the world, not end it) it seems you’ll have a pretty wide range of options from pragmatic brutality to peace-making compromise.

That’s based on many things I’ve seen and read ahead of the game’s release, but that’ll only be proven (or disproven) with the game itself.

Once the main story is complete, unlike all previous instalments, the game will not end. Instead, you will be able to keep playing. There is no New Game Plus option.

Characters

The Inquisition is not a one man band. In addition to the Inquisitor (the player-character) there are nine companions (three each of warrior, rogue and mage) and three advisers who advocate diplomatic, espionage and military means to resolve problems.

Several characters return (Varric, Cassandra, Leliana, Cullen amongst others) and others may or may not based upon the choices you make in the Keep. There’s a large number of romance options (I think at least four regardless of gender/race, with more possible for certain combinations). Those characters interested in amorous relations have a set sexuality (gay, straight, bi) unlike Dragon Age 2, where anyone would shag Hawke given the chance.

Longevity and review plans

Given it’s been described by many developers and journalists as a massive game (I’ve heard 30-40 hours, or more, for the main storyline and 150-200+ hours for all the things in the world) I won’t wait until I’ve finished my first playthrough to do an initial review. As I’ve done for other games (such as Skyrim) I’ll do an Early Thoughts review, indicating my view based on the first few days or so. Once I’ve completed my first playthrough I’ll do a more comprehensive review (not sure whether I’ll go straight arrow through the storyline or dilly-dally picking mushrooms, so it could be over a month before I finish it).

Anyway, that’s my preview. A week to go if you’re in the US, and a few days more if you’re in the UK or other bits of the EU.

Thaddeus

Dragon Age: Inquisition, E3 news

E3 has come and gone, and we have learnt some new things about various games. However, the one I'm most interested in is Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third instalment of the fantasy franchise from Bioware.

As always, I will try and keep spoilers to a minimum and won't reveal anything I'd consider plot critical. Basic companion bios, gameplay, voice actors and related information will all be mentioned below, so if you're starving yourself of spoilers to better enjoy the fantasy feast ahead, I must suggest you stop reading now.

The Dragon Age Keep will come out before Inquisition. Whether this is for all platforms is not quite specified, but obviously it will for PC. The Keep is basically an extensive storybook which enables you to make the decisions of Origins and DA2 to set the world up for Inquisition. It's a great idea because it'll get new players caught up with the storyline, enable old players to fiddle about with things without needing to complete whole playthroughs and get around the problem of cross-generation plays (ie those who played on Xbox 360/PS3 before but now have an Xbox One or PS4).

If you play as a Qunari you will not be Tal-Vashoth (one who was in the Qun but forsook it), but Vashoth (one who was never part of the Qun). This gets around a knotty lore problem. Qunari can be mages as well as warriors or rogues, and (for those wondering) hair colour can be dark instead of pale, if you want it.

Speaking of character creation, this'll kick off right away (as in Origins) rather than after a prologue (as in DA2).

New companion information: the male human warrior has been confirmed as a (presumably former) Grey Warden, called Blackwall. He sound like a very upstanding sort of fellow, like Eddard Stark (hopefully with better judgement).

Sera, the elven archeress, is confirmed as a romance option, but only for female Inquisitors. [On this note, the companions (and some non-companions) have specific sexual orientations. It's not like DA2 where anyone will shag Hawke, each character, that you can romance, in Inquisition is straight, gay or bi].

The third mage companion has been named as Dorian, a Tevinter chap.

The Iron Bull (Qunari male warrior companion) is not Tal-Vashoth. He is still Qunari (follower of the Qun religion).

This means only one companion (probably elven rogue, dual-wielding) remains unnamed.

There will be, as previously revealed, 4 Inquisitor voices, 2 per gender. There will be an American female voice, American male voice, English male voice and English female voice.

At the time of writing Alix Wilton Regan (Traynor in ME3, Mhairi in Dragon Age: Awakening [Origins expansion] and Ser Cauthrien in Origins) has been officially confirmed as a female voice. Bann Teagan's voice actor, Timothy Watson, has not been confirmed, but I do think the male Inquisitor speaking for a new trailer does sound very like him.

In terms of gameplay, as was previously announced the top-down tactical view (for battle) has not only returned for PC but been introduced for the first time in the series to Xboxes and Playstations. However, in an interview it sounded like you could actually walk around and play the whole game (excluding cut-scenes) that way. Mark Darrah (of Bioware) also said in the interview (with GameSpot) that during conversations you'll actually be able to just walk away, mid-conversation. I'm sensing the possibility of an obnoxious-as-hell playthrough...

Speaking of interviews (not that I spent a few hours watching Inquisition vids instead of working...) gamerMD83, a Dragon Age superfan, did one with Cameron Lee (DA:I Producer) and Liz Lehtonen (Queen of the Cullenites, and also Game World Producer) which revealed some interesting things about how the Inquisition as a group develops. For example, to advance the story you need a certain level of power, so the Inquisition is almost like a character in itself. You can also order it to perform functions which have a direct impact on areas you can access (the most simple being that ordering your minions to repair a bridge will give you access to an area you might otherwise not be able to reach).

