Zenonia follows a young man named Regret as he searches for answers to the mystery surrounding his birth after the sudden death of the man who raised him. Players start off the game by choosing one of three classes - paladin, warrior, and assassin - each with their own set of skills, strengths, weaknesses, and play style. The game features the classic look and feel of games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, combining it with several more modern roleplaying conventions, such as skill trees, special moves, and weapon enchanting.

With around 20 hours worth of play in the main story and the ability to choose between good and evil paths, Zenonia stuffs an enormous amount of game play into a relatively small iPhone title, but can an epic adventure thrive on a platform that tends to focus on smaller titles?

Loved
A Full-Featured Action RPG: This isn't some light, throwaway role-playing game. This is the total package, with three classes, skill trees, equipment levels, different skill builds, side quests, special attacks, and more. Zenonia can easily stand toe-to-toe with any action RPG on the Nintendo DS, and could even give the best the PSP has to offer a run for its money. You can easily squeeze upwards of forty hours out of the game, and when you consider you're only paying $5.99, the value is pretty much insane.

Style With The Substance: Providing a lot of game play is only half of the equation. Zenonia's anime-inspired art style fits perfectly with the overall tone of the story. Memorable characters and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor that sometimes breaks the fourth wall keep the game entertaining throughout its expansive length. The only real flaw in presentation, aside from a few misspellings, is the constantly looping soundtrack, which while charming at first, quickly wears on you.

Hated
Touchy Controls: Where the rest of the game shines, the controls fall flat. Controlling Regret with a virtual control pad and action button is at times extremely frustrating, especially for those of us with larger snausage fingers. Navigating the menus is particularly painful, and the inventory screen is far too small and cluttered for such imprecise controls. Note that the developers have already submitted an update for the game to Apple which widens the control area, addresses the inventory system, and allows you to listen to your own music as you play.

I've been following the roleplaying game scene on the iPhone ever since I got my hands on my first iPod Touch, and while I've been amused by some of the offerings I've seen for the device, I never expected anything quite as expansive as Zenonia. It is a massive game, with an impressive amount of variety and customization lurking beneath its seemingly simplistic outer shell. This is the sort of title you scan message boards for, trying to determine the best skill build for your assassin, or arguing the merits of paladins over warriors. It's more than deep enough to have been successful as a retail release on more traditional handheld systems, yet here it is, for $5.99 on the iPhone.

If you're a fan of the action RPG and own an iPhone or iPod Touch, there's really no reason for you not to play Zenonia. It's an amazing game that sets the bar for the genre on the iPhone platform.

Zenonia was developed and published by Gamevil for the iPhone and iPod Touch on May 24th. Retails for $5.99. Played through to final boss as an evil assassin; toyed with other two character classes.

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At least it begins focusing on it, and then quickly devolves into a fight between the Seraphim character and one of the Inquisitors from the game. It's the strangest little transition, really. The narrator at the beginning could have been talking about anything leading up to the fight.

Cheese. A delicious dairy product long sought-after for its creamy goodness, whether eaten alone or as a topping to apple pie.

Then BOOM! A fight breaks out.

A prequel to the original title, Sacred 2 takes us 2,000 year backwards to a world in the middle of a struggle over control of T-energy, the source of all life and magic on the planet. As the struggle escalates the energy begins to go out of control, mutating creatures, destroying cities, and generally being a major pain in the ass. Sacred 2 allows players the chance to champion the powers of good, saving the planet, or evil, plunging it into further chaos.

With new character classes, new powers, and a brand-spanking new 3D engine, can Sacred 2 possibly live up to the success of the original?

Loved
Move, Click, Kill: Sacred 2 is an isometric 3D RPG, and it doesn't try to be anything different. It's your standard click to kill affair, which can be quite addictive if you're of the right mindset. I oftentimes found myself planning on stopping for the evening only to be strung along by more enemies off to the side of my mini-map. It's no Diablo III, but until that comes along this will do quite nicely.

Making The Character Your Own: The wide variety of character customization as you level means that any three Seraphim characters at level 30 are bound to be three completely different builds. Choosing your skills and upgrading them, allocating attribute points, the equipment you choose, your choice of deity to worship, and the combat combinations you create together create an experience that can be different between play throughs and players.

Stuff To Do: Sacred 2 will keep you busy for quite a long time. Between the six different characters, differing story lines for good and evil characters, and tons of optional quests, those stepping into the world of Ancaria best plan on an extended stay. The fact that enemies level with you means that nothing is off-limits, so you won't run into griding problems or level obstacles - you're free to do what you want, any old time.

