Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood’s Associate Producer Dorian Kieken has said in an interview that the Sonic Chronicles 2 story is already being written.
During his SavyGamer Podcast interview he talks about designing the game, music and story. Then goes on to mention that developer BioWare are already writing the story for Sonic Chronicles 2 as part of their future DS titles. Sonicstadium transcribes that Dorian explains they already have a lot of different scenarios for what will happen next and they have a good idea of where they want to go with the game.
Star Wars: The Old Republic’s creative director at BioWare, James Ohlen, has made an interesting remark about KOTOR 3 being part of the PC MMORPG in a recent video interview that you can watch below.
To quote: “One of the things we like to joke about this game… is just the sheer amount of content we’re doing and the fact that when our fans ask ‘Why aren’t you doing Knight of the Old Republic 3?’ …we’re really doing KOTOR 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12+. We have THAT much content, that many stories, and we really get to do a lot of the things that we wouldn’t have been able to do in KOTOR 3.
One of the things about the type of storytelling that we’re doing, because their stories revolve around a player’s class (his role), we’re able to actually tell stories that are very focused on who the player is. Which is something that other BioWare games haven’t been able to do.”
Watch the KOTOR 3… uhm, I mean, Star Wars: The Old Republic video interview with the developers at BioWare. Part of the team working on the game previously made Mass Effect. Take a look:
If you don’t feel like watching it. The interview mainly talks about the above as well as these highlights:
* The game taking place 300 years after the events in the original KOTOR.
* While there was peace, the Sith empire has now re-emerged and gone to war with the Republic, the game starts when the hostilities begin again.
* The game world will have many planets, some Sith and Republic strongholds and battlegrounds.
* The game alliances are separated into Light Side, Dark Side, and Faction.
* Your choices will effect your personal story. Meaning that any choice you make, you’ll have to live with, because there’s no save button in an MMO.
In a recent interview with BioWare lead designer Miles Holmes, he mentioned the developer is looking at possibly bringing Mass Effect, Jade Empire and Dragon Age titles to the Nintendo DS. This surprising comment was made when talking about the upcoming DS RPG Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.
Mr. Molmes described the title as an effort to get BioWare’s handheld division off the ground. He explained that the developer would consider making more DS titles to support its console games. To quote: “Basically anything that reinforces the franchises. We have a lot of big plans for Mass Effect. Having a DS version would be an awesome way to keep interest alive and keep it going in addition to the next one [Mass Effect 2].”
Mr. Holmes commented he would personally like to see a Mass Effect title on the DS: “I tell you which one I would want. I want the Mass Effect one”, quoted GI.
Dragon Age: Origins is an all-new game from Bioware and EA! It will be released before April 2009.
Unlike many of BioWare’s previous titles, Dragon Age: Origins is not based on a pre-existing franchise; the game mechanics and setting are being developed by BioWare specifically for this game. Dragon Age: Origins also utilizes a new game engine named Eclipse. It has not been confirmed if it will feature a toolset for creation of fan-made content, and while multiplayer was initially planned, the focus of development is on the single-player campaign and multiplayer remains unconfirmed. BioWare co-CEO Ray Muzyka describes Dragon Age: Origins as a ’spiritual successor’ to the Baldur’s Gate series.
The setting is “medieval fantasy” and the plot has been described as “epic”, and involves saving the world and exploring the Kingdom of Ferelden. The developers have cited ‘realistic’ fantasy fiction such as George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones and fantasy paintings by artists such as Frank Frazetta as inspiration for the game - they aim for a dark, mature, gritty fantasy setting as opposed to the High Fantasy Dungeons and Dragons BioWare fans are used to.
GameTrailersTV got the exclusive reveal teaser trailer which you can view below. The trailer is entirely done using the in-game engine and although it doesn’t look like anything mind-blowing, keep in mind that this is just the TEASER. It will be very interesting to see what actual gameplay is like.
