Atlus loves to talk about how its upcoming PS2/Wii "party RPG," Dokapon Kingdom, is going to make you and all of your friends hate each other as you fight one another to be the best kingdom-defender and win the hand of Princess Penny.

But man, how can there be hostility when these screens look so damn adorable and hilarious, seriously? Fist-in-teeth, girl-squealing adorable?

You're looking at the official box art for Wii. Release date is October 14th, new screens after the jump!

So, you know that Square Enix RPG that's coming to the Xbox 360? No, not that one. Infinite Undiscovery, which is actually being developed by Star Ocean developers Tri-Ace and published by Squeenix, looks rather like a Final Fantasy at first blush, which makes one wonder if it wasn't the backup plan in the event that Microsoft's much-prized (and Sony-disappointing) multiplatform deal with Square Enix for FFXIII didn't work out.

Nonetheless, in all of the FFXIII hysteria and hullabaloo, don't forget that Xbox 360 owners actually have more than one large-scale Square Enix RPG to look forward to.

The chill wind of neglect was blowing over the Infinite Undiscovery booth on the show floor last week, so I decided to stop in and give it a whirl.

You may recall that the original announcement of Infinite Undiscovery contained the promise that "every decision you make leads to a myriad of discoveries and affects every encounter." Lots of discoveries, huh? Possibly even infinite ones? Oh, wait, those are un-discoveries? Okay, okay, the title is somewhat confusing, but, moving on.

As I said, at first glance the game looks a little like FFXII — the bit I played featured a three-person party jogging across an expansive rolling meadow under a bright blue sky, with ruins dotted here and there, while creatures on casual strolls across the landscape could be attacked (or would attack) if the party got too close.

Unlike FFXII, though, the other two party members are largely AI-controlled, though there are specific buttons that can be used to instruct them to use specific techniques. Combat is entirely real-time, and you determine the lead player character's weapon combos through simple button combinations, rather than by choosing from a menu. At any time, you can tell your healer to heal simply by pressing Y.

My character was a handsome, sword-toting lad named Capell in the company of two beautiful brunettes — one seemed a range fighter, as I could instruct her to use an archery weapon, and the other seemed to use primarily magic-based skills. Needless to say, all of them had fabulous, gleaming hair.

It's a very appealing battle system, user-friendly, intuitive and fuss-free. It seems to follow a trend in JRPGs lately that seems to minimize menu-based combat in favor of optional AI with some control options — in other words, you can command the rest of your party if you like, but they can handle themselves well without your interference.

In fact, I enjoyed the real-time, action-style battles so much that I wish I encountered more enemies to fight. A good portion of my time with Infinite Undiscovery was spent jogging across the plain, watching my dot blip gently and slowly across the map in the upper right hand corner as I jogged, and jogged, and jogged. This gave the world a real sense of scale, but it also meant I spent a lot of time discovering nothing — undiscovering, if you will.

There were items in my environment occasionally, like a treasure chest that required I take a long detour through a largely featureless area just to descend a tall hill (my character couldn't hop down a small ledge and instead had to find a way around it). There are also occasionally herbs and plants around, that you can pick. You have to sheath your weapon using the right trigger, though, before you can pick something up.

My character had a cool ability — by holding the left trigger, he played a flute, which caused a white aura to spread about him in a narrow-radius ring. That ring, the booth staff told me, represented the range in which my character could search for special items concealed nearby him. I used the ability often as I jogged along, but I never did find anything.

I was slightly annoyed when my pretty archer couldn't shoot a nearby enemy when it seemed like he should be within range. He was in a bit of a depression in the ground, and it seemed to me they were not allowing me to engage with him because, with a ledge between him and me, he couldn't immediately fight back. Okay, fair enough, but what's the good of range fighting if you can't be at range? Archery switches to nearly a first-person view and lets the player aim the bow, which is very cool, but the aim didn't seem too precise at this stage.

Largely, though, there was a lot of jogging between fights, as I searched to try and discover more. At last I reached what looked like a castle wall with a heavy wood door in it — at which point the booth staff helpfully pointed out I'd gone all the way back to the entrance to the previous area, and couldn't re-enter.

Running and running endless miles across an expansive world has been a staple of this particular genre since the dawn of time, and perhaps I'm just terribly impatient in wishing there had been more to do in that great, big infinite area. The never-ending jog through huge environments was, in my opinion, one of the shortcomings in Twilight Princess.

Nonetheless, the quest to perfect the RPG's battle system without turning it into an action title has been a long evolution fraught at times with missteps, and it seems really worth something that Infinite Undiscovery has hit on a methodology that I found engaging, even addictive. I'm looking forward to seeing more than just a single segment of the game for a wider-lens view, especially as concerns the player-impacted environment promoted with the game.