So, whilst the Inquisitor and his associates are running around slapping Templars and hunting nugs, you'll dispatch your underlings to do little missions of their own, which will affect the options available to you (this is from a while ago, but I think one such 'mission' might be researching new metals/spells to improve your smithing or magic).

There will, it seems, be far more crafting available than previous games, but there are no real details on this as yet.

No firm word on time of a playthrough, but I've heard murmurings of around 50 hours.

Assuming it comes out on time (Origins was delayed, of course), it'll come out on 10 October (7 October if you're in North America. Why there must be a 3 day gap I don't know).

Thaddeus

Dragon Age: Inquisition out in October

Good news! Dragon Age: Inquisition will be released in October. Huzzah!

That's the 7^th for Americans and the 10^th for the UK (it's common, though still annoying, for games to be released on that sort of basis).

This is more or less when we were expecting. Once Amazon get their arse in gear and put it up on the UK site I'll pre-order.

Pre-ordering will get you some DLC weapons (NB no DLC companions this time). The Deluxe edition (a GAME exclusive in the UK, which, to be honest, I've decided I'm not remotely tempted by) will get you some unique mounts, more gear, the soundtrack [the most tempting bonus] and some other stuff yet to be announced.

Just before the release date was announced we got the cover reveal. It looks quite nice, and if you look at the gap in the demonic horde you can see a dragon's head. If you make the image negative (I can't take credit for this, some chap on Twitter did it first but I forget who) it's much more apparent, as are the dragon's wings.

Not sure this has been officially confirmed, but it seems that Gwendoline Christie, (who plays Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones), will be voicing a character. I don't know who, but that's good news.

Last but not least, along with the cover and release date we got a new trailer, which looks rather good:

So, once Amazon finally puts it up I'll pre-order for the PS3 (there will be graphical differences from that generation to the next, but no gameplay differences). Rather looking forward to it.

Thaddeus

Dragon Age: Inquisition – more info

As the title cunningly suggests, there's some new information out regarding Dragon Age: Inquisition. There be spoilers below. We learn more about the world, gameplay areas, and companions. Generally the info below is confirmed or probable, and where it's not certain I've tried to make it plain it's unconfirmed speculation. If you're avoiding all spoilers then you should probably stop reading now, and I'll put a picture below so the vile sight of spoilers do not besmirch your innocent eyes.

Some of this information comes from the GameStar April edition. It's a German magazine, and some reports of what it says may be wrong, largely due to dodgy translations. Sadly, my German has been getting rustier by the year, so I doubt mein Abitur will be much use reading it auf Deutsch. Some info comes from a post on the Bioware forums regarding information in an overseas Xbox magazine, and the lack of deletion or denial of the post's contents suggests it's accurate.

Each area has realistic ecosystem with predators, prey, factions and quest/Inquisition expansion opportunities. Animals attack one another, bandits raid towns. Crafting and customising weapons (as mentioned previously) can be done, so hunting for furs and the like may very well help in this area. However, if you hunt a species to extinction then it either won't return to a given area or will take a long time to do so.

Speaking of customisation, it's possible that the Inquisition headquarters, and other keeps, will be customisable (this is beyond the previously mentioned decision of whether a keep focuses on commerce, military prowess or espionage).

I also read somewhere (and I can't find the article/video now, alas, so take this not so much with a pinch as a boulder of salt) that you will have to make special one-off decisions. For example, you might have to choose whether a certain keep researches a special sort of magic, or forging a new type of metal. You would only pick one and cannot change your mind. You'll have to make similar choices when playing the game (the well-known one about defending the village or your keep when both are under attack springs to mind). These choices will, we are told, have lasting consequences and could prevent you from doing a whole slew of quests (if you let loads of people die they won't be asking you to hunt chickens for them later on). I like the sound of it. It adds weight to choices and improves replayability.

New areas will be unlocked when the Inquisitor/Inquisition is strong enough (probably as basic as a certain level unlocking a given area, but it could also refer to keeps controlled, or suchlike). There will be five areas: Ferelden, the Free Marches, Orlais, Nevarra (east of Orlais), and the Dales (which lie to the west of Ferelden and south-east of Orlais).

It's nigh on certain we'll return to the Deep Roads, but can't say if it's Kal Sharok[sp] or Orzammar.

There are definitely giants (or giant bipedal tusked creatures) which look rather good. They appear similar to the cyclopes (plural of cyclops, not a typo) in Dragon's Dogma after a successful diet (or somewhat like Anima from FFX, but without all the bondage gear and bandages).

The Fade looks significantly different to the first two games, which I'm rather glad about. The Fade always made my eyes go a bit weird after a while, and I found it a bit tedious, but (visually at least) it seems to have been dramatically improved.

On that note, the graphics generally are a huge improvement, but we'll have to wait and see just how significant the PS3/PS4 difference is (I'll be buying for the PS3, but might well get an Ultimate edition [or whatever they call it] for the PS4).

It's been suggested that there will be two voice actors/actresses per gender. This has not been confirmed, nor is it known whether (if it's true) we get to pick our voice or if the voices are assigned to races and cannot be changed (except by racial selection). It's possible there will be a feature to alter the pitch of the protagonist's voice, to add a bit more customisation (this appears to be under consideration by Bioware, with no decision yet being made).

The Inquisitor will have a little prologue section, which it seems will deal with character creation. In addition, we'll be able to wear whatever armour we like, regardless of class (so you could have a warrior wearing a mage's robes). There may be penalties for having out-of-class clothing/armour.

We have a new companion confirmation: a bald elven mage called Solace or maybe Solas.

The Iron Bull, the Qunari chap we've seen a few times, has also been confirmed, but that was pretty much an open secret.

Last but not last is the elven archeress, Sera[sp]. That's six in total (as well as the three above we have Vivienne, and returning characters Cassandra and Varric). So far we have 2 each of rogues, mages and warriors, so I'd expect one more of each class.

To my immense surprise, and absolute approval, there will be no DLC companions. Even as someone near certain to preorder (and thus get a code to download said DLC character for free) I despise DLC companions. They're either good, in which case they should be included as standard, or rubbish, and therefore not worth having. So, huzzah for this unexpected decision!

Speaking of companions, Bioware are doing a feature called Followers Friday. Each month they'll reveal or post more information about a companion. The first, an introduction to Vivienne, is here: http://blog.bioware.com/2014/03/24/introduction-to-vivienne/

There's also a suggestion, entirely unconfirmed, the game could be out in October. That's a shade later than the Q3 area mentioned previously, but it's better to get a game a day late than bang on time and in need of immediate patches to fix constant freezing *cough*Skyrim*cough*.

The Warden and Hawke may well make cameo appearances, but not as companions. Alistair will return. Unless he's dead. Well, maybe he could be a zombie.

There are a reported 40 endings. Now, given all the above info it's possible to see lots of variance (military, commercial and espionage approaches to the Inquisition, being brutal or merciful, siding with mages or Templars, being for or against Morrigan and so on) but 40 is a bloody huge number. I suspect much of that will be done the way Origins ended, with a few pictures stating that Bhelen was competent but an arse or Harrowmont was nice but useless.

I really like Dragon Age, and I've been looking forward to Inquisition for a while. Just about every bit of info released seems positive, and much has been in direct reaction to fan feedback after DA2. Hopefully it can come out more or less on schedule, because, if they deliver on the promise, it could be a fantastic RPG.

Thaddeus

Early Thoughts on Kingdom Come: Deliverance

There’s only one dead cert videogame for me this year: Dragon Age Inquisition. But, there’s another which has caught my eye (pencilled in for 2015).

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an RPG billed as “Dungeons and no dragons”. It aims to be a highly realistic game set in medieval Europe, with landscapes and castles based heavily on reality. Similarly, the clothing and combat is designed to be as accurate as possible.

The game’s development has been backed by a private investor, but when no major publisher would back it the makers went to Kickstarter. Thankfully, their target was reached and the game is planned to be released for PC and the most recent consoles in 2015.

The initial dialogue is fairly Shakespearean. It’s not impenetrable, and I rather like it, but it seems they’re likely to modernise it a bit. If you want to hear what it’s like, the dialogue’s part of the hour or so streamed here:

Clothing seems highly customisable, with 16 slots for various bits and pieces (including neckwear and rings). It’s reminiscent of Dragon’s Dogma, which had some good layering and armour that looked good right from the start. Unlike Dragon’s Dogma, I don’t think silk underwear will be available.

Combat involves six areas to be targeted (body, head and the limbs) with timing being useful for parrying (opens the enemy up to attack). It sounds like fights will be less common than in many RPGs, and more serious.

As well as fighting, cooking, alchemy (not in the magical Skyrim way, but in the way people actually tried to use it), fishing and forging/improving your weapons and armour will all be possible.

The world will be open, and you can ride horses. It sounds like they’re going for a first person version of what Red Dead Redemption did (ie making the horse control like a horse rather than a four-legged car). It’ll also have some limited intelligence, so you won’t be able to make it charge off a cliff.

I really like the look of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and it’s slightly surprising and depressing no major publisher would back it. If it can live up to expectations it will sell by the cartload. I hope it does, and that way we might end up with more such games.

Thaddeus

XCOM preview

If I hadn't bought F1 2012 so recently (full review probably coming later this week) I'd be tempted by XCOM Enemy Unknown, which comes out on the 12th for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

The game is a turn-based strategy (TBS) and an updated version of a game from long ago (which I must admit I'd never heard of previously). It's been done by the chaps behind Civilization, which bodes well.

