Once Upon a Time in Japan, A New PC Adventure Series

Once upon a time in Texas, there was a game developer who came up with the idea of continuing the PC Adventure legacy with a series of their own, placed in a setting like no other in the genre (to the best of their knowledge), and they called it... Once Upon a Time in Japan. This is a story about Abborado Studios, a Texan developer founded in 2006 with the goal of creating "the very best in interactive entertainment". And, to that end, they are now announcing the first title in their future series of adventure games - called Once Upon a Time in Japan: Earth.

From what they tell us so far, the series aims to transport players to various periods in Japan's storied history, giving them a look at the inner struggles of a country bound by tradition and ruled by the warrior class. Earth is the first title of a three part arc, taking place in the 17th century, and is planned for release during Q4 2007.

"Earth" is a third-person, point-and-click adventure for the PC that tells the story of Zenjiro, a samurai who left his clan during a time of war, seeking a life of peace with his family. Unfortunately, a tragic event sixteen years later forces Zenjiro to explore Etchu province looking for his wife, children, and other survivors. Along the way he will meet many characters including Hanbei, a fearsome ronin with a mysterious past, and Shiho, the bright young daughter of a famous Noh theater performer.

Furthermore, Zenjiro will discover that not all is as it seems outside the province. The military campaigns he thought to be a thing of the past have once again bubbled to the surface, and in an effort to keep the peace there is little freedom allowed for the people. Yet again, Zenjiro's country appears to be changing dramatically as he seeks his own reasons to continue moving forward.

Once Upon a Time in Japan: Earth will also feature traditionally hand-drawn and animated characters - as seen in these first screenshots - inspired by classic Disney and Studio Ghibli films (if Spirited Away or Gedo Senki rings a bell). The folks from Abborado are also telling us to look forward to a captivating storyline, focusing on well developed characters (with "authentic Japanese voice acting"), that builds to an exciting climax.

They had me at "Japan".

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PlayStation 3 Likely To Launch In Europe On March 23?

Could it be that we're just a couple of months away from the PlayStation 3's European launch, and still Sony has yet to make a definitive commitment regarding the console's launch date in the territory? I for one was expecting this kind of predictions to start a lot sooner, since, for instance, various Wii launch dates were being tossed around some five months ahead of the final release. And Nintendo themselves have set the record straight two months in advance.

With or without Sony's input, European launch dates for the PS3 are already being hypothesized, and one such date is March 23, 2007. This was hinted by one of GI.biz' retail sources, who told them: "It's safe to assume that the PS3 launch will be towards the end of the month. My money is on the 23rd". In addition to that, the source also confirmed reports that Sony will be announcing the final launch details within the next fortnight.

The latest official word from Sony, last month, was that the PlayStation 3 was still on track for release in Europe during the month of March, and now GI.biz finds more unofficial support towards a late-March release, from an advertising agency called TBWA.

"TBWA has told GamesIndustry.biz that the UK advertising campaign for PS3 will begin towards the end of March - supporting suggestions from a senior retail source that the console will launch on the 23rd.

(...) Speaking to GI.biz, a spokesperson for advertising agency TBWA said the marketing campaign for the console "launches towards the end of March" - which would suggest that an early March date is unlikely."

Of course, we were never really expecting the PS3 to launch around here in early-March, and even a late-March timeframe sounds somewhat doubtful, especially after last month's demoralizing rumour. But the longer Sony delays it, the harder it will be for them to re-build up the hype they're losing with each passing week...

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ZootFly Working On Ghostbusters, Painkiller 2 And WW3? // UPDATE

Much like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters is also one of those once-fun childhood memories that I'd rather not revisit anytime soon. At least that's what I would have said yesterday, before one of our forum members dropped a tip about some new trailers that are currently making the rounds on YouTube. Apparently, they are showing what might as well be the prelude to an upcoming Ghostbusters game, although many other theories are also plausible at this point.

Based on an early report from Ain't It Cool News, the videos are attributed to developer ZootFly, who was most recently credited with the Panzer Elite Action games (the Dunes of War add-on should be out soon). You can find all the trailers on bostjanzoot's public videos page - a name that can be easily linked to ZootFly's CEO, Bostjan Troha. So for now we're going to assume that this isn't just an elaborate hoax put together by some super-skilled fanboys.