The designers are incorporating “origin” stories for each race and some classes in the game. For example a Dwarf Noble will begin the game as part of the royal family in one of the Dwarven cities, and a Dwarf Commoner will begin on the streets of said city. Origin stories determine the background of the player’s character prior to the main events of the game’s story, forming an introduction to the game world and hours of game-play. People the player meets during the origin story may reappear throughout the game, some of whom may be adversaries.
While there is no tracking of alignment as in previous BioWare games, the moral choices of the main character throughout the game will still affect the story. While you may save the world whether you are good or evil, the decisions you make in the process will change the world around you, deciding who will become King for example, and affecting nations and races and their places in the world. These decisions will also influence your companion NPCs, and could ultimately lead to an NPC deciding to leave your party if he or she does not agree with your approach.
The game may feature a newly designed camera, which will follow the party in a third person ‘explore mode’ while out of combat, but will swing up to a RTS style, top down, camera mode while in combat. As with the Baldur’s Gate series, players will be able to issue orders to NPCs in real time or while the game is paused, and queue up actions such as spells and special attacks.
The following features are confirmed but not final
* Epic open ended storyline
* Cinematic story-driven single-player campaign
* Full character customization (race, gender, class, abilities, spells, etc)
* The character development is class-based; on higher levels, one can choose more specialized classes
* The magic system is mana-based; there is only one kind of magic
* Set in a new fantasy world created by BioWare for fans of its past titles
* Party-based gameplay
* Top down party-based tactical ‘combat mode’
* Cinematic 3rd person camera ‘exploration mode’
No other details have been announced including platforms or release date, although it’s apparently confirmed that the game will be on PC . . . we’ll have to await E3 to find out if it will be coming to consoles, but I’d be extremely surprised if it didn’t at least come to the Xbox 360 given the success of Mass Effect on that platform.
The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) recently paid developer BioWare Studios a visit to report on their latest RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, on the Nintendo DS.
Sonic Chronicles’ associate producer Dorian Kieken was interviewed in French and showed off some gameplay, animation, art and other game-related things created by the development team. BioWare’s Chris Priestly says “It is your first ‘behind the scenes’ look at Sonic and a hint at some of the gameplay you’ll experience.”
Watch the first Sonic Chronicles gameplay 2:18 minutes into the video interview.
Too bad the Mario Kart 64 music (they were probably playing it on the Wii Virtual Console) overlaps with the gameplay footage audio.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is the debut project by the handheld group inside esteemed developer Bioware, this Nintendo DS-exclusive RPG brings Sega’s favorite blue blur to gamers in a way never seen before! Expect the game to be out in fall 2008.
“A Sonic RPG?” you might be thinking that’s an odd combination (at first it was for Mario too, but look at him six RPGs later). But before you know it, you’ll be grabbing some rings and venture out with Knuckles, Tails and the rest of the 11-headed gang. This interview with Sega’s Kirby Fong, the Sonic Chronicles Producer, explains how the gameplay works.
Want more Sonic Chronicles gameplay info? I can’t blame you, it sounds intriguing.
Special attacks are made by rhythmically tapping and dragging on indicated locations on the touch screen of the Nintendo DS, much like Elite Beat Agents. These are done using Fatigue Points, which are similar to Magic Points in other RPGs. The player can also choose which attributes to increase when leveling up, and special attacks can be bought using rings as currency. Such as buying Sonic new shoes, one may make him faster in battle, another may inflict fire damage.
The battle system will also allow for team attacks, said of Chrono Trigger, or Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Some characters can perform multiple actions per round. Each team member can perform a special power move that requires you to execute touchscreen commands. It’s been said that there will be about 40 or so such combos in the game which involve three or four characters. You can choose which attributes to improve on your characters when they level up.
When in open areas, a map is displayed on the top screen as well as the members of the current team; while inside buildings or caves the top screen reverts to showing an expanded view of the area, the controls will be done through the use of the stylus instead of the d-pad much like Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. As your team members level up, their map abilities will improve, giving you access to new areas. So not upgrading certain characters can mean missing out on certain things in the world.