In XCOM Enemy Unknown the player leads the defence of Earth against an alien invasion. There are varying unit types (sniper, heavy and so on) on both your own sides and that of the dastardly aliens. Units also have multiple weapons, with more powerful ones requiring the unit to remain still for a turn. Cover also plays a role, and explosive attacks can be strong but destroy enemies and their weapons, reducing salvageable remains and thereby reducing research possibilities. Aliens can also be captured for interrogation, revealing further secrets.

Graphics look to be more functional than fantastic, and voice-acting is hard to assess (but from what I've read it's ok without being great).

In between missions (there are circa 70 with a playthrough estimated at 20 hours) the player can determine research priorities and whether to pour resources into upgrading weapons and armour or helping out countries/regions in distress.

However, most of the game will spent doing the missions which, from the videos I've seen, look like good fun. The video below features interactive gameplay which gives a decent idea of how things might work out:

With Dishonored out on the same day and The Last Of Us due out early next year I'm not sure what I'll be buying next, but I'll be keeping an eye on XCOM's reviews.

Thaddeus

Dragon's Dogma Preview

Somehow I missed this from my recent gaming post, so here's a preview of the RPG, which comes out on 25 May for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

The game, as mentioned, is an RPG, and a free-roaming one at that. The player is the Arisen, who has a destiny entangled with a rather horrid dragon. In addition, the player has a trio of minions called Pawns who help him or her out in battle. I can only assume that the Japanese word for the lowest piece in chess is not a homophone for the Japanese word for gentlemen's special interest literature.

Anyway, you have one main Pawn (which you create) who is always present at your side and levels with you, and two standardised Pawns that you can recruit or let go. So, at creation you'll make your character and then make your own main Pawn. The Pawns are not directly controlled but basic commands can be issued.

As well as finding Pawns throughout the world you can find them through Rift stones (a cross between the jobs section in a newspaper and the palantir of Lord of the Rings). Intriguingly, as well as using the preset ones you can enjoy the Pawns of other players, assuming you and they have an internet connection. You can lend your own main Pawn out this way and it'll accrue knowledge about the world (locations of dungeons, enemy weaknesses etc) and may even be given a little present by another player who appreciated your effort in creating the Pawn.

It's probably the most innovative and interesting approach to online technology (of which I'm not generally a fan when it comes to games) since Demon's Souls.

I downloaded the demo (a first for me), which is disappointingly brief. However, it does give a basic feel for combat and shows off the character creator. Unlike Skyrim or Dragon Age there are few sliders, but there are stacks of presets. As well as the ones you'd expect (hairstyles) there are the nice-to-haves of scars and makeup as well as the delightful and unexpected, including arms, legs, torso, muscularity and height.

Combat-wise, I'm unsure. There's no magic in either demo mission, but you do play as a warrior archetype and then a rogue archetype (sword and shield followed by daggers and bow). The Pawns are shown to be pretty competent (maybe even a little too much so, but then the first missions aren't going to be rock hard). Graphics are decent enough, although the limited playtime and the fact that the first mission is in a very dark place makes it hard to assess properly.

In the game proper characters will be able to pursue the typical main classes of warrior, rogue and mage, but will also be able to forge hybrid classes. It sounds a bit reminiscent of FFV's excellent job system whereby if you level enough as, say, a mage you'll get a perk you can carry over if you decide you want to try your hand at being a rogue. I think that the main Pawn's job cannot be changed (not sure though), so balance would have to be maintained by fiddling with your lesser Pawns.

The previews I've read elsewhere suggest that, broadly speaking, the game's combat has been well-received. There is, however, some suggestion that the world's a bit too generic and ye olde England.

In addition (and whilst I consider this a slight minus some may rather like it) the comedy female (and male, I think) fantasy armour makes an appearance. Not seen an actual chainmail bikini (do they wear aketon bikinis underneath?) but there's rather a lot of that sort of thing.

The demo, unfortunately, didn't feature any shopping or other interactions with NPCs so I'm not quite sure how that will go. My exhaustive research (watching Youtube videos, if I'm honest) revealed that there are over 400 voiced NPCs with 200 voice actors. Blimey. Plus, the NPCs will have regional accents, which is a nice touch (like the Celtic elves in Dragon Age 2).

I like free-roaming RPGs, and a generic backdrop wouldn't really put me off. I'm not sure I'll buy it straight off, though (particularly as I don't need another distraction from formatting Bane of Souls*).

Thaddeus

*For those wondering, I'm making a little bit of progress each day. Not quite as fast as I'd like, but much better than hoping for a 3 hour window of peace and quiet to do it all at once.

Preview: Skyrim

In three weeks probably the biggest fantasy game of the year will be released; The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is the successor to the tremendously popular Oblivion and will be available for consoles and PCs.

