E3 2012: Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan

I don't know anything about Lord of the Rings. I watched The Fellowship of the Ring a year or two after it came out but retain none of the events. My knowledge of the films begins at "You shall not pass" and ends at Liv Tyler. Naturally, my E3 appointment to look at Lord of the Rings Online's new expansion, Riders of Rohan, had me a bit nervous. I may not connect to the world and its lore the way the developers at Turbine do — and trust me, they do — but the expansion still impresses, even for someone with limited knowledge of Lord of the Rings.

Riders of Rohan introduces mounted combat, something I have long felt was missing in most MMOs. As you enter the expansion content, you gain access to a special mount that doesn’t shy away from danger the way older steeds would. Mounted combat is exclusive to specific areas in the expansion and can only be done on the specific mount that allows it, but adding variety to MMO combat is always welcome. Turbine assured me that classes would maintain their distinctions even while mounted. A mounted archer won't play the same as a mounted minstrel, for example. Details were up in the air for how mounted group combat would be handled, but it is something Turbine is interested in pursuing. They want to nail down the solo mounted combat first before becoming too adventurous with the mechanic.

Your horse is more than just a mount that won't get fussy under attack, though. The horse is uniquely yours and can be customized in a multitude of ways including different manes, tails, sizes, and armor. My request for zebra skin armor was met with head shakes and groans, so you won't have to worry about the customization of your horse going too far. Thankfully, you can use your Rohan mount outside of the expansion content, and all your customization comes with it. What fun is having a sweet looking steed if you can’t brag about it to everyone around you? Your horse doesn't just have cosmetic changes either, it gains experience, levels up, and even has its own skill tree. A horse skill tree! If that isn't awesome, I don't know what is. As a loot junkie, horse customization may be my favorite aspect of the new expansion.

Because mounted combat is so integral to Riders of Rohan, the landmass has expanded to let the player explore on their trusty steed. The land is at least twice the size of their second largest expansion map, so don't expect to see it all in a couple hours. Turbine has also included mead halls in all the towns that are unique and related to the thane of each town. In addition to atmospheric storytelling, Turbine mentioned a deep quest line that involved meeting up with Gandalf and Treebeard at some point during your adventure. There's a lot of exploring to do in Rohan; just make sure you don't miss anything.

Riders of Rohan is more focused on the single-player MMO experience than typical group combat. This is Turbine's fourth expansion and they decided solo players deserved content tailored to them for once. There are no instances or raids in the initial release of Riders of Rohan, but those will come out some time later. Instead, the top level loot is earned through rebuilding a part of one of that towns that has caught fire and burned to the ground. Through a series of daily quests, the player will rebuild homes for people in the town and be rewarded with great loot for being such a good Samaritan. This is the first time I've heard of an MMO expansion focusing on a solo experience, and it’s refreshing to see such a large shift in focus.

While there isn't any new content for low-level players in the expansion, Turbine always keeps an eye on the lower levels and re-balances them via patches whenever things feel out of whack. New players willing to try out Lord of the Rings Online can expect a strong MMO experience drenched in Tolkien lore, free of charge. Even parts of the Rohan expansion, such as the mounted combat and storyline quests, are still available to free-to-play gamers. If you have even the slightest interest in trying out the Lord of the Rings MMO experience, there's nothing stopping you.

I still feel a little bad knowing so little Lord of the Rings lore. It's a rich, vibrant world that I ought to dive into it at some point. Turbine has submerged themselves in Tolkien imagery for the past five years and their dedication and knowledge shined through during my demo. They know what they're talking about, and they love being able to do it. I may not know a lot about Lord of the Rings, but maybe could change that.

Source : gamezone[dot]com

E3 2012: Of Orcs and Men preview

Oftentimes, in role-playing games, the lead character is a typical male human off on an adventure to save the world/planet/galaxy. You may have some alien sidekicks, but for the most part you play as this human character.

So you can imagine my excitement when Cyanide Studios showed me Of Orcs and Men, an upcoming fantasy RPG that allows you to play as not one, but two fantasy creatures whose stories often remain unexplored in fantasy RPGs. Think of the last fantasy themed RPG you played; you likely encountered some orcs or goblins which you were tasked to kill for no apparent reason.