One thing that's apparent from one of the trailers is that the Gears of War (i.e. Unreal 3) engine could have been used in making this demo, and the final result is pretty impressive. Not entirely jaw-dropping, but it definitely shows some potential.

Although no official announcement has been made involving the names listed above, one of the comments from Joystiq's report links to a PDF document (in Slovenian or whatever) revealing not just a possible Ghostbusters game (with an accompanying artwork), but also a WW3 game plunging the USA against Europe (!?), aaand... Painkiller 2. Whaddaya know!

(Thanks brutalistu for the tip)

UPDATE: Yep, the Ghostbusters game is as real as possible. But with a few mentions: the prototype was created on the Xbox 360, it's running on ZootFly's proprietary engine (so no Gears of War / Unreal Engine 3) and, worst of all, the development was temporarily put on hold, due to some licensing issues. But in the meantime, the guys are working on TimeO - a game "where you'll play as a die-hard New Yorker trapped in a parallel world that threatens to wipe out our existence. You've got three days to stop it." [16.01.2007, 17:20]

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A few hours ago, the grand opening of the Dark Portal was supposed to take place, leading anxious players into the Outlands. But much to everyone's disappointment on at least one of the European RP-PvP servers (Defias Brotherhood), the only "event" that took place at midnight was the server crashing down. Luckly, it didn't take long for it to come back online, at which point characters lv. 58 and up were indeed able to pass through the portal. But that was pretty much it, nothing special whatsoever - despite the fact that the end of the Burning Crusade beta this past weekend was accompanied by spectacular events, orchestrated by the game masters. You can read about it on Blizzplanet, and they also have plenty of screenshots and movies to go with it.

A more pleasant surprise cooked up by Blizzard tonight was the opening of several new servers, for those of us eager to start life anew in Azeroth. According to the initial announcement from last week, the new realms were supposed to go up tonight at 00:01 AM, however they went live about an hour and a half early. Luck was on my side this time, with a little help from my friends who were keeping a close eye on the situation (thus making it possible for me to reserve my 10 most-wanted character names, hooray!) - but I'd hate to think about the poor folks who got in later, albeit in time for the supposed midnight opening.

Oh well, I can't complain. And neither can plenty of players from the UK, where the street date for the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion was broken by several retailers during the weekend - ahead of tonight's official launch. Here's a bit from the report on GI.biz:

"One major supermarket started selling the title on Saturday after taking delivery of stock, and it soon had a knock-on effect as independents and specialist games stores put the title on shelves to defend their positions in a cutthroat market."

At any rate, the Burning Crusade is now if full swing, as players from existing servers are swarming the Outlands, while the new realms are buzzing with low-level draenei and blood elves. The old races' starting zones are also packed full of mini-grinders, since many players (myself included) are still waiting for the delivery of their expansion.

And for those of you who are still uncertain about buying the add-on, Blizzard recently launched a Flashy mini-website for The Burning Crusade, with various media and quests (i.e. mini-games) waiting to be completed, in order to gain acces to special sections on the website. Have fun! I know I am.

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Talk about stupid gaming related deaths... I can perfectly understand all those Asians bravely (or should I say mindlessly) giving their lives for the higher cause of "dinging" in some obscure Azerothian MMORPG. Hell, I could even understand playing frantically enough to cause yourself a deadly Wii injury. But this - this is just too much for my perplexed brain to cope with!

In a sad story issued by The Associated Press over the weekend, it was announced that Jennifer Strange, a 28 year old woman from Sacramento, California met her creator after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest - in which the KDND 107.9 radio station promised a Nintendo Wii console for the winner. The rule was simlpe: drink the largest amount of water, without going to the bathroom.

Well, apparently Jennifer drank so much, that hours after the contest she was found dead in her home. A preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death", according to Coroner Ed Smith. Despite the tragic result, her intentions were as admirable as they come: "she was doing it for her kids", another contestant recalls from his talks with Jennifer.

If this scenario sounds vaguely familiar, then you're probably thinking about another recent story involving one radio station's challenge to its listeners, and an overzealous mother willing to do the unthinkable, just to get a PlayStation 3 for her kids. That one didn't turn out so tragic, but nevertheless it was another "fine" example of how less brain power some human beings are using.