I’d intended to leave the preview until a week beforehand, however, I’m thinking of going on a hiatus from following the game to stop myself seeing any more spoilers and, as there’s tons of info and clearly high interest, I thought I’d post it now. For those concerned about spoilers, I’m going to make the bulk of this preview very low on them. I’ll put the small section with significant spoilers at the end, and clearly flag it up beforehand so that the game’s not ruined for anyone.

So, with that clear, let’s begin.

Character creation and customisation

As before, the same 10 races and 2 genders are available for the player’s character. The races are Altmer, Dunmer, Bosmer, Orc, Khajiit, Argonian, Imperial, Nord, Breton and Redguard. The character creator seems to have been greatly improved both in terms of options and in terms of the characters looking more realistic than in Oblivion. Particularly pleasing is the ability to alter the character’s body, with a skinny to brawny slider.

Stats have been abolished, so there’s no Strength or Agility and so on. Health, Magic and Stamina remain, and the number of skill groups have been slightly cut from 21 to 18, and also rejigged somewhat. Encumbrance will be less of an issue (it sounds like there’s a more generous amount of weight you can carry compared to the previous game) and if you go over the limit you can still move but at a greatly reduced speed, which is a change for the better.

The levelling system of Oblivion (one of my few major dislikes of the game) has been abandoned and a new, improved system utilised. It’s highly similar to Fallout 3, with perks given at each level increase, sometimes capped by character or skill level. Skills level up as you use them.

Third person has been made a lot better (admittedly, that’s not all that hard given Oblivion’s clunky third person), with smoother animations (different for the genders), and with some unique animations for the beast races.

You will not be able to alter your appearance in-game.

User Interface (UI)

I have slightly mixed views about the new UI. From what I’ve seen it does appear to be much more user friendly than Oblivion’s, and I love the fact that every single item can now be viewed in three-dimensions. However, it seems slightly odd that you cannot now see your character in the menu screen, so presumably we’ll have to look at some clothing/armour, equip it, quit the menu, see how it looks in third person and then keep or get rid of it.

The map is three-dimensional and looks either like a super SatNav or a dragon’s eye view of Skyrim. It’s my understanding that just about everything in the HUD can be turned on or off and the opacity varied (so, you can get rid of quest markers, roam around without a compass and so on). Whilst I doubt I’ll change too much I do like the option to choose.

Combat

Ah, combat. I’ll split this into mini-sections for each archetype (warrior, mage, rogue).

Warrior:

The least changed of the approaches, in my view. Blunt and Blade skills are now replaced with One-handed Weapons and Two-handed Weapons, which I think makes more sense. You can also equip two one-handed weapons for dual-wielding combat, or mix and match with a one-handed weapon and shield/torch/staff [NB bows are two-handed, and have a separate skill-set]. However, I don’t think you can block whilst dual-wielding which seems, er, abnormal and a little bit stupid. Swings are generally slower and seem to have more impact, and I believe it’s possible to wound multiple enemies with a single swing. Shields can be used in a more offensive way than in Oblivion.

Mage:

This has been hugely changed from Oblivion. Spells are now equipped, like weapons, to each hand. So, the keys are for the left and right hands, and you’ll swing a sword or unleash a flamethrower according to what you have equipped. It’s also possible to equip the same spell in both hands and (if you have a certain perk, which is needed for some but not all spells) you’ll perform a super-powered version of that spell. Spells can be put in one-hand and weapons in the other, giving your character a battlemage feel and this seems to be a pretty strong play style from the limited viewing available.

Rogue:

Archery also seems to have been improved a lot for Skyrim. Arrows are now scarcer, but do more damage, and I read that the old Oblivion trick of walking backwards and firing arrows at the enemy charging you does not work any longer. The new rogue skills look quite good, and daggers get a hefty bonus when it comes to backstabbing unwary enemies.

There are also dragon shouts (like ultra-powered spells) which take a great deal of effort to learn and are equipped, I think, in a special slot which is also used for certain special racial abilities (rather than the left or right hand). Learning a dragon shout requires slaying of the aforementioned creatures as well as knowledge of dragon words from walls scattered throughout the game.

Crafting and manual labour

There are three major crafting areas, which have their own skill-sets, and a number of minor ones. The major crafts are alchemy, smithing, and enchanting.

Alchemy in Oblivion was an easy way to raise money and/or bump up a certain stat. In Skyrim it will also enable you to brew potions and poisons and use an even wider range of ingredients to do so. However, you can only do this at an alchemical laboratory, not whilst meandering around the countryside.

Smithing is new and sort of replaces the degradation of weapons and armour which now does not occur (some people like this absence, others don’t, personally I’m ambivalent). Anyway, a smith is able to enhance weapons or armour, or create them. The perks available improve the quality of creations or enables the player to use more exotic materials to make their weapons and armour.

Enchanting can be used to add magical bonuses to armour, weapons and clothing. As in Oblivion, enchantment requires the use of soul gems. You can pay others to do it for you, and, as with the above skills, it can only be done at a location specifically set aside for enchantment. I look forward to transforming a lump of gold into a nugget of purest green.

