Details of the surprise Dark Souls II announcement have so far been scarce. We know that it's going to be released on the current generation of consoles, and that its dark, epic fantasy tone will match that of previous Souls games. I've been salivating for more, and thankfully further details surfaced in a new interview with 4gamer today.
Speaking to the Japanese site, From Software's Tomohiro Shibuya and Hidetaka Miyazaki touched on some of the questions that fans have been wondering about most, including the new engine, the direction that the story will take and the layout of Dark Souls II's world.
As we know by now, Miyazaki, who served as director for both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, has assumed a more advisory role for Dark Souls II. Shibuya has stepped in as game director. In an interview with Famitsu earlier this week, the two reassured fans that they won't be abandoning the core of Dark Souls—the dark fantasy, the difficulty, etc. In this latest chat, they reaffirmed those points.
But on to the news: judging by Google's mangled attempt to translate the interview, it seems that Dark Souls II will be running on a "new graphics engine" that Shibuya helped build internally at From Software. It's unclear whether the new engine will affect gameplay, but Shibuya seems to stress that the game's graphics will benefit the most from it. He mentions some middleware is still in use as well, though doesn't seem to get into specifics.
Shibuya also seems to confirm that though Dark Souls II will be set in the same universe as Dark Souls, it won't be a direct sequel in terms of story. And it seems the world—the physical map—of Dark Souls II will stay faithful to the precedent that Dark Souls set, with a large, detailed, interconnected map rather than something more open like a traditional RPG. Some of that has been mentioned in rumors before, but not in such a direct fashion straight from Miyazaki and Shibuya themselves.
There's some delicious concept art sprinkled throughout the interview that appears to be from the game's development, with a lot more at the source. These extra few details, as skimpy as they may be, will help me rest a little easier at night with the thought that Dark Souls II is in the right hands. But only a little easier—I'll still be woken up with the occasional nightmare of Artorias.
QUOTE | "Let's forget about that embarrassing situation with the giant man-babies who didn't like the way the game ended."—GamesIndustry writer Rachel Weber discussing with other staff, as part of a personal favorites list, why she feels Mass Effect 3 deserved more recognition.
QUOTE | "Mobile won't kill console. F2P won't kill full-price. Cloud won't kill local."—Former GI.biz editor Rob Fahey talking about how the "idea that one form of entertainment, one form of business model or even one form of distribution will emerge to Rule Them All, is simply an idiot's fantasy."
QUOTE | "Consoles will become ultracore, almost like hobbyist."—ngmoco boss Clive Downie talking about the role of consoles in the marketplace as tablets eventually dominate gaming.
Waking up this morning is going to be extra awkward for some people.
It seems the apocalypse is late; that, or it's just not showing up. It was supposed to arrive yesterday, you see, and more than a few people were eagerly anticipating it, for whatever reason. So when they stretch, yawn and open their eyes to find themselves snug in their beds instead of in a fiery pit or on a cloud in Heaven, I'm guessing they're going to be a little bit disappointed.
I, on the other hand, am relieved. And you should be too. After all, just think of all the incredible things we would have missed out on if the world had ended yesterday. Things like:
Of course, you could still miss out on these things. You could get hit by a bus before George R.R. Martin finishes his lengthy epic, or Armageddon could arrive after all. You never know.
So what are you looking forward to now that we can be reasonably sure the world will keep on spinning for at least a little while longer?
You don't need a Windows Phone to get mobile gaming achievements anymore, as Microsoft releases Wordament, a free competitive multiplayer word find tournament with 50 achievement points built right in.
It's one small step for Wordament, the competitive word game that's been keeping Windows Phone gamers hunting and pecking since April of this year, and one giant leap for Microsoft, doling out much-coveted Xbox Live achievement points on non-Microsoft sanctioned hardware. The game contains 50 points to be added to players' gamerscores in 5 point increments.
Wordament itself is an addictive little morsel of a word game in which everyone playing the game at any given time is competing against everyone else. They all get the same set of letters and the same amount of time to make words out of them. At the end of the round a leaderboard displays how well the player performed versus everyone. Seeing yourself in the top 100 is a proud moment—one I've yet to experience, but I'm sure it's very nice.
You don't have to sign into Xbox Live to play Wordament, but then how would you earn an achievement for besting Stephen Totilo in a round?
KotakuMobile is your one-stop shop for all of Kotaku's Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8 game coverage. Follow @KotakuMobile on Twitter and stalk us on Facebook.
