Welcome to the first installment of Limit Break. This new column will feature news, rants, raves, opinions, articles and editorials based squarely in the genre of RPGs. Those who recognize the term Limit Break will know that it was introduced by the venerable Final Fantasy series and translates to an ethereal sense of being in which powers and skills normal people would not possess spring forth as a result of emotion, pain or downright frustration. While a good portion of this recurring article will contain news and updates in the world of RPG gaming, you can expect to see portions of it dedicated to opinion pieces that focus on maladies thrust upon noble RPG gamers by the seemingly mind flayed developers trying to please every type of gamer out there while all together forgetting their core audience (Yes, I’m looking at you Final Fantasy XIII).
This initial installment of Limit Break will focus on a few findings around the industry that have my interest piqued. There have been some interesting new developments in the world of role playing games.
MMO With McFarlane, Salvatore, and Schiling?
The first game that sparked my interest was announced just recently at this year’s Comic-con in San Diego. Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling announced that he has formed an all-star team of players to bat for his upstart development house 38 Studios. Schilling has been seen in the MMORPG world for some time while openly announcing his passion for games such as Everquest 2 as made evident by his reviews listed in PC Gamer magazine. His passion for gaming drove him to opening 38 Studios in hopes of bringing his gaming vision to life. In my news article we found that comic great Todd McFarlane, fantasy specialist and father of Drizzt, R.A. Salvatore, and Ken Rolston of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion fame were on board to help out art, story and game mechanics respectively. This, coupled with the fact that Curt had already acquired employees from other development firms such as EA and people who worked on Everquest, means that good things are afoot. It was later revealed that the game they will be bringing to shelves is Kingdom of Amalur: The Reckoning. This well named title will be a single player RPG experience which will later open up into a full fledged MMORPG down the road. The powerhouse of talent associated with this project has me tingling with excitement. The art style of McFarlane is what brought me to read the comic Spawn back in the day, so if his influence will be put into a game, whether MMO or solo RPG, color me excited. The story telling of R.A. Salvatore coupled with Dungeons and Dragons tie ins means the game should appease hard core RPG fans. To top it all off, the entire production is being run by a rich RPG fanatic and you’ve got a formula for win. Let’s just hope they can knock this one out of the park.
Warhammer 40K MMO?
Next up is a game that plays into every visceral memory of my teenage years when I would march my army of Chaos Space Marines onto the battlefield in hopes of decimating my friend and his puny legion of Imperial Guardsmen. I’m talking about the E3 announcement of the Warhammer 40K MMO by developer Vigil Games. Vigil brought out the sleeper hit Darksiders and it’s known that THQ, the house that will be publishing the title, has former NCSoft director David Adams behind it. These things could spell good times for gamers who wish to bask in the glory of the Emperor or give in to the temptations of Chaos. While the first MMO entry by the Games Workshop franchise, Warhammer didn’t bode too well in light of an already stalled MMORPG market and the overshadowing World of Warcraft setting an almost insurmountable precedence for gaming subscriptions, it is difficult to say if the game will gain any legs. One thing I know for sure is that I’ll be keeping a watchful eye on this game to ensure my spot within the massive Chaos army.
The Last Story
Quite fitting that the name of Mistwalker’s newest title is the last thing I am going to talk about in this issue of Limit Break. The Last Story is set to unleash upon Japanese Wii owners sometime this year with no official announcement for US release. What makes this game notable is that it is from famed Final Fantasy curator Hironobu Sakaguchi with his shoot off company Mistwalker. The game looks to use unique features with the Wii controller and will hopefully spur some needed life into the Wii’s RPG vault. Sure, games like Tales of Symphonia and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time were decent entries into the Wii JRPG market, but a reuniting of Nintendo and “the Gooch” in a Final Fantasy-esque title in the vain of pre-Enix merger is very exciting to say the least. Mistwalker was most notable for other titles that graced the Xbox 360 as Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon. What makes this title the most intriguing is the name. There is speculation that have tied this title to the rumor that this game will be Sakaguchi’s last before his retirement. Will the brilliant mind behind such epic quests as Final Fantasy VI go quietly into the night and if so, will he leave his fans with his last masterpiece? This remains to be seen.
And that does it for this installment of Limit Break. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it and look forward to my future entries. I’ll be combing the industry for RPG related goodies and talk about them here. I set the stage with a bit of a news this time, but next time it may be all rants talking about how the gaming industry has changed. Keep your eyes peeled as these installments become published here in this evil empire, enjoy your stay and feel free to drop me a comment or shoot me an email to discuss the genre in which I am most passionate about.
Just one more level. Honest.
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