3:55 PM, the LA Convention Center. Everyone is tired, and you can see the media room starting to slow down — people wander by with exhausted expressions on their faces, looking at their watches and lighting up when they realize there's not much left in the day. Even Crecente has passed the point of being totally with it, pausing in the middle of sentences to stare off into space. I shuffle off to check out Atari's E3 offerings, and am met with a surprisingly cheerful staff who point me in the direction of caffeine. I am not caffeinated enough to face a spiel on Deer Hunter Tournament, so I'm sat down to await a demonstration of The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. I hear something about transport options from the person enthusiastically imbibing what the Deer Hunter guy is saying — 'Oh cool, so you're planning on having like, ATVs and stuff?' — and am glad I'm parked in front of The Witcher instead of one screen over. More impressions and details after the jump:

So, The Witcher isn't new, but the whole presentation focused on the improvements made to the game. After apologizing for already having given the presentation five times in a row, Tomasz Gop enthusiastically explained what the 'expanded edition' really expanded upon (and kept coming back to 'fan suggestions'). The expanded edition features over 5,000 lines of totally rewritten and rerecorded script, as well as a whole new German script created from scratch (was it that bad?). In addition to the script itself, a slew of new dialogue animations were added to make characters look less like wooden blocks and more like dynamic people. Monsters and NPCs are still based on the same character models, but have gotten randomly generated clothes and colors to shake things up a bit. Further, the inventory system has been improved and makes for easier storage and sorting; there is also an easier system for collecting loot after battles. Importantly, load times have been significantly reduced. Another nice feature is the ability to play with any combination of the available subtitles and voice tracks; we watched a scene with a Polish voiceover and Chinese subtitles.

The boxed edition will feature two new adventures, the adventure editor, the official soundtrack CD, a CD of music inspired by The Witcher, a game guide, "The Witcher" short story by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, a map of the Witcher world, and a 'making of' DVD. Already bought the game? Don't want to shell out again? Never fear — everything will be available for download if you purchased the original version. The enhanced version is expected out in September of this year.

I was then shunted over to take a look at the PSP and DS versions of N+. The handheld versions will feature 350 levels and 150 coop and versus multiplayer levels. Players will be able to create their own 'playlist' of levels, as well as get lots of unlockables. The level editor will enable people to design and share their own levels — the download and upload process is fully integrated, and by utilizing a 'purgatory server,' the DS friend's code hell will be bypassed (this was a point that was mentioned very excitedly). N+ will be coming to PSPs and DSs next month

From one DS game on to another — I thankfully didn't have far to go to look at What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver, and by this point was wondering exactly how these Atari people were remaining so chipper and upbeat. This is a reasonably detailed cooking simulator (unsurprisingly); I didn't spend too much time with the actual gameplay, but the guy demonstrating did allow me to try my hand after he scorched some prawns. It's ... a cooking game. A detailed cooking game with really complicated recipes.

However, the 'special feature' that was apparently most exciting was the inclusion of lots of real Jamie Oliver recipes, the ability to create shopping lists based on those recipes, and using the DS as an ultra-portable cookbook/list maker. Now, I like to cook, but I'm not sure I'd pop my DS on the counter — sounds like a recipe for electronic disaster when DS meets boiling liquid or something. Still, the fact that the game comes with a book's worth of (actual) recipes is kind of cool. It will be out in December in time for a Christmas '08 release.

Finally, I headed over to look at the second expansion for Neverwinter Nights 2, Storm of Zehir. The first feature noted was the expanded party editor, now featuring full party customization of up to four party members. There has also been several new classes added, though the only one mentioned in any depth was the "swashbuckler." The party conversation system was demonstrated, with answers and questions being based on intelligence, sills, class and so on. A new, detailed overland map has been added that is a walking map — no more zooming from place to place. The maps are completely moddable, and also feature traps and other surprises that players can interact with via skills.

A mercantile aspect has been added, and trading and quests can help improve your merchant empire in the world — as well as make an impact elsewhere. New monsters will be popping up (the ones I saw looked very nice, even though the game hasn't been entirely 'cleaned up' yet and looked a bit dank in places). The message I was left with was "Lots of new stuff! New races, classes, feats, spells, enemies ... did I forget anything? Yeah, lots of new stuff!". The expansion is due out in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Yes, just take a moment to soak that up. Final Fantasy XIII coming to the Xbox 360. Holy fucking shit. Simultaneous release in Europe and North America with PS3. Wow.

More info is being revealed during Ashcraft's liveblog of the Square Enix press conference.

Alpha Protocol, though billed as an "action-RPG," sounds a bit weighted more toward the former than the latter, aiming for a happy medium that hopes to make RPG elements accessible to twitch fans, while still adding the depth to please RPG purists. Not only that, but the team's touted a heavy emphasis on character interaction and player choice.

It sounds like a a tall order to fil, but when the developers' pedigree includes projects like KOTOR 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2

The Obsidian team held a conference call today to answer tons of questions about the game. Is it challenging to do a modern, realistic RPG (especially with Star Wars and NWN in your rearview)? How do the action elements balance with the RPG elements, and just how much influence will the players have? What kind of man is hero Michael Thorton?

"When we made Alpha Protocol, we had just finished up Neverwinter Nights 2 [which was] pretty traditional, pretty rules-based... and we wanted to do something a little more action-based, a little bit more accessible," said Obsidian executive producer Chris Parker.

