Five and a half years ago, the gates of Oblivion opened and its denizens poured out into Tamriel. Eventually, after dicking around for days, or even weeks in a staggeringly massive open world doing odd jobs, hunting in the forest, and picking random fights with guards, I helped save Tamriel and sealed shut the gates of Oblivion. In November, Skyrim arrives and throws a crap-ton of dragons in your face. Read the full story

Gearing up gamescom and PAX, NCsoft has released the most recent video for their upcoming fantasy MMO, Guild Wars 2. Give the title ‘Manifesto,’ it’s meant to reference a previous post by Mike O’Brien, President of ArenaNet. Read the full story

Today, I spent a good portion of my time playing, and completing, Dream Chronicles: The Book of Air by PlayFirst. Well before the game was released, I knew I wanted to play it. I’m a huge fan of hidden-object games, so the recent installment to the Dream Chronicles franchise was a must-have. I will admit that The Book of Air is the first Dream Chronicles game I’ve ever played, so I was going into it with fresh eyes.

Upon launching the game, I was immediately thrust into a gorgeous cinematic filled with vibrant colors and beautiful music. Once that finished, I was presented with the menu and it was very easy to navigate. Since I was playing the Exclusive Collectors Edition my menu featured options to take me to additional content as well as a bonus chapter, but I will touch on that in a bit.

I selected to start a new game, and after naming my save file, I then got to select which difficulty level I wanted. Having to choose between casual or challenge, I opted for casual. In challenge mode, the puzzles are more difficult, and you can’t skip though them. If you are new to hidden-object games, or working through puzzles isn’t a strength of yours, I highly suggest casual mode because even then, there are puzzles I skipped through.

After I had my selections all worked out, the game began. I was treated to another intro cinematc, which is narrated by a young girl named Lyra, who is the daughter of Fay and Fidget from the previous Dream Chronicles Trilogy. On the day before her 18th birthday, she was celebrating with friends and loved ones, when her grandfather, Tangle, gave her a present he called ‘an amazing gift’. Once Lyra opened it, she heard a strange voice, and then everybody vanished. There she was, all alone in her town named Wish, and that’s when my journey began.

The first ‘level’ was in front of the local school. There I learned about my Dream Journal, which stores all of the notes from Tangle you come across in your travels, along with details about each puzzle you’re working on. I then learned about the Dream Jewels, and how by connecting enough Dream Pieces, I can unlock their powers. There are five total Dream Jewels in all: Decipher which translates ‘fairy text’, Reveal which is pretty self explanatory, Transmute which turns golden objects back into their original wooden state, Brilliance which lights up dark rooms or caves, and Thunder which causes a storm and rain to fall. The Dream Pieces look like small shards of glass, or crystal, and sometimes they can be difficult to find, but throughout the entire game there are 180. I managed to find over 160, but in order to unlock every Dream Jewel, you have to find 150 of them.

Outside the school, I completed the puzzles necessary to get inside the classroom, and once I was inside I had even more puzzles to do. In The Book of Air, there are a variety of puzzle styles. Some are simple like collecting pieces of an object and then putting it back together. Others are more difficult like assembling cogs inside a clock perfectly so it can run. There were some puzzles I really enjoyed though. Like where you opened a book and on the right side was a paragraph with some text missing and you had to unscramble the words on the left side to to complete the puzzle and get a clue. Then there were actual puzzles where you are shown an image and then it breaks off into squares and you have to put it back together again. I love doing traditional puzzles like that, so I semi-squealed with delight when I saw them.

Once I was finished with the school, obtained the ‘world map’, and discovered the airship Lyra’s father was hiding, I was off to find a man known as the Clockmaker, since he was the only one who could help me. By now, and through the notes provided by Tangle, you know that Lyra is stuck in a different dimension. By meeting with the Clockmaker, who reminded me a little of the Wizard of Oz, he tells you to find three keys that will unlock his Time Synchronization Machine and bring you home.

The first place you go to is Treehouse Village. By now you should have the Transmute Dream Jewel unlocked, and here is where you get to use it. The four trees on your screen look like they’ve had a nasty run in with King Midas. Once you restore the trees, you complete some puzzles, obtain the first key, and move on.

Wind Music Island, your second destination, frustrated me to no end. I suggest that when doing the main puzzle to unlock the key that you have pen and paper handy, because you’ll need them. Here, you have to make the island come alive with music, and to do so is rather intricate. Even though I got a little miffed at this part, I’m actually glad that I was given something challenging.

The final key location is named Water Collector. By using your Thunder Dream Jewel, you fill the pool with water, use the key you find to get inside a hut, and complete some puzzles in there to get the last key. That puzzle inside the hut is one of the ones I skipped. It had to do with plank pieces, runes, a scale, and heavy objects like a chalice. Maybe my brain was puzzled-out at that point, but I’m so glad there was an option to skip it.

