Oblivion Expansions Hitting Retail Shelves

As if the original Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion didn’t have enough creatures to slay and a big enough world to explore, the Bethesda Blog says that Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine expansions will be made available on retail store shelves in October.  For those not already savvy to the best-selling RPG, these expansions have been available on Xbox Live Marketplace for months and have received outstanding reviews. 

Those without Xbox Live access can finally experience these great add-ons, and also for a lower price.  On Xbox Marketplace, both expansions combined cost 3200 Microsoft points, or the equivalent of about $40 USD.  The retail version will spare you ten bucks at $29.99, a pittance for forty more hours of an already outstanding title.  As an added benefit, the disc-based expansions can be resold once completed, as opposed to being stuck with a digital download you don’t play anymore.  Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine are expected to hit shelves in October, but a specific date wasn’t given.  Also, bear in mind that the remaining additional content to be found on Xbox Marketplace, such as the coveted horse armor ;), will not be included with the retail expansion.

 

Journalist Criticizes Mass Effect Preview

Comment sections and forums have ignited once again due to another occurrance of a negative opinion towards something widely favorable.  This sort of fanboy frenzy happened recently with BioShock, and makes for entertaining reading, but certain people can jeopardize their professional credibility by taking up arms and joining the fight.  Xbox360Rally has the scoop on the latest episode.

Seems the controversial Destructoid has posted a largely negative preview of Mass Effect’s facial animation and voice acting.  Cue torches and pitchforks.  But someone should have stayed home and not joined the mob:  Matt Keil from G4, who has unprofessionally rebutted against Destructoid and tells flat-out that their preview is wrong.

Noted journalists bruise their credibility (and possibly risk their jobs) by violating the basic journalism rule of criticizing the opinions of others.  Anyone could post some special editorial on how Bioware has flushed their reputation as RPG innovators and generally let the entire project collapse into a foul post-White Castle bowel movement.  That’s still an opinion.  Don’t like it?  Voice your disapproval by all means, but “right” and “wrong” don’t apply.

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Morrowind: Backwards-Compatible Game Of The Week

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is an indirect reason why I even own a 360.  I played Morrowind religiously during the summer of 2004, absorbed by its universe despite its flaws, and came away pleased with one of the greatest RPGs I’d ever experienced.  I heard about Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion soon after, followed its progress, ultimately bought a 360 specifically for that game, and have logged an undisclosed-yet-disturbing number of cumulative hours with five characters since March of 2006.  There’s a distinct possibility that I may not be a 360 owner today if it weren’t for Morrowind, which has earned its moment in the BCGOTW spotlight because it made me the gamer that I am today, literally.

Morrowind’s design is nearly identical to that of Oblivion.  It offers an open world to explore, the semi-realistic leveling of abilities through use or training, and real-time combat (but this is far more simplistic here).  Most of Oblivion’s spells are here as are their school classifications, but Morrowind includes a levitation spell which allows you to actually fly.  You can create any type of character through any mashup of abilities, such as an archer/healer/wizard if you wish.  The selection of races is identical but Oblivion’s deep facial design is unfortunately absent (in all fairness, this was likely impossible to implement in Morrowind).  Morrowind also offers Oblivion’s level of potential immersion through rich storytelling, complete with knowledgable NPCs and hundreds of books filled with fables and historical accounts.  And finally, deserving of a special mention is Morrowind’s fantastic music, scored by Jeremy Soule who also composed Oblivion’s equally-majestic sountrack.  Considering all the similarities, some people feel that Oblivion is Morrowind with vastly improved graphics, and in most ways that’s true…but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

If you’re taking a step back from Oblivion to experience Morrowind, be warned of the flaws that have since been remedied.  Not only does Morrowind lack Oblivion’s colorful current-gen landscape, but the whole outside world is covered with an ever-present fog, resulting in the eyesore of very prevalent draw-in.  Also, while Oblivion’s enemies level with your character, Morrowind doesn’t offer this feature and high-level characters become nearly invincible, forcing the player to scale up the difficulty artificially just to maintain the challenge, even when facing some of the most powerful enemies in the game.

If you can tolerate the graphics and resist taking advantage of the flawed design, Morrowind is the way to introduce yourself to the world of Elder Scrolls now that it’s backwards-compatible, and it’s best to play the inexpensive Game of the Year Edition which includes two expansions.  If Oblivion has already made you all giddy then the super-cheap regular edition of Morrowind is worth a look just to see an earlier stage of the series’ evolution and to experience a different part of the universe, although I still recommend the GOTY Edition if you have the option.  Check out this assortment of excellent reviews of Morrowind as a testament to its quality.  It’s an RPG everyone should experience.

