The next “true” sequel in the Battlefield franchise hasn’t officially been announced, but DigitalBattle.com claims to have gotten their hands on a leaked PDF document full of juicy details that sound legit. The file apparently says Battlefield 3, which will again have a near-future setting similar to Battlefield 2, is planned for release some time in late 2008.

Among the leaked features are some impressively large numbers: 56 total weapons, 48 total vehicles, and most stupefying of all, 40 vs. 40 battles. With teams that big, it’s no wonder they’re also reportedly adding a new tier to the squad mechanics introduced in Battlefield 2. Squads and the commander role return, but now three or four squads will form a battalion.

According to the document, Battlefield 3 will run on the Frostbite DX engine, which is presumably a DirectX 10 version of the Frostbite engine used in Battlefield: Bad Company for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The document also mentions it’ll ship with 8 maps, there will be an “MMO-styled” persistent solider system, and there’s a possibility of a beta in the summer.

When contacted by DigitalBattle.com, EA gave a no comment, while developer DICE hadn’t replied at all. The document mentioned an official announcement was planned for January, but if this wealth of leaked info is true, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it get bumped up a little.
Source: gametab.com

Richard Garriott, the acclaimed game designer who pioneered the genre of massive multiplayer online games, has finished his latest work, Tabula Rasa, a science fiction-themed title he reckons will alter the way such games are played.

Massively multiplayer online games, or MMOs, are so called because they allow thousands of players connected through the Internet to explore a virtual world at the same time.

Garriott’s Ultima Online, launched a decade ago, was one of the first MMOs to feature rich graphics and is credited with leading the way for popular games such as Sony’s Everquest and Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.

In fact, World of Warcraft has amazed the game industry with its ever-growing global legion of loyal fans–9 million active players and counting.

Yet Garriott was troubled by the dedication Warcraft and other online games demanded of players, who must devote dozens of hours to building their in-game characters.

“Tabula Rasa really is a fresh approach to MMOs,” he said. “Some of the design changes we’ve put in TR will set the standards for next 10 years.”

Garriott’s answer was to make advancement in Tabula Rasa based on working through the storyline, rather than killing a certain number of monsters or defeating a powerful enemy. “We believe we’ve created a game that is much kinder to casual play,” Garriott said.

The basic story is that in the near future aliens invade Earth and destroy almost all of humanity. Players are the only survivors, and they must travel the stars to defeat the aggressors.

“One of the first things we decided when we started was not to do another medieval fantasy game,” Garriott said. “We were eager to branch out and try something new. There’s still way too much fantasy in the genre right now.”

Another thing Garriott is known for is imbuing his worlds with moral dilemmas. In Garriott’s games, players could not kill or steal and expect people around them not to notice. The choice was still there, but it came with a price.

The ‘ethical parable’
Tabula Rasa has a similar mechanism dubbed the “ethical parable.” In one case, a player must ferret out who is stealing medical stimulants from a military clinic. It turns out that soldiers are using the drug to give them a badly needed edge in battle. The player must decide whether or not to turn them in.

“The game is just peppered with moments that are intended to be thought provoking, not trying to preach any angle or social issue, but are intended to provoke thought and challenge a player’s personal beliefs,” Garriott said.

The game’s name, Latin for “blank slate,” was originally a working title meant to encourage Garriott’s team to rethink the rules. But the name stuck due to a game element that is one of the most intriguing parts of its entire design.

Garriott envisioned an alien writing system that could be read by any player and would reveal secret knowledge to help their characters. In essence, that meant Garriott had to create a universal language, a task that led him to spend months studying Egyptian hieroglyphics, ancient Chinese script and even signage for international events like the Olympic Games.

As players decipher the alien words, symbols are added to a tablet they carry, granting them powers and new abilities. The “blank slate” turned out to be crucial to the game’s plot.

Garriott, 46, was famous for wandering the worlds he created in the guise of his virtual alter ego, Lord British, an identity he is carrying over to Tabula Rasa.

Tabula Rasa is being published by South Korea’s NCSoft, whose Lineage online games are among the most popular titles in that country. The game is to be released on October 19 in the United States and Europe.
Source: news.zdnet.com

Releasing the game’s first expansion, MMORPG are half-way across the road to Guild Wars 2

NCsoft and ArenaNet have officially launched Guild Wars’ expansion, Eye of the North. Players of the subscription-free MMORPG who purchase the expansion can access it through Guild Wars, Guild Wars: Factions, or Guild Wars: Nightfall. But there’s another important aspect to be mentioned about Eye of the North and that is that it also includes a feature allowing players to take achievements they have earned over the years with them into Guild Wars 2.

“Guild Wars has one of the most committed and loyal player bases I’ve ever seen, and Guild Wars: Eye of the

North is our way of delivering prized content to veteran players and creating a link to the future of Guild

Wars,” is what Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, said at the time the company announced the expansion’s release date.