The cruel irony is that she didn't even get the Wii.

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In all honesty, I don't like the new Acclaim. I wasn't too crazy about the old one either, in its last few years before it went bankrupt, although the ancient Acclaim sure brings back some good memories... But those days are long gone now, and in today's MMO-crazed market, Acclaim Games is striving to remake a name for itself by publishing free online games. Such are the upcoming 2Moons fantasy MMORPG and Dance! Online, a title that pretty much explains itself.

As announced a few days ago, both games are now entering the closed beta phase, after having received thousands of sign-ups from gamers. In fact, 2Moons is actually said to have gathered over 100,000 sign-ups, since closed-beta email registration began in August 2006, and some of them will now get to playtest the brutal MMO - given they are invited. Here's how it works:

"To play 2Moons and participate in Closed Beta testing, registered players must receive an official invitation by email. Invitations will be emailed regularly on a first come, first served basis. Fans that have not yet registered are encouraged to sign up at www.2MoonsGame.com, as Closed Beta space may be limited.

2Moons Closed Beta is expected to last several weeks, followed by Open Beta testing where a larger group can participate to further test the game before official release. Register now to be one of the first to experience this exciting new game!"

Acclaim Games' fourth project, Dance! Online is also entering the closed beta testing phase, and players will be allowed to participate through a similar system:

"To play DANCE! Online and participate in Closed Beta testing, registered players must receive an official invitation by email. Invitations will be emailed regularly on a first come, first served basis. Fans that have not yet registered are encouraged to sign up at www.danceonlinegame.com, as Closed Beta space may be limited. Register now to be one of the first to experience this exciting new game!"

How very exciting, indeed...

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Ragnarok Online 2 Comes One Step Closer To The West

The first Ragnarok Online has been boasting some pretty amazing player-population figures over the years, wildly ranging from a couple of million, to 17 and even 25 million players worldwide, depending on who you asked. Gravity Co., the Korean developers themselves were the ones claiming to have a community of RO players 25 million strong, as early as 2004, but for some reason I'm having a really hard time buying into that... Regardless, it's a very appealing anime-styled MMO game, even with its 2D graphics, so we can only imagine how large of an impact would a fully-3D version have.

In fact, such a sequel has been known to be in development at Gravity for more than a while now, since our first Ragnarok Online 2 screenshots date back to 2005. And boy, do they look appealing! There's even more of them on the official RO2 website, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.

The reason I mentioned it in the first place is a new press-release issued by Gravity, announcing that they are entering into licensing and distribution agreements for Ragnarok Online 2 in China, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong. That's one small step out of Korea, one giant leap towards North America and Europe!

The only other notable detail contained in this communique is that the developers have successfully carried out their first closed beta test recently, likely meaning that RO2 will make its debut in the territory this year. Like many other anime freaks out there, I'm also hoping that Ragnarok Online 2 will some day make it out of Asia and into the Western world, and that maybe - just maybe - by that time I might be cured of my other MMO addiction...

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Every time I talk about Metamorf Studios' Genesis Rising space game, I end up making a reference to Relic's good old Homeworld series. So I figured this time I'd do it from head start, and then get straight to the point. As you may know, Genesis Rising: The Universal Crusade has been in beta testing for a while, although not everyone was allowed in. Fortunately, that's not the case anymore, as DreamCatcher sent out word that the game's multiplayer beta test is no longer restricted to paid FilePlanet subscribers. As long as you have even a free FilePlanet account, you can now join in on the fun by signing up on their promotional page.

This, of course, is a clear indication that the game is coming along nicely enough, and that the final version shouldn't take too long to launch. Maybe another couple of months - if we're to trust this first Genesis Rising trailer, ending with a note that the game's release date is set for March 2007. It sure looks great in that clip, and if you'd like to know whether it also plays that great, why not try out the multiplayer beta?

Story wise, Genesis Rising is predictably set in a distant future, when the human race has come to brutally dominate the Universe, by the use of "organids" - genetically engineered, organic ships that can adapt themselves to the strategies employed by the enemy. There is but one zone of space that is yet to be conquered (or even fully understood), and that is the so called Universal Heart, said to be the home of an enigmatic entity, from which all life and matter originated. Are you ready to meet your creator? Because, most obviously, that's where the powers that be in Genesis Rising will be sending you and your fleet.