Good morning, Kotaku! Owen isn't here right now. He can't come to the phone, and I'm certainly not taking a message for him. The best I can do is offer you two days of Kotaku my way.
My name is Mike Rougeau. I've dreamt of covering the games industry my entire life, and now I'm doing it. I write for Complex, where Kotaku's own Tina Amini used to be my boss. My words, such as they are, have also appeared on TechRadar, G4, GamesRadar, IFC, Gameranx and others.
My version of Kotaku shouldn't be too different from what you're used to. I considered turning this weekend into Twittaku West, where every post is 140 characters or less. Even your previous weekend hero Dave Oshry thought this was a good idea:
.@daveoshry @kotaku I can do that. But I'm going to limit my posts to 140 characters. TWITTAKU WEST START TOMORROW!
…But I like what Kotaku's been doing too much to change it up significantly.
Above you'll see a candid shot of myself and my sidekick, fellow Sunbro Ricky the Dog, praising the sun as our joint Dark Souls character did the same over a pile of steaming red souls that used to be a Darkwraith.
Yeah, I like Dark Souls. I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about it. But that's not all (as much as I would love to turn this place into KotakSouls for a weekend). Today and tomorrow you can look forward to articles about the apocalypse, the NRA and the Sandy Hook shooting, and the fallacy of 48FPS. But don't worry—there will be some serious posts, as well.
I'm looking forward to the next two days, and I hope you all enjoy!
Whether you're shopping for someone else or for yourself, this is the final blowout weekend before ... all the after-Christmas sales to clear stock and snarf up the money grandma gave you. There's still a ton of action from the major names in games retailing, much of it in the form of digital downloads.
Our deals partners at Dealzon and Deals4Downloads have culled more than 120 offers for your perusal. See them inside this week's Moneysaver!
• Pay what you want for The Humble Indie Bundle 7 through January 2nd. One buck or more gets you The Binding of Isaac with DLC Wrath of the Lamb, Closure, Shank 2, Snapshot, and Indie Game: The Movie!. If you pay above the average price ($6.39 at time of writing), you'll also get Dungeon Defenders and Legend of Grimrock!. [Dealzon]
Gamefly released the final round of PC downloads below in their "End of the World Sale." And at 1pm EST Gamefly is bringing back all the 2-day prices they've had since the sale began on December 12th. Everything will expire at 1pm EST on Sunday, December 23rd. There is also a 10% off coupon which works on most titles.
• War Of The Roses is $13.49 (next best is $21)
• Forge is $12.05 (normally $20)
• Battlefield Bad Company 2: Ultimate Digital Collection is $11.99 (normally $30)
• Crysis 2 Maximum Edition is $8.99 (normally $40)
• Crusader Kings 2 is $8.99 (next best is $10) [Dealzon]
• Last Monday's release NiGHTS into Dreams HD (PC download) is $7 from Green Man Gaming. Next best is $10. [Dealzon]
• Dragon's Dogma (360, PS3) is $29.99, free shipping from GameStop. Cheapest ever by $10. Next best is $48. [Dealzon]
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360 download card) is $27.99, free shipping from Amazon. Next best is $53. [Dealzon]
• Persona 4 Arena (360, PS3) is $21.99 from Amazon. Cheapest ever by $14. Next best is $30. [Dealzon]
• Pictionary: Ultimate Edition - uDraw (PS3) is $7.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $13. [Dealzon]
• Halo: Reach (360) - Download Card is $12.95 from Amazon. Cheapest ever by $7. Next best is $28. [Dealzon]
• Fortune Street (Wii) is $13.05 from Amazon. Next best is $30. [Dealzon]
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon Stealth Force Edition (3DS) is $9.99, free shipping from Best Buy. Next best is $18. [Dealzon]
• F1 Race Stars (PC download) is $22.40 from Green Man Gaming. Cheapest ever by $9. Next best is $45. [Dealzon]
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC) is $7.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Cheapest ever by $7. Next best is $22. [Dealzon]
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC download) is $7.49 from GameStop. Next best is $15. [Dealzon]
• Ship Simulator Extremes Collection (PC download) is $7.49 from GamersGate. List price is $30. [Dealzon]
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 (PC) is $6.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Cheapest ever by $11. Next best is $14. [Dealzon]
• Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (PC download) is $6.30 from Green Man Gaming. List price is $15. [Dealzon]
• Super Meat Boy (PC download) is $2.63 from Green Man Gaming. Cheapest ever by $3. List price is $15. [Dealzon]
• Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition (PC download) is $1.40 from Green Man Gaming. List price is $8. [Dealzon]
• Metro 2033 (PC download) is free from the NVIDIA GeForce Facebook page. [Dealzon]
• Apple iTunes / AppStore $50 eGift Card (Email Delivery) is $40 from Walmart. [Dealzon]
Hardware
• Xbox 360 250GB 2012 Holiday Bundle with Skyrim and Forza Motorsport 4 for $249.99 comes with a $25 gift card from Best Buy, plus free shipping. [Dealzon]
• PlayStation 3 250GB Holiday Bundle with Medal of Honor: Warfighter and God of War Saga is $249.99, free shipping from Best Buy. New low by $50. List price is $300. [Dealzon]
• Nintendo 3DS XL Red/Black is $159.99, free shipping from Kmart. Next best is $183. [Dealzon]
• Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse is $59.99, free shipping from Amazon. Next best is $73. [Dealzon]
• EVGA GeForce GTX 550 1GB GDDR5 PCIe Video Card is $99.99 after rebate, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $137. [Dealzon]
• Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 Ivy Bridge laptop with Core i7-3630QM, 8GB RAM, GeForce GTX660M, 1080p Full HD, Blu-ray, Windows 8 is $899, free shipping from Lenovo. List price is $1,299.