Of Orcs and Men plays off of this typical gameplay, but turns it upside down and puts you in control of two non-human characters - an Orc named Arkill and a goblin named Styx - who are off on a mission to assassinate the human emperor who waged war against their race. It may not be the most original story concept, man vs orc, but the different viewpoint could offer a different take.

Playing as an orc or goblin isn't the big catch here, at least for me it wasn't. What really helped Of Orcs and Men stand out was it's combat system which has you control both characters in tandem. In combat you can switch between Arkill, the incredibly strong orc who relies on heavy melee attacks, and Styx, the goblin trickster who relies on sneaking, stealth and ranged attacks.

The trick to the combat is to constantly switch between the characters and assign combat actions to them so that you aren't stuck with a useless AI partner that serves as nothing more than a punching bag. In combat you can slow down time to select these actions for your partner to perform and then switch to the opposite one that you want to control.  Although it sounds like a difficult slow process to slow time, controlling two characters actually creates a fast-paced feel. It's a little difficult to master at first, but once you get the hang of it the game provides rewarding gameplay experience.

The key to successful combat in Of Orcs in Men is how you initiate. The game allows you to plan your actions before performing them creating a multitude of ways to play; so for instance, you can control the goblin and sneak up on unsuspecting guards to take them out one by one or you can simply run in there with Arkill and pulverize them. Each tactic is feasible depending on how well you can assign actions.

It's hard to comment on story based on a 15-minute demo, but we were told that it will include a branching path with a variety of choices that ultimately lead to the same conclusion.  Styx will grant you the more conniving, lying route while Arkill is provides a more blunt, straightforward approach to conversations. Like I said, they will ultimately lead to the same ending for the main story.

The PC demo featured impressive graphics that created a dark fantasy world. There were some animation hiccups that you'd expect in an early build of a game, but other than that the game looked and ran surprisingly smooth for a game still in development.

Of Orcs and Men provides a unique twist on what some would consider a stale genre. You wouldn't think Orcs vs Men would be an interesting concept, but providing a unique aspect with exciting gameplay creates a solid game that RPG fans should keep their eye on. is set to release on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this fall.

Source : gamezone[dot]com

Vizio Reveals Their First Ever Laptops, All-in-One, Starting at $898

Vizio shook the tech world at CES earlier this year by announcing that the company planned to begin selling laptops and an all-in-one PC. Today, the TV maker officially put three computers on sale; the Vizio Thin + Light, the Vizio Notebook, and the Vizio All-in-One, all starting at $898.

This is the first time that Vizio has announced the names or pricing on any of their computers, and specifics are still limited. The Vizio Thin + Light will come in two models, 14” with a resolution of 1600x900, and 15.6” at 1080p. Both will run on the latest Ivy Bridge chipset with Intel HD 4000 graphics, and will feature a hybrid HDD-SSD drive for faster boot times and storage cache at higher storage capacities.

The laptops will have one HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, and an Ethernet port. The Vizio Notebook is a 15.6” full-size laptop that is thicker but has the same specifications except that it uses discrete graphics from NVidia and has an Ethernet port. Vizio only revealed that it’s a Kepler-based GPU, meaning a 600 series card, NVidia’s latest. Both the Notebook and Thin + Light are rated for seven hours of continuous battery life.

Vizio’s also revealed the All-in-One which comes in two models, 24” and 27”, both 1080p panels. They will also use Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors, but nothing else specific has been announced.

All of Vizio’s computers have received critical praise for their streamlined design and innovative look, especially remarkable because these models are Vizio’s first computers. Vizio has announced that all of their models will be available for purchase immediately.

We will update as more details about Vizio’s computers become available.



Source : ign[dot]com

Paving the Way for the Next Generation of Final Fantasy

Note: This article is an in-depth look at Square Enix's Agni's Philosophy demo and it's strongly recommended that you watch before reading.

Amidst a slew of new games revealed during E3 last week, Square Enix quietly showed off its next-gen Luminous engine. Titled Agni’s Philosophy, the real-time demo shows off the potential of the company's new tech, which will likely be seen on the next generation of Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

In a behind closed doors demo at E3, IGN had a chance to sit down and see the demo in motion, watching Square Enix manipulate elements on the fly as they revealed the true power of Luminous. The engine has come a long way since its initial reveal last year. Photo-realistic doors and hallways have been matched by hair and clothing, with the most impressive element coming in the form of a scraggly beard in the demo’s opening moments.

As Square Enix walked us through the demo, we were shown just how much control developers will have over each element. Within seconds, we watched while the beard in question was made thinner, thicker, straighter, curlier, and even transformed into different colors. Skin tones, age spots, shadows and more can be changed instantly, and each result looks nearly photo-realistic. With a few clicks, the old man shown in the demo was given everything from a thick Santa Claus-like beard to thin patches of wispy facial hair.

In that regard, the Luminous engine is a programmer’s paradise. Tool sets including a content navigator, cutscene and shader editors, material creators and more were shown, each part of Square Enix’s plans to create a simple-to-use infrastructure for developers. In a scene halfway through the demo where insects come together to form skin over a monster’s skeleton, Square Enix showed us just how much detail a programmer can add. Within seconds, the number of insects on screen was increased to 100,000. Upon close inspection, every single one had detailed wings and bodies.

Luminous significantly steps up visual quality, but Square Enix advised us that the engine is “not limited to graphics.” The company hopes to raise the bar for AI, animation, physics and even sound in next generation games. The engine is meant to be highly efficient, with the goal of drastically changing game development by making games faster and cheaper to produce.

While the Luminous engine itself has been in development for quite some time, the Agni’s Philosophy demo took only six months to produce in full. The demo was a collaboration between all of Square Enix’s studios, with Visual Works creating the scene from concept art and backgrounds envisioned by Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics. The demo’s creative director, Takeshi Nozue, determined the story of the demo, which the company describes as “a life-changing encounter for our heroine, the magic-wielding protagonist Agni." Nozue previously co-directed Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in addition to designing and supervising animation for Final Fantasy IX, X and X-2.

Agni’s Philosophy was created using a high-end, consumer-grade PC, though Square Enix wouldn’t give us any specifics. There are no plans to license the engine for now - it will instead be limited to use by internal and outsourced studios. Luminous will primarily be used by Square Enix’s Tokyo studio.

As for the question of whether Agni’s Philosophy has to do with the next Final Fantasy game, Square Enix isn’t saying much. For now, an internal survey asks whether or not fans liked Agni as a protagonist and what they think of the world portrayed in the demo. With enough positive answers, anything could happen.



Source : ign[dot]com

Ringbow Gaming Controller Puts Gaming On Your Finger

An ambitious new Kickstarter surfaced today that shows off a new way to play touchscreen games. The Ringbow is a ring you slide on your finger, with a large button that performs various functions in-game.

In a concept video, an example was presented where instead of simply touching a dragon to pop them - which is the kind of complexity we’ve seen in plenty of touchscreen minigames - you hold onto its tail, and then zap it by pressing your finger to the button.

Ringbow also showed off a tank concept, in which you drag tanks around via touchscreen and fire by physically pressing the button. While gaming seems to be the main focus, it could also lead to a variety of different artistic and everyday functions, like brush pressure in drawing apps or touchless scrolling in browsers.

All of Ringbow's conceptual uses are equal parts interesting and rudimentary, but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way. Just as the iPad was just a big iPod Touch before developers got their hands on it, we hope the RingBow will bolster enough developer support for some truly interesting touchscreen experiences.

The Ringbow isn't just a single button, either. It's actually a D-pad style button with 9 directional inputs. It has an advertised charge of 4-6 hours on a single charge, and weighs under 200g.

Truthfully, what we really want from it is a new way to play FPS’s onscreen (Seriously – think about making a gun out of your hand and firing with your thumb).

Ringbow’s Kickstarter is live now, so go check it out. $35 - $45 will buy you a black RingBow, and at $55 you can pick your color - which is definitely worth it, because one of the colors is called "Blouis C.K."

Each Ringbow comes with a gaming package, with a handful of games, so you'll have something to play if developers haven't hopped fully onboard by the time you receive the unit. The Ringbow will become a reality if they beat their seemingly reasonable goal of $100,000, so go check it out on their Kickstarter.



Source : ign[dot]com