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Cheaper WoW Gold In Europe Means Lousier Blizzard Service?

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that it's a lot more cheaper (though equally unlawful) to buy Gold for the European version of World of Warcraft, than for the US version. Nevertheless, it took GamerPrice.com a whole lot of "research" and the help of some students from the University of Sheffield, to conclude that "European gold" is generally 8 times cheaper than "US gold" if you buy it from the usual third-party gold farmers vendors. Here are their facts and figures:

"The average USD value for 1000g (Alliance side) on the US realms was $255.25. Horde gold was slightly more expensive, averaging $263.79. This gives us an overall average cost of $259.52 per 1000 gold on the American servers.

However, the European average for the same 1000 gold was just $31.78 for Alliance players and an even lower $30.72 for the Horde. That's an overall average price of $31.17 per 1000 gold."

The study isn't just about WoW gold prices, however, but also about the reason that led to this drastic unbalance. They argue that it's not because of the "farming companies" - since they are basically the same ones farming on both the EU and US realms. And it's not due to a difference in the total number of EU / US realms either - because they are pretty close (185 EU realms vs. 166 US realms).

Eventually, they come to the conclusion that it's a LOT easier to farm gold on a European realm, than it is on a US realm... In other words, gold farmers can thrive in peace on the European realms, thus being able to sell the gold many times cheaper... In other words (and this is where it starts to hurt), Blizzard's European service is way too negligent in dealing with gold famers.

"What this means is that Blizzard is policing its American realms far, far more rigorously than it is policing its European realms. The figures are so very different, that they suggest an extreme imbalance, even extreme negligence on behalf of Blizzard Europe.

(...) Almost definitely, this means that some very unfair advantages are being used, with farmers likely using bots and cheats on a regular basis to great effect - relatively unchecked."

That would certainly explain why there are so many bots roaming free on the European servers, and why Blizzard doesn't seem to ban them, despite the vast number of reports being sent by fair players. And with the release of The Burning Crusade this Monday - and a certain boost of new players - things are bound to get even worse. Unless Blizzard finally decides to do something about it!

(Thanks Ted for the tip)

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One of Germany's best-known (and -sold) franchises is setting sail for the Nintendo DS, Buena Vista Games tell us. In their latest press-release, they announced a publishing agreement with German company Sunflowers, which will allow BVG to publish a Nintendo DS version of last year's Anno 1701 (1701 A.D.) strategy game. The worldwide release of Anno 1701 on the DS is planned for Easter 2007.

The DS version is being deveoped by Keen Games, a studio based in Frankfurt, Germany, whose past catalogue is mostly filled with titles for the Game Boy Color. Nevertheless, the devs are confident in their ability to make a good DS game, and they promise that "ANNO DS is a real ANNO":

"Discovery, Colonisation and Trade are the core elements of the game. The special features of the hardware were made use of here. ANNO DS can be controlled completely with the stylus. The appealingly animated characters in the game are shown on the top screen, while the bottom screen displays the map. ANNO DS provides a multiplayer mode for 4 players via WLAN."

They also have several pictures showing how the game will look like on the Nintendo DS, and you can view these in our local gallery. But getting back to the official press-release, BVG also have the following to say:

"The ANNO 1701 universe is based on the successful PC games by Sunflowers. The developers Keen Games will bring the ANNO 1701 universe onto the Nintendo DS for the very first time where players can enter a unique empire-building experience set between the 17th and 18th century. The game is based on creating, building and developing civilisation in this important historical period with a cast of likeable characters telling a compelling story about their adventures in the new world.

Additionally, ANNO 1701 for the Nintendo DS features a fully configurable endless game mode with AI players and a multiplayer mode for up to 4 players with Nintendo DS, as well as a series of features unique to the Nintendo DS.

The ANNO series earned widespread acclaim and has sold 4.4 million copies. It is one of the most successful games of all time in German-speaking countries.

Anno is thus joining several other classic strategy titles, such as Settlers, Jagged Alliance, Disciples, and most recently Warlords, that are soon to be reborn on the Nintendo DS handheld platform.

Now how about some classic adventure titles on the Wii?

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