BioWare plans to keep Mass Effect 2 and its entire Mass Effect trilogy exclusive to Xbox 360, with BioWare senior manager Matt Atwood saying: “I believe we’ll be Xbox 360 exclusive [Mass Effect 2] for at least a short period of time. We’re still working out the details on that, but we’ve had a great relationship with Microsoft and done very well.”
After the Electronic Arts BioWare buyout, there were murmurs that the Microsoft-published action-RPG would go multi-platform with its two announced sequels. Although the sequel will remain a console exclusive, it’s still a timed exclusivity with Mr. Atwood confirming: “I think you’ll see a PC version not too far away.” — Quoted by CVG
BioWare today announced that Mass Effect, the popular game released for Xbox 360 in November 2007, will be available for PC, on May 6th. We reviewed Mass Effect on the Xbox 360 as a 8.5 out of 10, it’s a worthy game for action-RPG fans, but let’s hope the camera controls, long loading times, and many bugs mentioned in the review get fixed for the new release.
Published by EA and re-designed for the PC, Mass Effect invites players to take the role of Commander Shepard as they set out on an adventure to save the galaxy from imminent destruction. The PC version of Mass Effect will feature a new: squad control interface, hot-key functionality, re-designed Mako controls, new Quick-save button and increased number of save slots, new decryption mini-game, and new inventory screen GUI and functionality.
Mass Effect is a science fiction action-RPG created by BioWare, the commercially and critically acclaimed RPG developer of Jade Empire, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and the Baldur’s Gate series.
Find out how Mass Effect sets out to deliver an immersive story-driven gameplay experience with stunning visuals.
System: Xbox 360, PC
Genre: Action-RPG
Release dates: November 20th 2007 (USA), November 22nd 2007 (AUS), November 23rd 2007 (EURO), and in May 2008 for PC
Players: 1
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Origin: America
As the first human Specter -– sworn defenders of galactic peace –- you must uncover the greatest threat to civilization. “You must act without remorse, without hesitation, and outside the limits of the law.” Your mission is to halt the advancing armies of a legendary agent gone rogue. But as Commander Shepard of the space ship SS Normandy you lead your elite team of freedom fighters across hostile alien worlds, you will discover the true threat is far greater than anyone imagined. Your job is complicated by the very fact of your humanity, as no one trusts you and you need to find a way to convince everyone of the grave threat. You will travel across an expansive universe to piece the mystery together. As you discover and explore the uncharted edges of the galaxy, you come closer to an overwhelming truth — learning that the placid and serene universe you know is about to come to a violent end and that you may be the only person who can stop it!
In addition to the main story arc of the game, players are be able to visit a large number of uncharted, unexplored planets in the MAKO vehicle, these planets are side quests independent from the main story. At any time during the campaign, you can choose to explore one of these planets and have an opportunity to discover new alien life, powerful technologies, ancient artifacts and ruins, rogue trader colonies and a host of other discoveries.
Watch the Mass Effect launch trailer.
Mass Effect allows you to create your own customizable version of Commander Shepard (or jump in and use the pre-created character) and plunge yourself into the center of an epic science-fiction story. Choose your squad-mates, your weapons, skills and abilities, and customize your vehicles, armor and appearance - you are in complete control over your experience.
In the course of your mission you may choose to follow the path of six character classes: the Soldier, the tech-specialist (Engineer), the biotics-specialist (Adept), Infiltrator, Sentinel, and Vanguard… each of which brings an arsenal of unique yet equally powerful abilities to use against the enemy. Soldiers are the most skilled with weaponry, Engineers make use of the omni-tool and tech-abilities and the Adept are the best at using the biotics. The other three classes are combinations of the first three. Infiltrators are a combination of Soldiers and Engineers, the Sentinel is a combination between the Engineer and the Adept and the Vanguard are a combination of the Soldier and the Adept.