"We really liked the spy genre," he said. The team also thought it would be cool to give the player the experience of developing from a green rookie agent into a "modern-day superhero." Thorton will have many traditional weapons, but will level up on a skill-based curve.

One of the things the team said was that they hoped to welcome more traditional FPS players into the RPG fold by allowing the player to simply auto-level on a class-like track, while still allowing more experienced RPG players to develop whichever skills they wanted, and allocate their points on their own.

While they hope to offer a good deal of character customization, players won't, Obsidian said, be doing the "traditional 'make your face' type modifications" — instead, customization for Thorton is more about his skills, abilities and accessories, along with subtle appearance factors like hairstyles.

Interactions with different characters will influence which factions ally with you and which oppose you - in particular, the team said you can expect your endgame to be heavily influenced by your actions in the game. The conversation wheel, the team said, resembles Mass Effect's a bit, but with less looping back and more of a real-time feel; it's also possible to choose a single "stance" and carry it through all of your interactions.

Even though Alpha Protocol is a modern spy thriller, the team decided it shouldn't go too far into realism. "We originally went for a more realistic version of gameplay and the way Thorton interacted with the world, but that wasn't as exciting as having some kind of magical abilities," said Parker. "Michael Thorton is a super-agent, so we have added some abstraction, and something... like super-powers."

One such special ability will involve Thorton being able to stop time and line up shots to kill many opponents at once.

It was also a challenge to balance realism with an engaging RPG, the team said, so in terms of the story feel, they took inspiration from the post-processing effect film style of Syriana. For the visual style, though, the design team wanted to elevate the artistic language. "We wanted to stay away from just having guys in suits... it helps gameplay-wise if they have over-the-top characteristics."

The team also hopes that the game's opening events will draw players in on an emotional level. At the story's opening, a tragic event sends Thorton on a mission - "something that has value to the world and to other people immediately." From there, the world gets turned upside down when Thorton is forced to go rogue to unravel the mystery.

"It's a unique opportunity for the player to have an effect on real world events... basically, the player can affect things happening in the news, in the financial market... to bring down a real bad corporation, or the government if that happens to be the case. There's a chance for the player to affect things happening in our world right now."

Alpha Protocol is slated for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC for February 2009.

The best way to start describing Dokapon Kingdom would be to compare it to Mario Party in that they are both multiplayer games that use a board game mechanic, but the similarities stop there. Dokapon Kingdom goes a step further by adding in RPG elements, a huge map and a healthy dose of vicious competition to create something truly unique and a hell of a lot of fun. Up to four players can play locally (there is no online play) and no worries if you only have one controller as the game can be played with the “pass the controller” method.

Dokapon Kingdom has been overrun with monsters much to the chagrin of its King and his daughter, Princess Penny. Your job is to help rid the land of it’s monstrous inhabitants and any other requests the King might have for you along the way. You begin the game by creating your own customizable character and choosing your class: Thief, Warrior, Magician, etc. Then, once the game begins it’s every man/woman for him/herself.

In classic board game style, moves are determined via a “spinner” that will allow you to move anywhere from 1-6 spaces at a time. You make your way around the board, racing the other players to whatever the current goal is. In my case it was rescuing Princess Penny’s piggy bank which had been stolen by a nefarious evil doer. Along the way you can land on various spaces that will let you do things like shop for items, experience random events, battle monsters and liberate towns from their evil clutches. As in an RPG, your character will gain items, gold and experience points from various deeds and eventually your character will grow stronger with advanced levels, better weapons and the like all the way up to level 99. You can also change your class throughout the game, allowing your character to develop skills across the board.

Where Dokapon Kingdom really shines is in its ability to pit players against each other. For instance, if you land on a space where another player is residing, you immediately go into battle mode with them. Once the battle is completed, the winner is allowed to do one of three things to the loser: rob them, prank them or force a bad item on them. The pranks are the most fun and will allow you to change the loser’s hairstyle, draw graffiti on them or best of all, change their name. And since the game isn’t online, there is no profanity filter so feel free to go nuts with the naughty naming! Additionally, passing a space that contains another character will allow certain characters to steal a random item from them. There are a myriad of ways to screw your fellow players over and the game lets you take full advantage of them.

Dokapon Kingdom is being released on the Wii and PS2 on October 14. If you are the type of person that likes super competitive games, Dokapon Kingdom is definitely the game for you. Just be careful what you rename the other person’s virtual character or you could end up with a very real fist in your face.

So will Valhalla Knights 2 change things up a bit? Make things a little bit easier, more accessible? Add some simple modes, some auto-leveling, some easy outs?

Not so much.

"This one's actually a little bit harder," the Xseed rep told me when I went to go see Valhalla Knights 2 today. And, I'm told, that's exactly how the core JRPG fanbase wants things. In fact, the entire game's been built to accommodate the fanbase's feedback, and is shaping up to be a veritable wishlist of JRPG elements that could conceivably blow some minds when it hits PSP, likely in September.

Valhalla Knights 2 will be a sequel to the first only as much as, say, the Final Fantasy titles are sequels - incorporating some of the same magic systems and thematic elements, but existing in its own new world. More of a successor than a sequel, then.

Though VH2 adds more cinematic cutscenes than the previous Valhalla Knights, story takes somewhat of a back seat to quest-based gameplay, it seems. "There's more stuff to do, and more is better," said the rep.

I'm not done mentioning Final Fantasy, either. VK2's story's being written by Miwa Shoda, scenario designer for FFXII as well as Sword of Mana and SaGa Frontier, while the music's done by Advent Children soundtracker Shojiro Nakaoka.

The basic premise for VH2 involves a Goddess of Judgment, who appears every thousand years to evaluate the world and see how humans are doing. Oops, I'm showing my race bias - there are dwarves, halflings and robots, too. Anyway, this time, the Goddess determines that there's just too much war going on, and decides, in a Biblical Flood-type scenario, to eradicate all life as we know it. A witch with just a little more faith in mankind (and dwarfkind, and halflingkind, et cetera) decides to wound the Goddess to stay her hand, and yes, now it's up to you to save the world.

We know that VH2 will add three new job classes not seen in its predecessor, and two new races - in the demo I saw, you can play as one of various breeds of dog. Dogs using tennis rackets, statues and giant mallets as weapons. The rep told me that the franchise's hallmark is its character customizations; in addition to being able to select your characters' race and job class and customize their look and ability with armor and accessories, VH2 now adds the ability for you to customize faces and hair, too.

There are significantly more options across the board for VH2 - its predecessor had some 200 weapons and armor altogether, and this one's got 300. There are now over 100 items and over 70 spells, and from where I sat, the possibilities looked virtually endless. You can have up to six characters active in your party at a time, and can switch out the leader in realtime, and their entire outfit and equipment on the fly.

You can also change a character's job class at any time. Let's say you're a level 10 Priest. You can switch to being a Level 1 fighter - and keep all of your leveled-up Priest spells and your stats, too. In fact, the rep told me it'll be necessary to switch classes periodically to develop well-rounded characters. At any given time, you occupy one primary class and two sub-classes.

A grid in your menu lets you decide your battle formation - i.e., who stands in front and who stands in back. VH2's battles aren't random - all enemies are visible in the game world. If they see you, they'll try to engage you, but you can stealth-sneak past them by crouching down while you walk if you're hoping to avoid a fight. A small map on the upper right corner of the screen shows you where enemies are in relation to you, so that they don't sneak up on you, too.

If you do happen to get attacked from the back, your back row becomes your front row - but you can rapidly switch your team around in real time too, to get the mages behind the fighters and so forth. And as the battle progresses, each character builds up a gauge to use a special attack (think Limit Breaks) , and the type of attack depends on the type of weapon equipped.

Right now, said the rep, gameplay stands at a hefty 80 hours, but I was told this may be reduced somewhat for the U.S. audience. The length and intensity, said the rep, was aimed more at the Monster Hunter type of fan, so some edits might get made to suit the specifics of North American taste.

The game, created for 7 to 11-year-olds, may sound childish, but it looks to have the right mix of art-style, sense of fun and graphic muscle power to be a potential hit on the portable.

I sat down with the game for a short demonstration last week with UK's EA Bright Light studio. The devs told me that the game will push the DS to it's technical limits with scenes that boast a minimum of 2,000 polygons.

The stylus-driven game is broken down into a number of themed-worlds, each with it's own team of Zubo that you can befriend through tasks and mini-games to add to your team of three. All said there will be 55 different Zubo in the game and all of them will have unique attacks during combat.

Combat is performed through an elite-beat-esque rhythm game that has you first choosing your attack and then either carrying it out or failing by tapping the sliding across the screen with the stylus.

The demo I saw, while fun to look at, was in a setting to loud to really hear the music, and it's the music and how it syncs up with the on-screen action that can make or break this sort of game. The art-style, though, will certainly play with the age group, and even adult fans of plastic figures.

Good lord, who came up with that title? MX3RPGP08PC, it even looks bad abbreviated.

Bashcraft did a yoeman's job of summarizing the goings-on of the Microsoft, RPG-centric presser in Tokyo early this morning, pumping out stories on everything from Square's Infinite Undiscovery to Namco Bandai's Tales of Vesperia. Here's the run down if you want to get caught up:

Microsoft Japan RPG Presser Starting Shortly!
Tales of Vesperia Dated For Japan, Getting Bundle
Star Ocean 4 Coming To Xbox 360 in 2009
Infinite Undiscovery Dated For North America, Europe, Japan, Asia
The Last Remnant Getting Xbox 360 Release First, True Simultaneous Release
Microsoft Japan RPG Presser: The Actual Presser
A Look At The Tales Of Vesperia 360 Bundle
Star Ocean 4, Infinite Undiscovery Trailers

Employs CEO's Family [Insert Credit]

Dated, Demo, Bundle [Famitsu]

[Famitsu Pic]

In addition to the Insider promotion, Wizards of the Coast is sponsoring a Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day tomorrow, Saturday June 7th, during which locations around the world will be hosting special events to help ease players into the new ruleset. Hit the jump for to find out more about this worldwide celebration!

