Headline Story

Gameplan has made a great video about the top 20 open world games for PC. Worth a watch to reminisce on some of your favourite games.

Worth checking out

1. Gangland Mafia is a pretty cool new browser MMORPG. It’s free to play, however they do have in game additional content that can be purchased.
2. Aryel over at God Is A Geek has given a great review of Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening.
3. Lots have links have been popping up for a new MMO account sales site. At this stage they only appear to be selling WoW accounts and some WoW Gold.
4. Angry Joe has made a great video review on Risen for the Xbox 360. I like his style of not holding back but rather telling it how he sees it.

April Blog Carnival

Humour

Casey Markee presents 15 Warning Signs You’re Addicted to World of Warcraft | Troubled Teens Wizard posted at Troubled Teens Wizard Blog, saying, “Do you or your friends exhibit any of these 15 Warning Signs You’re Addicted to World of Warcraft? If so, seek help immediately. The life you save may be your own.”

Reviews

Meg presents a gamer review of Nick Bounty posted at Simpson’s Paradox.

UPDATED: Added point 11.

I was thinking about what makes an RPG a good RPG. On top of all the usual things that apply to games like gameplay, graphics and sound there are several other factors that make a great RPG. I have come up with 11 points that cover mostly what makes a terrific RPG. Below each list item I have listed games that blew away that criteria when the game was released.

1. Can you make decisions that affect future outcomes of the game?

Being able to shift the storyline of a game to produce different outcomes at the end gives the game a new level of depth. Some games do this very subtly like Fallout 3 in which you can make some choices throughout that game that ultimately effects the closing cinematic where as making choices in other games can completely prevent you from following certain pathways (whilst often opening up new ones for you eg. Fallout 3).
Good example: Fallout 2

2. Are you able to physically move in a non linear pattern?

What I mean by this is are you able to stray from the main plot on side quests and adventures or is the plot fairly linear which simply takes you from point A to B. World of Warcraft is an excellent example of this, from level one you can ignore the main plot quests and simply do your own thing. Neverwinter Nights on the other hand, while being an awesome game, followed a fairly linear storyline.
Good example: World of Warcraft

3. Do NPC’s react to you differently depending on previous engagements or proceeding reputation?

This ones is similar to the first criteria; games like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls and World of Warcraft include a built in reputation system. Actions you take during the game affect your reputation and will therefore effect how someone reacts to you when you meet them. (The most simple form is if you tend to do good things, evil aligned NPC’s will not want anything to do with you)
Good example: Fallout 3

4. Can you switch out nearly every item of clothing and weapons (swords, shields, guns, boots, helmet, body armor)?

The best example I can give of this is Oblivion. Being able to fully customize your gear and change your appearance is not only fun but allows more progressions throughout the game which are key to any RPG. It also adds variety as you don’t get bored looking at the same character running around all the time.
Good example: Oblivion

5. Are loading times between areas too excessive or frequent?

It’s bad enough that some RPG’s include a huge amount of text to read let alone having to wait for a loading screen every single time you move more than one screen across. Loading times should be short and infrequent to allow maximum gameplay time.
Good example: World of Warcraft

6. Can you perform illegal activities? And are there consequences?

This is more a fun item then completely necessary. Being able to attack any NPC gives the game real depth because just like in real life, you can really attack anyone. The Elder Scrolls games do this great, although if you attack a shop keeper you better be ready to run from the law.
Good example: Any Elder Scrolls game [Daggerfall II, Morrowind, Oblivion]

7. Does the game have online capabilities (or uploadable community content)?

While most RPG’s have a rather large amount of single player content, we never want a good game to end there. Having either online gameplay or extra community created content allows us to keep adventuring with the hero we have grown so fond of.
Good example: Neverwinter Nights [has both]

8. Are the NPC’s believable and engaging? Is the storyline also believable and engaging?

Any game should be interesting to play for more than a few hours. Misplaced or uninteresting NPC’s will ruin the flow of the game. A great story line is also important as RPG’s are traditionally known for having a great story.
Good example: Dragon Age: Origins

9. Is the combat interesting and fun?

Combat should be simple to follow, yet evolved enough to allow for plenty of special attacks and spells. Typically spell casting classes should require more thought and tactics than hand to hand combat. This gives people the option of hack and slash or strategy. Combat should look good and there should be plenty of variety in movement. For example spell casting should not always be the exact same movement.
Good example: Baldur’s Gate II (best in it’s time)

10. Is all of the other stuff good?

By other stuff I mean sound, graphics and the overall feel of the game. While we have been playing crappy looking RPG’s for decades there is something to be said for one that looks fantastic.
Good example: Diablo II

11. Are there multi-layered feats and skills?

Most great RPGs have some sort of skill tree (see Diablo or WoW) or at least feats that are governed by specific pre-requisites (see any D&D based RPG). Blizzard and Bioware usually do this very well in all their games.
Thanks to Rocka for reminding me of this one.