They wield a multitude of weapon types with precision accuracy… The game features four classes of conventional weapons and a variety of weapon and armor upgrades. You can pause the game at any time and change the equipment used by the members of the party. This is a major strategic aspect of the gameplay, as choosing the correct equipment can mean the difference between a quick victory and defeat. Equipped items are visible on the characters, the armors (classified as combat and EVA suits with light, medium and heavy armor) have different appearances and all weapons fold up into compact versions that are stored on the character’s back. Weapons can be retrieved by using a weapon wheel similar to the talent wheel which controls which of their abilities or special powers a squad mate uses.
Ammunition is unlimited; instead of needing to reload, a weapon will build up heat until it overheats, and cannot fire until it has sufficiently cooled down.Use your technical skill to turn enemy war machines against their creators… or unleash the full power of Dark Energy against your foe with devastating effects. As you progress throughout the game you will be able to upgrade your character’s skills, abilities, and equipment (including weapons, armor, biotic implants and more) using the “X-Mod” system, to ensure that you have the means to face the growing threat before you. Even more advanced talent options become available at higher levels.
Mass Effect combines astonishing photo-realistic graphics with innovative new dialog systems to create a cast of living characters to interact with. Engage these characters in real-time conversations that allow you to immerse yourself in dramatically charged situations. Characters communicate with full voice-acting and amazing animation that displays their emotions right down to subtle nuances in their facial expressions. Every wrinkled brow and slight twist of the mouth is captured to infuse every interaction with a feeling of realism.
The role you choose to play in Mass Effect will have consequences on the galaxy around you. You will face moral dilemmas in which the decision you ultimately make will significantly alter the fate of civilized life in the galaxy, as the following distress call video will give an example of…
So what are the main features of Mass Effect?
* Immersive RPG: Determine the fate of mankind as you lead an elite tactical strike force as an epic galaxy-wide conflict unfolds. Mass Effect will take the player into new depths of an action-roleplaying game, with choice-based gameplay.
* Rich and engaging storyline. While defending galactic peace and earning a position of respect for humanity in the community, gamers will discover that a greater conflict between organic life and artificial intelligence exists. Players’ decisions and actions will serve to shape the destiny of all life in the galaxy as you become absorbed in the story that is Mass Effect, the first game in an epic trilogy from BioWare. They will become the center of an engrossing story as they battle against alien life forms to save the galaxy from threatening armies.
* Player controls the ultimate fate of the galaxy: The player’s decisions and actions will serve to shape the destiny of all life in the galaxy, while raising humanity to the pinnacle of galactic civilization via noble means or via tyranny.
* Real-time squad based combat: Mass Effect employs a real-time, squad based, tactical combat system. Players will be immersed in intense, challenging and exciting combat.
* Explore uncharted worlds: In addition to the main story arc of the game, players will be able to visit a large number of uncharted, unexplored planets which are not directly tied to the main story. At any time during the campaign, a player can choose to explore one of these planets in an all-terrain rover in order to discover new alien life, resources, ruined civilizations and powerful technologies.
* Digital actors: Mass Effect features a huge cast of in-engine digital actors that you will encounter as Non-Playable Characters, enemies or as party members. Each will have life-like facial and body movements, and an advanced dialogue system will give them engaging personalities.
* Character customization. Players will be able to choose from a variety of stunning, photo-realistic character appearances at the start of the game, and throughout the game can increase various statistics which will have an impact on their performance during gameplay. Equipment, weapons and armor that are acquired during the course of the story will change the appearance of the characters.
* Next-generation gaming defined. Mass Effect takes advantage of Xbox 360’s hardware providing gamers with exciting new experiences, including photo-realistic, high definition graphics on an epic scale. As the future of gaming goes online, Xbox 360 online features, including premium downloadable content and recognition of achievement will be available via Xbox Live.
Watch more Mass Effect gameplay footage.
As a conclusion I have to point out some minor complaints. As you explore Mass Effect’s planets you’ll notice sometimes movements slow down mid-game as a new section is loaded or a large scale battle takes place, and texture pop-ins and tears will make the game appear unoptimized. Also the camera controls don’t have a button to auto-align behind you, so you’ll find yourself adjusting the slow-moving camera a lot, which might not sound like a big deal… until you’re surrounded by multiple enemies and get killed because you didn’t see them all quickly enough. The camera on the Mako is hard to handle too and makes controlling the already floaty vehicle worse. While I’m a very patient person, a lot of annoyances seem to have to do with slow movement; The same goes for the inventory system that takes ages to go through the long list of weapons and upgrades, since the items are arranged in the order you obtain them (or at least not well organized) it becomes ungainly. — At some points in the game reloading was required because of bugs, one time the game even froze up entirely. So in short, while the game itself is great, there are a lot of little technical bugs that hinder the fun because they shouldn’t be in the game to start with (hopefully future patches will fix them). Those bugs keep the sci-fi epic from being as good as it could be.
Now let’s see how much fun Mass Effect is on a scale from 1 to 10?
FUN FACTOR - 8.5
Mass Effect is a good game for RPG fans who don’t mind mixing it up with squad-based action sequences. The classic sci-fi story becomes amazing thanks to its cinematic direction of the camera and life-like character animations (yes, even for the aliens). While it’s doing a lot right, it also has a few technical problems (mentioned in the conclusion above) that keep it from being a more fantastic game. These issues include slow camera controls and framerate slowdown in the middle of battles, although most disturbing aren’t the technical bugs and glitches like clipping and getting stuck in objects, instead it’s when on occasion the game’s controls stop responding or the game freezes up entirely forcing you to reboot. While that may sound annoying, and it is, it can also be forgiven.
Why? Because Mass Effect has an amazing strong and long storyline that helps avoid “save the galaxy” cliches, it’s brought to you through excellent voice acting and the dialog makes for a very interactive and continuously developing story. It’s further improved through the characters’ facial animations that express various emotional states. The gameplay delivers deep character customization, but still offers simple action-oriented yet strategic combat, it’s more of an RPG than a shooter though. You’re getting a good soundtrack and of course the graphics look fantastic (as you can see in the above videos) and work to great cinematic effect in combination with the storytelling. Definitely the next-generation action-RPG to own right now for Xbox 360 owners.
Graphics - 9.0
The facial animations and body language system is just amazing to see in action. These character animations are extremely fluid and react to changes in the environment (rag doll physics) perfectly. The various planets and pristine space cities are artistically sound and the overall graphics make Mass Effect breathtaking to look at, so far it’s definitely one of the most beautiful games this generation.
Audio - 10
The game’s 37 song-strong soundtrack was composed by Jack Wall, Sam Hulick, Richard Jacques and David Kates, who said the music was inspired by classic sci-fi movies such as Blade Runner and Dune, all very fitting and attune to the narrative and going-ons. The sound effects are suitably futuristic space themed and along with the soundtrack really don’t do themselves justice unless heard on a 5.1 surround sound set.
Mass Effect introduces a new dialog system in which responses to non-player characters (NPCs) are displayed as the general tone of the message, rather than a word-for-word transcription of the message. You’ll be using a dialog wheel to choose the approach you want to take (for example: bully, bribe, or be nice) and each of the up to six sections for you to choose from displays a brief preview of the response like “What’s going on?” and your character Shepard takes it from there. All the game’s dialog is subtitled as well as spoken and the (in-game and in cutscenes) voice acting is absolutely superb (and present) throughout the entire story. There are two reasons for this: 1. The direction and morality of the storyline is mostly determined by your choices during conversations. 2. The voice cast performs entirely believable performances, especially celebrities like Keith David (Saints Row, Halo 3) as the Normandy’s captain David Anderson, Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Matriarch Benezia, Seth Green (Austin Powers in Goldmember, Robot Chicken) as the Normandy’s pilot Joker, and Lance Henriksen (Millennium, Alien vs. Predator) as Admiral Hackett. The Commander Shepard voice actors Mark Meer (if you play as a male) and Jennifer Hale (if you play as a female) are suitable too, and your team mates even talk to you in between dialog- and cutscenes about context-related subjects. This game might have the best voice acting ever in a game and there are thousands of lines of dialog to enjoy.