Minor crafts don’t need any sort of skill and involve doing basic work for money (or other advantages). Woodcutting is self-explanatory, mining likewise (you can, I would guess, keep the stuff you mine for use in the smithy) and cooking is perhaps the most interesting. You can find foodstuffs and improve them by just cooking an ingredient or combining them (into stew, for example) which then gives an almost potion-like bonus. Cooking requires a special cook-fire, which are scattered throughout Skyrim, and sounds like a small but nifty idea.

Sounds (voice-acting and music)

The number of voice-actors has been increased to more than 70, which is excellent news both for everyone who got irritated by recognising voices all over Oblivion and for the poor voice-actors who must have worked their socks off for bloody months. Ahem.

Most people will have heard Max Von Sydow (he speaks during the first trailer), who plays Esbern, one of the last Blades. Numerous actors from previous games return (happily including the chap who voiced Lucian Lachance) and are joined by Christopher Plummer, Joan Allen and others.

The music has been composed by Jeremy Soule, who also provided the scores for Morrowind and Oblivion. Most of the music is new, although one or two tracks from those earlier games have been heard during preview videos.

Here’s a fantastic piano version of the main theme which I found a little while ago:

World

In geographical size (square miles) it’s basically the same as Oblivion. However, the mountainous nature of Skyrim means that it will appear larger than Cyrodiil. In addition, there will be more points of interest. It’s unclear just how many dungeons there are, however, they have been designed on a far more individual and less identikit manner compared to the predecessor game. Dungeons will typically last from 15 minutes to 2 hours.

There are a smaller number of big cities than in Cyrodiil, but the cities are larger than their Oblivion counterparts. There are also more middle-sized towns and a greater number of villages and hamlets.

Children are included, which I think a mistake. It’s meant to be more immersive, but (unlike the vast majority of adult NPCs) they can’t be killed. That’s understandable, as I’m sure the creators would not be thrilled with child massacres in their game, but, that being so, why include kids at all? Bah.

Anyway, almost all adults can be killed (if you kill a shopkeeper sometimes they’ll be replaced by a relative). Because Skyrim is breaking up, not unlike a crumbly chocolate chip muffin, there’s no one justice system, but nine separate holds. So, you could commit rampant murder in one hold and then run off to another and be free as a bird. Early entertaining bugs, such as chickens reporting crimes to the guards, have hopefully been fixed. Incidentally, if you commit a crime and then murder the witnesses the bounty on your head will disappear.

A few adults cannot be killed by other NPCs but can by yourself, and a few cannot be killed at all.

As with Fallout 3 and Oblivion, you can have a companion (including at least one animal companion) follow you around and helping you out. In addition, you can get married (same-sex marriage is possible), although there are no frisky videos, and your husband/wife can act as a companion.

Buyable houses are back, though there isn’t tons of detail beyond the ability to buy furnishings for them (presumably including a chest or two for storing tons of items).

Factions make a return, with one each for warriors, mages and rogues (Companions, College of Winterhold and the Thieves Guild). There are also some juicy new factions, including the Legion and the Stormcloaks (rebels). Perhaps the best faction news is that the Dark Brotherhood make a very welcome return. There may also be a few other minor factions, and sometimes the faction quest line will continue even after you become the leader.

Unlike Fallout 3, the game will continue once the main quest is completed.

Right, that’s the low spoiler section over with. If you keep reading you’ll find out more information regarding stuff I consider to be pretty big spoilers.

The return of vampires has been confirmed. However, werewolves will not be in the main game, although there is talk of it possibly being made available through DLC.

There are only 10 playable races but there are some additional non-playable ones in the game. Giants are well-known, but there are also thought to be Falmer (snow elves) who look pretty ugly and the machine-like relics of the Dwemer (dwarves, essentially) in some of their ruins. It’s highly unlikely we’ll see an actual Dwemer as they all disappeared (then again, that’s what was supposed to have happened to the Falmer).

In recently released videos a new dragon shout was officially announced, which sounds like it may be the coolest of them all. Late in the game, it’s possible to become allied to a specific dragon. After this, when outdoors, you can call and the dragon will fly to you from wherever in Skyrim he is and help you out.

Thaddeus

Early preview: Skyrim

There are just under six months to go until Skyrim’s released, but there’s already quite a lot of interesting info to chew over. Unlike Dragon Age, which had a very fast (too fast, in fact) sequel, the follow-up to the epic Oblivion has been a long time coming. Oblivion came out in 2006, and has been one of the defining games of the RPG genre and the latest generation of consoles/PCs. It sold in droves, deservedly so, but was not without flaws. So, how will Skyrim compare and contrast to its illustrious predecessor? 

Size matters: Oblivion was pretty damned big. In terms of area, Skyrim will be very similar, but will seem a bit larger because it’s very mountainous, making certain areas more inaccessible and, effectively, further away. General approach: Pretty similar, if you’ve played Oblivion or Fallout 3 it should be very easy to get up to speed. Single player, first person by default (the third person has been improved if you opt for that), free-roaming, tons of side-quests and a huge number (120 plus) of dungeons.