When you return to the Clockmaker with all three keys, you unlock the doors and fix the machine. Here is where you are given three ridiculously difficult puzzles, and it’s all with clock gears. Yes, I skipped through all three of them, but I really tried and put in a decent amount of time trying to figure it out. With Lyra on her way back to Wish, you quickly discover that something is wrong, and that sets things up for the next installment: The Book of Water. Going into this game, I knew it was a trilogy, so I wasn’t surprised with how things ended the way they did.

Now, let me get into graphics, gameplay, and sound. I have no complaints. Not one. Graphically is was lush, colorful, detailed, and simply gorgeous. The gameplay was easy. No keyboard involved, all mouse, and really delightful. Perfect for the style of game. The soundtrack was amazing, melodious, and had this nice fantasy RPG feel to it.

Currently PlayFirst is only offering the Exclusive Collectors Edition for $19.99, but you get unlimted play, exclusive content like a strategy guide/walkthrough, a screensaver you can download that is a collection of production art from the game, six wallpapers to choose from (Airship, Flying Over Wish, Tower of Dreams, Wind Music Island, Taking Flight, Tower Above the Clouds), and lovely MP3 audio which includes the main theme, The Book of Air opening tune, and more. The Bonus Chapter you get is rather nice too. It gives you more playtime, and more production art, along with many puzzles to complete. You are also given a peek into The Book of Water which, sadly, won’t be out until 2011.

Do I think this game is worth $19.99? Maybe, but it depends on many different factors. If you are a person who likes Collectors Editions, who likes bonus features like screensavers, wallpapers, game soundtracks, and bonus levels, then yes. It’s worth it. If you don’t care about that and want to just play the game, then I suggest picking up the $6.99 version that just released today. You will still get the same levels, abilities, and unlimited gameplay, but none of the bonus features.

My only real complaint is that I wanted the game to be longer, because I enjoyed playing it that much, but with games of this genre it’s difficult. PlayFirst did a good job with giving us a wide variety of puzzles and objects, and making sure it never felt repetitive. Had they gone with a longer game, maybe they would’ve had that problem, so the length of the game could very well be a blessing in disguise.

Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give Dream Chronicles: The Book of Air an 8.5. If you’re a fan of puzzle/hidden-object games, or if you’re just getting into games of this nature, I highly recommend giving it a go because it really is delightful.

- Me

In their live conference yesterday, Konami started off their presentation with video showing a vault and you heard a voice entering the, now classic, Konami code before going into reel of their upcoming games. Shinji Hirano, President of Konami, introduced himself and welcomed everybody. Hirano-san says that this year, Konami has strong line-up which consists of Konami original IP such as Metal Gear Solid: Rising, Silent Hill, two Castlevania games, Frogger, and Dance Dance Revolution. Read the full story

Since childhood, I have been a great fan of fantasy.  I have played many fantasy-genre RPGs over the last two decades, and they remain one of my favorite genres of video game.  Needless to say, I was excited about the release of Dragon Age: Origins.

One of my favorite RPGs for a very long time was Neverwinter Nights, released in 2002 by Bioware.  Hearing that Bioware, makers of amazing games such as Neverwinter Nights, the Baldur’s Gate series, the Knights of the Old Republic series, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and more, had developed another fantasy RPG was news of particular significance to me.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to afford the purchase right when it came out, so I had to wait until funds became available.  They became available around Christmas, and I made a gift of it to myself.  Luckily, I had the week following Christmas off from work, so I was able to complete a good portion of the game then (at least, I was able to play when Lindsey would put down the controller long enough for me to get my hands on it…).

Gameplay Screenshot

Bioware is known for their impressive attention to detail in their writing.  The graphics and gameplay rarely disappoint, but their writing is often the star feature of any game they produce.  Stories are given depth and scope, which engage the player and create a connection between them and the world they are playing in.  This makes the gaming experience far more meaningful.  Dragon Age: Origins is no exception to their rule of great writing, and luckily, neither the graphics nor the gameplay have suffered for it.  The graphics, while not groundbreaking, are excellent, and the gameplay is fairly standard for a fantasy RPG, with one major difference: Dragon Age: Origins is not based on the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, as Baldur’s Gate was.  This is only noteworthy because Dragon Age: Origins is considered the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate.  The ruleset that was created, however, is excellent, and does not detract from the gameplay.  The party system is similar to that of Knights of the Old Republic, where you have a large group of companions, but can only take three additional companions with you into the world.  You are able to switch between these three additional companions during gameplay and take advantage of their varied skill sets at any time.  Graphically, the game is wonderful.  The cut scenes are gorgeous, and the gameplay graphics are very good.  There are times when you can notice small graphics glitches, but they are very minor and very rare.