Ingenuity - 8.0
The game could’ve used some good tutorials, because you get thrown right into the action and are left to figure out the gameplay on your own. Outside of the deeply customizable six character classes you choose from to level up and upgrade, with the dialog wheel you have full control over where the story leads and this really helps put you in the role of Shepard like any good RPG does. While there are bugs during gameplay, and the A.I. could use an upgrade themselves, they serve their purpose well in guiding the story to whatever direction you choose to take. The bugs and glitches can really hamper the gameplay and this is definitely the biggest downer on the experience Mass Effect delivers. There’s no denying how fantastic the classic RPG elements are fleshed out and (as mentioned below) it will keep you playing for a long time.
Replay Value - 9.0
Expect to play through the main campaign in 20 to 40 hours depending on your skills and difficulty level you choose. There’s plenty of replay value as there are multiple endings and you’ll be able to do loads of side-missions that could possibly bump up the total playtime to 40 to 60 hours, if you’re that thorough and patient. BioWare has also announced a Bring Down the Sky downloadable content pack will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace on March 10th, 2008, that adds a new world with its own scenario to the game.
If you can’t get enough of Mass Effect’s story, then you should check out the prequel book titled Mass Effect: Revelation. And in summer 2008 the book Mass Effect: Ascension will be released that bridges the gap between the Mass Effect game ending and the start of the upcoming Mass Effect 2 game. With the Mass Effect sci-fi game series already confirmed as a trilogy, the (so far) 1.6 million fans will have a lot to look forward to in the next five years. For now I think I’ll just go and passively watch Firefly.
Mass Effect, BioWare’s award-winning Xbox 360 role-playing game, is headed to PC this May. Just as previous BioWare games such as Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire were a few months after their release.
The PC version will have a few differences from the Xbox 360 version. It will feature a revamped inventory system (a part of the game often complained about) and decryption mini-games. It will also allow hot key assignments for a more action-oriented “run & gun” style of play. It will also have enhanced graphics for higher resolution PC displays. Unlike the Xbox 360 version, the PC version will be published by EA instead of by Microsoft Game Studios. This is due to EA buying BioWare.
“Microsoft Game Studios will retain the publishing rights for Mass Effect on Xbox 360 and future downloadable content for this installment,” Microsoft said in a statement. “Microsoft Game Studios and Electronic Arts have entered into an agreement where Electronic Arts will publish all future Mass Effect titles and projects.”
When asked if this opens up the possibility for a Mass Effect 2 to be published on Playstation 3, BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk has said that his studio would like to finish the “Mass Effect trilogy” on the Xbox 360.
Mass Effect is set in the 22nd century, when, after discovering alien artifacts that allow for faster-than-light travel, humanity bursts onto the galactic scene. Players assume the role of Commander Shepard, a human tasked by the multispecies governing body known as the Citadel Council to track down a rogue agent named Saren. While in pursuit of his quarry, Shepard encounters various races, conspiracies, alien monsters, and interstellar mercenaries before uncovering a conspiracy that could doom all life in the Milky Way galaxy.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood’s Associate Producer Dorian Kieken has said in an interview that the Sonic Chronicles 2 story is already being written.
Dragon Age: Origins is an all-new game from Bioware and EA! It will be released before April 2009.
The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) recently paid developer BioWare Studios a visit to report on their latest RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, on the Nintendo DS.