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Mass Effect Delay: False Alarm

 Britxbox reported earlier today that customers who had preordered Mass Effect received emails from their respective retailers that the game had been delayed until December 7.  However, the retailers in question were never revealed.  Gamernode reports that Community Coordinator Chris Priestly from Mass Effect’s offical forums has squashed the rumor with authority and reassured everyone that the game is still on track for a November release, but a specific date has yet to be determined.  Considering the millions of hopes being dashed by numerous delays already, I think we can all do without further abuse from erroneous emails, thank you kindly.

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New Weekly Feature: BCGOTW (Backwards-Compatible Game of the Week)

I’ve decided to start a weekly feature showcasing the best Xbox 1 games that are backwards-compatible with the 360. If money’s tight, or if you just want to sample missed opportunities from last gen, Microsoft has seen fit to make over 300 Xbox 1 games playable on the 360. A few of these titles are still available brand new, but the overwhelming majority are no longer in production so you’ll have to check some outlet for used games such as eBay or Gamestop in most cases. A great number of these games can be found for less than $10 and nearly all are still very easy to find. If you’re unfamiliar with how backwards-compatibility works, or if you’d like to see a list of compatible games, then check out this section at Xbox.com.

A great title with which to christen this new weekly feature is Fable: The Lost Chapters, an action-RPG that became the fourth-bestselling first-party title on the original Xbox. Although the game was over-hyped, mainly due to unfulfilled promises on the part of the developers, Fable still managed to be one of my personal favorites. Its focus on moral choices and character customization added significant depth and replayability. Whether good or evil, your path was reflected by your own appearance and how other characters interacted with you. Fable also boasts colorful graphics, satisfying combat, and some of the most beautiful music to be found in any video game.

I’ve seen this brand new for $9.99 at Best Buy (in-store, not on the website), and there are precious few better game deals out there. Check out the Fable’s great reviews for more information.

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Mass Effect: Developer’s Blog

IGN hosts a blog by Casey Hudson, the project director of Mass Effect, whose latest entry is a retrospect on the game’s showing at E3. He’s thrilled about how the sci-fi epic left journalists absolutely slackjawed (which is not news), but also vents his frustration about figuring out how to show off the amazing character interaction without spoiling the story. That just makes me want the game even more, which I didn’t think was even possible. This indicates that every sentence has meaning, and a Bioware RPG has a damn lot of sentences. If Mass Effect bests their own Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, then it will be the stuff of legends.

 

Eternal Sonata Demo: Gorgeous World, Good Potential

The demo for the Japanese RPG Eternal Sonata has hit Xbox Live Marketplace. Having enjoyed the Blue Dragon demo I wanted to see how this new JRPG demo compared. I’m afraid Blue Dragon has been trumped in my world.

I’m no JRPG fanboy, but I’ll play just about every such demo that can offer something fresh and doesn’t represent a game that is already widely known to suck. Even a demo can waste my time, so it has precious few minutes to grab my attention. I was impressed with Eternal Sonata immediately, and I’m actually leaving it running as I’m writing this just so I can enjoy the peaceful serenity of the soothing music, chirping birds, babbling creek, and amazing cel-shaded graphics. A truly inviting world has been created here, a place too tranquil and colorful to just shut off and ignore.

I did have to silence the annoying voices, though, a common problem with such games. I was also most un-thrilled about the fixed camera at first, but it does serve its cinematic purpose and follows the character efficiently. And then there’s the ever-reliable genre townspeople whose homes are always open to ransacking by any traveler. Just stroll in like you live there and take whatever valuable item you find, but what’s a JRPG without that? Some may also dislike the game’s linearity and automatic stat upgrades (kinda takes the RP out of RPG).

The most unique gameplay aspect is the turn-based combat’s real-time element. Characters take turns attacking, as usual, but each turn lasts for a set duration. Once the character moves, you have five seconds to attack as many times as possible in that turn, and each hit gives you an extra tiny fraction of a second. We’ll have to see how this works out in the long haul, but it does make the combat more involving.

This demo is a great example of how a previously ignored game can surprise you with its quality, even if you have only a passing interest in the genre. I hope Eternal Sonata is able to maintain this impression, as I’m looking forward to reviewing it when the time comes…which will be sometime after BioShock, of course.