Dungeons & Dragons® 4th Edition Rulebooks Now Available

June 6, 2008 (Renton, WA) – Today Wizards of the Coast announced the release of the highly anticipated 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), with the retail availability of new core rulebooks. Tomorrow, June 7, players around the globe will have the chance to experience the new edition of the popular roleplaying game as part of a worldwide D&D event.

D&D 4th Edition is designed to offer more streamlined game play with exciting options for character creation and interaction, while the new rules framework will reduce the prep time needed to run a game and lower the barrier to entry for new players.

In keeping pace with the changing gaming landscape and striving to meet the ever-evolving needs of players, the new edition includes features that will appeal to players who venture into a dragon’s lair every week as well as those who haven’t delved into a dungeon in many years.

“The decision to introduce a 4th Edition of the game came out of the player feedback we’ve been gathering for years,” said Bill Slavicsek, R&D Director of Roleplaying and Miniatures Games at Wizards of the Coast. “We wanted to streamline the D&D game while enhancing the overall play experience. At its heart, it’s still an exciting tabletop game experience that’s now enhanced with online resources that make it easier for players to create characters, run games and interact with the rest of the D&D community.”

To celebrate the release 4th Edition, Wizards of the Coast is sponsoring Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day (WWDDGD) on Saturday June 7 to give players the opportunity to play 4E adventures with other gamers. Retail partners and special locations around the globe will be hosting events for players; one such location is the WWDDGD Headquarters in Seattle, where Wizards of the Coast staff is taking over Neumos in the Capitol Hill neighborhood to celebrate the 4th Edition launch. For more information on WWDDGD events, visit www.dndgameday.com.

Additionally, Wizards of the Coast is introducing 4th Edition online content in Dragon and Dungeon magazines and the first iteration of the D&D Rules Compendium on D&D Insider®. As additional resources and applications are developed, D&D Insider will grow to include tools for players to design their characters, dungeon, and adventure-building tools for Dungeon Masters and a digital game table for online play.

The Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual and Dungeon Master’s Guide are now available for purchase in retail locations around the world as a set for MSRP $104.95 or individually for MSRP $34.95. D&D Insider will be available for free during a promotional period and will move to a subscription-based fee system as additional components roll out.

Since its first release in 1974, the fantasy roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons has taken millions of players on imaginary adventures of epic scale. Today, D&D is universally regarded as the original game that created the roleplaying game category, and the inspiration for generations of game designers. D&D is enjoyed by millions of players worldwide, while countless more remember it with fond nostalgia.

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, Magic: The Gathering®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times bestsellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com.

"I'm not interested."

"The games seem difficult."

"I don't know what the point of these games is."

"I'm worried about playing them because I'm a beginner."

And so RPGs march valiantly on and on and on and on...

This Week in Japan [Next-Gen]

Moe Moe Niji Taisen Deluxe [Game Watch Impress via Insert Credit]

Sometimes all you need is an interesting concept to pique my interest, and DTP Entertainment has managed to do exactly that with just a few paragraphs and four screens of this RPG, due out in 2009 for the PC and Xbox 360. Nifty main character, interesting world, potential for almost limitless power...definitely one to keep an eye on.

Venetica: dtp entertainment unveils the new Deck 13 role-play game – for the PC and Xbox 360

Hamburg/Germany, May 27th, 2008 – Deck 13, one of Germany’s most successful game developers, has teamed up with dtp entertainment to present Venetica, a visually stunning role-play game with a cryptic storyline. Venetica mixes emotions and action in a unique free roaming and living sixteenth century world full of surprise.

In the era of Venetica, Death walks among the living as a flesh & blood being, carrying out the deeds of an ancient council known by a few as Corpus. Each generation of the Corpus is set with the task of selecting the next predecessor of the bringer of death. Unfortunately, the most recent council had unwittingly selected a crafty necromancer who is determined on bringing death and destruction to the world.

This conniving imposter has managed to transform into an undead fiend, which no mortal man can kill. This power-crazed necromancer is hell-bent on destroying the reinstated Death and the council of Corpus. Only one person stands in his way, Scarlett, the daughter of Death.

Up to now she has known nothing of her origins, her powers and the capabilities that she possesses – now she is challenged to learn how to develop and use her powers to save her father and curse the necromancer and his henchmen to the eternal hereafter. dtp entertainment is going to release Venetica in 2009 for PC and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. www.venetica-game.com

Games like X-Com and Zelda: Ocarina of Time clearly stretch the definition of "RPG." Many respondents argued these titles illustrate how great games have effectively incorporated RPG elements into other genres like strategy or adventure games. This makes sense to me. Given the short time I have available to me (one semester), I will try to illustrate these influences as best I can without veering too far off the RPG track.

... While it's very interesting for me to consider how many people recommend game X over game Y, ultimately this project isn't an RPG popularity contest, and I must choose a collection of games that best serve my pedagogical goals.

It is interesting to look at both the spread of games and how many votes certain games garnered (Chrono Trigger tops the list); it'll be interesting to see what makes the final cut.

RPG Syllabus - the data [The Brainy Gamer]

SoulCalibur IV PS3, Xbox 360 2 million units
Afro Samurai PS3, Xbox 360 800,000 units
Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3 PS2 600,000 units
Dragonball NDS 500,000 units
Super Robot Taisen Z PS2 500,000 units
Tales of Vesperia PS3, Xbox 360 500,000 units
Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit PS3, Xbox 360 500,000 units
Family Trainer Wii 500,000 units
Taiko no Tatsujin Wii 400,000 units
Tales of Series NDS 400,000 units
Naruto PS3 400,000 units
Gundam PSP 400,000 units

Below is the since corrected list:

IR PDF [Namco Bandai via http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=294999">NeoGAF Thanks, Charlie!]

Cross Edge is a new RPG due out in Japan for the PlayStation 3 this September that is a collaboration between some of the top names in the genre. Nippon Ichi, Gust, Namco Bandai, Idea Factory, and even Capcom have lent their properties to this superstar game, which features characters from Darkstalkers, Disgaea, Ar Tonelico, and many more. Hell, a game with Etna and Morrigan together alone is worth eleventy million dollars. The game features turn-based battles, a plot that involves rescuing souls, and...if you look to the bottom right corner of the scan...the ability to dress your characters up in a wide variety of outfits, from PE clothes to devil costumes.

Chances of this coming out in the states? Pretty damn unlikely. Chances of me importing this? Over nine thousand. Thanks to SupaPhly for the scans!

People like myself and some people that work here actually grew up as hardcore PC guys, and now we're older, we have kids, we don't have that much time, so we've transitioned. We're console players now.

But we still have those PC game sensibilities. Those are the games we like. So I think BioShock has a little bit of that too. You can definitely feel the old System Shock roots in that game. So hopefully there's a trend there.

Historical scope - I want to expose students to the historical arc of RPGs, reflecting their origins and evolution. I realize I could spend weeks on mimesis, Tolkien, PnP Dungeons and Dragons, etc., but I'm keen to get them playing and studying electronic games as soon as possible.

Breadth - It's important that I provide students with a wide range of RPG games encompassing a variety of gameplay and design variations. The syllabus needn't be a "greatest hits" collection. A classic like Chrono Trigger may or may not make the list depending on how many other Square-developed SNES JRPG titles make the list ....

Impact - I want to assign games that have made a notable impact or illustrate important transitions in the evolution of the medium

RPG syllabus - the big list [The Brainy Gamer]

ATLUS FIRES IZUNA, CLEARS HER SCHEDULE FOR IZUNA 2: THE UNEMPLOYED NINJA RETURNS ON NINTENDO DS

Romp Some Dungeons with the Cutest Ninja-for-Hire Around

IRVINE, California - April 16, 2008 - Atlus U.S.A., Inc. today announced Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns for Nintendo DS(TM), starring everyone's favorite careless, jobless, and penniless female protagonist with a love for dungeon crawls. Combining zany characters and hilarious dialogue with hardcore dungeon RPG gameplay, Izuna 2 stands out from the crowd with its unique and memorable RPG experience. This sequel offers more game content, combat options, and RPG depth. Also, the lead character's a sexy, self-absorbed ninja.

Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns is currently scheduled to release on July 22.

Key Features:
- Play hardcore with Izuna - Get in the action by combining down-and-dirty old-school dungeon RPG play with the cutest girl ninja ever, for a "stimulating" RPG experience.
- TAG team system - Take any two party members into a dungeon for a greater range of combat strategy. Combine power to unleash fierce TAG attacks.
- More Izuna than ever before - Get everything that made the original game a fan favorite, plus more! This bigger, better package includes more dungeons, items, enemies, characters, as well as a wacky new story, side quests, and TAG team system.

Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns has been rated "T" for Teen with Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes by the ESRB.

About Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns
Izuna and her gang are back - and just in time for a wedding! Lured by the promise of free food (Why else would Izuna attend?), the festive event becomes a puzzling mystery when Izuna's sidekick Shino suddenly disappears, off in search of her long-lost sister. And making matters worse, the foreign gods have also arrived on Japanese soil, and they aren't very happy with the meddlesome, unemployed ninja. With disgruntled deities on the warpath, a sidekick to track down, and a missing sister out in the wild, it could all shape up to be one of Izuna's more exciting adventures. Sounds like a lot of work for a girl out of a job!

"CD Projekt has always been oriented to gamers' needs, so releasing an adventure editor for the modding community is an obvious move. It's quite a demanding tool, however, and it will bring loads of satisfaction to many of the fans. After all, we made The Witcher with this tool," said Adam Kiciński, CEO, CD Projekt RED.

Create New Legends With 'The Witcher' Adventure Editor, Plus First New Official Adventure For Fans

Atari Announces the Launch of the 'D'jinni' Adventure Editor, 'Price of Neutrality' Adventure and Patch 1.3 for CD Projekt's Acclaimed PC Role-Playing Title

LYON, FRANCE - 14 April 2008 - Atari today announced the release of the D'jinni beta adventure editor and Price of Neutrality adventure together with patch 1.3 for The Witcher, the PC role-playing opus from Polish development studio CD Projekt RED which continues to garner high praise and new fans the world over thanks to its unique blend of mature fantasy universe, tough decision making and intense tactical combat. The first official adventure and patch 1.3 are available for free download via www.thewitcher.com, with a separate free download available containing the D'jinni beta adventure editor.