Gameplay Screenshot

The game increases in difficulty as you advance in character level, regardless of which path you take.  For example, my final treaty mission was to the Dwarves, which was fiendishly difficult and long.  Lindsey completed the Dwarves earlier in her path, and it was not as difficult or long.  I completed the Dalish Elves earlier in my path, and found it easier than Lindsey’s completion of the Dalish Elves, later into her path.  The game provides many different playthrough opportunities, as well.  Six distinct and unique origins are available, depending on what race/class/origin you choose.  You can play as a Dwarven Noble, a Dwarven Commoner, a Human Noble, a Dalish Elf, a City Elf, or a Mage.  Each origin provides a 1-3 hour playing time unique to the origin, but always pulling the character in to the main story.  The different origins provide different interactions throughout the game, different storylines become available, and different benefits and drawbacks affect your character.  The main story references, in places, the other origins and the characters that are important in the other origins.  This makes playing through the other origins very fun, because you recognize certain people, and you gain a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of the games events.

Gameplay Screenshot

Dragon Age: Origins immerses the player in an incredibly detailed and deep world, with an excellent variety of stories and characters.  The game is long, with a single, 85-95% complete playthrough running well over the 40 hour mark.  With the multiple playthrough options available, completing the game fully, with all possible options explored for each character origin, would be a task that would require hundreds of play hours.  This game is well worth the cost, and easily my favorite game to come out of 2009.

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]

Confessor is the eleventh, and final, book in the Sword of Truth series.  Terry Goodkind brings his story to its ultimate conclusion in this gripping finale.

Confessor is the final book in the Chainfire trilogy, as well as the Sword of Truth series.  Richard has been captured by the Imperial Order, but they are unaware of his identity, thinking he is only a common individual.  Richard manages to escape, however, after causing a riot in the army camp.  Kahlan recovers her memory of who she is, but not of her past.  The Imperial Order has conquered all of the New World except for the final fortress of D’Hara, Richard’s capital.  Richard must find Kahlan, find the Sisters of the Dark and the magic of Orden, and defeat the military forces of the Old World before magic, and life, are stamped out.

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]

Phantom is the penultimate book in the epically long Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.  The plot of the previous book, Chainfire, is continued and expanded upon in the tenth book of the series.

Phantom continues Richard’s search for his missing wife, Kahlan.  The Chainfire spell discovered in the previous book is still in effect, but Richard discovers that the spell form has been corrupted, as has all magic to some extent.  At the same time, Richard sees that the direct confrontation battles between the New World and the Old World are futile, since the Old World has supplies and troops far beyond those of the New World.  Richard orders his army to break into multiple, small armies, and sends them into the Old World to wreak havoc and destruction.  Meanwhile, Kahlan, having no memory of who she is, travels with the Sisters of the Dark to gather the items needed to cast an all-powerful magic that would give the Sisters immortality and unparalleled power.

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]

With the ninth book, Chainfire, the Sword of Truth series starts the final story arc, that will continue through the final two books to the conclusion of the series.

Chainfire is the beginning of a trilogy of books that completes the Sword of Truth series.  After a battle, Richard awakes to find Kahlan gone.  Even more disturbing is that nobody seems to remember who Kahlan is, or that Richard was ever married.  It is as if Kahlan has been erased from the world without ever having existed.  While desperately trying to convince the others that Kahlan is real, he tirelessly searches for her and for the enemies that have taken her, setting a dark plan into motion.

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]

Eighth in Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series, Naked Empire brings the regular characters back to the forefront in their continuing efforts to defeat the Imperial Order.

Naked Empire picks up right where The Pillars of Creation leaves off.  ”The Gang”, as I’ll be referring to the group of heroes from here on out, encounters an individual named Owen, who begs for their assistance.  He gets The Gang’s assistance by poisoning Richard, with the promise of an antidote once he has freed Owen’s people from the Imperial Order.  Richard soon finds out that the Bandakar (Owen’s people) are all pristinely ungifted, with no spark of magic, like his half-sister Jennsen.  He reasons that the Imperial Order’s motives for conquering the Bandakar, as out of the way as they are, are to use them as a weapon against magic, as magic has no effect on them.  Richard must find a way to expel the Imperial Order from Bandakar, and win the allegiance of the Bandakar people before his time runs out.

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]

The Pillars of Creation, the seventh installment of the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, is the first in the series not to prominently feature the regular characters of the first six books.

In The Pillars of Creation, we are introduced to some new characters whose storylines will dominate most of the book.  Jennsen and Sebastian are first escaping the assassins of “Lord Rahl”, then joining Jagang and the Imperial Order, setting out to assassinate Richard Rahl.  Oba is discovering that he has a great deal of strength and power, and is seeking answers and riches.  Though neither knows it, Jennsen and Oba are half-siblings to each other, as well as to Richard Rahl.  It is discovered that Jennsen and Oba are known as “Pillars of Creation”, meaning that they have no spark of magical ability in them whatsoever.  This is a rarity in a world where almost every living being has at least a miniscule spark of magic within them.  This story sets up for the eighth book in the series, Naked Empire, which delves deeper into the world of the ungifted.

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]