OK, I know you’re dying to see where you can get it from so I’ll cut the crap and tell you right now. According to those involved with producing the game, the expansion is now available at the official Guild Wars website (you wouldn’t have guessed that one in a million years), as well as from retailers.

It has been confirmed that Eye of the North advances the story told in the original Guild Wars campaign, being set in the unexplored area of the continent of Tyria. The Hall of Monuments will surely catch your eye, as it allows players to preserve armour sets, pets, Heroes and titles earned while playing Guild Wars, Factions, Nightfall and Eye of the North and take those accomplishments with them into Guild Wars 2. There will be 18 multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across all 10 Guild Wars professions, 10 new Heroes to aid them in their adventures, 40 new armour sets and more items, weapons and titles, which will surely appeal veterans of the game.

“We think fans will find a lot to love in Guild Wars: Eye of the North,” said Mike O’Brien, co-founder of ArenaNet. “Not only do we go back to the original Guild Wars lands and stories to wrap up plots and themes fans have clamoured to learn more about, but we’ve also built a bridge to the future through the Hall of Monuments. This will give loyal players a way to preserve what they’ve accomplished in Guild Wars over the past two years, and reclaim the legacy of their favourite characters in Guild Wars 2.”

Again, check the game’s official website for more information but keep in mind that retailers should also have it on their shelves by now.

Source: softpedia.com

That’s right, don’t think anyone’s pulling your leg. According to a well known gaming site (Gamers Creed to be precise) Japanese developers Idea Factory and RED have unveiled Record of Agarest War. The game is actually a strategy RPG for your Nintendo DS, in
which gamers have to get females to “breed” their successors. Now tell me that’s not what you wanted to hear.

Record of Agarest War uses the “Soul Breed” system, in which, according to Kotaku.com “players must capture the heart of the game’s heroines so that they can create their successor. When this happens, there is a ’special’ movie that’s show(n), and afterwards the new successor is revealed.”

So far so good, but there’s more fun to be had, for the scientist in you. That’s right, according to the same two websites, the final product emerging after the fun is had will carry the mother’s genes. As the latter mentioned website writes, “His stats are even based on the heroine you select for breeding,” referring to the successor.

I’m sure the “breeding” idea isn’t all that new (even though it’s not encountered very often either) but the fact that the successor will inherit some of the features from his/her mom, is so out of this world. I’m guessing that this is a Japan-only title, but if the game does eventually make it to Europe, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for dozens of different heroines within the game.

Is Nintendo’s DS the most popular video games console or what? I criticize the Wii sometimes but in the end, it’s still Nintendo that first touched us with its magic. Let’s face it – as much as some of us like being fans of the fancy PlayStation 3 or the malfunctioning Xbox 360, Nintendo has always brought innovative stuff and if it wasn’t Nintendo who brought the innovation at times, it was developers who wanted to see their title on a Nintendo platform… ’cause they sell.

Source: softpedia.com

It looks like Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is being pushed back a little. According to an official report coming from Funcom and Eidos, a new release date for ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ has been set. The two companies saw that there was more work to be done on the long awaited MMO game, thus pushing it back to 25th of March 2008. The game was originally slated for a 30 October release this year,
for the PC.

As every delay goes, there’s the good way and the bad way of looking at it. Let’s start with the bad (I’ll be brief):

Bad - Developer + Publisher delay the gamer’s favorite title = gamer suicides;
Good - Developer + Publisher delay game = developer has more time to polish up the game and deliver a more compelling experience (or so it should be). Either way, Funcom assures that’s the case (the latter that is):

“We naturally regret that we have to push back ‘Age of Conan’. However, after careful consideration, and analysis of recent Beta feedback, we believe that the new release date is in the best interest of the gamers, our company and our owners,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. “We are fully committed to delivering games with absolute qualities, and in the current MMO marketplace we know that only the best is good enough to truly succeed. With the new release date we have therefore given ourselves more time to meet and deliver on the massive expectations for the game. We are certain that our choice will ultimately pay off, and that all ‘Age of Conan’ players will get a special online experience.”

“We are honored by the immense reception our game is constantly getting, with an astounding amount of positive press coverage, awards and magazine covers, but we still see that we need to polish some aspects of the game even further, especially when it comes to the entry barriers,” said Gaute Godager, founder of Funcom and Producer / Director on ‘Age of Conan’. “With the added development time we can now deliver something even more unique and powerful, something which is worthy of the incredible Conan legacy.”

Age of Conan is considered one of the most anticipated PC games in development. So remember, the new release date for the PC version of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is 25th of March 2008. The game has indeed been pushed back quite a lot, but let’s hope that the extra time for polishing and tweaking up, provides a better gameplay experience.
Source: softpedia.com