"CD Projekt has always been oriented to gamers' needs, so releasing an adventure editor for the modding community is an obvious move. It's quite a demanding tool, however, and it will bring loads of satisfaction to many of the fans. After all, we made The Witcher with this tool," said Adam Kiciński, CEO, CD Projekt RED. "We've also prepared the first official mod with a completely new adventure which will be available to download for free."

The Price of Neutrality is the first official adventure from the team at CD Projekt and features around two hours of gameplay during which the player is introduced to the other witchers in more detail following their brief appearance in the original game. Populated with new NPC's and other new graphical assets, the adventure takes the player into the little explored outskirts of Kaer Morhen in a compelling story with tough decisions and more than one possible ending. The adventure text is localised in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Polish. In the same download, patch 1.3 readies the game for playing the new adventure.

The English language D'jinni beta adventure editor will let fans craft complete new adventures for Geralt using the existing graphical assets, maps and environments in the game. By creating new stories, cut-scenes, graphical effects, dialogue and gameplay actions, users of the adventure editor can let their imaginations run wild predicting the turmoil and tests waiting in Geralt's future, or even filling in the missing years between the close of Andrzej Sapkowski's last Witcher novel and the start of the game.

Based on the universe created by best-selling Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher puts players in the role of Geralt, a professional monster slayer who exists on the fringes of a complex society troubled by the kind of problems more commonly found on the front pages of newspapers than in a fantasy universe. Taken as a child, mutated, and trained in the arcane ways of the witchers, Geralt is a reluctant hero, who nonetheless finds himself all too frequently in the heat of battles that are not his own. In this world there is no right or wrong, only decisions and consequences.

The Witcher is available now at retailers across Europe as a standard game pack and as a Limited Edition containing a wealth of exclusive content. For more information about The Witcher visit www.thewitcher.com and for more details about Atari's entire product line up visit www.atari.com.

-ends-

Castles aren't large walled structures where people live and work, they're intricate mazes. Temples aren't places where people go to worship their various deities, they're where the ancients practiced their Booby Trap- and Death Course-making skills (and they were so good at it that they are still functional after hundreds of years without maintenance). Even places like warehouses and sewers, where the design should be fairly straightforward, are designed solely to deter intruders, even if there is no earthly reason why it should be so, and even if it utterly inconveniences non-intruders. One wonders what the regular people do.

Videogame Tropes [TV Tropes via Joystick Division]

1d6 of New Dungeons and Dragons Apps! [Maximum PC]

ADVENTURERS WANTED; ATLUS ANNOUNCES DUNGEON RPG ETRIAN ODYSSEY II: HEROES OF LAGAARD FOR NINTENDO DS!

One of Gaming's Truest RPG Series Returns in June

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27th, 2008 - Atlus U.S.A., Inc., preferred publisher of adventuring duo Fight and Heal, today announced Etrian Odyssey(TM)II: Heroes of Lagaard for Nintendo DS(TM). Continuing one of the genre's purest experiences, this sequel builds upon the original cult classic with more diverse areas to explore, new character classes, more fiendish FOEs, and an improved mapping system.

Etrian Odyssey II boasts an all-star development team, led by director Shigeo Komori (scenario designer; Etrian Odyssey, Odin Sphere). Composer Yuzo Koshiro (The Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Etrian Odyssey) returns for Heroes of Lagaard, in addition to character designer Yuji Himukai and monster designer Shin Nagasawa, who both worked on the original Etrian Odyssey.

The odyssey resumes June 17th.

About Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard
In the Grand Duchy of High Lagaard, it is said that the Duke is descended from inhabitants of a castle in the sky. When an unforeseen crisis befalls the nation, it is decreed that the first explorer to retrieve the Grail of Kings from that mythical floating palace will be rewarded with wealth and fame beyond imagining. Enter the central city of Lagaard and begin your journey to the clouds!

Key Features
- Make the adventure yours - Rediscover true role-playing as you build your party of stalwart adventurers from 12 different classes. From basics like name and sex to advanced settings like combat formation, skills, and spells, every detail is yours to customize!
- The Odyssey continues - Experience an all-new story, more classes, improved mapping capabilities, new Force Skills, and over 100 side-quests.
- Chart your progress through the dungeons - Etrian Odyssey's innovative mapmaking tool returns with more options and features! Use the touch screen to map out the halls, chambers, treasures, and dangers of the realms you explore.

Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Weekly Famitsu Info & Scans [Akayuki]

Mar 12, 2008 (CORPORATE IT UPDATE via COMTEX) — CDC Games, a business unit of CDC Corp. and provider of a "free-to-play, pay for merchandise" model for online games in China, announced it has licensed "Digimon RPG" and "Digimon RPG2," the massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) based on a Japanese television animated series, for distribution in North America and The People's Republic of China from SK Telecom, a mobile telecommunications operator in South Korea.

