On RPG's

There are two RPG's I am itching to get my hands on. First of all we have The Witcher 2

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I'm a little ashamed to tell you that I'm still currently working through the original Witcher. I know, it's a few years old and i should have completed it several times over. Well I'm constantly being distracted by something shinier. Morality and consequences for you choices has been built at the very core of both Witcher games. Granted people only remember the "sex cards" you collect after having your way with the roaming wenches. (and yes i collected a few) But that was only a small part of the story and in my humble opinion I think it added a touch of realism to the game. (Play it and you'll get what i mean)

The combat in The Witcher 2 looks slick and innovative. The ability to chain multiple types of attacks (item, melee and magic) always brings a smile to my face. In games I'm all for using planet cracking super attacks on minor foes just because i don't like the way they look. The Witcher 2 will really feed into that destructive side to me. The main concern is due to this game being developed by a small European publisher it wont get the media push it deserves. It would be a sad thing for this game to idle away mid chart and to miss out on the recognition it deserves.

The game I am most looking forward to, that i have been following since the rumours of it's production hit the interwebs is Star Wars: The Old Republic.



Oh lordy this game is right up my street. I love Bioware and I am a massive Star Wars fanboy. Some people are ashamed to admit they've read some of the books... but I've read so many it's a point of pride. It's probably around 80 now come to think of it...

Bioware are absolute masters of the RPG genre's; when it comes to crafting story lines they create beautiful worlds you can end up lost in with characters you genuinely engage with emotionally.

The Old Republic comes off the back of (in my opinion) Bioware's strongest franchise Star Wars: Knight's of the Old Republic. This is set circa 5000 years before Episode IV in a time when Sith were legion and the galaxy is a battleground. As with everything related to the Star Wars franchise, Lucasarts is heavily involved in the development and ensure canon is maintained. What's more the games formed the basis of several highly acclaimed novels and the birth of the Revan legend. (soon to be expanded upon in an upcoming book)

What excites me about this game is the painfully patient approach to development. Star Wars: Galaxy was a terrible MMORPG but SWTOR will have all the strengths of their single player games (Character and NPC development, branching story lines, full voice acting) Bioware has stress tested every aspect of this game to ensure absolute perfection.

No release date has been announced yet which suggests that unlike the debacle of Knights of the Old Republic 2 (which was rushed out for a Christmas release leading to massive plot wholes and undeveloped story) SWTOR will not see the light of day until it's perfect.

And you know what? With the might of EA games behind it they could release this in 10 years time and it'd still be a massive hit. And I'll still be sat here, pining away, ready to pounce on it at release.