Atlus Premieres Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Trailer

Atlus released the official full trailer yesterday for upcoming title Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for Nintendo DS. Atlus’ game synopsis (no spoilers): In the near future, a mysterious, growing, black void appears at the Earth’s southern pole. Unable to determine its cause and powerless to stop its deadly encroachment, humanity sends an elite team of explorers into the heart of the phenomenon, just as Strange Journey’s look and feel represent a return to the heart of Shin Megami Tensei, bringing to mind the all-time classic Nocturne™. With over 300 demons to bribe, coerce, and negotiate with to gain assistance in battle, Strange Journey is every bit the deep, rewarding RPG experience fans have come to expect from the SMT franchise, yet delivered with a fresh new sci-fi story that taps into mature themes of morality and introspection. The game is scheduled to be released on March 23rd, with every

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Board Game Review: Munchkin

Don’t take these words lightly: Munchkin is a game that will win friends and make enemies. And these enemies will later decide to befriend you just so they can play this game and kick your puny attack score repeatedly out of revenge or retribution.

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“Risen” Makes the Jump from PC to 360

The Xbox 360 just got another fantasy RPG added to the title library. Deep Silver announced today that Risen is now available on the Xbox 360 in North America. Risen is a classic fantasy RPG in which players must make crucial choices along their quest to aid in humanity’s struggle for survival against ancient beings. Players craft their own storylines by deciding which faction of resistance to join, which style of character development to pursue, and what kinds of interactions their character will have.  Each decision makes an impact on the game’s storyline (as you would expect these days). The title also features an open-world environment for free-roaming gameplay as well as multiple side quests. The game was previously released for the PC to positive reviews. For more information on Risen, please visit http://risen.deepsilver.com.

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Guest Article: On Earthdawn Character Generation & Regeneration

In the realm of classic medieval fantasy tabletop RPGs, Earthdawn is considered a second generation game, having come not long after a second edition of Dungeons and Dragons was released. It has all the familiar races – Human, Elf, Troll, Dwarf, Ork – and a few most haven’t seen before – the T’skrang, a lizard-like race, the Obsidimen, who are the rock-people, and the Windlings, who are a bit like ADD-addled Kinder in nature, and stand only about 18 inches high and have wings. My first campaign was Earthdawn, in which I played a T’skrang archer, the elfiest T’skrang you’d ever meet – because I was teased that every girl’s first character is an elf. To avoid that stereotype, which is a bit silly, I admit, I picked the T’skrang, the least conventionally attractive (besides the Ork) of the lot. And I was timid during my first campaign, because all

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Review: Demon’s Souls

Regarded as one of the most difficult games released this generation (and appropriately released on my birthday) Demon’s Souls is a third person action RPG with rogue-like elements to it. This Playstation 3 exclusive was developed as a joint effort between From Software and Sony Computer Entertainment, and is unlike any other game I’ve played in many aspects. ESRB: M Players: 1/Online Multi-player Genre: RPG Publisher: Atlus/Sony BUY Considered the spiritual successor to the King’s Field games, Demon’s Souls introduces gamers to many unique aspects of game play and co-op that have seldom been seen before. This medieval dungeon crawler, wrapped in a grim fantasy setting is one of the few games to completely engross me in a long while despite inducing extreme amounts of frustration, yet you’ll always come back despite the curve balls this game throws your way. The plot of the game opens with the downfall of

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Review: Eternal Sonata

Eternal Sonata is similar to your classic Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG) in that the characters have a very young appearance, combat is more or less turn-based, and the story has some aspects that are similar to other linear RPGs like Final Fantasy. Rating: T Players: 1 Genre: RPG Developer: Tri-crescendo Publisher: Bandai Namco Release Date: November 2007 BUY Eternal Sonata is similar to your classic Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG) in that the characters have a very young appearance, combat is more or less turn-based, and the story has some aspects that are similar to other linear RPGs like Final Fantasy. What brings this game up a notch from other RPGs is the little tweaks to the combat system, the variety in characters and places, and the uniqueness of the theme of the game. Almost every single person and place, even some weapons and special abilities, is named after a musical

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“Foto Showdown” for DSi Makes Your World Your Companion

On Friday, Konami released trailers for their new turn-based RPG Foto Showdown, available for DSi in March of this year. Why play Foto Showdown? Well, it utilizes the DSi’s camera to turn real-world enemies into your in-game allies. In the trailer posted below, a young boy uses his DSi to take his a dog, a mean bully, and grouchy neighbor from one world into the other. How does the game do this? It uses the dominant colors in each image to spawn monsters, which you use to fight your battles. Watch the trailer for more. Next time someone tells you that you’re not paying enough attention to real life, show them this. It’s good to see more DSi-exclusive titles, especially ones that utilize the two cameras.

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New Screens and Trailer for Nier

Square Enix has treated us today with a new trailer and new screenshots for Nier, a new non-Final Fantasy series RPG they plan on releasing during Q2 2010. First impressions have me just as excited as I am for FF13, which will be available a couple months before Nier. Check out the trailer and screens below. Nier will be available on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

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Gary Gygax and GenCon Indy

A lot of you know the name Gary Gygax. He was co-creator of the legendary Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game that many of you reading this might have or wanted to play. He’s known as the father of role-playing games to some. He played a special part in Gen Con, as he founded it and held the first meeting in his own house. This summer at Gen Con Indy 2010, there will be a special auction featuring some of his personal belongings. The items will be auctioned off during the event, and part of the proceeds will go to the Gygax Memorial Fund. This fund is a non-profit charity started by his wife, Gail Gygax, and hopes to raise the fund to erect a memorial in Library Park in Lake Geneva, Wisconson. Lake Geneva is the birthplace of Gen Con. The plans for this memorial are a bronze bust of

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Dragon Age: Origins Receives Mainstream Accessible Game of the Year Award

BioWare‘s epic RPG Dragon Age: Origins is AbleGamers.com’s 2009 pick for “Mainstream Accessible Game of the Year.” It received a 9.8/10 score for its bevy of options and graphics choices that make the game playable for gamers with disabilities. In fact, AbleGamers.com had only one criticism of the PC title (small font size), which was easily addressed by BioWare in an update. Dragon Age: Origins had the most impressive options out of any game this year, the organization said. BioWare included three levels of subtitles, gamers can pause the action during battle and issue commands on a delay instead of in real time, various control options are available for the camera and characters, and the game itself is even colorblind-friendly. The fact that all of the previous options are available and don’t hamper the gameplay is key. The accessibility options only enhance the gameplay for disabled gamers, and they don’t

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