Being Tuesday, Blizzard has predictably posted a new Diablo II Screenshot of the Week. It's another cool one, although I can't really tell what's going on in the center. According to the caption, a Barbarian in stunning a Skeleton Archer, but it looks more like he's crumpled up into a big muscled ball to me. However, the setting is cool and the big double-sword-wielding dudes look scary. As usual, DiabloII.net has the image sliced, diced, and catalogued on this page. Enjoy!

Okay, my DSL line seems to be behaving itself once again so I shall try to resume a normal update schedule. And since I've fallen behind I'm just going to jump right back in to the biggest news of the day:

ULTIMA IX: ASCENSION HAS GONE GOLD!!!

No seriously, I mean it this time. Unlike last time when an oddly worded letter from Lord British led to much confusion among gaming sites, this announcement is different. It has been independently confirmed by Lady MOI of Origin from several sources. Well, rather than getting all mushy again, I'll just point you to my comments from last time on the subject of Ultima IX: Ascension's completion.

The Adrenaline Vault has posted the second installment of their two-part Ultima IX: Ascension interview/preview. This time the focus is much more heavily centered around the game itself rather than Lord British. And in so doing, it should be noted, they manage to give away many spoilers... so read this at your own risk. I was sort of annoyed that there was no warning as the very first question gave something rather juicy away about the plot. So read it at your own risk.

As promised, Game Rush has posted their report after spending a day checking out Nox. And as I hoped, they confirmed that the game is not merely a Diablo clone as the game's official website would have you believe (marketing geniuses at work again). In fact, they report that it's hard to pin down just what the game is, calling it a genre bending "action adventure role-playing game". You know what that means to me? It means the game is innovative... something suit types never seem to understand can launch a game to legendary status rather than letting it gather dust on store shelves. The preview also confirms that the game isn't perfect, but that it does have plenty going for it. Well, you can tell my interest is piqued. Check it out for yourself.

More news to come, but it will probably have to wait until tomorrow. I finally got my DSL connection installed, but it seems to be acting flaky. I can't seem to stay online for any length of time... it's very strange. But Pete, the technical contact from my provider, knows his stuff and I'm sure he will get things working soon. But in the meantime I don't want to knock myself out writing up news that may or may not get posted. Rather, I think I'll just post this now while things are working. Bear with us here, we'll be back to our normal schedule of daily updates soon. I promise!

I received an e-mail today from Paul of Game Rush letting me know that his roving reporters are in Los Vegas right now at a preview event for the new action/RPG, Nox (love that name), from Westwood Studios. Currently, they have a boatload of screenshots up on this page, and they promise a full report later tonight on the same page. This is a game I'm really looking forward to, and you should be too, so go take a look.

The Adrenaline Vault has posted Part One of a massive two-part interview with Ultima monarch, Lord British (a.k.a. Richard Garriott). The interviewer sure knows his stuff, and really gets Mr. Garriott to open up on his views on a number of topics. Here's a sample:

"AV: And switching gears, moving on from the Ultima series, talk a little bit about how this makes you feel. Are you comfortable with this finality? Richard: I have really mixed emotions on it. I'm sure you understand. On the one hand, for twenty years I've just been dying to do something else, something not called Ultima. On the other hand, I still love making Ultimas, and Ultimas are particularly special to me, not just because I've been working on them forever, but also because they have a really unique opportunity in history in my mind. It's a series that goes back really to the beginning of the industry, and it would be a shame not to sustain that track record forever. So with Ultima Online and other incarnations, I assume we will continue the Ultima property, hopefully forever, or at least a good long time. Origin is by no means out of the Ultima property, nor am I out of the Ultima property. However, this is a story arc that is coming to an end, and we have no plans for another solo player Ultima adventure. What that means five years from now? Who knows? We'll kind of see how history unfolds."

This article is a must-read. Do so here.

And speaking of Ultima IX: Ascension, there's a new preview up on CNET's Gamecenter. Focusing mainly on the game itself, it covers pretty much everything worth knowing so far. And understandably, the main question which the author tries to answer is whether the game is worth of the name Ultima. Here it is.

IGN PC has scored some new screenshots from Summoner, the upcoming action/RPG from Volition, a company previously only dedicated to space combat sims. Despite their unusual background, IGN says they are on-track for a fun game. Feast your eyes on Summoner here.

Cinematix, the developers behind the new hit RPG, Revenant, have completely redesigned their homepage now that their work on the game is complete. In addition, they have also posted a lengthy tutorial on how to build your own maps with the Revenant Editor.

Last night Blizzard's interviewee extraordinaire, Bill Roper, was part of a live online voice chat about Diablo II over on Game Dive. There is neither a transcript of the event, nor could I find a recording, but the ever-reliable Gaile of DiabloII.net was on the ball and posted a lengthy summary of the event. There's some new information to be found, so go check it out.

The Gamespy Network has an interview with Warren Marshall, a level designer for the newly-released Wheel of Time game. The questions covers the basics of the game, the level design (of course), and several technical aspects of working with the Unreal engine. Give the interview a read here.

Interesting to get Mr. Marshall's thoughts since the game is supposed to have some of the most beautiful and detailed levels ever. I am anxious to see if the engine and current hardware are up to the task of bringing Robert Jordan's world to life... no small feat.

One more interview today, this one from GA-RPG with Sergei Klimov, Managing Director of Snowball Interactive, the Russian development house currently working on Stormbringer. The game is based on Michael Moorcock's series of books, Eternal Champion. It is still a long way off as this is the first interview ever done on the game apparently. But the game shows promise what with its rich backstory to draw from. Here's a quote:

"Could you tell us about some of the weapons we will be using? This is something we wouldn't be ready to comment in details yet, though as you understand Elric's primary weapon is his black sword, The Stormbringer. Which is actually more than a sword and the connection between him and his owner is an intricate one: Stormbringer gives the power of life to Elric (who would otherwise need to take a numerous amount of drugs and herbs), but it's an evil thing and Elric is not too apt to use it if he can do without it. You must remember that each time Elric unsheathes Stormbringer, it will demand a soul, and if there will be no enemies around it will take a soul of his friend -- it's an easy thing at the heart, something very scary and very dangerous. Then there's also The Mournblade, the brother of Stormbringer -- but wait, I'm getting ahead of the story here already :)). Anyway, as far as it goes to the general inventory of the game, Melnibone and the Young Kingdoms are not yet using any explosives or guns, so there's a plenty of blades and shields and chainmails -- as well as some magic, which is a whole different story."

There are also seven screenshots for you to look at, some of which appear to be new. Go check it all out here.

The Vault Network has compiled all known information about Gothic, the upcoming 3D Action/RPG from Piranha Bytes in their Gothic Intelligence Report. Here is a sample:

"Game World: The adventure takes place in an unnamed mining camp/penal colony, surrounded by a magical sphere a kilometer across. Anything can pass in, but nothing can leave, as long as it lives. The kingdom is beset by Orcish armies from the north, and the king’s armies desperately need ore for the forges. Even minor crimes are punished with hard labor in the mines. Ore is sent out through the barrier in exchange for supplies, but what comes in is controlled by a powerful few, while the rest toil endlessly for the leftover scraps. Escape seems impossible, and peace is unlikely."

Good stuff. Give the full article a gander here.

Five new Planescape: Torment screen shots are up on the game's official website. Only one seems to show actual gameplay, the rest appear to be from cutscenes. Although I have not been following the development of this game very closely, I am constantly impressed with the overall visual design of the game. It's appealing, original and rather striking. I am looking forward to this one.

Also, earlier today, I saw several more new screenshots up at GameFan on this page, however I have not been able to reach either all evening. The shots are worth checking out if you can get through. It's also rather funny... they say on the early version of the game they are playing with, healing is not functioning, so they are dying A LOT. hehe

There are also four new pics up at the Wizardy 8 homepage in the screenshots section, they are the first four in a rotation. They display gameplay from the next upcoming RPG/Adventure title in the venerable series. Saw this over at GA-RPG.

I usually don't report on news from the world of massively-multiplayer online RPG's because there are a myriad of sites out there devoted to specific games which can do it better and in more depth. However there has been some big news lately which I feel is worth posting here.

Firstly, Asheron's Call has started to appear on store shelves this week. This 3D online-only magnum opus is Microsoft's first foray into the world of large-scale multiplayer adventuring. Opinions of this game based on the recently concluded Beta test has ranged from extreme excitement to extreme apathy. Will this game succeed like UO and EQ before it? Only time will tell.

Next 989 Studios has announce the first official expansion pack for their wildly popular MMORPG, Everquest. Titled The Ruins of Kunark, the expansion will be sold as a separate CD to current EQ customers and will feature:

"An entire new continent, called Kunark, located south of Faydwer. 20+ Brand New Zones, including newbie zones all the way up to zones filled with dragons. A huge array of new, even more visually stunning NPCs. A more detailed world, using more polygons and larger textures. More animation of objects throughout the new continent. New Playable Race, the Iksar (Lizardman). Lizardmen are neutral/evil and can be Monks. New ships will sail from both Antonica and Faydwer to Kunark. New cover and box art by famous fantasy artist Keith Parkinson. [Ed. the link is mine, not from the official site. -Nok] The ability for players to exceed the previous level 50 limit.

Rather slow news day... must be that everyone in the game industry here in America is out voting all day. But one more Diablo II's Bill Roper interview has trickled out, this one from Voodoo Extreme. The interviewer at least tries to ask some original questions of Mr. Roper who is the King of evading direct answers. (He is also a landlord who would kick Jack out of Janet and Chrissy's apartment if he ever found out he wasn't gay.) Here's a snippet:

"VE: Ok... we spoke of cinematics a few minutes ago. How many cinematics can we expect? BR: There are about 24 minutes of cinematics in Diablo II. VE: How do you explain all those baby Smurfs, when Smurfette was the only woman? What the smurfy hell was going on in that village? BR: The mysteries of the Smurfs are something I would never try to fathom."

Read all nine thrill-packed questions here.

And how could I neglect to mention the brand new Diablo II Screenshot of the Week, posted on Blizzard's homepage? As usual look to DiabloII.net to have a complete caption up shortly.

By the way, I'll give you my thoughts on the Ultima IX Demo in a day or two. I haven't quite finished it yet and I keep going back and forth in my opinions on a few issues. I've waiting years to play this game and it's not something I want to rush to judge.

One more interview from Diablo II Senior Director, Bill Roper, has surfaced since his spate of interviews on Battle.net last Wednesday. This one has been posted by RPG Gamer and contains questions about Mr. Roper's duties, day/night cycles in the game, and the usual questions about PvP and the Beta. Read it all right here.

A new issue of the quasi-weekly column RPG Mythology with BioWare Corp is up at GA-RPG. As usual, the column features the thoughts and prosaic waxing of a BioWare designer. This time around it's Greg Zeschuk speaking about Combat Design in RPG's. He focuses on the topic of Real-time vs. Turn Based models, an issue which often generates debate among both designers and the community at large. It's very interesting to get his opinion... do so here.

Gigantic computer-publishing conglomerate ZDNet has posted an article titles Can Fantasy Games Make Real Money? As you might expect, the article shows the financial side of massively-multiplayer games and examines why success in the market is hit or miss at best. Don't take my word for it, read it yourself.

Okay, so are you wondering why I'm happy? If you've been following these pages, you probably would know it's because I JUST GOT THE ULTIMA IX DEMO!!!!! Wahoo! After a week of getting funny looks from the proprietors at my local newsstand, I finally got the December Issue of CGW with the Demo CD enclosed. I am rather giddy with anticipation to return to Britannia after so many years absence. Although I have this dark feeling that something will go wrong and prevent me from playing, what with so many reports floating around that the demo is bug-ridden. But I don't really care, I just wanna get a taste of the game which will be keeping me awake until 4am every night for the next few months. I will install it when I am done with this update and hopefully report back with my thoughts on it soon.

But speaking of demos, I promised a while back that I'd tell you what I thought of the Revenant Demo. At first glance, I thought "oh no, it's going to be another Diablo ripoff". But after only a few minutes with the game, I realized how wrong that assumption was. While the visuals of the game are somewhat similar, the designers have done an admirable job of making almost every aspect of the game original. Movement is fluid and intuitive, not the 'move from one invisible square to the next' of Diablo. Combat isn't about just about rapidly clicking on monsters with the mouse, as there are multiple attacks and combinations to be performed. The spell system is very original in that you must combine different elements and experiment with what kinds of magical effects you can create. I could go on. Revenant has all the innovative nuances you'd expect to see in a really great game and it's clear it was created with a great deal of care and love. Rao purchased the full version of the game recently and claims it is all the fun of the demo and then some. The mere fact that I have hardly seen him online since he got it seems to support this. Now I guess I will have to buy a copy myself at some point... but for now I intend to have my hands full saving Britannia!

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