Ten races: Happily, we get the full 10 races of Oblivion back. These include the human grouping (Nords, Redguards, Bretons and Imperials), the elves (Dark, High, Wood) and the beasts (Argonian, Orc and Khajiit). Early

screenshots of an Orc and Khajiit have emerged, and they look significantly better than their Oblivion counterparts.

Sound: The same composer from Oblivion has returned, and the trailer music sounds pretty damned good. Very little info is out about voice actors right now, although it has been confirmed that Swedish actor Max von Sydow will play an important character.

Two hands, two weapons: Oblivion had a typical weapon set-up, whereby you could have a one-hander and a shield or a two-hander, and always had a spell ‘open’, as it were. Skyrim will allow players to have two one-handed weapons, or two spells (one per hand), or one spell and one one-handed weapon. 

Archery is improved: Early on in Oblivion it was great being a stealth archer. You could kill or seriously injure opponents with one shot but later on in the game it became less enjoyable as opponents survived the initial stealth attack and then hit you in the face with an axe. It sounds like Skyrim will give a bonus to attacks from stealth, with different levels of alertness (from oblivious to the enemy staring right at you) offering higher bonuses. Arrows will be more powerful but fewer in number. 

Levelling: A pet hate of mine was the loathsome Oblivion levelling system. It was overly complicated, and any levelling system that can lead to your character becoming progressively weaker (in relative terms) is clearly flawed. The Skyrim system sounds simpler and more sensible, and will include a number (280, to be precise) of skill-related perks, like in Fallout 3. I believe that perks are attainable based on how proficient you are in a given skill, rather than just what level you are.I’ve not gone off games, but my enthusiasm for them has waned a little over the years. However, Skyrim is one that I am very much looking forward to, and hopefully it’ll be even better than Oblivion.

Thaddeus

Forthcoming games: LA Noire and Hunted: The Demon’s Forge

There are a pair of potentially great games coming out in the near future. These are Rockstar’s LA Noire (20 May) and Bethesda’s Hunted: The Demon’s Forge (3 June).

LA Noire sounds fascinating. It’s set in America shortly after the Second World War, with the protagonist playing a rozzer. The policeman’s role varies from patrolling the streets to investigating murder and vice, and given Rockstar’s prolonged experience with the likes of Grand Theft Auto the world is likely to be large, interactive and well-made.

Investigations look to be complex, with a keen eye for clues and judgement calls when interrogating witnesses and suspects yielding additional information. Bad calls could see potential avenues of information closed off.

However, that’s not the biggest reason to look at buying LA Noire. I’m a huge fan of voice acting, and have been since MGS when Cam Clarke and David Hayter played as Liquid and Solid Snake. LA Noire offers another step up from this, with visual acting. New animation technology allows actors’ faces to be accurately reproduced using the game’s graphics. What this means is that when you question someone you can really sense their guilt or innocence based upon both their voice and their face. If this is as good as it sounds it could mark a big step forward for games.

Of course, other games (DA2, for example) do feature emotive faces, incorporating eye muscle movements in smiles and wrinkled brows, but LA Noire does sound a cut above that.

The world and its premise sound intriguing, though I do wonder just replayable such a game will be.

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge is a completely different kettle of fish. It seeks to blend the power and sophistication of modern gaming with the old school charm of dungeon crawling. Interestingly, it features a pair of protagonists, sexy elf lady E’lara and hulking Caddoc. The former wields a bow and attacks from range using her weapon or magic, the latter is a typical sword and board warrior.

The two are always present, so if you play solo the computer controls the other character (you can pick and stick with one or flit between the two). It sounds similar to the Uncharted series, except that you get to play as one of two characters rather than being just the one. Naturally, you can get a friend to play the other role.

E’lara and Caddoc can heal one another or perform combo attacks, harking back to ye olden days of games like Phantasy Star IV (I’ll be writing a retro-review of that this month).

Hunted also includes The Crucible, which is a level designer. I remember Tenchu’s (I forget if it was in 2 or 3), and that was as user friendly as Lego, so if The Crucible is anywhere near as good it should be enjoyable and easy to use with the added bonus of being able to share created levels with friends.

Looming in the middle distance is Skyrim, due out in November. I’m really looking forward to that, but it’s some way off for now.

I’m still playing F1 2010, so I’m not going to get either of the above games upon release. I’ll be keeping a beady eye on the prices and reviews though.

Thaddeus

Dragon Age 2 preview

After a pretty short space of time, the next instalment in Dragon Age (cunningly entitled Dragon Age 2) is set for release. The game comes out on 8 March for the US and 11 March for the UK. It’s available on PC, Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360.

I really enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins (DA:O), the first game in the Dragon Age world. This preview, in common with reviews I’ve done, will be as light on spoilers as possible whilst still offering quite a bit of information.