• Lenovo IdeaPad Y400 Ivy Bridge laptop with Core i7-3630QM, 8GB RAM, GeForce GT650M 2GB, Blu-ray, Windows 8 is $879, free shipping from Lenovo. New low by $120. List price is $1,249.
• Dell Inspiron 660 Ivy Bridge desktop with Core i5-3330s, GeForce GT 620, 2TB HDD, 8GB RAM, Windows 8 is $449.99, free shipping from Dell Home. New low by $80. List price is $650.
Kotaku thanks our coupon partners for providing these and other great deals. As always, smart gamers can find values any day of the week, so if you've run across a deal, share it with us in the comments.
While at Jump Festa 2013 this weekend, I had the chance to check out the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII.
This is a remake of the seventh Dragon Quest game—which was originally released for the PlayStation back in 2000—seems to fit the console's format very naturally. The graphical upgrade is very pretty and allows for characters to be much more expressive. The controls are intuitive, and anything you don't pick up immediately, the game will show you how to do.
The initial plot is a little confusing at first and ends up with you running around talking to random people trying to find the one person or thing that will make the story progress. Sadly, I took so much time just trying to get out of the first village that I never got a chance to try out the combat at all.
As a remake, the game has a bunch of new features like new enemies, new high-rank classes, and network functions. Unfortunately, none of these were really accessible in the short time I had to play the game.
All in all, the DQVII remake looks good. It's based on a solid game, so, barring a developer meltdown during the porting process, the remake should be solid as well. While the portable aspect of the game is a selling point, personally, I don't feel an overt need for the game to be remade. Then again, Final Fantasy IV is getting its umpteenth re-release so I guess when it comes to what I feel I need and what Square Enix seems to think I need, we're not exactly on the same page.
Dragon Quest VII is scheduled for release on February 2nd, 2013 on the 3DS in Japan.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
Jump Festa is a yearly event hosted by Shueisha, the publishers of the Jump line of comics, where Jump-related paraphernalia and games are put on display as well as stage events and announcements. It's also a good event for companies that have Jump-related things out to display some of their own non-Jump-related things.
Tecmo Koei, developers of One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 were at the event with several games on display. Among them was the latest Dynasty Warriors game, Dynasty Warriors 7 (Note: Dynasty Warriors 8 in the west).
The Dynasty Warriors series has lasted for 12 years and is a formula that works; it's a genre unto itself. So much so that numerous spinoffs involving other IP have been released, like the aforementioned One Piece: Pirate Warriors series, the Dynasty Warriors: Gundam series, and the Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage series. The last game in the Dynasty Warriors series I'd touched was Dynasty Warriors 4 so I was interested in seeing how the game had evolved over the past 9 years.
The gameplay was as to be expected of a veteran series. The action was smooth and responded to the controls naturally—and the difficulty was well balanced enough to give you the feeling of being a badass while not being so easy as to be boring. I believe there were new features compared with the previous game, but my only point of reference was from a game on the PS2, so I couldn't really tell if they were new, or just new to me. Overall, it was a solid game that will probably satisfy lovers of the genre.
One thing I noticed while I waited for my turn on the demo machine was the abundance of girls waiting in line to play. About half of the people there were female. Call me a chauvinist, but considering the nature of the game in question, (running through a 2nd century battlefield and single-handedly killing hundreds of soldiers) it seems to be geared more for a male audience.