Digimon RPG is based on a series of Japanese animated television shows called, "Digimon Adventure," "Digimon Adventure 02," "Digimon Tamers," and "Digimon Frontier." Digimon RPG2 (currently the tentative name with an official name to be decided prior to launch date) is a 3D MMORPG version based on the next series of the TV shows listed above for Digimon RPG, as well as a series of shows called "Digimon Savers."

The "Digimon Savers" and "Digimon Adventure" series, produced by Toei Animation, is a Japanese animated line of media and merchandise that includes a cartoon series, anime, manga-style comics, toys, trading card games and other media. The media network for the Digimon series currently includes a Digimon Savers cartoon television series running on Toon Disney, and 13 video game titles available in North America.

Digimon RPG and Digimon RPG2 are developed by Digitalic and are also jointly planned by Digitalic and Bandai Korea Co., Ltd. CDC Games intends to launch Digimon RPG in North America later this year. Digimon RPG2 is currently under development and is expected to be launched first to the Korea market later this year.

"We are very pleased to license Digimon RPG and Digimon RPG2 to CDC Games," said Yongbo Cho, Online Game Business team leader, SK Telecom. "Digimon RPG has been very well received in Korea which is one of the world's most competitive online games markets. With CDC Games' impressive global infrastructure, deep expertise in the global gaming market and its successful track record in the world's largest online games market, we believe Digimon RPG will be very successful in both the U.S. and China."

"This is the first massively multiplayer online game based on the Digimon world," said Jeffrey Longoria, president of CDC Games International. "With one of the most widely recognized names around the world, this family-friendly game is targeted at the millions of Digimon fans who have enjoyed the last 10 years watching the worldwide syndicated cartoons, have played more than a dozen different Digimon console and handheld video game titles, and enjoyed the world-wide phenomenon of the popular collectible card game. Now for the first time, Digimon fans along with their favorite friends from all over North America, can interact with this amazing world and each other in a whole new exciting way.

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

Gary Gygax [Troll Lord Games Forums]
Photo by Alan De Smet

SEGA's Valkyria ChroniclesTM Journeys To The West

Visually Stunning Role-Playing Game Heads to the PLAYSTATION® 3

LONDON AND SAN FRANCISCO (February 25, 2007) - SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced that Valkyria Chronicles™ a fresh new take on the traditional role-playing genre, is coming exclusively to the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system. Soon to be released as Valkyria of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles in Japan, where it has already gathered the interest of legions of gamers, Valkyria Chronicles combines strategy elements of tactical role-playing games with real-time action sequences. All of this is played out in an innovative and beautiful visual style.

Valkyria Chronicles is set in a fictitious continent reminiscent of 1930s Europe - divided in two and ruled by the Empire and the Federation. The Empire has set its sights on invading a small neutral country called Gallia, which is situated in the middle of the two great empires. The game follows a hero named Welkin and his fellow soldiers of the Federation's 7th Platoon as they engage in a series of epic battles.

Built upon the new "CANVAS" engine, developed internally by SEGA Game Studios Japan, Valkyria Chronicles' stunning 3D graphics resemble a watercolor painting in motion, taking full advantage of the processing capabilities of the PLAYSTATION® 3. The power of the PLAYSTATION® 3 also allows the development team to exploit the full potential of this new engine, giving players many different stunning environments to explore. A new type of tactical battle mechanic has been specifically designed for Valkyria Chronicles. Known as "BLiTZ," this gives players freedom to strategically move around the environment and attack enemies using real-time controls, something never before seen in the tactical role-playing game genre. The new "CANVAS" engine technology, the "BLiTZ" battle concept and an epic storyline offers players hours of exciting gameplay.

"Valkyria Chronicles has been enthusiastically requested by European fans" said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director SEGA Europe ltd. "The unique graphics and compelling gameplay are just two reasons why we're delighted to bring it to them."

Valkyria Chronicles will be available for the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in Autumn 2008.

The Witcher Enhanced Edition Announced

New, Improved and Enhanced Version of 2007 PC RPG of the Year Coming in Late Spring

Warsaw - February 18, 2008. CD Projekt RED is pleased to announce that in May of this year, a new and improved version of The Witcher will appear in stores, a game already considered by many players and media to be the best PC RPG of 2007!

Michał Kiciński, CEO of CD Projekt described the idea behind The Witcher Enhanced Edition: "The leading idea during the development of The Witcher Enhanced Edition is to create a game that is devoid of all of the major criticisms levied at the original release. The Witcher was received very warmly by both players and the media, but we are well aware that it is not a product without its faults. There was just not enough time to perfect certain elements, while we learned that some things needed to be changed from the players themselves. Now we have the opportunity to introduce changes that will allow The Witcher to provide even more enjoyment. I hope that, as a result, the game will come even closer to the ideal RPG."

Maciej Szcześnik, Project Manager at CD Projekt RED, spoke about the content provided in the new edition: "The Witcher Enhanced Edition will be a completely polished product, something rarely found on the PC market. Of course, it would have been best if the original edition could look that way. There were a few ways the original game didn't quite live up to our high expectations, but now we're trying to make up for it.