This week our friend Christopher Coke is celebrating a new arrival in his family, so I’m sitting in to talk about the week’s RPG news. Also, I’m going to spend a wee bit of time urging you all to play Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen on the PC, and to sign one of those silly Change.org petitions so that we might get the MMO version outside of Japan.
THE NEWS!
In things we’d all say given the chance, Obsidian’s Eric Fenstermaker says he’s always up for making a new Fallout. You might know Eric from his work on Fallout: New Vegas, widely considered to be the best of the new era of Fallout games – the sequel to Fallout 3. Indeed, Obsidian is often the studio tapped by Bethesda when a sequel needs to be made quickly, and while I think we’re all hoping Obsidian gets the chance, there’s nothing official yet.
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In the world of “pseudo-MMOs”, Tom Clancy’s The Division is nearing ever closer to its March 8th launch. With the beta coming up next weekend, and launch due in March, Ubisoft is rewarding folks with extra starter gear by signing up at the official site and entering the code “AGENTORIGINS”. Head on over and do your thing now, so that you might also dress up like a paramedic or firefighter come launch. You can also watch the Agents Origins webisodes over on Amazon Prime Video if you have a subscription to the service.
In the world of Nintendo, RPGs are taking center stage in 2016, with Bravely Second, Fire Emblem: Fates, and tons of Final Fantasy and Project X Zone 2 all hitting the 3DS in this calendar year. Not to mention our own Rob Lashley just write his review of the superbly charming and fun Mario & Luigi Paper Jam.
Finally, after months in Early Access, Redhook Studios’ excellent roguelike RPG Darkest Dungeon is out for the masses. Our review is forthcoming, but as you can see… we love this game. Well worth the price of admission.
Lastly, big congrats to John Smedley’s new studio, Pixel Mage Games on the launch of their Kickstarter for the MMO/ARPG Hero’s Song, with a world designed by renowned fantasy author, Patrick Rothfuss. Be sure to read our feature on the game, and see why it’s one you should consider backing.
BUY DRAGON’S DOGMA: DARK ARISEN, PEOPLE!
Do you want new MMOs in the states? If so, consider buying Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, recently released on the PC via Steam from Capcom. Check out Hive’s first impressions (review coming next week), to see why. With all its quirks and somewhat dated looks, DD is one of the most refreshing and unique RPGs in recent years. The MMO brings that same gameplay to fans of our favorite genre, and is doing quite well in Japan since its launch in 2015. There’s a silly, but maybe effective, petition on Change.org you can sign too, if that’s more your speed. There are all sorts of indications that Dark Arisen on the PC is the studio’s test to see if there’s an audience in NA and EU. Let’s hope its booming sales are what the Japanese studio needed to see.