A Fully Realized World: While Ancaria echoes with themes familiar in usual ROG fare, as a whole it's an interesting blend of science fiction and fantasy, a world all it's own. This is evident in monster design, player character choices (go, go Robot Anubis!), and some of the locations you'll visit throughout your travels. The beautiful graphics only highlight the unique artistic design of the game.

With Tongue Firmly Planted: The humor that pervaded the original Sacred is back in full force, with sight gags, text gags, and character expression gags attempting to make the player smile, with varying effect. Both your character and the enemies you fight often display the knowledge that they are merely actors in a game. Quite often a dying bandit will exclaim, "I knew I was only an extra!", while upon leveling up you might hear your character mentioning their stats improving. Your mileage may vary, but I found it a pleasant change from more serious RPG outings.

Lutes, Harps, And Electric Guitars: The unitiated might be a bit put off by the opening cinematic, which features a theme song created by German heavy metal group Blind Guardian, who also appear throughout the game as NPCs, but in this age of sweeping orchestral RPG themes I couldn't help but smile at the cheesiness of it all. The remainder of the game's music is rather pleasing fantasy music, but it certainly starts off with a bang.

Drop In Anytime: Co-op multiplayer means you never have to go it completely alone. Playing the game in co-op mode is just like continuing your single-player campaign, only with more people running about. Loot is time-locked to your specific player, so you never need worry about ninja-looters. It's a pleasant way for the more MMORPG-oriented among us to not feel quite as completely isolated as we do when playing the game offline.

Hated
We Got Lost: With 22 square miles of real estate to explore, it isn't always easy to get from point A to point B in the world of Sacred 2. The sometimes buggy map is your on again, off again friend, especially when you discover the fifth route you are trying to use to get to a quest objective is just as blocked as the first four. Mounts and teleports help ease the problem, but the pain lingers.

Artificially Stupid: Stupid AI isn't limited to the enemies in Sacred 2, who seem to possess only the most limited fight or flight responses. You'll often find yourself traveling with NPCs meant to fight by your side, but instead insist on fighting anything the get their eyes on, which makes you question the whole nature of your follower and leader relationship. NPCs you protect during escort quests are either mentally deficient or supremely confident of your ability to save them from the hordes of enemies they generally wind up running away towards.

Voices Of The Damned: Ladies and gentlemen, the Peachtree High School Drama Team presents Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, a dramatic reading. Seriously, the voice acting in Sacred 2 is horrendous. I'm not sure if this was done on purpose, or whether it was just something lost in translation. The original German voice track might be spectacular for all I know. The English track most certainly is not.

Sacred 2 is exactly the type of PC game I like to play. A lovely mixture of mindless hack and slash with the odd bit of leveling strategy thrown in to keep your mind from melting into a puddle of bandit-killing goo. The combat is repetitive, yet entertaining enough that you don't really mind. Some of the quest challenge the worst fantasy MMO titles in terms of banality, but the chance at progressing your character and the promise of more battles eggs you on. The main story itself isn't the most compelling I've come across, but it certainly gives you something to do between bouts of senseless carnage. It's the type of game that doesn't try to break the mold, resulting in a familiar yet solidly entertaining title.

Mainly Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is just a good time to be had that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's the perfect diversion for the PC action RPG fan looking for something to do between now and Diablo III.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel was developed by Ascaron Entertainment published by Deep Silver, released in North America on Nov. 11th for the PC. In development for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Retails for $49.99. Played through Good campaign in its entirety, some of the evil campaign, tried each character class and did some online co-op.

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"We have committed ourselves to offering gamers nothing but top quality. In order to be able to further optimize the online components of the console versions, and ensure a simultaneous release world-wide, we have chosen to aim for this release date for the console versions," says Heiko tom Felde, CEO of ASCARON.

The PC version is still on track for a November 11th release. Having gotten my hands on the game back at Games Convention in August, I'd say it'll definitely be worth the wait.

SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel: Console versions due for release in 2009

ASCARON, one of the leading manufacturers and developers of games software, and Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today announced the release date for the console versions of Sacred 2 – Fallen Angel. Sacred 2 – Fallen Angel is being developed for PLAYSTATION®3 and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, and will be released in the first quarter of 2009.

"We have committed ourselves to offering gamers nothing but top quality. In order to be able to further optimize the online components of the console versions, and ensure a simultaneous release world-wide, we have chosen to aim for this release date for the console versions," says Heiko tom Felde, CEO of ASCARON.