I suppose it could be due to the popularity of the Sengoku Basara series, a Dynasty Warrior-like game series from Capcom that is popular among women for its bishonen character designs. Looking at Dynasty Warriors 7 I could see that the character designs and poses were far more stylized than those I remember…
It may just be a marketing method to get girls to play the game. Whichever way they're doing it, I'm glad they're actively trying to make the game accessible to female gamers, instead of making it the standard male-dominant testosterone-filled rage-fest so many other games tend to be.
Dynasty Warriors 7 is scheduled for release on February 28th, 2013 on the PlayStation 3.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
Jump Festa is a yearly event hosted by Shueisha, the publishers of the Jump line of comics, where Jump-related paraphernalia and games are put on display as well as stage events and announcements. It's also a good event for companies that have Jump-related things out to display some of their own non-Jump-related things.
Tecmo Koei, developers of One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 were at the event with several games on display. Among them was the latest Dynasty Warriors game, Dynasty Warriors 7 (Note: Dynasty Warriors 8 in the west).
The Dynasty Warriors series has lasted for 12 years and is a formula that works; it's a genre unto itself. So much so that numerous spinoffs involving other IP have been released, like the aforementioned One Piece: Pirate Warriors series, the Dynasty Warriors: Gundam series, and the Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage series. The last game in the Dynasty Warriors series I'd touched was Dynasty Warriors 4 so I was interested in seeing how the game had evolved over the past 9 years.
The gameplay was as to be expected of a veteran series. The action was smooth and responded to the controls naturally—and the difficulty was well balanced enough to give you the feeling of being a badass while not being so easy as to be boring. I believe there were new features compared with the previous game, but my only point of reference was from a game on the PS2, so I couldn't really tell if they were new, or just new to me. Overall, it was a solid game that will probably satisfy lovers of the genre.
One thing I noticed while I waited for my turn on the demo machine was the abundance of girls waiting in line to play. About half of the people there were female. Call me a chauvinist, but considering the nature of the game in question, (running through a 2nd century battlefield and single-handedly killing hundreds of soldiers) it seems to be geared more for a male audience.
I suppose it could be due to the popularity of the Sengoku Basara series, a Dynasty Warrior-like game series from Capcom that is popular among women for its bishonen character designs. Looking at Dynasty Warriors 7 I could see that the character designs and poses were far more stylized than those I remember…
It may just be a marketing method to get girls to play the game. Whichever way they're doing it, I'm glad they're actively trying to make the game accessible to female gamers, instead of making it the standard male-dominant testosterone-filled rage-fest so many other games tend to be.
Dynasty Warriors 7 is scheduled for release on February 28th, 2013 on the PlayStation 3.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
Jump Festa, Shonen Jump's own convention, is a mix of manga, anime, video games, and card games. There are various events, art galleries, game booths, card tournaments, Jump-themed food stalls, and endless amounts of stage shows. But no matter where you look, there is one thing that permeates the entire show floor: an unending sea of buyable loot.
Some of the merchandise is available right there at the convention—whether hidden behind the Square Enix booth or off in the "original goods" area. Other items are just being previewed and won't be available for sale until sometime next year. But from One Piece to Final Fantasy, Dragon Ball to Monster Hunter, you'll certainly find something at Jump Festa that you just can't live without.
So look through the gallery above to see some of the best merchandise from Jump Festa this year.
Details of the surprise Dark Souls II announcement have so far been scarce. We know that it's going to be released on the current generation of consoles, and that its dark, epic fantasy tone will match that of previous Souls games. I've been salivating for more, and thankfully further details surfaced in a new interview with 4gamer today.
What's happened in the business of video games this past week ...
Good morning, Kotaku! Owen isn't here right now. He can't come to the phone, and I'm certainly not taking a message for him. The best I can do is offer you two days of Kotaku my way.
The gameplay was as to be expected of a veteran series. The action was smooth and responded to the controls naturally—and the difficulty was well balanced enough to give you the feeling of being a badass while not being so easy as to be boring. I believe there were new features compared with the previous game, but my only point of reference was from a game on the PS2, so I couldn't really tell if they were new, or just new to me. Overall, it was a solid game that will probably satisfy lovers of the genre.
I suppose it could be due to the popularity of the Sengoku Basara series, a Dynasty Warrior-like game series from Capcom that is popular among women for its bishonen character designs. Looking at Dynasty Warriors 7 I could see that the character designs and poses were far more stylized than those I remember…
