from the web redemption desk
Joey Davidson & Erik Norris run a weekly web show called “Watch Us Play…” where they play through a game and provide commentary.
Being pretty entertaining guys, their playthrough of 38 Studios’ demo for their upcoming Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (prologue to the BigWorld-powered Copernicus MMO, no release date) is worth a watch.
from the Amalur desk
38 Studios just released the demo for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
The immensely fun 3rd person action RPG is on the verge of launch, and is meant to be a prologue to the Amalur MMO, codenamed Copernicus.
Copernicus is being built on BigWorld Technology.
38 Studios has just significantly augmented their Amalur website, which provides some vantage into the world of the Copernicus MMO, which is being developed by the team at 38 Studios/Big Huge Games, including industry icons like R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane.
Read more about the Almain, Ljosalfar, Dokkalfar and Gnomes.
from the luftwaffe desk
Wargaming.net has unveiled the initial German Tech Tree for their upcoming BigWorld-powered title, World of Warplanes.
This follows their recent unveiling of the American Tech Tree & Trailer...
They’ve also released a shiny illustrative trailer to this effect
The branching tech tree, seen below, features classics like the Bf109 and the Me262 Jet.
from the communidad desk
Wargaming.net is rallying the legions of Louisiana-based World of Tanks players to meet in an as-of-yet-unspecified location in the big easy.
A member of the World of Tanks development team will make an appearance, give a talk, and answer questions from the players.
Read about it or contribute to the discussion here.
from the demo desk
38 Studios’ Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the prequel to the upcoming BigWorld-powered Copernicus MMO now officially has a demo. The Amalur demo takes players through the character creation and intro dungeon tutorial and exposition, then provides 45 minutes of open-world exploration. Fourty-five full minutes of wolf slaying, chicken bashing, and slaughtering of innocent townsfolk (er… so we’ve heard). As a bonus, 38 Studios has teamed up with Bioware to reward players with Mass Effect 3-themed gear for their full purchase of Amalur.
Our early estimation, based on one playthrough, is that combat is the jewel of the title. This probably comes as little surprise to anyone who’s been following the game’s press, but we were nonetheless pleasantly surprised to find that combat is varied, responsive, weighty, meaty and ultimately very rewarding. The game’s environments are rich and immersive, drawing from a wide variety of fantasy palettes, all conveyed extremely tastefully. Character body and facial animations, combined with dialogue, are on par with any of the best AAA RPG titles available. The game provides an excellent balance between quick-draw action and a level of character visual and stat customization that is accessible, and not too shallow nor too overwhelming. The narrative, environments and character design are all exactly what you’d expect from R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane, and the same can be said for the rest of the staff. Amalur may just be the sleeper action RPG hit of the year, this early into 2012.
We look forward to the game’s official release, and are even more excited about being able to tell you more about the BigWorld-powered MMO followup, Copernicus.
from the cooperative desk
EA has brought two of its studios together to cross-promote their anticipated action RPG’s.
If you download and play through the 45 minute demo of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning on Jan. 17th, you’ll unlock a set of Mass Effect-style armor for your full-game purchase. The same works, vice versa, if you play and complete the Mass Effect 3 demo.
38 Studios is building its Amalur followup, an MMO stealth-titled Copernicus, on BigWorld Technology.
Amalur Armor in ME3
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ME3 Armor in Amalur
from the Drizzt desk
It’s no news that iconic fantasy author R.A. Salvatore is part of the team working on 38 Studios’ upcoming BigWorld-powered MMO, Copernicus. He joins Curt Schilling, Todd McFarlane, and a host of game development icons in the MMO followup to the upcoming Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. This Boston Globe article focuses a bit on Salvatore and his role in narrative development.
“I tried to think of the people that were the best in the world at what they did,’’ Curt Schilling wrote in an e-mail, explaining why his Providence-based video game company, 38 Studios, partnered with Salvatore. The former Red Sox ace needed a detailed fantasy setting for two projects: A World of Warcraft-like online game currently called Project Copernicus (still in development), and a single-player game, called Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (set to launch Feb. 7).
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