Sacred 2 – Fallen Angel offers Action RPG fans an elaborate new development with numerous new features and extensions of the popular game mechanics. In Sacred 2 – Fallen Angel, the player gradually discovers a huge, freely explorable world with tons of details and top-notch graphics. Sacred 2 – Fallen Angel captivates players with a thrilling storyline that may be experienced in two completely different ways (light and shadow campaigns).

The world of Ancaria has no level limits and can be explored without loading times. Through its great attention to detail and high-quality graphics, Sacred 2 – Fallen Angel will enchant gamers around the globe.

I know this fall is littered with amazing, blockbuster releases we've been waiting years to play, but this was the one I was really looking forward to playing. If I were a panda right now, I would not be a very happy one.

Rise of the Argonauts Pre-Order Page [GameStop - Thanks James]

As you can see from these first screens, the game isn't actually looking half bad. Of course looks are only about a quarter of what makes an action RPG, but they're definitely on the right track. Look for Divinity 2: Ergo Draconis for the PC and 360 in Q2 of 2009.

Divinity 2 � Ego Draconis: The highly anticipated sequel to the award-winning action-RPG Divine Divinity!

Hamburg, Germany, August 8th 2008 – Hamburg-based dtp entertainment, one of the leading German game publishers, and developer Larian Studios today announce the action-RPG Divinity 2 – Ego Draconis for the PC and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®. The sequel to 2002’s award-winning Divine Divinity™ will be released in the second quarter of 2009.

In Divinity 2 – Ego Draconis, players find themselves once again in Rivellon, a timeless world full of awe and magic, shattered and frightened by the apocalyptic wars of the past. No one knows why so many people had to give their lives. Everything seems to be over, but the peace was deceptive, for the demon has returned and the horror once again runs its course.

Players begin as a Dragon Slayer, hunters whom travel the countryside determined to rid their lands of Dragons. As the story of Divinity 2 – Ego Draconis unfolds, the player will discover new abilities and possibilities as they evolve into a legendary Dragon Lord. In addition, the player character’s abilities can be steadily improved over the course of the game and specialised in specific areas. The further a player quests in the world of Divinity 2 – Ego Draconis, the more exciting the gaming experience becomes.

Over the course of the game, players will be able to find many items which have special game-play functions; some can be combined with others to advance further in the game. Additionally, players can use a large variety of weapons in their struggle against a seemingly inevitable fate. An extremely varied and demanding quest structure guarantees hours of fun and a high replay value.

The world of Divinity 2 – Ego Draconis is filled with humans and fantasy creatures, each having special combat abilities. Players will need to use every skill, potion and hidden trick to their strategic advantage to reclaim the lands of Rivellon.

Divine Divinity™ is a trademark of CDV Entertainment. All Rights Reserved Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox LIVE are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

New Cry On artwork is...wow...

An extension of the development process was necessary in order to ensure that we realize all the development plans and ship both PC and Xbox 360 versions with the best possible quality and stability.

Release Date Update [Ascaron]

Loki Norse Demo - Playable Demo available now

93 Games, Ascaron and Cyanide Studio are equipping gamers for a fantastic adventure with the release of this single-player demo for Loki, the legendary hack 'n slash RPG for PC.

In this 991 MB demo, players will jump into the blood-soaked boots of the Norse Warrior, one of the four characters available in the full game. The Norse Warrior is the toughest and most brutal character in the game, and prefers to deal death with two-handed weapons - including his trademark battle axe. As part of the demo campaign, players will have to collect elements needed to defeat Fenrir the legendary giant wolf and will also be able to level their character up to a max of 20 - which means several hours of hack 'n slash fun for those who will want to explore the skill tree of the Scandinavian hero (200 is the maximum level you can reach in the game). In order to do this, players will face hundreds of enemies, wild beasts and other dangerous creatures that live in Myllkwoord forest, in the volcano and in the dungeons of the goblin city.

Loki will be released on August 24, 2007 on PC DVD-Rom.

The demo is available at the following mirrors:

GameSpot
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/loki/index.html

Worthplaying
http://www.worthdownloading.com/game.php?gid=2140

GamersHell
http://www.gamershell.com/download_20538.shtml

FileFront
http://files.filefront.com/Loki+Singleplayer+Demo/;8263133;/fileinfo.html

Metaboli
http://demos.focus-home.com/Loki_demo_Norse.rar

The shots feature pics of two new mounts introduced in the sequel, a hellhound and a tiger. Just something about a giant tiger being ridden by a McFarlane-inspired angel that screams, "Are you ready to rock?" scrawled on the back of a spiral notebook. Michael Fahey