The areas covered are: character creator, companions, mechanics (battle/speech system etc), locations, DLC.

Character Creator

The DA:O creator was pretty good, but it did have the odd flaw. Beards on humans, for example, would instantly render the face gaunter than Grand Moff Tarkin. The new creator boasts an increased number of hairstyles, eye colours (which will be more discernible) and allow you to play as default Hawke (the protagonist, who can be male or female) with or without the trademark blood smear. However, gone are the options of playing as an elf or a dwarf. You must be human.

There’s also an indirect improvement with the creator, which is the effect upon Hawke’s family. In DA:O, there was the potential for, er, questionable parentage. (See http://www.peasanthovel.com/2010/10/life-is-awkward-for-ebony-cousland/).

In DA2, the change is twofold. Firstly, your family’s faces alter based on the preset face you opt for. It also takes account of the skin colour you choose, so there should be a pretty wide range of familial faces and Hawke should avoid any embarrassing doubts about his or her parentage.

Companions

The four-man party (including Hawke) returns. In DA2, a number of old faces make returns, alongside new characters. Happily, the excellent banter of DA:O is back, and when not in the party characters have lives of their own, living apart from Hawke.

Bethany and Carver: Bethany is a mage, and Hawke’s little sister. She and Carver (a warrior) are twins, and Hawke’s first companions.

Aveline: A lady warrior who fights with a sword and shield. Very much a goody two shoes.

Anders: Yes, the mage from Awakenings returns (though it’s unclear whether Ser Pounce-a-lot will be with him). I won’t spoil it, but he’s substantially different (in what sounds like a good way).

Fenris: The mandatory bisexual and rather violent elf, formerly a slave to a Tevinter.

Isabela: The same Isabela, but with a different appearance and voice actress, to the one seen in The Pearl during DA:O. As you might expect, she’s a bit nice, but also a bit naughty.

Merrill: Another DA:O returnee, she was a brief companion during the Dalish Elf Origin story (the Keeper’s assistant). This time elves have substantially different appearances and Merrill also has another voice actress, who may be familiar to those into British sci-fi.

Varric: A dwarf without a beard is blasphemy indeed. Oh well. He does have a nifty crossbow, and is the narrator of the story.

Sebastian: DLC character. An archer and a nobleman displeased by his declining fortunes.

Mechanics

There has been much grumbling about the altered battle system. I haven’t played the demo, but my understanding is this: it’s a bit faster. That’s the primary change, and a good one.

Cool down on healing potions/spells has been increased quite a bit, which will make killing foes quickly even more important. Mages are as strong as they were before and the other two classes have been improved.

Skills are now learnt along a web rather than in a linear fashion. So, you might buy a single spell and upgrade it twice, or you could buy three separate spells. There’s greater freedom and it seems like a good idea.

Some character items can be altered, and Hawke’s helmet-visibility can be toggled on and off, but the companion clothing/armour cannot be altered outside of the plot.

A big change is that Hawke is now a voiced rather than silent protagonist. This has led to a dialogue wheel, whereby a summary of what he will say is provided rather than the full text.

Another change for the better is that the companion relationship system has been improved. For a start, the days of giving tons of present to become more popular are gone. Gifts are still around but they’re fewer and companion-specific. In addition, you can become a friend or a rival to a companion, and the latter is not necessarily a bad thing. This should help get rid of the incentive to make decisions based on what will prove popular with your companions.

Locations

Aside from an early bit of the game, it takes place in the Free Marches (medieval England meets Greek city states), more specifically the city of Kirkwall. There are various parts to the city and occasional excursions beyond it. However, the way the story progresses is based on time, not geography. This is a radical departure from DA:O and most other RPGs, and could work brilliantly if well-executed.

It reminds me a bit of FFXII (the last FF I bought) when the excellent political storyline involving the judges and Archadia was not fully developed. Hopefully that won’t be the case in DA2.

An important shift is that the story progresses as a framed narrative (think Princess Bride). So, it’s told in distinct segments of time. I’ve read that it’ll be made very clear when a time shift is about to occur to stop people accidentally ending a chapter when they’ve still got stuff they want to do.

DLC

I must be honest and say I really dislike DLC. It’s not just that I don’t have a wireless connection, but the idea that parts of the game are held back and then charged for. If I buy a game, I want everything included in the box.

Admittedly, firms must try and prevent or reduce piracy, and this sort of thing may work. It also prolongs game longevity and player engagement.

Anyway, as I wrote above, there’s another DLC character (I especially dislike this kind of DLC), Sebastian the rogue. There are also a number of items available, and I imagine there will be some post-release DLC such as Awakenings.

One of the coolest DLC items is an in-game character editor, though I’m unsure whether this will affect the appearance of Bethany/Carver.

I’m rather looking forward to this game. Later in the year Hunted: The Demon’s Forge looks potentially very good, and Skyrim may just be trouser-explodingly fantastic in November.

Thaddeus