12. Can your character improve over time by gaining experience or skills?

The last point I make here is by far the key factor of an RPG. You really need to be able to gain levels, if not by experience points then by gaining skills and attributes as you progress through the game.
Good example: Basically every RPG

Other things that while not important add good flavour to the game:

• Does your race effect your choices?
• Are there even multiple races to choose from?
• Can you use melee combat and/or ranged combat?
• Is there magic or psychic powers?
• Can you get a trade or a job skill and improve it to make money in game?

Ultimately, it’s options that make an RPG great. From now on in my reviews I’m going to use points 1 to 11 to rate any new games from now on. Remember that a game does not need 11 out of 11 to still be a great game to play.

Is there anything you look for in an RPG? Share with us below in the comments.

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So what’s new?

The third expansion (World of Warcraft: Cataclysm) to Blizzard’s huge money maker (estimated $810M per year from western gamers only) is due to be released in the fourth quarter this year and there is plenty packed into this tasty US$40.00 morsel.

Brand new races

Goblins:
Yes you can now play these crafty little green men. After many a sour business deal with the ever naive Alliance, the Goblins have joined the dark side as it were.

Worgen:
These great looking wolf-men are the latest addition to the Alliance side. Not entirely tame, it will be fun to take these guys out on the prowl for some Horde blood.

[Mmm, some Tauren hide would be great right now.]

New level cap

Just 5 new levels this time to a level cap of 85. New talents, skills and a new system called the path system which will enable you to improve your characters in a completely new way.

It’s time for a make over

As well as new areas being opened, Azeroth is getting a rather large makeover. You can enjoy checking out the new scenery on your flying mount. YES, flying mounts will be usable in Azeroth once you reach level 85 but be warned they will be very expensive and you may need additional WoW gold.
These new changes will unveil all new quests which will give you some variety if you decide to start as one of the new races.

Amazon have the pre-order available.

Don’t waste precious WoW time going to the shops, get it to your door as soon as it comes out.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Check out the teaser video:

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has added an incredible amount of new content to the game. The level cap has been increased to 70 and along with this new talents and skills were also available. There is also two new classes, the Blood Elves (Horde) and Dranei (Alliance) which will now allow Horde to access the Paladin class and Dranei the Shaman class. Both side will need these classes as the battle on to new end game instances.

Unfortunately all of your tier gear is now outstripped by most greens that you will find in the new Outland area. If the video below doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will.

Buy WoW Gold

Pick up your copy on Amazon

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Don’t have WoW? Get The Burning Crusade expansion in the World of Warcraft battlechest.

World of Warcraft Battle Chest

Official Trailer

World of Warcraft is an MMORPG or massive mutliplayer online role-playing game. It is focused around the story of the games Warcraft I to III which were produced by Blizzard throughout the 90′s and early 2000.

You may choose to be on Alliance (good guys) or Horde (bad dudes). Each side has four different races with different unique bonuses which range from humans to elves to orcs. Each race has access to different classes which you can then choose to play.

By far the thing that makes WoW so popular is the unending amount of content that is added to the game. The world is already huge and Blizzard update it regularly with new quests, items and places to discover. There are two expansions, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King that have been released that also provide a massive boost to the content of the game including new races and classes. A third expansion has also been announced: Cataclysm.

Other benefits to World of Warcraft include a huge social network with 1000s of players on each server and heaps of end game adventures and challenges to complete. Due to the nature of the game it can be played and enjoyed by all ages. World of Warcraft is also supported by a large online community with tons of quest information, forums and cheap WoW gold that you can buy to save yourself time grinding and farming (10,000 gold for ~$60!).

Amazon have a 14 day trial for FREE with any other purchase.

Buy it on Amazon ($36.79 for Battlechest):

World of Warcraft

Details:

Made by: Blizzard
View: Third Person
Game Hours (levels 1-80): 100+
Game Hours (including end game and PVP): 1000+
Gameplay is online only. Monthly fee of US$15.

Here is a video of the new expansion Cataclysm to get you excited: